After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

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I don't even need to promote it, really. It's After Hours on CBS Sports Radio. And by now, you know, like it or not, the villain of Major League Baseball is flying high. Second World Series in six years, a victory parade on Monday in the streets of Houston with a million of their closest friends, and Dusty Baker's contract renewed for at least one more year.

So this is neat for people who were rooting for Dusty to finally get that ring as a manager. And he still has passion. He still loves what he does.

He still connects with his players in the clubhouse and clearly has turned and changed the tenor of the Astros organization. So why not come back for another year? Plus he's not done, he says. How many times in your life do you say something and then have the opportunity to to fulfill it? And that's that's how I feel. You know, at this moment, you know, like I wouldn't just just talk and I meant what I said. And I love to keep in my words. So hey, man, we got a chance to to to win back to back.

And this is what I'd like to do. We said during, you know, the end of the season, probably around August or so, we'd wait till everything was over and see what he wanted to do. And we were able to sit down.

It probably took about 15 minutes. We came to agreement and I'm happy to say he'd be back for another year. That's Jim Crane after you hear Dusty talking about going back to back.

I think our friend Boomer Esiason would call that touching the money. Kyle Tucker played a huge role in the Astros success this year, and he did an interview with Fox 26 about his manager returning for one more run. He's been with us the past couple years and I love the guy. I mean, he's a great person, a great manager.

So I'm excited to have him back for another year. Kyle, what makes him special? I mean, I think he just understands the game. He understands the players. I mean, obviously, him being a player when he was younger kind of understands the ins and outs of, you know, what it's like to go through the whole season. So, I mean, he's pretty family oriented and, you know, he kind of treats the team just like his family. So I think having all of that together makes him a great manager.

One more piece of audio that you have to hear because it's really neat. Dusty obviously has been in baseball for 25 years as a manager. But before that, he was an All-Star player, does have a ring from his days as a player and oldest ever to win as a manager in any of the four major pro sports, NBA, NHL, NFL, Major League Baseball. He played with Hank Aaron and Hank's widow, Billy, was over the moon for him to finally get that ring as a skipper. We were just overjoyed, all of us, because we had known Dusty so long and because this was sort of a long time coming. But it was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful occasion. And we rejoice with him and his family and just carried on so until I was a little afraid that my heart wouldn't stand it. So we quieted down somewhat, but we really rejoiced with him over that marvelous, marvelous accomplishment.

Wow, that's neat to be able to hear her joy for Dusty. 54 years ago, drafted by the Braves in 2002, became manager of the Cubs. He was the first black manager in baseball history to win 2,000 career games and now his first World Series as a manager and will be back in 2023.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We're pleased to welcome Jim Bowden, longtime front office executive and general manager, now with CBS Sports HQ. And here we are. Major League Baseball free agency is underway. But let's start with the Astros, Jim. What stands out to you about this team and the journey they just completed? This was the best team in baseball. Normally the best team in baseball doesn't win the World Series, but that was the case this year. And it was great to see 73-year-old Dusty Baker in his Hall of Fame managerial career finally win a World Series for the first time and become the oldest manager to ever win a World Series. His leadership certainly was felt upon.

Players loved to play for him. But this was a complete team, right? I mean, they're starting pitching with seven pitchers deep, all dominant. We watched Christian Javier in relievers, so a no-hitter. Justin Berlander is going to win the Cy Young Award.

Fromber Valdez is the best curveball of any left-handed pitcher in the game. And, oh, by the way, they have an impact closer in Ryan Presley. And on the field, you know, look, I mean, I've been covering the last six years for the last six years in the World Series.

Jose Altuve and Alex Breitman, I mean, they're just always there. And here they are winning their second World Championship together. So it's a special team. They've done a great job of developing young players.

A young shortstop, 20-year-old Jeremy Pena, replacing Carlos Correia, left in free agency, and all he did was win a Gold Glove, becoming the first rookie to ever win a Gold Glove at shortstop, as well as winning the LCF and World Series MVP. So, look, it is a very special team, great makeup, very smart group of guys. They really are a family. And it's nice, I think, in our sport when the best team actually wins because it doesn't happen very often.

Why is that, Jim? Why doesn't the best team win the majority of the time? You know, a lot of times when you get to the postseason, if you have really strong starting pitching, you can just run the table. We watched the Phillies, right? They were the 12th seed of the 12 playoff teams, and they made it all the way to Game 6 of the World Series, only winning 87 games. But with Wheeler and Nolan and Suarez and the rotation, they ran the table, and it's a lot like the NHL and hockey.

When you get a hot gold tender in the playoffs, you can run the table. And the same thing is true in baseball. I mean, we've seen many wildcard teams, including the Kansas City Royals. The Angels run the table and end up winning. So, in baseball, you get hot at the right time in October, you have the right starting pitching, you can win a short series. There are some teams that are built for a 162-game schedule and some that end up doing better in a short series in October. I have some diehard hockey fans who are absolutely going to be Jim Bowden disciples from this point on with the hockey reference.

I love that. This playoff format was a little bit different, right? So we kind of saw the series stacked, and it seemed like almost every big series ended on Saturdays. But how do you like the format that they've tweaked for the last month? I didn't like the scheduling of it, right?

I don't like the five-off days. But I do like the expanded playoffs, and I like more teams getting in, because I think it's going to give more incentive to small and mid-market owners to spend the extra money. You know, when they see the Phillies win 87 games and make it all the World Series, and while the 100-win Dodgers and the 100-win Braves and the 100-win Nets went home, I mean, it gives incentive to an owner. Let's take the Milwaukee Brewers, who traded Josh Hader at the trade deadline. They finished one game behind the Phillies in the standings, one game, and they went home.

Right. And if they hadn't traded Hader, Hader probably would have been in the playoffs and the Phillies probably would have been home. So I do think the message was sent, really, to teams to say, hey, you get in, anything can happen. I have to say this, though, when I think back to the beginning of the year, it almost seems like the lockout's a distant memory. How do you think that baseball recovered from what was a fairly black mark and a bit of a bleak time, according to fans, anyway? Yeah, look, it's behind the sport.

I'm glad you brought that up, because it is forgotten. And I've just been traveling the month of October throughout the playoffs and the World Series, and it's a thing of the past. And if the subject is brought up, it's like, isn't it great that we have labor peace for the next several years? Yes.

And that is the case. And so we're heading into an offseason where free agency is just loaded with superstars. Aaron Judge, who just finished the best offensive season of any player in the history of the sport, is on the open market. We have three future Hall of Fame pitchers that are entering free agency.

Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, and Clayton Kershaw. We have four elite shortstops in Carlos Correa, Trey Turner, Xander Bogart, and Dansby Swanson all in the open market. So, you know, free agency is going to be a lot of fun.

There's a lot of talent. A lot of money is going to get spent. We've got teams that are out right now in Las Vegas talking trades. So we're going to have a great hot stove, free agent signings. There's going to be big trades.

We have the winter meetings coming up December 4th in San Diego, California. That is just going to be absolutely rocking. So I think the sport is in a really great spot. You know, they continue to work to try to get the streaming better so that everybody in every market can watch every game. And I think they're heading in a direction to get there. So I think the sport's in a really healthy position right now. I wouldn't have thought that so many fans would be able to forgive and forget because I'm sure you heard from as many as I did who said, That's it. I'm done. This is the last straw that baseball's not worth it anymore. And yet it felt like the second the games came back in April. OK, OK, we forgive you. We're just so happy that you've returned again.

You're exactly right. And I think part of that also is the fact that the game is loaded with so much good, young, energetic talent and players that are willing to be out there. You know, this is the first time that you can watch national broadcasts and they'll interview the players right in the middle of the game.

He had a home run. They'll talk to you right in the dugout. We've never done that before. Players are getting more involved in, you know, commercials or or charities. And they're everywhere. And and and the players are embracing the chance to show their personalities, you know, whether it be on Instagram or Facebook or TikTok or, you know, whether it just be joining radio and TV shows more than ever before. This young group is embracing the spotlight. They want the spotlight, right? They're bringing more enthusiasm to the game, you know, with backflips and these celebrations that they're having.

I mean, it's working. And now the game is going to put in a pitch clock. And I'm telling you, fans are going to love this because it worked in the minor leagues and it cut down games by 20 minutes. Fans don't want to sit there and watch a three hour baseball game, just like they don't want to go out there and watch a three hour movie. There's a reason why movies are an hour, 50 or 210 or 220.

Right. There's a reason for that, because people don't want to sit there for three. This pitch clock is going to give you is going to shave off significant time in games. And I think it's something baseball needed to do. I think banning the defensive shifts are going to be big because it's going to bring athleticism back in the sport, increasing the bases and not allowing pitchers to throw over more than three times. It's going to create more stolen bases and it's going to speed up the game. So I think baseball is doing a really good job of saying, hey, this is the same baseball you might have played five, 10, 20 years ago. But we're listening to this generation and we know what you guys want. We hear you and we're going to make adjustments and make this game quicker, more athletic and more fun for you all. A lot of fun changes in store for 2023. We're really excited to spend a few minutes with Jim Boden, who's a longtime Major League Baseball general manager and executive and is with CBS Sports HQ as an analyst and an insider.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Jim, you brought up Aaron Judge. This is obviously a major question. I can only imagine the union is salivating over the type of numbers that he will bring in because it sets a tone. What should a team be willing to pay him? So I think my prediction, my contract prediction of what he's going to get is eight years, three hundred and thirty million. He turned down two hundred and seventeen million last March. He's going to get one hundred million more than that.

And I think more. So I'm going to go eight years, three thirty. Now, someone may pay him, may give it ten years and spread it out for tax benefits.

I don't think that this is going to age well when you get to years six, seven and eight. I think it will age similar to what Miguel Cabrera, Albert Puls and Joey Bottles contracts did. But this is the cost of doing business.

And if you want the player, that's what you're going to have to pay. Now, I'll argue that when the Phillies gave Harper that 13 year deal, there were a lot of people that criticized it. After watching him this year, I don't think anyone's going to criticize it. Phillies were in the World Series. Everyone criticized the Padres for giving Machado, Manny Machado, three hundred million dollars. I don't think anyone's going to criticize them after watching them get to the NLCS and him being a major part of it. Judge is going to get paid.

All right. If you're the Yankees, do you do whatever it takes, even if it means giving the extra year, spreading out some money, yada, yada, yada, because of what he means to the franchise? I don't know what Aaron's going to do, right? He's kept it close to his vest. I try to read between the lines with his public comments, and his public comments seem to always express that he wants to stay a Yankee and wants to finish his career in pinstripes.

That's kind of what he says without saying it. When you get the free agency, anything can happen. Twenty-five years ago, I don't think anybody thought that the San Francisco Giants were going to put up forty-five million dollars for Barry Bonds, which back then just blew the market out.

It only takes one owner to blow the market out. What if the San Francisco Giants or the New York Mets decide they're going to pay them four hundred million dollars? I don't think the Yankees will match that. I think the Yankees will move on and go a different direction. So it really depends upon, is there an owner that's going to step up and blow everybody out, or is everyone going to look at them reasonably and say eight-three-thirty or eight-three-twenty or eight-three-forty or whatever is going to be in that range?

I think that's how it's going to play out, but owners have taught me a long time ago, it only takes one to be a fool that really is for everybody else. Oh, that's going to be my new favorite phrase about Major League Baseball. In general, how do you feel about contracts that go ten or more years, Jim?

It depends on the age of the player. If you're twenty-four years old, I'm good with it. So the Julio Rodriguez you're okay with? Yeah, I was okay with that. I was okay with Tatis until I found out he tested positive for PED.

Yeah, I'm okay. I think the thing is when you look at all of the algorithms with aging, the risk really starts to enter at thirty-four years old, and I think that any time you sign a guy thirty-four or older, the risk becomes a lot higher and nobody knows for sure how people are going to age. Certainly there's exceptions like David Ortiz and Adrian Beltre, but for the most part decline really starts at thirty-four and then it can hit you hard at thirty-five, and I think you really got to be careful during those years not to have too much money on the books because it comes with a lot of risk and it's going to hurt those teams down the road.

But when you have a young superstar like Julio, I have no problem locking him up, especially because of the talent that he brings to the table. Who is your American League MVP? Oh, that's Aaron Judge, and Otani finishes second. And I would create a new award called the Unicorn Award, and that would go to the best player in the sport, and I would just give that to Otani every year, and I wouldn't even have voting for this. I would just say, okay, as long as you're in the league, Shohei, you are Player of the Year and you get the Unicorn Award.

Congratulations. We're excited to spend a few minutes with Jim Bowden here on After Hours, CBS Sports Radio, from the Angels yet again. They're not trading Shohei Otani, so we got that message at the deadline, now we're getting it again. How do you like this move when it comes to a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2013? The team is being sold, and so the question for the owner, Artie Moreno, is, is your team more valuable with Otani on it or with Otani not on it?

Got it. Also, do you want your last move as an owner to be trading Otani, or do you want to make the new owner do it? I don't think Otani's going to sign with the Angels after this coming year. I think he's going to be a free agent, and I think that the Angels, when they get a new owner, will trade him. He'll be traded by July 31st. That's the trade deadline. But for the offseason, they've been very clear they're not going to trade him, and I understand they're thinking of that. We're selling the team. Let's keep Otani in trout.

Let's add a few more pieces, and let's try to sell this team for as much as we possibly can. The Justin Verlander question is an interesting one because he's coming off of a year in which many people believe he'll grab that Cy Young. He finally got his first World Series victory, another ring, obviously, and he's a major part of that.

And yet, he's about to turn 40. What do you do with him since he's going to be a free agent? I give him a three-year deal, and if I'm the owner, I give him a three-year contract.

He just said Tommy, John, and Selfie. Three years, $135 million, and I can't wait for him to pitch Game 1 of the World Series next year. What about Jacob deGrom, who has indicated through people around him that he does want to stay with the Mets? I would say two years, $90 million, and he gets an opt-out after one year.

Look, he's such a health risk. He hasn't made more than 15 starts in any of the last three years, so I'd have to look at the shoulder and the elbow on the MRIs to see what they really say, to see how much risk they are. But if I was a team, I would be scared to give him a three-, four-, or five-year deal, so I would try to do a two-year deal, guarantee him, say, $90 million, which would give him more than Scherzer's $43 million AAV, and then let him opt out after a year. If he proves he's healthy and can get a longer-term deal, let him opt out a year from now. I do think the Braves and the Texas Rangers are two teams that are going to play on him. Interesting. I understand that the money itself and the high-profile signings and all the young talent, that's good for baseball.

It's good for the market. But doesn't it eliminate some of the teams, meaning there's only so many teams that can afford some of these top-flight free agents, which then means that you end up with fewer teams that have the stars and fewer teams that maybe have the draw for casual fans? The Cleveland Guardians had 17 rookies on their team this year. Seventeen made their debuts, and they lost to the Yankees in five games. They were one win away from getting to the American League Championship Series to play the Astros, with 17 rookies. The Houston Astros, if we go back and look at their first championship in 17, that was a young team of homegrown talent that was brought up in the system. Springer, Correa, Altuve, Bregman. Now you've got Kyle Tucker.

You were on Alvarez and Jeremy Pena. So the key to winning is develop from within and young, and then add a piece when you're ready to go over the top, like the Astros did with Verlander and before that, Garrett Cole. So if you want to win, you have to build it from within with young players. And then every team, including the small market teams, can afford to add that one expensive or two expensive players to put your team over the top.

That formula does work. Alright, so before I let you go, then we've got a bunch of short stops, which really could be a lot of fun, big moves for teams. Which one or ones would you give one of these big deals to because you know that it'll change your franchise?

Yeah, so I'll rank them for you. I've got Carlos Correa one, Trey Turner two, Xander Bogarts three, and Dansby Swanson four, in that order. And I would take any one of them and be thrilled if I had a team with a needed shortstop. I like Correa the best because a year ago he was the platinum, gold glove platinum winner for the best defensive player in the sport.

Hits for average, hits for power, brings in a winning culture. I also like his age of 27. Young enough, Trey Turner's 29. 21 homers, 27 steals.

Not as good defender as Correa, but I love the player. But remember, 30 of his hits were infield hits. I'm not sure how well that's going to age in five years. Something to keep in mind because Xander Bogarts is a little bit older.

He's 30 years old, but I absolutely love this guy. He finished with a 5.7 war. And then there's Dansby Swanson who's kind of like Derek Jeter in the fact that on the field he's always in the right place at the right time and always overachieves. Seems to get the right hit. Seems to be always able to take that extra base hit. He's also coming off a 5.7 war type of season.

All of them are going to get paid $150 million to $350 million, so they're all going to be extremely wealthy and I can't wait to find out where they land. It's going to be a fun offseason. I asked this question about football because it doesn't seem like there's an offseason anymore. What is the downtime for baseball now in its cycle?

Oh, the downtime? Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, and Valentine's Day. But it's not really Valentine's Day because every year I argue that baseball shouldn't make their players report until the day after Valentine's Day. Because it's like they should be able to love their wife and kids and girlfriends or whatever, boyfriends, whatever, fiance, whatever.

Right? But baseball seems to have them always report then so that really doesn't work. So I'll go with Christmas Day and New Year's Eve is the only two days off that baseball has in a calendar year.

At least they get those two holidays and get a chance to celebrate. It has become a year-round venture, that's for sure. You can find Jim Bowden on Twitter at JimBowdenGM, longtime Major League Baseball executive, former executive of the year. Now you can see him on CBS Sports HQ and hear him on Sirius XM. It's a great honor to have you on the show again, Jim. Thanks so much for a couple of minutes. Love your show and thanks for having me on.

I appreciate that. A great compliment from Jim. It's been a long time since we've had him on the show or since I've spoken to him in a radio capacity most time and the man never messes up.

He is smooth and cool as a cucumber. So lots of information there about Aaron Judge, about Justin Verlander, Jacob DeGrom, the shortstop crop, the star shortstop, as well as the changes coming to Major League Baseball in 2023. And you can hear he's very excited about those, specifically the pitch clock. That'll be posted on our podcast for you to enjoy again. Or if you missed any part of it, after hours, AmyLawrence.com.

On Twitter, on Facebook, we're taking the names and photos of your favorite veterans to share on this Veterans Day. And also you can vote for the after hours game of the week. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio.

You are football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team, your station, your shows. Follow your favorite stations and come back again and again. Get real time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show? Jump back to their awesome rewind feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football, live and on demand wherever you are, whenever you want. And did we mention it's all free? Download the Odyssey app today.

Football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team, your station, your shows. Follow your favorite stations and come back again and again. Get real time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show? Jump back to their awesome rewind feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football, live and on demand wherever you are, whenever you want. And did we mention it's all free? Download the Odyssey app today.

Football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team, your station, your shows. Follow your favorite stations and come back again and again. Get real time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show? Jump back to their awesome rewind feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football, live and on demand wherever you are, whenever you want. And did we mention it's all free?

Download the Odyssey app today. Apparently, there is sports radio in Dubuque, Iowa. Michael, is that where you're listening?

Yes, I heard you mentioned our city. I've never called sports talk radio. I'm a huge fan. I love that. I honest to God have never had a caller from Dubuque, Iowa in my whole life.

I'm a newbie. I found your radio show about a week and a half ago. I love it. You do? Are you hooked? Oh, big time. I'm in the Pensacola area. This is sort of like a sports wasteland.

There's no sports. This is my outlet. That's always great. We get people to call. We love it.

Amy's taking your calls at 855-212-4CBS. So walking 500 miles, walking 1,000 miles, walking 100 whatever million miles. That seems extreme, right? I'm not sure that it's anything compared to the way Baker Mayfield was greeting his teammates when they were coming off the field on Thursday Night Football after the Panthers beat the Falcons. Have you guys seen this video?

Hello. Jay, if you would like to retweet it from our show account, did you see this video? I know sometimes you're driving during the end of the game. No, I have not seen this video. Baker Mayfield doing something with his teammates?

Oh, heavens. He's out there with a ball cap on, the type that you wear, not a helmet, and he's head-butting his teammates in helmets. And he's clearly shocking some of them because the looks on their faces are ones of surprise and maybe chagrin and ow.

So I would walk 5,000 miles, 10,000 miles, 15,000 miles. I think I'd rather have that than Baker Mayfield putting himself in concussion protocol and head-butting teammates without a helmet. So I haven't seen the video, but on my way in I was listening to Westwood One coverage of the game and I heard Scott Graham say, did anyone notice Baker Mayfield head-butting his players without a helmet on?

So I have to go check that out. So the video and the still shots, there are still shots too. It's actually pretty funny because some of the still shots that they found, they are the faces of his teammates. Al Michaels even said, because they were showing it, they're about 10 seconds to go in the game. So it was over, but it wasn't officially over.

Good way to wind up in concussion protocol even though you don't get in the game. And actually there's a video if you wanted to grab it, we could use it. It's definitely on Twitter.

So that'd be kind of funny. Why is he doing that? I don't know. He's so anxious to be involved that... That he's going to make himself get injured and not be able to be available at all.

I'm watching the video right now. This is ridiculous. And because he's shorter, in some cases he has to like jump up. This would be, what's it called when you leave your feet in hockey targeting? Yeah. Yeah.

Launching. He's launching and targeting some of his teammates. I mean like one guy, he really, he got him under the chin. Oh my goodness. He gave his teammates concussions.

So the entire Panthers O-line is going to end up in concussion protocol. I don't get it. A lot of them are confused too, their reactions when he smacks the crown of his noggin into them.

Number 83. Not exactly sure who that is. He's like, what are you doing, man? He looks at him and Baker Mayfield knocks him back.

Without a helmet on. I know this is in slow motion, so their facial expressions are amplified, but oh my goodness. The one I found is not in slow motion.

Oh, okay. Well, I mean, they're going back in slow motion and showing the facial expressions, if that's what you're looking for. But yes, if you want to grab Al Michaels' reaction, it is really funny. So I don't know what Baker was doing, but I think walking 10,000 miles would be safer than head-butting teammates that are larger than you without a helmet. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. Baker's not really all the rage this week. No, it's Kirk Cousins, who at last count has done 4,322 interviews and has talked about the bling everywhere he's been. The viral videos out there, with our apologies to Baker, Kirk Cousins has got you beat when it comes to viral videos. And actually Lamar Jackson's got you all beat with his little video that involved him giving an embrace to a young boy who has a heart condition.

Oh my gosh, I still get all teary and so does the little boy. But we've got quarterbacks everywhere. Kirk Cousins' viral videos are him celebrating after a win in Washington on the team plane and he's shirtless with six, seven chains. And he's doing some awkward dancing, which his teammates absolutely adore.

There is a backstory, which he told this week on Sirius XM NFL Radio. It all started after the London game. We have an eight-hour flight home. And so everybody was going to deal with that flight the best they could by having a lot of fun. The music was blaring and guys were going to have a good time.

And so I boarded the flasm and the last guys to get on the flight. And they were saying, you know, put Christian Derrissaw's chain on and put on your sunglasses and let's have fun. So we were and then you win the next away game and then it turns into everybody's giving me their chain. So then we win the next away game and it's like, how do you top this? And it's even more change.

And then Derriss is handing me his watch and his bracelets and they're like, take your shirt off. So I guess I'm just giving into peer pressure at this point and doing whatever my teammates tell me. But the key is that if we keep winning, this is only going to escalate and I don't really know where it ends. So you'll have to stay tuned.

But I'm a little nervous for where this is going to go. Kirk Cousins is a goof and I love it. I love that he's not too proud or too stodgy or too anything to make his teammates laugh. And he doesn't mind if they're laughing at him at all.

It's fantastic. Who was it that was telling us this is why they love him? Because I can't remember. It was one of his teammates on our last show. That's right. Dalvin Cook, who said it's just it's Kirk. This is how he is. He doesn't take himself too seriously. He's willing to goof off and dance and put on the chains and go shirtless and let his teammates take videos. And it's own Dalvin was actually teasing him about his dancing style, which you see the videos is uniquely Kirk.

And yet it's fantastic. Sometimes you need someone like that on a team or on an eight hour plane ride that will keep you all entertained. I saw a post on our Facebook page in response to the after hours game of the week, and we're asking you which one would you go with right now? Bill's hosting the Vikings, a very large margin out of the gate.

So overwhelmingly, this is the game you're picking, even though we don't know about Josh Allen's status. One guy wrote on our Facebook page, are the Vikings for real? Are you kidding me? They're seven and one. They got a better record than the Bills. So why?

I don't understand that question. Stop asking if teams are for real when they're seven and one and have a four game lead in their division. Yes, they're for real.

Start asking why in Kevin O'Connell's first season. They are so for real. On Twitter, a law radio. We've got polls. We've got a Veterans Day post. We'd love to share your photos and the names of your favorite veterans as we head into Friday, November 11th.

Also on Facebook, you are listening to the After Hours podcast. Throughout the 60s and 70s, cops hunted down key figures of the Dixie Mafia, including its enigmatic ringleader, Kirksey Nix. I'm interested in making money.

I'm not interested in hurting people. Fifteen years into Kirksey's life sentence, the Dixie Mafia was practically folklore, but that would soon change. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South, a documentary podcast from C-13 Originals, a Cadence 13 studio. Season two, The Dixie Mafia, available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts.

We'll be right back. Football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team, your station, your shows. Follow your favorite stations and come back again and again. Get real time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show? Jump back to their awesome rewind feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football. Live and on demand, wherever you are, whenever you want.

And did we mention it's all free? Download the Odyssey app today. The cannons. Fire the cannons.

Fire them again. Homer in the backfield. Geno's going to throw to the end zone. Touchdown Seahawks. Tyler Lockett right in front of Buddha Baker just ran into the end zone, turned around and said, Hey baby, throw me the ball. He did. Seahawks go on top 16-14.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Ooh, dueling game winning touchdowns or go ahead touchdowns. A little more dramatic for the Buccaneers.

Gene Deckerhoff. Fire the cannons. Fire them again.

No, fire them again, I said. Nine seconds to go. Cade Otten with that game winner, the rookie tight end. His very first NFL TD comes from Tom Brady in crunch time. And then the Seahawks, the opponent in Munich, Germany.

Excuse me. They have got this incredible wave of energy and excitement and four games in a row they've won now. The only team above 500 in the NFC West. They have a chance to move to a five game win streak.

Get a seven and three mark after Germany. I mean, this is one of the most astounding pieces of the first half. It's incredible.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. The trip to Germany alone is exciting for a bunch of guys who've never done it before. And something that you may not think about, but some of these guys are in their 20s and maybe have never been overseas. Some cases, this might be a little rare, when they first get to the NFL, they've never been on a plane before. And then they take road trips and they think that's how you fly all the time. Charters with entire rows to yourself and amazing food and all the drink you could possibly ask for.

Nope, it's not like that for the rest of us. But they did take a transcontinental flight and not just to London, but to Munich, Germany. Pete Carroll, Geno Smith, Quandre Diggs. Kind of fun to take their show on the road. Well, we made it across the pond. We did it.

Across the pond. This is like the longest day ever. However, everything's worked out great. And our guys and our organization is really, really honored to be here. It's a thrill to be here and to know also that we're being received so well that the German people really want to see this game. And they're excited about it and all the buildup for it and all that.

We really feel like it's an honor to have a chance to play this first game at the Alliance Field as well. So we used to go to the Rose Bowl year after year and they say, oh, you guys don't want to go to the Rose Bowl. It's no fun. You don't care.

You'd like to do something else. Nah, these events are awesome. And it's like a bowl game in the middle of the season. And so we're going to make the most of it and we're going to have a good time.

We're ready to play football come Sunday and hopefully keep things going on our end. I just remember watching some tape, fell asleep, woke up, we were here. That is so not fair. How is it that Geno can sleep on a plane and not just sleep on a plane, but be so out that he has no memory of a transcontinental flight across the pond?

That is just wrong. I'm telling you what, if I could have any superpower at all, it would be the ability to sleep on planes. And it's even worse when I fly with someone who can sleep on planes, then somehow I managed to accidentally throw an elbow, kick an ankle.

You'll wake him up? Yep. Oh, man. Luckily, we're flying together in a few months.

Oops. Wait, are you a sleeper? I can. I wouldn't say I'm a plane sleeper, but I've been able to knock out for like, depending how long the flight is. Then you better change your seat assignment. You won't let me sleep?

Negative, Ghost Rider. What if I put an eye patch on? Not eye patch, what are those things called?

Eye patch, yes! It's not about the brightness, it's about the noise and it's about the fact that people are moving around and blah, blah, blah. Plus, it's uncomfortable. When was the last time you were comfortable in a plane seat? Very uncomfortable. If I can sleep, it's for like an hour or so. I wake up, my neck hurts. See, you don't want to sleep anyway.

Yeah, but sometimes it's like the best option. You know, do you want to just sit there or like, alright, let me just try to sleep at least for an hour. Yeah, it easily could put you in the back of the plane where you don't know anyone. It'll be fine. I'll sit with someone else. Well, if there's like a row there that was empty, I'd go lay down. Yeah, I don't think that's going to be the case on the way to Phoenix for the Super Bowl. Yeah, I'm not thinking that's going to be an option. That's producer Jay.

He better not be sleeping on the plane. That's it. It's a cause. It's grounds for firing.

It's a deal breaker. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Quandre Diggs, also part of the Seahawks contingent. And he's excited too, like Pete Carroll, because Pete's contagious. It's awesome. I mean, you know, we just try to have as much fun as we can with it. So that's what we've been doing. And that's what we'll continue to do this whole week. This is going to be fun for them, I think for us too.

Though I get very nervous when it's too much fun. Because if the NFL tries to move a Super Bowl overseas, that's when we're going to come to blows. For reals. Byron Leftwich heard what Tom Brady had to say about effort, about input, about giving it your all and leaving it on the field. And while Todd Bowles may not agree that effort is an issue, he's got Byron in his corner. It hasn't been every down. We've had downs where we can be better from an effort standpoint.

It's been addressed. And I think we can get better. And that's what I mean about what we can fix. I think we can fix all the things that's been in our way throughout the year. Obviously, it's been a tough beginning of the year. A lot of things has been going on. So as I think we're beginning to settle down, we're getting more into football mode, more aware of what we need to do.

What did Brady say on his Let's Go podcast? He said it's discouraging. Doubt creeps in because you work and you work and you work and what you work on doesn't pan out on the field. But this type of an ending, like what they had last week, it can change everything.

It can be a springboard. It can be the turning point. And we talked about that with Trent Green. If you need a week 10 primer, that's on our podcast.

After Hours, AmyLawrence.com. K. Daughton, he wants to be part of more come from behind wins like that one. I think the vibe in here is really good. The guys are really excited to get to work again and go get another one. There's no satisfaction with just one win here. We want to keep it going. Finally get rid of that dark cloud that's been hovering over us. So now we got something to build from and just continue growing as a team.

K. Daughton, Jamel Dean, the Bucks have turned a corner. It's intoxicating, those types of wins. Just winning in general. You won't get anybody except for maybe an ill-informed rookie to say that, hey, this winning thing is kind of easy in the NFL.

No. Even really good teams. You have to guard. You have to be careful.

You have to take care of the details. You can't let your guard down or you won't win either. We've seen that so many times already in the NFL. In fact, the Bucks fell victim themselves to the Panthers, right? The Panthers are apparently NFC South killers. But it's heady to get these wins. And the winning, that vibe, that's contagious.

And that's where the Bucks want to stay. Even in Munich, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. And did we mention it's all free? Download the Odyssey app today. Football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team. Your station. Your shows. Follow your favorite stations and come back again and again. Get real-time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show? Jump back to their awesome rewind feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football. Live and on demand, wherever you are, whenever you want.

And did we mention it's all free? Download the Odyssey app today. Football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team. Your station. Your shows. Follow your favorite stations and come back again and again. Get real-time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show? Jump back to their awesome rewind feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football. Live and on demand, wherever you are, whenever you want. And did we mention it's all free? Download the Odyssey app today.