REShow: Ryan Shazier - Hour 1 (12-7-2022)

The Rich Eisen Show.

Yes, everybody. Welcome to this edition of The Rich Eisen Show. We are live here in Los Angeles, California. 844204rich is the number to dial here on the Roku channel on select Samsung Smart TVs on Amazon Fire TV. We are free to watch on the Roku channel through the Roku app, which you can put on any mobile device your heart desires.

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We're closing in on a half million subscribers there. We love everybody who takes in this show via YouTube. And I hear from all sorts of people on that front, including recently Joe Benigno, the long standing late night, overnight voice of WFAN who I called into, you know, when I was done with my 3 a.m. sports centers and things like that. He heard my take on Mike White, wholeheartedly endorsed it. Left me this lengthy voicemail message yesterday because he saw what we did on YouTube, and I told him, hey, we're on the Roku channel too. See, I'm a team player. They may be an I in Rich and Eisen.

Maybe Joe couldn't listen live, so he's catching up. Look. You know what I mean?

Yeah. At any rate, we say hello to everybody out there. And to you, Chris Brockman. Good to see you over there. Hey. I'm great. How are you? I'm feeling terrific.

How are you, DJ Mikey D's and D's Nuts? Welcome back. I'm doing well, Rich. How you doing? Welcome back. Where were you yesterday?

Basketball. I'll be doing that again today from later today. OK.

So what, we get like a half a show or? No, no, no. It's OK. But yeah, I'll be seeing the hole in my original high school gymnasium today. No kidding.

They're playing in Walsh Gym in South Orange, and I'm doing the second game they played last year and there. I can do that again today, which is really cool. If those walls could only talk. If those walls could only talk. Yeah. OK. Fantastic.

With the fish underwater, the sea dance, what is it? I'm the chairman under the sea. Good to see you over there, DJ Jefferson. How are you, sir? Isn't that the best part of this show, Rich?

You can listen at your discretion, though. Of course. I do like it. Good to see you over there, sir. It's good to be seen. Good to see you. Good.

The candle is lit on this program. So I've been on quite a journey emotionally last 24 hours. There's only a handful of teams that affect me emotionally. 24 hours, though, Rich? The last 24 hours, DJ.

Well, the Michigan. No, no, no. Last 24 hours, I've been on a roller coaster here. Gotcha. And it all started right around like 3 o'clock our time yesterday.

Yeah, like 2, 3. Right around 3 o'clock our time yesterday, and it freaked me out for many different ways. Right there on my Twitter feed, somebody who I've known for a very long time. He's been covering baseball forever and a day, certainly in the New York area.

John Heyman tweets out this tweet. Arson Judge appears headed to Giants. OK. Is that a cousin? Yeah, Arson Judge.

Cool, cool, cool. And John must have gotten some information there at the hot stove meetings down the road from San Diego and just hit Arson. And the fact that Aaron might have been autocorrected to Arson.

Maybe John and I need to have a conversation. It's been a long time since we've spoken, but all I know is it was kind of fitting because if the Yankees lost Aaron Judge, it would be akin to burning their own house down. It would be akin to lighting a fire on the fan base, not underneath us, but on us. And it would be in terms of fan base management, fan base team relationships, for the lack of a better analogy, a crime. If they would let Aaron Judge walk out with the amount of money the Steinbrenner family is sitting on.

With the amount of cash the Yankees generate through so many different ways, so many different tentacles of their business, that Aaron Judge would be allowed to walk. And then thankfully, about an hour later, he walked it back. He immediately deleted it because I guess somebody was like, hey, John, you spelled it Arson. It trended. It trended.

Very funny. But, you know, then I of course, I looked throughout the rest of the Twitterverse and the Internet, ignoring my children in the process. That I mean, because this is serious business priority. This is one of the few things where Susie would actually look at me for sports and go, are you OK? Like she she she understands what this means as opposed to, you know, can we all understand that we have a family to run here right now?

Get off your phone. This would this is one of those things that actually gets above it because your happiness will transfer to your family. And it's not just that we had as a family this year family. Michael Kay was basically a babysitter to my children half the time in September because we were nonstop watching Judge. And it was a generationally.

Talented player giving a once in a generation amount of enjoyment to an entire family. We were locked in, as was the rest of America, much to Sean McDonough's dismay on occasion. But it was really jarring to feel for a moment that this wouldn't happen, because this, in my mind, Judge, back to the Yankees, is the only result that made sense to me.

I know he grew up in Linden, California, which is just east of Stockton, which is east of San Francisco. And the Giants offered, as you mentioned on the show yesterday, nine years, 360 million dollars. And apparently Judge didn't want to leave after all. Because John Heyman, I guess he checked the spelling on this one, as he tweeted out this morning, Yankees were at 320 million dollars for eight years as recently as a day or two ago. Once Judge told Hal Steinbrenner he wanted to be a Yankee but had more money on table elsewhere, San Francisco and San Diego.

How about that? Hal sealed the deal by bumping another 40 million dollars in one year and voila. Judge basically did have better deals in hand and went back to the Yankees and said, I want to stay here. And the Yankees said, good, because we don't want you to leave. And to your credit, Hal.

You channeled your daddy, maybe a Ouija boarded him because he was spinning in his grave about Arson Judge and he did the right thing. Which is pay the man, to use the phrase of the new Colorado head football coach, paid a man. And I don't care how much money they're spending.

I don't give a crap. I mean, it's their money and if he wants to burn it like that, and by that phrase, I mean, last year, they offered him seven years, 213.5 million bucks. And Judge said, no thanks, I'll bet on myself and then went ahead and proved how incredibly talented he is and how beyond valuable he is to a franchise that just watched him pass Roger Maris. And has fan bases in chambers and showing up in robes, which they don't do for Josh Donaldson and the like. He's the only one who plugs in the Yankee fans in the same way that the core four used to or Mattingly used to or Reggie used to when I was a kid.

Only one currently on that team who plugs into the fan base like that. They had no choice back last spring than to make sure he was taken care of and then didn't. And now it cost them two more years because it's nine years and he's 30 years old. Cost him two more years and we'll do the math for you. Another one hundred forty six and a half million dollars.

And I can proffer to say, even though I have no inside information, that. If the Yankees had met his number last year, it would have been less than one hundred forty six and a half million more dollars, I would imagine. And you want to talk about arson? That's taking money and burning it. And the Yankees are fine with that, I guess, because the guy who made these decisions are Hal, who had to cost him up, cough it up more. Or the senior vice president, general manager of the New York Yankees, Brian Cashman, who just got a four year contract bestowed upon him. He's sticking around. And this was before Judge signed.

So not my money cost them more money, but I say, yes, only answer that can be had. And good for you, Aaron Judge. Good for you, because this is the smart decision to be made. Could have gone home to San Francisco. Absolutely. Could have been could have been hanging out with Tatis and Machado and Soto and Ron Burgundy and everybody else down there in San Diego.

That would have been my OK. And it had been much nicer climbs. I totally get it. But there's only one New York City and there's only one New York Yankees. And I know that sounds arrogant, certainly for a team that has not won at all since 2009. I totally get you. But this is a guy who can just look behind him now and say that Monument Park, my ninety nine is going to be there.

My sixty two home runs that is going to be there. This stadium, I am basically keeping upright. The fans love me. I have now told them I made this choice.

I made the choice to stick with you. It will be a bond that lasts forever. He will never have to buy a meal or a drink or a ticket to a show or a bus or a train. If his courtesy car breaks down in the city that never sleeps ever again. And the trimmings that come with it being the Yankee guy like that. Last John Heyman tweet to tell the story. Judges very likely to receive the captain title. As he should.

Once Yankees deal is complete. God bless John Heyman. The L came up as an I. Somebody's got to proofread this man's copy before he hit send.

But there it is. He's the captain, just like Jeter, just like Mattingly, just like Thurman. And John Heyman, unfortunately, did not give credit to the first person who broke the story. The first person was a guy named Jimmy Serrano on the show.

He's got his own show, I think, in Las Vegas. You know, they made this guy a captain. Can you imagine that?

Go figure it out. I'm sorry. That's a show called Sydney and Tony Darvo in the morning. That's what it's called.

I'm sorry. It's an overnight show. It's a midnight run, for Christ sakes. Got it. So go figure that they made him a captain.

That's what you do. And that's the only guy that they could sign. God bless Anthony Rizzo, who I love. Anyone else there?

Glabor tours who might be out the door. Come on. There's only one guy who could do this. This was the only answer to the question that what would Aaron Judge do? Only answer. Now, I know the Red Sox fans wanted another answer.

I know some of you Mets fans wanted another answer. Not you. Not you. But hey, whoever you are out there. Buddy, who showed up to Queens and a Mets judge, Jersey, you, whoever you are, looks like Adam Scott from behind.

Whoever you are, buddy. That's Arson Judge. That's an arson judge. Orson Judge, whatever you.

I want somebody to find this person and tell them this message from me. You lose. Good day, sir. You lose. I said good day. I said good day because the golden ticket was handed out by how only answer.

And what rock do we need to kick over? In San Diego to find out where all of this money is coming from. Did Petco give them like a gajillion dollars in every golden retriever is actually golden at Petco, like made of gold? Is that really what it is? Where are some of these teams getting cash?

Because I've never seen so much. Machado is being paid. Soto, you've got to have money for. You've got to have money for him, right? Yeah. I'm not going to let him walk out of your door. A lot of money.

Judge. Very they still trade. Turner, why don't you come down here, too?

Yeah. This is a team that had Tony Gwynn and zero pots to piss in for decades. There is that warehouse behind the stadium. What's in the warehouse? Terry Benedict's vault. They found a vault on the Ocean's 11th anniversary, by the way. Benedict.

Is that a fantasy name? That's money back there. Bruce Benedict's vault. What the hell?

Where do they come from? You put out. See you in the league games, folks, with Aaron Judge sitting there, hopefully not batting first. And that's the last thing I want to say here, because it is New York. And the Yankees haven't won since 2009. They are the Dallas Cowboys of Major League Baseball, with all due respect.

I should have front loaded that T.J., but it's the truth. I mean, that's a compliment. Honestly, I sat here talking about how vault vaunted the franchise is. And I appreciate you, Brockman, biting your tongue over there because the Red Sox are no slouches.

And there are many teams who have won championships, plural, since the Yankees won their last one. So they got to win one and they got to win one in this nine year contract and don't look at ninety nine and say you have to win it. Well, what is he getting paid for? To do what he did.

And what Cashman needs to be paid for is put guys around Judge who actually wait for it. I again. I forget.

I remember the lines from Bull Durham, right? You hit the ball, you catch the ball. And you don't lollygag around the ball. Simple. You throw the ball for a simple game.

Sometimes it rains. OK, so I have no problem with the way they throw it. I don't have a problem with the way they catch it.

I have a major problem with the way they hit it because they keep missing it. Let's get people who actually contact the baseball around Aaron Judge. I know you got Stanton for gajillions of dollars and I know you just signed Rizzo. That's it. Everyone else, when you come out of New York Yankees, you must contact the ball and get on base for everyone else I just mentioned to clean it up. That's it.

It's on Cashman now. Judge, obviously we're expecting him to do what he did last year to an extent. Can't expect 62 home runs every year. But what he did last year was stay within himself and he didn't strike out a gajillion times. And he wasn't just either a home run or strikeout or walk. We actually saw doubles at him. We actually saw stolen bases at him. This guy's a baseball player. He's five tools, this guy. So six tools because his sixth one is because we adore him as Yankee fans. We got to have him when he did strike out one hundred seventy five.

I totally get it. But he hit 311. He put the ball in play. Right. Whereas Stanton hit 211.

Correct. And everybody else swings and misses around him. And it's terrible to watch. And it's on Cashman.

And how? I don't want to hear it that you're over the luxury tax now and whatever. Because San Diego is spending money like half of those sailors walking off the boats when they're on shore leave down there in San Diego.

I'm shooting people straight here. If the if the Padres are like, we don't care. We don't care. Then the Yankees shouldn't. And you got Bobby Axelrod owning the Mets, giving everybody money.

So I don't hear it. Thank you for signing, Judge. Thanks for putting another 40 million on the table.

What else is now my next question? Speaking of Bobby Axelrod, Dollar Bill is coming to studio in hour number three. The actor Kelly O'Coin, who's here in Los Angeles, he's part of the Sterling Affairs. As you know, Ed O'Neill is playing Donald Sterling in this show.

Nice. Curious as to, you know, who Kelly's playing. I don't know. I don't I do not know. We will we will ask him.

Probably not Blake Griffin. Actually, one of it. I do know this.

I should look at my card. He is cast as the former Clippers president, Andy Roser. There you go. OK.

Here you go. It would have been it would have been bizarre if I said he's he's playing DeAndre Jordan. Right. I mean, strange. I was hoping he was like Vinny Del Nego. I was just about to say he did wear a wig in the Americans.

That's what I mean. As Eric Pajkowski. He is a diehard Blazers fan. We're going to talk Blazers basketball with him. He loves the Portland Trail Blazers.

When I say loves, that's all caps. Shaquille O'Neal, I've heard of him. He's going to be in studio. He's going to be on the show an hour to the documentary who we had in studio.

The director of Robert Alexander directed the docu series. It's episode three of for tonight. Shacks calling in top of our number two to talk about his doc. Obviously, what's going on in the NBA? Brockman Celtics are dynamite.

The West appears to be kind of wide open. Chris Paul might return Wednesday night against your Celtics tonight. He might come back tonight, Chris. That'll be quite the game.

We're on a West Coast swing right now. So let's talk about Shaq. And I hope he's OK, because last I saw him, he was checked into a Christmas tree. That was on the set of Inside the NBA last night by Kenny the Jetsmith. So bad things happen when those two race to the big boards.

Something bad is going to happen every time. I'm glad that Christmas tree didn't come down. How did it stand?

I don't know my question. We'll ask that of Shaquille O'Neal. That's a Redwood, Brockman. By the way, you know who's playing just up the road? Maybe tomorrow night is Baker Mayfield for the Los Angeles Rams.

And by the way, hold the phone on on. On Jimmy Garoppolo being done for the year after all. So much to talk about on the show, but we're going to pause for our first guest coming out here in a moment in studio. Ryan Chazier is here in person. He's got a new show called a new pod called Don't Call It a Comeback podcast with our friend Damashek. And he will be here. Ryan Chazier is here on The Rich Eisen Show. Is there college football to talk about with him? Let me just check out my notes.

He picked the wrong way. Way bigger than you. You know that I am aware of that.

OK, we are separated by a desk. Something amazing happened to me when I was shopping at Total Wine and More the other day. Not only did I find a new favorite cabernet, but I also found the perfect gifts for everyone on my list. Thanks to Dave, one of their super helpful guides. I'll definitely be visiting my Total Wine and More again soon so I can pick up more great bottles for my holiday party and all for the lowest price. This holiday, you'll love what you find only at Total Wine and More. Curbside pickup and delivery where available. Drink responsibly.

Be 21. Ryan Chazier here on The Rich Eisen Show. Don't Call It a Comeback podcast. Dave Damashek, who we know very well, he's a diehard Steelers fan. So it kind of works right there. You can get that where all podcasts can be acquired.

New episodes drop weekly. And so let's just before we get to the podcast here, how did you get to Ohio State, Ryan Chazier? It's actually a pretty crazy story. So I was one of those guys that was blessed to be pretty good at football at that age. And my junior and sophomore year, I started to get offers. I grew up a huge Florida State fan, like really big Florida State fan. My first offer was Florida State. So my first offer was Florida State. My second offer was Oklahoma. My third offer was Alabama. My fourth offer was Ohio State. So it was just like at that time I could pretty much kind of then they just started to trickle in after that. And I end up committing to Florida and Florida just recently won a national championship with Tim Tebow. The team was obviously transitioning. He was getting older and Coach Meyer was there. And I thought it was close to my heart from Florida.

It was like four hours, four and a half hours, five hours. So I was like, it's close, but it's still far away. If my parents want to come visit me, they're like, hey, Ryan, we're going to come up there.

They're just not going to drive five hours without letting me know. Of course. You know, so I was like, I can still grow.

But if I need to be home, I can get there. So I was committed to Florida. Coach Meyer resigned because of the health issues. And when he resigned, I had two weeks to figure out what school I was going to go to. I was committed to Florida for like a year and a half, two years.

OK. Yeah. And I had to figure out what school I was going to go to. And he resigned in December. I was going to school early in January. I didn't, I didn't, I didn't go to school in August like everybody else.

So July like everybody else. And I visit Ohio State and LSU. Both of them were at my school the day that he resigned.

I don't think it was, I think it was just like God given. Like they were just coming to the school and then he just, while they were at the school, he resigned. I don't know if they knew, but I talked to LSU and I talked to Ohio State at the time. And I was like, I'm going to have to visit this school within 24 hours. So by the way, not during the summer either. Yeah, it was in the winter. Yeah, it was super cold.

Sure. I'm going to be completely honest. My visit at LSU was the better of the two. When I visit LSU, the students were still on campus. It wasn't hot. I mean, it wasn't cold. It was, it was colder than Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but it wasn't hot. I mean, it wasn't cold. You know, there was partying and I actually had to spend time with the team.

When I visit Ohio State back then, they were on the quarter system or some quarters. So everybody got out of school. But like December, pretty much the whole campus is gone. Nobody there. Nobody's on campus.

And the team was getting ready to leave for the bowl game. So I spent like one day with my host and then pretty much like my host that they gave me a different host because the rest of the team left to go to the bowl game. So you got a replacement host? The interim host? Yes, I got an interim host. And when I visited Ohio State, it was negative four degrees.

Damn. And you still said, I want to go there. So me and my dad talked on the plane. On the plane to Ohio State, I was like, Dad, I don't know why I'm visiting Ohio State. I'm going to LSU. I'm going to LSU. And he basically said, he was like, Ryan, you already told him that you're going to come.

Just give him a shot. When I visit the host that I had and then the other guy that was hosting me as well. I just felt I connected with them better when I spent time with the guys before they left for the bowl game. I just felt that Ohio State, the people that played there, it just feel they almost feel like almost like brothers to me without even knowing those guys.

And a lot of guys came from the same upbringing. Coach Trussell was the coach at the time. And at Ohio State, it's kind of like Alabama nowadays and Georgia's nowadays. Michigan. Michigan is working their way up there.

I don't know about that. The team up north, they're working their way up there. You know, but but y'all aren't there yet. But if you start at Ohio State, if you start at Georgia, if you start at Alabama, you have a legit shot of making it to the NFL. Like almost you're almost getting drafted just because you started. And so I was like, if I start here, I have a chance to go to the NFL. And, you know, I end up doing really well. So the headline is Ryan Chazier is that Urban Meyer got you to Ohio State. No, he got it after me. What I'm just saying, technically, he got you to Ohio State because he left Florida and allowed you to open the doors.

Open the doors. So, you know, I'm just trying to connect the dots. You know, you have to read the story to know what the headline actually isn't saying. I have Ryan Chazier here on The Rich Eisen Show. So you call this podcast, don't call it a comeback podcast.

Why do you call it that? So it's talking about comeback stories. Obviously, with me, I have a comeback story.

I have a story that I got injured in a football game. A lot of people never expected me to get to where I'm at now. I actually walked onto this set. I saw that.

It was awesome to see that. Thank you. And you look good, man. I try.

You do. So are you getting still even more proficient at getting the hitch a little bit? I'm getting a little bit better.

If I was to run from a dog right now, I would get caught. But I can run around the house with my kids. That was the biggest thing for me. I just wanted to be able to, if my kids needed me to do something, run a while, help my wife, I was available to do it. How old are your kids?

I have an eight year old and then my three year old is about to be four in January. So you literally are chasing kids around the house. No doubt about that. Yeah.

We were all noticing that and it was just, it's so great to see. I mean, how often, I mean, you just tell me if you don't want to talk about it. Is it painful to talk about this? No, now it's not as bad. You know, it's been five years. December 4th is five years. So now it's a lot easier to talk about it.

I would say a year after the injury, two years, within two years of the injury, it was a little bit harder to talk about. Who helped you get through it? I would say my family did a really good job.

The Steelers did a really good job. And just the people that, my teammates, one thing that everybody that was around me that they did a really good job of is always providing positivity to me. So I'm a very positive guy. You guys, T.J., I knew T.J. a little bit.

Everybody knows him. And so it's not surprising for me to hear you say that. And he even tell you when we first met like how just, I'm just a really positive guy. I like to smile. I like to joke around.

Even when it's not a warning, I like to joke around. And I was pretty positive through my injury, but my family did a good job of if somebody's going to bring negative energy, if somebody didn't believe in what I was trying to do, we wouldn't even bring them around me. So I only had positive people that only thought, you know, in my best interest around me. And I feel like that really helped me think and believe that I can overcome this. And you are overcoming it and it's great to see. And so when you look back on that day, what do you think of that day?

So it's so crazy because when I look back on that day, I have two different things that I think about. One of them is I was actually not supposed to play in that game. So I was hurt. So I hurt my ankle. I didn't practice one day in practice. I was a game time decision. Me and Coach Thomas talked about it. So sometimes I look back and I'm like, hey, if I didn't play in that game, what would happen?

Right. But the thing is, it's also a blessing because when I did get hurt, it was a Monday night football game where millions of people were watching. I could have got hurt on a Sunday game at one o'clock where maybe only a million people are watching or 200,000 people are watching, more than 200,000 people.

But you know what I mean? And so just having the eyes on me when I got injured, that, you know, that brings more people that prayed for me, you know, more people that just I feel the more prayers that happen, the more likely something is to happen. You know, so I think it was a blessing that I got hurt on the day I got hurt. But then when I also look back at it, it's just, oh, man, this it is a transition because my goal is to play football for 17 years. I want to be like Ray Lewis. And I don't mean like Ray Lewis in the fact of like playing like him, but just the longevity. He's a Hall of Famer. I want to be a Hall of Famer.

Leader of men, teammate that everyone looks up to and follows. Yeah. So that's that was my my dream. So the biggest thing, it was just a change of life and a lifestyle after I got hurt. I've got Ryan Chazier here on The Rich Eisen Show. And so your your your show is talking about all sorts of comebacks. Right. Which is the biggest comeback you ever a part of, Ryan? Have the biggest comeback I've ever been a part of.

Yes. So so it's two it's two comebacks. And I can I can I can I'm going to throw a shot at you right now for a second, but I'm going to tell you fully I'm ready for it.

I'm going to tell you. So one of them is the Cincinnati Bengals. When we were down in the playoff game, I end up ripping the ball out from Jeremy Hill. You know, I remember that that game was over. That game was essentially over toast. Yeah. And I ripped the ball out. We haven't talked about that one on the podcast yet, but that's that's one of the biggest comebacks I've been part of.

I'm sure Damashek will be very happy to talk about that on the podcast. And then another one I would say I've been a part of that I'm happy that I'm not happy that I'm on the opposite end of it was when my. So my freshman year.

Yes. We lost to the team of North. And it was a nine year streak until I beat us again. So basically, I was part of the win of the comeback for you guys because it took you guys nine years. What year was that?

In 2011, the last time you guys beat us until last year and this year. So we just talked about you guys. And we'll tell the one last week on the show. Oh, Luanna's is a good dude. Yeah, he is a good dude. All right. Well, I'm glad that you're part of that one. And I'm glad to have had the last two. So any concern at all that this is now a changing tide and amazing blue tide here? I mean, one is an outlier. Two is a trend. Oh, no. Three points. I mean, I don't know.

Three point forty burgers each time the margin of victory gotten large, larger. You didn't see that one coming, did you? You know, I don't think two is a trend. What is two then?

A couple. This is a couple of wins. You just got a couple wins. OK. Nine is a trend. Nine is a trend.

OK. All right. So you got seven more to go. We're trending like Arson Judge.

I don't know if nine is a trend, but I know you're trending at nine. Well, we're I'll say really good. We're feeling good. And, you know, we're ranked second and Big Ten champs back to back years in a row. And, you know, your school backed in like your car in our parking lot moments ago to show up here. So, Ryan, can I see this?

You have anything you want right now. You were saying how cold it was when you went to go visit Ohio State and you didn't like the cold. And yet once you got to the NFL, you were known for freezing temperatures, walking around pregame with no shirt on. So how did you transition from someone who didn't like the cold to like being a guy who had pants on when it's 20 degrees and that's it?

Yeah, from Florida. That's impressive. So the thing is, it's a story behind this. And the reason that I started doing that is because one day we were playing the Buffalo Bills and it was snowing like crazy. They delayed the game because they were trying to push the snow off the field.

And like when when you have turf and you're trying to snow the snow off the field, if you push the pebbles the wrong way, you have to reposition whatever. But it was so cold. It was like 18 degrees. And I feel like I had the flu. I was really sick.

I was super sick. I'm wondering how this story ends up with your shirt off. So basically, I talked to my teammates and I said, hey, so nowadays it's not as big of a deal. But the Steelers, they're like, hey, the defense doesn't wear sleeves. Nobody on the defense wear sleeves because it shows toughness.

I don't know where they get that from, but I guess they said it shows toughness. So I was like, all right, cool. I'm not going to wear sleeves.

But this game in particular, it was my third year. I was like, hey, I'm feeling real sick and I feel really bad. I think I'm going to need to wear sleeves because I just need to be as warm as possible. And they was like, no, you're not going to wear sleeves. And I was like, I didn't have it. I probably should not even say nothing and just went out there with them. But I was like, what are you talking about? I'm going to wear sleeves.

And James Harrison was like, nah. Him and Cam and a few guys were like, hey, nah, we're going to find you five grand per sleeve. Per sleeve! Yeah, so that's $10,000.

Yes, we can do the math easily. So I was like, y'all going to find me five grand per sleeve? This is ridiculous. And then I went to Coach T like a little kid. I'm like, yo, Coach, they're tripping. And then he was like, whatever the defense says, I'm rocking with it. So I'm like, are you serious? He backed their play.

Yeah, he backed their play. So I was like, all right, cool. If y'all not going to let me wear sleeves, I'm just going to go out here and warm up with no shirt off. Because if I have the flu and die out here, it's on y'all. So I'm just going to warm up. So out of spite, you took your shirt off.

There it is! So out of spite, I took my shirt off. And that looks kind of warm there. And I told him, I was like, yeah, if I die out here, it's on y'all. Just give y'all heads up. So I went out there and warmed up with them with no shirt on. We ended up beating them pretty bad. We soundly beat them.

It wasn't by like 20 points on them, but we beat them by like 17 or 14. And people were like, it started going on the news, like Ryan Shazier warmed up with no shirt on, 18 degree weather. And I did it again the week after because it just kept getting colder. And then it started like people started like, and then a guy after the game was like, man, it's cold as hell out here. Like, how are you out here with no shirt on? And I was like, we just played a whole game. Like it was going back and forth and we just beat y'all. And the first thing you come to me was like, yo, how did you warm up with no shirt off? I was like, yeah, you've mentally been thinking about this the whole game.

I'm like, so if your head is thinking about me, then you're not thinking about what you need to be thinking about. So it's now an advantage. And I was like, if I get like a one or two percent advantage over you, that's good enough in the NFL. So it started out of spite and maintained due to a competitive advantage.

Yeah. And then I just started doing it. And then I started seeing other people do it like the Giants did it and Green Bay and all these other people doing it. But I did it first. You were the trailblazer. What a way to start, man.

What a way to do it. That is how cold were you, though? No, no, I hated the cold weather. I actually absolutely hated every moment of me being out there. I was like, this is freezing. But the one thing that it did help me with, it did prepare me for what the weather is about to be like.

I hated every moment of it, but I was warming up with my shirt off and getting used to it. But I was only out there for like five, ten minutes. I wasn't out there for a long time. Isn't that amazing? You're from Florida. You go to Ohio State and it's four degrees there. You say, I'll go there and look what happened there.

And then you have a Steeler career where you do that out of spite. It's really wild how things happen. And it's really great to see you. It's great to see you getting around. It's just great to see you period. It's great to see you doing media. It's great to see you being happy and being a dad, being a husband.

It's just great all around. I really appreciate it. I'm really glad. I'm really glad to, you know, just to transition the way I've been transitioning. I have wonderful kids, wonderful family, and I'm trying to navigate media waters like you have. Well, whatever I can do to help. If you want to come on anytime, call in, give your thoughts. You're going to be part of the paparazzi.

You're obviously in great shape with Damashek and this pod. Don't call it a comeback podcast where all podcasts are acquired. Are you going to be in Pittsburgh for Christmas Eve? Are you going to be there? Yes, I will.

So that's an NFL Network game. It'll be me and the Game Day crew in the booth. So I look forward to seeing you. Yeah, I'm definitely going to be there. I think I'm going to be at the game as well.

They play the Raiders. Shirts on though, right? Yeah, I'm sure it's definitely on.

I get a lot colder now, I think, because I'm getting older. Yes, can confirm. Can confirm, Ryan. Great to see you. I look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks at that game. Thank you.

At Ryan Shazier on Twitter, at Shazier on Instagram. Don't call it a comeback podcast where all podcasts are acquired. Don't go anywhere. There is some news out of Buffalo, New York. It is significant and that's how we'll come back. So news out of Buffalo, New York. It is not Odell Beckham Jr. related.

But we'll get to that in a second. It's Von Miller related. He had a procedure on his injured knee, which was supposed to have not been a season-ending injury. It was supposed to be something less severe. But, I mean, they open his knee and they find a torn ACL and he's done for the year. Buffalo Bills. It was discovered he had an ACL tear during an exploratory surgery.

How about them apples? He's taken MRIs and it's either inconclusive or it was conclusive enough to, you know, figure something out. Exploratory surgery and it's like, hey man, you're done. What a bummer. I mean, what a blow. Obviously, it doesn't mean the Bills are toast. But what it means is you have a future Hall of Fame pass rusher who's been playing as such prior to a knee injury. And he's been their best quarterback, pressurer, and best pass rusher. And now he's done. And it would definitely help to have him if you're bowling him downhill at Joe Burrow on the 1st of January or back at Patrick Mahomes should you see him in the playoffs.

That is a bummer. However, I'm assuming and I hope that he will just stick around as he's rehabbing. What better place to rehab than around your friends and teammates for whom he provides so much inspiration and information. Now the question about Odell Beckham. Is he going to Buffalo, New York?

Is he going to Western New York? And we asked Sean McDermott yesterday who was on the show if he had any issues with not having him work out and trusting the process and having the medical staff take a look at things. And Jerry Jones, as we all know, one on the radio said he's not comfortable with it. And then I guess a very leaky star over there talking about how his knee has caused the Cowboys to think he wouldn't return until mid-January with significant action.

And next year is really what you're signing him for right now. Odell Beckham Jr. tweeted out a chess pawn. That's it.

About a half an hour ago. I don't know what that means. Yeah, no idea. It could mean many different things that he's playing chess while he thinks everyone else is playing checkers. Or is he the pawn?

I don't think so. I think he's playing chess right now and he's letting everybody know that whatever is going on behind the scenes, he's on it. That's the way I take that pawn piece. Or he's streaming the Queen's Gambit right here on Roku.

Could be that. Great show. You never know.

Great show. I'm sure it's on Roku where he's streaming it. Other than that, it's anyone's guess. Yeah. So Troy doesn't look like he's going to Dallas. And if he is sitting there, you know, enjoyed his visit, enjoyed hanging with the with the guys courtside watching Luca. And Tim Hardaway Jr. of my fantasy team lighted up from three. Four straight games of five three-point shots, including last night. Should I mention I have Luca?

Yes, you should. He is dynamite. He's good at number 77.

He is not bad at basketball. So he can't be pleased sitting here thinking that he's forced to play chess on social media because of what's going on behind the scenes and what's being put out there about his knee. Can't be terribly happy about that. Maybe the Bills do land him. Or there's another team, sort of like how the Padres put 360 mil on the table for Judge, that there's another team out there playing chess with Odell right now that nobody's talking about.

I did see Florio said, keep an eye on the Eagles. Maybe he shows up there. What? Maybe he shows up there.

Oh, come on. Don't put that out there. I'm not... Can he play defense? Can he play defense?

What do you mean? Robert Quinn's out. I think they looked pretty good on that side of the football against the Titans. Titans aren't good on offense. That's perhaps why the general manager got fired yesterday. Shaquille O'Neal's coming up, folks. And so is my power rankings. Oh, yeah, baby.