After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

I'm Larry Mullins, host of the podcast, Your Weirdest Fears, the show that explores the odd things that make your heart stop. I am so scared of the Grinch.

He is bad vibes. We talk to everyone from therapists to exterminators to lizard man. I was 25 when I actually got my tongue split.

I have one tattoo that covers my entire body. Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your playoffs. Your Odyssey.

Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. This is a rhetorical question. I'm not sure it really has an answer. But what was stranger this year and for, well, this year.

I guess we're talking about 2022, so last year. What was stranger this season, though? The Odell Beckham Jr. saga? Epic?

I'm not even sure what to call it. The speculation that ultimately resulted in him not signing with any team? How much did physicals come into play there, right?

And workouts. The Dallas Cowboys were reluctant, even though a bunch of the Cowboys were recruiting him and he spoke with Jerry Jones. That was Thanksgiving, I think. We we heard Jerry say and kind of surprised Dak Prescott that he'd had a conversation with Odell. We know that Odell had appeared at least one Cowboys game. But he was also doing his tour, Bills and Giants. And when the Cowboys voiced their concern about him not working out before they would sign him, that seemed to.

Throw water on this fire around Odell, and he ultimately never signs for any team over the concerns about his. His knee is surgically repaired knee and whether or not he'd be ready to get back on the field member. He he got seriously hurt. He tore his ACL in the Super Bowl, so we're just now coming up on 11 months.

But compare that and the medical concerns to the condensed. Carlos Correa saga. And this idea that his surgically repaired ankle with the plate that's inserted from 2014 will ultimately cause issues long term. Heard from a new listener who found me on Twitter and said, I can tell you from experience that his bad leg will ultimately start to affect his back. And he did mention that Correa has had some back soreness. And spent time on the aisle with back, and so I think his name is, well, I'm not sure if it's TJ, but it's T. I bet those doctors are worried about his ankle messing up his back over time, maybe, but the point still remains the same. I don't know what the doctors are concerned about, but what I do know is that they're not worried about 2023 or 2023.

They're not worried about the here and now they're worried about the long term. Thus the concerns and the need for contingencies over a 12 year contract or a 13 year contract. I guess I don't know the answer to why it is they wouldn't just offer him a shorter contract and that way keep him and maybe do another physical down the road. And I guess there was talk that the Mets wanted to do one every year and that Correa balked at that, but that seems strange to me. I don't think that report is accurate because every player goes through a physical every year.

They do this for baseline so that they can know where your vitals are and they can compare where you start a season to where you end a season. That's just pretty standard when it comes to world class athletes. So yeah, which one is stranger? Which one's odder? The concerns over Odell Bickham Jr. that sent him from the top of the trending list to the most wanted. Where is he? Has anyone seen or heard anything of him? He just kind of vanished. We need to put out a bolo for OBJ.

An OBJ bolo. I haven't heard of him since he had that incident on the plane. Yeah, good point. That was actually flying home from one of his visits, was it not?

That's right. Yes, where he was asleep or groggy or something and the flight attendant felt like she couldn't wake him up and he didn't have his seatbelt on. And so then they called the authorities and marshals because he wouldn't wake up or wouldn't put his seatbelt on or something.

Depends on which story you believe. But yeah, he did fly I guess the next day or something and shared a photo of himself wearing a seatbelt and I'll never make this mistake again. But yeah, I haven't checked his social lately. I was kind of looking at his social back when he was trending, but that's not the case right now.

And so yeah, is that kind of the stranger arc to his story this year? Because that seemed to be the piece that teams coveted to maybe add to their stable or put them over the hump. And then nothing.

Literally nothing it seems since early December. But then what about Carlos Correa? I mean that's pretty odd too, the way that that all played out. To go from Minneapolis to San Francisco to New York to have multiple contracts at least agreed to terms and then end up in Minneapolis with a six year deal.

But a full no trade clause and a press conference in which he kind of gives his reaction. But also is saying, hey, I'm thrilled we're going to make this a long term thing here in Minnesota. Just one of the many storylines making headlines. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio and also on our Facebook page. And we're asking you to decipher, determine the highs for your team this season, but also the lows for your team this season. And I'm always pleasantly surprised when we hear from fan bases all over the country. And so right now we're hearing from a lot of different fan bases in the NFL landscape and we'll continue to take your reaction throughout the show.

We're only halfway through here. So on Twitter or on Facebook, just as a quick slam on the brakes and back up the truck jack. Jay tells me he has audio from the flight attendant on that Odell Beckham Jr. faded flight. Are you serious or is this a joke?

No, I'm serious. I'm looking at I'm just listening to the flight attendant talking to Odell and his crew. When did this come out? Apparently 10 hours ago, a couple hours ago.

Oh, I had no idea. OK, well, is it something we can air? Yeah.

Let me give you a sample right here. This is a five hour flight. That's up to you guys. That's up to you guys. But medically, if he doesn't want us to check him out, I can't make the game.

And I don't really say anything wrong. He might be tired or have taken a long trip and doesn't want to follow orders. That's a whole other animal. He told her he just came for a flight. Yeah.

OK, I get that. He's tired. You know, he doesn't want to come out.

He does not want to come out. OK. Advisor Sargent to come here. Motor 70s on the way to come off.

We're going to have to deport everybody. Well, it sounds like we're hearing maybe marshals or I know that there were first responders called. I know that there are also authorities called and it sounds like they're not standing right next to him.

They may be standing somewhere else. But who in the world is taping that? Was that from, say, a body cam with a police officer? That seems an odd time to pull out your cell phone and start recording. Or maybe it was a recording from a passenger who was sitting nearby in, say, first class or something.

Because I don't see I don't hear OBJ's voice in there. It looks from the video, it looks to be a body cam. Oh, there's a video. So where are they standing in the video? In the video. Are they standing away from OBJ? Do you see Odell in the video?

I do, actually. But he's like not really responsive, which was the whole thing. Right. Now, he apparently told them he was tired. He did wake up at one point because he conversed with them. But I guess didn't comply with the seat belt and said he was tired and that he was just kind of out of it because he'd come from a party or something like that. And so they ultimately did force him to get off board, get off the plane, de-plane or off board, de-board. I got another one of them talking to Odell here.

Okay. He just responded to know where he's at. And he knows where he's at, exactly where he's lying. He had pants on when he came on. He doesn't have pants on now. His pants are on now. His pants are on. Well, he had shorts on by the way. Yeah. Okay.

We'll do whatever you decide. His pants are on? I never heard anything about his pants in the past. Oh my gosh. Wait, are you sure that's accurate? You can actually see Odell Beckham Jr.?

Yeah, I see Odell. He's mad at us because we called you. I said we're worried about you. That's fine. You guys are doing your job.

I know he's going to go deteriorate once we get married. Of course. So he's all advanced. Don't worry. Interesting.

I just searched for Odell on Twitter. Oh man. Not only do I see the video, but the reaction of people.

Wowsers. And yes, you're right. It is body cam footage that shows the moments before he was kicked off this airplane in Miami. And I guess he did get fired up with some passengers who were getting angry because they wanted the flight to take off.

You know what? You don't mess with passengers when it's a flight delay. People can't, they can't handle their poop anymore. They go ballistic. It doesn't matter what the reason. I was on a flight once where there was a medical emergency and they had to bring not only first responders, but also they ended up having to bring a wheelchair and to like physically get a man off the flight because he was, I don't know if he was in, I'm not sure if he was awake or he was unconscious, but I know they were they were concerned for his life and they could not take off. And so because of that, it was a long delay and people around me. So I was farther back in the plane, grumbling, complaining, upset. Yeah, you don't stand between a man or a woman and his flight time taking off on time. Just crazy what people start to do. You really can see the worst of humanity when it comes to flights and delays and not knowing it's bad.

It can get bad. Yeah. So anyway, the video's out there. How did you discover that this just got released, Jay? We were just talking to Odell and I haven't heard about him in a while. So I just decided to do a quick search and there he is.

OK, yes, there he is. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. OK, so I was going to get into the Dana White press conference, I guess. I wouldn't say it was an explanation necessarily, but his first comment since he was caught on camera and outed by TMZ for slapping his wife. So it was a physical altercation with his wife. She hit him first. He came back or he reacted by slapping her.

They were in a nightclub in Mexico on New Year's Eve in this VIP section. So he had done an interview with TMZ and had publicly apologized in an interview with TMZ. But he hadn't yet spoken in a press conference setting. And because there is a UFC event that's coming up, he did take questions on Wednesday.

But I don't have time to dive into it now. So we'll bump that until the next segment here on CBS Sports Radio. A couple of other headlines that come from outside the world of the NFL. Congratulations are in order to Naomi Osaka because she is pregnant. At 25 years old, she and her boyfriend, who is a rapper, they've been together for I think it's three years. And so she calls it a new life adventure on social media and made that announcement on social media using a picture of the ultrasound.

So I'm glad that she's happy. You remember last year, I think she only played in a handful of tournaments last year. I'd have to look and see the number of tournaments. But she did take a lot of time off last year because of her mental health and feeling like the sport and all the attention had become a drag. She talked about the fact that the sport was no longer bringing her joy.

And this goes back to the U.S. Open. And then she took an indefinite break, though she did return for the start of the 22 season. So that was 21, remember, when she really was struggling. And she came back for the start of the 22 season, but she did not play a ton of tournaments.

It was 11 tournaments, excuse me, 11 tournaments in 22 and hasn't played a full match since another early loss, an early exit at the U.S. Open. So her last title was the 21 Australian Open. So this would be an opportunity for her to get back down under. But she had already announced that she was withdrawing, and now she has indicated the reason why. So, yeah, she offered a life update and talked about a new adventure, but she will miss the entire 2023 season. So tennis fans will have to wait to see her, but at least can be excited about her moving forward in her life and something really positive for her.

So congratulations to her. Also, if you're wondering about the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic is good to go. He's been down under for quite a while. He's been playing in some warm-up tournaments. He and Rafael Nadal are both in the Australian Open draw on opposite sides of the bracket. So that draw was just taking place on Thursday in Melbourne, of course our Wednesday. And so here are these two giants in the sport, 43 Grand Slam singles titles between them. But the only place that they could meet at the Aussie would be in the final.

So I guess if it works out that way, we could have that to look forward to. Of course Novak, a nine-time champion on the hard court in Australia, but he missed it last year. All of that drama around him being under kind of house arrest. He was detained in a hotel room. His visa was revoked not once but twice. Remember it was revoked, then it was reinstated by a court, then it was revoked again.

I had enough. I think there was a, I don't know if it was the Prime Minister. There was someone in the government who stepped in and kind of pulled a power trip and said, I don't care what the court has indicated, we're not allowing him to play because he wasn't vaccinated. Also didn't compete at the 22 US Open.

And so here's an opportunity for him to get his momentum back. So yeah, opening his bid for a 10th Australian Open title when the Aussie begins on Monday. Yeah, so that'll be fun to mix in for those of you who are big tennis fans. But yes, well, Miss Naomi, she's good for the sport because she's international. She's both American and Japanese. She's got a lot of eyeballs on her. She, when she is playing with joy, when she's in a good space, she's got a great smile and awesome personality. Just a wonderful ambassador for the sport on an international level and also a great tennis player. Has four Grand Slam tournaments, but we'll miss her this year. And my hope for her is that in starting a family and in experiencing that completely different kind of joy in 23, that it'll put her in a place where she's ready to return. Think about Serena Williams and how she was much later in her life when she had her daughter. But the joy that she always expressed of being a mom and being able to model, hey, I can be a mom, but I can also be excellent at my career choice. I can also be excellent and can train and can get back to playing tennis and what that meant to her. So I'm excited for Naomi, but really hopeful that this another year off will kind of reinvigorate her and renew her desire to play the sport. Or maybe does the opposite. Maybe she decides she doesn't want to go back. But I hope that's not the case because the sport would be missing.

Just a wonderful personality, a great ambassador and a huge talent. All right. Straight ahead, we will talk about the UFC and Dana White and why he is telling you he's already serving his punishment.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. What's the high point for your NFL team this season and the low point? We'll get back to some of your answers on Twitter, on Facebook. We're hanging out with you on what is quickly morphing. I'm Larry Mullins, host of the podcast, Your Weirdest Fears, the show that explores the odd things that make your heart stop. I am so scared of the Grinch. He is bad vibes. We talk to everyone from therapists to exterminators to lizard man. I was 25 when I actually got my tongue split.

I have one tattoo that covers my entire body. Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your playoffs, your Odyssey. Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. 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. So get started and download the free Odyssey app today to a Thursday morning.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Thanks for hanging out with us on what is quickly turning into a Thursday morning. It's one of those weeks where I can't tell if it's flying by or it's crawling. I just know we are on the cusp of NFL playoffs. Super-sized wildcard weekend.

And we'll continue to give you the details that you know, even at this point. We've still got a lot of teams that are requesting interviews, some with coaches that are on staff that are preparing for the playoffs. You know, the rules are different this year.

Of course, keeping very close eye on the Rooney rule. And that's from franchise to franchise as well as fans. I get that from you fans all the time. So just a lot of interview requests, some interviews being done. The offseason business of football is really starting to pick up steam. And then playoffs will take center stage coming up on Saturday afternoon. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio still to come on the show. Nick Casario, the general manager of the Houston Texans, speaking to our Houston affiliate Payne and Pendergast.

And both Sean Payne and I'm sorry, Sean Pendergast and Seth Payne have been on our show here multiple times. And so Nick Casario was answering questions about the Texans and what he's looking for in his next quarterback, which I guess presumably means they're moving on from Davis Mills. Also Colt McCoy talking about the firing of Cliff Kingsbury and others as we move forward. It's it's a strange time in the NFL where more than half the league is focused on getting a head start on 2023, where the other half is all in because the playoffs are a different type of intensity.

Looking forward to it. It just never stops. The NFL never stops.

So on Twitter, A Law Radio and also on our Facebook page After Hours with Amy Lawrence. One hour from now, David Sampson, longtime Marlins president, will get his reaction to the Carlos Correa arc. The month that you had to see to believe, as well as some of the other baseball storylines from the hot stove season. But I mentioned Dana White and his altercation with his wife that became physical. They were in Mexico at a New Year's Eve event at a club. And he had previously said that he had too much to drink. They both had too much to drink. Got a little heated. She seemed I've seen the video a couple of times. It's not like I went and memorized it, but she definitely made the first physical move and seemed to kind of punch him or shove him. And then he slapped her. And it looked violent to me.

When you see it, it's jarring, to be sure. He had not spoken in an organized press conference setting, though he had done an interview with TMZ, a video interview with TMZ and publicly apologized. So when he met with reporters on Wednesday, it was an opportunity for the media and the press to ask him questions. The video went viral.

All you got to do is Google it. We're not going to put it up because I don't want to share that type of thing on my social. I'm embarrassed for him. I can imagine that she is also embarrassed and the two of them together. They've been together for a really long time.

It's just one of those videos that you can't unsee. Right. And it's it's not indicative of your relationship necessarily, although people start to question that. But what it is, is it's embarrassing and all the attention it brings on you, your kids, your family for all the wrong reasons. And so I can understand why Dana White did apologize and try to head it off at the pass.

But it's a different Dana White on Wednesday. Nobody's more about free speech than me. If somebody, you know, if one of the fighters wants to come out and voice their opinion on it and whatever it might be, then then by all means, I'm sure you guys have seen the TMZ video and seen my interview. It was obviously a horrible personal experience. And, you know, there's no excuses for it.

Something that I'm gonna have to deal with and live with for the rest of my life. And one thing that I do want to clarify in this thing that I didn't talk about on TMZ because I didn't expect it and I didn't see it coming is the people that are defending me. You know, there's there's never an excuse.

I'm sure you guys have read some of the same stuff that I've seen. There's there's no defense for this. And people should not be defending me over this thing, no matter what. All right. So far, so good.

He definitely accepted the blame for the situation with his wife. All the criticism that I have received this week is 100 percent warranted and and will receive in the future. So and you know me better than anybody if, you know, especially the people that I don't like start coming after me.

Nobody fires back more than I do. Whatever that anybody has to say, everybody has an opinion on this. And they're right to have their own opinions. I was very opinionated on this, too, and I still am.

You know, it's it's it's crazy that I'm sitting here even having this conversation with you guys. And yet that's where we are in the past when it came to his fighters. Now, remember, he is he's kind of king of his castle. I know that there's the parent company of the UFC and also a broadcast partner, TBS, which is get this.

I mean, you want to talk about ironic. His league is called the Power Slap League. At first, I thought that was a joke, but it's not. So TBS is the broadcast partner of his Power Slap League. And then ESPN is the the rights holder to the UFC events. And so you do have two broadcast partners as well as a parent company. And at this point. All they've had are internal discussions. Which confuses me a little bit.

Not that anyone's ignoring it because it's impossible to ignore. But I'm comparing this to the Greg Berhalter situation. Now, there's a couple of key differences that I guess I say the former U.S. coach right now is not under contract. His incident with his then girlfriend, now wife, took place when they were teenagers in college. Does that make it right? No.

Hell no. I mean, we know that there are a lot of college football players, college basketball players who certainly have been called on the carpet. You know, football coaches and basketball coaches who've been called on the carpet for things that, you know, altercations that their players have had with young women on campuses. So I'm not at all saying it excuses the actions that he, you know, he was physical with his then girlfriend. It was 40 years ago. Or it was decades ago. And now you've got this incident with Dana White that just took place a couple weeks ago.

U.S. Soccer has launched an investigation. He's, I don't want to say defending himself, but is really sad about the whole thing. In fact, he was just speaking about it. Again, this is an incident that took decades ago for Greg Berhalter and his wife, now wife. And he was just talking about it a couple of days ago when he was addressing a group of supporters.

And his tone to me seems a lot more remorseful as I compare it to Dana White. I think it's sadness. You know, our entire family is sad, saddened by these events. You know, something we want to move forward from. You know, as we said in the statement, it was something that we didn't hide from back then and we weren't prepared to hide from it now. The events of that night, you know, 31 years ago and the lessons learned from that basically set the foundation for our relationship moving forward.

And it's a loving relationship, a devoted relationship, and we have four amazing, amazing kids to show for it. Okay, so contrast that and I can hear it with Berhalter. I know he's a different personality than Dana White. Dana's, he's just, he's bold, he's brash. Even when he's remorseful, he comes across like the big dog and the big man on campus.

That's how he carries himself. With Berhalter though, U.S. Soccer has launched this investigation and right now it's almost a little bit like he's radioactive. I mean, there were a couple of players doing MLS press conferences recently who were supporting him, but there's a definite faction in U.S. Soccer right now over how this should be handled. And to me, and again, I'm not excusing it, but it happened 30 something years ago and they've already dealt with the repercussions.

I don't think it should have any impact on whether or not Berhalter continues as the manager, the coach of the World Cup team or Team USA. Again, not excusing it. I'm a female. I don't think it's ever okay to hit a woman or to kick a woman in his case. And you know I've said that multiple times here on the show whenever it comes up. But 31 years ago when they, it's not like it was a secret, it's just coming out. I mean, at the time people knew about it.

They got married, they've stayed together, they're not hiding from it. It just, to me, should have no impact on his status with U.S. Soccer. Here we are with Dana White now and this is a couple of weeks ago.

He didn't, a public apology, yes. But where is, where is the pressure from his broadcast partner TBS or ESPN or his parent company? If we're going to be consistent, it certainly seems like any time this happens and it's on video, there is outrage, there's demand for repercussions. And I can't help but think if this was one of his fighters, how would it be handled? Is there a different standard for Dana White because he's the president of USC?

Because he's a big dog? Now according to UFC policy, they handle these types of cases with the fighters individually, right? So they do have a policy with athletes and domestic violence and essentially it's case by case. But there's no way that if this was a fighter who was then about to get in the ring that there wouldn't be a whole lot of pushback. And where I kind of take exception with Dana White's comments on Wednesday is he's already being punished.

And to have him step away from UFC, what good would that do? I mean what should the repercussions be? You tell me. I take 30 days off, how does that hurt me? I mean I told you guys when we were going through COVID, COVID could last 10 years. I could set it out and you know what I mean?

What would be the problem? It's much like COVID actually, you know, me leaving hurts the company, hurts my employees, hurts the fighters. It doesn't hurt me.

I could have left in 2016, you know what I mean? I don't know. Do I need to reflect? No, I don't need to reflect. The next morning when I woke up, you know what I mean? I've been against this.

I've owned this. I'm telling you that I'm wrong. But listen, I mean I've had, we've had plenty of discussions internally with Ari, ESPN. Nobody's happy. Nobody's happy about this, you know?

Neither am I. But it happens. Okay, right away off the top he says, I take 30 days off. No, you get suspended. You don't take the time off.

This is not an effing vacation. You get suspended as a punishment, as a statement. And furthermore, to go on and say who does this hurt, the fighters?

Well guess what? That's on you. It's your responsibility. You're in charge of this organization. If it falls apart when you take your 30 days off or you're suspended, then you should have to sit and watch how the organization suffered because of your actions. If the organization loses money or your broadcast partners step away and say, hey, we're not comfortable with this.

If you're going to be in the arena at the event, well then we're not going to carry it. There should be some kind of repercussion. And his whole idea about how it doesn't hurt me, it only hurts them, well that's what happens when you're a leader. Yes, your poor choices and your bad decisions do impact other people. That's the point.

You're not operating in a vacuum. It's like Urban Meyer. I'm not going to outline his poor choices last year. But yeah, his poor choices definitely affected the people around him.

He got a bunch of coaches fired because of how shoddily he handled his business and his poor decisions. And yes, Dana White should have to sit back and watch for a month. Now I don't know if UFC crumbles without him, but if that's what happens, then I feel like that hurts him more.

If business suffers because he's not around, then maybe it'll make him think twice. But yeah, where are the sponsors not putting pressure on him? It kind of blows me away, the difference in these two situations.

And these are just two. There are many more situations where domestic violence has gotten careers tanked or ended, people suspended. There's been all kinds of repercussions and pressure. I feel like if this was the NFL and if it was an NFL coach or Roger Goodell, oh my gosh, the uproar. But for him to say it doesn't hurt anyone but the fighters, and this is about the fighters, well, that's what happens. Yeah, of course, if they're ripple effects that affect them negatively and they didn't do anything wrong, that sucks. But maybe that'll make an impression with him if he had to sit back and watch. So yeah, the 30 days off, it would be called a suspension and maybe it should happen. It's just the attitude there. You had me with the video, but then the whole flippant response about taking 30 days off and it only hurts them, it doesn't hurt me. Well, ultimately, if it hurts them, it does hurt you. And it should, it should.

So we'll see if anybody steps up, any of his partners, because he's clearly not going to make this move on his own. On Twitter, A Law Radio, also on our Facebook page. Glad to have you with us on this Thursday morning. Now it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. I'm Larry Mullins, host of the podcast, Your Weirdest Fears, the show that explores the odd things that make your heart stop. I am so scared of the Grinch. He is bad vibes. We talk to everyone from therapists to exterminators to lizard man. I was 25 when I actually got my tongue split.

I have one tattoo that covers my entire body. Listen and subscribe on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts from. Nonstop coverage from the biggest sports radio stations in the country. Podcasts dedicated to each NFL team and postseason games streaming live for free. 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.

So get started and download the free Odyssey app today. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Empty backfield after motion. Fourth and 20 at the Colts 28. Mills all alone in the backfield. Here's the snap. Davis looking. He scrambles out to the right.

Got to get rid of it. Throws it to the end zone and caught it. Jordan Akins. My goodness. On fourth and 20.

Akins with the catch. We talk about what's happening the last game. We understand the totality of the season. Do I expect to be back? Yeah, I expect to be back. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

We may never know the answer to this question, but I can't help but wonder. I don't think I'll ever actually be comfortable with this. But I sincerely hope that the Texans did not fire Lovey Smith right after week 18 and the Texans rally past the Colts. Remember there was a touchdown with, what was it, 55 seconds to go Jordan Akins. And then they'd go for the two-point conversion and the win because Lovey says, I've had enough of this season. We're done.

No, I like it. It's kind of a tribute to your players who've worked so hard all season. Give them a chance to win. Give them a chance to win outright and experience that.

And so they do. Akins also catches the two-point conversion. You hear Mark VanderMeer on Texans radio. And because of that win and the Bears' loss, again, they lost 10 straight games to finish out the season. So what a like opposite ends of the spectrum picture from the NFL. Ten straight wins for the Niners. Ten straight losses for the Bears.

Same conference for those two streaks. But back to the Texans. So they don't end up with the overall number one pick. They do need a quarterback. We know there are other teams that are desperate to find quarterbacks like Chris Ballard who's already tipped his hand with the Colts saying he'll do whatever it takes to pick the quarterback that he wants out of the draft. And the reports are that he's hot on Bryce Young. Anyway, the Texans fire Lovey Smith before we even get to Black Monday.

I actually wasn't even into work. I heard it on the Westwood One postgame show following Sunday Night Football Packers and Lions. And to the best of my knowledge, now I could be wrong because I was listening to the end of the game as I was getting ready for driving into work. I don't think it was on that broadcast because I listened to most of Westwood One and if that news had broken during the game, now there's a chance that the franchise, Nick Caserio, the general manager, would have known better. You don't steal the NFL's thunder with a win and get in game by announcing that you fired your coach in the middle of Sunday Night Football week 18. So Lovey Smith is fired pretty quickly and I just wonder if this was a decision that was made going back over the course of the season. Because he was on David Cully's staff last year so the whole hiring didn't even make sense to me then. Or was it because Caserio and the front officer so angry that he dared to go for the win and cost them the number one draft pick.

Gosh, I hope that's not the case. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. They've had some fairly complicated job searches. This will be the third season in a row now but it will be their fourth coach in four years. And so when Caserio made his appearance on Payne and Pendergast on our Houston affiliate, Sports Radio 610, they asked him, what is your reaction to a lot of people who say no one wants to coach the Texans because it's so dysfunctional? There's certainly a level of interest in our situation. I think it's a credit to the city.

I think people realize it's a great sports town. There's an opportunity in front of us. We put ourselves in decent position.

Nobody's happy with where we are but we're excited about the opportunity in front of us. And we've talked about this at different points during the year on different topics. There's always going to be a lot of information.

There's always going to be a lot of, I would say, news flow and I would say perspectives that are shared. And I think we have to be careful, I would say me personally, even to the fans and a lot of us, not to necessarily get caught up in it because what somebody's actually saying versus what the reality is are sometimes two different things. And some of my conversations with agents and representatives about candidates who they're perceived not interested in the job, it couldn't be further from the truth. So when you actually talk to the representative about how excited they are about to potentially interview, this is something that they're encouraged by, that they look forward to.

It sometimes doesn't always feel what you're hearing is different than maybe what people are really saying. Alright, he definitely does put a positive spin on it, but to be fair, around the NFL there are some people who are weary, leery would be the word, of working with the Texans because of Nick Casario, because of what they've done over the past couple of years and what a train wreck it's been. Titus Howard is part of the offensive line and he reacts to Lovey being fired, but also has positive words for the front office.

It's unfortunate, but it's part of the business. I mean, I like Coach Lovey. He's done a lot of things for us to help us grow as players.

And we've just got to move past it. And Coach Lovey has been a great coach. He's had a great history of coaching. And I'm excited for what we've got for the future of this team.

And we've got to support Nick and every decision he makes. I will say this, it was marked, you could see it, in the way that the players responded to David Cully in 2021 and the way they responded to Lovey Smith. Now Cully had been, and I don't know where Cully is now actually, can you Google it please Jay and see if Cully, he probably landed somewhere else and I just don't remember. Both coaches got their locker rooms, albeit less talent on their rosters than others around the league.

I don't think they were set up to compete. Both locker rooms, both rosters worked really hard. Cully had the respect of having been in the NFL for 40 years before he got his first NFL head coaching opportunity. But it sucks because I feel like he was treated like a sacrificial lamb. He was a stop gap. He was like a veteran quarterback who was brought in just to plug a hole. And yet that was his first opportunity. And he took it with optimism and a great attitude and the guys played for him.

And Lovey Smith also has credibility and equity and they worked hard for him too. I don't love how the Texans are handling their business. It's after hours, CBS Sports Radio. Are you in love with me? Just answer the question. The L Word Generation Q is back on Showtime. It would be nice to have somebody real. It's coming for you. When it's all about finding the one. I love our life together and I want more of it. This crew will keep you guessing. What is going on between you two? I made a mistake. Have some fun with me.

Who is Endgame? It's the kind of sapphic chaos I live for. New episodes of the L Word Generation Q are streaming now only on Showtime. Your playoffs, your Odyssey. Get in the game and download the free Odyssey app today. 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. So get started and download the free Odyssey app today.