10-4-22 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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Grainger. For the ones who get it done. I hope you survived your Monday. It sounds better when I say it like that. I, for the first time in a long time, slept eight hours and only woke up once. If you know anything about me, that is nearly a miracle. But it also speaks to how completely weary I was following the weekend and then the Sunday into the Monday. So yeah, it was a good day of sleeping and then boom! Right into the rat race again. Because that's how Mondays are trying to catch up. Especially this time of the year.

So I hope that you are buckled up because October is just beginning. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios.

Do you need to know what it takes for a home to fit your budget and your family? Rocket can. You can find me on Twitter. ALawRadio. Again, thank you for all your football tweets. Thank you for all the new follows. It's good to connect with some of you who again are telling me you haven't heard the show ever before or you're hearing it for the first time in a long time. Every single day we get questions about whether or not there's a podcast. Every single day. Of course, I guess if you need the podcast that means you're not necessarily listening to the show every single night when I tell you that there is a podcast. And I tell you the address. After Hours.

AmyLawrence.com. But we do post the link to our weekly, no weekday, weekday morning podcast as soon as we're off the show. Every, like it's seriously, it's like clockwork and the only, and actually there's watchdogs out there that tell me when producer Jay messes up or when the equipment, there's a malfunction. It's not necessarily operator error. Sometimes it is in fact the equipment that we use from 1984.

So if at least the Seattle Mariners have made the playoffs since then, since I mean their playoff drought was not as old as our equipment is here in studio. Anyway, so whenever there's an hour missing or a segment missing, we get people who notify us. But if you're looking for the podcast, you can't necessarily listen to all four hours of the show live. Fine. I'll accept that. I get it. If you're not paid to be here. Just kidding.

I'm not opening up that can of worms. We're paid to be here. You may not be paid to be here, but we're happy to keep you company. And so, yeah, you can check out the podcast. All of our interviews, our guests are podcasted separately.

We've got some good guests lined up for this week on into actually later this month. I don't. So if I speak it into existence, producer Jay gets really mad at me when I speak things into existence because then he believes it's a jinx. So does that mean I shouldn't be telling people about the interview that we're working on? Is that not something that you you feel like it should be a secret until we have it locked in? No, I don't think it will apply there.

It's more with just games, I think, for me. And the weather and the definitely the weather, too. Yeah. But no, I think I think you're we're in the clear there. OK, so right now we believe we don't have the date set yet, but we're we're at least in it have received a positive affirmative response in our quest to get Andrew Whitworth on the show. So it's been a little bit of a search and rescue operation, actually trying to figure out how to get to him and then who do we contact?

I've had to go through my own friends and to try to pull some strings. And so it's it's a little bit of a winding path, but we have, in fact, gotten in touch with his people because he's got people and he should have people. And we think we'll have something later on this month. Also, we're working on Kurt Warner again. And by we, I mean me. I actually haven't even wrote Producer J to this one.

I'm just going to do it myself based on, again, some other context that I have. So hopefully that will work out. Both of those actually would be really fun to have before the end of, well, October. But even on its November, we'll take either one of them whenever they are available. But we've got some other really cool guests, actually some first time guests that will be welcoming to the show in the next few weeks. Always try to keep things fresh and not only offer different voices and different perspectives, but certainly to use our show as a chance to connect with various fan bases and former athletes, current athletes and listeners all over the country.

It's all about connections, peeps. So you can find us on Twitter or Facebook. Again, that's where you can get the link to the podcast every weekday morning. And then our phone number, 855-212-4227.

That's 855-212-4CBS. You probably noticed, if you paid any attention to football this weekend, that pretty much every single game, every single pregame show, every single show that featured any type of football analysis on any network or any radio outlet that you listen to, probably the majority of the podcast as well. And there are only 8,422,000 podcasts. 8,000?

Did I say 8,000? That was a weird number. I just made up a number. Now, typically I make up words, but I start to make up numbers.

My mom's going to be really upset at me. So forgive me, it's a Monday night and weird things come out of my mouth on a Monday night after a football weekend. Can we just strike that from the record?

Actually, can we dump that and pretend like it never happened? I think more like 8 million is what I meant to say, of course. But what I said was 8,422,000, didn't I? I like that number. Can we play that back just to see exactly what it is that I said? Also, though, we have to bury it in the archives because if someone gets a hold of that and takes it out of context, as in Amy's tired because it's post football weekend, they're just going to make fun of me. And as soon as I see Jay's face after listening back to it, I'll know exactly how dumb it sounded.

At least I caught it and I didn't just keep talking and not realize that I said something really stupid. See, I like using random numbers like that, too, if I'm just like trying to throw out something just like, oh, 473. Sounds better than like 500. 8,422,000 is not a number. It's a lot. Yes, it is a lot. For all you know, it's a compound number. It was 8,000 times 422,000. Are you trying to go back and listen to it right this second?

And there are only 8,422,000 podcasts. Yeah. All right. Why don't you have to wait for you to to make a face and let me know that you heard it? That was it in all of its glory. I mean, I wish even for one hour that you could listen to a radio host. That's perfect. But that's not what you get here on this show. It's not even remotely close, especially not on a Monday night.

Only 8,422,000 podcasts. The first like seven times that I've replayed it in my head. I already feel like an idiot. No more replays. I never would have thought to go back and get it. Oh, great. So that was my suggestion.

I feel like you should use that in some kind of a drop somewhere when we're trying to describe a really big number. It'll resurface at some point. Well, you just wait until I find something stupid that you said on the air. Like when you when you ruin our surprises. Here's the thing about Jay.

Whenever we have a YouTube video that's coming up and I'm trying to tease it, I can't let him talk about it on the air because he will find a way to give it away to ruin it. But we do have a brand new plan. We have a brand new plan that actually we're going to record a new video for YouTube. I know it's been a while. I actually think it's been since August. Maybe that we've had a new video just trying to get up to speed with football and all the production that had to be done for football. We've kind of we've had to put it on the back burner for a bit, but.

Never thought this would happen. I was the one bringing it up in our planning call this afternoon. Hey, I feel like we need to get back to our YouTube channel. So I guess I can't complain anymore about being on camera, since if I didn't bring it up, it would just die on the vine. But I'm not speaking about the YouTube channel.

I'll give it away. You're not speaking. Oh, you're not speaking about this particular video. You can tell people the main topic. No, you're not going to tell people that it's about football. All right. That's about what I'll do.

It's about football. I've already got my outfit picked out. Without you. Always. Ew, that is so not true.

I do not want to work with a guy who picks out his outfits before I do. You asked. It's true, I did. I don't know why I did that.

Anyway, touche. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. So what I was saying before I made up a number, created a brand new number, is that if you listen to any of the 8,422,000 podcasts devoted to sports over the weekend, I mean, if I had just said that in the first place, we wouldn't have gone on this long tangent in this walk through the woods. A little reset. Here we go. I do like the woods.

It's pretty colors this time of the year. We wouldn't, you wouldn't have been able to miss what was the number one topic on the football field. And that is Tua and the ripple effects throughout the rest of the league about how teams should handle concussions and how they should protect players. And the fact that every single time someone suffered some type of a blow to the head or a hard tackle where the head was impacted, they were walked off the field promptly to the locker room to go through concussion protocol. We saw it with Tyron Taylor.

Actually, that was a really nasty collision. We saw it with Brian Hoyer. He didn't even last a quarter for the New England Patriots in Green Bay. But it was not only talked about over and over again with resounding conviction by pretty much everybody who was bringing it up that the Dolphins failed to or that the NFL has to have stricter protocols if the current protocols aren't working.

But then you saw it playing out on the field with teams themselves who are now, at least for now, I don't know how long this continues, but at least for now are being uber careful with their athletes who may in some way have suffered a hit to the head or the neck and are then required to go through concussion protocols. As for Tua, the good news is, as we had found out last week, he was jovial. He was able to fly home on the plane with his teammates, which is a big lift to the Dolphins as a whole. But he is not currently on the football field. This is something that it's too early to give a definite timeline. I can comfortably say that he'll be out for this game against the Jets, but anything beyond that, again, we're just focused on making sure he's at optimal health and then crossing that bridge. So it's a little early for definitive timelines beyond that. So Mike McDaniel saying, hey, we don't have a timeline. He is in concussion protocol, but for now, at the most, we're sure that he will not be on the field for week five against the New York Jets.

And I am not surprised at all. I've actually seen people that have predicted, for whatever that's worth, using my air quotations, that we won't see Tua back on the field for months, which seems dramatic. And I do appreciate that Mike McDaniel said, hey, if he's cleared like he was before their last game against the Bengals on Thursday night, if he's cleared, who am I to say you can't be on the field?

He passed all the tests. He went through concussion protocols daily following that game. It was the Bengals Thursday night. No, wait a minute.

The initial game was the Bills, right? Yeah, that was the Matt Milano who pushed him over, and he fell back and seemingly hit his head on the grass behind him. But he had said it was his back and that his back was what caused him to be wobbly. You don't have to believe that. I guess you can call Tua a liar if you wish.

He doesn't strike me as that kind of a guy. But he not only passed concussion protocols initially that the team allowed him back in the game on that Sunday, but then he went through concussion protocols every single day. So it's not like they were ignoring his head even as he was listed day to day because of his back.

I will say this. We know that there are documented cases of concussion symptoms not manifesting until days later. So you may not feel them. They may not be measurable right away, but there can be a concussion that doesn't reveal itself until later. So I'm not sure if the NFL, maybe the NFLPA is going to start to argue for that. Maybe at some point as we move forward in this discussion and they try to figure out how to protect players even more, what if they have a mandatory period where you have to sit out? If you're in concussion protocol, what if they make you sit out for two days or three days? Or I don't know if they would force you to miss a week. I can imagine that right now those are the types of conversations that are going on behind closed doors. Is that maybe there should be a mandatory period where a player is forced to sit or forced to stay off the field just in case these symptoms manifest themselves a couple days down the road.

I don't know all the science behind it. I just know again there are documented cases where there are no measurable impacts of the concussion and the protocol wouldn't flag a concussion until a couple of days later. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Again, Mike McDaniel telling us there's no definitive timeline for Tua to return. Right now he's in the building. He's had a couple good days, but he's just trying to go through with the proper procedure and protocol so that he's filling 100%. I know he's going to be diligent with it, and if there's obviously any things that are giving him issues in terms of light and those things, then we will shut that down. So they're still testing him daily.

They're still running him through the protocols. And there are baselines that every player has set during the preseason. So they give you these neurology tests, and there are baselines that are then compared to whatever testing you might need during the season if you get a hit to the head. So he's getting compared to his own baselines when he clearly did not have a concussion going back before the season started and now is being evaluated on a daily basis. And they're of course asking him, and you would expect these players to be honest, I hope, considering what we know about head injuries and the lasting impacts, especially the compound problems if you suffer multiple concussions in a short term or a short time span. And so whether it's sensitivity to light or noise, these are things that the player would have to report himself. But he was evaluated for a concussion after the situation with the Bills, and the team announced that he had cleared through all of his protocols. And he was tested daily leading up to Thursday's game. And obviously we saw what happened Thursday against the Bengals where his hands seized up there, and it was a hard hit. Just the scary nature of that and seeing it visually, I think, set off a lot of people in the NFL and in football circles. But it's not a bad conversation to have because the science is difficult.

It's difficult to understand because it's variable from person to person. And the time span in which a concussion can affect you or which you can heal completely, that can also vary dramatically from human to human being. I'm just talking about sports. So it certainly is not worth rushing him back. And obviously the Dolphins with all of the uproar and the criticism of how they handled this, they are now treading very carefully. But Mike McDaniel continues to defend the Dolphins and the way that they handled to his health going back to that first game against the Bills. Our process and really everything involved with how we approach the medical situation, I'm still very confident in how we did that. He has said multiple times, we did nothing wrong.

We followed the letter of the law, and I would never forget concussion protocols. He has said multiple times, I would never put a player at risk. I'm a man with whom I have a relationship. We have a working relationship. I care about this guy. He's not just my quarterback, but he's someone that I'm in contact with on a daily basis multiple times. I would never put his health at risk for the sake of winning a football game.

And I appreciate that. I hope people trust him because at this point there's been no reason not to. He seems very sincere about it and I'm sure was even more upset and anxious and scared for Tua than those of us who are watching on TV to see that up close. And he also said that Tua was calling for him when he was laying on the ground and that it was very clear that he was not the same guy that he normally works with and interacts with regularly.

So all of that is scary. We saw the reaction of Jalen Waddle. We saw the reaction of Tyreek Hill, guys that work with Tua closely and that have known him in the case of Jalen going back to Alabama.

So scary for everybody. The Dolphins, again, they have no reason for us not to believe them. I don't think it's fair to assume that they want to win so badly that they would sacrifice the health of their franchise quarterback. That's kind of a leap that it seemed like Twitter made. I know it's Twitter, but that's potentially unfair.

I would hate it if people assumed the worst about me like that too. All right, you can find us on Twitter after our CBS. Which team suffered the most mortification on Monday? Was it the Baltimore Ravens? Who, by the way, we will talk about with our friend Rob Long of 105.7, the fan, who is part of the Big Bad Morning show on our Baltimore affiliate.

He's going to hop on with us live in the final hour. So we will check the pulse of Ravens fans after their second big fourth quarter collapse of the season, both coming in Baltimore. Is it the Denver Broncos who actually are now adding injury to insult? And man, what about that offense? What is it that quarterbacks go to Denver to shrivel up and become ineffective? Because since Peyton Manning, that's what it seemed like. And before that, it was years that they could find Peyton to fill the shoes of John Elway. Trust me, Denver Broncos fans have been through this before. Mr.

Unlimited. No, stop it. I mean, that's just wrong right now. Carolina Panthers, they're actually considering a quarterback change? Wait, what?

And then the Washington commanders, the uniforms alone were insulting, but certainly the way that they've lost now and the fact that every other team in the NFC East is above 500, but they can't seem to get their act together. So who's got the most misery and mortification on a Monday? We always love to say goodbye to Monday, but that poll is still up on both Twitter and Facebook.

It's after hours with this is your operating system talking, not your computers or your phones, but your internal human operating system. I'm feeling a little overloaded. Here's how you can ease my stress. Close your eyes or softly gaze at something in front of you. Now inhale for four counts. Exhale for six. Keep repeating. Much better.

Longer term. There's better help. Online therapy. They'll match us with the licensed therapist we can connect with via video phone or chat.

Visit better help dot com slash positive and save 10 percent on our first month. Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. I do not have any like absolutely zero patience for or will ever put a put a player in a position for them to be in harm's way.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Even though it happened on Thursday, certainly the biggest injury news of week number four that cast a shadow over the weekend. And if it means the teams are more careful when it comes to their players brains and hits the head, that's not a bad thing. But I do hate that people are accusing Mike McDaniel of being careless with his franchise quarterback's health and that the team would would lie about it. I just I don't believe that that is happening in Miami. And I'm not telling you it's ever happened before, but I just don't believe that this team, this organization and Mike McDaniel would have blatant disregard for a player's health.

He's brand new. It's just it's not something that seems to track with him. Now, is a player very often not going to tell the truth if he thinks that he might be held out of a game? Well, again, I mean, we know that's happened for years, not as much in the NFL anymore, but it is on the player to also indicate when there's something wrong and to not fudge it. Now, thankfully, with concussion protocols, there are ways that even if the player is not indicating that he has a sensitivity to light or that noise is bothering him or that he doesn't feel right, dizzy or woozy, there are still other ways to tell if he's suffering from a concussion.

But it does rely upon the honesty of the athlete with the medical staff and the training staff, to be sure. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio, not just Tua, who was injured in week number four, but actually things go from from bad to a bit worse for the Denver Broncos, who lost one of their top running backs for the season. Javonte Williams, who has really established himself in the early stages, has been, we'll just say he's been a highlight for the Broncos on offense, where there hasn't been a highlight in many cases from week to week. But he's going to miss the remainder of the season because of not just a torn ACL, but also there are other ligaments in his knee that are damaged, like the LCL and just the extensive surgery and rehab he's going to have to go through. It always sucks to hear that for a player, but he's obviously going to miss the rest of the way. And so that's also a blow for Broncos head coach Nathaniel Hackett. Losing Javonte is so unfortunate, you know, a dynamic player in this league. Hey, so somebody's got to step up. And I think that, you know, with this whole team, I think they're excited, you know, for that opportunity.

And we're glad that it comes very soon instead of having to wait longer to be able to get out there and go play. So he got hurt against the Raiders first play of the second half Sunday, and he entered the game as the leader in the clubhouse, so to speak, in both carries and rushing yards. So he was really a spark for that Broncos offense, but knew right away that it was a serious injury. The Broncos knew after the game Sunday that there was a potential he could be out for the year. Just a second year guy to have to go through this really stinks, but was on crutches leaving the stadium and then found out on Monday about the torn ACL and the other ligaments. He's not the only guy actually who got injured. Randy Gregory also got hurt, but is not out for the season. He's going to miss multiple weeks because he also has a knee injury that requires a procedure. So that was the Denver Broncos.

There are there actually was a surprise. There are other injuries, one that I wasn't expecting to hear on Monday, and that's Cordarrel Patterson of the Falcons is now on IR. He had a knee procedure on Monday morning, and so he is expected to return this season. But he I guess it goes back to last week.

He had missed a couple of days of practice and he was limited on Friday, did play against the Browns. And man, is he been a constant for that offense, really reliable for the Falcons offense. Even going back to last season, he had a breakout year, maybe a resurgent year, not necessarily a breakout year.

But now at 31 years old, you know the wear and tear on the knees and the body. But he's a guy who generally you can count on to break a big player two per game. He's a back that will he will take the ball as much as you need from him. He's durable generally, and he's also been a kick returner.

And so to not have him is to lose a major weapon. But you remember, he had a really good 2021 and had been off to a hot start again. In fact, I think I remember last year, the fantasy world was just raving about him. He had a couple of big games and people were maybe a little reticent to believe that it would continue all the way through the season. But then, man, he was a fantasy bonanza, just a guy that was racking up points week in and week out. And even to start this year, he was already really helping that offense that they do want to run the ball more than anything, especially not having Calvin Ridley and having Marcus Mariota. They're not even asking Mariota to throw the ball nearly as much because they want to be a run first team.

And that's pretty clear with Arthur Smith. So this is kind of a bummer with Cordero. The Atlanta Falcons starting running back has really been one of the better stories of this year and last year too, really flashed as a full-time running back last year. Now out four games after being placed on injured reserve. He's been battling a knee injury, really painful knee injury, tried to give it a go on Sunday. In the end, needed a procedure which happened this morning, relatively minor procedure, so should be back right at four games. But Cordero Patterson, now on IR and to fill his roster spot, Caleb Hunley, who has impressed himself, as have really, honestly, all of the Atlanta Falcons running backs as they ran, I don't know, 14 straight times on Sunday.

He has now been signed to the active roster to take CP's spot. I thought it was interesting. Thank you, Ian Rappaport, NFL Network. I thought it was interesting that they actually beat the Browns at their own game. So the Browns clearly want to establish the run. Not only do they have a really solid and competent offensive line, but they've got Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, Jacoby Brissett.

I mean, not a lot, but he'll at least be mobile and move around. And so the Browns and the Falcons were on the field together and the Atlanta Falcons actually out rushed Cleveland. 202 rushing yards. That's crazy. And I think that the Browns were about 189, 179.

I have to go back and look. Don't quote me on that. But just the fact that the Falcons were able to control the ball the way that they did with the run game. They lose a bit of that without Cordero Patterson, obviously.

All right. We're going to get back to baseball and some of the stories that we didn't have a chance to talk about from the weekend. Like this this tear of Albert Pujols and really it continued on Monday and also a drought that's finally over two plus decades. It is worth listening to how it sounded after a second consecutive walk off to propel the Mariners back to postseason baseball. You can find us on Twitter after our CBS also on our Facebook page. We're always good, good and glad you connect with you.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. For the ones who get it done. Had some traffic, but he's been good. The one, two pitch to Albert. He's hit high and deep down the left field line. That ball is gone.

Into Big Mac land. Big Fly Albert number 701. Cherish from the Dominican when Albert began his minor league career in Peoria in 2000.

The pitcher was four months old. And here he is pitching against the great Albert Pujols. The one strike pitch is hit high and deep the center field. Backing up towards the track.

Looking up and it's gone. Albert Pujols has hovered to straightaway center field. Home run number 702.

And not only that, he just caught Babe Ruth in RBI's. Goldschmidt let off of the base hit to left. Pujols swings and he drives this one left field down the line.

And it's a gunner. A gunner for Albert Pujols at home run 703. Two nothing Cardinals. Everybody's standing up and applauding for the great Pujols. It seems to me that every one of his home runs either ties a game or gives the Cardinals a lead.

And that curtain call is being asked for here in Pittsburgh. I don't think Albert will do it. But they want Albert to come out.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. I do not believe that Albert Pujols did come out actually. I was listening to the broadcast Cardinals radio and you hear them there. John Rooney with the call there of 703. And they did not say that Albert came out and I couldn't hear any reaction behind them as they moved on to the next batter.

Get this. Albert Pujols who just hit 701, 702 and 703 over the last four days now has 24 home runs this year. Which is his most since 2016. He had 31 for the Angels that season. There was a lot of skepticism about whether or not he could hit 700.

And he just continues to plow forward. And he has now passed Babe Ruth for the second most RBI of all time. So the two run home run, which you hear on Cardinals radio, on Monday evening in Pittsburgh. My favorite park in the major is PNC Park. It's actually one of Albert's favorite too because he has more home runs there than any other park that he's visited outside of St. Louis.

35 at PNC Park. So the Pirates fans have had a front row seat to see a good portion of Albert's history. But that two run home run at PNC gave him 2,216 runs batted in over the course of his career. Which is second only to Hank Aaron. 2,297 for Hank. Babe Ruth's number is a little bit unofficial because stats weren't kept for runs batted in until 1920. So there may have been more there.

But Albert, we know all of his. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. As I was looking around at Twitter on Monday afternoon, I happened to catch this video on our show Twitter. I think it was put out by the Cardinals actually.

So let me go and look real quick. Actually no, it was put out by the MLB Twitter. And it goes back to April 9, 2001. It's also, by the way, the last time that the Mariners made the playoffs was 2001.

April 9, 2001. Albert Homer's in his first regular season at bat with the Cardinals at home. Okay, so he is in Busch Stadium and he has a home run in what is his first regular season at bat with the Cardinals. Fast forward to October 2, 2022. 21 and a half years later, he homers in his last regular season at bat in Busch Stadium with the Cardinals.

Kind of cool to think about that. The Cardinals have done an amazing job, not just honoring him, but presenting this stage for his exit. And he, as well as Yadier Molina, will be retiring at the end of this season. There's no doubt about either one of those. Albert says he doesn't care what the numbers are whenever he exits.

That's it. He's done. This is his last year.

He won't reconsider. But the way that he's continued to mash the baseball, the fact that so many of his home runs have come in critical situations, and even with number 703 on Monday, his manager points out, yeah, I mean, this guy's been clutch. It was a big swing, man, talking about even passing Babe Ruth. It's a big deal to do it with a two-run homer.

It would give us the lead there. It was fun to watch. Mitch Keller gave up home run number 703 in Pittsburgh. You never want to give him up, but if I was going to give one up tonight, I mean, I'd rather give it up to him than anybody else. He's just had an incredible year, and he's the machine for a reason. And just he's a great player, and he's going to be in the Hall of Fame. I would agree you never want to give up a home run as a pitcher, but in this situation, with Albert Pujols on the way out, with this game essentially meaningless in terms of standings, I mean, the Cardinals already have the NL Central title.

The Pirates are out of it. I mean, I wouldn't mind being another pitcher who got to face Albert Pujols and can share a story from the end of 2022. Really neat gesture for the Cardinals in their final regular season home game with Adam Wainwright, Yadier Molina, Albert Pujols, and we'll get to that coming up a little bit later on. But before the top of the hour, we've got some more dramatic highlights to share.

This is worth listening to over and over and over again. It was 21 years in the making for the Mariners and the fans in Seattle. And the Mariners knocking on the door to a playoff appearance for the first time since 2001. Here's the stretch. The 3-2 pitch. Swing and a drive. Deep to right field. Stay fair. Holy smokes, he did it.

Off the hidden air cafe. Cal rally with a walk-off home run. How sweet it is. The Mariners and the 20-year drought and a walk-off home run by Cal rally. They win the ball game 2-1. And the Mariners are going to the playoffs as a playoff contender.

They go to the playoffs as a wild card member. Cal rally with his 26th home run of the year. 47,000 fans are going crazy here at T-Mobile park.

You know, it didn't really matter who did it. I think this team is so special and we're so close together. I think the fact that we made it here and we've had such a long year is awesome. And the fact that we can end the drought was unbelievable. I don't know, just credit to all my teammates.

They're the ones who did this. When Jerry and I came here seven years ago, we had a goal. We needed the end the effing drought. We did it.

Wow. If you watched any of the Mariners games over the weekend, and really going back to Thursday when we were here, they had a walk-off on Thursday in extra innings that put their magic number at one. And Scott Service said at that point, we're going to end this drought tomorrow, referring to Friday. And then Cal Raleigh hits a walk-off home run on Friday to officially propel the Mariners into the playoffs. And it was a wild celebration. So first, the final call with Rick Rizz on Mariners radio. Then you hear Cal on Root Sports Northwest. And finally, Scott Service addressing the team – well, not the team, the fans there on the field, and how cool it is to know that we've got that drought over with.

It was the longest of the four major team sports. Seals rise. Let's get it. You may remember going back to a few years ago when the Buffalo Bills finally ended their playoff drought, what that meant not just to Bills Mafia, but to football fans all over the country who are just kind of rooting for a team, an underdog, if you will, a drought to end. I think those are the kind of stories that even if we're casual fans, we can sink our teeth into. So congratulations to the Mariners. We also had another team clinch over the weekend.

And guess what? Kestin Hira has just struck out. The ballgame in Milwaukee is over. And the 2022 Padres are playoff-bound.

It's official. Clearly the folks here in San Diego were following along. And they have gotten up on the board.

White Sox players looking around like, what's going on? It's awesome, man. It's something that these guys have worked hard for, we've all worked hard for, you know, to be in this situation. So it's been, you know, it's a blessing that we made it here. It's just the beginning.

You know, we got some unfinished business. Every time you go in, it's a new feeling. It feels different. It feels better every time. It just gets better and better.

I feel great to be here and be part of all this. Juan Soto and Manny Machado before that. And of course, Juan, was he still a teenager when the Nationals won?

I think he was 19. In 2019. So, yeah, it's a blessing to be back with the Padres. And honestly, there were some stretches there where I wasn't sure the Padres were going to make it. Even after they made the trade for Soto and the others that they brought on board. But they've been able to secure their spot. The NL West was out of reach for a long time because of the Dodgers.

But I do believe they can be a dangerous team in the playoffs. We don't really know the matchups yet. We know that the Wild Card Series will begin coming up on Friday. And the way that they have it set up is that it's best of three. And it's essentially all the way through the weekend. So it's Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And we just don't know the times or the particular matchups yet. But the baseball playoffs are here. They're here. So you better buckle up and be ready.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence right here on CBS Sports Radio. Visit BetterHelp.com slash positive and save 10 percent on your first month.