After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. Hey, hey, hope you survived your home day. This is my final night of the week, but not mailing it in. Got a lot to do in these next three hours, including a look ahead to week 15 in the NFL season. Generally, we do most of that on our Thursday night into Friday morning, a football Friday show. Well, we're jumping the gun a little bit, though week 15 kicks off on Thursday evening, so we're mere hours away from week 15. You guys, there are only four weeks left in the NFL regular season.

Oh, it is coming so, so fast. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. We're live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios. Whether you're looking to purchase a new home or refinance yours, Rocket Mortgage can help you get there.

For home loan solutions that fit your life, Rocket can. Find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, our Facebook page too, After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We do a lot of interacting there. We've got a lot of Christmas goodies and holiday goodies. We've got your opportunity to spy the Christmas mason jar and guess the number of M&Ms to win some After Hours swag.

You need the latest After Hours swag. You do. Take it from The Voice God. In addition, we always post the link to our interviews. Now, you can get the entire podcast, After Hours, AmyLawrence.com, at your leisure.

Many of you do. However, the interviews, our guests, we only do four to five a week. We just really take these guests very seriously. We want them to enjoy the experience and to return. And we also know that many of you enjoy going back and listening to our interviews as well.

Now, sometimes we stumble upon a guest that we determine is a friend and someone that we want on the show as much as possible. And that is Jesse Bradley, former pro goalie. He played internationally, is now based in Seattle. He is diversified. The man is a social media maverick and also has been a great World Cup analyst for us here on After Hours. We're pleased to welcome him back to the show one more time with the final set. Jesse, we've got Argentina and France. We will definitely talk about it.

It was a run for the United States that captivated a lot of attention. We've had fun talking about the US at this point, though, with just one match left. What are your impressions of what we've seen to this point in Qatar? You know, I think it's been an amazing World Cup. I'm glad people are listening and interested in the conversation in soccer and just talking about life, because, again, I think sports teach us about life and there's so many things to watch, learn, pick up on. And this has been an incredible World Cup. I know there's been some different controversies off the field, but for the Americans to make it to the 16, that was a huge accomplishment. And then our midfield played so well.

And, you know, if we mark up a little better on defense, we would have pushed through. And it was a phenomenal showing for the US. I think it's very encouraging.

We took a huge step forward and a lot of very talented players who are in their teenage years who are also playing in the top clubs in Europe. So the future is bright for America. I'm counting down three and a half years until it comes to the US. And it's right here in Seattle for one of the sites.

I'm looking for tickets already. And then, you know, when you think about some of the showings that were surprising, we have, for the first time ever, an African team made it to the Final Four. I love that. I played professionally in Zimbabwe and I'm cheering on Africa. Morocco was outstanding and they inspired everyone. Then we also had teams in Asia that showed up so strong. Japan knocked off some giants. Korea knocked off Portugal.

They were strong. Even Australia made the Final Sixteen. I mean, there were a lot of teams that weren't expected to do that well.

And I think that caught people's attention and interest and all that makes, you know, for an exciting World Cup. But we come down, like you said, we come down to France and Argentina, probably the best two teams. You know, Italy didn't even make it to the World Cup with a shocking second time in a row. And then you've got Brazil, who are probably the most talented in terms of attacking soccer, but they didn't have that sense of urgency.

And if you can't hold the shape in the defense, you're not going to win championships. I think Croatia beating Brazil, that was a favor for Argentina. Because as you think about Argentina, and they were my pick at the start of the tournament, you know, right now, Argentina against Brazil, a lot of people would take Brazil, but they're not here. So Argentina has a pathway right now that they could take it all. Well, we'll talk about what it means to get to a World Cup Final for the two nations that are still standing.

But I want to talk a little more about the Americans. We knew this was the youngest team we had ever fielded at a World Cup. How do you believe youth was served in this tournament, a positive or a negative, Jesse? A huge positive is that they played fearless. You know, a lot of teams probably anticipated the U.S. to be more cautious, a little more defensive shell, maybe try to counterattack.

That's not what they did. We have midfielders who can run, who have skill, who put pressure. Our midfielders made England nervous. I think when the Netherlands were preparing for us, they retreated somewhat.

And, you know, with everything, you have a strength and the flip side of that can be a weakness. And I think because we were gaining confidence in midfield, we didn't really keep our shape well in the back and we left ourselves vulnerable. And because of that, I think the savvy of the Netherlands showed up. And when you have a coach that's a little newer and players that are newer, sometimes you just don't, you know, make the key decisions at the key moments. And soccer is a game where it comes down to just a couple plays. And if you kind of fall asleep tracking guys back on defense, that's the difference between winning and losing. So I think the Dutch, you know, they use their experience well.

They beat us in that regard. I mean, some of our players that are very talented, Reina, you know, didn't really show up much on the field. So trying to keep the young guys, you know, solid, focused.

Sometimes when you're young, you just assume you're going to be back here three or four times because you have a long career ahead of you. But you really need to play like it's your last one because there's no guarantee that you're going to be healthy, that you'll make the team, that the team will be back. And I think, you know, if we had a good balance, especially our defense had some older guys and the goalkeeper was great too, Matt Turner. I just think we there's no replacement for experience and you can't simulate playing in the World Cup. And I think we just lost our shape enough on defense, got exposed. But overall, you know, the interest in America for soccer just keeps growing. There's momentum, the MLS, you know, making it to the 16 this time, hosting it next time. Like overall, the positives outweigh the negatives and the setbacks, for sure. Since the team has returned stateside, we've heard from Greg Berhalter that there was an internal issue with Gio Reina.

So son of Claudio, a lot of people remember him as a first generation U.S. World Cup-er. Gio responded on his social media and said, hey, I was hoping this would stay in house. Did appreciate the accountability of the team. What's your reaction to how that was handled by Berhalter?

You know, it's a tricky situation. Any time people make some bad decisions, it puts a lot of pressure on the leadership. And you could tell they were managing, they were navigating, they were getting a lot of questions.

How come he doesn't have more playing time? And really, it was held secretive during the World Cup. So kudos that it didn't leak, that, you know, that didn't get more attention and more distraction. And, you know, for Reina, being able to apologize to the team, that's a significant step. There's a lot of superstars that wouldn't do that. They wouldn't humble themselves.

They've got too big of an ego. And we need more apologies. We need it in marriage. We need it in friendships. We need it in coworkers.

Like, we need to be able to apologize, forgive each other, and stick together. So I think the team managed it fairly well. I think for, you know, Reina, the disappointing part later on was that it did leak. And I don't think Berhalter was trying to draw attention to him. I think he did acknowledge that, you know, yes, there was a problem off the field, and it did put some tension on the team. You know, he probably shouldn't have said that, looking back, because then they start putting one and one together, and it looks like two. And then pretty soon, it gets revealed.

And you just can't keep stuff quiet. So it'll be interesting. One of the biggest decisions the U.S. needs to make is, do they keep Berhalter for the next World Cup or not? I think they'll keep him a little bit longer, because he clearly made progress. The team is better than when he took over. You can't say that about all leaders of the Americans over the years with men's soccer. But clearly, there's been improvement. The question is, how far can he take them?

And some people think he got a little bit outfoxed in the round of 16. He could have had a different approach, and we could have had more success. You know, what's going to happen next four years?

What's his ceiling? And that's something that they're going to have to assess carefully. They could bring in a top coach. You mean an international coach? Yeah, an international coach, and someone who already coaches at the highest level. You know, week in, week out, and already works with that level of talent, and has already faced some of the tactical challenges. And so it'll be interesting. There's some big names right now.

There's going to be a lot of interest, I think, amongst coaches. But, you know, again, Berhalter played. He got to the Final 16 as a player, and then he led them to the Final 16 as a coach. I mean, he's made a phenomenal contribution, and he had great leadership. He really kept the team together. I think his choice of the captain, you know, a 23-year-old captain, Tyler Adams, that worked out really well. He made a lot of good decisions.

And even in terms of who he chose to play, overall, it was a strong world cup for him. But I'll tell you, if trust breaks down, any relationship, any team, any culture, any setting, the core relationship is trust. And when trust breaks down, and right now that's going to be a point moving forward for the coach, the player, and then some of the other players wondering, like, okay, are we really keeping this in-house or not? But a good coach and a good leader will rebound from that, and we'll pull them together.

So he's going to be tested because how much can the team improve, and then how much can he keep that team united together? But the talent's going to be there, and the players are going to have so much more experience four years from now that I think they're going to show up differently in the key games. And this will be a great learning experience. You know, for a lot of us, we need a taste at one level to be able to go back and then move to the next level.

And they got their taste this time, and I think that will suit them well. We're so excited to spend a few more minutes with Jesse Bradley during this World Cup. He's a former international goalkeeper himself at the professional level and author and speaker and pastor and now analyst for After Hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. And for our radio audience who can't see us, we're actually recording this on video to share a little bit later on our platform.

So it's good to connect with Jesse again. What's the difference, what's the separation between the United States at this point and the elite teams in the world? I would say the very best teams have a combination of skill and decision-making, and they can move at a pace and with excellence that just sets them apart. Also, the best teams usually have an unbelievable goal scorer and then also a great goalkeeper. And the U.S. has had great goalkeepers, but right now there hasn't been that phenomenal goal scorer. And soccer's a low-scoring game.

You need someone to move through that. I'll also say this. The best teams have an incredible culture and a great system that everyone's bought in.

And there's still these kind of X factors. Like I saw the Argentinian team brought hundreds of pounds of their favorite meat and then some spices, just so they felt at home, you know. And the French players are saying, we just love our coach. Sounds like my kind of team. You know, you got to have that with you, right, if you're going to win.

You'll wait from home for a long time and you just need that taste of home. And then the French are saying, you know, their coach just calms them down. And it worked last World Cup. They're trying to be the first team to repeat since like the 1960s in Brazil. What happens off the field, especially when the tournament's this long, I mean, it's one thing, like in the Super Bowl, you fly in, you play one game.

But this is, you're overseas for over a month and you really have to have the right combination off the field, too. You know, lastly, I would say the number of players that have weekly experience at the very highest levels in the world. That's a huge factor. And because they play week in, week out at that level, they've just seen it. They know it. They know how to respond to the pressure, the crowds, the opponents, the tactics. Like it doesn't get in their head.

They're not rattled. That's huge. And the U.S. is getting there. They made the knockout stage, which was, I think, the expected goal and played really well, except for that initial game against Wales and actually probably just the last, what, 10 minutes against Wales. Really thinking ahead to the next World Cup, which is on North American soil, cannot wait.

We're talking about the United States, but also Canada and Mexico. You understand what soccer means because you've played it in other countries where it's the lifeblood. But what do you anticipate in terms of spirit and excitement when it lands here in the United States? It's such a gift to host the World Cup because it's not only that month, it's the three years building up to it. I got something in the mail. Now, I work with the Seattle Sounders faith and family night, but I got something in mail this week.

Seattle World Cup. You know, I was hoping it might be tickets. It was like Charlie Chocolate Factory. And I got the golden ticket, but it was not free tickets to the World Cup. It was just a postcard to let me know it's only three and a half years to go. It's only three and a half years. Only three and a half. Let's start counting it down.

Almost under a thousand days. No, not quite yet. And then, you know, it's like my kids are catching that buzz. Four kids who play soccer and they're looking forward. They're starting to talk. They're starting to dream. Hey, how old would I be?

Do you think I could play in their next World Cup? You know, the dream start. But that happens for a generation where all of a sudden the World Cup's coming.

Oh, we got three and a half years. And they watch it. They want to be a part of it. And what that does to infuse excitement for coaches, players. It just takes everyone's game up to the next level. And you can't simulate that too, you know, for hosting a World Cup. And that buzz that's going to happen.

So, you know, people watching this World Cup. And, you know, you mentioned I'm a pastor. Sunday morning, it's at seven o'clock. And we were joking. Like, could we just like, I don't know, put it on the big screen for a while and then move services back.

Or like, how do we adjust so we can watch this stuff? We're having fun with it. It is Sunday morning. But, you know, it's going to be incredible. I watched this clip where people are in Argentina already are serenading Messi's grandmother's house.

They are outside just singing and joy. And it's like the passion in those two. You know, even one of my kids was, you know, saying, dad, they were watching the game at school.

And, you know, this is a semifinals. And so we all went over and watched. It was during school.

And in some countries, they just cancel school so you can watch. That's the buzz. That's the excitement. The ownership that has to happen in anything you do. You've got to have that ownership. And, you know, when you do have that ownership and you have that passion and you believe in what you're doing. And it's caught your attention, your affection. All right.

Now you're in. And that's so different. And that's happening in America much more for soccer. And at least we don't have to deal with the stress of qualifying, though I'm sure they would qualify. But I'm glad that process is a little less stressful.

We're not advocating skipping school, of course. Jesse Bradley is with us from Seattle. It's great to have him one more time here on After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Messi is in his mid-30s. For him to get to his first World Cup final, there were times, I remember, he's very emotional. He was going to quit the national team. He was done. He was frustrated.

He didn't want to be there anymore. And yet he is the standard. He's got everything but the golden ball, the golden boot. So what does it mean, do you think, for him and for his nation to finally get to that level? That's it.

That's it. You described it so well. And I love how you just run with soccer.

Not all sports hosts do. You know your stuff. Thank you. For Messi right now, he said this is my final World Cup.

So this is the last dance right here. It means everything. When you talk about names like from Brazil, Pele. When you talk about Maradona, from Argentina. His name's going to be right there next to him.

Mount Rushmore would be our geographical illustration metaphor here. But it's going to put him in that place and it takes 11 to win in soccer. It really is a team.

One guy can't do it himself. But this is a breakthrough for Messi. And here's a key piece in life. It's how you finish.

Because we all go through some ups and downs. And right now, coming in this tournament, it was Messi and Ronaldo. And unfortunately, you know, Ronaldo's had some trouble with his club a little bit with his team.

He wasn't even starting. And so that's going to taint an unbelievably successful career. Taint it in a sense that, you know, people are going to remember how his career ended with Portugal with his club right now.

Whereas Messi is ascending. And I think it's a reminder. You know, some people, once they hit 60, start to fade and just cruise control. And it's like, no, finish strong, finish strong. I take note, like in the Bible, there's a lot of people who don't finish strong.

But they were strong up to that point. And it's like, you can just become complacent, sleepy. Or you can get discouraged along the journey. But you see the prize. You just keep going. And not all the days are going to be great.

Not all the seasons are going to be great. One of our kids right now, we have four kids playing soccer. One of the kids in our family, their record is like 0-23. I mean, that's just tough on anybody, you know. And you can see the toll that takes. So when you want a prize or you're not winning as much as you think or you haven't won the big prize, that's a temptation.

Just to quit and give up. But on those hardest days, you have someone who comes alongside you and encourages you, speaks a word of life, builds you up. You know, in a tough practice, they pick you up. That's why captains are so great.

That's what the great coaches know how to do. See, soccer, it's physical. It's also intellectual because there's a lot of soccer intelligence during the game. And then there's the emotional part and the relational part.

And it all comes together. And I'll tell you right now, managing, because when you want something so bad, and Messi does, going in to see Mbappe, he could win a second, but he's only going to be 23. Pele won two at 22, but Mbappe, he's going to be chilling because he doesn't win this one.

He's still got all these years. Messi is going to feel some pressure on this one. And how do you manage? This is what the champions have to do. How do you manage the excitement? You're going to have a sense of urgency, but how do you calm down enough?

And every player is a little different. You know, the hard times test you, but the biggest stages test you. And what's your response?

What's your emotional response? And can you bring excellence when you feel all the pressure? And we're going to see that with Messi. The whole world's going to see this with Messi.

I mean, there's going to be billions of people watching him. For me, early on in life, I was just put too much pressure on myself as a goalie. And I wouldn't play as well, but I had to learn how to manage that.

And for me, even prayer was part of that. I mean, there's all kinds of things for some people with certain pregame meal, you know, but you're trying to manage that stress. And that's going to be a key in between Messi's ears.

The game might be one right there. And I'd also say whichever team scores first is going to be a huge advantage because Argentina set up that if they get a goal, there's going to be very tough to penetrate their defense and they're going to be dangerous in the counterattack. If they score first, I don't see France coming back from that. So that first goal is significant.

Start out quickly. That's what you saw today with France. They beat Morocco and they got that early goal. First 10 minutes, 31 zero ahead.

That just takes all the pressure off and the other team can't sit in that defensive shell. So first goal is going to be huge. And the mental battle for Messi, it's going to be probably more formidable than anyone else out there. And, you know, other players like France already won one. They have an incredible goal scorer, Giroux, up front and he is finishing his career. He's a phenomenal player.

Savvy. And France has a lot of weapons coming forward. So that first goal is going to be key. A little bit of insight on what's to come in the World Cup final.

Argentina searching for its first with Messi and then France looking for the double-double in back-to-back World Cups. You mentioned the Mount Rushmore, though. I want to ask you, is there an American that should be on the face of the mountain or close? And also, I want to know your reflections when it comes to Grant Wall.

Great loss in Qatar for the United States. So hang on, Jesse Bradley. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Is there something really absurd that skeeves you out? Getting a paper cut on my eyeball. A fear you can't shake? I'm going to leak ocular fluid down my cheeks.

It's going to go into my mouth and I will perish. Whatever scares you, I want to talk about it. Join me, Larry Mullins, on my new podcast, Your Weirdest Fears.

Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from. 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 2, The Dixie Mafia.

Available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Is there something really absurd that skeeves you out? I'm getting a paper cut on my eyeball. A fear you can't shake? I'm going to leak ocular fluid down my cheeks.

It's going to go into my mouth and I will perish. Whatever scares you, I want to talk about it. Join me, Larry Mullins, on my new podcast, Your Weirdest Fears.

Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from. We need a good recovery to prepare another battle, the last battle, and we will need all our strength, all our energy to face an amazing team. Very competitive and with one of the legends of our sport, Lionel Messi.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. He definitely is a legend of the sport. Lionel Messi into his first World Cup final. He has been frustrated in the past. He's threatened to quit.

He's an emotional guy. He's also one of the best we've ever seen on this stage and has the chance to solidify his legend as an icon, really, for a global sport. Jesse Bradley said he belongs on the Mount Rushmore. The former pro goalkeeper is with us for a couple more minutes from Seattle. You say Mount Rushmore, Jesse.

I want to know, is there an American that you think could be on the mountain or at least standing at the base of the mountain looking up? Right on. Yes. You know, Clint Dempsey is an outstanding scorer. Landon Donovan is another name that a lot of people are going to know.

I would say that in this current team, there are some players that could exceed that, and we don't know who they are. You know, usually the goal scorers get... It's like the quarterbacks, yes.

Yeah, you got it. Who's going to score the touchdown? The specialty players.

I mean, they're going to get the attention. So it's usually a goal scorer. Goalkeepers are huge in terms of final result, but they might not get quite as much attention. So it's probably an attacking player. I don't think that player's emerged yet, but I think the potential is on this team right now. And if some of these guys keep working and playing in their clubs, I think we could get there. I mean, we've been talking about Reyna, and he's got the potential to be that.

There was a lot of people going to this World Cup that says he's our most talented player, and they thought he was going to shine. So, you know, I could see, especially with a few bumps at the end of this one, sometimes... You know, I remember Andrew Luck said, you know, once he gets pounded by an opponent in a football game in that first really hard tackle, it's like he's focused the rest of the game. And sometimes you almost need a little bit of a challenge or setback or... Adversity!

You got it! And that's just going to fuel him. So if I was pulling for somebody, it would be him for the next one. But we've got some outstanding talent right now. I know this World Cup will always feel a little bit different to me because of the loss of Grant Wall, who's the longtime soccer insider. But really, more than anything, when I think about him, I think how he was synonymous with the sport in the United States. He's certainly a great loss for the soccer community. I'm sad for him. I know he was doing what he loved. But man, what a loss for soccer overall in our country. That's right.

What a tragedy. And he's one of those people that moved the sport forward. He's incredibly knowledgeable.

He was an Ivy League grad and from Princeton. And, you know, when you listen to soccer commentators, the English, the insights they have and the pace and the words they use, they're set apart. I mean, they're the best commentators. Of course, some of the Hispanic commentators bring the excitement. They celebrate the goals and they also have great insights.

But the American commentators have been a little behind some of those who are overseas or from other countries and were catching up. And when I think of Grant Wall, I think of catching up because the insights he brought to the game and the passion he had and how he explained it and made it, you know, accessible and understandable for so many people and then raise their intelligence. I mean, he just served the soccer community. He served the nation. And when anyone is that dedicated and excellent in their craft, they leave a tremendous legacy.

And there's going to be a lot of people I think were inspired by him and will their careers are going to move forward because they want to bring what he brought. And it also reminds us of the fragility of life. It reminds us, you know, the human stories that surround this World Cup. You have like the treatment of women in the Middle East that was relevant there. You've got some of the workers that died and the conditions there, trying to build the stadiums.

When you had the war in Ukraine, Russia wasn't at the World Cup because of that. I mean, Grant's story, there's a lot of heartbreaking stories and it's always bigger off the field, you know, than on the field. We enjoy the sport. But like Grant's life, his family right now, you know, keep them in your prayers. You know, we had a campaign and we've done some digital campaigns recently. It was just a campaign of hope. The content spread more than it's ever spread.

And we had so many people going through the content and even like interested spiritually in God in this content. And the world right now is in a unique spot. People are looking for hope right now. And I think soccer players can bring hope with their platform and the words they say.

I think someone like Grant brings a lot of hope. And I think we all can do our part in our communities locally and globally to look out for one another, do our jobs well, serve people well. Like you say, be faithful to the end.

Don't check out early. And, you know, that's something that we all need to step up together during these days. And there is a hope that's available to everybody. Oh, yes, a message of hope. That was what I determined my radio show would be during the course of the pandemic. And that's how you connect with people, to be sure, because we all need that need to remember why it's so important.

Jesse Bradley, former international goalkeeper, professional goalkeeper. We've been so excited about your insight and, of course, connecting with you. We've enjoyed these conversations. Remind people how they can connect with you.

Thank you so much. I love to hear from people and I have heard from a lot. I love being on CBS Sports. Your show is outstanding. You have a lot of people that really follow your show closely, too.

And, you know, all those encouragements continue to send them to Amy because they mean a lot. It's not easy to be a host. It's not easy to cover sports.

It's not easy to handle. You always get a lot of negative comments and just people just need to vent and stuff. So keep those coming. We love to hear from you. For reaching out, jessebradley.org. Also, revivinghope.com. We have two websites now.

And then social media is Jesse J. Bradley. So let's talk soccer. Let's talk life. We can talk Seahawks, too. Whatever you want. We're good.

So let's do it. Awesome. Great to have you on the show again, Jesse. Thank you. Thanks so much, Amy.

Had a great time. We're already trying to figure out how we can have Jesse back. Yes, maybe we'll have to make him our unofficial Seahawks analyst as well. But so cool to be able to welcome him for four different interviews over the course of this World Cup.

We kind of connected with him, I wouldn't say randomly, but connected with him through another friend of mine in the business. And now he's one of our favorites. So Messi going for his first World Cup championship, World Cup title, I guess we call it championship title, gold ball trophy. I don't know about gold ball. Yeah.

I mean, I don't think it matters. Championship title. Well, first first time winning the whole darn thing.

And then France, of course, trying to do it to World Cups in a row. And that's coming up this weekend. Marco Belletti is here in studio. I made him a promise. No, he's not allowed to eat any of the M&M's.

However, I told him that because it's the taste test day here at CBS Sports Radio that he would get first dibs. So I opened up the Tupperware. Oh, just the smell. Oh, my gosh.

Just the smell makes me want to house all of these treats. That was beautiful. We have. Are you ready?

And Jay has been a taste testing for me over the course of the week, too. We have your classic snowballs, which are tremendous. Yes. Both of our grandmothers used to make these. Not mine. Your wife's grandmother. Your wife's grandmother. I mean, she's your grandmother, too. Yeah. Yeah.

She really was. Snowballs are the dough that are rolled in powdered sugar. Just so much butter in them.

I was going to say. They just made me so happy. They're my favorite Christmas cookie.

I also made Jay's favorite. He requested these. They're called island cookies. So they are chocolate, coconut and walnut, essentially a chocolate chip cookie, but with the coconut, the walnut.

So a little taste of of the islands. I also made oatmeal caramel chewy bars, which is a favorite of my family. So I had to have some of those. Those are they're chock full of.

Yes. Caramel oatmeal, but also chocolate chips and walnuts. I'm a big I'm a big fan of of making like thick, dense treats. And then finally, I tried a new recipe.

Never done this before. Mocha cinnamon blondies. Now, I would say they're probably best with heated up a little bit with ice cream on top. Jay actually tried them with vanilla ice cream, made my entire kitchen smell like cinnamon rolls. Or you can eat some reindeer chow, which is kind of a sweet and a salty. It's pretzels, Chex Mix, M&M's and sprinkles all tossed in white chocolate. Oh, wow. Yeah.

What would you like to try? Oh, my gosh. I need to stop smelling this.

I think I may have to wait till after the update, but I think I need one of those snowballs. You're not going to talk with your mouth full? I don't know if I can do that, especially because I don't have water in the room. If I had water in the room, I'd be all right.

But wouldn't shock me if, you know, I don't think we want to just. The listening you love is on the free Odyssey app. Your trusted local radio stations, coverage of your favorite teams, live news from your hometown and millions of podcasts on demand. Best of all, you can completely customize your listening experience. Follow topics you care about, like leagues and teams. Pause or rewind your local sports and news and add shows to your queue to catch up later. There's a lot to listen to.

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Available now on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. What makes your skin crawl? No matter how absurd.

I want to know. Tails without fur on them, such as rats or possums. I'm Larry Mullins, the host of a new podcast called Your Weirdest Fears. You send me your fear. I'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop. And then I go to the experts to learn how to overcome them.

Listen and subscribe to Your Weirdest Fears on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your find. 10 years of working together. Is this the same hat or have you actually changed Yankees hats?

No many yeah there's probably in 10 years uh well many for me 10 years probably the four. Okay because Jay doesn't change them very often. I changed this is the new net one from when we started it just looks the same actually similar to the Yankee hat. Yeah I get the same hat over and over uh I sometimes but rare I'll just get another one you know I don't once it gets to the point where like all right that's then yeah you move on to another one and that's it.

But I get the same one over and over I get the same hat constantly. Gotcha all right well it's I wouldn't even know what to do if I saw you without it. One time I think you did a tv spot in the afternoon here on CBS sports radio and you were without it and I almost didn't recognize you. Yeah I've done a few when I when you do the um now not so much I don't know if it would matter anymore uh when Marc Chernoff was here Marc was uh real big on uh.

He hired us. When I had to do the when I had to do the tv hit he was real big on don't wear the hat. Well I agree. I had no problem with it I didn't mind. Right.

But that was pretty much the only thing that Marc would ever really say to me. Kind of professional one of those unwritten rules about you don't wear a hat at a table you don't do you eat with your hat on at home? At home? Yeah.

No. Jay do you eat with your hat on? No I get home I take my hat right off. That's the first thing I do.

Great so I'm the one who gets to see you too. Well if I'm out I have it on so if I'm at someone else's house then yeah I'm probably eating with the hat on my head yeah I'm I'm keeping it but when I go home the first thing I do is take everything out of my pockets and put it in my hat and put it on the counter. So now I know where my keys are I know my wallet is I know where everything is. In your hat? Yeah that's what it's there for.

Absolutely put it right upside down put everything in there ready to rock. Now I will never lose my keys now I'm not looking around the house where are my keys where's my wall I know where exactly where everything is. Phone wallet keys hat let's go. Yep.

Men are definitely from a different planet than me but okay. Hey at least I know where my stuff is my wife constantly all I hear is where's my phone I wear my keys I don't know where your stuff is. Yes well I'm not going to put it in my hat but okay. All right I hope that you know where it is. I hope that you like the baked goods feel free to sample it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. It's a touchdown Tuesday on After Hours firing for the end zone come on touchdown touchdown takes it himself to the pylon touchdown one man to beat ten he's gone they throw in the end zone a touchdown to cast your vote for the td of the week head to at after hours cbs on twitter or give us a call at eight five five two one two four two two seven the detroit lions second down and five lions from the viking 41 golf play action fake time in the pocket looks looks throws deep down field got a man wide open inside the fire caught end zone touchdown detroit lions jameson williams welcome to detroit young man how about that 41 yards that's the 12th overall pit in the 2022 NFL draft the cincinnati bangles first and ten at the cleveland 45 yard line burrow catches a high snap now it's a flea flicker god's gonna throw it he's got a man open over the shoulder catch trenton irwin at the six touchdown bangles the flea flicker executed to perfection as burrow gave it to mixin he flipped it back to joe and joey franchise launched it perfectly down the middle of the field for the touchdown strike to trenton irwin the san francisco 49ers kettle motions to the right of purty in the backfield i uke slotted inside of mccaffrey left jennings and ray ray are right purty gonna throw for the end zone for mccaffrey makes the catch for a touchdown what an adjustment there by christian mccaffrey the buffalo bills first down bills have it at the jets 24 yard line josh lines up shotgun now the snap allen looks looks fires it downfield cut by dawson knocks at the eight dives into the end zone he is in touchdown touchdown buffalo dawson knox was wide open and he sailed over a defender to get into the end zone a 24 yard touchdown strike those were your candidates for td of the week the poll actually won an extra day longer than typical we thought you might need a little more time to decide and as it turns out it was a very tight race dan miller on lions radio dan horton dave lapham on bangles radio tim ryan along with greg papa on niners radio and then john murphy on bill's radio are we playing the winner again jay or am i just telling people who won this comes from a first place team in the bay area a rookie quarterback no longer mr irrelevant the san francisco 49ers boom kettle motions to the right of purty in the backfield i uke slotted inside of mccaffrey left jennings and ray ray are right purty gonna throw for the end zone for mccaffrey makes the catch for a touchdown what an adjustment there by christian mccaffrey christian mccaffrey is really important to anything the niners want to do obvi you can call me captain obvious so thank you for all of your votes we got as usual more and more traffic to our social media the deeper we get into the nfl season and now as we head into the holidays there's just four weeks left and so you all been blowing it up every time we posted an interview or we ask an nfl question or we put a poll up i just won't be here tomorrow night into friday so we won't have our typical game of the week poll unless producer jay chooses i actually think jay took off too jay took a personal day so neither one of us will be here tomorrow um but you all can decide debate amongst yourselves the game of the week everything now has playoff implications on twitter alaw radio on our facebook page after hours with amy lawrence it's not just me telling you that christian mccaffrey is critical to what the niners want to do but their rookie qb brock purty is pointing to the veteran running back and indicating that this is a guy who's helping him to settle in even just being in the huddle and his presence and like sort of taking you know command and charge when i'm getting the play call like he does a great job of just keeping everyone under under cool and you know being calm and collected um but then also yeah within his routes and stuff like he knows like what we're reading you know where he's supposed to be sometimes being receiver you know you see things differently but that dude is like he sees it as a quarterback first and then runs it um so he definitely does see it as a quarterback it's nice it is nice when you got a guy like that who can break through tackles and who can go either 30 yards on the ground or 30 yards through the air who's so athletic and strong and is explosive you really don't know what he's going to do and if you're a defense so you have to game plan for everything we saw him throw a touchdown pass this year as well it's after hours on cbs sports radio thursday night football comes from seattle where it's the niners and it's the seahawks and right now seattle is reeling they've dropped three of four including last week's game against the panthers who were there on the road run by a team that traded or run by sam darnell but run by a team that has traded away both christian mccaffrey as well as robbie anderson so their top two offensive players were shipped elsewhere and yet the panthers are playing so hard under steve wilkes i love the effort i think they needed a new voice probably but also needed some hope and maybe it does stick with them uh that they're that they were kind of left for dead essentially the panthers were but from that rubble the seahawks have to rally if they're going to make some noise for the postseason we gotta make a turn here and we have to the things that we've been focusing on we've got to see the results that we need to get done here and so our players know it and our coaches know it we just got we got to keep staying with it and uh we know we made some progress last week it didn't show up like we wanted to maybe i'm thinking about maybe it's a it's a bigger deal it's going to take a little bit longer than one week to to flip something we wanted to flip so we'll see what happens the seahawks are now seven and six and get this on the outside of the nfc playoff bracket looking in it would be commanders and giants who get in ahead of the seahawks right now because they've got the tie seahawks have an incredibly difficult challenge with the nighters coming up on thursday night we'll look at it a little closer with both gino smith and kyle shanahan in an edition of qb news it's after hours with amy lawrence cbs sports radio what makes your skin crawl no matter how absurd i want to know tails without fur on them such as rats or opossums i'm larry mullins the host of a new podcast called your weirdest fears you send me your fear i'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop and then i go to the experts to learn how to overcome them listen and subscribe to your weirdest fears on the odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from is there something really absurd that skeeves you out getting a paper cut on my eyeball a fear you can't shake i'm gonna leak ocular fluid down my cheeks it's gonna go into my mouth and i will perish whatever scares you i want to talk about it join me larry mullins on my new podcast your weirdest fears listen and subscribe to your weirdest fears on the odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from what makes your skin crawl no matter how absurd i want to know tails without fur on them such as rats or opossums i'm larry mullins the host of a new podcast called your weirdest fears you send me your fear i'm just so weirded out about the texture and how they can just move around and flop and then i go to the experts to learn how to overcome them listen and subscribe to your weirdest fears on the odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast from