00:00:00
Speaker 1: Welcome aboard five o'clock clubbers. You are officially in the huddle. Last show of the week. Last show before the Packers begin the 2026 season. Last show before the Brewers and Reds. Last show before the Brewers clinch, we hope, a playoff berth and perhaps the division. Welcome in. I'm Drew Olson joined by Bill Schmidt, Armin Sarn. Just seems like a few hours ago that we were at Pottawatomie enjoying the Thursday night huddle kickoff of that fine series.
00:00:28
Speaker 2: Hard not to enjoy that, and hard not to enjoy a, well, at least maybe the first 25 minutes of the game that we got last night, and just the smorgasbord of food over there at.
00:00:37
Speaker 1: The Annex was a great time last night. The best patty melt I've had in a while. Patty melt's underrated sandwich on the marble rye. It really is underrated, because people think of a burger. Yeah, you think of a burger, but patty melt is a different twist.
00:00:49
Speaker 3: It's a twist.
00:00:49
Speaker 1: It's a blend on it, yeah. It's a different experience. That's what I went with, and Billy had the chicken dinner. Loaded that bad boy up phenomenal.
00:00:56
Speaker 4: I went with that delicious quesadilla. Quesadilla was fantastic. When you get all the flavors in there and you boil the salsa. Let me tell you about the salsa.
00:01:03
Speaker 1: It was delicious. So it was just a great time. Our pal Haley took care of us throughout the year. So good. We had so much fun. So much fun.
00:01:09
Speaker 2: And everybody that missed out, you got 12 more opportunities to get out there.
00:01:13
Speaker 1: We'll see you next week.
00:01:14
Speaker 2: That was the one thing on the talking text line as 5 o'clock clubbers were joining us for double time and overtime. But they were missing out and realizing that the FOMO was real.
00:01:24
Speaker 1: But.
00:01:25
Speaker 2: Luckily, there's plenty of opportunities for you to go and still enjoy.
00:01:27
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. I think we got like 15 or 16 or some more of those. So it's going to be fantastic. A lot of good times. A lot of good times to be had. A lot of good times to be had. So every once in a while, I wake up and I realize I might not be as dumb as I think I am. Because I think I'm pretty dumb. There we go. But one of those points was last night when the Rams, like whatever you call it, travel gate, the jet lag bowl, whatever you want to call it. Now I feel validated again. in pointing out the idiocy of wasting time and graphics. Will the Rams go unbeaten this season? And I said, they have a better chance of going 1-2 to start the season than they do 17-0 at the end. And I thought, you know, Billy, you're right. It's the soup that we're in. It's the modern media. It's that we got to go from A to F. But I thought that was dumb discourse. Kind of like, well, the Dodgers, you know, they did this in the off season. Will they be the first team to win 125 games in the season? Like, come on.
00:02:23
Speaker 4: Right.
00:02:23
Speaker 2: We can't just enjoy what's happening here. That's how far fetched it was to me.
00:02:26
Speaker 1: It's like 17 and oh, come on. And anybody who put that into the ether and entertain that as a serious topic, don't they have to take it and wear it today? Don't they? But no, they'll just go on to the next thing. Now, Chris Canty did what, You know, he was the contrarian in all this, and they have their hot take wild predictions or whatever for that. And he went on the air and got castigated by his colleagues because he said, my bold prediction is the Rams are going to miss the playoffs.
00:02:55
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: Which everybody's like, come on, what are you, an idiot? They treated him the way everybody should have treated them for saying that they were going to go 17-0.
00:03:04
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
00:03:05
Speaker 1: But the group think machine does not roll that way. It doesn't roll that way. But that was dumb discourse. It was a waste of time. And it's not that, Billy, 80% of the graphics in the quiz, we have the sound off. But when you watch first take in those shows, if you just watch the chyron and read the question, that is the launching point for their discussions. They're always dumb. Who's under more pressure this year, LeBron or the Sixers? Like, what? They're intertwined. It's stupid. Like, come on. Those are the kind of dumb things. But this, to me, was especially dumb because the people that were in the discussion, they know that it's very unlikely anybody's going 17. To even project that and talk about it in August is folly.
00:03:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, but Drew, how many times will they talk about Justin Herbert winning a playoff game? And winning the MVP. My man plays his worst game of the year in all the biggest games. So again, I understand that this act, the discourse is always just so crazy. Until he does win one, sure. But that's been the last five years. But every single year they queue it up and tell you that he's going to win the MVP. It's different than when... I struggle to think that this is so much different than all the other sports discourses because when we were 15 games into the NBA season... And the question was not of, you know, the Oklahoma City Thunder stay healthy enough to win the NBA finals. It was, will they best the Bulls all-time wins or the Warriors all-time wins record? We always go to the furthest. We always go to the nth degree. So, like, I don't see this being a crazy deal just because of this year. I think we've asked the question a number of different times. I definitely remember them asking if the Chiefs were going to go 16 and 0. or 17-0, just two years ago when they were trying to win three consecutive titles.
00:04:50
Speaker 1: But this one, you saw it. So we never learned the lesson? Well, it's definitely not. No, but we got to do something for six months. No one has to wear that tag. No one has to say, boy, that was dumb of us.
00:05:00
Speaker 4: Well, hold on.
00:05:01
Speaker 1: Maybe some people will today. No, they won't. I don't know. It's on to the next. Well, maybe.
00:05:05
Speaker 4: But maybe in some of these discussions, somebody on the panel will say, I told you it wasn't going to happen. I think it's possible. I won't be listening to every show to know if somebody will, but, but this, you know, yes, we, but we have to talk about something.
00:05:20
Speaker 1: It is football.
00:05:21
Speaker 4: We do like to talk about it and it's not new. They were saying this about the Packers. I remember in 97, after they won the Superbowl, it's not like, I think the idea of an undefeated season is a sexy kind of fantasy.
00:05:34
Speaker 1: It's a beautiful pipe dream. It's a sexy fantasy. Is this the year someone has a perfect NCAA bracket? Tune in. Let's discuss.
00:05:40
Speaker 2: Well, we've seen teams now do this. We've seen two teams do the regular season unbeaten. I mean, like, the one in a million chance of somebody making a perfect bracket. But I get it. I totally do. I also think we're in the world of... Now, social media tells folks on television screens and everything about how wrong they are because people will tell us about how terrible it is, but people tell.
00:06:05
Speaker 1: Them that they're wrong on social media.
00:06:07
Speaker 2: So it's now this rush to make sure that you tell everybody that you're right about different things. And so they will instead go to somebody said that. George Kittle was only going to have two grabs last night or Debo Samuel was going to be a six catch and a touchdown kind of guy when he returned to San Francisco. So to be this Debo Samuel back to his all pro form, move on to all the different stuff. But the Rams end up dropping one last night. And for everybody that was on that side and luckily enough to see it, You should have been smart enough to roll with us to the Pottawatomie Sports. We'll enjoy that plus three and a half. All of us on the 49ers. Back up the truck and crush your man. It's also the team that, I mean, they closed out their year more frustrated than anybody a year ago. And you kind of forget. Holy cow. Fred Warner, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa went healthy. Christian McCaffrey, son of a gun. They still got the Avengers.
00:07:04
Speaker 1: They do have great players. And yeah, when healthy, you do remember that. Oh, wait.
00:07:07
Speaker 4: And Debo Samuel kind of reached back. He's got the red and white jersey on again. He's got the gold helmet. It looks like the Debo Samuel you're used to seeing.
00:07:15
Speaker 1: He made plays last night. You mentioned Mike Evans yesterday, Billy, on.
00:07:18
Speaker 4: The show last night, I should say. I say yesterday. We had two shows, though. Last night, and he showed up as well. Brock Purdy seemed in command of the offense, a guy everyone likes to castigate all the time. He seemed in control of the offense. He looked a lot better than Stafford did last night. He definitely did. Well, it's funny because you talk about conversations, Drew, and you guys talk about storylines and discourse. I just assume it's going to be the travel schedule thing all day. I just assume all day it's going to be, see, I told you so. You should have drank coffee for a week in Melbourne like George Kittle did. That would have changed everything. I thought it was funny both coaches kind of downplayed that because they knew.
00:07:57
Speaker 1: It was going to be a big one. Because they got another game coming up already. Nine days away. That'll be a big discussion.
00:08:04
Speaker 4: To your point, it does seem like maybe most of the time it doesn't matter, but to get off a flight 15 hours and then Like you said, Billy, the way they got off the flight and then having to go play, it does seem hard to do to be at your best. Miles Garrett said this was like the worst performance I put out or the worst of myself.
00:08:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, now his knee is bad. Trying to say he's not healthy. Yeah. Three pressures for the guy who's the defensive player of the year in a sack machine. Trent Williams is like, well, he's still really hard to block. Yeah, Trent Williams and him was a great matchup to watch last night. He's like, he's still really hard to block, even though he says he's the worst version he's ever put on the field and that he's They're like, what's your goal going into week two? To get healthy. Like, he's not healthy, so maybe Aaron Donald will pick up the white courtesy telephone and play. Who knows?
00:08:47
Speaker 2: Garrett was kind of held out of camp throughout, and similarly so. People thought last year it was just them resting Stafford.
00:08:54
Speaker 1: Maybe it was.
00:08:56
Speaker 2: Once you're over the age of 30, you do get more nagging injuries, and they are tougher to put to bed and put to the side. They gave up a ton to be able to get them and also broke up a part of their defense. Jared verse was one of the biggest leaders on that defense. And rightfully so you trade them for miles. Garrett, no one is questioning that part of it.
00:09:14
Speaker 5: Right.
00:09:15
Speaker 2: But you'll start seeing maybe some of the, the fruits and they might not always be sweet coming off of that tree. Jared verse was a young ascending player and older players generally get less healthy. And that's, that's going to be a question mark for this, this Rams team that The 49ers were the geriatric team in the NFL, and the Niners just said, hold on, we're going to try to race that way instead of get younger like.
00:09:36
Speaker 1: Seattle ended up doing. Exactly. And you know what?
00:09:38
Speaker 4: History always tells us don't overreact to week one because things will change different. So all these seemingly concerning issues we saw for the Rams last night, it might turn out to not be as bad.
00:09:47
Speaker 1: As it seems.
00:09:48
Speaker 4: But you can easily, you know, the excitement of Miles Garrett can turn into nervousness. Is he going to be healthy? To your point, Billy, Jared Verst, did we let it go? It's like you get nervous about all those moves not working.
00:09:59
Speaker 5: I mean.
00:10:00
Speaker 4: but it, but it is going to be a long season and things do change quickly. And overreacting a week one is sometimes dangerous, but boy, there does seem to be some concerns. Like it went from like, Yeah, the excitement of the Rams, betting favorite, all that stuff to like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on here?
00:10:16
Speaker 2: One thing I didn't see a whole lot of complaining about, which is kind of rare for international games, was playing surface.
00:10:21
Speaker 1: Was pretty dang good. The feel was great. The feel was gorgeous. Gorgeous on television. 100,000 plus there. That was kind of cool. Friend of show and longtime listener Schwartz Center did hit us on X and said, I hate this camera angle. He didn't like the zoom zoomed in and you can't see the entire field and players on the outside. You can't see plays developer, how the defense is playing.
00:10:41
Speaker 4: Okay.
00:10:41
Speaker 1: I might've been a Netflix thing. You rarely do on television. I was going to say that, that we were in the press box for home games at Lambeau and it is a different experience. And then you have to have the NFL plus to see the all 22 and the coaches tape and you get to see a quite a different view. of things, but yeah, they follow the ball and it's mostly interior.
00:11:00
Speaker 2: It's like, I was going to say mostly it's a tighter angle. I thought Luke, Luke Keegly was pretty dang good for his first game.
00:11:07
Speaker 1: I thought, by the way, I thought by now they, the prediction was, well, you're going to have 15 different screens and like, well, 14 of them will be McAfee, but you'll have 15 different screens and you can pick, you want cheerleader cam, you want the end zone cam, you want, you could be your own director. I'm still waiting for that technology. Into that TV truck. That was promised to us years ago. Well, and I would like to apologize.
00:11:28
Speaker 4: Maybe I should have been more adept on what the lineup was going to be for the Netflix panel. I didn't know clay was going to be on the pregame, all that stuff. I mean, We were focused on what we were doing.
00:11:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, Clay without plastic surgery. That was the AI work of him having the botched. Oh, the massive jaw. Yeah, the botched. My buddy did ask me if that was real. That's the thing. Now it's to the point where anything you look at, you have to think it'll work. I thought Aaron's podcast was... Until proven otherwise. I thought Aaron's podcast was... Exactly. Well, I saw that stuff floating out.
00:11:51
Speaker 5: There, but.
00:11:52
Speaker 1: Everything that comes down the pike, you got to say, well, is this a work? Yeah, but no, Clay was, I thought, pretty good. And, you know, it was.
00:11:58
Speaker 4: The funny thing was how many people had Netflix, how many people watched, didn't. I mean, obviously, if you're with us in the bottom of the sportsbook, you didn't have that problem, but it was interesting to hear if anyone complained about that.
00:12:07
Speaker 1: The one declaration we can make is that the bar is set pretty low for the Sunday games. And Bill's Texans and Packers Vikings have a runway to be the best game of the week because these first two games weren't great. I thought last night was a little more fun than Wednesday.
00:12:22
Speaker 2: Well, definitely more entertaining when you had Stafford and company getting shut down at the goal line. But for the first half, I mean, he was 4 of 11 for like 50 yards.
00:12:31
Speaker 1: He's struggling.
00:12:32
Speaker 2: Definitely not ball being played at its highest level. Did enjoy, though, the 49ers just coming out with a lot of piss and vinegar.
00:12:40
Speaker 1: I mean, they are.
00:12:41
Speaker 2: And for one that was disrespected, they were more angry than I think anybody about the international game and having to get this draw because it was pretty well known that the Rams had suggested to the NFL, why don't we get the 49ers?
00:12:54
Speaker 3: Hey.
00:12:55
Speaker 2: Hey.
00:12:56
Speaker 1: That's a really good idea. Let's give that. Let's do that for you. By the way, San Francisco is going to host an international game, too.
00:13:03
Speaker 5: What?
00:13:03
Speaker 1: What?
00:13:04
Speaker 2: We got to play two of these things and we got to go further than anybody else. So never underestimate a scorned heart. And the 49ers had this one in the back of their mind all off season long, circled up knowing that the Rams had requested they be their traveling partner and be their opponent halfway across the world. And you could kind of see that last night, whether it was not just them being healthy or But that was an attitude.
00:13:33
Speaker 1: Bowl for the 49ers, and they rose the occasion. I don't know that they can do that 17 times. Yeah, that's a good point.
00:13:39
Speaker 2: With their age, I don't know they can do that 17 times, but Fred Warner playing 17 games, they're going to have a chance because that son of a gun is– Different is an absolute difference maker inside.
00:13:50
Speaker 1: You know, maybe they want to scale.
00:13:51
Speaker 4: I mean, they, they've been talking for a while about kind of ramping down McCaffrey's. For instance, you talk about the veterans, McCaffrey's kind of workload. He only had like 10 carries. I mean, he only had, so maybe that's what their plan is. And maybe. Maybe because of the age, Billy, if they can. I don't want to say load manage because you can't do that in the NFL, really. But maybe if there's a way they can work different guys in rotation-wise to save some of those guys.
00:14:12
Speaker 2: Oh, Kalen Black was running like a guy that's going to earn a lot of carries running back from Indiana from a year ago. He was really, really good there, and he was really good last night.
00:14:20
Speaker 4: Concern for McCaffrey as the owners. That's a whole different story. But, yeah, I mean, that will be interesting to see now as the season goes on.
00:14:26
Speaker 1: Did you take McCaffrey?
00:14:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I thought... I was wondering where that one came from. I was wondering where that one came from.
00:14:33
Speaker 4: He still averaged like seven yards a carry, 6.8, but I mean, it just wasn't a lot. But yes, I mean, you know, a lot of storylines as we now head into the bulk of the weekend in week one, but, you know, we got the two opening games.
00:14:43
Speaker 1: Under our belt now.
00:14:44
Speaker 2: One of the guys, I wonder if he'll revise his take, but Bill Barnwell, who is kind of the numbers crunching guy from ESPN.
00:14:50
Speaker 1: Oh, big time, yeah. He did his postseason projections. He does it every year on the dawn of the season. And Interesting takes. And he's a guy that I respect and I like reading. He picks the 14 teams that he thinks are going to make the playoffs. And then he's laying it out. And just for context, last year he had the Packers winning the Super Bowl. I was going to say, yeah. This year he's got them out of the playoffs. Along with the Bears. And along with the San Francisco 49ers. Now that's interesting. Out of the playoffs. So one of the things he said, if you've read this column over the past couple of years, there's a twist. One of the most common mistakes we make as football fans, myself included, is overconfidence in the teams we saw excel last year. Yes. We're collectively too inclined to pick teams that made the playoffs a year ago to make it back in the current season. Ask me to pick the 2026 playoff teams without any constraints, and I'd pick at least nine of the 14 teams that made it in 2025. History tells us that's underestimating the chaos and variance that comes with a 17-game NFL season. So... there's always teams that go from out of the playoffs to playoffs or deep, right? Usually, yeah. Because we talk about this. Every year there's a worst to first. Matchup last year was that no one knew. And so this year, isn't it, it's almost cheating to say, well, the Chiefs will be back. You would think. He's got them winning the West, right? He's got the Giants making the playoffs as an NFC Wild.
00:16:25
Speaker 2: That is a sexy double your win total team. Our boy Cowherd that you hear on here has been saying that since May. He's got the Bucs making the playoffs.
00:16:36
Speaker 4: The Ravens.
00:16:36
Speaker 1: They don't slide down the back of the dinosaur. They should have won the division last year. He's got Detroit winning the NFC North. I was going to say, someone has to. If the Packers and the Bears are out, somebody has to. And you were really hoping it wasn't Minnesota. I was praying. I was like, it can't be them.
00:16:49
Speaker 4: We can't have that type of situation.
00:16:51
Speaker 1: But they could. Does that mean they're a wild card, though? And Barnwell is going. His Super Bowl teams are, you know. brace yourself, Chiefs and Eagles. So not much change to the top, maybe? No, but he is predicting more chaos, and that would be chaos. The Niners, Bears, and Packers all missing the playoffs. Not out of the realm of possibility, but seems unlikely. Somewhat unlikely.
00:17:16
Speaker 2: I gotta see it with Sean Mannion for the Eagles before I fully believe it.
00:17:21
Speaker 1: Them losing A.J.
00:17:22
Speaker 2: Brown might not be as difficult as you would think, but DP had them going to the Super Bowl, too. I heard him give his big Super Bowl pick just a couple of days ago.
00:17:32
Speaker 1: Maybe I'm wrong.
00:17:33
Speaker 2: Maybe I'll sit here with egg on my face. I famously thought a couple of years ago that they were going to be a one and done. They won the Super Bowl. So I've been wrong on Philadelphia a number of times before.
00:17:44
Speaker 1: Barnwell's got both the 49ers and the Chargers missing the playoffs. Well, the Chargers one is not surprising. That's more of a, yeah.
00:17:51
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:17:53
Speaker 2: Listen, the Chargers is surprising because it's everybody's favorite quarterback of all time.
00:17:59
Speaker 1: Goodness gracious. Do you know his date in Madison Pierce? He's famous. Oh, yeah. We got to love him. We got to love him. I don't know if this will sting you also, Billy, but he's got the Jacksonville Jaguars missing the playoffs. Oh, that's just a bad take, then. And the Panthers missing.
00:18:11
Speaker 4: It'll be hard to hit that parlay of all those teams, but he might get a couple right, and he probably will.
00:18:16
Speaker 1: He might, and he is right that there is chaos. That's the way it works.
00:18:19
Speaker 4: You are predicting, trying to predict chaos, which you can't predict, so it's kind of interesting.
00:18:23
Speaker 2: People try to predict one, the worst, the first team in the NFL. History would tell us somebody's going to do it. It's kind of hard to be able to identify this year. Right, and we're going to try and predict, because we love fan fiction in sports. We love to talk about what might happen. That's why we like to talk about undefeated seasons.
00:18:38
Speaker 4: True.
00:18:39
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:18:40
Speaker 1: Absolutely. 877-794-1973, your ticket to interact with us here on the NicoletLaw.com talk and text line. Hunter Baumgart has an interview for us. We're going to listen to that. He talked to Trisha Whitaker, who's on the sidelines again tonight. A masterpiece of an interview. The Pancake Princess. We'll talk to Trisha Whitaker. We'll hear our conversation Hunter had with Trisha Whitaker, who is on the call tonight. It's an Apple TV production for Brewers Reds, opener this evening at American Family Field. Did you hear that?
00:19:08
Speaker 2: It's just people... Smacking the dashboard on their cars driving into work.
00:19:13
Speaker 1: Don't worry about one final Apple TV one. One more Apple TV. I had to watch Netflix last night and now I'm back to this.
00:19:19
Speaker 4: Damn.
00:19:21
Speaker 1: Gouging. Come on.
00:19:22
Speaker 4: I used to like the days when games were on Fox or CBS.
00:19:25
Speaker 1: Yeah. And all of them weren't on TV.
00:19:28
Speaker 4: Super 8 death. The Brewers weren't on. Super 18 maybe.
00:19:32
Speaker 1: And on WVTV. The Bucks are back. That lies ahead. And, oh, baby, Packers-Vikings talk with Wayne Larvey, voice of the Packers, joins us at 725. Dolph's in for halftime. We're glad you're here, 5 o'clock clubbers. Get yourself a comfortable chair, a cold or hot beverage of your choice, and saddle up because we're here until 8 a.m. It's the huddle. Fox Sports Radio, Wisconsin. Drew, Billy, and Armand bringing it to you, the Huddle, Fox Sports Radio, Wisconsin, 920 Milwaukee, 1070 Madison, everywhere in the iHeart app, streaming live, Facebook X, and YouTube. Happy to say that this portion of the program brought to us by Game Day Men's Health. Check them out online, gamedaymenshealth.com. Avail yourself of their services. Go in for that free consult. See if they can change your life at Game Day Men's Health. So many are. If you have any curiosity about the peptides. stacks that people are talking about at the gym, Billy.
00:20:22
Speaker 5: Yeah, and I want.
00:20:23
Speaker 2: Game Day Men's Health is the place. And the thing is, they'll talk to you about it and not make you feel like an idiot. Because that guy in the gym is going to be like, listen, bro.
00:20:30
Speaker 1: I got you. Bro, I got you. That's what you need, bro. Listen, just... You're not doing it right if you're not doing this, bro. All right? That's right. Gains. Go to the experts, right? All the different services they have available at gamedaymenshealth.com. We mentioned Brewers Reds tonight. It's an Apple TV production. It'll be a fun night at the old ballpark as Brewers are down to their last two homestands left this weekend and next week. Final two ones. I'm going to the ballpark tonight. I'll be there as well. Let's go. Let's take it in. Let's go watch some big league ball. As it happens, our baseball go-to guy, Hunter Baumgart, he had occasion to chat with Tricia Whitaker, friend of the program, former Green Bay TV personality who was who started there, an Indiana University adjunct professor of journalism and sideline reporter for Apple TV, famously of the Pocket Pancake episode. Well, Hunter caught up with her, and we are going to share that conversation with you now. Hunter's contributions brought to us by Import Minded, your trusted source for vehicle care on 27th Street just north of 894. Take it away, Hunter.
00:21:38
Speaker 6: Trisha Whitaker, who will be on the broadcast for Apple TV, joining us here. And Trisha, great to have you back on the show.
00:21:45
Speaker 3: It's so good to be back on the show.
00:21:46
Speaker 5: I love you guys so much that I pulled over on my five-hour drive from where I live in Indiana to Milwaukee just to come on the show with you. So I'm sitting at a weird gas station type of spot right now. So if anybody interrupts me, it's because they're mad I'm parked here. This is just a spur of the moment, no makeup, like road tripping little segment here.
00:22:09
Speaker 6: That's fantastic. Hey, road trips are the best. So hopefully everything goes smooth for you. And we're looking forward to having you back in Milwaukee coming up this weekend, Friday night, 645 Brewers and Reds on Apple TV. I know it's been a couple of months since you were last here in Milwaukee, I think late June, if memory serves.
00:22:28
Speaker 1: But how... How kind.
00:22:31
Speaker 6: Of has your perspective maybe changed or not changed at all about this team that still has the best record in baseball as we sit here in the middle of September?
00:22:39
Speaker 5: The only way that it's changed is that in my mind, the Brewers have become more legitimate. They were already legitimate back when we had the Brewers Cub Series.
00:22:48
Speaker 3: I think it was in June or something.
00:22:50
Speaker 5: But the fact that they have kept winning at the pace that they have and they haven't fallen off is unbelievable to me. Um, and, and also this week watching the Brewers Cubs series was unreal, right? Watching Jackson Cheerio do what he did. Um, watching Laura, if I'm, am I pronouncing his last name?
00:23:08
Speaker 4: Right.
00:23:09
Speaker 1: Please say I am.
00:23:10
Speaker 3: I got to say.
00:23:11
Speaker 5: It 300 times on the broadcast tomorrow. And I've been like, get it right. Trish, make sure you don't say it wrong. I'm watching what transpired with him and Pat Murphy before the walk off Christian, uh, getting on base before that. And then Jackson's week that he had, it's just been unbelievable to see them with the continued success, right? They've got that young core, but then they've got some of their veterans. They, um, You know, their pitching lab magic has not faded throughout the season. I'm not saying it's always been perfect, but you don't need to be perfect. You just need to be durable. And this team has proved that they are durable.
00:23:46
Speaker 3: And guess what? That's one of the biggest components to.
00:23:50
Speaker 5: An October team is durability and depth and clutch and able to win in those late inning situations. So it's been unbelievable to watch.
00:24:02
Speaker 6: They've been able to find ways to win. I was thinking about this the other day. It hasn't been the cleanest game every night. It hasn't been maybe as heroic as maybe some of the times where last year they were winning 14 in a row, last year winning 12 in a row, getting to the best record in ball through that. But this year it's been finding ways to win, and that Cubs series is a great example of it, coming from behind, down in the eighth inning. Both of the games come back in the eighth inning on Monday. Tuesday they come back in the ninth. How much of that do you think is kind of taking on what their manager always says and winning tonight and just focusing on trying to win that day's game?
00:24:38
Speaker 5: It's 100% about... I mean, it's about deep.
00:24:41
Speaker 3: Talent on the roster, right? A manager can only do so much. However.
00:24:45
Speaker 5: the belief that Pat Murphy instills in his players, like you saw before Laura stepped up to the plate when he stepped up.
00:24:51
Speaker 3: I mean, you don't see a manager. I don't recall ever seeing that happen.
00:24:55
Speaker 5: And I've been covering major league baseball for almost nine years, 10 years now.
00:24:59
Speaker 3: I don't even know.
00:25:00
Speaker 5: And I'm watching Murph come out of the dugout and like intercept him. as he's stepping up to the plate, I'm like, is he hurt? I'm like, is everything okay? And then you realize if you know, Pat, he was just giving him a pep talk.
00:25:12
Speaker 2: Right.
00:25:13
Speaker 3: So that, that, that belief that he instills in his team and his players.
00:25:17
Speaker 5: And, and that's actually what we're focusing on tomorrow in the open pregame part of our show is Pat Murphy and the way that he coaches and manages his team. I think that we're seeing the college coach in him and all of those characteristics that, Translate to the majors so.
00:25:34
Speaker 3: So well. And that isn't always the case.
00:25:36
Speaker 5: I'm not going to say names, but we've seen it happen in the majors where the college coach doesn't always make the transition to the majors the right way.
00:25:45
Speaker 3: Pat has done that seamlessly. And, you know.
00:25:49
Speaker 5: I love his combination of like tough love, accountability, belief and support. he's going to be the first one to tell the media after the game, Hey, yeah, he shouldn't have done that, but he'll learn. And he's the first one to tell you probably that was the wrong decision to make.
00:26:04
Speaker 3: And he's got to be better. Right.
00:26:06
Speaker 5: And, and I loved what he said. I think it was after the, the, the comeback win this week at some point, he said, trusting your team and believing that's, what's going to make them keep coming back to the field every day. And sometimes we think about these major league players and we're like, they're grown men.
00:26:21
Speaker 3: Yes, they are.
00:26:22
Speaker 5: Yes, they are, but they're still human beings at the end of the day. So, I've always been a fan of the way that Pat Murphy operates. And I think that's a huge piece of it. Like you were saying.
00:26:30
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:26:31
Speaker 6: And one of the things that's interesting that you bring up the transition from college to, to the pros and something that Pat Murphy has said to us in the past is, I don't know if I would have been ready for this. In fact, he basically said like, I don't know if I would have been ready for this years ago.
00:26:45
Speaker 1: But this is just such a.
00:26:47
Speaker 6: Great combination of him being ready and the team being as young as they have been. Now, they're not as young this year as they were a couple years ago. Terang and Freelick and Mitchell, these guys have matured. But part of the Brewers' success is bringing up the young guys like Cooper Pratt, like Luis Lara. And both of them have been key contributors since they both came up.
00:27:07
Speaker 3: Exactly. That's exactly right. And you know what?
00:27:09
Speaker 5: The other thing is, even though these guys have matured the last few years, Pat Murphy has been with them.
00:27:14
Speaker 3: That's the thing.
00:27:15
Speaker 5: You know, it's like not every single one of them. I know they all haven't been here for three years since 2024, but he has helped them mature, right?
00:27:24
Speaker 3: And they don't expect their rookies to be perfect. That's the other thing.
00:27:29
Speaker 5: Pat heavily emphasizes, you know, most players don't really get that clean entry into the majors, right? And accepting their flaws and, you know, being able to work through some of those rough edges that these players have. You know, Churio, he was brought up really early. And they kind of withstood that learning curve with him, which now... they're reaping the benefits of that.
00:27:51
Speaker 3: Right.
00:27:52
Speaker 5: And, and I think that, you know, the, the kind of radical accountability and authenticity that Pat brings to the game and to his managing style, you know, I'm not, I don't like it when reporters speak for an entire clubhouse or anything like that. So I'm not trying to do that, but from the outside looking in and just speaking to a few guys in the clubhouse, that is what it seems like works best for this group of guys.
00:28:15
Speaker 6: It is, and you have to know your team, and Pat Murphy said that after he benched Cooper Pratt a couple weeks ago. You have to know your team. In order to do that, you have to know how this is going to play in the clubhouse.
00:28:26
Speaker 1: Pratt's been great.
00:28:27
Speaker 6: The whole team, honestly, has been a little bit better since then, and really since they got swept in San Diego. They've been absolutely on a roll. Trisha Whitaker joining us. She'll be on the broadcast on Apple TV Friday night. Make sure to catch not only the game at 645, but the pregame beforehand, digging into Pat Murphy there.
00:28:44
Speaker 1: You mentioned Jackson Churio.
00:28:46
Speaker 6: Is he becoming a superstar in front of our eyes? The confidence with which he walked to the plate before he hit that game-tying home run on Tuesday just absolutely struck me like one of those players that just had the utmost confidence in himself that he can come through.
00:29:00
Speaker 1: In that situation.
00:29:00
Speaker 3: No, you're exactly right.
00:29:02
Speaker 5: He's a bona fide superstar at this point, and it's just at 22 years old, which is highly impressive. I mean, the numbers, the milestones, it backs it up, and it backs up his ascension this season. Um, and I think, I think, you know, we're watching one of the young studs, um, not become a young stud at a young age, if that makes sense.
00:29:26
Speaker 1: Right.
00:29:27
Speaker 5: He, he almost plays like a veteran. Like you said, I don't know that I, that I phrased that the best, but you know what I mean? Like, especially during this recent tear, like you said, when he stepped up to the plate in that situation and hit the game tying home.
00:29:40
Speaker 3: Run, it's just almost as if those bright lights.
00:29:43
Speaker 5: And that big moment didn't rattle him at all. And, and here's the thing that I'm going to be interested in seeing in October is how he specifically performs, you know, because now that he's got a few years under his belt or whatever, seeing how he performs in October to me is going to be like, oh, this guy's like, you know, way ahead of perhaps what we expected him.
00:30:06
Speaker 3: To be at at this point at 22 years old.
00:30:08
Speaker 5: Um, and I don't think it's, I think sometimes when a guy peaks super early or whatever, then we have unrealistic expectations of them.
00:30:15
Speaker 3: Like, um, um, sorry, did you hear that? My phone ringing?
00:30:20
Speaker 1: Sorry.
00:30:21
Speaker 5: Um, I'm on a road trip, so I told everybody this is a great time to call and talk because otherwise.
00:30:28
Speaker 1: I don't have time.
00:30:29
Speaker 5: But anyways, you know, we're seeing him come into his own and it's been really, really fun to watch. And the statistical jump that he's made, especially after he missed. How much time did he miss at the beginning of the season?
00:30:41
Speaker 6: About a month and 10 days. I think he came back May 4th was, I believe, his first game of the season.
00:30:48
Speaker 3: Yeah. And that's not easy to do, especially for a young player.
00:30:51
Speaker 5: And I think it's been really cool to see how he's rebounded from that and come back from that because that also shows his maturity and his ability to just kind of jump right back into it. So I've been highly impressed. And also when I was there in June, was it June or July? I don't know, but that was right after all of the earthquakes happened in Venezuela. And obviously he's Venezuelan and And William Contreras is Venezuelan. You have quite a few Venezuelans, not just on the team, but on the staff with the brewers. And I walked up to Jackson in the clubhouse and I said, hey, listen, you in no way should feel obligated to do an interview with me about what's going on in Venezuela.
00:31:29
Speaker 3: But I said, if you want.
00:31:31
Speaker 5: A platform to speak about that, if you want a platform to talk about what's going on in Venezuela, how we can help to make your people back home feel heard, we'd love to do an interview with you. If not, totally your choice. We'll respect whatever your decision is. And immediately he said, yes, yes, I want to. Yes, I want to do it. I want to talk about this. It's important to me. And at 22 years old, I just respect that so much that he was able to find the words in those moments to speak. And, you know, I think what we're seeing from him goes beyond just on the field.
00:32:04
Speaker 1: For sure.
00:32:05
Speaker 6: And that was one of the more powerful interviews, I think, of the season. So well done to you on that. I think everybody was quite moved by their comments and the way you handled that was fantastic. So well done. I want to move a little bit to kind of the broader view. The National League as a whole, really good teams in the National League right now. Obviously Brewers, Dodgers, Braves, the division leaders, but the Phillies trying to make a run in the NL East and then the Padres and Diamondbacks, not too bad themselves.
00:32:34
Speaker 1: How tough is it?
00:32:35
Speaker 6: You know, even though the brewers have the best record right now, how tough and the Cubs, obviously you just saw them in Milwaukee, but how tough is it going to be to get through that NL this year, especially when you compare it to what the AL looks like this year, which is a little bit different.
00:32:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's tough and it's, it's, it's highly top heavy, you know?
00:32:52
Speaker 5: Um, and I think they're, it's, they're considered far more dominant right now than the AL for good reason, right? They boast two of the best records in baseball. Um, and the wildcard race is absolutely brutal right now for them.
00:33:05
Speaker 1: Right.
00:33:05
Speaker 3: Um, but I think it's really good.
00:33:07
Speaker 5: For baseball, especially considering when you look at some of the AL teams, you're like, this isn't competitive in some areas at all.
00:33:13
Speaker 3: So it's been really, really cool to see, um, what, what, what's going on in the NL right now.
00:33:19
Speaker 5: Um, the NL East is probably, like you said, the toughest fight right now. Um, it's probably the most competitive division in baseball. Um, you know, the Dodgers and the Brewers, they've locked up their, well, I don't want to speak too soon, but it seems they've locked up their respective divisions. And then you got the Braves and the Phillies. And that's honestly one of the most exciting divisions that I feel like I've watched in a while in baseball.
00:33:43
Speaker 3: When you look at the NL Central, you know, they're deep.
00:33:47
Speaker 5: And the NL West, you know, they've got that high-end star power. It's been really, really fun to watch. Sorry, I'm slightly distracted. Somebody keeps walking up to my car.
00:33:58
Speaker 3: And I have no idea why this is what happens guys. When you try to do a road.
00:34:01
Speaker 5: Trip, I'm not even sure what I just said there to you. Anyways, the NL and each division is incredibly tough right now. And it's incredibly entertaining to watch. But you know, I think, gosh, I think it's so good for baseball. Like I said, especially when you look at what's going on in the AL. So that's going to be the division that I think is the most exciting to watch near the end of September and into October. Yeah.
00:34:28
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely.
00:34:30
Speaker 6: Well, and the thing about the NL East, too, and I think, you know, people around here obviously see the Cubs.
00:34:35
Speaker 1: That's who the Brewers played last year. Dodgers.
00:34:37
Speaker 6: That's who the Brewers played last year. But how sneaky could the Phillies be in all this? Because obviously, if they wouldn't have had the tough start, the really uncharacteristic start that they had in the beginning of the year. they could be up for the top record in baseball. If they wouldn't have been so woefully bad in the first couple of weeks, that seems like a very sneaky team with some great pitching and obviously the star power on offense.
00:34:58
Speaker 5: I would be terrified of the Phillies right now. I mean, I would be terrified of the Phillies right now because they got off to a.
00:35:06
Speaker 3: Whole, I mean, it was horrific. I remember covering the Phillies at the beginning of the season. And I was like, what is happening? Like, this is not the DNA of this team. I mean, it was bad.
00:35:17
Speaker 5: And, and I think what they've done since then, and obviously I'm so biased towards Kyle Schwarber because he's an Indiana university grad and everybody knows how obnoxious I am about IU. And I mean, he has carried that team in parts of this season and it's been so impressive. And, and, and, and you just, you've got rotation depth there. You've got that veteran playoff resiliency. And I think that's, what's really going to make them exciting and a threat down the stretch.
00:35:44
Speaker 3: They're not scared of anybody.
00:35:46
Speaker 5: And I think when you look at the veterans they have on that team, if I'm stepping up against them in October, I'm like, oh, boy, these guys could do some damage. You know, they're not scared and they've got a bounce back offense. They've got high leverage relievers. And that's really, really tough in October and late September. So and also when you're playing in Philly, good luck.
00:36:09
Speaker 3: Good luck. That's all I'm going to say. Good luck. You know, advantage Phillies. Always in Philly. I mean, not always. I know they're whatever. But, I mean, they're going to be a postseason powerhouse in my mind.
00:36:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure.
00:36:20
Speaker 6: So two quick questions before we let you get out of the gas station parking lot here and.
00:36:23
Speaker 1: Move on with your road trip.
00:36:25
Speaker 5: Please excuse the NL question when I was highly distracted.
00:36:29
Speaker 3: No one listened to anything I said during that.
00:36:32
Speaker 6: The question there, the answer was still, was still great. Two questions. One is I know you spent some time in green Bay. So how cool is it to see Notre Dame and Wisconsin play college football game at Lambeau field? I'm not sure how much you were able to catch of it, but kind of a cool atmosphere for a college football game, obviously.
00:36:48
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh.
00:36:48
Speaker 5: I was, I was, I wasn't like, I had the whole split screen going on between the Wisconsin Notre Dame game.
00:36:54
Speaker 3: And then what was the other game? Oh my word. I'm losing my mind.
00:36:56
Speaker 6: It was another game. Louisville Ole Miss. Was that the same?
00:36:59
Speaker 1: Louisville Ole Miss.
00:37:00
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:37:00
Speaker 5: I had the split screen on. So I was kind of bouncing back and forth between the two of them, but playing under the lights at Lambeau, I always tell people, you know, I've covered.
00:37:08
Speaker 3: Games in so many stadiums.
00:37:11
Speaker 5: Across the country in the NFL, the NBA, college basketball, college football, baseball, everything.
00:37:19
Speaker 3: There's nothing.
00:37:19
Speaker 5: And I'm not just saying that because I'm talking to Wisconsin people right now. I know people will be like, you're pandering. I swear to God, I'm not. Lambeau is one of the coolest places on game day. I mean, it's, it's gotta be in my top five. You know, I think games in Philly are amazing.
00:37:31
Speaker 3: Games in Fenway are amazing. Games at Wrigley. Sorry, Brewers fans. They're amazing. But Lambeau, oh my word. It's unlike anything I've ever seen.
00:37:40
Speaker 5: So to be a college football player and play there, that's, I loved it. I love the neutral site matchup when it's a place like that, when it's a neutral site matchup where I'm just like, why are you here? Then I'm like, okay, this is dumb. But there, I think that was just, that was awesome to see. Um, and yeah, I loved it. I would go to a Lambeau field neutral site type of matchup any day of the week.
00:38:03
Speaker 3: Although I don't know.
00:38:04
Speaker 5: How neutral technically it is since it was wisconsin playing there but you know.
00:38:07
Speaker 6: What i mean right right but but it was a home game it was kind of yeah kind of strange.
00:38:11
Speaker 3: In that respect i mean notre dame came out on top so whatever but like.
00:38:14
Speaker 6: Yeah right yeah no totally uh last question when is indiana gonna have their uh first test of the season we're looking ahead to like ohio state in october here i saw their schedule i'm like they got howard they got western kentucky and then they've got some maybe not so good big 10 uh big 10 foes here. So is that kind of, or are we just taking it a week at a time here at, at over at Indiana?
00:38:36
Speaker 5: The amount of questions I've had to answer about their schedule to start the season. I know that their schedule to start the season heavily favors them.
00:38:45
Speaker 3: Trust me, I'm aware, but it's not my job to create the schedule.
00:38:48
Speaker 1: Right.
00:38:48
Speaker 5: So I know I was at the, at the, at the, at the North Texas game. I'll be at the Howard game, Western Kentucky, North Western.
00:38:55
Speaker 3: Let me pull up. I can't remember what's after that.
00:38:58
Speaker 5: Um, So I think one of their first tests, I mean, really, when you look at the schedule, I mean, I'm not saying that like, that like you, they couldn't be tested at Rutgers, but I don't know that that will be the case.
00:39:14
Speaker 3: So perhaps their first test will be at Nebraska.
00:39:17
Speaker 5: I don't know anything about the Cornhuskers this season, but that'll be their first, like kind of big road test.
00:39:23
Speaker 3: But really, really let's think about it here. The big test of the season is Ohio state. It's Ohio state.
00:39:29
Speaker 5: Um because we know what happened in the big 10 championship game the buckeyes are coming for blood um and in usc will be a good test for them at michigan's going to be a good test for them but everybody has ohio state circled on their calendars i mean that is the game that you're like this is really the measuring stick here um.
00:39:48
Speaker 1: It's in Indiana, though, right?
00:39:49
Speaker 5: I'm nervous, and it's like over a month away.
00:39:52
Speaker 3: I'm nervous. Yes, it's out of Indiana. It's here. It's home.
00:39:56
Speaker 1: Got it. Okay, that's what I thought. Trisha Whitaker joining us.
00:39:59
Speaker 6: She will be on the broadcast Friday night, Apple TV, 645 First Pitch. They'll be on a little bit before that to get you set for the game Brewers and Red Start of a three-game series. Trisha, we always enjoy talking to you, and thanks so much for making time for us on the road trip.
00:40:12
Speaker 1: We really appreciate it.
00:40:14
Speaker 5: Even in a gas station parking lot when some random person's walking up to my car.
00:40:18
Speaker 4: Wow.
00:40:18
Speaker 3: I'm glad we did that. Pulled it off. Good to see you. Excited for Friday.
00:40:22
Speaker 1: Thanks to Hunter Baumgart and thanks to Tricia Whitaker for being delightful. You know, take the girl out of Green Bay. Can't take the Green Bay out of the girl. She's so good. She's very Midwest. She's one of us. Yeah.
00:40:33
Speaker 2: I got a couple of, I got a couple of, uh, you know, qualms with the breakdown of Kurt Cignetti's Indiana schedule, but I'll save that for the pod.
00:40:39
Speaker 1: But you are fired up. Save it for the pod. All right, moving forward, we're going to talk to the voice of the Packers, Wayne Larrabee, coming up at 725. Packers, Vikings this week. It starts, and obviously we'll talk to Dolph at halftime of the program. We're glad you're hanging out with us. Where else would you rather be at 5 a.m.? You're in the huddle, Fox Sports Radio, Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: Welcome aboard five o'clock clubbers. You are officially in the huddle. Last show of the week. Last show before the Packers begin the 2026 season. Last show before the Brewers and Reds. Last show before the Brewers clinch, we hope, a playoff berth and perhaps the division. Welcome in. I'm Drew Olson joined by Bill Schmidt, Armin Sarn. Just seems like a few hours ago that we were at Pottawatomie enjoying the Thursday night huddle kickoff of that fine series.
00:00:28
Speaker 2: Hard not to enjoy that, and hard not to enjoy a, well, at least maybe the first 25 minutes of the game that we got last night, and just the smorgasbord of food over there at.
00:00:37
Speaker 1: The Annex was a great time last night. The best patty melt I've had in a while. Patty melt's underrated sandwich on the marble rye. It really is underrated, because people think of a burger. Yeah, you think of a burger, but patty melt is a different twist.
00:00:49
Speaker 3: It's a twist.
00:00:49
Speaker 1: It's a blend on it, yeah. It's a different experience. That's what I went with, and Billy had the chicken dinner. Loaded that bad boy up phenomenal.
00:00:56
Speaker 4: I went with that delicious quesadilla. Quesadilla was fantastic. When you get all the flavors in there and you boil the salsa. Let me tell you about the salsa.
00:01:03
Speaker 1: It was delicious. So it was just a great time. Our pal Haley took care of us throughout the year. So good. We had so much fun. So much fun.
00:01:09
Speaker 2: And everybody that missed out, you got 12 more opportunities to get out there.
00:01:13
Speaker 1: We'll see you next week.
00:01:14
Speaker 2: That was the one thing on the talking text line as 5 o'clock clubbers were joining us for double time and overtime. But they were missing out and realizing that the FOMO was real.
00:01:24
Speaker 1: But.
00:01:25
Speaker 2: Luckily, there's plenty of opportunities for you to go and still enjoy.
00:01:27
Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. I think we got like 15 or 16 or some more of those. So it's going to be fantastic. A lot of good times. A lot of good times to be had. A lot of good times to be had. So every once in a while, I wake up and I realize I might not be as dumb as I think I am. Because I think I'm pretty dumb. There we go. But one of those points was last night when the Rams, like whatever you call it, travel gate, the jet lag bowl, whatever you want to call it. Now I feel validated again. in pointing out the idiocy of wasting time and graphics. Will the Rams go unbeaten this season? And I said, they have a better chance of going 1-2 to start the season than they do 17-0 at the end. And I thought, you know, Billy, you're right. It's the soup that we're in. It's the modern media. It's that we got to go from A to F. But I thought that was dumb discourse. Kind of like, well, the Dodgers, you know, they did this in the off season. Will they be the first team to win 125 games in the season? Like, come on.
00:02:23
Speaker 4: Right.
00:02:23
Speaker 2: We can't just enjoy what's happening here. That's how far fetched it was to me.
00:02:26
Speaker 1: It's like 17 and oh, come on. And anybody who put that into the ether and entertain that as a serious topic, don't they have to take it and wear it today? Don't they? But no, they'll just go on to the next thing. Now, Chris Canty did what, You know, he was the contrarian in all this, and they have their hot take wild predictions or whatever for that. And he went on the air and got castigated by his colleagues because he said, my bold prediction is the Rams are going to miss the playoffs.
00:02:55
Speaker 4: Mm-hmm.
00:02:57
Speaker 1: Which everybody's like, come on, what are you, an idiot? They treated him the way everybody should have treated them for saying that they were going to go 17-0.
00:03:04
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
00:03:05
Speaker 1: But the group think machine does not roll that way. It doesn't roll that way. But that was dumb discourse. It was a waste of time. And it's not that, Billy, 80% of the graphics in the quiz, we have the sound off. But when you watch first take in those shows, if you just watch the chyron and read the question, that is the launching point for their discussions. They're always dumb. Who's under more pressure this year, LeBron or the Sixers? Like, what? They're intertwined. It's stupid. Like, come on. Those are the kind of dumb things. But this, to me, was especially dumb because the people that were in the discussion, they know that it's very unlikely anybody's going 17. To even project that and talk about it in August is folly.
00:03:47
Speaker 2: Yeah, but Drew, how many times will they talk about Justin Herbert winning a playoff game? And winning the MVP. My man plays his worst game of the year in all the biggest games. So again, I understand that this act, the discourse is always just so crazy. Until he does win one, sure. But that's been the last five years. But every single year they queue it up and tell you that he's going to win the MVP. It's different than when... I struggle to think that this is so much different than all the other sports discourses because when we were 15 games into the NBA season... And the question was not of, you know, the Oklahoma City Thunder stay healthy enough to win the NBA finals. It was, will they best the Bulls all-time wins or the Warriors all-time wins record? We always go to the furthest. We always go to the nth degree. So, like, I don't see this being a crazy deal just because of this year. I think we've asked the question a number of different times. I definitely remember them asking if the Chiefs were going to go 16 and 0. or 17-0, just two years ago when they were trying to win three consecutive titles.
00:04:50
Speaker 1: But this one, you saw it. So we never learned the lesson? Well, it's definitely not. No, but we got to do something for six months. No one has to wear that tag. No one has to say, boy, that was dumb of us.
00:05:00
Speaker 4: Well, hold on.
00:05:01
Speaker 1: Maybe some people will today. No, they won't. I don't know. It's on to the next. Well, maybe.
00:05:05
Speaker 4: But maybe in some of these discussions, somebody on the panel will say, I told you it wasn't going to happen. I think it's possible. I won't be listening to every show to know if somebody will, but, but this, you know, yes, we, but we have to talk about something.
00:05:20
Speaker 1: It is football.
00:05:21
Speaker 4: We do like to talk about it and it's not new. They were saying this about the Packers. I remember in 97, after they won the Superbowl, it's not like, I think the idea of an undefeated season is a sexy kind of fantasy.
00:05:34
Speaker 1: It's a beautiful pipe dream. It's a sexy fantasy. Is this the year someone has a perfect NCAA bracket? Tune in. Let's discuss.
00:05:40
Speaker 2: Well, we've seen teams now do this. We've seen two teams do the regular season unbeaten. I mean, like, the one in a million chance of somebody making a perfect bracket. But I get it. I totally do. I also think we're in the world of... Now, social media tells folks on television screens and everything about how wrong they are because people will tell us about how terrible it is, but people tell.
00:06:05
Speaker 1: Them that they're wrong on social media.
00:06:07
Speaker 2: So it's now this rush to make sure that you tell everybody that you're right about different things. And so they will instead go to somebody said that. George Kittle was only going to have two grabs last night or Debo Samuel was going to be a six catch and a touchdown kind of guy when he returned to San Francisco. So to be this Debo Samuel back to his all pro form, move on to all the different stuff. But the Rams end up dropping one last night. And for everybody that was on that side and luckily enough to see it, You should have been smart enough to roll with us to the Pottawatomie Sports. We'll enjoy that plus three and a half. All of us on the 49ers. Back up the truck and crush your man. It's also the team that, I mean, they closed out their year more frustrated than anybody a year ago. And you kind of forget. Holy cow. Fred Warner, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa went healthy. Christian McCaffrey, son of a gun. They still got the Avengers.
00:07:04
Speaker 1: They do have great players. And yeah, when healthy, you do remember that. Oh, wait.
00:07:07
Speaker 4: And Debo Samuel kind of reached back. He's got the red and white jersey on again. He's got the gold helmet. It looks like the Debo Samuel you're used to seeing.
00:07:15
Speaker 1: He made plays last night. You mentioned Mike Evans yesterday, Billy, on.
00:07:18
Speaker 4: The show last night, I should say. I say yesterday. We had two shows, though. Last night, and he showed up as well. Brock Purdy seemed in command of the offense, a guy everyone likes to castigate all the time. He seemed in control of the offense. He looked a lot better than Stafford did last night. He definitely did. Well, it's funny because you talk about conversations, Drew, and you guys talk about storylines and discourse. I just assume it's going to be the travel schedule thing all day. I just assume all day it's going to be, see, I told you so. You should have drank coffee for a week in Melbourne like George Kittle did. That would have changed everything. I thought it was funny both coaches kind of downplayed that because they knew.
00:07:57
Speaker 1: It was going to be a big one. Because they got another game coming up already. Nine days away. That'll be a big discussion.
00:08:04
Speaker 4: To your point, it does seem like maybe most of the time it doesn't matter, but to get off a flight 15 hours and then Like you said, Billy, the way they got off the flight and then having to go play, it does seem hard to do to be at your best. Miles Garrett said this was like the worst performance I put out or the worst of myself.
00:08:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, now his knee is bad. Trying to say he's not healthy. Yeah. Three pressures for the guy who's the defensive player of the year in a sack machine. Trent Williams is like, well, he's still really hard to block. Yeah, Trent Williams and him was a great matchup to watch last night. He's like, he's still really hard to block, even though he says he's the worst version he's ever put on the field and that he's They're like, what's your goal going into week two? To get healthy. Like, he's not healthy, so maybe Aaron Donald will pick up the white courtesy telephone and play. Who knows?
00:08:47
Speaker 2: Garrett was kind of held out of camp throughout, and similarly so. People thought last year it was just them resting Stafford.
00:08:54
Speaker 1: Maybe it was.
00:08:56
Speaker 2: Once you're over the age of 30, you do get more nagging injuries, and they are tougher to put to bed and put to the side. They gave up a ton to be able to get them and also broke up a part of their defense. Jared verse was one of the biggest leaders on that defense. And rightfully so you trade them for miles. Garrett, no one is questioning that part of it.
00:09:14
Speaker 5: Right.
00:09:15
Speaker 2: But you'll start seeing maybe some of the, the fruits and they might not always be sweet coming off of that tree. Jared verse was a young ascending player and older players generally get less healthy. And that's, that's going to be a question mark for this, this Rams team that The 49ers were the geriatric team in the NFL, and the Niners just said, hold on, we're going to try to race that way instead of get younger like.
00:09:36
Speaker 1: Seattle ended up doing. Exactly. And you know what?
00:09:38
Speaker 4: History always tells us don't overreact to week one because things will change different. So all these seemingly concerning issues we saw for the Rams last night, it might turn out to not be as bad.
00:09:47
Speaker 1: As it seems.
00:09:48
Speaker 4: But you can easily, you know, the excitement of Miles Garrett can turn into nervousness. Is he going to be healthy? To your point, Billy, Jared Verst, did we let it go? It's like you get nervous about all those moves not working.
00:09:59
Speaker 5: I mean.
00:10:00
Speaker 4: but it, but it is going to be a long season and things do change quickly. And overreacting a week one is sometimes dangerous, but boy, there does seem to be some concerns. Like it went from like, Yeah, the excitement of the Rams, betting favorite, all that stuff to like, whoa, whoa, whoa, what's going on here?
00:10:16
Speaker 2: One thing I didn't see a whole lot of complaining about, which is kind of rare for international games, was playing surface.
00:10:21
Speaker 1: Was pretty dang good. The feel was great. The feel was gorgeous. Gorgeous on television. 100,000 plus there. That was kind of cool. Friend of show and longtime listener Schwartz Center did hit us on X and said, I hate this camera angle. He didn't like the zoom zoomed in and you can't see the entire field and players on the outside. You can't see plays developer, how the defense is playing.
00:10:41
Speaker 4: Okay.
00:10:41
Speaker 1: I might've been a Netflix thing. You rarely do on television. I was going to say that, that we were in the press box for home games at Lambeau and it is a different experience. And then you have to have the NFL plus to see the all 22 and the coaches tape and you get to see a quite a different view. of things, but yeah, they follow the ball and it's mostly interior.
00:11:00
Speaker 2: It's like, I was going to say mostly it's a tighter angle. I thought Luke, Luke Keegly was pretty dang good for his first game.
00:11:07
Speaker 1: I thought, by the way, I thought by now they, the prediction was, well, you're going to have 15 different screens and like, well, 14 of them will be McAfee, but you'll have 15 different screens and you can pick, you want cheerleader cam, you want the end zone cam, you want, you could be your own director. I'm still waiting for that technology. Into that TV truck. That was promised to us years ago. Well, and I would like to apologize.
00:11:28
Speaker 4: Maybe I should have been more adept on what the lineup was going to be for the Netflix panel. I didn't know clay was going to be on the pregame, all that stuff. I mean, We were focused on what we were doing.
00:11:36
Speaker 1: Yeah, Clay without plastic surgery. That was the AI work of him having the botched. Oh, the massive jaw. Yeah, the botched. My buddy did ask me if that was real. That's the thing. Now it's to the point where anything you look at, you have to think it'll work. I thought Aaron's podcast was... Until proven otherwise. I thought Aaron's podcast was... Exactly. Well, I saw that stuff floating out.
00:11:51
Speaker 5: There, but.
00:11:52
Speaker 1: Everything that comes down the pike, you got to say, well, is this a work? Yeah, but no, Clay was, I thought, pretty good. And, you know, it was.
00:11:58
Speaker 4: The funny thing was how many people had Netflix, how many people watched, didn't. I mean, obviously, if you're with us in the bottom of the sportsbook, you didn't have that problem, but it was interesting to hear if anyone complained about that.
00:12:07
Speaker 1: The one declaration we can make is that the bar is set pretty low for the Sunday games. And Bill's Texans and Packers Vikings have a runway to be the best game of the week because these first two games weren't great. I thought last night was a little more fun than Wednesday.
00:12:22
Speaker 2: Well, definitely more entertaining when you had Stafford and company getting shut down at the goal line. But for the first half, I mean, he was 4 of 11 for like 50 yards.
00:12:31
Speaker 1: He's struggling.
00:12:32
Speaker 2: Definitely not ball being played at its highest level. Did enjoy, though, the 49ers just coming out with a lot of piss and vinegar.
00:12:40
Speaker 1: I mean, they are.
00:12:41
Speaker 2: And for one that was disrespected, they were more angry than I think anybody about the international game and having to get this draw because it was pretty well known that the Rams had suggested to the NFL, why don't we get the 49ers?
00:12:54
Speaker 3: Hey.
00:12:55
Speaker 2: Hey.
00:12:56
Speaker 1: That's a really good idea. Let's give that. Let's do that for you. By the way, San Francisco is going to host an international game, too.
00:13:03
Speaker 5: What?
00:13:03
Speaker 1: What?
00:13:04
Speaker 2: We got to play two of these things and we got to go further than anybody else. So never underestimate a scorned heart. And the 49ers had this one in the back of their mind all off season long, circled up knowing that the Rams had requested they be their traveling partner and be their opponent halfway across the world. And you could kind of see that last night, whether it was not just them being healthy or But that was an attitude.
00:13:33
Speaker 1: Bowl for the 49ers, and they rose the occasion. I don't know that they can do that 17 times. Yeah, that's a good point.
00:13:39
Speaker 2: With their age, I don't know they can do that 17 times, but Fred Warner playing 17 games, they're going to have a chance because that son of a gun is– Different is an absolute difference maker inside.
00:13:50
Speaker 1: You know, maybe they want to scale.
00:13:51
Speaker 4: I mean, they, they've been talking for a while about kind of ramping down McCaffrey's. For instance, you talk about the veterans, McCaffrey's kind of workload. He only had like 10 carries. I mean, he only had, so maybe that's what their plan is. And maybe. Maybe because of the age, Billy, if they can. I don't want to say load manage because you can't do that in the NFL, really. But maybe if there's a way they can work different guys in rotation-wise to save some of those guys.
00:14:12
Speaker 2: Oh, Kalen Black was running like a guy that's going to earn a lot of carries running back from Indiana from a year ago. He was really, really good there, and he was really good last night.
00:14:20
Speaker 4: Concern for McCaffrey as the owners. That's a whole different story. But, yeah, I mean, that will be interesting to see now as the season goes on.
00:14:26
Speaker 1: Did you take McCaffrey?
00:14:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I thought... I was wondering where that one came from. I was wondering where that one came from.
00:14:33
Speaker 4: He still averaged like seven yards a carry, 6.8, but I mean, it just wasn't a lot. But yes, I mean, you know, a lot of storylines as we now head into the bulk of the weekend in week one, but, you know, we got the two opening games.
00:14:43
Speaker 1: Under our belt now.
00:14:44
Speaker 2: One of the guys, I wonder if he'll revise his take, but Bill Barnwell, who is kind of the numbers crunching guy from ESPN.
00:14:50
Speaker 1: Oh, big time, yeah. He did his postseason projections. He does it every year on the dawn of the season. And Interesting takes. And he's a guy that I respect and I like reading. He picks the 14 teams that he thinks are going to make the playoffs. And then he's laying it out. And just for context, last year he had the Packers winning the Super Bowl. I was going to say, yeah. This year he's got them out of the playoffs. Along with the Bears. And along with the San Francisco 49ers. Now that's interesting. Out of the playoffs. So one of the things he said, if you've read this column over the past couple of years, there's a twist. One of the most common mistakes we make as football fans, myself included, is overconfidence in the teams we saw excel last year. Yes. We're collectively too inclined to pick teams that made the playoffs a year ago to make it back in the current season. Ask me to pick the 2026 playoff teams without any constraints, and I'd pick at least nine of the 14 teams that made it in 2025. History tells us that's underestimating the chaos and variance that comes with a 17-game NFL season. So... there's always teams that go from out of the playoffs to playoffs or deep, right? Usually, yeah. Because we talk about this. Every year there's a worst to first. Matchup last year was that no one knew. And so this year, isn't it, it's almost cheating to say, well, the Chiefs will be back. You would think. He's got them winning the West, right? He's got the Giants making the playoffs as an NFC Wild.
00:16:25
Speaker 2: That is a sexy double your win total team. Our boy Cowherd that you hear on here has been saying that since May. He's got the Bucs making the playoffs.
00:16:36
Speaker 4: The Ravens.
00:16:36
Speaker 1: They don't slide down the back of the dinosaur. They should have won the division last year. He's got Detroit winning the NFC North. I was going to say, someone has to. If the Packers and the Bears are out, somebody has to. And you were really hoping it wasn't Minnesota. I was praying. I was like, it can't be them.
00:16:49
Speaker 4: We can't have that type of situation.
00:16:51
Speaker 1: But they could. Does that mean they're a wild card, though? And Barnwell is going. His Super Bowl teams are, you know. brace yourself, Chiefs and Eagles. So not much change to the top, maybe? No, but he is predicting more chaos, and that would be chaos. The Niners, Bears, and Packers all missing the playoffs. Not out of the realm of possibility, but seems unlikely. Somewhat unlikely.
00:17:16
Speaker 2: I gotta see it with Sean Mannion for the Eagles before I fully believe it.
00:17:21
Speaker 1: Them losing A.J.
00:17:22
Speaker 2: Brown might not be as difficult as you would think, but DP had them going to the Super Bowl, too. I heard him give his big Super Bowl pick just a couple of days ago.
00:17:32
Speaker 1: Maybe I'm wrong.
00:17:33
Speaker 2: Maybe I'll sit here with egg on my face. I famously thought a couple of years ago that they were going to be a one and done. They won the Super Bowl. So I've been wrong on Philadelphia a number of times before.
00:17:44
Speaker 1: Barnwell's got both the 49ers and the Chargers missing the playoffs. Well, the Chargers one is not surprising. That's more of a, yeah.
00:17:51
Speaker 4: Yeah.
00:17:53
Speaker 2: Listen, the Chargers is surprising because it's everybody's favorite quarterback of all time.
00:17:59
Speaker 1: Goodness gracious. Do you know his date in Madison Pierce? He's famous. Oh, yeah. We got to love him. We got to love him. I don't know if this will sting you also, Billy, but he's got the Jacksonville Jaguars missing the playoffs. Oh, that's just a bad take, then. And the Panthers missing.
00:18:11
Speaker 4: It'll be hard to hit that parlay of all those teams, but he might get a couple right, and he probably will.
00:18:16
Speaker 1: He might, and he is right that there is chaos. That's the way it works.
00:18:19
Speaker 4: You are predicting, trying to predict chaos, which you can't predict, so it's kind of interesting.
00:18:23
Speaker 2: People try to predict one, the worst, the first team in the NFL. History would tell us somebody's going to do it. It's kind of hard to be able to identify this year. Right, and we're going to try and predict, because we love fan fiction in sports. We love to talk about what might happen. That's why we like to talk about undefeated seasons.
00:18:38
Speaker 4: True.
00:18:39
Speaker 3: Yeah.
00:18:40
Speaker 1: Absolutely. 877-794-1973, your ticket to interact with us here on the NicoletLaw.com talk and text line. Hunter Baumgart has an interview for us. We're going to listen to that. He talked to Trisha Whitaker, who's on the sidelines again tonight. A masterpiece of an interview. The Pancake Princess. We'll talk to Trisha Whitaker. We'll hear our conversation Hunter had with Trisha Whitaker, who is on the call tonight. It's an Apple TV production for Brewers Reds, opener this evening at American Family Field. Did you hear that?
00:19:08
Speaker 2: It's just people... Smacking the dashboard on their cars driving into work.
00:19:13
Speaker 1: Don't worry about one final Apple TV one. One more Apple TV. I had to watch Netflix last night and now I'm back to this.
00:19:19
Speaker 4: Damn.
00:19:21
Speaker 1: Gouging. Come on.
00:19:22
Speaker 4: I used to like the days when games were on Fox or CBS.
00:19:25
Speaker 1: Yeah. And all of them weren't on TV.
00:19:28
Speaker 4: Super 8 death. The Brewers weren't on. Super 18 maybe.
00:19:32
Speaker 1: And on WVTV. The Bucks are back. That lies ahead. And, oh, baby, Packers-Vikings talk with Wayne Larvey, voice of the Packers, joins us at 725. Dolph's in for halftime. We're glad you're here, 5 o'clock clubbers. Get yourself a comfortable chair, a cold or hot beverage of your choice, and saddle up because we're here until 8 a.m. It's the huddle. Fox Sports Radio, Wisconsin. Drew, Billy, and Armand bringing it to you, the Huddle, Fox Sports Radio, Wisconsin, 920 Milwaukee, 1070 Madison, everywhere in the iHeart app, streaming live, Facebook X, and YouTube. Happy to say that this portion of the program brought to us by Game Day Men's Health. Check them out online, gamedaymenshealth.com. Avail yourself of their services. Go in for that free consult. See if they can change your life at Game Day Men's Health. So many are. If you have any curiosity about the peptides. stacks that people are talking about at the gym, Billy.
00:20:22
Speaker 5: Yeah, and I want.
00:20:23
Speaker 2: Game Day Men's Health is the place. And the thing is, they'll talk to you about it and not make you feel like an idiot. Because that guy in the gym is going to be like, listen, bro.
00:20:30
Speaker 1: I got you. Bro, I got you. That's what you need, bro. Listen, just... You're not doing it right if you're not doing this, bro. All right? That's right. Gains. Go to the experts, right? All the different services they have available at gamedaymenshealth.com. We mentioned Brewers Reds tonight. It's an Apple TV production. It'll be a fun night at the old ballpark as Brewers are down to their last two homestands left this weekend and next week. Final two ones. I'm going to the ballpark tonight. I'll be there as well. Let's go. Let's take it in. Let's go watch some big league ball. As it happens, our baseball go-to guy, Hunter Baumgart, he had occasion to chat with Tricia Whitaker, friend of the program, former Green Bay TV personality who was who started there, an Indiana University adjunct professor of journalism and sideline reporter for Apple TV, famously of the Pocket Pancake episode. Well, Hunter caught up with her, and we are going to share that conversation with you now. Hunter's contributions brought to us by Import Minded, your trusted source for vehicle care on 27th Street just north of 894. Take it away, Hunter.
00:21:38
Speaker 6: Trisha Whitaker, who will be on the broadcast for Apple TV, joining us here. And Trisha, great to have you back on the show.
00:21:45
Speaker 3: It's so good to be back on the show.
00:21:46
Speaker 5: I love you guys so much that I pulled over on my five-hour drive from where I live in Indiana to Milwaukee just to come on the show with you. So I'm sitting at a weird gas station type of spot right now. So if anybody interrupts me, it's because they're mad I'm parked here. This is just a spur of the moment, no makeup, like road tripping little segment here.
00:22:09
Speaker 6: That's fantastic. Hey, road trips are the best. So hopefully everything goes smooth for you. And we're looking forward to having you back in Milwaukee coming up this weekend, Friday night, 645 Brewers and Reds on Apple TV. I know it's been a couple of months since you were last here in Milwaukee, I think late June, if memory serves.
00:22:28
Speaker 1: But how... How kind.
00:22:31
Speaker 6: Of has your perspective maybe changed or not changed at all about this team that still has the best record in baseball as we sit here in the middle of September?
00:22:39
Speaker 5: The only way that it's changed is that in my mind, the Brewers have become more legitimate. They were already legitimate back when we had the Brewers Cub Series.
00:22:48
Speaker 3: I think it was in June or something.
00:22:50
Speaker 5: But the fact that they have kept winning at the pace that they have and they haven't fallen off is unbelievable to me. Um, and, and also this week watching the Brewers Cubs series was unreal, right? Watching Jackson Cheerio do what he did. Um, watching Laura, if I'm, am I pronouncing his last name?
00:23:08
Speaker 4: Right.
00:23:09
Speaker 1: Please say I am.
00:23:10
Speaker 3: I got to say.
00:23:11
Speaker 5: It 300 times on the broadcast tomorrow. And I've been like, get it right. Trish, make sure you don't say it wrong. I'm watching what transpired with him and Pat Murphy before the walk off Christian, uh, getting on base before that. And then Jackson's week that he had, it's just been unbelievable to see them with the continued success, right? They've got that young core, but then they've got some of their veterans. They, um, You know, their pitching lab magic has not faded throughout the season. I'm not saying it's always been perfect, but you don't need to be perfect. You just need to be durable. And this team has proved that they are durable.
00:23:46
Speaker 3: And guess what? That's one of the biggest components to.
00:23:50
Speaker 5: An October team is durability and depth and clutch and able to win in those late inning situations. So it's been unbelievable to watch.
00:24:02
Speaker 6: They've been able to find ways to win. I was thinking about this the other day. It hasn't been the cleanest game every night. It hasn't been maybe as heroic as maybe some of the times where last year they were winning 14 in a row, last year winning 12 in a row, getting to the best record in ball through that. But this year it's been finding ways to win, and that Cubs series is a great example of it, coming from behind, down in the eighth inning. Both of the games come back in the eighth inning on Monday. Tuesday they come back in the ninth. How much of that do you think is kind of taking on what their manager always says and winning tonight and just focusing on trying to win that day's game?
00:24:38
Speaker 5: It's 100% about... I mean, it's about deep.
00:24:41
Speaker 3: Talent on the roster, right? A manager can only do so much. However.
00:24:45
Speaker 5: the belief that Pat Murphy instills in his players, like you saw before Laura stepped up to the plate when he stepped up.
00:24:51
Speaker 3: I mean, you don't see a manager. I don't recall ever seeing that happen.
00:24:55
Speaker 5: And I've been covering major league baseball for almost nine years, 10 years now.
00:24:59
Speaker 3: I don't even know.
00:25:00
Speaker 5: And I'm watching Murph come out of the dugout and like intercept him. as he's stepping up to the plate, I'm like, is he hurt? I'm like, is everything okay? And then you realize if you know, Pat, he was just giving him a pep talk.
00:25:12
Speaker 2: Right.
00:25:13
Speaker 3: So that, that, that belief that he instills in his team and his players.
00:25:17
Speaker 5: And, and that's actually what we're focusing on tomorrow in the open pregame part of our show is Pat Murphy and the way that he coaches and manages his team. I think that we're seeing the college coach in him and all of those characteristics that, Translate to the majors so.
00:25:34
Speaker 3: So well. And that isn't always the case.
00:25:36
Speaker 5: I'm not going to say names, but we've seen it happen in the majors where the college coach doesn't always make the transition to the majors the right way.
00:25:45
Speaker 3: Pat has done that seamlessly. And, you know.
00:25:49
Speaker 5: I love his combination of like tough love, accountability, belief and support. he's going to be the first one to tell the media after the game, Hey, yeah, he shouldn't have done that, but he'll learn. And he's the first one to tell you probably that was the wrong decision to make.
00:26:04
Speaker 3: And he's got to be better. Right.
00:26:06
Speaker 5: And, and I loved what he said. I think it was after the, the, the comeback win this week at some point, he said, trusting your team and believing that's, what's going to make them keep coming back to the field every day. And sometimes we think about these major league players and we're like, they're grown men.
00:26:21
Speaker 3: Yes, they are.
00:26:22
Speaker 5: Yes, they are, but they're still human beings at the end of the day. So, I've always been a fan of the way that Pat Murphy operates. And I think that's a huge piece of it. Like you were saying.
00:26:30
Speaker 1: Yeah.
00:26:31
Speaker 6: And one of the things that's interesting that you bring up the transition from college to, to the pros and something that Pat Murphy has said to us in the past is, I don't know if I would have been ready for this. In fact, he basically said like, I don't know if I would have been ready for this years ago.
00:26:45
Speaker 1: But this is just such a.
00:26:47
Speaker 6: Great combination of him being ready and the team being as young as they have been. Now, they're not as young this year as they were a couple years ago. Terang and Freelick and Mitchell, these guys have matured. But part of the Brewers' success is bringing up the young guys like Cooper Pratt, like Luis Lara. And both of them have been key contributors since they both came up.
00:27:07
Speaker 3: Exactly. That's exactly right. And you know what?
00:27:09
Speaker 5: The other thing is, even though these guys have matured the last few years, Pat Murphy has been with them.
00:27:14
Speaker 3: That's the thing.
00:27:15
Speaker 5: You know, it's like not every single one of them. I know they all haven't been here for three years since 2024, but he has helped them mature, right?
00:27:24
Speaker 3: And they don't expect their rookies to be perfect. That's the other thing.
00:27:29
Speaker 5: Pat heavily emphasizes, you know, most players don't really get that clean entry into the majors, right? And accepting their flaws and, you know, being able to work through some of those rough edges that these players have. You know, Churio, he was brought up really early. And they kind of withstood that learning curve with him, which now... they're reaping the benefits of that.
00:27:51
Speaker 3: Right.
00:27:52
Speaker 5: And, and I think that, you know, the, the kind of radical accountability and authenticity that Pat brings to the game and to his managing style, you know, I'm not, I don't like it when reporters speak for an entire clubhouse or anything like that. So I'm not trying to do that, but from the outside looking in and just speaking to a few guys in the clubhouse, that is what it seems like works best for this group of guys.
00:28:15
Speaker 6: It is, and you have to know your team, and Pat Murphy said that after he benched Cooper Pratt a couple weeks ago. You have to know your team. In order to do that, you have to know how this is going to play in the clubhouse.
00:28:26
Speaker 1: Pratt's been great.
00:28:27
Speaker 6: The whole team, honestly, has been a little bit better since then, and really since they got swept in San Diego. They've been absolutely on a roll. Trisha Whitaker joining us. She'll be on the broadcast on Apple TV Friday night. Make sure to catch not only the game at 645, but the pregame beforehand, digging into Pat Murphy there.
00:28:44
Speaker 1: You mentioned Jackson Churio.
00:28:46
Speaker 6: Is he becoming a superstar in front of our eyes? The confidence with which he walked to the plate before he hit that game-tying home run on Tuesday just absolutely struck me like one of those players that just had the utmost confidence in himself that he can come through.
00:29:00
Speaker 1: In that situation.
00:29:00
Speaker 3: No, you're exactly right.
00:29:02
Speaker 5: He's a bona fide superstar at this point, and it's just at 22 years old, which is highly impressive. I mean, the numbers, the milestones, it backs it up, and it backs up his ascension this season. Um, and I think, I think, you know, we're watching one of the young studs, um, not become a young stud at a young age, if that makes sense.
00:29:26
Speaker 1: Right.
00:29:27
Speaker 5: He, he almost plays like a veteran. Like you said, I don't know that I, that I phrased that the best, but you know what I mean? Like, especially during this recent tear, like you said, when he stepped up to the plate in that situation and hit the game tying home.
00:29:40
Speaker 3: Run, it's just almost as if those bright lights.
00:29:43
Speaker 5: And that big moment didn't rattle him at all. And, and here's the thing that I'm going to be interested in seeing in October is how he specifically performs, you know, because now that he's got a few years under his belt or whatever, seeing how he performs in October to me is going to be like, oh, this guy's like, you know, way ahead of perhaps what we expected him.
00:30:06
Speaker 3: To be at at this point at 22 years old.
00:30:08
Speaker 5: Um, and I don't think it's, I think sometimes when a guy peaks super early or whatever, then we have unrealistic expectations of them.
00:30:15
Speaker 3: Like, um, um, sorry, did you hear that? My phone ringing?
00:30:20
Speaker 1: Sorry.
00:30:21
Speaker 5: Um, I'm on a road trip, so I told everybody this is a great time to call and talk because otherwise.
00:30:28
Speaker 1: I don't have time.
00:30:29
Speaker 5: But anyways, you know, we're seeing him come into his own and it's been really, really fun to watch. And the statistical jump that he's made, especially after he missed. How much time did he miss at the beginning of the season?
00:30:41
Speaker 6: About a month and 10 days. I think he came back May 4th was, I believe, his first game of the season.
00:30:48
Speaker 3: Yeah. And that's not easy to do, especially for a young player.
00:30:51
Speaker 5: And I think it's been really cool to see how he's rebounded from that and come back from that because that also shows his maturity and his ability to just kind of jump right back into it. So I've been highly impressed. And also when I was there in June, was it June or July? I don't know, but that was right after all of the earthquakes happened in Venezuela. And obviously he's Venezuelan and And William Contreras is Venezuelan. You have quite a few Venezuelans, not just on the team, but on the staff with the brewers. And I walked up to Jackson in the clubhouse and I said, hey, listen, you in no way should feel obligated to do an interview with me about what's going on in Venezuela.
00:31:29
Speaker 3: But I said, if you want.
00:31:31
Speaker 5: A platform to speak about that, if you want a platform to talk about what's going on in Venezuela, how we can help to make your people back home feel heard, we'd love to do an interview with you. If not, totally your choice. We'll respect whatever your decision is. And immediately he said, yes, yes, I want to. Yes, I want to do it. I want to talk about this. It's important to me. And at 22 years old, I just respect that so much that he was able to find the words in those moments to speak. And, you know, I think what we're seeing from him goes beyond just on the field.
00:32:04
Speaker 1: For sure.
00:32:05
Speaker 6: And that was one of the more powerful interviews, I think, of the season. So well done to you on that. I think everybody was quite moved by their comments and the way you handled that was fantastic. So well done. I want to move a little bit to kind of the broader view. The National League as a whole, really good teams in the National League right now. Obviously Brewers, Dodgers, Braves, the division leaders, but the Phillies trying to make a run in the NL East and then the Padres and Diamondbacks, not too bad themselves.
00:32:34
Speaker 1: How tough is it?
00:32:35
Speaker 6: You know, even though the brewers have the best record right now, how tough and the Cubs, obviously you just saw them in Milwaukee, but how tough is it going to be to get through that NL this year, especially when you compare it to what the AL looks like this year, which is a little bit different.
00:32:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's tough and it's, it's, it's highly top heavy, you know?
00:32:52
Speaker 5: Um, and I think they're, it's, they're considered far more dominant right now than the AL for good reason, right? They boast two of the best records in baseball. Um, and the wildcard race is absolutely brutal right now for them.
00:33:05
Speaker 1: Right.
00:33:05
Speaker 3: Um, but I think it's really good.
00:33:07
Speaker 5: For baseball, especially considering when you look at some of the AL teams, you're like, this isn't competitive in some areas at all.
00:33:13
Speaker 3: So it's been really, really cool to see, um, what, what, what's going on in the NL right now.
00:33:19
Speaker 5: Um, the NL East is probably, like you said, the toughest fight right now. Um, it's probably the most competitive division in baseball. Um, you know, the Dodgers and the Brewers, they've locked up their, well, I don't want to speak too soon, but it seems they've locked up their respective divisions. And then you got the Braves and the Phillies. And that's honestly one of the most exciting divisions that I feel like I've watched in a while in baseball.
00:33:43
Speaker 3: When you look at the NL Central, you know, they're deep.
00:33:47
Speaker 5: And the NL West, you know, they've got that high-end star power. It's been really, really fun to watch. Sorry, I'm slightly distracted. Somebody keeps walking up to my car.
00:33:58
Speaker 3: And I have no idea why this is what happens guys. When you try to do a road.
00:34:01
Speaker 5: Trip, I'm not even sure what I just said there to you. Anyways, the NL and each division is incredibly tough right now. And it's incredibly entertaining to watch. But you know, I think, gosh, I think it's so good for baseball. Like I said, especially when you look at what's going on in the AL. So that's going to be the division that I think is the most exciting to watch near the end of September and into October. Yeah.
00:34:28
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely.
00:34:30
Speaker 6: Well, and the thing about the NL East, too, and I think, you know, people around here obviously see the Cubs.
00:34:35
Speaker 1: That's who the Brewers played last year. Dodgers.
00:34:37
Speaker 6: That's who the Brewers played last year. But how sneaky could the Phillies be in all this? Because obviously, if they wouldn't have had the tough start, the really uncharacteristic start that they had in the beginning of the year. they could be up for the top record in baseball. If they wouldn't have been so woefully bad in the first couple of weeks, that seems like a very sneaky team with some great pitching and obviously the star power on offense.
00:34:58
Speaker 5: I would be terrified of the Phillies right now. I mean, I would be terrified of the Phillies right now because they got off to a.
00:35:06
Speaker 3: Whole, I mean, it was horrific. I remember covering the Phillies at the beginning of the season. And I was like, what is happening? Like, this is not the DNA of this team. I mean, it was bad.
00:35:17
Speaker 5: And, and I think what they've done since then, and obviously I'm so biased towards Kyle Schwarber because he's an Indiana university grad and everybody knows how obnoxious I am about IU. And I mean, he has carried that team in parts of this season and it's been so impressive. And, and, and, and you just, you've got rotation depth there. You've got that veteran playoff resiliency. And I think that's, what's really going to make them exciting and a threat down the stretch.
00:35:44
Speaker 3: They're not scared of anybody.
00:35:46
Speaker 5: And I think when you look at the veterans they have on that team, if I'm stepping up against them in October, I'm like, oh, boy, these guys could do some damage. You know, they're not scared and they've got a bounce back offense. They've got high leverage relievers. And that's really, really tough in October and late September. So and also when you're playing in Philly, good luck.
00:36:09
Speaker 3: Good luck. That's all I'm going to say. Good luck. You know, advantage Phillies. Always in Philly. I mean, not always. I know they're whatever. But, I mean, they're going to be a postseason powerhouse in my mind.
00:36:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, for sure.
00:36:20
Speaker 6: So two quick questions before we let you get out of the gas station parking lot here and.
00:36:23
Speaker 1: Move on with your road trip.
00:36:25
Speaker 5: Please excuse the NL question when I was highly distracted.
00:36:29
Speaker 3: No one listened to anything I said during that.
00:36:32
Speaker 6: The question there, the answer was still, was still great. Two questions. One is I know you spent some time in green Bay. So how cool is it to see Notre Dame and Wisconsin play college football game at Lambeau field? I'm not sure how much you were able to catch of it, but kind of a cool atmosphere for a college football game, obviously.
00:36:48
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh.
00:36:48
Speaker 5: I was, I was, I wasn't like, I had the whole split screen going on between the Wisconsin Notre Dame game.
00:36:54
Speaker 3: And then what was the other game? Oh my word. I'm losing my mind.
00:36:56
Speaker 6: It was another game. Louisville Ole Miss. Was that the same?
00:36:59
Speaker 1: Louisville Ole Miss.
00:37:00
Speaker 3: Yes.
00:37:00
Speaker 5: I had the split screen on. So I was kind of bouncing back and forth between the two of them, but playing under the lights at Lambeau, I always tell people, you know, I've covered.
00:37:08
Speaker 3: Games in so many stadiums.
00:37:11
Speaker 5: Across the country in the NFL, the NBA, college basketball, college football, baseball, everything.
00:37:19
Speaker 3: There's nothing.
00:37:19
Speaker 5: And I'm not just saying that because I'm talking to Wisconsin people right now. I know people will be like, you're pandering. I swear to God, I'm not. Lambeau is one of the coolest places on game day. I mean, it's, it's gotta be in my top five. You know, I think games in Philly are amazing.
00:37:31
Speaker 3: Games in Fenway are amazing. Games at Wrigley. Sorry, Brewers fans. They're amazing. But Lambeau, oh my word. It's unlike anything I've ever seen.
00:37:40
Speaker 5: So to be a college football player and play there, that's, I loved it. I love the neutral site matchup when it's a place like that, when it's a neutral site matchup where I'm just like, why are you here? Then I'm like, okay, this is dumb. But there, I think that was just, that was awesome to see. Um, and yeah, I loved it. I would go to a Lambeau field neutral site type of matchup any day of the week.
00:38:03
Speaker 3: Although I don't know.
00:38:04
Speaker 5: How neutral technically it is since it was wisconsin playing there but you know.
00:38:07
Speaker 6: What i mean right right but but it was a home game it was kind of yeah kind of strange.
00:38:11
Speaker 3: In that respect i mean notre dame came out on top so whatever but like.
00:38:14
Speaker 6: Yeah right yeah no totally uh last question when is indiana gonna have their uh first test of the season we're looking ahead to like ohio state in october here i saw their schedule i'm like they got howard they got western kentucky and then they've got some maybe not so good big 10 uh big 10 foes here. So is that kind of, or are we just taking it a week at a time here at, at over at Indiana?
00:38:36
Speaker 5: The amount of questions I've had to answer about their schedule to start the season. I know that their schedule to start the season heavily favors them.
00:38:45
Speaker 3: Trust me, I'm aware, but it's not my job to create the schedule.
00:38:48
Speaker 1: Right.
00:38:48
Speaker 5: So I know I was at the, at the, at the, at the North Texas game. I'll be at the Howard game, Western Kentucky, North Western.
00:38:55
Speaker 3: Let me pull up. I can't remember what's after that.
00:38:58
Speaker 5: Um, So I think one of their first tests, I mean, really, when you look at the schedule, I mean, I'm not saying that like, that like you, they couldn't be tested at Rutgers, but I don't know that that will be the case.
00:39:14
Speaker 3: So perhaps their first test will be at Nebraska.
00:39:17
Speaker 5: I don't know anything about the Cornhuskers this season, but that'll be their first, like kind of big road test.
00:39:23
Speaker 3: But really, really let's think about it here. The big test of the season is Ohio state. It's Ohio state.
00:39:29
Speaker 5: Um because we know what happened in the big 10 championship game the buckeyes are coming for blood um and in usc will be a good test for them at michigan's going to be a good test for them but everybody has ohio state circled on their calendars i mean that is the game that you're like this is really the measuring stick here um.
00:39:48
Speaker 1: It's in Indiana, though, right?
00:39:49
Speaker 5: I'm nervous, and it's like over a month away.
00:39:52
Speaker 3: I'm nervous. Yes, it's out of Indiana. It's here. It's home.
00:39:56
Speaker 1: Got it. Okay, that's what I thought. Trisha Whitaker joining us.
00:39:59
Speaker 6: She will be on the broadcast Friday night, Apple TV, 645 First Pitch. They'll be on a little bit before that to get you set for the game Brewers and Red Start of a three-game series. Trisha, we always enjoy talking to you, and thanks so much for making time for us on the road trip.
00:40:12
Speaker 1: We really appreciate it.
00:40:14
Speaker 5: Even in a gas station parking lot when some random person's walking up to my car.
00:40:18
Speaker 4: Wow.
00:40:18
Speaker 3: I'm glad we did that. Pulled it off. Good to see you. Excited for Friday.
00:40:22
Speaker 1: Thanks to Hunter Baumgart and thanks to Tricia Whitaker for being delightful. You know, take the girl out of Green Bay. Can't take the Green Bay out of the girl. She's so good. She's very Midwest. She's one of us. Yeah.
00:40:33
Speaker 2: I got a couple of, I got a couple of, uh, you know, qualms with the breakdown of Kurt Cignetti's Indiana schedule, but I'll save that for the pod.
00:40:39
Speaker 1: But you are fired up. Save it for the pod. All right, moving forward, we're going to talk to the voice of the Packers, Wayne Larrabee, coming up at 725. Packers, Vikings this week. It starts, and obviously we'll talk to Dolph at halftime of the program. We're glad you're hanging out with us. Where else would you rather be at 5 a.m.? You're in the huddle, Fox Sports Radio, Wisconsin.
