Sean O'Connell Show - Full POD 10-1-26

WEBVTT
1
00:00:14.630 --> 00:00:30.620
Happy Thursday, everybody. Welcome to the Sean O'Connell Show again.
2
00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:35.329
Utah's number one sports talk, a Thursday edition of the show.
3
00:00:35.390 --> 00:00:41.549
We march towards another weekend of college football, a Opening
4
00:00:41.609 --> 00:00:44.880
night for the Utah Mammoth, which for me is the
5
00:00:44.909 --> 00:00:48.340
number one draw in sports right now, at least on
6
00:00:48.380 --> 00:00:52.719
this Thursday. The NFL Thursday night game has some local
7
00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:58.119
interest in it. An old divisional rivalry that we don't
8
00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:03.359
probably talk about enough. But Spencer Fano back on the
9
00:01:03.399 --> 00:01:12.950
field for the Cleveland Browns. The text line is always open, 877-353-0700.
10
00:01:13.010 --> 00:01:16.250
Happy to hear from you anytime that we can. Please
11
00:01:16.930 --> 00:01:19.849
text us, call us, let us know what you think.
12
00:01:19.950 --> 00:01:22.359
I put a question out on Twitter yesterday that we
13
00:01:22.379 --> 00:01:24.299
never really got to on the show, so I'm going
14
00:01:25.239 --> 00:01:26.780
to talk about that a little bit today.
15
00:01:27.040 --> 00:01:27.739
You get to wait.
16
00:01:27.819 --> 00:01:30.459
I asked Dan Sorensen this, and I'm asking you all
17
00:01:30.620 --> 00:01:34.299
out there listening. If you get to wave a magic
18
00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:37.239
wand over this Utah football team during the bye week,
19
00:01:37.700 --> 00:01:39.599
and you get to change any one thing, you get
20
00:01:39.620 --> 00:01:41.680
to fix any one thing, you get to do one
21
00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:48.829
thing that would improve this team or help this team,
22
00:01:48.849 --> 00:01:51.989
or maybe you don't want to improve or help this
23
00:01:52.010 --> 00:01:53.969
team because you think that they're perfect.
24
00:01:53.670 --> 00:01:57.310
As they are. What is your bye week adjustment?
25
00:01:57.370 --> 00:01:59.650
How do you win the bye week if you're in
26
00:01:59.709 --> 00:02:04.030
charge of Utah football?
27
00:02:04.049 --> 00:02:04.409
877-353-0700.
28
00:02:04.450 --> 00:02:06.189
I'll get to some of the responses I got on
29
00:02:06.299 --> 00:02:07.340
Twitter yesterday.
30
00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:10.840
And, of course, want to hear from you on that
31
00:02:10.919 --> 00:02:11.800
question today.
32
00:02:13.539 --> 00:02:16.449
Eric Weddle is going to join us. Tom Callahan is
33
00:02:16.490 --> 00:02:25.009
going to join us. Gordy Chiesa is expected today. Maybe,
34
00:02:25.710 --> 00:02:28.789
maybe we'll get all those guys involved on the show today.
35
00:02:30.009 --> 00:02:30.789
And, you know, we're here.
36
00:02:31.409 --> 00:02:39.020
We're doing our thing. Utah football, of course, is off
37
00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:45.439
in the bye week. The UFC is in town. We
38
00:02:45.460 --> 00:02:50.979
had an interesting situation where a guy I know, he's
39
00:02:51.060 --> 00:02:53.080
actually one of our former PFL champs. He fought in
40
00:02:53.099 --> 00:02:56.689
the UFC also. He's cornering someone who's on the card.
41
00:02:57.780 --> 00:03:04.979
And that guy, he played in the NFL. He's the
42
00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:14.250
all-time leading tackler in Florida international football history. His name
43
00:03:14.270 --> 00:03:16.909
is Anthony Wint. Now he's fighting in the UFC. He's undefeated.
44
00:03:16.930 --> 00:03:21.819
He's a prospect on the rise. And Morgan Scali had
45
00:03:21.860 --> 00:03:24.300
him go speak with the University of Utah football team
46
00:03:24.740 --> 00:03:27.680
last night, or yesterday, I should say, which is kind
47
00:03:27.699 --> 00:03:32.219
of cool that the Utah football players get to, you know,
48
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.969
touch on a little bit of the combat sports world.
49
00:03:36.030 --> 00:03:38.430
I imagine there will be several players in attendance when
50
00:03:38.449 --> 00:03:43.150
the UFC sets down at the Delta Center on Saturday night.
51
00:03:43.189 --> 00:03:46.629
Of course, that is not set up. The floor tonight
52
00:03:46.689 --> 00:03:49.539
is set up. The ice is down. They're playing hockey
53
00:03:51.020 --> 00:03:55.710
at the Delta Center tonight. Chicago Blackhawks in town, and
54
00:03:56.889 --> 00:04:00.550
we'll discuss all of it here on the Sean O'Connell Show.
55
00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:07.620
I'm putting James in a bad spot.
56
00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:11.560
He's trying to scramble to make everything work, but we're
57
00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:14.870
going to get the show together today, and we're going
58
00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:19.790
to talk to you at 877-353-7000. zero 700, your thoughts
59
00:04:20.029 --> 00:04:22.110
on how you fix anything that you think is wrong
60
00:04:22.129 --> 00:04:25.680
with this Utah football team, the magic spell, the potion
61
00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:28.839
you would feed to these players during the bi-week to
62
00:04:28.899 --> 00:04:32.259
make sure that they are prepped for a championship run.
63
00:04:32.339 --> 00:04:36.040
And by the way, depending on what sports book.
64
00:04:36.220 --> 00:04:37.939
You pay attention to, if you pay attention to any
65
00:04:37.990 --> 00:04:42.269
sports books, the S and P plus the FBI, all
66
00:04:42.290 --> 00:04:46.069
of these things, these different metrics that are used to
67
00:04:46.129 --> 00:04:51.740
set expectations for, for college football, there are some who
68
00:04:51.779 --> 00:04:54.420
believe that now Utah, there are some things that are
69
00:04:54.459 --> 00:05:01.079
pointing towards Utah football being not the favorite, but a
70
00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:06.230
championship favorite in the Big 12 Conference. And I know
71
00:05:06.259 --> 00:05:10.209
that there was a decent number of people that thought
72
00:05:10.250 --> 00:05:12.310
that might be the case, that thought that might be a.
73
00:05:13.970 --> 00:05:14.750
Possibility.
74
00:05:15.529 --> 00:05:17.769
For the University of Utah, I think that these first
75
00:05:17.829 --> 00:05:21.889
four games and the offensive numbers and the defensive numbers
76
00:05:21.939 --> 00:05:24.000
and the fact that you're top three in the conference
77
00:05:24.040 --> 00:05:25.899
in both of those things and the fact that there's
78
00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:28.699
some vulnerabilities being shown by Texas Tech right now, I.
79
00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:30.800
Think that.
80
00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:34.879
There are a lot of people that were not part
81
00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:41.500
of that hardcore, hyper-optimistic segment of the fan base that
82
00:05:41.550 --> 00:05:46.680
are now starting to believe a little bit more. I
83
00:05:46.699 --> 00:05:51.420
didn't think you'd experience any bumps or bruises or hiccups
84
00:05:52.040 --> 00:05:55.079
to this juncture of the season. But I have told you,
85
00:05:55.139 --> 00:05:57.029
and I still stand by this, that there are going
86
00:05:57.089 --> 00:06:01.709
to be some things during the debut season of Morgan
87
00:06:01.730 --> 00:06:04.569
Scali as the head coach where we look and we say,
88
00:06:04.610 --> 00:06:08.920
all right, that is something that is to be expected.
89
00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:12.779
That is a problem we might have been able to anticipate.
90
00:06:14.430 --> 00:06:17.670
And if not, fine. I would love to be wrong
91
00:06:17.730 --> 00:06:21.230
about that. That is a wonderful thing to be incorrect about.
92
00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:30.740
So 877-353-0700, tell me the wand you're waving, what are
93
00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:33.939
you fixing if there is something to fix in the
94
00:06:33.980 --> 00:06:34.399
bye week?
95
00:06:38.410 --> 00:06:41.180
A couple of the responses that we got yesterday....
96
00:06:42.670 --> 00:06:45.850
Urgency in the third quarter regardless of score. Now, I
97
00:06:45.910 --> 00:06:48.850
hope I didn't lead too many witnesses on that front
98
00:06:48.910 --> 00:06:51.410
because a couple days ago we talked about, you know,
99
00:06:52.649 --> 00:07:00.810
the trend of third quarter lackadaisical. That's too wordy of
100
00:07:00.850 --> 00:07:05.240
a way to say it. The third quarter slowdown for
101
00:07:05.269 --> 00:07:09.560
this Utah football team. And how you fix that is, again,
102
00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:14.790
way above my pay grade. recognizing it, acknowledging that it
103
00:07:14.889 --> 00:07:17.709
is potentially a trend is, of course, a first step
104
00:07:17.730 --> 00:07:24.930
that you take. But if it's not obvious, if there's
105
00:07:24.970 --> 00:07:29.649
nothing that is particularly backward or if there's nothing that
106
00:07:29.689 --> 00:07:32.750
is particularly problematic, then what do you do?
107
00:07:33.449 --> 00:07:34.170
How do you change it?
108
00:07:35.660 --> 00:07:38.500
If it's something that the players themselves can get to
109
00:07:38.540 --> 00:07:44.110
the bottom of, if it's something that the coaches with
110
00:07:44.129 --> 00:07:48.569
the play calling, they've got all their data, right? They're
111
00:07:48.620 --> 00:07:52.439
plugging everything in to their algorithms and their computers and
112
00:07:52.459 --> 00:07:56.600
their metrics and the numbers that matter most to the
113
00:07:56.620 --> 00:08:00.639
coaching staff and the expected success rates and things like that.
114
00:08:00.680 --> 00:08:04.399
And they're looking at it and they're saying, okay, how
115
00:08:04.439 --> 00:08:07.839
much of this is execution? How much of this is fatigue?
116
00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:09.829
How much of this is play calling? How much of
117
00:08:09.870 --> 00:08:11.850
this is coaching? You just have to give credit to
118
00:08:11.889 --> 00:08:15.339
the opposition. The third quarter stuff we talked about a
119
00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:19.339
little bit. Wave your wand and fix a thing or
120
00:08:19.379 --> 00:08:22.759
maybe multiple things about this Utah football team and prep
121
00:08:22.819 --> 00:08:28.439
them for the stretch run, the final two-thirds of the
122
00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:34.200
regular season, the tougher part of the schedule. Irish Ute
123
00:08:34.460 --> 00:08:37.159
on Twitter said, Need to get more production from the
124
00:08:37.220 --> 00:08:41.679
defensive ends. We don't have that one dog, Dimmick, Anai, Orchard, Kruger.
125
00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:45.179
I think John Henry Daly deserved to be in that conversation.
126
00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:49.779
That can make things happen. And that is a place that, again,
127
00:08:49.820 --> 00:08:51.779
we've talked about this on the show, and I've pointed
128
00:08:51.860 --> 00:08:53.879
out that as an issue that I don't like. And
129
00:08:55.620 --> 00:08:57.580
depending on who you talk to, we have guests on
130
00:08:57.600 --> 00:08:59.320
the show that will say, oh, sacks are not the
131
00:08:59.340 --> 00:09:03.659
end of the world. You don't need sacks as a
132
00:09:03.779 --> 00:09:09.720
stat to– to have an effective defense.
133
00:09:10.419 --> 00:09:11.639
And, and right now.
134
00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:16.090
The Utah football defense is incredibly effective. They're the number,
135
00:09:16.139 --> 00:09:20.509
they're the number one graded defensive backfield in the conference
136
00:09:20.610 --> 00:09:24.929
and in the country, according to, I think it's, I
137
00:09:24.970 --> 00:09:30.350
think it was pro football focus, which like we, we
138
00:09:30.389 --> 00:09:34.929
didn't really discuss a ton of that. I think Nate
139
00:09:34.980 --> 00:09:37.500
Richie's playing above the level. We expected Nate Richie to
140
00:09:37.539 --> 00:09:40.110
play at this year. Not that there wasn't optimism for him,
141
00:09:40.649 --> 00:09:43.960
but I think that Nate Ritchie has been really dang good.
142
00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:46.799
And anything that might have been an issue with his
143
00:09:46.840 --> 00:09:49.840
gameplay in the past is not showing itself this year.
144
00:09:50.500 --> 00:09:54.009
There have been a couple of dropped picks that would
145
00:09:54.049 --> 00:10:01.240
make this somehow even higher graded defensive backfield. Pressure and
146
00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:05.399
sack rate does lend itself to more success on the
147
00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:09.110
back end as well. And that's something that we look
148
00:10:09.230 --> 00:10:12.409
at in the Big 12 Conference and nobody is really
149
00:10:13.629 --> 00:10:15.830
killing it in the sacks category right now.
150
00:10:17.950 --> 00:10:22.789
Right now, Baylor... leads the conference. Well, they're tied with Arizona.
151
00:10:22.830 --> 00:10:28.230
They both have 15 sacks, averaging just under four sacks
152
00:10:28.289 --> 00:10:31.769
a game. Utah is currently fourth in the conference at 2.75
153
00:10:31.769 --> 00:10:37.250
sacks a game, 11 sacks through four games. And again,
154
00:10:37.529 --> 00:10:40.500
those sacks have not come from the defensive end position. Now,
155
00:10:40.580 --> 00:10:44.580
pressures and hurries and QB hits have come from that position.
156
00:10:45.159 --> 00:10:48.889
So it's kind of like, Maybe we need to.
157
00:10:48.870 --> 00:10:50.830
Look at this the way that we look at touchdowns.
158
00:10:52.610 --> 00:10:55.129
We don't have to have one guy scoring all the touchdowns.
159
00:10:55.169 --> 00:10:56.950
It doesn't have to be, I need more way. Sean
160
00:10:56.990 --> 00:11:03.000
Parker touchdowns. It's I need more touchdowns in past years
161
00:11:03.059 --> 00:11:05.100
of Utah football. We have looked at it and said,
162
00:11:05.139 --> 00:11:08.720
where's the wide receiving core with the touchdown production, your
163
00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:09.240
tight ends.
164
00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:09.559
Are doing great.
165
00:11:09.580 --> 00:11:11.700
You're running backs are doing great. Where's the wide receivers
166
00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:13.679
when it comes to the piling up yardage and touchdowns.
167
00:11:14.659 --> 00:11:20.019
And I think offensively, it makes more sense. The reason
168
00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.679
why I and some of you, I think, have an
169
00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:29.159
issue with the lack of finish rate in that defensive
170
00:11:29.220 --> 00:11:32.679
end position room is that even though you're fourth most
171
00:11:32.720 --> 00:11:34.980
productive in the conference when it comes to actually getting
172
00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:37.059
the quarterback to the ground before the ball's out of
173
00:11:37.100 --> 00:11:42.149
his hand, not having it come from the defensive line position,
174
00:11:42.190 --> 00:11:44.450
not having it come from the defensive end position, and
175
00:11:44.470 --> 00:11:47.320
your interior D linemen have generated a few, but not
176
00:11:47.379 --> 00:11:51.360
having it come from the traditional spot is an indicator
177
00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:54.759
that you're having to manufacture it, you're having to blitz it,
178
00:11:54.779 --> 00:11:56.870
you're having to stunt it, you're having to do it
179
00:11:57.009 --> 00:12:03.750
in a way that potentially can be schemed against. There's
180
00:12:03.789 --> 00:12:07.929
not really an effective way for an offense to get
181
00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.120
around the idea that your guys are just going to
182
00:12:10.179 --> 00:12:14.940
win up front. If you're able to get pressure and
183
00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:20.639
sacks and hurries and most importantly, sacks, with a four-man rush,
184
00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:23.120
or even better, a three-man rush, but a four-man rush
185
00:12:23.179 --> 00:12:32.049
is the realistic goal here, then what is an offensive
186
00:12:32.090 --> 00:12:34.090
coordinator supposed to do to scheme around that? What are
187
00:12:34.110 --> 00:12:38.649
they going to say? What are they going to do? Oh,
188
00:12:38.690 --> 00:12:44.440
hey guys, we just, well, I know what they do.
189
00:12:45.590 --> 00:12:48.450
They leave a running back in to chip and help
190
00:12:48.509 --> 00:12:53.269
in pass protection. The tight end or the extra offensive
191
00:12:53.309 --> 00:12:56.929
lineman that you bring in, then robbing yourself of an
192
00:12:56.990 --> 00:12:59.750
extra pass catching option. But the tight end on the
193
00:12:59.789 --> 00:13:02.090
line of scrimmage has to stay in help for even
194
00:13:02.129 --> 00:13:03.220
the briefest of seconds.
195
00:13:05.100 --> 00:13:07.419
He's got to chip. He's got to throw a block.
196
00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:09.399
He's got to put a hip on somebody at least
197
00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:12.200
before he gets out into his route. And now it's
198
00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:16.970
a slower developing play and your defense is at An
199
00:13:17.029 --> 00:13:20.860
advantage because your defensive ends, and I'm talking about Ethan
200
00:13:20.899 --> 00:13:24.259
Day and Paul Fitzgerald and Cash Dillon and Lance Holtzclaw.
201
00:13:24.279 --> 00:13:28.320
I'm talking about those guys just winning their individual matchups.
202
00:13:30.419 --> 00:13:32.100
Create a situation that.
203
00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:37.129
If you're Aaron Roderick on November 7th, you're not able
204
00:13:37.169 --> 00:13:40.610
to say, okay, third down predictability here.
205
00:13:40.789 --> 00:13:43.289
Cyrus Polu is going to be in the game. He's
206
00:13:43.309 --> 00:13:44.470
going to be blitzing, though.
207
00:13:45.190 --> 00:13:45.389
Or....
208
00:13:47.169 --> 00:13:49.429
We're going to get Elijah Ellis on the end of
209
00:13:49.450 --> 00:13:51.389
this formation, and he's going to walk up on the
210
00:13:51.429 --> 00:13:54.519
line of scrimmage. The tendency they have here is they
211
00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:57.159
want to create pressure on this down, and so I'm
212
00:13:57.200 --> 00:13:59.000
going to run a route right behind that into the
213
00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:00.960
space that that guy is vacating, and we're going to
214
00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:06.519
try to exploit that. And it doesn't have to turn
215
00:14:06.559 --> 00:14:08.740
into a touchdown, but it can be a first down.
216
00:14:08.759 --> 00:14:09.860
It can be a drive extender.
217
00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:12.120
You don't get to do that if you're an offensive
218
00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:16.639
coordinator and you're The linebackers get to stay wherever the
219
00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:19.500
linebackers need to stay. Your defensive backs don't have to
220
00:14:19.539 --> 00:14:24.470
creep up and cheat and blitz off the edge because
221
00:14:25.269 --> 00:14:28.009
the guys who don't have any other duties, who don't
222
00:14:28.070 --> 00:14:32.970
have any pass coverage duties, are just terrorizing the quarterback.
223
00:14:34.009 --> 00:14:36.230
And to be fair to the individuals that are playing
224
00:14:36.250 --> 00:14:38.909
these positions right now at the University of Utah, it's
225
00:14:38.950 --> 00:14:41.879
not that they're ineffectual. It's that they're just not quite
226
00:14:42.009 --> 00:14:47.080
there in the finishing category. A hurry and a pressure
227
00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:53.179
are both meaningful stats. They don't have the same effect
228
00:14:54.419 --> 00:14:56.500
as a sack does. And anyone who tells you that
229
00:14:56.539 --> 00:15:03.049
sacks are overrated is probably on some level excusing the
230
00:15:03.110 --> 00:15:07.509
fact that they're not generating enough sacks. They might be
231
00:15:07.610 --> 00:15:13.149
overrated in that the average fan understanding of the importance
232
00:15:13.190 --> 00:15:17.480
of sacks could be relative to what they actually do,
233
00:15:18.340 --> 00:15:23.220
but there's no real world in which you don't want
234
00:15:23.259 --> 00:15:26.220
them and that you don't want them to come from
235
00:15:26.259 --> 00:15:31.419
the guys whose job it is to get them. Kate
236
00:15:31.460 --> 00:15:35.990
on the text line says to me, what seems like
237
00:15:36.919 --> 00:15:38.929
could be the issue with our third quarter offense is
238
00:15:38.990 --> 00:15:43.100
we try to take too big of bites and When
239
00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:44.779
we're not moving the ball like it should, it seems
240
00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:48.049
like we have, when we're not moving the ball like
241
00:15:48.090 --> 00:15:50.850
we should, it seems like since we have a comfortable lead,
242
00:15:50.870 --> 00:15:53.470
we try to take deep shots and one or two
243
00:15:53.509 --> 00:15:55.509
don't connect and all of a sudden you're behind the sticks.
244
00:15:56.409 --> 00:15:58.590
I think we just need to stay consistent. Let Way
245
00:15:58.610 --> 00:16:01.110
Sean do his thing and stay ahead of the sticks.
246
00:16:01.149 --> 00:16:03.769
And when you're ahead of the sticks, you can take
247
00:16:03.830 --> 00:16:07.659
those shots. I know we seem pretty split 50-50 run pass,
248
00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:09.940
but it does seem like the times we're tripping up
249
00:16:10.159 --> 00:16:13.860
more is when we're throwing the ball. That's probably a
250
00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:19.629
fair observation. And this is something we're going to learn
251
00:16:19.769 --> 00:16:22.809
as we get more and more time under Morgan Scali
252
00:16:22.850 --> 00:16:24.470
as the head coach and you get more and more
253
00:16:24.490 --> 00:16:28.470
information about the way that Kevin McGiven wants to do things.
254
00:16:29.529 --> 00:16:30.610
Because....
255
00:16:33.250 --> 00:16:37.850
The tendencies and the patterns of play calling obviously the
256
00:16:37.970 --> 00:16:42.200
playbook is Kevin McGivens, but the aggressiveness is something that
257
00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:46.240
Morgan Scali has to, whether he's a hundred percent influencing,
258
00:16:46.259 --> 00:16:48.120
he's definitely got to sign off on some of that.
259
00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:48.440
Right?
260
00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:52.480
So as their game planning during the week, if it's
261
00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:56.110
we're up two scores already, if we can take a
262
00:16:56.250 --> 00:16:59.210
big chunk here and we can get another big chunk
263
00:16:59.230 --> 00:17:00.350
of on.
264
00:17:00.230 --> 00:17:02.289
The sixth play of this drive. And then we're.
265
00:17:02.149 --> 00:17:06.650
Guaranteeing ourself red zone offense. And that's been pretty good
266
00:17:06.670 --> 00:17:09.109
this year. So now we're, we're getting another touchdown on
267
00:17:09.150 --> 00:17:12.309
this drive and it's going to take us eight plays
268
00:17:12.369 --> 00:17:18.339
instead of 14. Now we've demoralized the opposition. Now we've
269
00:17:18.380 --> 00:17:20.619
taken their legs out from under them. Now we've just
270
00:17:20.880 --> 00:17:24.220
absolutely killed whatever they hoped they had going.
271
00:17:24.779 --> 00:17:25.799
And now the game is ours.
272
00:17:26.339 --> 00:17:26.660
Okay.
273
00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:30.559
Like if that's, your step on the throat mentality as
274
00:17:30.619 --> 00:17:34.180
a coach, nobody is going to be sad that that's
275
00:17:34.220 --> 00:17:37.519
what you want to do with this football team. However,
276
00:17:38.539 --> 00:17:40.759
the reality between what you want to do and what
277
00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:43.150
you're capable of doing in some of these third quarters
278
00:17:43.390 --> 00:17:45.869
might be an issue that has to be addressed as
279
00:17:45.910 --> 00:17:49.490
the season progresses. And again, I want to be very,
280
00:17:49.529 --> 00:17:53.970
very careful about having too many of these conversations when
281
00:17:54.009 --> 00:17:58.789
this is a 4-0 football team. When Kevin McGibbon has
282
00:17:58.829 --> 00:18:02.450
given us one of the most exciting dynamic offenses that
283
00:18:02.549 --> 00:18:05.250
Utah football has ever had, and that is not hyperbole.
284
00:18:06.950 --> 00:18:10.130
The creativity we have seen, I think that his creativity
285
00:18:10.230 --> 00:18:13.809
so far, and bless you personnel for being able to
286
00:18:13.890 --> 00:18:18.819
execute some of this stuff, and for the creativity. Devin Dampier,
287
00:18:18.859 --> 00:18:21.299
Bert Ficklin dynamic for existing the way it does so
288
00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:24.019
that you don't have to choose one or the other.
289
00:18:24.140 --> 00:18:26.539
And you didn't have to in the off season decide,
290
00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:27.880
you know what, we're going to pay this guy and
291
00:18:27.900 --> 00:18:29.740
we're just going to realize that the other guy's gone.
292
00:18:29.769 --> 00:18:31.450
We're going to have to watch him play in for
293
00:18:31.529 --> 00:18:33.490
Arizona state. We're going to have to watch him play
294
00:18:33.529 --> 00:18:34.170
in for whoever.
295
00:18:34.970 --> 00:18:35.150
Right.
296
00:18:35.269 --> 00:18:36.849
And it probably would have been Arizona state if we're
297
00:18:36.869 --> 00:18:37.309
being honest.
298
00:18:40.630 --> 00:18:42.960
Like this team is in a really, really, really good
299
00:18:43.019 --> 00:18:46.819
spot right now because of Morgan Scali, because of Kevin McGiven.
300
00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:49.000
So I want to make sure that we are mindful
301
00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:50.559
of that, that you're tuning into the home of the
302
00:18:50.720 --> 00:18:55.059
Utes and you're, and you're saying, you're not saying, Hey,
303
00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:58.500
why are we complaining? We're not complaining. We're just playing
304
00:18:58.539 --> 00:19:02.990
in hypotheticals here. We're waving magic wands. We're, we're aspiring
305
00:19:03.049 --> 00:19:06.670
now for perfection because we're, we're achieving something that's really
306
00:19:06.789 --> 00:19:08.049
solid at the very least.
307
00:19:08.089 --> 00:19:09.150
It might be great.
308
00:19:10.150 --> 00:19:13.970
Is at least good, might be great, and is giving
309
00:19:14.029 --> 00:19:17.450
you some vision, some ideas that this season could be truly,
310
00:19:17.509 --> 00:19:20.829
truly special. So if your goal now is that, and
311
00:19:20.869 --> 00:19:25.319
you can put some lipstick on one thing, or you
312
00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:27.440
can polish up one thing, or you can make one
313
00:19:27.480 --> 00:19:28.940
thing slightly better, what is it?
314
00:19:29.279 --> 00:19:32.019
What is it that you're choosing in the bye week?
315
00:19:32.140 --> 00:19:35.579
And to be realistic, and to make sure that we're
316
00:19:35.599 --> 00:19:39.720
staying clear, I think that most of what you can
317
00:19:39.779 --> 00:19:43.289
correct in a bi-week is bumps and bruises getting healed
318
00:19:43.410 --> 00:19:49.910
up and recognizing some of your own patterns and trying
319
00:19:49.930 --> 00:19:51.779
to break those patterns. I think those are the most
320
00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:56.089
effective changes you can make in a bi-week in college football,
321
00:19:56.109 --> 00:19:59.769
whether that's in week three or more fortuitously in like
322
00:19:59.809 --> 00:20:02.690
a week six or a week seven, when your team
323
00:20:02.730 --> 00:20:05.809
probably needs a bi-week, right? BYU had a super early
324
00:20:05.849 --> 00:20:10.180
bi-week last week. Utah gets a bi-week one week later,
325
00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:14.900
which is better, but not like super significantly better. We
326
00:20:14.980 --> 00:20:17.539
all wish that you could do it in week six
327
00:20:17.859 --> 00:20:20.440
or in week seven and then hit the home stretch,
328
00:20:21.069 --> 00:20:24.470
having that one week of rest and, and healing, whatever
329
00:20:24.509 --> 00:20:26.529
the bumps and bruises that accumulated were. I think that
330
00:20:26.589 --> 00:20:30.349
the most realistic and effective change and one that can
331
00:20:30.390 --> 00:20:34.450
be waived in a bi-week is that you have a
332
00:20:34.470 --> 00:20:37.039
little extra time for film study and You have a
333
00:20:37.059 --> 00:20:41.089
little extra time to look at what you yourself have
334
00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.849
been doing that inflicts wounds upon your game plan or
335
00:20:44.910 --> 00:20:47.549
upon your execution or upon your personnel.
336
00:20:49.049 --> 00:20:50.730
And I think that this coaching staff, by.
337
00:20:50.650 --> 00:20:58.279
The way, is excellent at self-scouting and self-evaluation. Morgan Scali
338
00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:04.640
is a radical ownership and accountability type guy. And when
339
00:21:04.680 --> 00:21:08.299
he's got the time... And when his coaching staff has
340
00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:13.269
the time, I know that they are doing an internal audit,
341
00:21:13.329 --> 00:21:15.990
and maybe he's got some methods where they audit one another,
342
00:21:17.130 --> 00:21:20.630
where he says, all right, Colton Swan, I want you
343
00:21:20.670 --> 00:21:23.200
watching all of Kevin McGiven's tape during this bye week,
344
00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:27.009
and I want you telling me how you would stop it.
345
00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:30.240
I know we just did that during camp, but I
346
00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:31.539
want you to do it again now that we're in
347
00:21:31.579 --> 00:21:33.329
live competition and we're four games deep.
348
00:21:33.869 --> 00:21:35.910
And maybe you got Kevin McGiven doing the same thing.
349
00:21:36.609 --> 00:21:41.029
All right, now that we've shown these patterns and we've
350
00:21:41.069 --> 00:21:44.029
established some of these trends, how are you going to
351
00:21:44.089 --> 00:21:47.430
try to guess right as a play caller to beat
352
00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:50.710
Colton Swan's defense? And if there's a pattern that you
353
00:21:50.730 --> 00:21:54.710
can expose, and realistically, it's like your GAs and your
354
00:21:54.730 --> 00:21:57.369
video guys that are probably pointing some of this out
355
00:21:58.289 --> 00:22:01.089
and auditing some of this and saying, hey, turns out, coach,
356
00:22:01.890 --> 00:22:05.380
that every third and medium defense We're running a play
357
00:22:05.720 --> 00:22:09.119
where we throw the ball six yards beyond the sticks.
358
00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:12.220
Is that really setting us up for the top level
359
00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:13.460
of success that we could achieve?
360
00:22:14.740 --> 00:22:17.859
And in that case, you might say, oh, how about this?
361
00:22:17.900 --> 00:22:20.400
How about we shorten those throws and make those more
362
00:22:20.460 --> 00:22:23.980
manageable and make that an attempt to get just to
363
00:22:24.019 --> 00:22:26.859
the sticks and beyond? Again, these are all hypotheticals I'm
364
00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:31.789
throwing out here. Darius on the text line says with
365
00:22:31.809 --> 00:22:35.990
this offense, we need to install a little giants annexation
366
00:22:36.029 --> 00:22:43.150
of Puerto Rico. The annexation of Puerto Rico from the
367
00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:46.589
little giants. One of the iconic plays in film.
368
00:22:46.710 --> 00:22:47.230
I don't know.
369
00:22:47.309 --> 00:22:48.890
I mean, I guess with this offense, you can run
370
00:22:48.930 --> 00:22:56.880
anything you want. Utah football is in a really, really
371
00:22:56.940 --> 00:22:59.259
good spot right now. How do you get them into
372
00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:01.039
an elite spot? How do you get them into a
373
00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:05.640
great spot with something that you're integrating or fixing or
374
00:23:05.829 --> 00:23:12.299
altering or tweaking or polishing during the bi-week 8, 7, 7, 3, 5, 3, 0,
375
00:23:12.299 --> 00:23:18.799
700 at real OC sports. Alpha on the Twitter says we,
376
00:23:18.819 --> 00:23:22.079
I would fix coming out flat after halftime. Uh, Chris
377
00:23:22.119 --> 00:23:26.190
Keller going big picture, uh, and saying more NIL money
378
00:23:26.750 --> 00:23:30.230
or a larger stadium. I actually don't think you need
379
00:23:30.269 --> 00:23:33.150
a larger stadium. I think Rice Eccles is in the
380
00:23:33.190 --> 00:23:36.910
Goldilocks zone. I think it's perfect right now. I think
381
00:23:36.930 --> 00:23:39.970
that if you inflate that thing to like 70,000, you're
382
00:23:40.009 --> 00:23:43.450
going to have too many games where there's open seats
383
00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:47.519
showing in the corners. I think right in that 50,000 range,
384
00:23:47.579 --> 00:23:53.240
tickets are at a premium. If you buy them, you
385
00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:56.740
value them. Most of the time you get there, the
386
00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:01.319
only tweak and alteration on the stadium that I would
387
00:24:01.359 --> 00:24:06.619
even be welcoming at this point is putting a tunnel over.
388
00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:10.720
What is that central campus drive that goes onto the
389
00:24:10.769 --> 00:24:12.829
field house, which by the way, used to exist. I
390
00:24:12.829 --> 00:24:14.829
don't know if you've seen the old, the old photos
391
00:24:15.549 --> 00:24:17.430
that it used to be that they used to have
392
00:24:17.490 --> 00:24:20.789
like a tunnel structure over that on the, the top
393
00:24:20.869 --> 00:24:23.250
end of what I think was rice stadium at the time.
394
00:24:23.349 --> 00:24:26.869
Anyway, Tell me what you would fix if you can
395
00:24:26.910 --> 00:24:28.289
fix something. So hold on.
396
00:24:29.150 --> 00:24:33.390
You're saying, because it's railroad tracks now for tracks that's
397
00:24:33.490 --> 00:24:35.140
between the stadium and the field house.
398
00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:39.059
And a road. Oh, yeah, narrow road. That's true. Narrow road,
399
00:24:39.140 --> 00:24:41.880
one lane each way. That's true. So you've got the
400
00:24:41.940 --> 00:24:46.900
road and the tracks, so a tunnel there. Yeah.
401
00:24:47.079 --> 00:24:48.880
And then you build a bleacher up over onto the
402
00:24:48.980 --> 00:24:50.740
roof of the field house, where right now it just
403
00:24:50.759 --> 00:24:53.140
says Utah. Shout out to Keith Van Horn, who helped
404
00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:56.460
spearhead the fundraising project. to get that thing done, Utah
405
00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:59.079
on the roof, put Utah on the roof. Looks really great.
406
00:24:59.740 --> 00:25:02.640
It actually, it looks so good and it belongs there
407
00:25:03.220 --> 00:25:07.490
so intuitively that I can't remember what it looked like before.
408
00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:08.339
Yeah.
409
00:25:08.460 --> 00:25:09.440
That's a good sign.
410
00:25:09.460 --> 00:25:11.980
When you're talking about an addition to a stadium or
411
00:25:12.019 --> 00:25:15.380
to your home or to your yard, when you just
412
00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:19.049
completely forget how it used to be because the new
413
00:25:19.109 --> 00:25:20.509
version is that much better.
414
00:25:20.730 --> 00:25:20.990
Yeah.
415
00:25:21.250 --> 00:25:23.529
That's a good sign. So shout out to everyone who
416
00:25:23.569 --> 00:25:24.769
helped make that thing happen.
417
00:25:24.809 --> 00:25:28.910
You could make the seats, black seats, some red seats,
418
00:25:28.950 --> 00:25:31.279
and they spell Utah. You can make the seats spell
419
00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:35.220
Utah when they're empty. And you could say, if you're
420
00:25:35.259 --> 00:25:39.059
sitting in those seats, got to color coordinate. Your clothes
421
00:25:39.099 --> 00:25:40.480
have to match the color of your seat.
422
00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:41.079
Yeah.
423
00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:43.460
And then it would look, it would spell out Utah.
424
00:25:43.660 --> 00:25:46.490
Or opposite, either way. You know how sweet that would be?
425
00:25:46.490 --> 00:25:47.650
That would actually be awesome.
426
00:25:47.849 --> 00:25:50.890
That should be the Keith Van Horn corollary of what
427
00:25:50.930 --> 00:25:54.230
you're talking about. That, hey, for Keith Van Horn and
428
00:25:54.269 --> 00:25:56.269
everyone else's sake that was involved in that.
429
00:25:56.720 --> 00:25:59.480
These are the rules for these bleachers. Make them season tickets.
430
00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:02.380
And if you're in the van horn seats, your clothing
431
00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:03.240
matches the seat.
432
00:26:03.460 --> 00:26:03.700
Yeah.
433
00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:07.329
And you become part of the stadium decor. That's wonderful.
434
00:26:07.740 --> 00:26:10.250
That's a unique thing. We just gave you another one.
435
00:26:10.849 --> 00:26:11.490
You're welcome.
436
00:26:11.549 --> 00:26:14.130
Crimson brand partners here on the Sean O'Connell show.
437
00:26:14.150 --> 00:26:15.930
We just gave you another thing that you can sell.
438
00:26:16.910 --> 00:26:17.410
You're welcome.
439
00:26:17.950 --> 00:26:20.809
We, you, if you, if you'd like to, you can
440
00:26:20.849 --> 00:26:22.549
give us a little bit of that revenue. When you
441
00:26:22.589 --> 00:26:24.119
do sell it, just if you'd like to.
442
00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:25.900
Are they in the business of sharing with us now?
443
00:26:25.940 --> 00:26:26.779
That'd be great.
444
00:26:27.180 --> 00:26:30.059
If you don't want to, I guess we'll just have
445
00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:32.819
to accept that and understand. Should we do the thing
446
00:26:32.859 --> 00:26:34.319
that Spence does every day on his show?
447
00:26:34.380 --> 00:26:35.049
Look at the camera.
448
00:26:35.240 --> 00:26:35.549
Paul.
449
00:26:36.309 --> 00:26:39.150
Paul Kirk, look at me. This is my daily demands.
450
00:26:39.250 --> 00:26:42.589
He gives daily demands to Paul Kirk. Are those our
451
00:26:42.609 --> 00:26:43.170
daily demands?
452
00:26:43.250 --> 00:26:46.970
I think that's a little unfair. Paul is in charge
453
00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:48.480
of that. He's a powerful man.
454
00:26:49.490 --> 00:26:51.509
I don't know if he's powerful enough to get new
455
00:26:51.569 --> 00:26:58.849
construction done over UTA tracks and a government-owned road.
456
00:26:58.930 --> 00:27:01.759
Yeah, we do know that Paul Kirk, head of communications
457
00:27:01.819 --> 00:27:05.380
for Utah Athletics, we do know that he's a daily
458
00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:07.279
listener to the show, though. So shout out to you, Paul.
459
00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:12.940
And if you can, put in a good word for
460
00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:15.309
at least getting those done. The revenue thing, we don't expect.
461
00:27:15.400 --> 00:27:19.420
But at least getting that done. that'd be sweet.
462
00:27:20.059 --> 00:27:24.119
So shout out for the, the great tweet from whoever
463
00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:26.980
that was. I've scrolled past your name now because you
464
00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:30.000
got me thinking about stadium improvements when I don't think
465
00:27:30.039 --> 00:27:32.809
this stadium needs to be improved at all.
466
00:27:32.980 --> 00:27:33.140
Yeah.
467
00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:37.549
I feel like after the red zone was made, which
468
00:27:37.589 --> 00:27:40.490
has been such a great addition. That's another thing that's
469
00:27:40.529 --> 00:27:42.589
felt like it's been there forever and it's only been
470
00:27:42.609 --> 00:27:45.730
a few years, right? Oh, see like after that was
471
00:27:45.809 --> 00:27:48.829
put in, it kind of feels like, okay, we're, I
472
00:27:48.849 --> 00:27:51.430
don't know that there's anything that needs to be done
473
00:27:51.710 --> 00:27:56.160
to the stadium, but it's a good, it's always good
474
00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:59.839
to think of what could be done. And your bleacher
475
00:27:59.900 --> 00:28:02.279
seats on the field house is a great idea. What
476
00:28:02.299 --> 00:28:04.920
they're doing, what they're debuting the Holy war game on
477
00:28:04.940 --> 00:28:06.200
November 7th with the field.
478
00:28:06.460 --> 00:28:09.400
So the field level, the alchemy field boxes are sweet
479
00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:09.940
end zone.
480
00:28:09.960 --> 00:28:12.099
You know, we talked.
481
00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:14.329
About these yesterday and I, I looked a little bit
482
00:28:14.349 --> 00:28:17.849
more at the releases and some of the graphics and
483
00:28:17.869 --> 00:28:23.049
the Guys, if you enjoy the end zone vantage point,
484
00:28:23.089 --> 00:28:25.690
which not everyone does, but if you enjoy that kind
485
00:28:25.750 --> 00:28:29.380
of like, I feel I'm almost in the game type
486
00:28:29.400 --> 00:28:32.539
of vantage point, those seats are going to be really,
487
00:28:32.579 --> 00:28:37.380
really hard to beat because it's unlimited drinks, unlimited food,
488
00:28:37.440 --> 00:28:38.960
kind of like in the south end zone.
489
00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:42.279
They put monitors... on.
490
00:28:42.200 --> 00:28:44.220
The seats on the little desk in front of the
491
00:28:44.289 --> 00:28:47.109
seat so that you get to watch replays and you
492
00:28:47.119 --> 00:28:50.190
get to have kind of your own little like television experience,
493
00:28:50.750 --> 00:28:55.069
which is something that they're doing a really good job
494
00:28:55.109 --> 00:28:58.490
of in arenas now because the television product is so
495
00:28:58.569 --> 00:29:02.809
good at home that it's hard to incentivize yourself. If
496
00:29:03.069 --> 00:29:04.630
I don't get to hear as much, I don't get
497
00:29:04.650 --> 00:29:07.049
to see the replays as closely. I'm not getting every
498
00:29:07.210 --> 00:29:09.250
angle when I'm there in the stadium. Is it a
499
00:29:09.289 --> 00:29:10.970
better experience for the live thing?
500
00:29:11.009 --> 00:29:11.250
Yeah.
501
00:29:11.309 --> 00:29:12.970
I mean, I still think so, but there are a
502
00:29:13.009 --> 00:29:15.109
lot of people, they want like the full story of
503
00:29:15.130 --> 00:29:19.710
the game as told by 13 cameras and a broadcast
504
00:29:19.750 --> 00:29:22.029
crew and that kind of thing. Now, at least with
505
00:29:22.049 --> 00:29:24.880
VIP seating, they're bringing some of that into the actual
506
00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:25.680
stadium experience.
507
00:29:25.700 --> 00:29:27.259
They're doing that with these end zone seats.
508
00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:30.619
They've had them in the Delta center over the years
509
00:29:30.859 --> 00:29:34.410
in the, where Bowler and the broadcast team used to be.
510
00:29:34.750 --> 00:29:37.490
They've now sold those and they've still got all those
511
00:29:37.569 --> 00:29:41.289
monitors that they had for media. that, that were working
512
00:29:41.329 --> 00:29:43.710
in that area, area, not you and me media, but
513
00:29:43.769 --> 00:29:47.250
people at part of broadcast teams and stuff. So like, yeah.
514
00:29:47.569 --> 00:29:51.230
This is something that they're doing in arenas and stadiums
515
00:29:51.269 --> 00:29:53.829
across the country, and I think that it probably does
516
00:29:53.849 --> 00:29:54.690
enhance the fan experience.
517
00:29:54.710 --> 00:29:58.539
And those north end zone seats, we were kind of speculating.
518
00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:00.539
I'm like, okay, there's not a ton of room down there,
519
00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:06.000
so how big is the seating area? You are, based
520
00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:10.339
on the renderings, you are now sitting where the end
521
00:30:10.359 --> 00:30:13.069
zone photographer people used to be.
522
00:30:13.089 --> 00:30:13.809
As of this week.
523
00:30:16.859 --> 00:30:19.839
That's where the guys in the yellow or the white
524
00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:22.109
photo vests, that's where they're going to be.
525
00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:27.099
That's where those seats are. Oh, wow. So the photogs
526
00:30:27.180 --> 00:30:28.980
won't be able to be there anymore?
527
00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:31.589
I mean, maybe they will. In that end zone? Or
528
00:30:31.670 --> 00:30:33.549
it'll just be like right up against the wall there?
529
00:30:33.569 --> 00:30:35.430
They're going to have to tightrope it and just be
530
00:30:35.470 --> 00:30:37.769
like standing literally in front of the people. But those
531
00:30:37.849 --> 00:30:41.930
seats are close, man. They're like really, really close, which
532
00:30:41.970 --> 00:30:44.390
is kind of cool. So Porter Larson likes to tell
533
00:30:44.430 --> 00:30:48.519
this story. And you you've told this story, too, about being.
534
00:30:48.279 --> 00:30:51.660
In the end zone where Cam Rising ran in the
535
00:30:51.700 --> 00:30:53.750
famous two point conversion to beat USC.
536
00:30:53.950 --> 00:30:54.190
Yes.
537
00:30:54.849 --> 00:30:59.009
And Porter Larson's story is he Cam basically ran into
538
00:30:59.049 --> 00:31:02.950
him and broke our ESPN 700 microphone that he had
539
00:31:03.069 --> 00:31:04.130
on on hand.
540
00:31:06.680 --> 00:31:07.500
That's like.
541
00:31:07.890 --> 00:31:09.839
That's where those seats are going to be, right? That's
542
00:31:09.859 --> 00:31:12.099
where the, the wall is going to, so you could
543
00:31:12.140 --> 00:31:14.900
be close enough for a, for a Utah football player
544
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:17.319
or an opposing player to run into the wall where
545
00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:17.779
you're sitting.
546
00:31:19.220 --> 00:31:19.380
Yeah.
547
00:31:20.900 --> 00:31:21.200
All right.
548
00:31:21.480 --> 00:31:24.119
I mean, if anything, it's going to become a problem
549
00:31:24.160 --> 00:31:27.599
for players because they're going to end up running into
550
00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:30.329
like a waist high wall out of the back of
551
00:31:30.349 --> 00:31:30.960
the North end zone.
552
00:31:30.980 --> 00:31:33.190
They look like a baseball player trying to catch a
553
00:31:33.250 --> 00:31:34.990
foul ball over the dugout railing.
554
00:31:35.890 --> 00:31:39.549
Maybe, um, We're getting, we're getting too many ideas now
555
00:31:39.630 --> 00:31:43.319
based on my complete hypothetical of the color coordinated seats.
556
00:31:44.819 --> 00:31:46.640
If season ticket holders are going to be color coordinated,
557
00:31:46.660 --> 00:31:49.079
I think t-shirts should be included with your season tickets.
558
00:31:49.819 --> 00:31:50.059
Yeah.
559
00:31:50.339 --> 00:31:50.619
Okay.
560
00:31:50.819 --> 00:31:53.619
Surely they could afford to throw some cheap t-shirts in
561
00:31:53.700 --> 00:31:55.529
those seats with the color coordination.
562
00:31:55.549 --> 00:31:58.210
That's from Spencer says, uh, if I'm fixing anything, I'm
563
00:31:58.230 --> 00:32:00.890
waving my wand and giving Arkansas a win over a
564
00:32:00.930 --> 00:32:02.950
and M and Utah state a win over Boise, uh,
565
00:32:03.329 --> 00:32:05.369
to make Utah's schedule seem tougher.
566
00:32:05.549 --> 00:32:06.410
Let's go.
567
00:32:06.710 --> 00:32:08.339
That's thinking outside the box.
568
00:32:08.359 --> 00:32:12.220
Spencer, another 500 James Peterson bonus points for you. That's
569
00:32:12.279 --> 00:32:14.440
like four days in a row. Spencer has given us
570
00:32:14.599 --> 00:32:17.400
elite elite tech. He has tooth.
571
00:32:17.680 --> 00:32:20.460
Does that mean he has 2000 James Peterson bonus points?
572
00:32:20.480 --> 00:32:26.380
You can cash those in for some, you can.
573
00:32:26.049 --> 00:32:27.950
Cash them in someday. Yep.
574
00:32:28.029 --> 00:32:31.289
We'll figure it out there. They're roughly the value of
575
00:32:31.349 --> 00:32:35.509
a shrewd buck. So So yeah, think of the possibilities.
576
00:32:35.769 --> 00:32:38.069
All right. We're going to take a quick one here.
577
00:32:38.109 --> 00:32:40.440
Gordy Chiazza is going to join us on the other side.
578
00:32:40.460 --> 00:32:43.660
He'll be on the phone instead of in studio. That's
579
00:32:43.720 --> 00:32:46.049
my bad, everybody. It's the Sean O'Connell show on ESPN
580
00:32:46.049 --> 00:32:46.250
700 and.
581
00:32:46.170 --> 00:32:46.359
92 on FM.
582
00:32:50.109 --> 00:32:50.509
Peace out.
583
00:32:50.609 --> 00:32:53.329
Let's get the latest on the Utah Jazz with former
584
00:32:53.390 --> 00:32:56.930
Jazz assistant coach Gordy Chiesa. He's forgotten more about the
585
00:32:57.049 --> 00:32:58.970
NBA than any of us will ever know.
586
00:32:58.990 --> 00:33:00.109
Let's not get crazy.
587
00:33:00.150 --> 00:33:02.549
Come for the Hoops Talk. Stay for his list of
588
00:33:02.589 --> 00:33:03.049
the day.
589
00:33:03.069 --> 00:33:04.170
My list today.
590
00:33:04.470 --> 00:33:08.509
Here's OC with basketball savant Gordy Chiesa on the Sean
591
00:33:08.529 --> 00:33:09.289
O'Connell Show.
592
00:33:23.720 --> 00:33:25.460
Welcome back to the Sean O'Connell Show.
593
00:33:25.480 --> 00:33:29.430
Welcome back to our resident NBA guru, Gordy Chiesa, longtime
594
00:33:29.490 --> 00:33:34.970
assistant coach in the association. He's forgotten more about basketball
595
00:33:34.990 --> 00:33:36.329
than you or I will ever know.
596
00:33:36.430 --> 00:33:37.789
Gordy, welcome back. How are you?
597
00:33:38.809 --> 00:33:40.230
Sean, I'm doing well. Thank you.
598
00:33:41.089 --> 00:33:45.509
So I was just reading this article from Shams Charania
599
00:33:45.569 --> 00:33:49.930
about how the bids for the new Las Vegas expansion
600
00:33:50.569 --> 00:33:53.869
in the NBA, there's three ownership groups that are kind
601
00:33:53.910 --> 00:33:57.650
of vying for the rights to be the expansion owners.
602
00:33:58.509 --> 00:34:01.650
And the numbers they're reporting are even higher than the
603
00:34:01.730 --> 00:34:02.890
ones we speculated on.
604
00:34:02.890 --> 00:34:04.309
$ 12 to.
605
00:34:03.869 --> 00:34:07.670
$ 13 billion for a franchise.
606
00:34:07.130 --> 00:34:07.970
And a new arena.
607
00:34:07.990 --> 00:34:13.730
And it's It's, of course, some big-money players here that
608
00:34:13.769 --> 00:34:17.639
are leading the charge in all these three different competing groups. Gordy,
609
00:34:18.019 --> 00:34:19.619
which one of these are you part of? Which one
610
00:34:19.639 --> 00:34:22.380
of these did you lend your billions of dollars to?
611
00:34:22.400 --> 00:34:26.340
No, the answer is none. However, you and I said
612
00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:29.619
recently back in the summertime, we said roughly $ 9 billion
613
00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:34.239
to $ 10 billion. So just think about it. Billions of dollars.
614
00:34:35.070 --> 00:34:38.530
Used to be millionaires that owned teams. Now it's billionaires.
615
00:34:39.639 --> 00:34:43.320
And usually speaking, it's also not one person. It's a
616
00:34:43.340 --> 00:34:46.550
group of people. That's how much the franchise has run out.
617
00:34:46.610 --> 00:34:49.949
So let's put it in context. An expansion team will
618
00:34:49.989 --> 00:34:56.530
be much harder as far as owning a team. Recently,
619
00:34:56.550 --> 00:35:00.750
the Lakers went for $ 12. 5 billion. So an expansion team
620
00:35:00.769 --> 00:35:04.969
with a new arena and startup costs will cost more
621
00:35:05.030 --> 00:35:08.820
than the Lakers, one of the most premier franchises in
622
00:35:09.380 --> 00:35:11.840
the NBA. That's how much it costs to own a team.
623
00:35:14.280 --> 00:35:17.400
That's wild to me. And look, I get it.
624
00:35:17.420 --> 00:35:21.039
You get to touch down in a new market and
625
00:35:21.159 --> 00:35:24.869
there's a lot of lucrative possibilities that come with that,
626
00:35:24.969 --> 00:35:30.070
but Why does it make business sense for a brand-new franchise,
627
00:35:30.210 --> 00:35:33.170
an expansion franchise, to be more valuable, to be more
628
00:35:33.230 --> 00:35:36.920
costly than the Lakers? Or, I guess, I mean, this
629
00:35:36.940 --> 00:35:38.440
would put them up there with, like, what the Knicks
630
00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:39.329
are probably valued at.
631
00:35:40.219 --> 00:35:40.480
Correct.
632
00:35:40.500 --> 00:35:45.199
The Knickerbockers, world champion. No one really knows because it's
633
00:35:45.280 --> 00:35:49.019
midtown Manhattan. Also, the Knicks own the owner, the own
634
00:35:49.059 --> 00:35:53.900
Messler Garden. And so the Knicks, I'm just guesstimating, Sean,
635
00:35:53.920 --> 00:36:00.670
be worth– I'm pausing like showing $ 25 billion.
636
00:36:02.449 --> 00:36:05.349
I mean, yeah, I, the thing is that these numbers,
637
00:36:05.369 --> 00:36:08.809
this funny money, this monopoly stuff used to be so
638
00:36:08.849 --> 00:36:10.989
pie in the sky when, when, when I was a
639
00:36:11.050 --> 00:36:14.230
kid and franchises were selling for a hundred million dollars
640
00:36:14.909 --> 00:36:17.289
and people would kind of laugh and like, okay, wow.
641
00:36:17.429 --> 00:36:20.670
And then they crossed the billion dollar threshold and now
642
00:36:20.730 --> 00:36:23.300
you can't buy a franchise for a billion dollars. You
643
00:36:23.340 --> 00:36:28.409
can't get Like, NHL franchises have been historically the cheapest
644
00:36:28.590 --> 00:36:30.889
ones in pro sports, and now you can't get an
645
00:36:30.989 --> 00:36:32.469
NHL franchise.
646
00:36:31.949 --> 00:36:33.329
For a billion dollars.
647
00:36:33.409 --> 00:36:38.489
So the inflation and the escalation of pricing in these
648
00:36:38.829 --> 00:36:42.690
pro sports is one of the fastest-growing assets you can find.
649
00:36:43.650 --> 00:36:44.090
Very much.
650
00:36:44.590 --> 00:36:46.340
And what is an NFL team worth?
651
00:36:46.889 --> 00:36:47.219
Yikes.
652
00:36:47.949 --> 00:36:51.599
Because you can see the NFL, when it used to
653
00:36:51.639 --> 00:36:55.710
be owned by family people, Now it's not because it's
654
00:36:55.869 --> 00:36:59.190
so much. And again, that's the power of television. So
655
00:36:59.230 --> 00:37:04.530
much is tied up into live programming where we know
656
00:37:04.590 --> 00:37:07.650
the NFL rules and the NBA is a close second.
657
00:37:08.090 --> 00:37:11.219
Now the playoffs start in baseball, the postseason, which is
658
00:37:11.280 --> 00:37:14.750
exciting time. And I'm sure soccer is trying to catch up.
659
00:37:15.059 --> 00:37:18.840
And so is hockey. And that's a consumer. They want
660
00:37:19.019 --> 00:37:22.239
live programming now. And that's why some of these franchises,
661
00:37:22.380 --> 00:37:24.719
let's put it in context, though. So for the listeners,
662
00:37:25.260 --> 00:37:28.619
is that Sean and I are talking about a franchise for, say,
663
00:37:28.639 --> 00:37:31.960
the New Vegas team, which will come in the 28-29
664
00:37:32.019 --> 00:37:37.409
season in the NBA. The expansion fee is roughly, Sean,
665
00:37:37.449 --> 00:37:42.409
I'm assuming, they haven't said it yet, between $ 900, 000 to
666
00:37:42.409 --> 00:37:46.510
$ 1 billion for the expansion fee, which goes to the
667
00:37:46.630 --> 00:37:52.369
other NBA owners. When the Jazz became a franchise in
668
00:37:52.409 --> 00:38:03.659
New Orleans in the 1974-75 season, the expansion fee was $ 6. 35 million. $ 6. 35 million.
669
00:38:03.980 --> 00:38:07.079
Now it's going to cost roughly a billion dollars just
670
00:38:07.119 --> 00:38:08.400
to be part of the club.
671
00:38:09.380 --> 00:38:13.000
And look, if you want to get into professional sports ownership,
672
00:38:13.840 --> 00:38:15.619
it's one of those things you probably got to do
673
00:38:15.659 --> 00:38:19.519
it now before... did prices get even more ridiculous because
674
00:38:20.460 --> 00:38:23.630
you just mentioned, well, what about these NFL franchises? There've been,
675
00:38:23.650 --> 00:38:28.150
there's been three NFL franchises sold in the last four years.
676
00:38:28.190 --> 00:38:33.780
The Broncos cost 4.65 billion in 2022. And then the
677
00:38:33.800 --> 00:38:38.360
very next year, the Washington commanders were sold for 6.05 billion.
678
00:38:38.380 --> 00:38:44.380
So that's a $ 1. 4 billion increase in one year. And
679
00:38:44.420 --> 00:38:47.659
then after winning the Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks were
680
00:38:47.699 --> 00:38:53.000
sold to the Coastal family for $ 9.
681
00:38:49.780 --> 00:38:51.840
6 billion.
682
00:38:51.949 --> 00:39:02.269
So a 50% increase from the last previous sale, $ 9. 6
683
00:38:58.630 --> 00:39:01.909
billion for the defending Super Bowl champs. And if you
684
00:39:01.969 --> 00:39:04.969
continue with that trend, then the next NFL team sold
685
00:39:05.010 --> 00:39:08.349
would have to be, you know, 10 or 11 billion.
686
00:39:08.570 --> 00:39:10.989
And then the next one after that would be 13 billion.
687
00:39:11.070 --> 00:39:13.949
So if you, if you're in that category, you're, you're
688
00:39:13.969 --> 00:39:16.159
in that place where you can play in these waters,
689
00:39:16.840 --> 00:39:19.400
even you might be outpriced sooner than later.
690
00:39:20.519 --> 00:39:20.960
Very much.
691
00:39:20.980 --> 00:39:25.170
So it's a fascinating time in professional sports, but it's
692
00:39:25.190 --> 00:39:29.389
all about the fans and still, Sean, the competition. Now,
693
00:39:29.429 --> 00:39:33.730
speaking of competition in the NBA, training camp is right
694
00:39:33.789 --> 00:39:39.769
now in full force. And in every training camp, the
695
00:39:39.809 --> 00:39:42.630
number of players in it, the max number is 21.
696
00:39:42.630 --> 00:39:46.559
So you can have 21 guys in jazz practice this morning,
697
00:39:46.800 --> 00:39:49.530
which started at 10 o'clock in game two. And all
698
00:39:49.570 --> 00:39:53.530
those 21 players, they're under some sort of contract, either
699
00:39:53.550 --> 00:39:59.260
NBA guaranteed contract, a two-way contract, or make a team deal.
700
00:39:59.760 --> 00:40:02.940
So you cannot be in an NBA training camp without
701
00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:08.480
being under some sort of contract. Now, just for the discussion,
702
00:40:08.500 --> 00:40:12.090
let's put it in context. If you're a person that's
703
00:40:12.150 --> 00:40:17.309
on a non-guaranteed contract, if you last with the team
704
00:40:17.909 --> 00:40:23.989
through the preseason through January 10th, 2027, which is the
705
00:40:24.050 --> 00:40:28.369
guaranteed date for contracts for a full season, the lowest
706
00:40:28.389 --> 00:40:41.190
you get paid this year in the NBA is $ 1. 357 million. $ 1. 357
707
00:40:37.590 --> 00:40:42.309
million for a guy that was undrafted or played in Europe, fight, fight,
708
00:40:42.349 --> 00:40:44.480
and claw to make a roster. That would be the
709
00:40:44.539 --> 00:40:46.860
lowest you get paid in the NBA this year. So
710
00:40:46.880 --> 00:40:49.320
that's a whole bunch of money, to say the least.
711
00:40:50.559 --> 00:40:52.780
So when we're talking about the guys that are just
712
00:40:52.840 --> 00:40:56.360
trying to make a roster, right, in other sports, you
713
00:40:56.389 --> 00:40:59.449
do everything you're asked. You play special teams in football.
714
00:40:59.510 --> 00:41:02.269
You carry the bags in baseball, whatever it is, right?
715
00:41:02.849 --> 00:41:04.250
What's the equivalent of that in the NBA?
716
00:41:04.269 --> 00:41:04.429
Okay.
717
00:41:06.420 --> 00:41:09.980
Well, the standing also is that the rookies carry the bags.
718
00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:12.670
It helps out the, uh, the curtain people and they
719
00:41:12.710 --> 00:41:15.309
get all the, uh, menial jobs as far as in
720
00:41:15.329 --> 00:41:18.289
a fun way is with the, in a locker room.
721
00:41:18.849 --> 00:41:21.110
So that's the equivalent of it. That rookies are treated
722
00:41:21.230 --> 00:41:24.789
as rookies, even star rookies. So he, AJ, the dancer
723
00:41:25.130 --> 00:41:28.349
of the Washington wizards, he'll be treated as a rookie,
724
00:41:28.550 --> 00:41:30.579
even though he's a very talented guy. And so it
725
00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:32.920
was Cooper flag last year. So it's almost like, um,
726
00:41:33.949 --> 00:41:38.250
An initiation period of being a rookie in pro sports. Now,
727
00:41:38.269 --> 00:41:40.969
that's off the court, but on the court, when you're
728
00:41:40.989 --> 00:41:42.630
a rookie, if you can play, you can help a
729
00:41:42.650 --> 00:41:46.760
team win. People gravitate towards you and are respectful of
730
00:41:46.780 --> 00:41:49.539
your ability. Now, how do you make a team? So
731
00:41:49.619 --> 00:41:52.460
if I was counseling people, which I once did in
732
00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:56.280
the NBA for over 20 years, is that if you're
733
00:41:56.340 --> 00:41:59.440
an NBA hopeful, to make a team, this is what
734
00:41:59.500 --> 00:42:06.610
you should be. Low-maintenance persona. One, two, first player on
735
00:42:07.030 --> 00:42:12.079
the practice floor and the last to leave. Three, offensively
736
00:42:12.440 --> 00:42:21.380
be trusted. Four, urgently defend. Five, frequently pass. And six,
737
00:42:21.940 --> 00:42:25.559
make open shots. So if you want to make an
738
00:42:25.659 --> 00:42:29.550
NBA roster with your talent that the Lord gave you,
739
00:42:30.090 --> 00:42:35.739
those six things will help you make a roster because
740
00:42:35.760 --> 00:42:37.909
the coaches all value what I just said.
741
00:42:40.909 --> 00:42:43.690
Who are those guys for the Utah Jazz that are
742
00:42:43.949 --> 00:42:46.510
on the bubble that you think will be doing all
743
00:42:46.530 --> 00:42:49.010
the things right and end up on the opening day roster?
744
00:42:50.269 --> 00:42:54.480
Okay, the answer is probably none because the Jazz right now,
745
00:42:55.340 --> 00:42:59.019
the Jazz have right now under contract 14 players on
746
00:42:59.039 --> 00:43:03.280
the standing contracts and then three On a two-way contract,
747
00:43:03.320 --> 00:43:05.389
which he gets paid this year on a two-way contract,
748
00:43:05.869 --> 00:43:11.329
it's $ 678, 000 and change. And so the only guy I
749
00:43:11.469 --> 00:43:14.570
think that possibly could go from a two-way into a
750
00:43:14.650 --> 00:43:17.329
standard would be this guy named Blake Henson, who played
751
00:43:17.389 --> 00:43:19.989
last year for the Jazz, who's a knockdown shooter and
752
00:43:20.010 --> 00:43:22.929
does compete hard. So what you want to do if
753
00:43:22.969 --> 00:43:27.230
you're in a training camp, it's not your team only
754
00:43:27.250 --> 00:43:29.210
that you're trying to make. You're trying to make also
755
00:43:29.250 --> 00:43:32.809
the other 29 teams. So everyone's in full force as
756
00:43:32.869 --> 00:43:36.489
far as the scouts are out there watching every NBA
757
00:43:36.610 --> 00:43:39.929
game and you're trying to attract the eye of someone.
758
00:43:40.909 --> 00:43:45.690
Here's the problem, Sean. In yesteryear, just for the discussion
759
00:43:45.730 --> 00:43:49.510
right now, you should play between six to eight preseason games.
760
00:43:50.090 --> 00:43:53.679
In this generation, it's only four. So, for example, in
761
00:43:53.699 --> 00:43:57.480
jazz basketball, they're only playing four preseason games, and that's
762
00:43:57.500 --> 00:44:01.000
the norm, either four or five now. And so if
763
00:44:01.039 --> 00:44:03.900
you're a player and one of those guys trying to
764
00:44:03.920 --> 00:44:06.420
make a team, hey, I wish it was eight because
765
00:44:06.480 --> 00:44:10.059
I want to play versus only playing in practice where
766
00:44:10.099 --> 00:44:13.530
the coaches on that team see you perform, but not
767
00:44:13.550 --> 00:44:17.349
the other teams, the 29 other teams. Yeah, they saw
768
00:44:17.369 --> 00:44:19.989
you play in college. They saw you play in summer league,
769
00:44:20.269 --> 00:44:23.489
but now you're an NBA player. competition. And it is
770
00:44:23.610 --> 00:44:26.190
one more look right now that the scouts are looking
771
00:44:26.250 --> 00:44:28.710
at you and maybe someone got hurt in practice and
772
00:44:28.750 --> 00:44:30.949
they think that you could help their team as far
773
00:44:30.969 --> 00:44:33.699
as making the roster. So I'm all for more games
774
00:44:33.880 --> 00:44:37.360
in preseason, not for the starters. I'm talking for guys,
775
00:44:37.480 --> 00:44:41.500
usually the eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th man, or guys
776
00:44:41.539 --> 00:44:42.380
trying to make the roster.
777
00:44:43.760 --> 00:44:44.840
Gordy, what's your list today?
778
00:44:46.099 --> 00:44:49.440
Sean, my list today is right on point about The
779
00:44:49.599 --> 00:44:53.360
all-time leaders in most seasons played. We thought of making
780
00:44:53.400 --> 00:44:57.530
a roster. I cut it off at 20 years, so
781
00:44:57.570 --> 00:45:00.550
it's really a short list. So, Sean, think about playing
782
00:45:00.550 --> 00:45:04.530
20 years or more in the NBA with the rigors
783
00:45:04.769 --> 00:45:08.250
on your body and the mental focus. Hit some common
784
00:45:08.340 --> 00:45:13.019
traits of these guys that did this. One, durability. Two,
785
00:45:13.599 --> 00:45:19.780
competitive junkies. Three, enjoy being a member of a team. Four,
786
00:45:20.340 --> 00:45:24.699
love of the game. And five, as the decades moved on,
787
00:45:25.119 --> 00:45:29.659
they adjusted their offensive game from only airborne to more
788
00:45:29.739 --> 00:45:33.000
gravity plays. So as the years go on, for all
789
00:45:33.019 --> 00:45:37.940
their time, you go more on the ground plays versus what?
790
00:45:38.179 --> 00:45:39.059
Airborne totally.
791
00:45:39.139 --> 00:45:39.579
Here we go.
792
00:45:39.960 --> 00:45:45.480
With 20 years already in the NBA, 20 years these
793
00:45:45.500 --> 00:45:52.800
guys played, they are Kyle Lowry, Judonis Haslam, Jamal Crawford,
794
00:45:53.559 --> 00:45:58.289
Kobe Bryant, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They all played 20 years
795
00:45:58.809 --> 00:46:03.789
with 21 years credit service. These guys played are Chris Paul,
796
00:46:04.570 --> 00:46:13.250
Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Garnett, Robert Parrish, and Kevin Willis. with
797
00:46:13.250 --> 00:46:16.699
22 years credited service in the NBA. His nickname shown
798
00:46:16.739 --> 00:46:21.000
was half man, half amazing, Vince Carter, with 22 years,
799
00:46:21.460 --> 00:46:23.900
and the number one player in the history of basketball.
800
00:46:24.460 --> 00:46:28.619
He has credited right now 23 years, but it'll be
801
00:46:28.619 --> 00:46:31.480
24 years when he played the first game this year,
802
00:46:31.820 --> 00:46:36.840
when he plays for the Philadelphia 76ers, is LeBron James. So, listen,
803
00:46:37.059 --> 00:46:40.519
that is so few people that play 20 years or more,
804
00:46:40.780 --> 00:46:44.079
and LeBron leads the pack. Mainstay's coming, minus got a
805
00:46:44.079 --> 00:46:46.139
bit of injury for LeBron. He's going to try to
806
00:46:46.179 --> 00:46:49.610
play 25 years, meaning this year, coming up, and next year.
807
00:46:49.750 --> 00:46:53.909
Just quickly, two notes. 19 years credit, let's give a
808
00:46:53.949 --> 00:46:57.670
shout-out to two Jazz players. With 19 years credit service,
809
00:46:57.989 --> 00:47:04.429
they are John Stockton, John played in 1,504 games. But Sean,
810
00:47:04.719 --> 00:47:08.199
after 19 years in the NBA, he played 17 times
811
00:47:08.880 --> 00:47:13.440
every game in that season. And Carl Malone played 19
812
00:47:13.440 --> 00:47:17.019
years also, 18 years with the Jazz, and one year
813
00:47:17.360 --> 00:47:22.860
with the Lakers. Carl played in 1,476 games. So it's
814
00:47:22.900 --> 00:47:25.739
hard to do that you've got to take care of
815
00:47:25.780 --> 00:47:29.679
your body, have also old school luck, and also the
816
00:47:29.760 --> 00:47:33.199
mental focus that you enjoy being on a team. That's Sean.
817
00:47:34.000 --> 00:47:34.960
That's my list of today.
818
00:47:37.380 --> 00:47:41.219
That's Gordy Chiesa, our resident NBA guru. Conversations with the
819
00:47:41.260 --> 00:47:46.699
legend brought to you by Aladdin Industries, your Utah V-Lux dealer. Gordy,
820
00:47:46.929 --> 00:47:47.909
always appreciate your.
821
00:47:47.809 --> 00:47:48.250
Time, sir.
822
00:47:48.269 --> 00:47:49.030
Thanks for hopping on.
823
00:47:49.829 --> 00:47:50.289
Thanks, Sean.
824
00:47:50.309 --> 00:47:50.690
Stay well.
825
00:47:50.750 --> 00:47:50.980
Bye now.
826
00:47:52.489 --> 00:47:55.650
Great stuff from Gordy Chiesa. We got Eric Wendell joining
827
00:47:55.710 --> 00:47:58.210
us here in about 10 minutes. We'll take a quick one.
828
00:47:58.250 --> 00:48:03.079
We'll come back. A Thursday night football preview. Classic AFC
829
00:48:03.119 --> 00:48:08.880
North game. And weirdly, unexpectedly, inexplicably, a battle for first place,
830
00:48:09.019 --> 00:48:09.699
at least for now.
831
00:48:10.260 --> 00:48:14.420
In that division. That's next on the Sean O'Connell Show,
832
00:48:14.500 --> 00:48:14.980
ESPN 700, 92.1 FM.
833
00:48:27.570 --> 00:48:30.409
You're tuned to the Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch
834
00:48:30.449 --> 00:48:35.280
Chevrolet studio of ESPN 700 and 92.1 FM.
835
00:48:40.699 --> 00:48:48.369
Steelers-Browns Thursday night football matchup. Let's be honest, when the
836
00:48:48.429 --> 00:48:50.949
NFL put the schedule together and they were talking about
837
00:48:51.010 --> 00:48:54.949
Thursday night with Amazon Prime, there were not super high
838
00:48:55.010 --> 00:48:59.010
expectations for either of these franchises. I think everyone's probably
839
00:48:59.050 --> 00:49:03.130
pleasantly surprised right now, at least on the broadcast, that
840
00:49:03.610 --> 00:49:06.530
this is a meaningful game, at least for now in
841
00:49:06.570 --> 00:49:09.349
the NFL season. As they head into week four, the
842
00:49:09.449 --> 00:49:12.550
Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Falcons, lost to the Patriots, beat
843
00:49:12.590 --> 00:49:15.469
the Bengals. They're looking to go 2-0 so far in
844
00:49:15.489 --> 00:49:19.949
division play. And the Cleveland Browns, the fighting Spencer Fano,
845
00:49:20.119 --> 00:49:23.980
they lost week one to the Jaguars. They beat the Buccaneers.
846
00:49:24.019 --> 00:49:27.039
They beat the Panthers. And so they're looking to get
847
00:49:27.079 --> 00:49:32.550
their first division win of the year. Look, it's, I don't,
848
00:49:33.300 --> 00:49:35.840
have a rooting interest for either of these teams. I
849
00:49:35.860 --> 00:49:39.300
don't follow what either of these teams are doing on
850
00:49:39.380 --> 00:49:45.219
like a daily basis, but dare I say the Browns
851
00:49:45.280 --> 00:49:48.030
are starting to get interesting, not just because of the
852
00:49:48.070 --> 00:49:51.590
quarterback drama, not just because of the situation in that
853
00:49:51.650 --> 00:49:53.429
quarterback room. But when you look at the way that
854
00:49:53.469 --> 00:49:56.309
they have drafted and the way that they have managed personnel,
855
00:49:56.349 --> 00:50:00.409
which of course historically has been embarrassingly bad for them,
856
00:50:01.699 --> 00:50:04.780
with the exception of everything except a couple of really
857
00:50:04.820 --> 00:50:07.840
good offensive linemen in the last two decades. They've just
858
00:50:07.860 --> 00:50:13.360
been really, really embarrassing in the personnel department. But I
859
00:50:13.440 --> 00:50:16.920
like this roster. I can't believe I'm saying it. I
860
00:50:16.960 --> 00:50:20.679
hate the uniforms. I've never really even been to the city,
861
00:50:20.800 --> 00:50:26.539
but the sports fans annoy me. The Deshaun Watson story
862
00:50:26.679 --> 00:50:30.449
is creepy and weird. Shador Sanders is the least likable
863
00:50:30.510 --> 00:50:34.929
person that I've ever come across in my time covering sports. However,
864
00:50:36.150 --> 00:50:42.579
like Casey Concepcion, Jerry Judy, Harold Fannin Jr., Quinshawn Judkins,
865
00:50:42.980 --> 00:50:46.800
Spencer Fano, of course, they've done a really good job
866
00:50:46.840 --> 00:50:50.900
with roster construction. And it might be time to say
867
00:50:50.960 --> 00:50:55.090
that the Cleveland Browns are starting to figure it out
868
00:50:55.360 --> 00:50:58.329
now that I don't think they're figuring it out at
869
00:50:58.349 --> 00:51:00.530
the most important position in all of team sports, the
870
00:51:00.570 --> 00:51:04.639
most important position in all football. That, that is too
871
00:51:04.780 --> 00:51:07.400
active a discussion and a controversy from week to week,
872
00:51:08.119 --> 00:51:12.619
but this ain't the year for the Browns. So do
873
00:51:12.659 --> 00:51:16.739
they start to like, let's say they win tonight and
874
00:51:16.760 --> 00:51:19.409
let's say that they end up, we get to like
875
00:51:19.449 --> 00:51:24.510
week eight and the Browns are a 500 team is
876
00:51:24.550 --> 00:51:27.400
Cleveland going to say, hold on a minute. we need
877
00:51:27.440 --> 00:51:29.579
to suck more than this so that we can get
878
00:51:29.980 --> 00:51:33.630
a better draft pick or is Deshaun Watson or Shador
879
00:51:33.650 --> 00:51:37.989
Sanders or some combination of those playing well enough that
880
00:51:38.050 --> 00:51:41.969
now you're starting to be like, okay, maybe we have
881
00:51:42.190 --> 00:51:44.309
the future of our franchise.
882
00:51:45.170 --> 00:51:46.530
Taking snaps for us already.
883
00:51:46.590 --> 00:51:50.840
Maybe the redemption story of Deshaun Watson is something that we're,
884
00:51:51.000 --> 00:51:54.139
we're actually hoping to see come to pass, or maybe
885
00:51:54.159 --> 00:51:58.940
I'm not going to say Shador, Like when Deshaun Watson
886
00:51:59.840 --> 00:52:02.360
was at Clemson, I was like, this is the best
887
00:52:02.400 --> 00:52:03.519
player in college football.
888
00:52:03.619 --> 00:52:05.980
He was so good and so fun to watch.
889
00:52:06.260 --> 00:52:06.460
Yeah.
890
00:52:06.860 --> 00:52:09.849
Even his years with, with the Texans. And I thought
891
00:52:10.250 --> 00:52:11.670
that it was going to be a no brainer and
892
00:52:11.710 --> 00:52:13.989
easy transition. He was going to be a great successful
893
00:52:14.030 --> 00:52:17.050
quarterback in the NFL. And there were, there were times
894
00:52:17.090 --> 00:52:20.489
where it looked like that. And then you get his
895
00:52:20.550 --> 00:52:24.639
off the field controversy, which is the something that look,
896
00:52:24.659 --> 00:52:27.800
we can't just, this is a family show and I
897
00:52:27.820 --> 00:52:30.659
don't like to say things when people have their kids
898
00:52:30.699 --> 00:52:31.139
in the car.
899
00:52:31.260 --> 00:52:31.440
Right.
900
00:52:31.480 --> 00:52:38.010
But like the sexual malfeasance, the impropriety type stuff in
901
00:52:38.219 --> 00:52:41.030
not just in sports, but in American culture in general,
902
00:52:41.190 --> 00:52:44.250
we need to be a lot more diligent on and
903
00:52:44.289 --> 00:52:48.309
a lot more punitive toward when it comes to, especially
904
00:52:48.349 --> 00:52:52.550
men who are in like powerful positions, it's just gross
905
00:52:52.710 --> 00:52:53.369
and terrible.
906
00:52:53.510 --> 00:52:53.969
And how.
907
00:52:55.480 --> 00:52:58.710
How easily we just say like, oh yeah, it's like,
908
00:52:58.769 --> 00:52:59.869
we'll forget about that.
909
00:53:00.190 --> 00:53:02.590
He made a mistake. Like he just threw a touchdown.
910
00:53:02.670 --> 00:53:06.090
So everything's good. Like that's really what it is with quarterbacks.
911
00:53:06.150 --> 00:53:11.519
It seems like in particular. People were booing Deshaun Watson
912
00:53:11.619 --> 00:53:14.119
up until now because he's been terrible.
913
00:53:14.320 --> 00:53:16.360
Not because they don't like him as a person, not
914
00:53:16.420 --> 00:53:17.840
because they hate him. I think that's part of.
915
00:53:17.860 --> 00:53:23.400
It too, but they decided that, yeah, it's okay to
916
00:53:23.440 --> 00:53:26.179
let him hear it because he's also terrible. It's like,
917
00:53:26.219 --> 00:53:28.079
just keep letting him hear it if that's how you
918
00:53:28.099 --> 00:53:31.099
feel about it. But I also get that, hey, I'm
919
00:53:31.139 --> 00:53:33.469
cheering for my football team and he did a good
920
00:53:33.510 --> 00:53:35.010
thing for my football team, whatever.
921
00:53:36.329 --> 00:53:37.250
But yeah, it is.
922
00:53:38.750 --> 00:53:41.090
That's what makes this Browns team hard to root for
923
00:53:41.130 --> 00:53:43.389
in addition to what you said about Shador Sanders.
924
00:53:44.409 --> 00:53:46.449
Oddly, both of them at the quarterback position, right?
925
00:53:47.010 --> 00:53:50.239
But like everything else, almost everything else about this Browns team,
926
00:53:50.449 --> 00:53:52.659
especially for us here in Utah, if you're a Utes
927
00:53:52.699 --> 00:53:56.519
fan in particular, because you got Spencer Fano and you
928
00:53:56.539 --> 00:53:58.360
want him to do well as a top 10 pick,
929
00:53:58.420 --> 00:54:02.920
like this makes Cleveland a fun team to root for.
930
00:54:02.960 --> 00:54:05.300
You just kind of got to. hold your nose at
931
00:54:05.320 --> 00:54:07.019
Deshaun Watson, maybe playing.
932
00:54:07.300 --> 00:54:09.840
And look, if you're looking at the opposite side of
933
00:54:09.880 --> 00:54:12.539
this matchup, a lot of people hold their nose at
934
00:54:12.559 --> 00:54:15.239
the Aaron Rogers portion of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
935
00:54:15.280 --> 00:54:18.039
Cause like he's kind of other reasons, but yeah.
936
00:54:18.659 --> 00:54:20.960
Look for a lot less, I think a lot less
937
00:54:21.019 --> 00:54:26.829
important reasons just annoying. Jalen, Jalen Warren has deep roots here, right?
938
00:54:26.909 --> 00:54:29.630
Like Jalen, you should be rooting for his success. I
939
00:54:29.670 --> 00:54:32.570
know that there are a lot of DK Metcalf fans
940
00:54:33.219 --> 00:54:35.960
In this market, there's a lot of guys that played
941
00:54:36.000 --> 00:54:38.159
for this team or that play for this team now
942
00:54:38.219 --> 00:54:42.869
that we watched in college, either as mostly as members
943
00:54:42.949 --> 00:54:47.469
of opposing Pac-12 teams and Mountain West Conference teams. But again,
944
00:54:47.510 --> 00:54:51.269
the Pittsburgh Steelers roster is sort of the older, interesting
945
00:54:51.329 --> 00:54:55.880
version of that. the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Cleveland Browns, not
946
00:54:55.920 --> 00:54:58.380
the Cavaliers, the Cleveland Browns, because it's like, oh, okay.
947
00:54:58.400 --> 00:54:59.940
These are a bunch of kind of like guys that
948
00:55:00.139 --> 00:55:02.739
might be a little past their prime, but they're playing
949
00:55:02.760 --> 00:55:06.800
good football right now. And they have their quarterback situation
950
00:55:06.840 --> 00:55:08.159
figured out whether you like the guy or not.
951
00:55:08.199 --> 00:55:09.820
Aaron Rogers could still play the position.
952
00:55:10.030 --> 00:55:12.789
And almost 300 yards passing in the win over the
953
00:55:12.829 --> 00:55:14.889
Bengals last week. He did have a pick, but he
954
00:55:14.929 --> 00:55:17.949
threw three touchdowns. Like he, he had a long pass,
955
00:55:17.969 --> 00:55:21.090
which was the thing that everyone was criticizing it. last
956
00:55:21.139 --> 00:55:23.059
year for is like, he can't throw the deep ball anymore.
957
00:55:23.079 --> 00:55:26.559
He had a 47 yard pass against the, against the Bengals.
958
00:55:26.639 --> 00:55:29.360
So like he seems to be figuring out this set,
959
00:55:29.460 --> 00:55:32.039
figuring it out this second go around with Mike McCarthy.
960
00:55:33.079 --> 00:55:35.460
So we'll see, we'll see how it plays out. But
961
00:55:35.500 --> 00:55:39.280
that Thursday night football game tonight in the AFC North,
962
00:55:39.440 --> 00:55:42.199
that is actually a lot more meaningful that a lot
963
00:55:42.219 --> 00:55:43.860
of people thought it was going to be, especially on
964
00:55:43.909 --> 00:55:47.190
the Brown side of the equation. A winner will be
965
00:55:47.349 --> 00:55:49.710
at least for now holding on to first place.
966
00:55:50.639 --> 00:55:52.480
In the AFC North. I didn't look at all of
967
00:55:52.519 --> 00:55:55.380
the standings. I know that these two and the Bengals
968
00:55:55.460 --> 00:55:58.840
are tied for first. Are the Ravens also 2-1? The
969
00:55:58.909 --> 00:56:03.070
Ravens are 2-1. So everyone's tied for first right now.
970
00:56:03.130 --> 00:56:06.550
So it'll be for tonight. They'll have sole possession in
971
00:56:06.590 --> 00:56:08.239
first place, and then we'll see what the Bengals and
972
00:56:08.280 --> 00:56:08.800
Ravens do.
973
00:56:09.900 --> 00:56:13.179
The Ravens have the Titans, so they're probably getting a win.
974
00:56:13.619 --> 00:56:15.079
They're probably going to hold on. That's non-divisional, right?
975
00:56:15.099 --> 00:56:17.780
So this is a game that counts for double because
976
00:56:17.840 --> 00:56:20.460
it is a divisional game. The Cincinnati Bengals are playing
977
00:56:20.519 --> 00:56:22.940
against the Jaguars this weekend.
978
00:56:23.360 --> 00:56:23.739
Okay.
979
00:56:23.940 --> 00:56:27.820
So it could end up with just a two-team tie
980
00:56:27.860 --> 00:56:31.820
for first place realistically, maybe a three-team tie by the
981
00:56:31.840 --> 00:56:32.360
end of the weekend.
982
00:56:32.420 --> 00:56:36.000
But the tie only– because this is a divisional game,
983
00:56:36.019 --> 00:56:36.900
it counts as two wins.
984
00:56:36.960 --> 00:56:40.559
Yeah, that's true. So it's like a– yeah. The winner
985
00:56:40.619 --> 00:56:46.690
tonight will have the advantage there. Real quick, I have
986
00:56:46.730 --> 00:56:48.510
to bring this up. I remember, I think it was
987
00:56:48.610 --> 00:56:51.050
last season, maybe it was the season before, Bill Cowher
988
00:56:51.090 --> 00:56:54.610
was on with Dan Patrick, and Dan asked him, like,
989
00:56:54.889 --> 00:56:59.610
where did the Ravens-Steelers, because it really, this Ravens-Steelers rivalry
990
00:56:59.730 --> 00:57:05.260
really began when Bill Cowher was still coaching the Pittsburgh Steelers, right?
991
00:57:05.420 --> 00:57:06.239
Early 2000s.
992
00:57:06.739 --> 00:57:10.110
He goes, where did this how did this come about
993
00:57:10.449 --> 00:57:13.369
Raven Steelers, this, this great NFL rivalry. And he said,
994
00:57:13.389 --> 00:57:17.610
I just, in my head, they just never stopped being
995
00:57:17.639 --> 00:57:22.639
the Browns and the, and he basically conveyed that message
996
00:57:22.659 --> 00:57:24.980
to the teams. Like, Hey, these, we hate these guys.
997
00:57:25.000 --> 00:57:27.840
It doesn't matter. They're in Baltimore now. They're still the Browns.
998
00:57:27.880 --> 00:57:30.739
We still hate them. So that just gives you an
999
00:57:30.800 --> 00:57:34.050
insight into what this rivalry that's going to be played tonight.
1000
00:57:34.409 --> 00:57:35.010
Used to be.
1001
00:57:35.940 --> 00:57:38.719
It used to be the AFC North rivalry. Now that's,
1002
00:57:38.940 --> 00:57:43.010
that's Raven Steelers. So I, that's another reason why I'm,
1003
00:57:43.190 --> 00:57:45.230
I'm pulling for the Browns is because I want a
1004
00:57:45.289 --> 00:57:46.530
great rivalry to be back.
1005
00:57:46.610 --> 00:57:50.110
It's funny that the Steelers Ravens rivalry for at least
1006
00:57:50.150 --> 00:57:54.010
some people is just the Steelers Browns rivalry. And now
1007
00:57:54.050 --> 00:57:57.079
there is a Steelers Browns rivalry and they're just like, Oh,
1008
00:57:57.340 --> 00:58:00.219
which one of these do I hate more? And it's
1009
00:58:00.239 --> 00:58:03.239
probably the originals because obviously that took on its own
1010
00:58:03.300 --> 00:58:06.019
life and both teams were good at the same time.
1011
00:58:06.340 --> 00:58:11.070
And I think the general sort of consensus when it
1012
00:58:11.130 --> 00:58:13.969
comes to rivalries is the more competitive they are, the
1013
00:58:14.010 --> 00:58:17.650
better they are rivalries. Even when your team is like
1014
00:58:17.750 --> 00:58:19.869
destroying the other team over and over and over again,
1015
00:58:19.889 --> 00:58:22.079
and it's your rival because of the history of it.
1016
00:58:22.219 --> 00:58:25.280
Like you have to acknowledge that it's more fun when
1017
00:58:25.300 --> 00:58:27.619
there's at least doubt about who's going to win. If,
1018
00:58:28.230 --> 00:58:30.250
If we're talking about the Steelers and the Browns, there
1019
00:58:30.269 --> 00:58:32.550
was a decade-plus where it was just like, yeah, the
1020
00:58:32.570 --> 00:58:33.570
Browns aren't going to win this.
1021
00:58:33.769 --> 00:58:37.119
Yeah, even a regular season game, it's like the Steelers
1022
00:58:37.159 --> 00:58:39.900
are going to win. I think Ben Roethlisberger went undefeated
1023
00:58:39.960 --> 00:58:42.519
against the Browns in his career, if I'm not mistaken.
1024
00:58:42.599 --> 00:58:43.860
All right, we've.
1025
00:58:43.760 --> 00:58:45.179
Got to take a break so we can get to
1026
00:58:45.280 --> 00:58:47.730
Eric Weddle, at least close to on time.
1027
00:58:47.789 --> 00:58:50.409
He's next. It's the Sean O'Connell Show on ESPN 700
1028
00:58:50.409 --> 00:58:50.630
and 92.1 FM.
1029
00:58:56.389 --> 00:58:59.460
You're listening to The Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch
1030
00:58:59.539 --> 00:59:01.659
Hyundai Studio of ESPN 792.1 FM.
1031
00:59:11.639 --> 00:59:17.519
Season puck drops tonight, 7 30 PM against the.
1032
00:59:17.380 --> 00:59:18.460
Chicago black Hawks.
1033
00:59:18.480 --> 00:59:21.340
We'll be talking about it a lot. As the season progresses,
1034
00:59:21.360 --> 00:59:23.389
I put a poll question up about who do you
1035
00:59:23.469 --> 00:59:28.030
think starting from today, who wins a league championship first,
1036
00:59:28.510 --> 00:59:32.469
Utah football. And I'm talking about NCAA football championship, the
1037
00:59:32.489 --> 00:59:38.030
big one, right? Utah football, Utah jazz, Utah mammoth, or
1038
00:59:38.130 --> 00:59:43.070
the as yet twinkle in the Miller family. I major
1039
00:59:43.110 --> 00:59:45.630
league baseball team that we think is coming to the
1040
00:59:45.670 --> 00:59:48.409
state of Utah. Eventually these are lofty goals. Who wins
1041
00:59:48.489 --> 00:59:52.050
one first? Right now we're talking Utah football. We're talking
1042
00:59:52.110 --> 00:59:54.289
NFL football and we're bringing in the best guy to
1043
00:59:54.349 --> 00:59:56.949
do it on both fronts. That of course is the
1044
00:59:57.030 --> 01:00:00.539
Utah football legend, the Superbowl champion, the head coach of
1045
01:00:00.559 --> 01:00:03.199
the Rancho Bernardo Broncos, Eric Weddle.
1046
01:00:04.000 --> 01:00:04.699
What's up legend.
1047
01:00:06.000 --> 01:00:09.360
What is the word? Are we, are we living good?
1048
01:00:10.280 --> 01:00:11.099
Always being great.
1049
01:00:11.599 --> 01:00:13.980
Always. It's a beautiful day here in salt Lake city.
1050
01:00:14.059 --> 01:00:18.179
Perfect temperature, blue skies, hockey tonight.
1051
01:00:19.320 --> 01:00:21.940
And, you know, a bi-week for Utah football, which if
1052
01:00:22.019 --> 01:00:24.400
I'm being honest, I don't love, right? We get into
1053
01:00:24.440 --> 01:00:26.860
this rhythm for the season and then you're like, ah, crap,
1054
01:00:26.960 --> 01:00:30.400
there's no game this week. But I guess, you know,
1055
01:00:30.420 --> 01:00:35.920
we'll spend it watching general conference instead or something. As
1056
01:00:35.960 --> 01:00:39.659
a player, how did you approach bi-weeks? Did you enjoy bi-weeks?
1057
01:00:40.340 --> 01:00:43.360
Is it something that you didn't like because it got
1058
01:00:43.389 --> 01:00:43.750
you out.
1059
01:00:43.699 --> 01:00:46.389
Of that rhythm I just mentioned? What's your thought on
1060
01:00:46.409 --> 01:00:47.510
the bi-week as a player?
1061
01:00:49.210 --> 01:00:49.769
Oh, shoot.
1062
01:00:49.949 --> 01:00:57.280
Like, bi-week during college was like a normal week. So
1063
01:00:58.360 --> 01:01:01.460
I think back in the day we got like Friday, Saturday,
1064
01:01:01.480 --> 01:01:02.000
Sunday off.
1065
01:01:02.059 --> 01:01:04.119
But it was like a work week.
1066
01:01:04.530 --> 01:01:06.710
And then for the guys that didn't get to play
1067
01:01:06.989 --> 01:01:11.170
or young guys, like you were, it was like scrimmage
1068
01:01:11.210 --> 01:01:11.590
every day.
1069
01:01:13.010 --> 01:01:13.579
Which was good.
1070
01:01:13.760 --> 01:01:16.340
Like you gotta, you gotta get the work in and develop.
1071
01:01:16.380 --> 01:01:19.139
And then in the NFL, it was awesome because it
1072
01:01:19.159 --> 01:01:24.320
was like, we're, we're barely, we're, we're just recovering from our,
1073
01:01:24.659 --> 01:01:27.530
from the bodies and getting, getting healthy and kind of
1074
01:01:27.550 --> 01:01:31.889
getting recharged. So I always look forward to it. Cause
1075
01:01:31.929 --> 01:01:34.190
then it gave me an opportunity to go like go
1076
01:01:34.210 --> 01:01:35.849
somewhere on the weekend, go.
1077
01:01:35.769 --> 01:01:36.380
To a game.
1078
01:01:36.389 --> 01:01:38.820
Like a lot of times I'd come out, come back
1079
01:01:38.860 --> 01:01:43.039
to see the Utah game and, or go home where Baltimore, though,
1080
01:01:43.099 --> 01:01:44.940
that weekend was always a time that we'd come back
1081
01:01:44.960 --> 01:01:45.699
to California.
1082
01:01:45.780 --> 01:01:47.659
So I enjoyed it.
1083
01:01:47.820 --> 01:01:50.719
And I think it was always much needed for the body.
1084
01:01:50.940 --> 01:01:55.159
And then for just to recharge.
1085
01:01:56.679 --> 01:01:59.590
This Utah football team, we we've been talking about, you know,
1086
01:01:59.650 --> 01:02:02.730
kind of for the bi-week, if you can change something,
1087
01:02:02.789 --> 01:02:04.989
if you can alter something, you can adjust something, you
1088
01:02:05.010 --> 01:02:05.889
can fix something.
1089
01:02:07.110 --> 01:02:08.760
In the bi-week, what would it be?
1090
01:02:08.900 --> 01:02:10.800
Well, first of all, I want to make sure that
1091
01:02:11.019 --> 01:02:13.559
everybody knows I'm talking, we're being real nitpicky here.
1092
01:02:13.599 --> 01:02:15.079
Cause this is a good team. This is a four
1093
01:02:15.099 --> 01:02:15.679
and O team.
1094
01:02:16.059 --> 01:02:18.860
You don't have to reinvent the wheel here, but if
1095
01:02:18.900 --> 01:02:21.340
there's something you have seen or have not seen from
1096
01:02:21.380 --> 01:02:23.840
this team, Eric, that you want to coming out of
1097
01:02:23.860 --> 01:02:26.710
the bi-week, what Morgan Scali calls you and says, Hey,
1098
01:02:26.730 --> 01:02:28.909
what do I need to fix before we get back
1099
01:02:28.949 --> 01:02:30.110
to action against Kansas?
1100
01:02:30.610 --> 01:02:32.670
Is there something on the top of your mind?
1101
01:02:32.690 --> 01:02:34.630
Wow.
1102
01:02:34.710 --> 01:02:41.019
Uh, you know, after four weeks, there's always, like you said,
1103
01:02:41.059 --> 01:02:43.059
little things to work on. And I, and I'm not
1104
01:02:43.119 --> 01:02:47.139
really in tune with like, you know, how efficient are
1105
01:02:47.159 --> 01:02:53.960
we on third downs, red zone offense, you know, the
1106
01:02:54.679 --> 01:02:57.780
efficiency on first and second town creating big plays.
1107
01:02:57.820 --> 01:02:59.400
I know that that's.
1108
01:02:59.139 --> 01:03:02.820
Going around of, how many times I'm throwing deeper and
1109
01:03:02.840 --> 01:03:06.949
then completing. So it's really looking at like the big
1110
01:03:06.989 --> 01:03:12.550
picture and overall, you know, team-wise, culture-wise.
1111
01:03:12.610 --> 01:03:13.809
Maybe doing something fun with them.
1112
01:03:14.530 --> 01:03:19.159
I would probably do something of that nature, but off
1113
01:03:19.179 --> 01:03:22.059
the top of my head, honestly, it would just be
1114
01:03:22.460 --> 01:03:25.800
the techniques and fundamentals and the little details of just
1115
01:03:25.860 --> 01:03:30.059
playing football. So I would most likely just focus on
1116
01:03:31.210 --> 01:03:36.940
being tackling better, blocking better, being more fundamentally sound on
1117
01:03:37.019 --> 01:03:39.340
what we're being asked to do, like almost going back
1118
01:03:39.380 --> 01:03:43.780
to the basics of each position group and really honing
1119
01:03:43.840 --> 01:03:50.550
in on those coaching points and less on scheme work.
1120
01:03:50.780 --> 01:03:52.929
You know, the scheme is.
1121
01:03:52.869 --> 01:03:55.590
Worked out for the coaches getting ready for next week's
1122
01:03:55.650 --> 01:03:59.230
game and adding different wrinkles in and understanding where we
1123
01:03:59.250 --> 01:04:02.889
need to get better at So that would be just
1124
01:04:03.070 --> 01:04:06.929
from a coach's perspective now is more emphasizing the little
1125
01:04:06.969 --> 01:04:09.880
details and the techniques and fundamentals that the boys are
1126
01:04:09.900 --> 01:04:10.579
being asked to do.
1127
01:04:11.559 --> 01:04:15.760
I've been complaining really since week one about the defensive
1128
01:04:15.860 --> 01:04:19.679
ends having a hard time finishing. They're getting there, they're pressuring,
1129
01:04:19.719 --> 01:04:23.130
they're hurrying, they're getting some hits, but we're still waiting
1130
01:04:23.170 --> 01:04:26.710
for defensive ends to be productive enough and to generate sacks.
1131
01:04:26.929 --> 01:04:28.909
And I've asked you some version of this question, probably
1132
01:04:28.909 --> 01:04:32.429
50 times in the past, but playing in the backend,
1133
01:04:32.489 --> 01:04:37.110
playing defensive back and, you know, knowing when a quarterback
1134
01:04:37.429 --> 01:04:39.820
has to throw off schedule or when a quarterback has
1135
01:04:39.860 --> 01:04:41.599
to throw on the run because he's flushed out of
1136
01:04:41.619 --> 01:04:45.679
the pocket or whatever, how crucial to what you do
1137
01:04:46.340 --> 01:04:48.980
on the backend is that pass rush, especially if you
1138
01:04:49.019 --> 01:04:51.559
can get it with four guys with your base rush.
1139
01:04:53.360 --> 01:04:54.219
Well, it's huge.
1140
01:04:54.400 --> 01:04:57.510
And I think the game is a little bit different
1141
01:04:57.530 --> 01:05:01.969
in that aspect of how you call certain situations like
1142
01:05:02.010 --> 01:05:06.849
third and long, you know, third and medium per se. Like,
1143
01:05:06.949 --> 01:05:10.179
you know, in the NFL, the ball is going to
1144
01:05:10.219 --> 01:05:13.000
come out with it. You just have an internal clock
1145
01:05:13.019 --> 01:05:15.670
to Because one, these quarterbacks don't want to get hit
1146
01:05:15.789 --> 01:05:19.630
to the coordinators. Don't want to get their quarterbacks hit three,
1147
01:05:19.730 --> 01:05:22.489
your quarterback goes down, your season's done. So there's so
1148
01:05:22.530 --> 01:05:26.409
much riding on that position where in college, it's just,
1149
01:05:27.170 --> 01:05:30.250
you get these athletes and you get these guys that
1150
01:05:30.269 --> 01:05:33.280
can run around and make guys miss. And that's, it's
1151
01:05:33.300 --> 01:05:35.619
just like a different kind of mindset.
1152
01:05:36.039 --> 01:05:39.880
And you have to be a little bit more understanding.
1153
01:05:39.900 --> 01:05:42.280
Like those things, the ball's not always going to come out.
1154
01:05:42.320 --> 01:05:45.719
Like it's, quarterbacks are so regimented to hit the third,
1155
01:05:45.739 --> 01:05:48.519
to hit that third stop, third step. And if it's
1156
01:05:48.539 --> 01:05:51.599
not there, you get one hitch and then the ball's out, right? Like,
1157
01:05:52.139 --> 01:05:54.820
and you really train yourself and the routes and everything
1158
01:05:54.880 --> 01:05:57.780
goes with it. So the defender, you're, you're, you have
1159
01:05:57.820 --> 01:06:01.420
an internal clock and you're really eliminate and anticipate and
1160
01:06:01.480 --> 01:06:05.559
really like jumping routes, knowing the timing of where you're
1161
01:06:05.619 --> 01:06:07.880
at on the field and the timing of the play.
1162
01:06:08.000 --> 01:06:12.139
So you have to be wary of that as a
1163
01:06:12.179 --> 01:06:17.769
defensive back. and in college is much different. Like third downs,
1164
01:06:17.809 --> 01:06:20.889
you play coverage. And a lot of times, like we're
1165
01:06:20.929 --> 01:06:25.179
not getting there because of the, you know, we, you
1166
01:06:25.219 --> 01:06:28.559
don't necessarily have those edge rushers that are the elite
1167
01:06:28.619 --> 01:06:30.880
of the lead that if you leave them one-on-one, they're
1168
01:06:30.900 --> 01:06:34.679
probably going to win. So for our, for our defensive end,
1169
01:06:34.719 --> 01:06:36.780
you just gotta keep working on like facts come in
1170
01:06:36.820 --> 01:06:39.380
bunches and any time the coverage with it and then
1171
01:06:39.400 --> 01:06:41.880
the pressure package. So I don't know.
1172
01:06:42.119 --> 01:06:45.309
I think it's, I think it's.
1173
01:06:45.369 --> 01:06:47.610
Something that, you know, when you bring that up, I
1174
01:06:47.630 --> 01:06:49.639
think it's something that they could work on, and I
1175
01:06:49.659 --> 01:06:51.480
think it's something that.
1176
01:06:51.389 --> 01:06:52.039
They'll get better at.
1177
01:06:52.280 --> 01:06:54.000
Again, I'm being real nitpicky here.
1178
01:06:54.059 --> 01:06:58.840
If you have to manufacture your pressure with, you know,
1179
01:06:58.860 --> 01:07:01.699
a blitzing linebacker or you've got to creep a corner
1180
01:07:01.800 --> 01:07:05.099
in to come off the edge or whatever else, and
1181
01:07:05.119 --> 01:07:08.800
that shows on film, and now an opposing offensive coordinator
1182
01:07:09.780 --> 01:07:13.199
is able to, you know, predict that or is able to,
1183
01:07:13.920 --> 01:07:16.849
try to work with his quarterback to recognize it and say,
1184
01:07:16.869 --> 01:07:19.030
all right, you're going to throw into that empty space
1185
01:07:19.590 --> 01:07:23.949
that is being created by the blitzer. You quarterbacked the
1186
01:07:23.969 --> 01:07:25.690
defense so many times to.
1187
01:07:27.030 --> 01:07:28.530
Counter move the counter move, right?
1188
01:07:28.690 --> 01:07:33.800
So how effective can you be comparatively if you have
1189
01:07:33.820 --> 01:07:37.340
to manufacture pressure other ways and make sure that you
1190
01:07:37.380 --> 01:07:42.329
don't leave those gaps, those vacancies that a good offensive coordinator,
1191
01:07:42.349 --> 01:07:44.070
a good quarterback are going to recognize are.
1192
01:07:44.010 --> 01:07:44.590
Going to exploit.
1193
01:07:46.170 --> 01:07:46.309
Yeah.
1194
01:07:46.389 --> 01:07:49.400
I mean, that's tying in the disguise and the movement
1195
01:07:49.519 --> 01:07:53.239
with the, with the brush, with the blitz and then
1196
01:07:53.280 --> 01:07:55.579
understanding like you don't just blitz the blitz.
1197
01:07:55.679 --> 01:07:55.900
Right.
1198
01:07:56.019 --> 01:08:00.869
So if you're trying to manipulate one, the ID and
1199
01:08:00.949 --> 01:08:04.750
make the manipulate the rules of pass pro, right? Like
1200
01:08:04.789 --> 01:08:07.960
you can by your front and by your alignment of
1201
01:08:07.980 --> 01:08:10.480
your linebackers who are mugged up in there or in
1202
01:08:10.739 --> 01:08:12.420
line in the B gap or on the edge, you
1203
01:08:12.460 --> 01:08:17.069
can basically determine how they're going to, how they're going
1204
01:08:17.090 --> 01:08:18.029
to block you.
1205
01:08:17.949 --> 01:08:19.229
From an offense perspective.
1206
01:08:19.289 --> 01:08:21.930
Are they going to go three man zone and man
1207
01:08:22.010 --> 01:08:23.949
ID the other way with the back? Are they going
1208
01:08:23.970 --> 01:08:25.590
to go four man side? Are they going to go
1209
01:08:25.609 --> 01:08:27.960
a full slide with the Y and the H coming back?
1210
01:08:28.020 --> 01:08:29.260
Like you can know that.
1211
01:08:29.319 --> 01:08:31.800
So then you build your pressure package off of that.
1212
01:08:31.819 --> 01:08:34.310
So you're going to get free runners, right? Like, if
1213
01:08:34.350 --> 01:08:37.489
you're blitzing just a blitz, which in most cases are
1214
01:08:37.560 --> 01:08:41.180
not like they do, do this work. But in most cases,
1215
01:08:41.239 --> 01:08:42.420
you want to make sure that.
1216
01:08:42.359 --> 01:08:44.000
You're building your pressure package.
1217
01:08:44.079 --> 01:08:47.699
So you're getting to the quarterback. Cause if not, then
1218
01:08:47.739 --> 01:08:49.460
you might as well play coverage and then deal with it.
1219
01:08:49.500 --> 01:08:50.739
Then cause now you got an extra.
1220
01:08:50.539 --> 01:08:52.550
Guy or maybe you have two extra guys.
1221
01:08:52.949 --> 01:08:54.470
And then on top of that, you can also add
1222
01:08:54.550 --> 01:08:57.829
in Sims where, you know, we got linebackers.
1223
01:08:57.340 --> 01:08:59.039
That are freaking good.
1224
01:08:59.760 --> 01:09:03.520
So building in simulated rushes where you could play there,
1225
01:09:04.000 --> 01:09:07.000
you know, five under two D you could play, you
1226
01:09:07.039 --> 01:09:09.239
can play a normal four into three D because you
1227
01:09:09.260 --> 01:09:11.510
can roll coverage where the corner is now playing a
1228
01:09:11.649 --> 01:09:15.649
cloud and then roll the safety over the top, like
1229
01:09:15.909 --> 01:09:18.329
different things like that, where you're blitzing a linebacker, but
1230
01:09:18.350 --> 01:09:22.000
dropping an end, and now you're getting one-on-one with the back,
1231
01:09:22.060 --> 01:09:24.340
which in the league, if you get one-on-one with the back,
1232
01:09:24.380 --> 01:09:28.119
that's a 100% win for the defense because that linebacker
1233
01:09:28.159 --> 01:09:31.279
is going to beast that running back every time. So
1234
01:09:31.300 --> 01:09:33.659
then adding those types of things in the order, now
1235
01:09:33.680 --> 01:09:36.739
you're still having seven guys in coverage, but you're now
1236
01:09:36.810 --> 01:09:39.989
getting a rush. You're getting a one-on-one with the back,
1237
01:09:40.609 --> 01:09:42.989
which is always a great opportunity for the defense.
1238
01:09:43.829 --> 01:09:46.210
Eric Weddle is our guest here talking all things Utah
1239
01:09:46.229 --> 01:09:50.479
football for now on the Sean O'Connell Show. How many
1240
01:09:50.520 --> 01:09:53.260
times in your career did you have an interception taken
1241
01:09:53.319 --> 01:09:58.029
away from you by a replay by a referee saying
1242
01:09:58.050 --> 01:10:00.409
it wasn't a catch? We saw that happen to Rabbit
1243
01:10:00.449 --> 01:10:03.569
Evans this last week, and it was egregious. I thought
1244
01:10:03.609 --> 01:10:05.739
that the replay was going to correct it, and then
1245
01:10:06.640 --> 01:10:09.340
it didn't correct it. And look, he did a great
1246
01:10:09.380 --> 01:10:12.659
job of just continuing to play and continuing to excel
1247
01:10:12.699 --> 01:10:13.680
and all that kind of stuff.
1248
01:10:14.239 --> 01:10:15.039
I'm petty, man.
1249
01:10:15.140 --> 01:10:17.850
I would be finding that referee's address. I'd be like,
1250
01:10:17.899 --> 01:10:20.109
I needed that interception. Why did you do this to me?
1251
01:10:20.649 --> 01:10:22.270
How many times has that happened to you in your career?
1252
01:10:23.770 --> 01:10:24.350
Oh, man.
1253
01:10:25.010 --> 01:10:26.449
Over a replay or.
1254
01:10:26.949 --> 01:10:29.569
Well, just where you're like, that was a pick and
1255
01:10:29.609 --> 01:10:30.949
they didn't give you credit for the pick.
1256
01:10:31.449 --> 01:10:35.449
Yeah, well, I've had numerous where they gave you a bogus, like,
1257
01:10:35.510 --> 01:10:42.460
holding call or... a PI call that never happened. That
1258
01:10:42.500 --> 01:10:45.060
wasn't for me. It was like another player during the play.
1259
01:10:45.239 --> 01:10:47.920
.
1260
01:10:47.659 --> 01:10:50.060

1261
01:10:50.060 --> 01:10:52.439

1262
01:10:52.439 --> 01:10:54.359
.
1263
01:10:54.119 --> 01:10:56.279
.
1264
01:10:56.039 --> 01:10:58.430

1265
01:10:58.430 --> 01:11:00.829

1266
01:11:00.829 --> 01:11:02.979
.
1267
01:11:02.739 --> 01:11:05.380
Speaker 2, last drive. And then three plays later,
1268
01:11:05.399 --> 01:11:08.340
they went 40 yard touchdown. Our season was done Speaker.
1269
01:11:08.100 --> 01:11:09.090
0, terrible.
1270
01:11:09.350 --> 01:11:11.989
I remember that play so distinctly because it was a
1271
01:11:12.050 --> 01:11:14.829
phantom defensive hold or, and.
1272
01:11:17.630 --> 01:11:20.430
It was just standing at 10 yards and the receiver
1273
01:11:20.510 --> 01:11:22.500
ran through them and they both fell and they called
1274
01:11:22.520 --> 01:11:25.979
them a whole holding. I was like, what are we doing?
1275
01:11:28.020 --> 01:11:31.020
I mean, like, just like, just like the one in
1276
01:11:31.039 --> 01:11:35.300
the Rams game. I mean, the same, same, like how
1277
01:11:36.020 --> 01:11:38.840
just in my, in my thought process of it all,
1278
01:11:38.880 --> 01:11:42.789
like rest, rest of a hard-on job. My, my issue is,
1279
01:11:42.810 --> 01:11:45.229
is why not the judge, the side judge that was
1280
01:11:45.270 --> 01:11:49.329
in front of the play who sees it clearly not
1281
01:11:49.409 --> 01:11:51.770
meet with that ref and say, all right, what'd you see?
1282
01:11:51.869 --> 01:11:54.409
Here's what I saw. I don't think it was PI.
1283
01:11:54.430 --> 01:11:55.869
Let's pick it up. Right.
1284
01:11:55.890 --> 01:11:58.840
Like the back judge obviously threw it and maybe he
1285
01:11:58.899 --> 01:12:02.199
saw whatever he saw, but is clear as day. So
1286
01:12:02.319 --> 01:12:06.130
in rabbit's case, like I, the, the announcers were saying,
1287
01:12:06.210 --> 01:12:09.609
this is a pig. They don't get a call. And
1288
01:12:09.630 --> 01:12:12.369
then of course the Fox, whoever the old ref is
1289
01:12:12.409 --> 01:12:15.909
that just comes on there, gets paid hundreds of thousands
1290
01:12:15.930 --> 01:12:17.369
of dollars to come on for 20 seconds.
1291
01:12:17.390 --> 01:12:19.130
I need to get that job.
1292
01:12:19.149 --> 01:12:23.880

1293
01:12:23.880 --> 01:12:26.939
.
1294
01:12:26.430 --> 01:12:30.210
And half the time
1295
01:12:30.229 --> 01:12:32.569
you're just siding with the rest because you're an old breath.
1296
01:12:32.689 --> 01:12:33.170
That's right.
1297
01:12:33.289 --> 01:12:38.770
And so, yeah, that was, there've been some, definitely some
1298
01:12:38.829 --> 01:12:42.020
calls out there so far this season. You're just like, well,
1299
01:12:42.180 --> 01:12:44.659
especially at the NFL, like, you don't know if you're
1300
01:12:44.699 --> 01:12:47.159
Patrick or Holmes and you get touched with a pinky,
1301
01:12:47.279 --> 01:12:51.060
you're getting a rough in the pastor every time, even
1302
01:12:51.100 --> 01:12:53.739
though the dude does exactly what the textbook says of
1303
01:12:53.779 --> 01:12:57.659
hitting hands up, falling off and still get it where
1304
01:12:57.680 --> 01:13:00.590
it's like, Where are we going? Do we want to
1305
01:13:00.609 --> 01:13:04.810
make this game unwatchable? Because sometimes it is.
1306
01:13:04.930 --> 01:13:08.930
As a defensive player, you were in the league for
1307
01:13:09.029 --> 01:13:12.170
the near two decades of when a lot of this
1308
01:13:12.210 --> 01:13:16.600
stuff was really being put into place to favor quarterback play,
1309
01:13:16.680 --> 01:13:20.920
to explode offensive numbers and things like that. And you
1310
01:13:20.939 --> 01:13:24.239
hear guys, defensive players especially, say like, hey, are we
1311
01:13:24.260 --> 01:13:25.100
still playing football?
1312
01:13:25.140 --> 01:13:26.539
What am I allowed to do? What am I not
1313
01:13:26.579 --> 01:13:27.159
allowed to do?
1314
01:13:28.630 --> 01:13:30.729
How big a part of the discussion is that in
1315
01:13:30.770 --> 01:13:33.630
your film room, in your locker room, when you're going
1316
01:13:33.689 --> 01:13:36.090
up against, especially the chiefs or especially when it was
1317
01:13:36.130 --> 01:13:38.970
Tom Brady or whatever, when you feel like these are
1318
01:13:38.989 --> 01:13:41.510
the players, the league is going to protect, we have
1319
01:13:41.550 --> 01:13:43.930
to alter the way we play against them. Is it
1320
01:13:43.970 --> 01:13:46.029
something that actually goes into a game plan?
1321
01:13:47.229 --> 01:13:52.470
He actually, it does how to tackle. how to tackle
1322
01:13:52.510 --> 01:13:54.609
certain guys. What, what are the rules?
1323
01:13:54.670 --> 01:13:57.510
Like we, we have days where we have the rules.
1324
01:13:57.250 --> 01:14:00.390
Officials come in, they explain the rules. Then we get
1325
01:14:00.430 --> 01:14:03.369
in these, like not arguments, but we're just, and they're,
1326
01:14:03.569 --> 01:14:06.260
they're like, in most cases, the rest are on our side.
1327
01:14:06.439 --> 01:14:09.350
So it's just like, Hey, this is, this is what
1328
01:14:09.399 --> 01:14:10.149
we're being told.
1329
01:14:10.229 --> 01:14:12.760
This is how we have to call it. This is
1330
01:14:12.819 --> 01:14:13.720
how you have to do it.
1331
01:14:13.899 --> 01:14:16.000
And like, so it's a good back and forth conversation.
1332
01:14:16.060 --> 01:14:18.100
But the other day, it's like, it's.
1333
01:14:17.979 --> 01:14:23.420
Like, Hey, do I agree with, what SC did after
1334
01:14:23.479 --> 01:14:26.399
the play of with the Dante Moore.
1335
01:14:26.520 --> 01:14:27.159
Of course not.
1336
01:14:27.340 --> 01:14:29.840
Like I don't, I would, the kid would be kicked
1337
01:14:29.880 --> 01:14:31.239
off my team if they act like that.
1338
01:14:31.310 --> 01:14:31.479
Right.
1339
01:14:31.659 --> 01:14:34.109
And I don't, you know, get into specifics. Maybe it
1340
01:14:34.130 --> 01:14:37.229
was other things, but the way you acted, but really
1341
01:14:37.250 --> 01:14:41.649
the play of is not a dirty play. And it's
1342
01:14:41.710 --> 01:14:45.029
not like an egregious, like the dude is already committed
1343
01:14:45.390 --> 01:14:48.109
to tackling Dante Moore. Hey, Dante Moore, you need to
1344
01:14:48.149 --> 01:14:52.680
slide earlier, right? You need to slide earlier or like
1345
01:14:52.880 --> 01:14:56.300
real court, like not real quarterbacks or players, but if
1346
01:14:56.359 --> 01:14:59.560
quarterbacks just started going first and actually like understand how
1347
01:14:59.590 --> 01:15:02.310
to take hits and run the football, you're not going
1348
01:15:02.329 --> 01:15:04.369
to get hurt. How many times have we seen.
1349
01:15:04.189 --> 01:15:05.069
That exact case?
1350
01:15:05.649 --> 01:15:09.439
Or their head hits the ground because they're sliding, like,
1351
01:15:09.600 --> 01:15:12.739
quit sliding. Or if you're going to slide, slide five
1352
01:15:12.779 --> 01:15:15.060
yards early so you're not going to get your head
1353
01:15:15.100 --> 01:15:18.729
knocked off because these dudes are coming, and we're not–
1354
01:15:18.899 --> 01:15:22.100
we cannot stop in that situation. Like, the only way
1355
01:15:22.140 --> 01:15:25.140
to be able to stop is you're a safety like
1356
01:15:25.260 --> 01:15:28.159
I was, and I knew these guys were going to slide, right?
1357
01:15:28.520 --> 01:15:31.970
But linebackers aren't thinking like that. Like, and they don't
1358
01:15:31.979 --> 01:15:35.109
have enough time and space to really gauge the runner
1359
01:15:35.130 --> 01:15:37.819
and gauge when he's going to start to lighten up.
1360
01:15:38.020 --> 01:15:41.220
You can feel it as a tackler. These other guys,
1361
01:15:41.430 --> 01:15:46.810
it's too much. You're just chancing it. Unfortunately, he got hurt,
1362
01:15:46.850 --> 01:15:49.489
but to say that was a dirty hit, that's just
1363
01:15:49.550 --> 01:15:52.029
people not knowing ever played football.
1364
01:15:53.529 --> 01:15:57.470
Is it time to accept the fact that Jim Harbaugh
1365
01:15:57.609 --> 01:16:01.510
is not a great NFL coach? He might not be
1366
01:16:01.529 --> 01:16:04.699
a great college coach either. He's good at the weird
1367
01:16:04.779 --> 01:16:08.100
sign stealing and stuff like that. But the Chargers are
1368
01:16:08.119 --> 01:16:11.659
off to a disastrous start. High expectations this year. His
1369
01:16:12.100 --> 01:16:14.920
welcome wore out in San Francisco after not too long.
1370
01:16:15.039 --> 01:16:17.600
Is it time to just accept the fact that maybe
1371
01:16:17.619 --> 01:16:20.670
the NFL is not where Jim Harbaugh needs to be coaching?
1372
01:16:22.189 --> 01:16:24.229
It's pretty interesting.
1373
01:16:24.250 --> 01:16:26.489
I don't really have.
1374
01:16:28.350 --> 01:16:30.350
Really a pinpoint answer why.
1375
01:16:30.390 --> 01:16:31.409
The only thing that.
1376
01:16:33.250 --> 01:16:37.939
History has told us as he has good turnarounds. And
1377
01:16:37.979 --> 01:16:40.439
then over time it, it putters out and then he
1378
01:16:40.500 --> 01:16:44.819
leaves or he loses. And so I don't know, like
1379
01:16:44.859 --> 01:16:46.779
I've talked to a few guys and they all, they
1380
01:16:46.800 --> 01:16:48.899
all like them. They think he's a little corny at times,
1381
01:16:49.000 --> 01:16:51.489
but they like, they think he's real. I think he's genuine.
1382
01:16:51.529 --> 01:16:54.050
I think he's like, that's just, that's just Jim Harbaugh.
1383
01:16:54.090 --> 01:16:58.229
Like he just does just weird things, but I don't
1384
01:16:58.369 --> 01:17:02.350
know why they are so bad. I don't think they've,
1385
01:17:03.270 --> 01:17:05.460
it's kind of been known over the years.
1386
01:17:05.560 --> 01:17:07.739
Like they've missed on.
1387
01:17:07.680 --> 01:17:10.119
Some guys on the perimeter. Herbert makes a lot of
1388
01:17:10.140 --> 01:17:12.859
these guys better than what they are. The offensive line
1389
01:17:12.899 --> 01:17:15.119
has been an influx. Like when you have your two
1390
01:17:15.159 --> 01:17:18.869
first round guys hurt or not playing last year. And
1391
01:17:18.909 --> 01:17:21.149
then this year there, I don't know.
1392
01:17:21.270 --> 01:17:23.130
I haven't really watched many games.
1393
01:17:23.930 --> 01:17:26.350
To really like say what the issues are, but to
1394
01:17:26.399 --> 01:17:28.600
be all in three and looking at that schedule and
1395
01:17:29.159 --> 01:17:31.239
potentially being all in nine, like you're not going to
1396
01:17:31.260 --> 01:17:34.590
be favored in the next, six games, I don't know
1397
01:17:34.649 --> 01:17:37.529
how they recover. And then what do they do moving forward?
1398
01:17:37.550 --> 01:17:44.619
It's just, it's just, it's just unfortunate, but I don't, man,
1399
01:17:44.779 --> 01:17:47.600
it shouldn't, it shouldn't be happening, honestly. But when you
1400
01:17:47.640 --> 01:17:49.760
got like first round picks that can't catch the ball
1401
01:17:50.539 --> 01:17:52.920
and they should have never been picked. I think that
1402
01:17:52.939 --> 01:17:56.430
was Telesco's last year. Like that was one of many
1403
01:17:56.710 --> 01:18:00.569
blown draft picks. That sets you back. And then how
1404
01:18:00.590 --> 01:18:02.609
do they keep trotting that guy out on the field?
1405
01:18:02.649 --> 01:18:07.319
Like when you think about their perimeter athlete players, like who,
1406
01:18:07.560 --> 01:18:10.659
who's going to go win some one-on-ones for you. If
1407
01:18:11.460 --> 01:18:15.100
you're relying on lad McConkie, like that's, that's, that's pretty
1408
01:18:15.119 --> 01:18:17.800
good as like a third guy.
1409
01:18:17.899 --> 01:18:20.329
But not as a number one in the NFL.
1410
01:18:21.909 --> 01:18:24.989
Lad McConkie catching strays here on the Sean O'Connell show.
1411
01:18:25.029 --> 01:18:26.770
Poor guy. You love to see it.
1412
01:18:27.569 --> 01:18:29.750
Speaker 0 7, I'm just saying, who's the, who's another
1413
01:18:29.789 --> 01:18:33.520
guy that John, the Jenkins, Junkins, the first TCU.
1414
01:18:33.079 --> 01:18:33.920
Guy is awful.
1415
01:18:33.939 --> 01:18:35.680
I've already said that. I don't even know who else
1416
01:18:35.720 --> 01:18:36.619
they have, right?
1417
01:18:36.659 --> 01:18:38.619
Like who, who else is their players?
1418
01:18:38.779 --> 01:18:40.260
Yeah, they, they don't.
1419
01:18:40.439 --> 01:18:42.859
I mean, when you, when you're talking about weapons, weapons
1420
01:18:42.939 --> 01:18:46.029
on the edge, and by the way, everybody's on the
1421
01:18:46.069 --> 01:18:49.130
injury report right now, which may or may not be normal.
1422
01:18:50.729 --> 01:18:50.909
Yeah.
1423
01:18:50.949 --> 01:18:54.329
You're, you're, you're in a bad spot right now. If
1424
01:18:54.369 --> 01:18:55.949
you're a charger fan and.
1425
01:18:55.810 --> 01:18:59.800
Speaker 4 and listen, I root for all small white receivers.
1426
01:19:01.479 --> 01:19:03.600
There's not a lot, a lot of us. So it's
1427
01:19:03.640 --> 01:19:06.100
not anything against them. It says you're, we need you
1428
01:19:06.159 --> 01:19:07.560
as a number three. We don't need you as a
1429
01:19:07.560 --> 01:19:08.140
number one.
1430
01:19:10.760 --> 01:19:12.380
Speaker 2, are the Raiders legit?
1431
01:19:15.060 --> 01:19:17.659
I mean, what, what, what comes to as legit?
1432
01:19:18.569 --> 01:19:22.270
Like they're a playoff team. That's going to win a
1433
01:19:22.310 --> 01:19:27.869
playoff game. Potentially Speaker 3, we're talking about playoffs, not
1434
01:19:27.909 --> 01:19:28.430
a game.
1435
01:19:28.470 --> 01:19:29.130
Yes, her.
1436
01:19:31.489 --> 01:19:32.189
Little shout out.
1437
01:19:32.130 --> 01:19:34.149
To her members for all you and the listeners that
1438
01:19:34.170 --> 01:19:38.390
don't know. All I can say is this.
1439
01:19:38.449 --> 01:19:40.250
I don't know if they're legit or not. I just
1440
01:19:40.470 --> 01:19:49.020
love when you see a guy who has the it factor, culture, togetherness, team,
1441
01:19:49.199 --> 01:19:55.300
like what Kubiak has done there. Like, you can just
1442
01:19:55.340 --> 01:19:58.220
see it. You see guys that play hard for certain coaches,
1443
01:19:58.439 --> 01:20:01.289
and you get up there and you, like, hear them speak.
1444
01:20:02.069 --> 01:20:02.810
It's like, ugh.
1445
01:20:03.250 --> 01:20:05.800
This guy knows what he's doing. You could say the
1446
01:20:05.810 --> 01:20:09.880
same thing about Bob Chesney at UCLA, right? Like look
1447
01:20:09.899 --> 01:20:12.460
what he's done. He's transformed UCLA back to being a
1448
01:20:12.520 --> 01:20:16.399
respectable program in four games, but you know, really six
1449
01:20:16.460 --> 01:20:18.960
months of being on the job. It's just like some
1450
01:20:19.239 --> 01:20:23.239
coaches have it. So I appreciate that. Are they going
1451
01:20:23.260 --> 01:20:26.800
to be like playoff team? I don't know. Like, Well,
1452
01:20:26.850 --> 01:20:30.350
that'll work itself out. But, man, it's awesome to see, like,
1453
01:20:30.409 --> 01:20:34.090
a team playing together, connected, united. Like, you could say
1454
01:20:34.130 --> 01:20:36.970
the same thing about Morgan. Like, Morgan's a great coach.
1455
01:20:37.569 --> 01:20:42.000
Morgan is top-notch, right, of knowing the game. But what
1456
01:20:42.260 --> 01:20:45.880
I think is his best quality is he is a igniter.
1457
01:20:46.000 --> 01:20:49.239
He brings others with him. He has a vision and
1458
01:20:49.260 --> 01:20:52.960
a culture, and he unites people, right? He brings people together.
1459
01:20:52.979 --> 01:20:57.369
And it shows. And we've talked about this in the offseason.
1460
01:20:58.189 --> 01:21:00.789
He just has that it factor. So you can go
1461
01:21:00.810 --> 01:21:03.710
down the line of guys that have it and don't.
1462
01:21:05.289 --> 01:21:08.109
So are the Raiders for real right now? They're for real?
1463
01:21:08.189 --> 01:21:09.380
So the answer is yes.
1464
01:21:12.750 --> 01:21:14.989
Eric Weddle for another minute or two here on the
1465
01:21:15.029 --> 01:21:17.789
Sean O'Connell show, talking all things football.
1466
01:21:19.479 --> 01:21:20.260
I got to ask you this.
1467
01:21:20.840 --> 01:21:24.680
If you, Morgan Scali had, there's a UFC event in
1468
01:21:25.619 --> 01:21:28.979
Salt Lake City this weekend. And Morgan Scali had a
1469
01:21:29.100 --> 01:21:33.279
former NFL player. He was a great at South Florida
1470
01:21:33.310 --> 01:21:36.630
or Florida International. He's the all-time leading tackler from Florida International.
1471
01:21:37.470 --> 01:21:39.130
Tried it in the NFL. Didn't work out for him
1472
01:21:39.149 --> 01:21:42.369
in the NFL. He's an undefeated MMA fighter now. You
1473
01:21:42.430 --> 01:21:45.409
have to have one of your former teammates, college or pro,
1474
01:21:45.649 --> 01:21:48.069
win a UFC fight for you. It can't be me
1475
01:21:48.149 --> 01:21:50.109
because I think I'm the only former teammate of yours
1476
01:21:50.130 --> 01:21:53.090
who actually did win a UFC fight. But it's somebody
1477
01:21:53.130 --> 01:21:55.529
who hasn't actually ended up fighting. If you've got to
1478
01:21:55.569 --> 01:21:57.640
pick one of those guys to go win you a fight,
1479
01:21:57.720 --> 01:21:58.399
who are you picking?
1480
01:22:06.880 --> 01:22:07.220
Well.
1481
01:22:10.810 --> 01:22:13.689
You kind of think of like, all right, who's a
1482
01:22:13.729 --> 01:22:16.500
lot of these guys can fight, but can they really fight?
1483
01:22:16.520 --> 01:22:19.979
That's up in the air. And you think of like
1484
01:22:20.020 --> 01:22:23.199
just some nasty tough dudes, but that in UFC, like
1485
01:22:23.239 --> 01:22:27.180
that doesn't matter. Uh, I don't know. Like the first
1486
01:22:27.199 --> 01:22:29.949
thing that pops in my mind is Tony Jefferson. Cause
1487
01:22:29.989 --> 01:22:37.029
he grew up boxing and, or Tom Zbikowski, uh, Speaker 0.
1488
01:22:36.840 --> 01:22:39.069
1 of those guys is the answer. Zbikowski had some
1489
01:22:39.109 --> 01:22:40.109
pro boxing matches.
1490
01:22:40.350 --> 01:22:40.600
Yeah.
1491
01:22:40.640 --> 01:22:43.880
He, he had plenty of professional bouts and then went
1492
01:22:43.899 --> 01:22:46.819
the pro route after he was done playing. So I
1493
01:22:46.859 --> 01:22:50.159
don't think it really like matured like he would have
1494
01:22:50.239 --> 01:22:52.779
if he just would have not played NFL. But I
1495
01:22:52.819 --> 01:22:55.020
think one of those two would give us the best
1496
01:22:55.060 --> 01:22:58.020
shot of making it a respectable fight for more than
1497
01:22:58.039 --> 01:22:58.659
a minute or two.
1498
01:22:58.680 --> 01:23:02.239
Speaker 3 0 Yeah, I would go with Zbikowski. He,
1499
01:23:02.600 --> 01:23:08.880
he finished his Professional boxing career, 8-0 with five knockouts.
1500
01:23:10.420 --> 01:23:12.420
And he had over 100 amateur bouts.
1501
01:23:13.039 --> 01:23:14.899
Yeah, he knows how to take a punch.
1502
01:23:14.939 --> 01:23:17.739
His face is calloused a little bit, not like UFC,
1503
01:23:17.779 --> 01:23:22.560
but he knows a little bit of what that world is.
1504
01:23:23.420 --> 01:23:27.000
And so he would probably be a guy.
1505
01:23:27.060 --> 01:23:28.970
Teach him how to defend a takedown and he's probably
1506
01:23:28.979 --> 01:23:31.010
going to win. That's a good shout. That's a good
1507
01:23:31.029 --> 01:23:34.140
call by you. All right. Who is it this week?
1508
01:23:34.180 --> 01:23:38.890
You got Del Norte for your burner, your Rancho Bernardo Broncos.
1509
01:23:39.029 --> 01:23:40.449
How much do we hate Del Norte?
1510
01:23:41.750 --> 01:23:44.310
Well, it's a, it's going to be a great game.
1511
01:23:45.069 --> 01:23:47.470
We don't hate anybody.
1512
01:23:47.649 --> 01:23:51.430
We like us that are supporting you, not you. You're classy.
1513
01:23:51.909 --> 01:23:54.920
We don't, we don't, we dislike, we don't hate.
1514
01:23:54.939 --> 01:23:57.199
Yeah.
1515
01:23:57.239 --> 01:23:59.899
Like this is going to be, it's going to be
1516
01:23:59.960 --> 01:24:01.199
a great game at our place.
1517
01:24:01.920 --> 01:24:04.340
We, uh, you know, we're all.
1518
01:24:04.319 --> 01:24:06.350
Black and you need to make blackout game.
1519
01:24:06.439 --> 01:24:08.850
So a lot of fun stuff, a lot, a lot
1520
01:24:08.890 --> 01:24:09.770
will be riding on it.
1521
01:24:10.149 --> 01:24:12.329
Uh, as the season goes on league, this is a
1522
01:24:12.369 --> 01:24:16.250
league game, uh, positioning and playoffs will be, will be
1523
01:24:16.289 --> 01:24:21.350
big for this. And so, and a little birdie told
1524
01:24:21.409 --> 01:24:25.930
me that a Utah coach is going to come down and, and, uh, check.
1525
01:24:25.750 --> 01:24:26.729
Our gauge this week.
1526
01:24:26.789 --> 01:24:30.149
So it's pretty cool to have a coach come down and, uh,
1527
01:24:31.420 --> 01:24:32.899
on their bye week. They could be anywhere.
1528
01:24:32.960 --> 01:24:35.390
So we don't take that lightly. Wow.
1529
01:24:35.689 --> 01:24:37.689
I like that. That's good. That's good to hear.
1530
01:24:38.590 --> 01:24:43.449
The Del Norte Nighthawks, by the way, they are four
1531
01:24:43.489 --> 01:24:48.079
and one, two, four and one team squaring off.
1532
01:24:48.140 --> 01:24:51.060
It'll be a big one at Rancho Bernardo. A good
1533
01:24:51.079 --> 01:24:51.680
luck with that.
1534
01:24:52.279 --> 01:24:57.060
Tell whoever that mysterious Utah coaches, tell them that we
1535
01:24:57.100 --> 01:24:59.789
said hello and we'll chat again next week.
1536
01:24:59.829 --> 01:25:00.550
Appreciate you, my guy.
1537
01:25:01.539 --> 01:25:01.960
You got it.
1538
01:25:02.020 --> 01:25:05.319
I'll, I'll unveil who it is next week's show. Perfect.
1539
01:25:06.899 --> 01:25:07.680
That's wonderful.
1540
01:25:08.619 --> 01:25:10.760
You got it. Love you, bro. Love you, dude.
1541
01:25:10.800 --> 01:25:16.590
That's Eric Weddle, the Utah football legend by week for Utah.
1542
01:25:16.619 --> 01:25:19.649
We talked about this. It is a big, big, big
1543
01:25:19.750 --> 01:25:22.590
recruiting week. The coaches get out on the road. They
1544
01:25:22.630 --> 01:25:24.869
show up to these guys' hometowns. They show up at
1545
01:25:24.890 --> 01:25:25.710
their games.
1546
01:25:27.810 --> 01:25:28.770
It would be amazing.
1547
01:25:29.529 --> 01:25:31.680
If they said the assistant off, I go check out
1548
01:25:31.720 --> 01:25:32.420
your safety.
1549
01:25:32.520 --> 01:25:40.739
Hey, well, Gorky here, what I'm here to check out
1550
01:25:40.760 --> 01:25:41.140
your son.
1551
01:25:41.180 --> 01:25:42.159
He's a safety, right?
1552
01:25:42.260 --> 01:25:42.659
Like, yeah.
1553
01:25:42.699 --> 01:25:43.600
Why are you here?
1554
01:25:43.779 --> 01:25:48.000
He might be playing quarterback and safety, but what could
1555
01:25:48.020 --> 01:25:52.649
he be as a guard? I think we can confidently say,
1556
01:25:52.659 --> 01:25:53.420
I think we.
1557
01:25:53.390 --> 01:25:56.689
Put 150 more pounds on him here. Now here's a
1558
01:25:56.710 --> 01:26:00.649
real question, right? Who do you want to send?
1559
01:26:01.390 --> 01:26:07.029
If you're, if you're wanting to maximize gauge Weddle coming
1560
01:26:07.069 --> 01:26:08.329
to the university of Utah.
1561
01:26:08.550 --> 01:26:08.869
All right.
1562
01:26:09.670 --> 01:26:12.989
And this is, this applies to every recruit that Utah
1563
01:26:13.029 --> 01:26:15.350
is talking to and talking about, but he's the one,
1564
01:26:15.810 --> 01:26:19.189
he is the jewel of the class of the 28
1565
01:26:19.189 --> 01:26:20.470
class that people want to see.
1566
01:26:20.529 --> 01:26:20.750
Right?
1567
01:26:20.909 --> 01:26:23.649
So who would you actually send now?
1568
01:26:24.449 --> 01:26:26.840
The low hanging fruit answer is, well, you go Morgan
1569
01:26:26.859 --> 01:26:30.310
Scali because he's the head coach. And it's the most
1570
01:26:30.390 --> 01:26:32.529
meaningful thing if the head coach shows up.
1571
01:26:32.590 --> 01:26:32.810
Right.
1572
01:26:33.010 --> 01:26:37.590
But that's old hat for gauge. Weddle gauge has no
1573
01:26:37.630 --> 01:26:41.310
Morgan literally since he was born. He's been around Morgan,
1574
01:26:42.930 --> 01:26:48.020
no exaggeration a hundred times. So I think that he
1575
01:26:48.079 --> 01:26:50.840
probably already has a good sense of, do I like Morgan?
1576
01:26:50.880 --> 01:26:52.739
Can I play for Morgan? Do I want to be around?
1577
01:26:52.760 --> 01:26:55.960
Like I don't think Morgan is a question in Gage
1578
01:26:56.000 --> 01:26:58.979
Weddle's mind. This is, by the way, I don't have
1579
01:26:59.659 --> 01:27:02.329
insider knowledge on this. This is not information coming from
1580
01:27:02.489 --> 01:27:05.409
any Weddle person. I'm playing hypotheticals here.
1581
01:27:08.630 --> 01:27:13.119
Colton Swan. nose gauge through the recruiting process.
1582
01:27:13.739 --> 01:27:18.239
He'd be on obviously the defensive coordinator is a big wig.
1583
01:27:18.359 --> 01:27:19.659
He's your defensive coordinator.
1584
01:27:19.829 --> 01:27:22.310
If you're, if you're trying to really like send the
1585
01:27:22.369 --> 01:27:25.409
message to the kid and have it communicated like this,
1586
01:27:25.609 --> 01:27:27.310
I'm going to be your coach. I'm going to be
1587
01:27:27.350 --> 01:27:30.819
the guy. Or do you send his position coach? Do
1588
01:27:30.840 --> 01:27:33.739
you send coach Odom who also coached dad?
1589
01:27:34.359 --> 01:27:34.659
Right.
1590
01:27:35.159 --> 01:27:38.279
Like there's an obvious connection there, but there's been a
1591
01:27:38.319 --> 01:27:41.939
lot fewer rendezvous over the lifetime of this young player.
1592
01:27:42.279 --> 01:27:43.979
So that's someone he doesn't actually know.
1593
01:27:44.090 --> 01:27:47.170
Do you surrender for, do you, for me, do you
1594
01:27:47.250 --> 01:27:50.390
send the guy who can talk his way into or
1595
01:27:50.510 --> 01:27:51.310
out of any room?
1596
01:27:51.369 --> 01:27:53.930
Sharif Shaw. We're thinking of the exact same person.
1597
01:27:53.970 --> 01:27:56.340
I'm like, and, and that's not, not a position coach,
1598
01:27:56.409 --> 01:27:58.220
but he's a position coach adjacent.
1599
01:27:58.260 --> 01:27:59.359
He's the cornerbacks coach.
1600
01:27:59.420 --> 01:28:03.810
He can certainly give him information as to how they
1601
01:28:03.949 --> 01:28:06.449
plan on using him as a DB.
1602
01:28:06.729 --> 01:28:09.050
And by the way, who's to say that gauge doesn't
1603
01:28:09.069 --> 01:28:10.029
end up playing corner ever.
1604
01:28:10.449 --> 01:28:10.649
Yeah.
1605
01:28:11.130 --> 01:28:11.350
Right.
1606
01:28:11.550 --> 01:28:16.590
Like his dad did. His dad played boundary. His dad
1607
01:28:16.640 --> 01:28:18.609
played nickel.
1608
01:28:18.779 --> 01:28:23.640
His dad played safety punter quarterback in the wildcat formations, right?
1609
01:28:23.680 --> 01:28:28.770
Like that's the vision for gauge is that they Not
1610
01:28:28.810 --> 01:28:30.510
to be reductive, but they want him to be just
1611
01:28:30.550 --> 01:28:33.689
like Eric was. He's that versatile an athlete. He's an
1612
01:28:33.689 --> 01:28:37.840
incredible football player. So who do you send if you're.
1613
01:28:37.430 --> 01:28:38.970
Just like, I want I want.
1614
01:28:38.890 --> 01:28:41.489
You to get to know everybody. I want you to
1615
01:28:41.529 --> 01:28:44.920
know the whole family vibe here and okay. Brechterfield go
1616
01:28:44.979 --> 01:28:45.260
out there.
1617
01:28:45.300 --> 01:28:45.640
Let's go.
1618
01:28:45.659 --> 01:28:48.539
I mean, I don't know why you don't send Gerky.
1619
01:28:49.579 --> 01:28:51.880
If that's what we're talking about here, let's get to
1620
01:28:51.920 --> 01:28:52.720
know everybody.
1621
01:28:52.779 --> 01:28:53.319
Okay.
1622
01:28:53.399 --> 01:28:55.420
When Eric comes on next week, he's going to say, yeah,
1623
01:28:55.460 --> 01:28:57.420
Morgan Scali was at the game. I think that's probably
1624
01:28:57.439 --> 01:29:00.239
what he's going to say. Cause that's like, That's like the.
1625
01:29:00.199 --> 01:29:04.090
Big feature, but also like the head coach doesn't have to,
1626
01:29:04.430 --> 01:29:06.630
he's not the safeties coach anymore. He's not the defensive
1627
01:29:06.670 --> 01:29:09.329
coordinator anymore. He doesn't have to go on these, these
1628
01:29:09.369 --> 01:29:10.220
recruiting trips.
1629
01:29:10.270 --> 01:29:14.239
Well, and he also like, that's not in, that's not
1630
01:29:14.260 --> 01:29:18.199
a question in my opinion. That's not a question in the,
1631
01:29:18.399 --> 01:29:20.840
the mind of Weddle the younger. Could I play for
1632
01:29:20.880 --> 01:29:23.520
Morgan Scali? He knows he could play for Morgan Scali.
1633
01:29:23.539 --> 01:29:25.300
He knows he gets along with Morgan Scali. He knows
1634
01:29:25.340 --> 01:29:27.140
his dad gets along with Morgan Scali. He knows his
1635
01:29:27.180 --> 01:29:29.239
mom gets along with Morgan Scali. He knows that he
1636
01:29:29.279 --> 01:29:33.319
likes the Morgan Scali culture. I would maybe be more
1637
01:29:33.399 --> 01:29:37.340
curious because I'm getting like, it's coming down to it.
1638
01:29:37.729 --> 01:29:39.890
I think that he's probably going to commit before his
1639
01:29:39.930 --> 01:29:40.430
senior year.
1640
01:29:41.170 --> 01:29:42.949
I wonder if he was going to commit on Eric
1641
01:29:42.989 --> 01:29:45.989
Weddle day, the Arkansas game, but that didn't happen.
1642
01:29:46.109 --> 01:29:49.289
Well, the right thing to do is to not because
1643
01:29:49.369 --> 01:29:52.869
let his dad have his own day. But I think that,
1644
01:29:53.050 --> 01:29:54.800
you know, they're probably not going to want to draw
1645
01:29:54.810 --> 01:29:59.079
this process out all that much longer. And there's other
1646
01:29:59.119 --> 01:30:01.340
teams make like Cal made a really strong push. They
1647
01:30:01.380 --> 01:30:03.199
went and visited a Cal made Cal made a really
1648
01:30:03.239 --> 01:30:08.640
strong push. BYU is making an incredibly strong push. Georgia
1649
01:30:08.760 --> 01:30:11.760
is making a big push. Ohio state wants him, right?
1650
01:30:11.800 --> 01:30:14.380
So how do you beat that out? You have to
1651
01:30:14.439 --> 01:30:15.859
be able to sit down and you have to be
1652
01:30:15.880 --> 01:30:18.500
able to have the conversations about what it's actually going
1653
01:30:18.539 --> 01:30:21.239
to look like. Do you actually get along with me?
1654
01:30:21.399 --> 01:30:23.689
Are you and I actually on the same page as
1655
01:30:23.729 --> 01:30:27.029
your defensive coordinator, as your position coach, as a guy, like,
1656
01:30:27.909 --> 01:30:30.449
I think it's going to be Morgan, but you know what?
1657
01:30:30.829 --> 01:30:32.649
Why not send all of them? If you really want
1658
01:30:32.670 --> 01:30:33.010
the dude.
1659
01:30:33.590 --> 01:30:33.789
Yeah.
1660
01:30:33.829 --> 01:30:35.390
Send maybe Morgan Odom.
1661
01:30:37.659 --> 01:30:40.520
And Sharif saw Shaw and they go like, they go
1662
01:30:40.579 --> 01:30:42.720
from the game to a rodeo.
1663
01:30:42.739 --> 01:30:44.579
Oh yeah.
1664
01:30:44.680 --> 01:30:47.680
And Colton's one Colton Swan does like make it like
1665
01:30:48.000 --> 01:30:48.920
he's just like schedules.
1666
01:30:48.939 --> 01:30:52.489
He enters a calf roping event in California.
1667
01:30:52.829 --> 01:30:54.810
If I can, if I can rope this calf or
1668
01:30:54.850 --> 01:30:58.170
I can wrestle this steer you're committing tomorrow deal.
1669
01:30:59.130 --> 01:31:03.270
Colton sounds like a guy that would say rassle. He
1670
01:31:03.310 --> 01:31:05.229
seems like that kind of guy. He is that kind
1671
01:31:05.250 --> 01:31:06.229
of guy. He's that kind of guy.
1672
01:31:06.270 --> 01:31:07.090
We're way over time.
1673
01:31:07.170 --> 01:31:11.750
Or Swanee as your guy. Who's the offensive lineman who
1674
01:31:11.770 --> 01:31:12.210
called in?
1675
01:31:12.250 --> 01:31:18.020
Shout out. Weber State. David Hale. David Hale. As Dave
1676
01:31:18.060 --> 01:31:19.859
Hale likes to call him, Swanee.
1677
01:31:20.079 --> 01:31:20.319
Yeah.
1678
01:31:21.539 --> 01:31:23.760
Shout out to you, Dave. Shout out to Hale. I
1679
01:31:23.800 --> 01:31:26.310
hope you're listening again today. And everyone down here in
1680
01:31:26.319 --> 01:31:27.170
Weber State South.
1681
01:31:29.409 --> 01:31:31.739
All right, we got a PGA Tour leaderboard update for
1682
01:31:31.779 --> 01:31:34.220
you in the Daily Dump. That's coming next. It's the
1683
01:31:34.239 --> 01:31:36.779
Sean O'Connell Show on ESPN 700, 92.1 FM.
1684
01:31:37.439 --> 01:31:42.590
And Utah's number one sports talk, ESPN 700 and 92.1 FM.
1685
01:31:42.729 --> 01:31:45.310
Brought to you by Valley Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling.
1686
01:31:45.409 --> 01:31:47.159
Just look for the truck with the duck.
1687
01:31:51.250 --> 01:31:54.510
The PGA tour is in Utah time for a PGA
1688
01:31:54.529 --> 01:31:57.850
tour leaderboard update from the bank of Utah championship at
1689
01:31:57.979 --> 01:32:02.380
black desert resort down in Ivins. This is brought to
1690
01:32:02.439 --> 01:32:04.939
you by you went to golf by worldwide golf in store.
1691
01:32:04.960 --> 01:32:07.319
They've got free custom fitting at you into golf or
1692
01:32:07.399 --> 01:32:12.399
shop online at worldwide golf.com. Multiple locations all up and
1693
01:32:12.420 --> 01:32:16.039
down the Wasatch front. Great deals right now in store
1694
01:32:16.180 --> 01:32:20.539
and online for anything you need to Finish your season
1695
01:32:20.619 --> 01:32:25.220
with longer drives. Discounts right now on drivers from multiple brands.
1696
01:32:25.979 --> 01:32:29.539
They've got the new golf apparel discounts going on as well.
1697
01:32:30.380 --> 01:32:36.159
And NFL or college football. I guess it's not just football.
1698
01:32:36.399 --> 01:32:47.159
University branded golf bags, visors. shirts, club head covers, everything
1699
01:32:47.560 --> 01:32:51.239
at you into golf by worldwide golf. James, I know
1700
01:32:51.270 --> 01:32:53.810
this is very special to you because this is your,
1701
01:32:54.050 --> 01:32:54.789
this is my home.
1702
01:32:54.989 --> 01:32:57.829
This is your home. Not not as is your home.
1703
01:32:57.869 --> 01:33:01.250
Technically not Ivan's, but say George Southern Utah.
1704
01:33:01.289 --> 01:33:04.279
We'll I'll do, we'll call it, we'll call it the hometown.
1705
01:33:04.319 --> 01:33:05.880
This is one of those, this is one of those
1706
01:33:05.920 --> 01:33:09.600
things where like, you know, you're not claiming to be
1707
01:33:09.640 --> 01:33:10.659
Samoan or Tongan.
1708
01:33:10.699 --> 01:33:12.760
You're, you're Polynesian right now. Exactly.
1709
01:33:13.119 --> 01:33:16.199
And there's no rival high school in Ivan's to a
1710
01:33:16.220 --> 01:33:19.060
cons out there, but they don't, they don't participate in
1711
01:33:19.100 --> 01:33:22.539
the region athletics, uh, down there. So I don't have
1712
01:33:22.579 --> 01:33:26.739
any problems saying Ivan's is, is part of the hometown. Um,
1713
01:33:28.229 --> 01:33:31.029
but yeah, isn't it just incredible to see the lava
1714
01:33:31.069 --> 01:33:34.649
rock and the red rock of snow Canyon state park
1715
01:33:34.750 --> 01:33:38.609
and the surrounding areas on, It's on ESPN Plus today.
1716
01:33:39.149 --> 01:33:40.930
It'll be on the weekend.
1717
01:33:40.949 --> 01:33:44.229
It'll be on national TV, but it feels national TV-ish,
1718
01:33:45.060 --> 01:33:47.220
seen it on our TV screen here in the studio.
1719
01:33:47.239 --> 01:33:51.939
It makes my heart happy as a proud St. Georgian, St. Georgite.
1720
01:33:54.079 --> 01:33:56.699
I don't know how to say the leader's name. Well,
1721
01:33:56.729 --> 01:33:59.710
you better figure it out. This is your tournament.
1722
01:33:59.949 --> 01:34:05.350
Sudarshan Yelamaraju is tied for the lead at seven under.
1723
01:34:05.409 --> 01:34:08.869
He's Canadian. I guarantee that's exactly how his mom says it. Yeah,
1724
01:34:09.369 --> 01:34:12.760
shout out to you. Sooty, for short. His friends call
1725
01:34:12.770 --> 01:34:13.199
him Sooty.
1726
01:34:14.199 --> 01:34:18.380
David Lipski, Stephen Fisk, also tied at the top of
1727
01:34:18.399 --> 01:34:22.340
the leaderboard. All those guys still in progress, so time
1728
01:34:22.380 --> 01:34:29.170
to come down or improve their score. Doug Gimm, Stephen Yeager,
1729
01:34:29.369 --> 01:34:34.069
and our U-Pot, Zach Blair, tied for second, one shot
1730
01:34:34.109 --> 01:34:38.039
off the lead. or tied for fourth, excuse me, one
1731
01:34:38.079 --> 01:34:40.920
shot off the lead. Also, John Vanderlaan, which is a
1732
01:34:40.960 --> 01:34:45.260
great golf name, with Lawn at the end there. They're
1733
01:34:45.300 --> 01:34:47.949
all tied there, one shot off the lead at six under.
1734
01:34:48.869 --> 01:34:50.810
Gim is done for the day, but the other guys,
1735
01:34:50.850 --> 01:34:54.949
including our guy Zach Blair, are still in progress on
1736
01:34:54.970 --> 01:34:58.069
their back nine. And then James is near the top
1737
01:34:58.100 --> 01:35:00.300
of the leaderboard. I'm near the top of the leaderboard, OC.
1738
01:35:00.739 --> 01:35:05.189
Ben James, actually. He's tied for fifth, or tied for eighth,
1739
01:35:05.250 --> 01:35:08.170
excuse me, five under, two shots off the lead. He's
1740
01:35:08.250 --> 01:35:12.529
also Jackson Subers in there, Kevin Yu. Oh, and another U-Pot,
1741
01:35:12.569 --> 01:35:16.069
Patrick Fishburne just pulled into a tie for eighth to
1742
01:35:16.550 --> 01:35:19.979
round out the top ten at five under. That's your
1743
01:35:20.100 --> 01:35:23.560
PGA Tour leaderboard update brought to you by Uintah Golf
1744
01:35:23.640 --> 01:35:26.960
from the Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert Resort
1745
01:35:27.319 --> 01:35:29.199
here in the great state of Utah. By the way,
1746
01:35:29.680 --> 01:35:32.500
Tony Finau, he tees off about a half hour from now.
1747
01:35:32.770 --> 01:35:35.289
He is playing in this tournament, and he tees off
1748
01:35:35.310 --> 01:35:36.069
in about a half hour.
1749
01:35:37.050 --> 01:35:39.970
Good to see Tony Finau back. He's been pretty inactive
1750
01:35:40.010 --> 01:35:44.489
this year on the PGA Tour. Pseudo-retirement was talked about
1751
01:35:44.550 --> 01:35:45.770
with Tony Finau.
1752
01:35:46.090 --> 01:35:48.649
He's struggled in the events that he's played, too, which
1753
01:35:48.710 --> 01:35:51.029
is one of the reasons why he is playing today,
1754
01:35:51.050 --> 01:35:54.270
because he needs more points to stay and keep that
1755
01:35:54.310 --> 01:35:55.840
PGA Tour status, I believe.
1756
01:35:55.960 --> 01:35:59.510
So this is big for him. All right, we're going
1757
01:35:59.529 --> 01:36:00.770
to try to stay on clock here.
1758
01:36:00.810 --> 01:36:04.449
That is your daily dump slash your PGA Tour leaderboard update.
1759
01:36:04.510 --> 01:36:07.250
Valley plumbing, heating, and cooling, they've got it all for you,
1760
01:36:07.789 --> 01:36:12.260
including big-time excavation plumbing jobs. You need a sewer line replaced.
1761
01:36:12.270 --> 01:36:14.520
You need a main water line replaced. That stop and
1762
01:36:14.539 --> 01:36:17.619
waste valve that controls the water to your sprinklers.
1763
01:36:18.239 --> 01:36:20.960
Don't try to do that yourself. The truck with the duck,
1764
01:36:21.060 --> 01:36:21.899
that's where it's at.
1765
01:36:22.640 --> 01:36:25.300
Lots left to get to, including Tom Callahan to talk
1766
01:36:25.479 --> 01:36:29.779
Utah Mammoth. Their season begins tonight. The Sean O'Connell Show
1767
01:36:29.800 --> 01:36:31.640
on ESPN 700, 92.1 FM. We don't need no education.
1768
01:36:31.760 --> 01:36:38.279
We don't need no thought.
1769
01:36:41.529 --> 01:36:44.010
Control.
1770
01:36:44.350 --> 01:36:46.970
This is the Sean O'Connell Show, your home of the
1771
01:36:47.069 --> 01:36:50.310
best insight of your youths. Let's get back to OC
1772
01:36:50.369 --> 01:36:53.729
from the Murdoch Chevrolet studio of ESPN 700 at 92.1 FM.
1773
01:36:59.680 --> 01:37:04.779
Welcome back to the Sean O'Connell.
1774
01:37:03.659 --> 01:37:12.529
Show, ESPN 700, 92.1 FM. College football this weekend, including tonight.
1775
01:37:22.760 --> 01:37:27.689
Western Kentucky at New Mexico state, North Texas at Tulsa.
1776
01:37:27.810 --> 01:37:30.189
I know that with the Utah mammoth being an action tonight,
1777
01:37:30.210 --> 01:37:33.270
you've already got appointment viewing. You're going to check out
1778
01:37:33.329 --> 01:37:36.789
local sports, but during commercials, if you're not in attendance,
1779
01:37:37.210 --> 01:37:39.229
you might want to flip over to that Tulsa golden
1780
01:37:39.270 --> 01:37:43.369
hurricane game, figure out If you can try to figure
1781
01:37:43.409 --> 01:37:46.550
out how good Tulsa actually is still unbeaten, right?
1782
01:37:46.729 --> 01:37:49.130
No, they lost. They lost Arkansas.
1783
01:37:49.289 --> 01:37:49.649
Okay.
1784
01:37:49.670 --> 01:37:53.850
They lost 34 to six to Arkansas, which is really
1785
01:37:53.909 --> 01:37:57.390
confusing because this team beat Oklahoma state in week one,
1786
01:37:57.489 --> 01:38:01.470
Oklahoma state is now a ranked team. And a lot
1787
01:38:01.489 --> 01:38:03.970
of people think, you know, has a great shot at
1788
01:38:04.010 --> 01:38:07.170
making it to the conference championship game. I'm not that
1789
01:38:07.229 --> 01:38:09.880
high on Oklahoma state right now, but their win over
1790
01:38:09.989 --> 01:38:13.050
Oregon shows that when they're at their best, They're capable
1791
01:38:13.090 --> 01:38:16.750
of beating just about anybody. They beat Oregon 24 to 10.
1792
01:38:16.750 --> 01:38:18.840
They actually struggled a little bit on the road against
1793
01:38:18.899 --> 01:38:21.979
Sam Houston, but got the win there. They killed east
1794
01:38:22.039 --> 01:38:24.159
Texas a and M and that's what that game is for.
1795
01:38:24.199 --> 01:38:27.670
And then they lost to a really bad Arkansas team
1796
01:38:27.729 --> 01:38:30.170
on the road, but maybe we need to start giving
1797
01:38:30.250 --> 01:38:33.670
Arkansas a little more credit question mark.
1798
01:38:33.710 --> 01:38:34.510
Probably not.
1799
01:38:34.609 --> 01:38:39.069
I mean, the sec definitely means more than conference USA
1800
01:38:39.220 --> 01:38:39.800
to be fair.
1801
01:38:39.810 --> 01:38:42.760
I can say that to be fair to Arkansas.
1802
01:38:43.439 --> 01:38:45.439
And I can't believe I'm saying this because I thought
1803
01:38:45.460 --> 01:38:49.489
that they looked awful. against the university of Utah. They're
1804
01:38:49.510 --> 01:38:51.229
two and two right now. And the, and the two
1805
01:38:51.270 --> 01:38:55.270
losses that we've seen Arkansas sustain are in back-to-back weeks
1806
01:38:56.010 --> 01:38:58.289
against Utah at rice Eccles stadium.
1807
01:38:58.850 --> 01:39:02.850
Right. And then against Georgia.
1808
01:39:03.229 --> 01:39:03.529
Yeah.
1809
01:39:04.529 --> 01:39:07.930
And the two top 15 teams, Georgia's second ranked team
1810
01:39:07.949 --> 01:39:08.430
in the country.
1811
01:39:08.550 --> 01:39:13.289
Those, those two games are both set up for not
1812
01:39:13.310 --> 01:39:16.289
a lot of success for Arkansas, Utah early in the
1813
01:39:16.329 --> 01:39:17.590
season on the road.
1814
01:39:18.800 --> 01:39:20.039
I mean, come on.
1815
01:39:20.640 --> 01:39:22.600
We knew that Arkansas wasn't going to win that game.
1816
01:39:22.640 --> 01:39:25.760
By the way, they went in very similar fashion, similar scores,
1817
01:39:25.779 --> 01:39:30.619
43-10 to Utah, 45-17 to Georgia. So maybe all we
1818
01:39:30.680 --> 01:39:33.619
actually know about Arkansas right now is that they look
1819
01:39:33.640 --> 01:39:35.520
bad against top 15 teams.
1820
01:39:36.800 --> 01:39:39.539
And then they beat North Alabama and they beat Tulsa.
1821
01:39:40.380 --> 01:39:42.560
We'll find out more about Arkansas, I guess, when they're
1822
01:39:42.590 --> 01:39:44.250
on the road against A & M this week.
1823
01:39:44.310 --> 01:39:47.310
And then they've got Tennessee after that. I thought.
1824
01:39:48.899 --> 01:39:51.699
I thought Tulsa was going to secondarily carry the flag
1825
01:39:51.739 --> 01:39:54.859
for the big 12 and by beating Arkansas, you know
1826
01:39:54.890 --> 01:39:57.609
what I mean? Like, Hey, look how strong the big
1827
01:39:57.609 --> 01:40:00.789
12 is at a group of six team that beat
1828
01:40:00.949 --> 01:40:03.810
one of the best big 12 teams also beat Arkansas.
1829
01:40:03.829 --> 01:40:07.430
Didn't happen. So I don't know.
1830
01:40:07.369 --> 01:40:09.510
Who we're supposed to blame for something like this. As
1831
01:40:09.529 --> 01:40:13.960
we head into a college football weekend last weekend, thankfully
1832
01:40:13.979 --> 01:40:17.100
it didn't become a storyline in the game. Devin Dampier
1833
01:40:17.140 --> 01:40:19.279
came in and he did his dishing with dev interview
1834
01:40:19.380 --> 01:40:21.979
and you could hear in his voice, he was stuffy.
1835
01:40:22.079 --> 01:40:25.560
He was, you know, a little, little horse and maybe.
1836
01:40:25.659 --> 01:40:28.319
Maybe the same cold or whatever that all the rest
1837
01:40:28.359 --> 01:40:28.989
of us have had.
1838
01:40:29.229 --> 01:40:32.350
He was like, when he came in, usually we, you know,
1839
01:40:33.489 --> 01:40:35.750
give him a little bro hug or whatever. He's like, nah, man,
1840
01:40:36.050 --> 01:40:37.869
just the fist bump. He's like, I'm sick. I don't
1841
01:40:37.890 --> 01:40:39.569
want to do it to you. And I was like,
1842
01:40:39.649 --> 01:40:42.569
oh dang. And you could tell it wasn't like this
1843
01:40:42.750 --> 01:40:44.270
kind of sick that makes you weak. It was just
1844
01:40:44.289 --> 01:40:46.630
kind of the, oh, this is annoying. And I, I'm
1845
01:40:46.710 --> 01:40:48.890
stuffy and I can't breathe or whatever. But he also
1846
01:40:48.949 --> 01:40:51.720
said that like a bunch of guys on the team
1847
01:40:51.760 --> 01:40:53.819
were dealing with it. Like a large number. And that
1848
01:40:53.880 --> 01:40:58.840
is the nature of your proximity in college football. You're
1849
01:40:58.859 --> 01:41:02.319
in the locker room together. You're making actual physical contact
1850
01:41:02.359 --> 01:41:05.020
with one another in practice. The same is true with
1851
01:41:05.060 --> 01:41:08.539
the lifts. You're, you know, you're working out together.
1852
01:41:09.399 --> 01:41:10.199
Everyone's breathing.
1853
01:41:10.239 --> 01:41:14.949
Everyone else is exhaust in your coffin. And like, You
1854
01:41:14.970 --> 01:41:17.689
spread the germs when you're on a team. If something
1855
01:41:17.729 --> 01:41:19.470
hits somebody on the team, it's going to hit multiple
1856
01:41:19.489 --> 01:41:20.189
people on the team.
1857
01:41:20.689 --> 01:41:22.810
Utah had that last week. Hopefully it's gone.
1858
01:41:22.869 --> 01:41:25.869
Now that you're in the bi-week San Diego state is
1859
01:41:25.909 --> 01:41:27.909
dealing with an outbreak of their own, but it's not
1860
01:41:27.970 --> 01:41:29.029
like the common cold.
1861
01:41:29.909 --> 01:41:30.689
It is mumps.
1862
01:41:31.380 --> 01:41:31.689
Ooh.
1863
01:41:33.420 --> 01:41:34.779
Now, a lot of you out there are just like,
1864
01:41:34.920 --> 01:41:36.199
what the bleep is mumps.
1865
01:41:36.560 --> 01:41:41.220
Exactly. It's the big, you get it. It's a big goiters, right?
1866
01:41:41.600 --> 01:41:42.039
You get it.
1867
01:41:43.359 --> 01:41:48.100
You get a vaccine against mumps when you're a little kid.
1868
01:41:48.239 --> 01:41:51.510
When you're young, if you're so inclined. You get puffy
1869
01:41:51.550 --> 01:41:53.489
cheeks and a tender jaw. Yeah, you do have to
1870
01:41:53.550 --> 01:41:57.250
say that now. Fever, headache, muscle aches and tiredness, loss
1871
01:41:57.369 --> 01:41:58.010
of appetite.
1872
01:41:58.270 --> 01:42:01.590
Yeah, that's a terrible thing to be getting when you're
1873
01:42:01.630 --> 01:42:06.720
in college. Anytime that you're an adult or whatever. By
1874
01:42:06.760 --> 01:42:08.920
the way, I have to say this since we're talking
1875
01:42:08.939 --> 01:42:12.970
about the mumps. You into Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I do love
1876
01:42:12.989 --> 01:42:16.670
me some Brooklyn Nine-Nine. That's probably the best episode. The
1877
01:42:16.710 --> 01:42:19.069
Mumps episode is probably the best. And there's so many
1878
01:42:19.109 --> 01:42:22.220
good episodes of that show. The Mumps episode is probably
1879
01:42:22.260 --> 01:42:25.699
the best show and one of the funniest in television history.
1880
01:42:26.199 --> 01:42:30.300
So your parotid gland swells up and makes it look
1881
01:42:30.319 --> 01:42:34.239
like you have a lopsided face, like a big cheek
1882
01:42:34.430 --> 01:42:35.729
and neck area.
1883
01:42:36.050 --> 01:42:39.569
Yeah. So, by the way, putting on a helmet.
1884
01:42:40.500 --> 01:42:45.500
over your swollen parotid gland would be excruciating, would really suck.
1885
01:42:45.979 --> 01:42:48.359
So San Diego State dealing with an outbreak of the
1886
01:42:48.460 --> 01:42:53.569
mumps that is apparently, as of whenever they put out
1887
01:42:53.630 --> 01:43:00.310
this headline, 14 players have it. The initial availability report
1888
01:43:00.329 --> 01:43:03.729
that they put out on Wednesday included three dozen players,
1889
01:43:03.729 --> 01:43:05.880
17 listed as doubtful.
1890
01:43:05.899 --> 01:43:07.979
Oh my gosh.
1891
01:43:08.140 --> 01:43:12.010
Because they can't get their helmet on. is the main thing, probably.
1892
01:43:12.609 --> 01:43:15.390
So, by the way, they've been really good with injury,
1893
01:43:15.729 --> 01:43:18.470
but they've got some mumps going on, man.
1894
01:43:19.689 --> 01:43:21.729
Balthazar's a thirsty, you know what.
1895
01:43:24.609 --> 01:43:29.810
Shout out to whatever, you know, Victorian doctor named the
1896
01:43:29.890 --> 01:43:34.229
condition mumps, by the way, because they looked at somebody
1897
01:43:34.270 --> 01:43:39.340
who had this big swollen face. Like, goodness gracious.
1898
01:43:39.800 --> 01:43:42.800
You've got some lumps on your face. But they're not
1899
01:43:42.960 --> 01:43:47.539
regular lumps. They're mumps. And that stuck. It just was
1900
01:43:47.619 --> 01:43:48.880
mumps for the rest of forever.
1901
01:43:49.000 --> 01:43:51.859
No, I like to think that it was the infected person,
1902
01:43:51.880 --> 01:43:54.739
the unfortunate infected person, looking in the mirror and going,
1903
01:43:56.060 --> 01:43:57.789
saying lumps, but it came out mumps.
1904
01:43:58.449 --> 01:44:02.250
What's that on your face? A mump.
1905
01:44:02.489 --> 01:44:05.949
What a wonderful name for this condition. And they're like, oh, yes,
1906
01:44:06.010 --> 01:44:08.210
we're going to call it that from now on. And
1907
01:44:08.270 --> 01:44:10.619
it stuck, and it worked, and now... That's what we're
1908
01:44:10.640 --> 01:44:12.319
all calling it. And we always will.
1909
01:44:12.579 --> 01:44:15.890
I thought I was following you. I'm just quoting that
1910
01:44:15.939 --> 01:44:17.609
episode now from Brooklyn.
1911
01:44:17.630 --> 01:44:24.470
That's too obscure. It's too obscure. Rewatch it. And when
1912
01:44:24.510 --> 01:44:27.329
that line hits, I guarantee you will not stop laughing.
1913
01:44:30.909 --> 01:44:37.069
Crazy stuff. Mumps back in college football. Another interesting thing
1914
01:44:37.109 --> 01:44:38.770
in the college football world. I don't know if you
1915
01:44:38.789 --> 01:44:44.409
guys saw this. Um, the university of Tennessee, because of
1916
01:44:45.689 --> 01:44:48.909
apparently this was like a by-product of the presidential visit
1917
01:44:50.050 --> 01:44:54.710
at Neyland stadium. And they were, they wanted to allow
1918
01:44:54.829 --> 01:44:57.189
access early. So people could get in early so that
1919
01:44:57.210 --> 01:45:01.029
the security wouldn't have as much to block and show
1920
01:45:01.069 --> 01:45:03.500
like right around kickoff time when the president was expected
1921
01:45:03.539 --> 01:45:04.029
to show up.
1922
01:45:04.079 --> 01:45:07.300
So they, they seem that they learned from the Knicks game.
1923
01:45:07.859 --> 01:45:09.060
Is what it would seem.
1924
01:45:09.199 --> 01:45:09.680
Seemingly.
1925
01:45:09.739 --> 01:45:10.500
Based on that.
1926
01:45:10.960 --> 01:45:15.239
So apparently everyone loved it so much that they're going
1927
01:45:15.279 --> 01:45:19.550
to do something called a happy hour for the next,
1928
01:45:20.930 --> 01:45:25.369
I guess, for the foreseeable future. Three hours before kickoff,
1929
01:45:26.090 --> 01:45:33.630
they open the gates. And beer and concessions in that
1930
01:45:33.689 --> 01:45:36.939
happy hour, the first hour, so three hours before the
1931
01:45:37.789 --> 01:45:40.909
the game actually kicks off. You can go into the stadium.
1932
01:45:41.470 --> 01:45:44.449
You can take your seat. You can go get concessions
1933
01:45:44.880 --> 01:45:48.039
and beer and concessions are 50% off during.
1934
01:45:47.859 --> 01:45:49.500
That happy hour. Oh my gosh.
1935
01:45:49.579 --> 01:45:53.859
So Tennessee is creating a promotion at their games now
1936
01:45:54.579 --> 01:45:57.720
where they are basically encouraging everyone to go into the
1937
01:45:57.760 --> 01:46:01.770
stadium and get lit on discounted beer.
1938
01:46:01.449 --> 01:46:03.689
Before three hours.
1939
01:46:03.430 --> 01:46:05.930
Before The game actually kicks off.
1940
01:46:05.970 --> 01:46:08.329
My question is, what are they going to do about
1941
01:46:08.350 --> 01:46:14.109
the empty tailgate in the parking lot? Because I'm sure
1942
01:46:14.149 --> 01:46:18.119
there's lots of people who tailgate in Knoxville who don't
1943
01:46:18.180 --> 01:46:19.180
have tickets to the game.
1944
01:46:19.380 --> 01:46:20.260
I'm sure that's a thing.
1945
01:46:20.720 --> 01:46:23.960
But, like, I'm sure a lot of these people that
1946
01:46:24.239 --> 01:46:26.779
have tickets that normally tailgate are like, I don't need to.
1947
01:46:28.560 --> 01:46:32.119
Everything's basically free. I can pregame in the stadium.
1948
01:46:34.609 --> 01:46:39.550
So the university offered half price on all concessions, including beer,
1949
01:46:40.189 --> 01:46:44.069
which is normally between $ 10 and $ 16 per serving for
1950
01:46:44.109 --> 01:46:46.770
the first hour after gates open. And it was the
1951
01:46:46.850 --> 01:46:52.829
best concessions day ever at the university of Tennessee. So
1952
01:46:53.210 --> 01:46:56.840
they're just sticking with it. By the way, you know
1953
01:46:56.859 --> 01:46:59.159
who the athletic director is at Tennessee?
1954
01:46:59.579 --> 01:47:00.039
I do not.
1955
01:47:00.420 --> 01:47:06.079
Danny white. Oh, Danny white. formerly a coach executive with
1956
01:47:06.119 --> 01:47:08.399
the Utah blaze. Oh, shout out.
1957
01:47:10.180 --> 01:47:14.640
Pro football legend, Utah pro football legend, Danny white.
1958
01:47:16.960 --> 01:47:19.239
So if you have season tickets or any kind of
1959
01:47:19.260 --> 01:47:22.970
ticket in Knoxville, get there three hours early, head in
1960
01:47:23.829 --> 01:47:29.350
and gorge yourself on churros, pretzels, nachos, hot dogs for
1961
01:47:29.449 --> 01:47:32.270
half off. Uh, that goes for the beer as well.
1962
01:47:32.729 --> 01:47:35.369
This is going to make for a raucous game day atmosphere.
1963
01:47:35.430 --> 01:47:38.489
Oh, my gosh, yes. All right.
1964
01:47:38.630 --> 01:47:41.710
Speaking of raucous game day atmospheres, let's talk about what
1965
01:47:41.750 --> 01:47:44.909
we expect tonight at the Delta Center. Tom Callahan to
1966
01:47:44.949 --> 01:47:47.439
talk a little Utah Mammoth on the Sean O'Connell Show.
1967
01:47:47.979 --> 01:47:48.529
ESPN 700 and 92.1 FM.
1968
01:47:53.840 --> 01:47:57.020
You're listening to The Sean O'Connell Show, your source for
1969
01:47:57.050 --> 01:48:00.569
the best youth football coverage. Here's O.C. from the Murdoch
1970
01:48:00.630 --> 01:48:02.689
Hyundai Studio of ESPN 700 at 92.1 FM.
1971
01:48:21.159 --> 01:48:24.319
Welcome back to the Sean O'Connell Show. Reminder for all of.
1972
01:48:24.340 --> 01:48:27.840
You looking to go to UFC 332 at the Delta
1973
01:48:27.859 --> 01:48:30.779
Center on Saturday night. You can head to Dave &
1974
01:48:30.779 --> 01:48:35.119
Buster's at the Gateway tonight or tomorrow. Anytime ahead of
1975
01:48:35.159 --> 01:48:38.760
Friday night's raffle, they're going to raffle off a chance
1976
01:48:38.779 --> 01:48:42.720
to win tickets for the UFC 332 event, which, of course,
1977
01:48:42.979 --> 01:48:46.380
will take place on Saturday. No purchase is necessary. But
1978
01:48:46.420 --> 01:48:48.810
if you don't win the tickets, head back down to
1979
01:48:48.819 --> 01:48:51.729
Dave & Buster's watch all the fights at the gateway,
1980
01:48:51.779 --> 01:48:55.810
play the games in between. They also have a UFC pass.
1981
01:48:55.829 --> 01:48:58.329
You can buy it. David Buster's a UFC membership where
1982
01:48:58.909 --> 01:49:02.949
you pay 50 bucks. You get a UFC collectible power card.
1983
01:49:02.989 --> 01:49:08.350
That's preloaded with $ 35 for games and 50% off games
1984
01:49:08.409 --> 01:49:11.460
and 20% off food and beverages during every UFC fight event.
1985
01:49:11.520 --> 01:49:14.239
So get it for this one, go back for the
1986
01:49:14.279 --> 01:49:15.699
next one and the next one and the next one,
1987
01:49:15.739 --> 01:49:18.359
take advantage of the discounts and, Dave and Buster's at
1988
01:49:18.380 --> 01:49:22.039
the Gateway in downtown Salt Lake City. UFC 332, fight
1989
01:49:22.100 --> 01:49:24.840
night done right by your friends over at Dave and Buster's.
1990
01:49:24.880 --> 01:49:28.479
The raffle will happen Friday night, so get down there beforehand.
1991
01:49:28.560 --> 01:49:31.449
In fact, here's a good idea for you. You're coming
1992
01:49:31.489 --> 01:49:36.050
downtown for the Mammoth game tonight, season opener. Head over
1993
01:49:36.069 --> 01:49:37.930
to Dave and Buster's, put your name in the raffle,
1994
01:49:38.489 --> 01:49:42.409
walk back over to the Delta Center and watch the
1995
01:49:42.449 --> 01:49:45.539
Mammoth beat up on the Chicago Blackhawks. Joining us to
1996
01:49:45.579 --> 01:49:51.689
talk about that, Friend of the program, Mammoth Insider, Tom Callahan.
1997
01:49:51.750 --> 01:49:53.050
Welcome back, Tom Callahan.
1998
01:49:53.069 --> 01:49:53.430
How are you?
1999
01:49:54.609 --> 01:49:56.979
Oh, my goodness. It has been a minute, hasn't it?
2000
01:49:57.020 --> 01:49:58.260
Thanks for having me back.
2001
01:49:58.880 --> 01:50:02.140
I appreciate you giving us some time again, host of
2002
01:50:02.199 --> 01:50:04.819
Locked on Mammoth, and obviously a lot to talk about.
2003
01:50:05.470 --> 01:50:06.329
With this team.
2004
01:50:07.350 --> 01:50:12.430
Really interesting off-season moves, including an announcement just a couple
2005
01:50:12.470 --> 01:50:15.310
of days ago of the opening day roster where Daniil
2006
01:50:15.340 --> 01:50:18.600
Boot and Dmitry Simishev, some of the young stars that
2007
01:50:18.659 --> 01:50:21.060
started to make their mark last year, are going to
2008
01:50:21.079 --> 01:50:25.449
be with the big club, For game one, I think
2009
01:50:25.489 --> 01:50:28.590
this was kind of anticipated and expected within the halls
2010
01:50:28.649 --> 01:50:31.229
of that building and with a lot of the fan base.
2011
01:50:31.289 --> 01:50:33.880
But I wanted to start there with those two young
2012
01:50:33.899 --> 01:50:37.260
guys being added to the mix. What kind of impact
2013
01:50:37.560 --> 01:50:40.840
should they have on this season, especially in these early goings?
2014
01:50:41.989 --> 01:50:44.609
Boy, it's exciting right now in Mammoth Land. And I
2015
01:50:44.630 --> 01:50:46.510
know we'll talk about a bunch of the other stuff later,
2016
01:50:46.550 --> 01:50:51.939
but the evolution of both Boot and Simishev is highly anticipated.
2017
01:50:52.119 --> 01:50:54.340
We've been waiting for this for a while. Last year,
2018
01:50:54.380 --> 01:50:55.859
I think there was a lot of hope that it
2019
01:50:55.970 --> 01:50:58.970
could be last season that they made the jump full-time
2020
01:50:59.010 --> 01:51:01.810
to the NHL. Never quite what worked out for either
2021
01:51:01.890 --> 01:51:04.670
one of them. They both played in the high twenties
2022
01:51:04.750 --> 01:51:08.720
as far as games, but didn't really find that full-time role.
2023
01:51:08.819 --> 01:51:12.079
And especially Simishev, I think they were excited to have
2024
01:51:12.119 --> 01:51:15.579
him on that opening day roster last year. But things just,
2025
01:51:16.060 --> 01:51:17.239
It didn't quite go that way.
2026
01:51:17.260 --> 01:51:17.340
Okay.
2027
01:51:17.800 --> 01:51:20.890
So, you know, they get extended time in Tucson, their
2028
01:51:20.930 --> 01:51:24.329
development continues. And I think this year in the preseason,
2029
01:51:24.390 --> 01:51:29.270
we really saw that both players have made significant strides
2030
01:51:29.310 --> 01:51:32.989
in their developments. You know, another year of North American pro,
2031
01:51:33.050 --> 01:51:35.470
which is essential for guys coming over from playing in
2032
01:51:35.489 --> 01:51:39.149
the KHL, which they both did really, I think helped
2033
01:51:39.189 --> 01:51:42.520
their game. And now they appear to be NHL ready
2034
01:51:42.560 --> 01:51:43.489
on a full-time basis.
2035
01:51:45.579 --> 01:51:48.810
Another new newcomer on this roster and a big acquisition.
2036
01:51:50.229 --> 01:51:53.310
Trochek comes in and it looks like he's going to
2037
01:51:53.329 --> 01:51:55.909
be paired. They've already figured out the lines and things
2038
01:51:55.949 --> 01:52:00.069
like that. Do you like where the initial vision for
2039
01:52:00.149 --> 01:52:03.250
Vincent Trochek and his ability to contribute seems to lie
2040
01:52:03.289 --> 01:52:03.869
with Coach Baer?
2041
01:52:05.319 --> 01:52:09.920
What's really cool about Vincent Trocek is that he has
2042
01:52:09.960 --> 01:52:12.699
the ability to plug in in so many different places
2043
01:52:13.220 --> 01:52:16.170
and make an impact up and down the lineup. And we, we,
2044
01:52:17.609 --> 01:52:20.439
all summer long over locked on mammoth about where he
2045
01:52:20.489 --> 01:52:23.279
could slot in because there were so many options. Do
2046
01:52:23.319 --> 01:52:26.060
you keep the top line intact from last year or
2047
01:52:26.140 --> 01:52:30.100
do you start moving pieces around? Do you try him
2048
01:52:30.149 --> 01:52:33.069
at center? Do you put them on the wing? There
2049
01:52:33.109 --> 01:52:35.390
are a lot of places he could go. What were
2050
01:52:35.409 --> 01:52:37.189
some of the other players coming in like Anders Lee?
2051
01:52:37.229 --> 01:52:39.649
What was his impact going to be? But starting him
2052
01:52:39.729 --> 01:52:41.810
on the top line, putting him in a place where
2053
01:52:41.909 --> 01:52:44.829
he can maybe try to establish some chemistry like he
2054
01:52:44.909 --> 01:52:47.649
used to have at the Rangers with Chris Crider. Those
2055
01:52:47.729 --> 01:52:51.399
two were just unbelievable together. And I think that putting
2056
01:52:51.420 --> 01:52:54.199
him on a line with Schmaltz and Keller, at least
2057
01:52:54.220 --> 01:52:57.600
to start the season, you now have both Schmaltz and
2058
01:52:57.659 --> 01:53:00.979
Trochek who can take draws. So you can have a
2059
01:53:01.039 --> 01:53:03.000
very good chance of starting with the puck. Trochek was
2060
01:53:03.100 --> 01:53:06.020
great in the face off circle, but which Utah has
2061
01:53:06.039 --> 01:53:08.140
not been great in the soft circle the last couple
2062
01:53:08.159 --> 01:53:11.600
of years, makes them better there. I really like it.
2063
01:53:11.810 --> 01:53:14.130
I think if you're giving your top line the chance
2064
01:53:14.149 --> 01:53:17.170
to start with the puck more often than not, that's amazing.
2065
01:53:17.289 --> 01:53:19.250
And Trochek's going to create a little more space for
2066
01:53:19.289 --> 01:53:23.000
those guys. Clayton Keller, I am not shy at saying
2067
01:53:23.039 --> 01:53:25.199
he's got to crack at 100 points this year. And
2068
01:53:25.279 --> 01:53:27.619
if this line really comes together, that's going to be
2069
01:53:27.640 --> 01:53:28.300
a big reason why.
2070
01:53:29.840 --> 01:53:31.100
Let's talk about the captain.
2071
01:53:31.979 --> 01:53:36.159
Last year, for some very understandable reasons, there was some inconsistencies,
2072
01:53:36.979 --> 01:53:41.140
and there's an expectation that this whole team is going
2073
01:53:41.180 --> 01:53:43.390
to be better this year than they were last year,
2074
01:53:43.550 --> 01:53:46.229
and they were pretty good last year. Feels like it's
2075
01:53:46.250 --> 01:53:49.569
got to start with the captain from a sort of
2076
01:53:50.409 --> 01:53:53.649
microcosm level. What does he need to do better as
2077
01:53:53.689 --> 01:53:55.960
an individual in order to lead the charge on this
2078
01:53:56.000 --> 01:53:56.659
team improving?
2079
01:53:58.180 --> 01:54:01.279
I feel like Clayton Keller is still very underrated and
2080
01:54:01.880 --> 01:54:06.850
really the national hockey media just really doesn't pay attention
2081
01:54:06.930 --> 01:54:09.529
to him or, or for that matter, Utah, as much
2082
01:54:09.569 --> 01:54:11.920
as they should. Now, last year you talked about there
2083
01:54:11.960 --> 01:54:15.359
were some extenuating circumstances, and he was dealing with a
2084
01:54:15.399 --> 01:54:19.939
lot personally off the ice. So, yes, I can understand
2085
01:54:19.960 --> 01:54:23.819
things like that can affect your level of play, and
2086
01:54:24.470 --> 01:54:27.649
it's tough. And I would never want to guess what
2087
01:54:27.710 --> 01:54:30.210
he had to deal with and how he just personally
2088
01:54:30.250 --> 01:54:32.409
dealt with it. I think coming back in this year,
2089
01:54:32.430 --> 01:54:35.670
he's got a chance to be refocused, was 90 points
2090
01:54:35.729 --> 01:54:38.920
two years ago. And that's why I say 100 points
2091
01:54:38.979 --> 01:54:40.800
is not out of reach this year, especially with the
2092
01:54:40.840 --> 01:54:43.779
addition of Trocek onto that line. But the thing that
2093
01:54:43.819 --> 01:54:46.439
Clayton Keller doesn't have to do anymore, and this is
2094
01:54:46.479 --> 01:54:49.140
what will make the difference for him, he doesn't really
2095
01:54:49.239 --> 01:54:51.619
have to do it all himself. And I think at
2096
01:54:51.680 --> 01:54:55.340
times last year, even with Gunther and Cooley and Kraus
2097
01:54:55.399 --> 01:54:57.960
and those guys around him, I felt like at times
2098
01:54:57.979 --> 01:54:59.970
he put a lot of pressure on himself to have
2099
01:55:00.010 --> 01:55:02.689
to do it himself. This year, instead of Utah having
2100
01:55:02.750 --> 01:55:04.869
a really good top six, I believe they have a
2101
01:55:04.890 --> 01:55:08.449
good top nine, meaning their first three lines can all
2102
01:55:08.510 --> 01:55:11.029
do some damage. They are much deeper than they were.
2103
01:55:11.149 --> 01:55:13.789
And so that's going to take some of that pressure
2104
01:55:14.149 --> 01:55:16.529
off of Clayton Keller to be able to produce and,
2105
01:55:16.789 --> 01:55:19.729
I think, free him up to play a better brand
2106
01:55:19.770 --> 01:55:20.220
of hockey.
2107
01:55:22.680 --> 01:55:24.359
I put the poll question out today.
2108
01:55:24.439 --> 01:55:26.520
Who's going to be the leading goal scorer for this
2109
01:55:26.579 --> 01:55:32.189
Mammoth squad starting hopefully tonight? And, you know, they've got
2110
01:55:32.369 --> 01:55:36.949
high expectations for Cooley, for Gunther. We saw Schmaltz have
2111
01:55:36.970 --> 01:55:39.369
kind of a goal scoring explosion. It's always nice to
2112
01:55:39.409 --> 01:55:41.770
see the captain get involved there, although he doesn't have
2113
01:55:41.810 --> 01:55:44.819
to score a ton of goals to be effective. If
2114
01:55:44.880 --> 01:55:47.880
I'm asking you that same question, how are you answering.
2115
01:55:47.560 --> 01:55:48.140
The poll today?
2116
01:55:49.579 --> 01:55:53.300
Dylan Gunther is my goal scoring leader. Clayton Keller is
2117
01:55:53.359 --> 01:55:57.079
my leading point getter. But I think that Gunther has
2118
01:55:57.159 --> 01:56:00.180
a chance to challenge for 50 goals this year. I
2119
01:56:00.279 --> 01:56:04.159
really believe coming off his 40 last year, he's going
2120
01:56:04.180 --> 01:56:06.159
to get more power play time. And now there's more
2121
01:56:06.220 --> 01:56:09.689
talent to distribute pucks on that power play. I think
2122
01:56:09.729 --> 01:56:13.329
the power play will be better this year and should
2123
01:56:13.710 --> 01:56:16.750
be top third of the league. It's going to need
2124
01:56:16.770 --> 01:56:18.789
some time to come together because there are so many
2125
01:56:18.829 --> 01:56:21.689
new parts and pieces to it. But I really expect
2126
01:56:21.729 --> 01:56:23.409
that he is going to be not only the goal
2127
01:56:23.449 --> 01:56:25.920
scoring leader for this team, but I think he's a
2128
01:56:25.939 --> 01:56:28.920
player who's got future captain written all over him. I
2129
01:56:29.000 --> 01:56:31.300
really like gone through the way he carries himself on
2130
01:56:31.340 --> 01:56:34.850
the ice, the way he inserts himself into, you know,
2131
01:56:34.869 --> 01:56:39.489
the little nose to nose post whistle scrums. I like
2132
01:56:39.529 --> 01:56:42.010
a lot about his game and I think he's going
2133
01:56:42.029 --> 01:56:44.689
to be the guy that, you know, really is able
2134
01:56:44.729 --> 01:56:46.659
to lead this team. But yeah, as far as putting
2135
01:56:46.739 --> 01:56:49.039
actual pucks in the net for sure, mark it down.
2136
01:56:49.100 --> 01:56:49.619
He's my guy.
2137
01:56:53.039 --> 01:56:56.079
We've talked over the last couple of years, I guess,
2138
01:56:56.159 --> 01:57:01.819
about the physicality, the defensive presence, the blue line, and
2139
01:57:01.880 --> 01:57:04.739
what they are adding or what they're not adding enough
2140
01:57:04.939 --> 01:57:08.789
of to this team. You talk to Bill Armstrong, you
2141
01:57:08.829 --> 01:57:11.369
talk to Coach Baer, and they want this to be
2142
01:57:11.430 --> 01:57:16.390
a team that can beat you up. The philosophy and
2143
01:57:16.409 --> 01:57:19.579
the personnel haven't always matched up, and there's There's not
2144
01:57:19.619 --> 01:57:22.279
a ton of fresh faces on that blue line, but
2145
01:57:22.800 --> 01:57:24.800
what is your expectation of the defense this year?
2146
01:57:27.000 --> 01:57:29.800
It will be interesting. Without Sean Dursey, we get a
2147
01:57:30.039 --> 01:57:33.569
first look at a full season of Mackenzie Wiegert, who
2148
01:57:33.670 --> 01:57:39.710
I think does fit that physical description. He's a guy
2149
01:57:39.729 --> 01:57:43.899
who I think can make an 84-game impact. And, you know,
2150
01:57:43.939 --> 01:57:46.640
provided everybody stays healthy, of course, which is the caveat.
2151
01:57:47.439 --> 01:57:50.340
I really like the second D pair of Schmidt and Marino.
2152
01:57:50.460 --> 01:57:53.680
I think those guys are just quietly go about doing
2153
01:57:53.720 --> 01:57:55.760
their jobs and they do their jobs very well. They
2154
01:57:55.779 --> 01:57:59.590
shut down a lot of, you know, highly skilled forwards
2155
01:57:59.670 --> 01:58:02.789
on the other team. Really, to me, the interesting question
2156
01:58:02.890 --> 01:58:04.729
on this team is going to be the five, six.
2157
01:58:05.250 --> 01:58:08.689
Right now they're carrying seven defensemen. I think Nick DeSimone
2158
01:58:08.710 --> 01:58:11.420
has been one of the best pickups that this team
2159
01:58:11.640 --> 01:58:15.260
has acquired since they moved to Utah Simashev coming into
2160
01:58:15.300 --> 01:58:17.279
his own now this year is going to be a
2161
01:58:17.539 --> 01:58:19.779
guy who I'm looking on to make a mark and
2162
01:58:19.920 --> 01:58:22.550
one person we haven't talked a lot about and we're
2163
01:58:22.590 --> 01:58:24.270
even guilty of it on the show but he's easy
2164
01:58:24.289 --> 01:58:27.939
to overlook unfortunately is Andrew Peek Pete comes over from
2165
01:58:27.979 --> 01:58:32.720
Boston on a one-year, $ 1 million essentially prove-it contract, can
2166
01:58:32.760 --> 01:58:37.199
be a bigger, more physical defenseman, has NHL experience, I
2167
01:58:37.260 --> 01:58:40.760
think can make that impact and play those physical minutes
2168
01:58:41.359 --> 01:58:44.340
for the Utah Mammoth on nights he does draw into
2169
01:58:44.380 --> 01:58:47.979
the lineup. And maybe he can work his way into
2170
01:58:48.010 --> 01:58:49.770
an everyday role because I really do think it is
2171
01:58:49.819 --> 01:58:52.329
that three-way battle to see who's going to be 5'6
2172
01:58:52.369 --> 01:58:57.409
every single night. And between DeSimone and Pete, Those two
2173
01:58:57.470 --> 01:58:59.369
are probably the ones who rotate the most. I don't
2174
01:58:59.390 --> 01:59:01.750
think Simishev gets a lot of nights off this year.
2175
01:59:01.829 --> 01:59:06.640
So I really think he could be the dark horse
2176
01:59:06.899 --> 01:59:09.300
to impress and help them be even more physical.
2177
01:59:09.739 --> 01:59:12.779
With some of the off-season acquisitions, some of the new names,
2178
01:59:13.060 --> 01:59:16.020
are special teams going to change at all in your mind?
2179
01:59:16.039 --> 01:59:21.079
Power play definitely will. Power play, you're adding a Trocek,
2180
01:59:21.100 --> 01:59:24.109
you're adding a Lee. Anders Lee is another guy who...
2181
01:59:25.039 --> 01:59:27.460
could easily slot in on a second unit. He does
2182
01:59:27.500 --> 01:59:29.039
not mind going to the front of the net and
2183
01:59:29.100 --> 01:59:32.359
just being an absolute pain. He's even going to get
2184
01:59:32.390 --> 01:59:36.689
the second-line minutes along with Gunther and Cooley five-on-five that
2185
01:59:36.729 --> 01:59:38.689
I think is going to give those guys, speaking of which,
2186
01:59:38.750 --> 01:59:41.810
more space, just like Trocek will generate space on his unit.
2187
01:59:42.289 --> 01:59:44.590
And that's with Lawson Kraus now sliding down to the
2188
01:59:44.649 --> 01:59:47.310
third line, and Kraus is a tough cookie too, and
2189
01:59:47.689 --> 01:59:49.090
he's a guy who can do that. So, yeah, it's
2190
01:59:49.130 --> 01:59:51.310
going to take a little while to gel, but those
2191
01:59:51.470 --> 01:59:53.949
new forwards on the power play is very exciting, plus
2192
01:59:53.979 --> 01:59:57.180
Daniil Booth. if he can kind of get it going
2193
01:59:57.260 --> 01:59:59.899
and find some scoring touch, he will earn more and
2194
01:59:59.920 --> 02:00:02.119
more power play time as well. So I think that
2195
02:00:02.189 --> 02:00:04.430
that's going to be absolutely huge. And then as far
2196
02:00:04.470 --> 02:00:07.850
as the penalty kill goes, I expect, again, those bottom
2197
02:00:07.869 --> 02:00:09.670
three D we talked about, they're going to try to
2198
02:00:09.729 --> 02:00:12.369
eat some PK minutes. Obviously they're going to run Schmidt
2199
02:00:12.409 --> 02:00:15.189
and Marino out there a lot for that situation as well. So,
2200
02:00:16.090 --> 02:00:18.239
you know, I don't know that it's going to change
2201
02:00:18.300 --> 02:00:20.399
on the PK so much as it's, you know, just
2202
02:00:20.439 --> 02:00:22.920
going to be, hey, we have to not only keep
2203
02:00:23.000 --> 02:00:25.539
up the hard work, but improve the way we're doing
2204
02:00:25.600 --> 02:00:27.979
things and limit the breakdowns that last year could be
2205
02:00:28.000 --> 02:00:28.819
a little frustrating.
2206
02:00:30.899 --> 02:00:33.520
Tom Callahan, Mammoth Insiders, our guest here on the Sean
2207
02:00:33.560 --> 02:00:36.039
O'Connell Show. You've probably already heard a lot of Tom
2208
02:00:36.060 --> 02:00:41.060
as the host of Mammoth Daily. We're locked on, Mammoth,
2209
02:00:41.100 --> 02:00:44.039
excuse me. we're looking at a season now where the
2210
02:00:44.100 --> 02:00:48.640
expectations are incredibly high because of what happened last year.
2211
02:00:48.840 --> 02:00:52.100
And because of our just kind of like new found
2212
02:00:53.399 --> 02:00:56.359
optimism as an NHL fan base, that it's still very
2213
02:00:56.420 --> 02:01:00.760
fresh for there's been an upward trajectory since this team
2214
02:01:00.800 --> 02:01:03.890
became part of our sports community. And the expectation is
2215
02:01:03.909 --> 02:01:07.630
that that trajectory is going to continue, but coaches and
2216
02:01:07.649 --> 02:01:09.989
players will tell you, look, getting there as hard, staying
2217
02:01:10.010 --> 02:01:12.539
there is even harder and, Getting further and further into
2218
02:01:12.560 --> 02:01:15.689
these playoffs is even harder. Last year, it was playoffs
2219
02:01:15.729 --> 02:01:18.090
or bust. They checked that box. It felt like you're
2220
02:01:18.109 --> 02:01:21.789
playing with house money, and you're out after the first round.
2221
02:01:22.510 --> 02:01:25.909
What's the best way to lay out expectations this year, Tom?
2222
02:01:27.310 --> 02:01:30.789
I think this year, the continuation of the evolution is
2223
02:01:30.829 --> 02:01:35.680
winning a series and making an impact in the next series.
2224
02:01:36.369 --> 02:01:39.829
It's time for this team. Regular season benchmark is to
2225
02:01:39.989 --> 02:01:42.189
not be the wild card. It is to be one
2226
02:01:42.210 --> 02:01:44.810
of the top three teams in the central division.
2227
02:01:45.470 --> 02:01:46.229
It is doable.
2228
02:01:46.350 --> 02:01:50.130
Is Colorado a powerhouse again? Yeah, but Utah has played
2229
02:01:50.149 --> 02:01:52.670
Colorado well and they play them close. And if they
2230
02:01:52.710 --> 02:01:54.430
can continue to do that and now do it with
2231
02:01:54.470 --> 02:01:57.260
a better roster, I think they can steal some points
2232
02:01:57.270 --> 02:01:59.970
from that series. We have a lot of question marks
2233
02:02:00.010 --> 02:02:06.239
in the Central. Chicago, St. Louis, Winnipeg, all question marks. Dallas,
2234
02:02:06.260 --> 02:02:07.880
to me, is still a bit of a question mark
2235
02:02:07.920 --> 02:02:12.579
as well because the Stars had some off-season turbulence. And
2236
02:02:13.159 --> 02:02:15.840
I'm not quite sure why, because we haven't heard a
2237
02:02:15.920 --> 02:02:18.220
lot externally about it, but there were a few players
2238
02:02:18.260 --> 02:02:20.939
who wanted to leave. Not all of them did, but
2239
02:02:21.060 --> 02:02:23.229
to me, I kind of wonder what the undercurrent is
2240
02:02:23.270 --> 02:02:25.489
there that we're not hearing. And then Minnesota, of course,
2241
02:02:25.510 --> 02:02:28.630
is going to be very good, but Utah's in a
2242
02:02:28.670 --> 02:02:30.510
spot where, yeah, finishing in the top three of the
2243
02:02:30.529 --> 02:02:34.750
central regular season would be a nice bar. I will
2244
02:02:34.869 --> 02:02:37.479
absolutely put it there. And then winning that first round
2245
02:02:37.520 --> 02:02:41.119
playoff series, making an impact in the second one. Hey, remember,
2246
02:02:41.779 --> 02:02:44.920
They were a couple of double overtime coin flips away
2247
02:02:45.000 --> 02:02:48.659
from eliminating an eventual Stanley cup finalist. It was closer
2248
02:02:48.699 --> 02:02:51.300
than people seem to remember through the lens of time,
2249
02:02:51.340 --> 02:02:54.260
just because Vegas made the final, but Utah gave them
2250
02:02:54.300 --> 02:02:55.600
a really good run for their money.
2251
02:02:55.859 --> 02:02:56.840
They absolutely did.
2252
02:02:56.899 --> 02:02:59.359
I mean, a couple of things go differently, an extra
2253
02:02:59.359 --> 02:03:01.420
90 seconds, or you play better for an extra 90
2254
02:03:01.420 --> 02:03:03.939
seconds and you're up three one. I mean, there's, there's
2255
02:03:03.960 --> 02:03:05.300
a lot of things that could have gone differently in
2256
02:03:05.340 --> 02:03:07.819
that series, but I think we accept those as kind
2257
02:03:07.840 --> 02:03:10.920
of growing pains of a young franchise and and whatnot
2258
02:03:11.140 --> 02:03:16.199
and and look there's the front office is sort of
2259
02:03:16.279 --> 02:03:18.640
made their statements and said all right bears our guy
2260
02:03:18.659 --> 02:03:24.060
an extension that goes with that uh... they've given contracts
2261
02:03:24.239 --> 02:03:26.659
and which are now very team friendly contracts to what
2262
02:03:27.100 --> 02:03:29.489
I think we can consider the core of this team.
2263
02:03:30.250 --> 02:03:33.750
And it feels like the vision is coming into shape
2264
02:03:33.970 --> 02:03:36.569
pretty nicely, maybe even a little bit ahead of schedule
2265
02:03:37.050 --> 02:03:40.329
to stay on that schedule. You needed to actually figure
2266
02:03:40.390 --> 02:03:43.970
out something in the backup goaltending space. Did they address
2267
02:03:44.010 --> 02:03:45.649
that in a way that makes sense to you, Tom?
2268
02:03:47.600 --> 02:03:50.579
I think bringing in Sebastian Kosa, it's interesting talking to my,
2269
02:03:50.819 --> 02:03:52.680
my friends that I know in and around the Detroit
2270
02:03:52.720 --> 02:03:56.390
market and that team, they, they were kind of a
2271
02:03:56.430 --> 02:03:58.550
mixed bag on the reviews. Some of them are real,
2272
02:03:58.590 --> 02:04:02.210
real high on them. Couldn't understand why Detroit suddenly kind
2273
02:04:02.329 --> 02:04:06.729
of just really gave up on them. Literally after really
2274
02:04:06.909 --> 02:04:10.409
one and three quarter good seasons, he had an abysmal
2275
02:04:10.489 --> 02:04:14.340
March in the American hockey league and just never got
2276
02:04:14.380 --> 02:04:19.859
his net back. So that happened. And there's other reasons
2277
02:04:20.350 --> 02:04:23.149
probably internally that Detroit said, all right, well, we have
2278
02:04:23.189 --> 02:04:25.510
yet another young goaltender. Maybe it's time we move on.
2279
02:04:25.529 --> 02:04:28.909
And so they did. He ends up in Utah. he's
2280
02:04:28.949 --> 02:04:31.869
very motivated in Utah to prove that he is an
2281
02:04:31.949 --> 02:04:35.270
NHL goaltender. This being his first real kick at the can,
2282
02:04:35.369 --> 02:04:37.510
I expect there'll be a little bit of inconsistency in
2283
02:04:37.550 --> 02:04:39.409
his game, but I really like what I saw in
2284
02:04:39.430 --> 02:04:42.939
the preseason. I think he's very motivated to do well.
2285
02:04:43.569 --> 02:04:46.399
I think so far he's, he's handled the workload that
2286
02:04:46.439 --> 02:04:50.359
he's been given and look poised, look pretty solid positionally.
2287
02:04:50.840 --> 02:04:53.380
And I think he really is going to challenge veg
2288
02:04:53.420 --> 02:04:56.659
for that number one role in as the season goes on,
2289
02:04:56.699 --> 02:04:58.779
the only question of course, and we talk about this
2290
02:04:58.880 --> 02:05:03.199
every year is how much is Andre tourney gonna run
2291
02:05:03.239 --> 02:05:06.569
his number one goaltender. And, you know, I'm not the
2292
02:05:06.630 --> 02:05:08.750
only one saying this, even the national guys kind of
2293
02:05:08.789 --> 02:05:11.529
are like, Hey, it'd be nice if, you know, veg
2294
02:05:11.590 --> 02:05:14.159
didn't play quite so many games. He might be a
2295
02:05:14.159 --> 02:05:16.260
little fresher down the stretch and into the playoffs, but
2296
02:05:16.319 --> 02:05:19.739
that's just not been the MO. So I don't know if,
2297
02:05:21.220 --> 02:05:22.920
And I can't explain to you why, but I would
2298
02:05:22.979 --> 02:05:25.239
really like to see Kosa be able to help manage
2299
02:05:25.270 --> 02:05:28.689
that workload and change that equation a little bit because
2300
02:05:28.729 --> 02:05:31.930
I think that will lead them to more playoff success.
2301
02:05:33.470 --> 02:05:35.750
I just alluded to the team-friendly nature of some of
2302
02:05:35.789 --> 02:05:38.199
these contracts. And as we've looked at some of the
2303
02:05:38.260 --> 02:05:40.720
other guys around the league getting extended, some of the
2304
02:05:40.760 --> 02:05:45.460
other young rising stars getting extended for, I mean, quite frankly,
2305
02:05:45.520 --> 02:05:49.810
just a higher price point. What kind of grade should
2306
02:05:49.829 --> 02:05:52.170
we be giving the front office for the Utah Mammoth
2307
02:05:52.229 --> 02:05:56.220
and for Bill Armstrong getting guys like Schmaltz done and
2308
02:05:56.659 --> 02:05:59.819
Cooley especially and Gunther especially, some of the young core
2309
02:06:00.439 --> 02:06:01.819
at a team-friendly value?
2310
02:06:03.350 --> 02:06:05.640
It almost looks like they had a crystal hockey puck
2311
02:06:05.680 --> 02:06:08.720
in some cases. They, I mean, they looked into the future,
2312
02:06:09.520 --> 02:06:10.899
knew that there was going to be a lot of
2313
02:06:10.960 --> 02:06:15.180
money available. The cap would rise. And I mean, we
2314
02:06:15.199 --> 02:06:17.500
just heard projections for a couple of seasons down the
2315
02:06:17.539 --> 02:06:20.659
road of the cap going up yet again by another
2316
02:06:20.659 --> 02:06:24.130
$ 10 million or so. It's kind of crazy. It's almost
2317
02:06:24.189 --> 02:06:27.149
monopoly money at this point. So the fact that GM
2318
02:06:27.189 --> 02:06:30.449
Bill Armstrong was able to get what at the time
2319
02:06:30.470 --> 02:06:34.100
you're like, okay, well, this is, probably manageable to spread
2320
02:06:34.140 --> 02:06:36.340
the wealth among these players the way he's doing it,
2321
02:06:36.439 --> 02:06:39.649
but you hope it doesn't bite you. When they were
2322
02:06:39.710 --> 02:06:44.109
able to unload JJ Paterka's contract and move him, that
2323
02:06:44.170 --> 02:06:46.750
money became available. Then they were able to kind of
2324
02:06:46.789 --> 02:06:50.489
really set themselves up for the next couple of seasons.
2325
02:06:51.170 --> 02:06:53.119
I really like where this team's at. I think he's
2326
02:06:53.140 --> 02:06:57.159
done a great job managing the payroll and, you know,
2327
02:06:57.359 --> 02:07:00.500
seeing and believing in, look, when you draft and develop
2328
02:07:00.539 --> 02:07:04.020
a guy, everybody likes their own draft picks, but they've
2329
02:07:04.060 --> 02:07:07.229
come to fruition. That's the other reason why when you
2330
02:07:07.270 --> 02:07:09.350
invest in your own players and you say, Hey, we're
2331
02:07:09.369 --> 02:07:11.750
going to commit to you. We want you to commit
2332
02:07:11.770 --> 02:07:15.449
to us. Here's the dollars. Here's the years. And then
2333
02:07:15.489 --> 02:07:17.840
it pans out and it's panned out now three or
2334
02:07:17.880 --> 02:07:21.930
four different times and you look really smart. And that's
2335
02:07:22.010 --> 02:07:24.630
what Utah has been able to do is draft and develop. Well,
2336
02:07:25.069 --> 02:07:29.289
turn those entry-level contracts into very nice paydays for those players.
2337
02:07:29.789 --> 02:07:32.829
But thankfully I will see all of this before this
2338
02:07:33.289 --> 02:07:39.770
incredible zaniness we're seeing now 16 and $ 20 million. This
2339
02:07:39.850 --> 02:07:42.779
is crazy. The next time all this comes around, I mean,
2340
02:07:42.800 --> 02:07:45.199
Clayton Keller is gotta be like in his chops right now,
2341
02:07:45.260 --> 02:07:49.569
because when he comes due, oh my goodness, Yes.
2342
02:07:49.750 --> 02:07:52.340
That's a, that is one of the things that's so
2343
02:07:52.399 --> 02:07:54.699
funny about contracts in sports.
2344
02:07:55.079 --> 02:07:57.189
It's great. If you're the guy right now, it's even better.
2345
02:07:57.229 --> 02:07:59.250
If you're the guy a year from now or two
2346
02:07:59.270 --> 02:08:02.159
years from now, because those numbers are going to get bigger.
2347
02:08:02.260 --> 02:08:03.279
It's pretty crazy to see.
2348
02:08:03.300 --> 02:08:04.439
Yes.
2349
02:08:05.979 --> 02:08:09.579
Were you surprised to see Iginla, Dan Oye, any of
2350
02:08:09.600 --> 02:08:14.460
the young cats that impressed with their development not make
2351
02:08:14.699 --> 02:08:16.510
the roster, not make the opening night roster?
2352
02:08:18.430 --> 02:08:20.439
I was pulling for TJ again, let it make it.
2353
02:08:20.970 --> 02:08:23.529
I really was. I would have loved to see him
2354
02:08:23.550 --> 02:08:26.970
in a mammoth uniform for opening night, but I also
2355
02:08:27.029 --> 02:08:30.649
understand why he's not. And you know, one of the
2356
02:08:30.670 --> 02:08:33.310
players we haven't talked about was Chris Tana getting waved.
2357
02:08:34.390 --> 02:08:37.909
I think this is the message for the, the Utah
2358
02:08:38.630 --> 02:08:42.350
fan base is that your team got a lot better
2359
02:08:42.409 --> 02:08:45.579
this summer. And you're going to see it on the ice.
2360
02:08:46.060 --> 02:08:49.020
But the other way you know is that, yes, you
2361
02:08:49.050 --> 02:08:53.369
had two essentially rookies graduating, not technical rookies, but Simishev
2362
02:08:53.390 --> 02:08:56.270
and Boot. graduate to the NHL now on what we
2363
02:08:56.310 --> 02:08:58.930
hope is a full-time basis. The fact that all of
2364
02:08:58.989 --> 02:09:02.310
those young prospects are in Tucson and we'll be playing
2365
02:09:02.340 --> 02:09:04.899
in the American hockey league. That's how good and how
2366
02:09:05.000 --> 02:09:08.600
deep this franchise has become. So yeah, I was rooting
2367
02:09:08.640 --> 02:09:10.380
for him. I wanted to see him make it, but
2368
02:09:10.460 --> 02:09:14.149
I understand why he didn't. And I think that that
2369
02:09:14.319 --> 02:09:18.789
core now being able to grow together and improve together
2370
02:09:18.810 --> 02:09:21.890
in the American hockey league. And quite frankly, I expect
2371
02:09:21.930 --> 02:09:24.829
that team to be really darn good this year. That
2372
02:09:25.510 --> 02:09:29.310
now extends the window because the window opens really fully
2373
02:09:29.369 --> 02:09:33.180
this year for Utah to become a Stanley Cup contender. Now,
2374
02:09:33.220 --> 02:09:35.880
instead of the window being open for three years or
2375
02:09:36.000 --> 02:09:39.420
four years, if those players learn to win together and
2376
02:09:39.460 --> 02:09:42.239
they come up together, the window becomes five and six
2377
02:09:42.439 --> 02:09:45.890
and seven years because that is now your second core
2378
02:09:46.529 --> 02:09:48.369
that is going to follow the one that's here now.
2379
02:09:51.470 --> 02:09:54.630
Who are this year's biggest risers in the NHL?
2380
02:09:57.369 --> 02:10:01.199
Well, that's a good one. It's kind of funny because
2381
02:10:01.220 --> 02:10:02.899
you think about a lot of the teams that aren't
2382
02:10:03.319 --> 02:10:06.600
coming up or the ones that might struggle or, you know,
2383
02:10:06.640 --> 02:10:08.279
not do so well. I think Florida is going to
2384
02:10:08.310 --> 02:10:10.789
be right back in front of everybody this year. They
2385
02:10:10.930 --> 02:10:14.640
ended up with a, you know, a goaltending loss. switch
2386
02:10:14.699 --> 02:10:17.140
that ended with Jacob Markstrom and they did get better.
2387
02:10:17.159 --> 02:10:19.000
They dealt with a lot of injuries last year. I
2388
02:10:19.020 --> 02:10:21.859
think Florida is right back in the Stanley cup contention
2389
02:10:21.899 --> 02:10:25.619
this year. That's going to be a big one. I'm
2390
02:10:25.779 --> 02:10:29.720
kind of curious and maybe a little, I'm not sure
2391
02:10:29.739 --> 02:10:31.960
how I feel about the Toronto Maple Leafs, but they
2392
02:10:32.000 --> 02:10:34.189
have a chance to do some damage in the East,
2393
02:10:34.989 --> 02:10:38.109
in the West. It's interesting to say that you think
2394
02:10:38.149 --> 02:10:39.770
Colorado is going to be a riser, but I think
2395
02:10:39.810 --> 02:10:42.850
Colorado was so embarrassed by the way their season ended
2396
02:10:42.909 --> 02:10:46.399
in the playoffs last year. They just fell apart. And
2397
02:10:46.479 --> 02:10:49.720
I think that Colorado is actually going to be even
2398
02:10:49.760 --> 02:10:52.930
more driven to be better. Minnesota is going to be better.
2399
02:10:53.590 --> 02:10:56.689
And quite frankly, Utah, Utah is probably going to be
2400
02:10:56.770 --> 02:10:59.869
the actual biggest riser in the West. I am extremely
2401
02:10:59.930 --> 02:11:02.689
high on the mammoth this year coming into this season.
2402
02:11:02.750 --> 02:11:05.850
I have very high expectations for them. So, I mean,
2403
02:11:05.869 --> 02:11:08.989
I know it's the hometown team, but I'm telling you this,
2404
02:11:09.229 --> 02:11:12.260
this is a great looking team heading into the year.
2405
02:11:12.720 --> 02:11:15.000
If you had to look into your crystal hockey puck,
2406
02:11:15.220 --> 02:11:19.079
how does the Winnipeg Connor Hellebuck impasse get resolved?
2407
02:11:20.810 --> 02:11:21.310
Oh, boy.
2408
02:11:22.699 --> 02:11:25.340
You know what? Kevin Shevelday off the GM of the
2409
02:11:25.399 --> 02:11:27.920
Jets has shown in the past he's not in a
2410
02:11:27.920 --> 02:11:30.979
hurry to do anything. I think he is more than
2411
02:11:31.039 --> 02:11:35.180
happy to let Hellebuck start missing paychecks and get a
2412
02:11:35.180 --> 02:11:38.760
little antsy about it. I don't think Hellebuck plays for
2413
02:11:38.779 --> 02:11:40.960
the Jets again. I just don't think he does. The
2414
02:11:41.039 --> 02:11:45.000
problem is it came out not too long ago that
2415
02:11:46.119 --> 02:11:50.909
it was offered before Florida was picked up Markstrom, they
2416
02:11:51.069 --> 02:11:54.069
offered two roster players, one of whom was Evan Rodriguez
2417
02:11:54.710 --> 02:11:57.979
and two first round picks to Winnipeg for Hellebuck. And
2418
02:11:58.020 --> 02:12:02.939
the Jets said no. So the Jets are looking for three,
2419
02:12:03.260 --> 02:12:06.729
maybe four roster players, and they're not going to get that.
2420
02:12:07.520 --> 02:12:10.510
And so this is where it depends who's going to
2421
02:12:10.529 --> 02:12:14.090
be more stubborn. At some point, yes, Hellebuck's going to
2422
02:12:14.109 --> 02:12:17.800
lose money. But the more he sits out, the lower
2423
02:12:17.859 --> 02:12:20.479
that value gets to the rest of the league. But
2424
02:12:20.520 --> 02:12:23.340
the Jets, if they're really dug in on three roster players,
2425
02:12:23.899 --> 02:12:26.380
I don't see anybody giving them that for Connor Hellebach.
2426
02:12:26.840 --> 02:12:30.079
I really don't. And so maybe this one's going to
2427
02:12:30.119 --> 02:12:31.420
sit in faster for months.
2428
02:12:34.060 --> 02:12:35.979
How serious do you think the Mammoth were in those
2429
02:12:36.039 --> 02:12:37.479
conversations when they did happen?
2430
02:12:38.600 --> 02:12:39.220
Pretty serious.
2431
02:12:39.819 --> 02:12:41.800
I think they were absolutely in on it because the
2432
02:12:41.840 --> 02:12:45.100
mammoth knew that. And I still feel like if they,
2433
02:12:45.319 --> 02:12:47.680
if they brought in Connor Hellebuck as their number one
2434
02:12:47.699 --> 02:12:53.180
goaltender right now, these guys catapult into probably our top
2435
02:12:53.199 --> 02:12:57.340
six or eight Stanley cup favorites. Not that they don't
2436
02:12:57.399 --> 02:13:02.220
have good goaltending, but I think they, if they had
2437
02:13:02.800 --> 02:13:06.819
an absolute bonafide stud Vezina trophy winner, that you have
2438
02:13:06.859 --> 02:13:09.979
to put them into the Stanley Cup conversation immediately. So
2439
02:13:11.310 --> 02:13:14.050
if that were the case, and I think they know that,
2440
02:13:15.189 --> 02:13:17.369
the Mammoth know that, if they were able to do
2441
02:13:17.409 --> 02:13:20.199
that and make that move, they would. But at the
2442
02:13:20.239 --> 02:13:23.449
end of the day, again, if the asking price was,
2443
02:13:23.909 --> 02:13:26.729
you know, let's say not only a goaltender coming back
2444
02:13:26.810 --> 02:13:29.289
and like veg or somebody like that. And then also
2445
02:13:29.329 --> 02:13:31.979
they're asking for another two or three, you know, Forge
2446
02:13:32.020 --> 02:13:36.539
defensemen who are NHL players right now. I can't justify
2447
02:13:36.600 --> 02:13:39.979
that for the mammoth. I cannot take apart that much
2448
02:13:40.020 --> 02:13:42.489
of the roster just to bring in Connor Hellebuck.
2449
02:13:45.170 --> 02:13:48.109
Are you a believer that Connor Hellebuck will return to
2450
02:13:48.510 --> 02:13:52.100
close to Vesna form if he's happier in a new situation?
2451
02:13:53.739 --> 02:13:56.819
I think so. You know, one thing about Hellebuck that
2452
02:13:56.840 --> 02:14:00.600
a lot of people didn't really realize and didn't recognize
2453
02:14:00.659 --> 02:14:03.739
was that until last season, and a lot went wrong
2454
02:14:03.779 --> 02:14:07.060
with the Jets last season, but two and three and
2455
02:14:07.119 --> 02:14:10.270
four years before that, The Jets were among the best,
2456
02:14:10.329 --> 02:14:13.149
if not the best, defensive teams in a lot of
2457
02:14:13.170 --> 02:14:16.539
metrics in the entire NHL. As far as shots against,
2458
02:14:16.939 --> 02:14:20.439
high-danger chances, all of these things that matter as far
2459
02:14:20.500 --> 02:14:24.229
as letting the other team have good scoring opportunities, the Jets...
2460
02:14:24.399 --> 02:14:27.989
shut those scoring opportunities down and did a real nice
2461
02:14:28.069 --> 02:14:30.989
job of taking care of Hellebuck. And then Hellebuck gave
2462
02:14:31.010 --> 02:14:34.329
them the saves they needed. That's why the Jets were competitive.
2463
02:14:34.729 --> 02:14:36.619
And so I think if Hellebuck ends up on a
2464
02:14:36.699 --> 02:14:40.020
team that knows how to play defense and can take
2465
02:14:40.079 --> 02:14:43.380
care of, you know, the second or third chance opportunities,
2466
02:14:43.420 --> 02:14:46.039
he's going to give you the first save. And that
2467
02:14:46.079 --> 02:14:47.939
is really what you need out of your goaltender. And
2468
02:14:47.979 --> 02:14:51.340
occasionally he's going to give you something spectacular, which I
2469
02:14:51.399 --> 02:14:54.079
think you need to go deep into the playoffs. He's
2470
02:14:54.140 --> 02:14:57.170
confident now that he's won a gold medal. He even
2471
02:14:57.210 --> 02:15:00.050
feels like he's kind of shrugged that off of him
2472
02:15:00.109 --> 02:15:01.989
where the old, oh, well, he can't win in a
2473
02:15:02.029 --> 02:15:05.210
pressure situation. He just proved that. you know, on a
2474
02:15:05.229 --> 02:15:08.010
world stage, he took team USA to a gold medal.
2475
02:15:08.069 --> 02:15:11.100
So I really think that the yoke is off as
2476
02:15:11.140 --> 02:15:13.880
far as that goes. If he's on a really, really
2477
02:15:14.039 --> 02:15:17.279
good defensive team. I mean, you have to consider that
2478
02:15:17.340 --> 02:15:20.460
even an average defensive team, but the jets were very
2479
02:15:20.479 --> 02:15:22.880
good defensively last year. They were not, everything kind of
2480
02:15:22.899 --> 02:15:25.979
went to, to hack on them all at the same time.
2481
02:15:27.609 --> 02:15:30.489
Tom, I appreciate you joining us again today. I look
2482
02:15:30.529 --> 02:15:33.430
forward to many, many more of these conversations because we.
2483
02:15:34.199 --> 02:15:36.939
Hockey is back, baby. The long wait is over.
2484
02:15:38.260 --> 02:15:40.880
Oh, we're so excited, OC. I appreciate it. Yeah, man,
2485
02:15:40.899 --> 02:15:41.939
can't wait to drop the puck.
2486
02:15:43.600 --> 02:15:48.289
We'll do that tonight at 7.30 against the Chicago Blackhawks.
2487
02:15:48.789 --> 02:15:49.729
Big thanks to Tom.
2488
02:15:49.750 --> 02:15:52.369
He'll be part of our hockey coverage right here on
2489
02:15:52.430 --> 02:15:55.710
ESPN 700 and 92.1 FM. We will see you at
2490
02:15:55.750 --> 02:15:59.310
the Delta Center tonight, at least hopefully, fingers crossed, you
2491
02:15:59.350 --> 02:16:00.390
get a chance to be there.
2492
02:16:02.010 --> 02:16:03.869
You got to give credit where it's due, Ryan Smith.
2493
02:16:04.710 --> 02:16:05.630
Just sent out a tweet.
2494
02:16:06.590 --> 02:16:08.630
He said, I know that tickets are hard to come
2495
02:16:08.670 --> 02:16:11.140
by for the home opener, so I'm opening some up
2496
02:16:11.350 --> 02:16:14.619
in my personal suite. He's giving away his own personal
2497
02:16:14.659 --> 02:16:17.979
suite tickets again. This is something that he does for
2498
02:16:18.119 --> 02:16:20.180
Mammoth Games, for Utah Jazz Games.
2499
02:16:22.199 --> 02:16:24.699
Say what you will. Feel however you want to.
2500
02:16:25.199 --> 02:16:29.210
This is not normal team owner behavior in professional sports.
2501
02:16:29.470 --> 02:16:30.569
It does not happen here.
2502
02:16:31.020 --> 02:16:33.260
In every market, it does not happen with every owner,
2503
02:16:33.309 --> 02:16:38.610
with every owner's family, with every owner's wife. Owners, in
2504
02:16:38.649 --> 02:16:43.309
a lot of cases, are exactly that. They are the
2505
02:16:43.450 --> 02:16:46.790
stewards over these kingdoms, and they feel like they're the
2506
02:16:46.829 --> 02:16:49.450
kings and the queens, and we are all the peasants.
2507
02:16:50.370 --> 02:16:53.530
And they're happy to hear your adulation.
2508
02:16:53.569 --> 02:16:56.649
They're happy to... get your adoration.
2509
02:16:56.690 --> 02:17:00.709
They're happy for your golden trinkets being thrown their way.
2510
02:17:01.229 --> 02:17:03.670
But in a lot of cases, they don't want to
2511
02:17:03.719 --> 02:17:07.000
have to intermingle, right? They are the upper, upper, upper
2512
02:17:07.059 --> 02:17:12.799
crust of our weirdly financially obsessed society and give.
2513
02:17:12.700 --> 02:17:13.420
Credit where it's due.
2514
02:17:13.479 --> 02:17:16.760
Ryan Smith and his family open up their own personal
2515
02:17:16.819 --> 02:17:20.430
spaces to fans and who don't get to attend these
2516
02:17:20.489 --> 02:17:22.950
games in other circumstances all that often.
2517
02:17:23.110 --> 02:17:24.430
So it's pretty cool that he does it.
2518
02:17:24.729 --> 02:17:27.250
And it, I think this means that Ryan will be
2519
02:17:27.329 --> 02:17:32.079
sitting on the Ikea stools in the little empty area
2520
02:17:32.420 --> 02:17:35.360
in the corner behind that still exist. If that, if
2521
02:17:35.399 --> 02:17:40.100
that still exists with the renovation, he might've insisted that
2522
02:17:40.100 --> 02:17:42.889
that stay there so that he has a spot to
2523
02:17:42.889 --> 02:17:45.059
Sit when he gives away his box.
2524
02:17:45.059 --> 02:17:45.870
I don't know.
2525
02:17:45.870 --> 02:17:48.819
I've actually, I've watched enough of the videos to think
2526
02:17:48.879 --> 02:17:50.819
I know what I'm looking at when I walk into
2527
02:17:50.840 --> 02:17:54.819
the Delta Center tonight, but also I acknowledge that videos
2528
02:17:54.879 --> 02:17:58.590
and pictures never do a place real justice. So I'm
2529
02:17:58.610 --> 02:18:00.450
pumped to get in there and walk around and see
2530
02:18:00.469 --> 02:18:02.430
what the new feel of the building is like. It's
2531
02:18:03.809 --> 02:18:06.629
Twice now that they've pulled off some kind of renovation
2532
02:18:06.870 --> 02:18:07.549
in short order.
2533
02:18:07.729 --> 02:18:08.610
Yeah, me too.
2534
02:18:08.670 --> 02:18:11.450
And by the way, Darren Swan, our resident BYU fan,
2535
02:18:12.139 --> 02:18:16.239
we will both be there tonight at the Mammoth season opener.
2536
02:18:16.280 --> 02:18:20.180
He says 90% of his family is coming too. So
2537
02:18:20.579 --> 02:18:21.600
if you see us, say hi.
2538
02:18:22.200 --> 02:18:24.620
Apologies to the 10% of the family that doesn't get
2539
02:18:24.639 --> 02:18:24.940
to come.
2540
02:18:25.059 --> 02:18:26.200
I know. It's rough.
2541
02:18:26.559 --> 02:18:30.059
Maybe they're on a mission or something or they're out
2542
02:18:30.100 --> 02:18:30.520
of town.
2543
02:18:30.549 --> 02:18:31.100
I don't know.
2544
02:18:32.270 --> 02:18:34.969
I put the poll question out about who you think
2545
02:18:35.030 --> 02:18:37.350
is going to be the leading goal scorer for the
2546
02:18:37.450 --> 02:18:40.989
Utah Mammoth this year. I'll give you your results so far.
2547
02:18:41.690 --> 02:18:44.100
When we come back, it's the Sean O'Connell Show on
2548
02:18:44.280 --> 02:18:45.540
ESPN 700 and 92.1 FM.
2549
02:18:51.659 --> 02:18:54.479
You're tuned to the Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch
2550
02:18:54.559 --> 02:18:56.959
Chevrolet studio of ESPN.
2551
02:18:56.579 --> 02:18:57.120
700 and 92.1 FM.
2552
02:19:00.239 --> 02:19:03.780
I was working in the lab late one night when
2553
02:19:03.799 --> 02:19:08.159
my eyes beheld an eerie sight. For my monster from
2554
02:19:08.219 --> 02:19:12.290
his lab began to rise. And suddenly, to my surprise,
2555
02:19:12.469 --> 02:19:13.729
he did the mash.
2556
02:19:13.750 --> 02:19:15.770
He did the monster mash.
2557
02:19:15.809 --> 02:19:17.190
The monster mash.
2558
02:19:18.989 --> 02:19:20.690
It was a graveyard smash.
2559
02:19:20.709 --> 02:19:22.370
He did the mash.
2560
02:19:22.389 --> 02:19:23.790
It caught on in a flash.
2561
02:19:23.809 --> 02:19:24.239
He did the mash.
2562
02:19:26.309 --> 02:19:31.600
Little Halloween music because it's October 1st.
2563
02:19:31.700 --> 02:19:32.639
It's a beautiful day.
2564
02:19:32.899 --> 02:19:35.379
Feels more like late summer than it does early fall,
2565
02:19:35.500 --> 02:19:39.440
but they're kind of the same thing. The spooky season
2566
02:19:39.500 --> 02:19:42.680
is upon us. My Halloween decorations have already been up
2567
02:19:42.700 --> 02:19:45.700
for a couple of weeks. Not because your boy likes
2568
02:19:45.750 --> 02:19:50.430
to do that, but because I have four lovely ladies
2569
02:19:50.590 --> 02:19:53.729
in the house that cannot get enough of Halloween season.
2570
02:19:54.010 --> 02:19:54.190
So.
2571
02:19:55.290 --> 02:19:58.809
That's where we're at. Welcome to it. I put a
2572
02:19:58.809 --> 02:20:01.850
poll question out. The Utah Mammoth are starting their season tonight.
2573
02:20:01.889 --> 02:20:03.670
Who's going to be the leading goal scorer for the
2574
02:20:03.799 --> 02:20:06.879
Utah Mammoth this year? So far in the early returns
2575
02:20:07.760 --> 02:20:12.040
on the poll, Dylan Gunther, 57%, Logan Cooley.
2576
02:20:12.040 --> 02:20:13.260
40% of the vote.
2577
02:20:13.340 --> 02:20:17.750
Schmaltz getting nothing, even though he had a nice 33
2578
02:20:17.750 --> 02:20:18.389
goals last year.
2579
02:20:18.409 --> 02:20:19.110
Clayton Keller.
2580
02:20:20.360 --> 02:20:24.659
getting 2.9% of the vote right now. So at Real
2581
02:20:24.700 --> 02:20:30.340
OC Sports, if you want to participate in the poll question, 877-353-0700,
2582
02:20:30.379 --> 02:20:32.840
anytime you want to weigh in on the text line,
2583
02:20:33.520 --> 02:20:38.620
always love hearing from you. Utah Mammoth with high expectations
2584
02:20:39.100 --> 02:20:41.829
from the fan base, certainly from the ownership, certainly, but
2585
02:20:41.889 --> 02:20:46.850
also I think internally, these guys proved themselves last year that,
2586
02:20:47.049 --> 02:20:48.719
you know, they are a team on the rise and,
2587
02:20:49.290 --> 02:20:52.350
And it didn't feel like, and it doesn't still feel like,
2588
02:20:53.530 --> 02:20:58.090
you've hit anything close to the ceiling. That, oh yeah,
2589
02:20:58.370 --> 02:21:02.159
we maxed out, we got 90%, 95% of what this
2590
02:21:02.180 --> 02:21:05.100
team is capable of, and it brought you into the playoffs,
2591
02:21:05.139 --> 02:21:07.860
and then you fizzled out in those playoffs. It feels
2592
02:21:07.899 --> 02:21:12.379
like this was the first foray into the top 70%
2593
02:21:12.379 --> 02:21:15.069
of what the team can actually do, and there's plenty
2594
02:21:15.100 --> 02:21:17.670
of gas left in this tank, especially with some of
2595
02:21:17.690 --> 02:21:18.930
the off-season acquisitions.
2596
02:21:19.430 --> 02:21:21.549
With Daniil Butin, Dmitry Simishev coming up.
2597
02:21:22.489 --> 02:21:25.469
Tom Callahan, I think, is a little bit cooler on
2598
02:21:25.530 --> 02:21:29.850
the COSA backup goalie addition than a lot of the
2599
02:21:29.889 --> 02:21:32.659
other people that I've talked to. And maybe it's just
2600
02:21:32.690 --> 02:21:36.239
because we're wishful thinking and hoping that Veggie doesn't have
2601
02:21:36.280 --> 02:21:39.159
to carry the whole load himself. But I think that
2602
02:21:39.219 --> 02:21:42.860
even competent backup goalie play is going to be a
2603
02:21:42.959 --> 02:21:45.020
big game changer for this team when it comes to
2604
02:21:45.040 --> 02:21:46.420
the standings and things like that.
2605
02:21:47.909 --> 02:21:49.409
I expect the sharks to be really good.
2606
02:21:49.450 --> 02:21:52.590
I expect some teams maybe to take a step back,
2607
02:21:52.729 --> 02:21:55.420
but this mammoth team, and I liked what Tom said,
2608
02:21:55.450 --> 02:21:57.819
even though he acknowledged there could be a little bit
2609
02:21:57.840 --> 02:21:59.520
of Homerism in there. He said, look, this is the
2610
02:21:59.559 --> 02:22:02.799
team that could take the most significant leap forward. And
2611
02:22:02.840 --> 02:22:07.260
that of course is the hope in order to make
2612
02:22:07.299 --> 02:22:09.719
it happen. You're going to need all the guys I
2613
02:22:09.760 --> 02:22:15.620
put on that list to be active goal scorers. Also
2614
02:22:15.700 --> 02:22:20.069
in the news, Utah men's basketball, the running Utes, getting
2615
02:22:20.110 --> 02:22:23.049
back into the swing of things for their upcoming season.
2616
02:22:23.629 --> 02:22:28.370
Little media day, media scrums happening yesterday. And Jackson Holcomb,
2617
02:22:28.409 --> 02:22:32.389
who is a transfer from UVU, helped UVU win the
2618
02:22:32.469 --> 02:22:37.110
WAC for the second straight year, was all WAC defensive team,
2619
02:22:37.430 --> 02:22:42.500
first team all WAC, all conference team. He was on
2620
02:22:42.520 --> 02:22:46.579
the AWAC all-freshman team two years ago. He was on
2621
02:22:46.600 --> 02:22:51.120
the AWAC tournament team. He is the jewel of the
2622
02:22:51.319 --> 02:22:54.969
transfer class, I think, with local interest here for the
2623
02:22:55.000 --> 02:22:56.829
University of Utah.
2624
02:22:57.750 --> 02:22:58.969
Jackson Holcomb.
2625
02:23:00.370 --> 02:23:03.329
Had an interesting soundbite that James thought we needed to
2626
02:23:03.370 --> 02:23:04.090
bring to the air.
2627
02:23:05.090 --> 02:23:06.489
Well, this will be the first time I've heard it.
2628
02:23:06.510 --> 02:23:07.030
Hit it, James.
2629
02:23:08.350 --> 02:23:09.510
What excites you most about.
2630
02:23:09.430 --> 02:23:12.110
Playing in the Big 12?
2631
02:23:12.989 --> 02:23:14.610
The thing that excites me most is how many people
2632
02:23:14.629 --> 02:23:16.950
doubt us. I'm excited to go out there.
2633
02:23:16.870 --> 02:23:17.649
And prove people wrong.
2634
02:23:22.590 --> 02:23:26.620
Speaking of that, there's probably some Utes fans in there
2635
02:23:26.639 --> 02:23:30.079
that's doubted you guys because it's been a rough stretch
2636
02:23:30.120 --> 02:23:33.899
for the program. What do you say to those guys
2637
02:23:33.940 --> 02:23:35.639
about what might be different this year?
2638
02:23:37.920 --> 02:23:40.729
I would say we look forward to proving you wrong.
2639
02:23:41.819 --> 02:23:43.440
I love all my Utes fans. I can't wait for
2640
02:23:43.459 --> 02:23:45.579
everybody to be back in the Huntsman Center. I understand
2641
02:23:45.600 --> 02:23:47.760
we've got to earn that trust, but I can't wait
2642
02:23:47.780 --> 02:23:49.059
to prove those people wrong.
2643
02:23:52.459 --> 02:23:56.739
So an acknowledgement from Jackson Holcomb that you have to
2644
02:23:56.780 --> 02:23:59.120
prove it, but you have to prove people wrong because
2645
02:23:59.159 --> 02:24:04.600
there's a skepticism with Utah basketball that I think is eroding,
2646
02:24:05.329 --> 02:24:07.090
but it's eroding gradually, right?
2647
02:24:07.770 --> 02:24:08.719
Because....
2648
02:24:09.530 --> 02:24:12.950
There was doubt as to whether or not this basketball
2649
02:24:12.989 --> 02:24:15.209
program was ever going to be brought back to the
2650
02:24:15.309 --> 02:24:19.450
front of priorities. And then we saw with the pursuit
2651
02:24:19.569 --> 02:24:23.250
of an eventual hiring of Alex Jensen, that there was
2652
02:24:23.290 --> 02:24:28.170
a significant commitment to the basketball program. In addition to
2653
02:24:28.250 --> 02:24:31.870
everything that's already being layered on the football program and
2654
02:24:32.149 --> 02:24:35.549
gymnastics and women's basketball, which has been on the rise
2655
02:24:35.649 --> 02:24:39.329
over the years, There was a sort of reconcerted effort
2656
02:24:39.450 --> 02:24:45.010
to get back to greatness eventually in Utah men's basketball.
2657
02:24:45.510 --> 02:24:47.569
And look, we had Alex Jensen on the show several
2658
02:24:47.610 --> 02:24:49.670
times last year. We had players on the show last year.
2659
02:24:49.690 --> 02:24:55.360
There's an admission, there's an awareness in the team and
2660
02:24:55.379 --> 02:24:57.219
in the locker room that this is going to be
2661
02:24:57.299 --> 02:25:00.920
a tough slog. But it's going to take that mentality
2662
02:25:00.959 --> 02:25:05.809
that Jackson Holcomb seems to be bringing with him that, look... I,
2663
02:25:06.260 --> 02:25:08.420
all we can do is prove people wrong. I have
2664
02:25:08.440 --> 02:25:14.030
been part of these sort of like, uh, not even turnarounds,
2665
02:25:14.090 --> 02:25:17.209
but building processes where everyone's just like, that's not going
2666
02:25:17.229 --> 02:25:17.510
to work.
2667
02:25:17.829 --> 02:25:19.670
That's not going to work. That's not going to work.
2668
02:25:20.110 --> 02:25:22.670
And you can get mad at them and you can
2669
02:25:22.729 --> 02:25:26.489
tell them, no, shut up. And you can say any,
2670
02:25:26.549 --> 02:25:30.030
you can make any intellectual point that you want. You
2671
02:25:30.049 --> 02:25:32.110
can point to, well, look how good our transfers are. Oh, well,
2672
02:25:32.129 --> 02:25:33.829
look how much money we're spending compared to what we
2673
02:25:33.899 --> 02:25:37.500
used to spend. Whatever you want to say, you have
2674
02:25:37.540 --> 02:25:40.340
to back up all the words said with prove it
2675
02:25:40.399 --> 02:25:44.700
mentality and prove it execution. And that's what Jackson Holcomb
2676
02:25:44.760 --> 02:25:48.590
is referring to. Go ahead and doubt. I'm excited to
2677
02:25:48.649 --> 02:25:50.989
prove you wrong. And then he will be excited like
2678
02:25:51.010 --> 02:25:54.350
they all will to welcome you back to the bandwagon
2679
02:25:54.889 --> 02:25:58.479
and to fill up the Huntsman Center again. Alex Jensen says,
2680
02:25:58.829 --> 02:26:01.979
in every conversation we had with him last year was
2681
02:26:03.139 --> 02:26:06.340
far from shy about saying like, look, it sucks that
2682
02:26:06.360 --> 02:26:08.399
this building is empty. When I was here, it was
2683
02:26:08.420 --> 02:26:10.540
hard to get a seat. I hate seeing it like this.
2684
02:26:11.649 --> 02:26:13.889
He's not being diplomatic about that. He's not giving you
2685
02:26:13.950 --> 02:26:16.209
coach speak about that. He's like, yeah, we need more
2686
02:26:16.250 --> 02:26:19.049
people here, but I also know we have to win
2687
02:26:19.090 --> 02:26:22.489
to get more people here. So there's, there's an accountability
2688
02:26:22.530 --> 02:26:26.760
in this basketball program where the they're pointing the finger
2689
02:26:26.799 --> 02:26:31.610
at themselves. If we prove it, it'll fix the problem. Not, Hey,
2690
02:26:31.629 --> 02:26:33.909
you fans need to show up. We're going to win.
2691
02:26:33.950 --> 02:26:36.290
We're going to prove you wrong. And that's going to
2692
02:26:36.329 --> 02:26:39.690
lend itself to success. And of course, winning more fans,
2693
02:26:39.750 --> 02:26:45.270
more fans winning, better recruits, more winning. They are in
2694
02:26:46.270 --> 02:26:48.969
the early stages still of a heavy.
2695
02:26:49.030 --> 02:26:49.750
Heavy, heavy lift.
2696
02:26:51.610 --> 02:26:51.809
Yeah.
2697
02:26:51.950 --> 02:26:56.659
And I'll just say that, maybe I may have needed
2698
02:26:56.739 --> 02:26:59.159
to phrase my question a little differently. Cause I was,
2699
02:26:59.520 --> 02:27:02.620
someone else already asked about what's going to be like
2700
02:27:02.639 --> 02:27:03.010
the big 12.
2701
02:27:03.000 --> 02:27:04.940
He sent that message. We want to prove people wrong.
2702
02:27:05.319 --> 02:27:09.659
I was hoping to elicit like, what are some tangible
2703
02:27:09.739 --> 02:27:12.450
things that, you know, because he's part of the program
2704
02:27:12.469 --> 02:27:17.270
that will be different this year that.
2705
02:27:18.709 --> 02:27:19.549
Utes fans should know.
2706
02:27:19.889 --> 02:27:20.110
Right.
2707
02:27:20.270 --> 02:27:22.610
And he decided to double down and be like, I'm,
2708
02:27:23.389 --> 02:27:25.090
What they should know is that we're going to prove
2709
02:27:25.110 --> 02:27:28.770
you wrong, which I love that intensity. He did end
2710
02:27:28.870 --> 02:27:31.309
up speaking to one of the things that I think
2711
02:27:31.709 --> 02:27:35.350
Utes fans should be encouraged about, as did almost everyone
2712
02:27:35.430 --> 02:27:37.049
else that I was there for.
2713
02:27:37.069 --> 02:27:39.170
I was there for one part of the availability. Spence
2714
02:27:39.190 --> 02:27:39.950
was there for the others.
2715
02:27:40.639 --> 02:27:43.579
We've got all that posted on the website. The ones
2716
02:27:43.600 --> 02:27:47.340
that I was present for, O.C., they all talked about
2717
02:27:47.379 --> 02:27:50.760
how competitive the practices are. Jackson Holcomb even went as
2718
02:27:50.829 --> 02:27:53.729
far as to say it feels like a sweet 16 game.
2719
02:27:54.510 --> 02:27:57.870
That's how competitive things are when we scrimmage and practice
2720
02:27:57.909 --> 02:28:02.940
and whatever. I'm going to say probably an exaggeration there. Well,
2721
02:28:04.040 --> 02:28:07.200
that's fine. But I think that's a good sign that
2722
02:28:07.389 --> 02:28:11.450
everyone is saying we are so competitive. Practices are so intense.
2723
02:28:11.610 --> 02:28:14.870
The coaching staff is really competitive. That's the only way.
2724
02:28:15.530 --> 02:28:17.950
that you go up the way that they need to
2725
02:28:17.989 --> 02:28:18.530
in this program.
2726
02:28:18.770 --> 02:28:21.709
It feels like it, it should be an easy thing,
2727
02:28:21.750 --> 02:28:24.510
but I don't think it is anymore because of, first
2728
02:28:24.549 --> 02:28:27.139
of all, there's a lot of rules associated with how
2729
02:28:27.170 --> 02:28:30.059
much you can work people out. And you're so worried
2730
02:28:30.120 --> 02:28:33.940
about not only injuries, but then you're worried about the
2731
02:28:34.000 --> 02:28:37.979
conversation that comes on social media and other places after
2732
02:28:38.079 --> 02:28:39.879
injuries and how you handle those injuries and stuff.
2733
02:28:39.899 --> 02:28:40.780
There's a lot of coaches.
2734
02:28:41.520 --> 02:28:46.620
I think that aspire to have a, grueling practices, but
2735
02:28:46.680 --> 02:28:50.860
an execution maybe fall short of actually having grueling practices because,
2736
02:28:50.889 --> 02:28:57.909
you know, you're worried or you're, you're trepidatious about, uh,
2737
02:28:58.850 --> 02:28:59.229
you know what?
2738
02:28:59.270 --> 02:29:00.469
We can't wear them out too much.
2739
02:29:01.709 --> 02:29:03.670
I'm still a believer and you got to go about
2740
02:29:03.690 --> 02:29:06.579
things in an intelligent way, but I'm still a believer
2741
02:29:06.680 --> 02:29:10.420
that you should feel relief as a student athlete when
2742
02:29:10.459 --> 02:29:13.500
it's time to compete and no longer time to practice.
2743
02:29:15.149 --> 02:29:18.209
You should feel like I've already practiced much harder than
2744
02:29:18.229 --> 02:29:20.149
this game is going to be. So the game is
2745
02:29:20.190 --> 02:29:22.370
going to be the fun part. I get to go
2746
02:29:22.430 --> 02:29:24.829
full speed. I get to hit full speed. I get
2747
02:29:24.879 --> 02:29:28.200
to attack somebody who's wearing a different color. And more importantly,
2748
02:29:28.260 --> 02:29:32.760
this is the fun part. I already put all of
2749
02:29:32.780 --> 02:29:38.340
the disgusting practices and the gassers and the running line.
2750
02:29:38.120 --> 02:29:40.100
To line to line to line to line to.
2751
02:29:40.040 --> 02:29:41.799
Line and the dribbling drills. I already put that in
2752
02:29:41.819 --> 02:29:44.420
the bank. And now it's time to make withdrawals from
2753
02:29:44.479 --> 02:29:49.379
that bank. That's the whole point. So I hope we
2754
02:29:49.399 --> 02:29:52.340
get that from everybody. I know that they're being a
2755
02:29:52.360 --> 02:29:55.979
lot more careful about how the messaging goes with football practices,
2756
02:29:56.020 --> 02:29:58.420
especially right now because of injury history and because of
2757
02:29:58.489 --> 02:30:02.870
the perception that the previous tenure, the previous coach used
2758
02:30:02.909 --> 02:30:05.649
to like grind people down to a stump and then
2759
02:30:05.709 --> 02:30:06.489
complain about it.
2760
02:30:06.870 --> 02:30:08.170
We would complain about it. He wouldn't.
2761
02:30:08.209 --> 02:30:10.149
We would complain about it when he got to November
2762
02:30:10.209 --> 02:30:13.139
and everyone was banged up. I think they're very careful
2763
02:30:13.200 --> 02:30:15.440
about that right now with football. I don't need you
2764
02:30:15.459 --> 02:30:17.739
to be careful about it with basketball yet. I want
2765
02:30:17.780 --> 02:30:19.389
this team to go out there and at least.
2766
02:30:20.209 --> 02:30:22.190
They're not going to win the conference. This is not
2767
02:30:22.209 --> 02:30:22.469
a year.
2768
02:30:23.270 --> 02:30:25.870
You have to establish a culture and a tone where
2769
02:30:25.909 --> 02:30:30.739
it's like, alright, we might not be as big, strong, fast, talented,
2770
02:30:31.399 --> 02:30:32.840
but we are going to be better conditioned.
2771
02:30:33.059 --> 02:30:34.620
We are going to be a nightmare for you. We're
2772
02:30:34.639 --> 02:30:35.620
going to out-hustle you.
2773
02:30:36.299 --> 02:30:39.459
And you don't get to do that unless your practices
2774
02:30:39.540 --> 02:30:43.000
have prepared you for it. And If Jackson Holcomb and
2775
02:30:43.040 --> 02:30:46.840
anyone else is saying, like, these practices suck, these practices
2776
02:30:46.920 --> 02:30:52.680
are hard, that is music to my ears. Utah basketball
2777
02:30:52.719 --> 02:30:55.420
does not return to glory unless you return to the
2778
02:30:55.489 --> 02:30:59.690
practices that brought you glory in the old days. And
2779
02:30:59.729 --> 02:31:01.809
who's better to do that than Alex Jensen?
2780
02:31:01.950 --> 02:31:02.370
Nobody.
2781
02:31:02.909 --> 02:31:04.489
Who was the one who was not.
2782
02:31:05.309 --> 02:31:07.049
not only a member of those teams, but as kind
2783
02:31:07.069 --> 02:31:11.510
of a leader on those teams, spearheading that identity, that effort,
2784
02:31:11.549 --> 02:31:12.149
that grit.
2785
02:31:12.909 --> 02:31:14.250
That's what he was known for.
2786
02:31:15.010 --> 02:31:17.090
I mean, there's a reason why, and I don't know
2787
02:31:17.129 --> 02:31:20.250
this firsthand, a little bit too young to know those
2788
02:31:20.850 --> 02:31:24.920
late 90s teams very well, but the stories that I've
2789
02:31:24.959 --> 02:31:28.059
heard from people that were on those teams that followed
2790
02:31:28.100 --> 02:31:31.159
those teams very closely, there's a reason why they all
2791
02:31:31.239 --> 02:31:34.870
said he was Majerus' favorite. Because he embodied all of
2792
02:31:34.909 --> 02:31:40.809
those things. And so, like you say, who better to
2793
02:31:40.930 --> 02:31:46.950
return the team to Rick Majerus-like era of glory than
2794
02:31:47.010 --> 02:31:51.889
the guy who was basically Rick Majerus' mindset personified on the.
2795
02:31:51.850 --> 02:31:52.649
Court, right?
2796
02:31:52.809 --> 02:31:57.120
When you start beating everybody up and they're miserable coming
2797
02:31:57.239 --> 02:32:01.239
to the Huntsman Center and you've won 20 games again,
2798
02:32:02.059 --> 02:32:04.120
Then you can start to complain if you're on this
2799
02:32:04.139 --> 02:32:06.940
team about how practices are too hard. Right now, though,
2800
02:32:06.959 --> 02:32:10.200
I want you to be like, oh my gosh, this
2801
02:32:10.309 --> 02:32:14.409
is a nightmare. So that the game itself is your escape.
2802
02:32:14.469 --> 02:32:18.889
It is your relief. And then hopefully it really does
2803
02:32:18.950 --> 02:32:25.000
work this way. It's simple, but it's not. Where the
2804
02:32:25.040 --> 02:32:27.420
confidence you have when you have overprepared and you have
2805
02:32:27.440 --> 02:32:31.309
prepared harder than the next person. is sometimes enough to
2806
02:32:31.370 --> 02:32:35.030
separate their talent from your talent. Not always, but sometimes.
2807
02:32:35.409 --> 02:32:37.090
I think that's where Utah's at, so I'm happy to
2808
02:32:37.129 --> 02:32:39.250
hear that from Alex Jensen's players.
2809
02:32:39.350 --> 02:32:41.840
I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, O.C., that seemed
2810
02:32:41.920 --> 02:32:45.139
to be, for all the talent that was on the
2811
02:32:45.159 --> 02:32:49.340
0-4 Utes team, Fiesta Bowl team, which obviously very talented team,
2812
02:32:50.520 --> 02:32:53.420
that seemed to be the superpower, right? With the thing
2813
02:32:53.440 --> 02:32:55.180
that took you guys maybe to the next, even a
2814
02:32:55.260 --> 02:32:58.229
higher level than what the talent, what that immense talent
2815
02:32:58.250 --> 02:33:01.940
could take you was... that urban Meyer ran some tough
2816
02:33:02.020 --> 02:33:04.280
practices from what, from what you've told me and other
2817
02:33:04.299 --> 02:33:06.639
people's have said. And it, I mean, did that, that
2818
02:33:06.780 --> 02:33:08.579
gave you guys that kind of edge to be like,
2819
02:33:08.680 --> 02:33:11.500
we will beat anybody. And you did that year.
2820
02:33:11.700 --> 02:33:16.280
I have, I've had many conversations with former teammates about
2821
02:33:16.299 --> 02:33:19.440
this and not former teammates like myself who were watching
2822
02:33:19.540 --> 02:33:22.399
the former teammates actually on the field guys on the field,
2823
02:33:22.440 --> 02:33:25.719
like the Bo Naga, he's in the Morgan Scallies and
2824
02:33:25.739 --> 02:33:29.489
the Travis Latondris and John Madsen, like, and, and, to
2825
02:33:29.530 --> 02:33:32.750
a man, every single person was like, well, I knew
2826
02:33:33.329 --> 02:33:36.750
that I had paid more. I had paid more dues
2827
02:33:36.790 --> 02:33:37.809
than the guy that I played against.
2828
02:33:37.909 --> 02:33:40.110
I knew it. I knew it.
2829
02:33:40.170 --> 02:33:43.149
And honestly, who, who gave Utah the toughest test that year?
2830
02:33:44.110 --> 02:33:49.030
Another notoriously grueling place to play air force. That was
2831
02:33:49.069 --> 02:33:52.469
the scariest game, right? That was probably the only, like
2832
02:33:52.610 --> 02:33:56.690
all those like cadets were probably the only ones that
2833
02:33:56.719 --> 02:34:01.850
had approached the level of, of Diligence, discipline, grueling work
2834
02:34:02.350 --> 02:34:06.819
that Utah had that 2004 season. And yes, the guys
2835
02:34:06.840 --> 02:34:11.799
that actually mattered were doing it even more so. So,
2836
02:34:13.479 --> 02:34:16.360
last segment coming. It's the Sean O'Connell Show on ESPN 700, 92.1 FM.
2837
02:34:16.579 --> 02:34:17.639
Light up our.
2838
02:34:19.149 --> 02:34:19.629
Guns.
2839
02:34:20.149 --> 02:34:25.569
Bring your friends out to those who do pretend.
2840
02:34:26.010 --> 02:34:29.149
You're listening to The Sean O'Connell Show from the Murdoch
2841
02:34:29.209 --> 02:34:31.569
Hyundai Studio of ESPN 700 and 92.1 FM.
2842
02:34:48.219 --> 02:34:49.979
Final segment of the show brought to you by our
2843
02:34:50.040 --> 02:34:53.879
friends at Advanced Window Products.
2844
02:34:53.899 --> 02:34:54.360
801-850-9100.
2845
02:34:54.360 --> 02:34:57.579
$ 2, 500 off 10 windows or more. Utah Mammoth dropping the
2846
02:34:57.639 --> 02:35:01.799
puck tonight. And the drive with Spence Checketts is coming
2847
02:35:01.840 --> 02:35:02.139
up next.
2848
02:35:02.180 --> 02:35:02.639
Hi, Spence.
2849
02:35:05.319 --> 02:35:09.120
My tusks are so up. My tusks have never been
2850
02:35:09.149 --> 02:35:09.469
more up.
2851
02:35:10.190 --> 02:35:10.610
Are you ready?
2852
02:35:11.090 --> 02:35:11.229
Yeah.
2853
02:35:11.700 --> 02:35:13.010
My tusks are permanently up.
2854
02:35:13.159 --> 02:35:14.420
Are you going to the game tonight?
2855
02:35:14.659 --> 02:35:14.879
I am.
2856
02:35:15.059 --> 02:35:15.280
Nice.
2857
02:35:15.579 --> 02:35:17.579
As a fan, not on a press pass.
2858
02:35:17.600 --> 02:35:17.920
All right.
2859
02:35:18.040 --> 02:35:18.319
All right.
2860
02:35:18.360 --> 02:35:21.899
So what are we expecting this year?
2861
02:35:21.920 --> 02:35:22.540
Stanley Cup.
2862
02:35:23.239 --> 02:35:23.670
To win it?
2863
02:35:23.879 --> 02:35:24.059
Yes.
2864
02:35:24.120 --> 02:35:24.709
To hoist it?
2865
02:35:25.159 --> 02:35:27.860
Hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup. You know, it's interesting.
2866
02:35:27.899 --> 02:35:31.180
This sport year over year is so wild.
2867
02:35:31.229 --> 02:35:34.110
Like the Stanley Cup winner and the winner of the
2868
02:35:34.170 --> 02:35:37.170
President's Trophy a year ago, neither even made the playoffs.
2869
02:35:38.040 --> 02:35:40.940
I think of the 16 teams that made the playoffs
2870
02:35:41.079 --> 02:35:43.440
two years ago, 10 of them made the playoffs last year.
2871
02:35:44.540 --> 02:35:49.170
So hoisting the Stanley cup would be nice. Um, I
2872
02:35:49.200 --> 02:35:53.030
don't know how realistic that is. You just in, in
2873
02:35:53.090 --> 02:35:55.870
this sport, man, you just got to establish that you
2874
02:35:55.930 --> 02:35:58.989
are a playoff team year over year over year. And
2875
02:35:59.010 --> 02:36:01.930
every once in a while, a wild, you know, what
2876
02:36:01.969 --> 02:36:04.010
was Vegas? The, was it, it was, was it their
2877
02:36:04.049 --> 02:36:05.950
expansion year? They won the Stanley cup or was it
2878
02:36:05.969 --> 02:36:08.020
the second year? Something like that. I mean, It made
2879
02:36:08.059 --> 02:36:12.219
the finals their first year. So, you know, outliers do happen.
2880
02:36:13.500 --> 02:36:16.110
You know, watching some of the preseason stuff, they're bigger
2881
02:36:16.270 --> 02:36:20.930
and stronger, which is their main deal with Vegas last year.
2882
02:36:20.989 --> 02:36:25.489
They just got pushed around. They've always had these dynamic, fast, young, skilled,
2883
02:36:25.870 --> 02:36:30.409
attacking hockey players. They just need to battle more. And
2884
02:36:30.450 --> 02:36:32.350
in order to do that, you know, you have to
2885
02:36:32.389 --> 02:36:34.709
have bigger dudes. And it feels like they have a
2886
02:36:34.729 --> 02:36:37.799
lot more experience and just bigger physical hockey players this year.
2887
02:36:37.850 --> 02:36:41.120
And so I'm excited, man. I think there's a lot
2888
02:36:41.139 --> 02:36:41.899
to like about this team.
2889
02:36:43.399 --> 02:36:44.360
It's going to be a lot of fun.
2890
02:36:44.379 --> 02:36:48.840
It is fun just to have another professional sports franchise
2891
02:36:48.920 --> 02:36:52.100
and maybe another one in the pipeline. Well, two more
2892
02:36:52.120 --> 02:36:54.469
in the pipeline because the UFL counts just like everyone
2893
02:36:54.489 --> 02:36:57.790
else does. But, yeah, who knows what will happen in
2894
02:36:57.809 --> 02:37:01.850
the next five, ten years. I also put a pie-in-the-sky
2895
02:37:02.329 --> 02:37:05.989
poll question up. Who wins a league championship first?
2896
02:37:08.450 --> 02:37:08.850
Jazz?
2897
02:37:09.889 --> 02:37:10.290
Mammoth?
2898
02:37:11.750 --> 02:37:14.639
The hypothetical Major League Baseball team that is not even
2899
02:37:14.670 --> 02:37:15.610
officially here yet?
2900
02:37:16.090 --> 02:37:18.840
Or who's going to own it?
2901
02:37:18.860 --> 02:37:23.059
Or Utes winning a national championship in football?
2902
02:37:23.100 --> 02:37:23.559
The Mammoth.
2903
02:37:24.899 --> 02:37:29.459
The answer is so obviously the Mammoth. Like, almost easily
2904
02:37:29.500 --> 02:37:29.879
the Mammoth.
2905
02:37:29.899 --> 02:37:32.979
47% saying Mammoth.
2906
02:37:33.120 --> 02:37:36.159
Okay. I hate that we're here with the Jazz.
2907
02:37:37.159 --> 02:37:41.100
The reality of the NBA these days is it's really,
2908
02:37:41.159 --> 02:37:41.760
really difficult.
2909
02:37:41.780 --> 02:37:44.770
You have to get, like, a Spurs tank draft.
2910
02:37:45.409 --> 02:37:49.110
Take a Palooza, luck number one pick, Victor Weminyama type
2911
02:37:49.219 --> 02:37:51.399
generational changing player to get this thing done.
2912
02:37:51.420 --> 02:37:54.020
And it's not impossible.
2913
02:37:54.079 --> 02:37:56.180
Like, I do think there's a lot to like about
2914
02:37:56.899 --> 02:37:58.600
what the Jazz are going to be this year. But
2915
02:37:58.639 --> 02:38:03.399
if you look around at prediction markets or projections, most
2916
02:38:03.440 --> 02:38:05.940
people still believe they're the 10th or 11th best team
2917
02:38:06.040 --> 02:38:07.479
in the West. I think they're a little bit better
2918
02:38:07.500 --> 02:38:10.579
than that. But there are four or five teams in
2919
02:38:10.600 --> 02:38:14.680
the West right now. that are better this season, and
2920
02:38:14.700 --> 02:38:16.979
there are probably three or four that are better built
2921
02:38:17.059 --> 02:38:21.719
for the long run. Now, look, injuries happen, right? I mean,
2922
02:38:21.739 --> 02:38:25.260
Toronto never wins their championship. If Durant and Klay Thompson
2923
02:38:25.280 --> 02:38:28.319
and Stephen Curry all don't have certain injuries of their
2924
02:38:28.379 --> 02:38:30.579
own for the Golden State Warriors, you never know how
2925
02:38:30.600 --> 02:38:33.020
the thing's going to turn out. And I do think
2926
02:38:33.059 --> 02:38:35.000
there's a lot to like about Darren Peterson and Ace
2927
02:38:35.059 --> 02:38:37.780
Bailey specifically, so maybe four or five years from now,
2928
02:38:37.920 --> 02:38:38.989
we're looking at a spot.
2929
02:38:40.840 --> 02:38:43.049
Where the jazz might be a top four team in
2930
02:38:43.069 --> 02:38:46.030
the West, but San Antonio is not going anywhere anytime soon.
2931
02:38:46.069 --> 02:38:47.190
Neither is Oklahoma city.
2932
02:38:47.729 --> 02:38:50.090
You do like the LeBron James lives in Philly and
2933
02:38:50.129 --> 02:38:53.209
Kawhi is in Toronto. The East is better than it's
2934
02:38:53.250 --> 02:38:54.709
been in a while, but the West is kind of
2935
02:38:54.729 --> 02:38:57.129
there to be had. I could see them finishing. I
2936
02:38:58.149 --> 02:39:01.229
can see the jazz winning 42 games and finishing 10th,
2937
02:39:01.610 --> 02:39:03.090
you know, ninth or 10th in the West and making
2938
02:39:03.110 --> 02:39:06.010
the plan. But if the mammoth keep going in the
2939
02:39:06.049 --> 02:39:08.909
direction they're going, it's not crazy to think they could
2940
02:39:08.930 --> 02:39:11.170
be a legitimate Stanley cup contender in like two or
2941
02:39:11.190 --> 02:39:12.989
three years. I don't know that they are this year,
2942
02:39:13.069 --> 02:39:14.030
but they're on their way, man.
2943
02:39:14.069 --> 02:39:14.510
They really are.
2944
02:39:14.809 --> 02:39:15.549
I really think so.
2945
02:39:15.809 --> 02:39:18.729
And they have something that is going to be already
2946
02:39:18.770 --> 02:39:20.389
have something that's going to be hard for the jazz
2947
02:39:20.430 --> 02:39:24.360
to ever achieve in that just the word of mouth
2948
02:39:24.620 --> 02:39:28.719
and the NHL players talking to other NHL players, even
2949
02:39:28.799 --> 02:39:32.079
at the Olympic and all-star level, like, yeah, you want
2950
02:39:32.139 --> 02:39:32.879
to come be here.
2951
02:39:33.020 --> 02:39:33.200
Yeah.
2952
02:39:33.559 --> 02:39:35.899
We are well taken care of. It's a great community.
2953
02:39:35.959 --> 02:39:38.969
It's an awesome place to live. And it's going to
2954
02:39:38.989 --> 02:39:41.489
take a little bit more massaging, I think, for the
2955
02:39:41.530 --> 02:39:43.829
Jazz to ever get that reputation in the NBA.
2956
02:39:44.010 --> 02:39:46.579
Yeah, you hear a little bit more about it than
2957
02:39:46.620 --> 02:39:48.860
you had prior to. I think there's been a lot...
2958
02:39:48.760 --> 02:39:51.299
Like this new facility that the Smith Group has built
2959
02:39:51.399 --> 02:39:58.250
is really, really cool. But in the NBA, it's more
2960
02:39:58.309 --> 02:40:03.389
about your city than it is your facilities, right? So
2961
02:40:03.409 --> 02:40:07.159
a lot of NBA players... have this idea about salt
2962
02:40:07.180 --> 02:40:09.319
lake and if we're honest some of it is completely
2963
02:40:09.399 --> 02:40:12.969
fair i believe our last census 3.5 percent of our
2964
02:40:13.010 --> 02:40:16.489
city is african-american okay we just we're just a different
2965
02:40:16.549 --> 02:40:20.389
spot you know with different demographics and geographical things you
2966
02:40:20.430 --> 02:40:22.940
have to kind of keep it keep in mind and
2967
02:40:22.979 --> 02:40:26.159
you travel all the time like the nightlife deal is
2968
02:40:26.219 --> 02:40:28.340
a real thing I don't give a rip.
2969
02:40:28.479 --> 02:40:29.680
I'm 48 years old.
2970
02:40:29.739 --> 02:40:32.159
I don't need to be crushing bars at night and
2971
02:40:32.260 --> 02:40:34.680
finding places to go hang out and get loose. It
2972
02:40:34.719 --> 02:40:40.100
doesn't matter to me. But if you're a 22-year-old millionaire, single,
2973
02:40:40.639 --> 02:40:44.139
with a penthouse downtown, the fact of the matter is
2974
02:40:44.200 --> 02:40:48.200
Salt Lake might not offer the things you want for
2975
02:40:48.239 --> 02:40:49.399
that particular lifestyle.
2976
02:40:49.420 --> 02:40:50.739
That might be the problem. We don't have that many
2977
02:40:50.780 --> 02:40:51.860
penthouses downtown.
2978
02:40:52.280 --> 02:40:54.459
I feel like we have way too many penthouses downtown
2979
02:40:54.479 --> 02:40:56.889
all of a sudden. Can I ask you about that shirt?
2980
02:40:59.030 --> 02:41:01.450
I feel like it's hip. I feel like it's a
2981
02:41:01.469 --> 02:41:04.340
cool shirt. I don't have a lot of hip, cool shirts.
2982
02:41:05.260 --> 02:41:06.219
Did Kendall get that for you?
2983
02:41:06.559 --> 02:41:06.780
No.
2984
02:41:07.040 --> 02:41:09.879
This was a free shirt I got as part of
2985
02:41:09.959 --> 02:41:12.719
a gift bag in the Fight World.
2986
02:41:13.079 --> 02:41:13.399
Oh, okay.
2987
02:41:13.420 --> 02:41:14.559
Sponsored gift bag.
2988
02:41:14.620 --> 02:41:17.559
It looks like you went thrift shopping at a hip
2989
02:41:18.180 --> 02:41:19.069
spot for a shirt.
2990
02:41:19.620 --> 02:41:20.670
I wish that were the case.
2991
02:41:20.750 --> 02:41:23.030
That's not something that really is in your repertoire.
2992
02:41:23.069 --> 02:41:26.610
I actually think that my closet is at the point
2993
02:41:26.649 --> 02:41:27.370
now where.
2994
02:41:29.399 --> 02:41:33.719
Every single shirt that I have, I don't think this
2995
02:41:33.760 --> 02:41:36.969
is an exaggeration. I think every single shirt that I
2996
02:41:37.000 --> 02:41:41.409
have was either given to me for free from a
2997
02:41:41.729 --> 02:41:45.610
fight sponsor or whatever, or was picked out by my wife.
2998
02:41:45.989 --> 02:41:46.270
Okay.
2999
02:41:46.329 --> 02:41:48.290
I don't think I own my own clothes anymore.
3000
02:41:48.329 --> 02:41:50.920
What about your suits? You have copious amounts of suits.
3001
02:41:50.959 --> 02:41:53.280
The suits, I still do the suits. Do you pay
3002
02:41:53.319 --> 02:41:53.920
for your suits?
3003
02:41:55.379 --> 02:41:56.860
No. What? What?
3004
02:41:57.790 --> 02:41:59.590
Wait, how can I get it on the Sean O'Connell
3005
02:41:59.610 --> 02:42:00.030
suit deal?
3006
02:42:00.209 --> 02:42:00.610
You can't.
3007
02:42:02.170 --> 02:42:02.850
That's a hard no.
3008
02:42:04.030 --> 02:42:08.840
Actually, you know what? I could submit an invoice for
3009
02:42:08.899 --> 02:42:09.639
you to have a suit.
3010
02:42:11.040 --> 02:42:11.639
Okay, how do we do this?
3011
02:42:11.659 --> 02:42:14.520
They're not checking the sizes when I say this is
3012
02:42:14.540 --> 02:42:14.860
the suit.
3013
02:42:14.879 --> 02:42:19.760
I have an allowance. A TV allowance. A wardrobe allowance.
3014
02:42:19.780 --> 02:42:21.280
Okay, I'm going to.
3015
02:42:21.319 --> 02:42:22.899
You send me the website where I can pick the
3016
02:42:22.940 --> 02:42:24.899
suit and I'll send you my sizes and you'll submit
3017
02:42:24.940 --> 02:42:26.059
the invoice and I get a new suit?
3018
02:42:26.159 --> 02:42:26.399
Well.
3019
02:42:26.950 --> 02:42:29.409
You have to, yeah, I guess that's what we're going
3020
02:42:29.430 --> 02:42:30.809
to have to do. I'm going to have to commit
3021
02:42:30.989 --> 02:42:32.709
fraud for you.
3022
02:42:32.790 --> 02:42:33.409
Well, let's not do that.
3023
02:42:33.430 --> 02:42:33.989
To have a nice suit.
3024
02:42:34.090 --> 02:42:38.409
I'd like you to remain employed. Let's not do that.
3025
02:42:38.469 --> 02:42:40.690
I'm in need of like two to three really nice
3026
02:42:40.750 --> 02:42:41.190
new suits.
3027
02:42:41.469 --> 02:42:42.090
Okay, yeah.
3028
02:42:42.930 --> 02:42:44.829
Because the suits I have are either old or they
3029
02:42:44.850 --> 02:42:47.250
don't fit me anymore. So I've got to figure that out.
3030
02:42:47.629 --> 02:42:49.690
I think I've said this on the air before. For
3031
02:42:49.739 --> 02:42:54.370
whatever reason, there's like two brands of suit that... off
3032
02:42:54.430 --> 02:42:56.649
the rack fits me like it was bespoke.
3033
02:42:56.989 --> 02:42:57.389
Oh really?
3034
02:42:57.610 --> 02:43:00.989
There are 10,000 brands of suits that whenever I put
3035
02:43:01.030 --> 02:43:03.500
them on off the rack, I, it looks like I've
3036
02:43:03.799 --> 02:43:06.360
poured 10 pounds of, you know, what into a five
3037
02:43:06.379 --> 02:43:09.559
pound bag. I just, but there's two brands where like
3038
02:43:10.180 --> 02:43:14.000
their dummies, their mannequins are shaped exactly like me for
3039
02:43:14.040 --> 02:43:14.379
some reason.
3040
02:43:14.420 --> 02:43:16.629
Are you allowed to say the brands on air? I don't,
3041
02:43:17.069 --> 02:43:19.209
I mean, I don't know what's going to happen.
3042
02:43:19.409 --> 02:43:21.690
Well, I don't think Kenneth Cole is going to send
3043
02:43:21.750 --> 02:43:23.329
us a cease and desist.
3044
02:43:23.579 --> 02:43:24.979
We know you're listening, Kenneth Cole.
3045
02:43:25.020 --> 02:43:26.299
Kenneth Cole, back off.
3046
02:43:26.319 --> 02:43:26.780
Relax.
3047
02:43:26.799 --> 02:43:29.280
This is a positive. We're actually giving you some love.
3048
02:43:29.299 --> 02:43:30.479
I'm giving you a positive.
3049
02:43:30.500 --> 02:43:31.520
Yeah. Yeah.
3050
02:43:31.899 --> 02:43:36.100
And so the Kenneth Cole brand and the Nordstrom private
3051
02:43:36.139 --> 02:43:37.659
label brand, those.
3052
02:43:37.520 --> 02:43:38.520
Are the ones. They fit.
3053
02:43:38.620 --> 02:43:40.520
You can just roll in there off the rack. You
3054
02:43:40.549 --> 02:43:42.190
don't have to get it tailored. You just know you're
3055
02:43:42.209 --> 02:43:44.049
walking out of the store with a suit that fits.
3056
02:43:44.170 --> 02:43:44.370
Yeah.
3057
02:43:44.569 --> 02:43:45.110
It's crazy.
3058
02:43:45.450 --> 02:43:46.430
Are you a cufflink guy?
3059
02:43:47.090 --> 02:43:47.229
No.
3060
02:43:47.649 --> 02:43:48.370
I hate cufflinks.
3061
02:43:48.940 --> 02:43:52.329
I like cufflinks in principle, but the execution of a
3062
02:43:52.370 --> 02:43:54.989
cufflink and when you're having to.
3063
02:43:54.809 --> 02:43:55.489
Actually put them on.
3064
02:43:55.489 --> 02:43:55.889
It's impossible.
3065
02:43:56.250 --> 02:43:59.149
I don't have that finger dexterity anymore.
3066
02:43:59.170 --> 02:44:01.809
No, you need a partner, and I'm single. You have
3067
02:44:01.829 --> 02:44:04.450
to have Kendall put your cufflinks on. I'm not going
3068
02:44:04.549 --> 02:44:06.090
to knock on my neighbors.
3069
02:44:06.110 --> 02:44:08.989
She won't, because cufflinks are tacky. I'm like, fine.
3070
02:44:09.170 --> 02:44:13.530
I have an 82-year-old neighbor. She's very nice. Daphne. Hey, Daphne.
3071
02:44:13.989 --> 02:44:15.149
Great name, by the way. Love that name.
3072
02:44:15.209 --> 02:44:17.670
English lady. Daphne, will you put my cufflinks on?
3073
02:44:17.790 --> 02:44:17.989
Yeah.
3074
02:44:18.090 --> 02:44:18.790
I'm not going to do that.
3075
02:44:19.379 --> 02:44:22.239
So if you can put cufflinks on like on the
3076
02:44:22.280 --> 02:44:25.649
first try smoothly, that's a badass move because.
3077
02:44:25.489 --> 02:44:26.170
I think it's impossible.
3078
02:44:26.190 --> 02:44:27.049
You're James Bond.
3079
02:44:27.069 --> 02:44:27.889
Yeah, it's amazing.
3080
02:44:28.250 --> 02:44:28.450
Yeah.
3081
02:44:28.649 --> 02:44:30.110
It's an amazing skill, which I don't have.
3082
02:44:30.209 --> 02:44:32.049
Yeah, you're part of MI5.
3083
02:44:32.569 --> 02:44:37.700
I'm an excellent tie-tire. Had to tie my own tie
3084
02:44:37.719 --> 02:44:39.680
starting when I was 12 because you know the deal.
3085
02:44:40.239 --> 02:44:42.040
We're passing the bread, doing the thing.
3086
02:44:42.219 --> 02:44:42.440
Yes.
3087
02:44:42.680 --> 02:44:44.920
Got to learn to tie the tie. So I can
3088
02:44:44.959 --> 02:44:47.170
do that. Can you tie a bow tie?
3089
02:44:47.750 --> 02:44:47.909
No.
3090
02:44:48.090 --> 02:44:49.639
Neither can I. And I don't think anyone can.
3091
02:44:49.700 --> 02:44:51.399
I have no interest in tying a bow tie.
3092
02:44:51.799 --> 02:44:55.860
My older brother, his signature thing, he wears bow ties.
3093
02:44:55.940 --> 02:44:56.180
Okay.
3094
02:44:56.879 --> 02:44:59.520
He's a professor. He's a college professor. He wears bow ties.
3095
02:45:00.440 --> 02:45:02.590
And I'm just like, that's lame.
3096
02:45:03.250 --> 02:45:06.030
That tracks, because haven't you described him as very smart
3097
02:45:06.069 --> 02:45:06.790
yet very annoying?
3098
02:45:07.030 --> 02:45:07.209
Yes.
3099
02:45:07.629 --> 02:45:08.250
With a bow tie.
3100
02:45:08.709 --> 02:45:08.889
Yeah.
3101
02:45:09.110 --> 02:45:09.530
That tracks.
3102
02:45:09.969 --> 02:45:12.049
I don't know this man. I'm just basing it off
3103
02:45:12.069 --> 02:45:13.299
of your description.
3104
02:45:13.639 --> 02:45:16.030
Athletic build, good looking guy, bow tie.
3105
02:45:17.780 --> 02:45:20.799
Huh yeah so is it like his thing is it's
3106
02:45:20.819 --> 02:45:21.840
like his brain it's a.
3107
02:45:21.819 --> 02:45:23.799
Signature thing and he wears like you know those like
3108
02:45:24.440 --> 02:45:25.819
irish patty caps.
3109
02:45:27.500 --> 02:45:29.860
Does he really he wears those he wears the irish
3110
02:45:29.899 --> 02:45:32.500
like the cabbie hats yeah yeah the bow tie yeah
3111
02:45:32.620 --> 02:45:36.870
and he's smart and like sweater vests and you like
3112
02:45:36.889 --> 02:45:39.170
this person only if he wasn't your brother would you
3113
02:45:39.250 --> 02:45:39.829
would you deal.
3114
02:45:39.750 --> 02:45:43.379
With him yeah you would Because he's interesting and he's
3115
02:45:43.440 --> 02:45:46.840
traveled the whole world, but it wouldn't be like, let's
3116
02:45:46.889 --> 02:45:47.770
hang out all the time.
3117
02:45:47.790 --> 02:45:48.069
Okay.
3118
02:45:48.590 --> 02:45:49.969
It would be one of those kind of friendships.
3119
02:45:49.989 --> 02:45:50.670
Do you have in-laws?
3120
02:45:50.690 --> 02:45:51.309
I do.
3121
02:45:51.350 --> 02:45:52.049
Do you like them?
3122
02:45:52.389 --> 02:45:52.569
Yeah.
3123
02:45:52.870 --> 02:45:53.090
Okay.
3124
02:45:53.809 --> 02:45:56.069
I have one brother-in-law that if he was not my brother-in-law,
3125
02:45:56.090 --> 02:45:58.870
I'd never, I don't know that I would ever even
3126
02:45:58.889 --> 02:46:00.030
talk to him.
3127
02:46:00.190 --> 02:46:04.719
So I have a brother-in-law who I married into the family.
3128
02:46:04.760 --> 02:46:06.020
He also married into the family.
3129
02:46:06.040 --> 02:46:06.299
Okay.
3130
02:46:07.040 --> 02:46:11.120
Who's obnoxiously perfect as a human being.
3131
02:46:11.139 --> 02:46:11.399
Uh-huh.
3132
02:46:12.290 --> 02:46:14.069
Can't stand it. He's really cool.
3133
02:46:14.090 --> 02:46:14.370
Okay.
3134
02:46:14.610 --> 02:46:17.239
But I can't find myself, I can't like love him
3135
02:46:17.360 --> 02:46:18.219
the way that I should.
3136
02:46:18.239 --> 02:46:19.000
Because you're jealous.
3137
02:46:19.139 --> 02:46:22.399
Because I'm just like, could you stop being so perfect?
3138
02:46:22.420 --> 02:46:22.620
Yeah.
3139
02:46:22.899 --> 02:46:23.079
Yep.
3140
02:46:23.799 --> 02:46:24.920
It annoys the crap out of me.
3141
02:46:25.040 --> 02:46:27.579
When you're traveling as a group, is he at least
3142
02:46:27.620 --> 02:46:28.309
a good hang?
3143
02:46:28.670 --> 02:46:28.889
Yes.
3144
02:46:29.309 --> 02:46:29.610
Oh, 100%.
3145
02:46:29.610 --> 02:46:32.329
See, that's huge. That's another problem though. It's just like,
3146
02:46:32.370 --> 02:46:35.909
there's nothing to dislike about you. You're too perfect.
3147
02:46:35.930 --> 02:46:36.190
Okay.
3148
02:46:36.670 --> 02:46:40.719
And so like, by comparison, I have fallen. They liked
3149
02:46:40.770 --> 02:46:41.680
me at first, right?
3150
02:46:41.799 --> 02:46:41.959
Yeah.
3151
02:46:42.620 --> 02:46:45.879
I have fallen completely off a cliff because it's like, well,
3152
02:46:45.899 --> 02:46:46.559
you're not Jesse.
3153
02:46:47.100 --> 02:46:49.899
There's probably something up with Jesse. No one's too perfect.
3154
02:46:50.399 --> 02:46:53.889
The dudes that are too perfect behind the scenes, they've
3155
02:46:53.909 --> 02:46:56.690
got a Cayman Islands bank account that they use to
3156
02:46:56.709 --> 02:46:58.409
do untoward things.
3157
02:46:58.569 --> 02:47:03.190
I would agree with you, except my other sister-in-law is
3158
02:47:03.270 --> 02:47:06.350
like she could be in the FBI with her investigative skills.
3159
02:47:06.569 --> 02:47:07.770
Oh, so she did her due diligence.
3160
02:47:07.790 --> 02:47:08.469
She's dug.
3161
02:47:08.629 --> 02:47:08.930
Okay.
3162
02:47:09.010 --> 02:47:10.290
All right. She dug through it all.
3163
02:47:10.510 --> 02:47:10.729
All right.
3164
02:47:10.750 --> 02:47:11.209
There's nothing.
3165
02:47:11.770 --> 02:47:12.090
All right.
3166
02:47:12.209 --> 02:47:13.110
Well, shout out, Jesse.
3167
02:47:13.270 --> 02:47:13.469
Yeah.
3168
02:47:14.000 --> 02:47:14.620
Shout out, Jesse.
3169
02:47:14.639 --> 02:47:16.959
You got to have a good hang in a family
3170
02:47:17.000 --> 02:47:19.889
dynamic when you're both the in-laws, because if you don't.
3171
02:47:19.920 --> 02:47:23.500
That makes it very problematic yeah that's where that's.
3172
02:47:23.379 --> 02:47:25.979
Where the kids come in i was like hanging out
3173
02:47:26.000 --> 02:47:27.579
with my kids and i'm just like you guys do
3174
02:47:27.600 --> 02:47:30.219
your thing play your weird board game i'm gonna go
3175
02:47:30.239 --> 02:47:30.680
hang out with the.
3176
02:47:30.659 --> 02:47:34.290
Kids the kids are an excellent out when you become
3177
02:47:34.350 --> 02:47:36.250
a parent it gives you an excellent excuse not to
3178
02:47:36.290 --> 02:47:37.530
do the things you don't want to.
3179
02:47:37.489 --> 02:47:39.690
Do correct Speaking of, I got to go pick up
3180
02:47:39.729 --> 02:47:39.950
a kid.
3181
02:47:39.969 --> 02:47:40.590
All right, Sean.
3182
02:47:41.489 --> 02:47:43.030
Stay tuned for The Drive with Spence Check.
3183
02:47:44.079 --> 02:47:45.920
I guess we'll do the Sean O'Connell show again tomorrow.
3184
02:47:46.059 --> 02:47:46.569
ESPN 700, 92.1 FM.