2-9-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

We are so touched. You all made the trek out here. Robert, Renata, we hope our marriage is nothing like yours.

Cheers everybody! From the director of Pitch Perfect and the producers of The Proposal. Something doesn't feel right. We're pirates and they took everybody hostage.

Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel. This is not happening. Pirates chasing you wasn't on your vision board? You're the only thing on my vision board. We are so touched. You all made the trek out here. Robert, Renata, we hope our marriage is nothing like yours.

Cheers everybody! From the director of Pitch Perfect and the producers of The Proposal. Something doesn't feel right. We're pirates and they took everybody hostage.

Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel. This is not happening. Pirates chasing you wasn't on your vision board? You're the only thing on my vision board.

Shotgun Wedding, rated R. Watch now on Prime Video. Good morning to you. It's Thursday. Happy Thursday.

It is a good thing you have us. In this moment, modesty, humility for just 30 seconds. I'm going to throw it out the window if you don't mind. Although I don't feel as though I'm being proud, I'm just thankful that I'm in this position where I can inform you as you wake up.

If you haven't yet checked your phone, oh goodness. Probably better you hear it from me. I'll try to soften the below a little bit.

I'll try to ease you into it. Just shake the cobwebs out. But honestly, this is better than coffee. Wait, did I just say that? Can we scratch that from the record? Take that out of the podcast. It's better than munchkins that Jay was trying to ply me with earlier in the show. What did I tell you about the NBA threatening to hijack Super Bowl week?

I tried to warn you. It's Kyrie Irving on Sunday night. It's LeBron on Tuesday night. It's Russell Westbrook on Wednesday afternoon.

It's Kevin Durant on Wednesday night. Late, late, late. For those of you who go to bed before 1.15 Eastern or midnight Central. Again, it's just a really good thing that you have us. We're here for you.

We got you. Also, I've been laughing most of the show at the people who tell me this time slot just kind of also ran. It's not prime time.

Nothing happens at night. I sound like Medusa with that cackle. Either way, I love my job. And Kevin Durant is on the move because he doesn't love Brooklyn. I'm not even sure he and Kyrie ever really loved Brooklyn. But just for fun, producer Jay, can we go back to his introductory press conference? And can we let you hear Kevin Durant in his own words about why he chose Brooklyn over Golden State, over any of the other franchises?

Remember the Knicks were interested? I'll give him credit for not going there. But he chose Brooklyn and he laid it out for us almost as though it was self-explanatory. It's really easy to see what these guys brought to the table. It's not like I had to do any deep analysis on any player here. Just watching games and playing against them and seeing continuity throughout the last couple of years is pretty easy to figure out what kind of team and organization this place is.

You know what? The irony there is so rich. He talked about the continuity of the organization and then he and Kyrie showed up and blew that all to freaking hell. Am I the only one that finds that just ludicrous but also hysterical?

He talked about the continuity of the franchise and then he took a blowtorch to it. Oh, the irony. The NBA is a hoot. Sometimes I just can't take it seriously.

I try but I just, I can't. So Kevin Durant follows Kyrie Irving out the door. Some would say good riddance. Some would say, and this group of some would include me, the Nets finally smartened up. This was always going to happen. This was the writing on the wall. Let's go back to Kyrie not getting the fat contract extension he wanted. And honestly, I could even say the writing was on the wall going back to 2019 but I won't. I could say the writing was on the wall when they traded for James Harden because that was never going to work. James Harden is also one who's never satisfied where he is. But we knew about Kyrie. I thought maybe, just maybe KD would be the stabilizing force.

Winning certainly helps. So I won't even go back to 2019 when I thought this was a really bad idea. To quote Han Solo, and really every character in Star Wars, I've got a bad feeling about this. I'm telling you, that's how I felt in 2019.

You can go back and check the podcast. And then when they traded for James Harden, I thought, no, somebody, somebody wake up in that organization. But I'll just go back to last summer, not even a year ago, when Kyrie Irving did not get the max deal he wanted, the Nets smartened up and realized we do not, as in not want to hitch our wagon to his star any longer than we have to and for a max price. Going back to that point when Kyrie opted in because no other team was going to pay him remotely what he could make in this season with the Nets, the writing was on the wall. He was not going to all of a sudden be happy. He wasn't going to all of a sudden be so satisfied.

And then remember, Kevin Durant surprised everybody, even after Kyrie opts in, he says, no, hell no, I want out. Did you really believe for a second that he and Josiah and Sean Marks, who by the way, he tried to get fired. Did you really believe that meeting of the minds in LA was going to work, that it was going to fix it? There's no way. It was a tenuous situation at best.

Honestly, it's more like quicksand. It was only a matter of time. The writing was on the wall. But they go into this season, they play basketball, the Nets, I got to give them credit for smartening up. I feel like they made some really dumb moves, allowing Katie and Kyrie to have everything they wanted set a precedent that they could not uphold. They could not keep up with it. There's a reason why, and I'm not telling you players aren't smart and they don't have the right or, really it's not about rights, they don't have the option of demanding what they want.

Of course they can, but there's got to be a healthy balance. If you give every player everything he wants, this is what happens. But the Nets smartened up and you know what they did? It actually dawned on me as I was thinking about it in the last few hours. They started negotiating with Kyrie Irving before the trade deadline because they knew that it was going to take nothing short of the maxiest max contract that he was eligible for to keep him.

How freaking brilliant is that? They did not wait until April to see how the season went. They didn't wait to see what Kevin Durant wanted to do. They knew, they smartened up, they offered him a deal before the trade deadline knowing that he likely wasn't going to accept anything less than max max.

He didn't want contingencies, he was going to feel disrespected. Finally they figured him out. And so they hastened his departure and honestly, you can agree or disagree, I don't think they're sorry. I think they knew this was coming and it was intentional. And they very quickly figured out a way to send him to Dallas. And they had other offers. Probably knowing Kevin Durant would be the next domino to drop.

But here's the thing. In the West, you've got eight teams, eight, nine teams that are separated by four games in the loss column, including the Phoenix Suns, who for some reason have not been able to create any separation. Devin Booker returns. They just haven't been in sync, or they've been inconsistent I'll say.

Sometimes they get blown out. They've not been one of the powers in the West. They wanted Kyrie. The Nets knew there was going to be a market for KD and this was when the iron was hot. This is when they had to strike because there are so many teams in the West that need, that believe they need a player to put them over the top. They woke up.

This is brilliant. They recognize that Kyrie is going to want out and that KD is likely going to want out as well. His trade request is likely to follow once Kyrie is gone. And they did all of that within a week. A week. Chris Haynes of Yahoo told the NBA on TNT that the contract negotiations with Kyrie started about a week ago.

Wednesday, Thursday of last week. Finally the Nets woke up and realized we got to get out of this situation and we got to do it now so that we can find some teams who are desperate and are willing to trade for these guys. I will say this. As much as I hate the way they handled their business going back to 2019 and I think they set themselves up for this, at least they had the sense to get out and get something in return.

Cut bait if you will. At least they had the sense to wake up and realize they screwed up. This was not going to work. It's never going to work.

I'll just be the first to raise my hand and say I've been in them before. Oh, well, he apologized. It's going to be better moving forward. What do they always tell you about relationships and I don't know who they are but the smart people? Don't date someone, get serious about someone, marry someone because of potential.

Don't do that. Don't get into a serious relationship with someone because you believe they can change. Nah. Finally the Nets figured it out. KD and Kyrie were not going to change for the Nets. They expected the Nets to change for them.

Grow up. Exactly. It's after hours.

The continuity in the franchise is really what impressed me. This is why I wanted to come to Brooklyn. Who cares? It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. So yes, Kevin Durant is on the move and boy did Brooklyn make out like a bandit.

I got to give him credit. What did they pick up? Five first round draft picks in the span of a week if you include Kyrie? So four, you guys, four first round draft picks from the Phoenix Suns. I didn't even know they had that many. But see these days you can put on the bargaining table draft picks for ten years down the road.

But at least they get unprotected four first round draft picks and two of them coming in the next three years. Plus Mikhail Bridges in his mid-twenties, who by the way was blindsided, his tweet and I quote, OMG LOL. Those 20-somethings, they crack me up.

I've got two nieces who are in their 20s. They crack me up. Cam Johnson, Jay Crowder, also part of this deal, though Jay it looks like will be on the move again. Kevin Durant headed to Phoenix. Now I think for Phoenix, they're thrilled.

Right? It's a chance for them to finally get over the hump. Set themselves apart.

Start to make a run. Surge in the second half in the Western Conference. Because I'm telling you, the West is, it's jacked up.

It's thick around the middle. From the Dallas Mavericks in fourth place all the way down to the Lakers, who are in 13th place. And even if you take the Lakers out of it, the Thunder, who are in 12th place, you're talking about two games in the loss column. That's insanity.

And the Wild Wild West just got nuttier. Kevin Durant on his way to Phoenix. Oh, and Kyrie made his debut with the Mavericks last night.

Even before I tell you how he did or how his coach is raving about him, he found out about Kevin Durant getting traded to Phoenix after the game, and he's so happy for KD. Praying for his happiness and praying for his well-being. We had a lot of conversations throughout the year of, you know, what our futures were going to look like. There was still a level of uncertainty. But we just cared about seeing each other be places that we can thrive and whether that be together or whether that be a part.

There's never been one moment where I felt like he's been angry at me for decisions I've made or I've been angry at him. We've just tried to understand each other a lot better and grow as human beings, grow as brothers. You know, this business changes so quickly. He's getting a little bit older.

I'm getting a little bit older. I just love the competition now that we can be in the same conference and I welcome all that. Get to see him a little bit more and probably playing against Phoenix a lot more. And that's what I'm looking forward to.

Everything else in between. I just am glad that he got out of there. I'm just glad he got out of there. Well, I'm just glad they're both happy now. I'm actually really happy for the Nets. Just imagine the relief. I get it. Jacques Vaughn would like to win.

His job status is probably tied to it, but in some cases, addition by subtraction. There's no doubt the chemistry is better on the team now, like as in right now, before these guys even meet each other. Sure, they're going to need to find some stars.

But they've got a couple of really good players. Cam Thomas is killing it right now. I actually saw this really funny tweet from Sean Grandy, our friend who does the play-by-play for the Boston Celtics. He said that Cam Thomas is going to break LeBron's scoring record in the next month.

The way he's shooting. So anyway, Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson, Mikael Bridges, like I said, they're likely not to keep Jay Crowder. But Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, none of these are super superstars. They're going to need to find one or two and they're going to have a bunch of draft capital. They've got options.

They really do. They have options. Whereas the only option they gave themselves for the last three years was whatever KD and Kyrie wanted. And oh, I think it's important to point out, KD and Kyrie played 74 games together.

74. That's it. Good for you, Brooklyn.

Sometimes you just got to admit you fell flat on your face and it's time to get the heck out of Dodge. By the way, everyone loves Kyrie and Dallas. It's early. What a week.

I just saw JSA responding to me now on the other side of the double pane glass. Yes, he did have 24 points, 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. He had a game high in points, even without Luka. The Mavericks were able to beat the Clippers. It's very exciting.

Tim Hardaway, Theo Pinson, Jason Kidd, everybody raving about the Luka-Kyrie matchup. I'm not going to say I told you so. I'm not. I am about the Nets, though, because if you listen to my show, you know I was always nervous about this.

I did not think it was a good idea. Here's my favorite tweet, though. And NBA Twitter is having a field day. Field day in the last few hours. In fact, the trade news dropped.

Was it four hours ago? I love this job. My favorite tweet so far. I actually shared it. If you want to quote tweet it or find it, it's on my feed, ALawRadio.

Robin Lopez, current Cavalier Center. This is just like that time in Muppets Take Manhattan when the Muppets, after unsuccessfully attempting to take Manhattan, split up and leave Manhattan. Come on, bro. Why can't I be that clever? Jay, I feel like I missed the boat. Somehow I missed the clever gene.

I need the Robin Lopez witty gene. That was a good tweet. That one's going to blow up today, for sure. Okay, so Sunday night it was Kyrie. Tuesday night it was LeBron. Wednesday night it's, well, it's Russell Westbrook. I thought that was going to be the biggest story from the NBA, but then KD 45 minutes before we went on the air. Oh, I'm sorry, is there some kind of a big game coming up or something? Yes, yes, there is. Fine, we'll talk about football.

I'm much snarkier when it comes to the NBA, though. And good morning to you, too. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast.

This is not happening. Pirates chasing you wasn't on your vision board? You're the only thing on my vision board. Shotgun Wedding, rated R. Watch now on Prime Video. We are so touched. You all made the trek out here. Robert, Renata, we hope our marriage is nothing like yours. Cheers, everybody.

From the director of Pitch Perfect and the producers of The Proposal. Something doesn't feel right. We're pirates and they took everybody hostage. One of the biggest surprises is that you've been caught up in that fight. I can't believe it.

I can't. I'm sorry, I'm going to start cleaning up. We are so touched. You all made the trek out here. Robert, Renata, we hope our marriage is nothing like yours. Cheers, everybody.

From the director of Pitch Perfect and the producers of The Proposal. Something doesn't feel right. We're pirates and they took everybody hostage. I'm going to say this, the Eagles are 15 minutes and 43 seconds away from the Super Bowl. Bengals four-man rush. Mahomes trying to buy some time on that bad ankle, moving to his right. He is now scrambling and he's going to get a first down, and now gets hit late! He gets hit late! He gets hit late! Mahomes gets hit late! It'll be a 15-yard penalty on top of the gain, and the gain should be bound to the 35-yard line. I hope both teams lose.

To me, it doesn't matter. Obviously, we wish we were playing so bad. That game still hurts, and it will for a while. But I think Nick Bosa said it best. I don't know if I'm going to watch the game. It might hurt too much.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Christian McCaffrey hopes they both lose. That's not going to make him feel any better. If they both play poorly, they're going to watch that game and think, Damn it, we could have been there, right? If we had a quarterback or if Brock had managed to stay healthy, we could have been there. Before that, Merrill Reese with the Eagles, Mitch Holtus with the Chiefs. I have to tell you this really quickly.

I didn't even tell Jay this. I didn't have a chance to watch the whole thing because of our own prep and the NBA commandeering the center ring of the circus, but the NFL released its hour-long montage. It's not a video, but it's an hour-long montage of all of the players who are miked up, and they put everything together, right?

So they have different categories like playoffs, like the touchdown celebrations, just all these kind of really fun, quirky categories where they compile a bunch. There's an entire category, Jay, of guys just laughing. Justin Jefferson cackling on the bench with the Vikings is maybe one of the funniest things I've seen all season. Anyway, they get to the championship game with the Eagles and the Niners, and do you know what George Kittle said to Brock Purdy?

Oh, poor kid. I know that George was trying to lighten the mood, but Brock couldn't even open his mouth. He was so upset. He looked like he was going to cry. George Kittle says to him, Brock, lefty? Can you throw lefties?

Are you ambidextrous? And Brock just shakes his head with this forlorn look on his face. Poor guy, he was so upset.

I know what George was trying to do. He's obviously very caring about his teammates and felt bad for the kid, but Brock just couldn't even crack a smile. He was still wearing his helmet.

He wouldn't even take his helmet off. So yeah, Christian McCaffrey's with him. He's hoping they both lose. I actually saw, and I'm not sure if this was the NFL Network, but I saw the quote, maybe it was clickbait, in which he said that he felt like the NFC Championship was stolen from them.

Now that's not fair, because it's the wrong word. I'm sure I know what he meant, but the Eagles want it fair and square. You play the hand you're dealt, and Hassan Reddick's hit on Brock Purdy, it was fair. It was legit. He got around the lineman who was trying to block him, and he got to the quarterback unimpeded with a full head of steam almost. Ian Rappaport from NFL Network has the latest on Brock Purdy's plan moving forward.

Here's where it all stands. Brock Purdy going to visit Dr. Keith Meister, the Rangers team doctor. That is going to be on the 21st. The plan as of now is to have surgery on the 22nd on his torn UCL. There were several options, including no surgery. There are players in the NFL with very similar injuries who decided just to rehab. Surgery was deemed to be the best option for him. It does not sound like the plan is for a Tommy John full reconstruction. That would be longer than six months.

That is not what is being discussed here. Obviously, there's a chance the doctors go in. They see something different in the elbow. Maybe they alter the plans, but the plan is to go with probably the middle option, which is just basically repair the UCL. It is about six months, so it's three months of rehab, and then he starts throwing. If all goes well, three months after that, and then should be ready by the start of training camp. If all goes well for the 49ers and for Purdy.

Ian Rappaport on NFL Network. We also had some other quarterback news and young quarterback news. Did you hear that Ron Rivera has decided Sam Howell will be his starting quarterback going into training camp, right? So things could change. I said this tongue in cheek to Jay.

I don't mean it. I have great respect for Ron Rivera, but my first thought was, is he trying to get fired? OK, maybe Sam Howell is the next Tom Brady. Wouldn't that be amazing? Maybe he's the next Brock Purdy.

Wouldn't that be amazing? Maybe he's decided after all of the these seasons of rolling the dice with veteran quarterbacks or free agents that they're just going to go with a guy who's been in their system. It worked for Seattle, although Geno Smith had a decade under his belt, so it's a little bit different there. So I don't really think that Ron Rivera is attempting to get fired. I just think that you can't give up.

You know, I should know better. You got to keep trying at the quarterback position, coach. We will go into OTAs mini camp and training camp with Sam Howell, more likely QB one, and we'll see what happens. I mean, this is opportunity. This is a challenge to him. You know, if he comes out and does the things that he's capable of, we believe he's capable of. He can most certainly be our guy, but we'll find out.

And again, that's what competition is going to do. It's going to bring out the best in all our guys. Well, yes, yes, I agree with that. I hope it works. I really do.

I sincerely hope it works. Apparently, the commanders. Well, not apparently. The commanders did inquire about the veterans last year. Remember, we heard some of the rumors. Aaron Rodgers, Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppolo. These guys are expected to be available. Well, Jimmy G is definitely going to be available. Aaron Rodgers is in. Well, he's heading into the dark cave.

That is his brain. That's coming up after the Super Bowl. So we haven't heard from him yet. We know that Derek Carr met with the Saints, though he has a no trade clause, which means he can go. He doesn't have to go where the franchise wants to send him, and he can go where he chooses or does not choose. So Coach is saying, hey, we're going to look at veteran QBs. We're going to go down that rabbit hole again. But we've got to have somebody who is at least willing and able to throw the ball in ODAs. Oh, my gosh.

Here's the quote from Ron. We don't intend to overspend on capital, whether draft picks, players and money. We're going to rely on our defense and hope that they can give us a chance to win every single week. No, seriously. Brock Purdy was a great revelation. Let's hope Sam Howell is, too.

Still on his rookie deal, so he's cheaper. Sometimes you get what you pay for. I had a bad day. Oh, my gosh. What a morning. Hi, Erica. How are you? Good morning. How are you, Aime? Can I just tell you something really funny?

Oh, please. I had every intention this week of talking up everything that's happening with the Super Bowl and Super Bowl week and how exciting it is. Although, you know, by this point, you're kind of rolling your eyes at some of the storylines that are coming out. But this is the third show in four days. I guess it would be four mornings now. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, in which the NBA has decided what Super Bowl and has hijacked all the storylines. Are you finding this as amusing as I am?

Well, you know what? Sometimes this week before the Super Bowl is just, I mean, two weeks between the title games and then the Super Bowl is a long time. It is.

The Pro Bowl never means anything. So it's just and then by the time you get here, you're talking about like such nonsense. It's just like get to the game. Just get me to kick off.

That's it. So I'm actually grateful for the NBA because after football is over, then that's the desert of sports. Oh, come on. The NFL never goes away.

We can't miss it because it never goes away. I will say, too, I feel like the NBA did Roger Goodell a solid because this whole thing about how the NFL referees have never been better. Now, even if the stats support that, he was never going to win over anyone with that statement. It was only going to be either a meme or fodder for social media. So I don't even know why he bothered just defending the officials, I guess.

But they kind of did him a favor by dwarfing that. That could have been the headline on this Thursday morning. Yeah. Well, what else is he going to say?

I mean, the guy, anything the guy says is a meme or a headline. It is. It is.

Maybe Michael Irvin is grateful as well. What do you think? Oh, I don't know.

I don't know about that. Well, I'm going to let you deliver the news because there is a lot of it. But I just want to say good morning. And the NBA says you're welcome. And I say thank you.

It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Really easy to see, you know, what these guys brought to the table. So it's not like I had to do any deep analysis on any player here. I mean, just watching games and playing against them and seeing a continuity throughout the last couple of years is pretty easy to kind of figure out what kind of team, what kind of organization this place is.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The continuity within the organization has gone out the window. It's drowned in the wake of KD and Kyrie and everything else that happened with the Brooklyn Nets. Now, granted, they had to authorize all these moves.

They felt like giving those guys some creative input was the right idea. But the writing has been on the wall for quite a while, at least a year, if not longer. I appreciate that the Nets finally decided, screw it. We've messed up a ton.

There's no way to save face or dignity. We just got to get out of this. But look at the timing was perfect. At least they played the timing right in the last week. And I truly believe this, maybe we'll never get confirmation that they started the negotiations with Kyrie in advance of the trade deadline believing that it wasn't going to work and that at least they would have options to trade him because he was going to ask out.

I guess there's something to be said for your reputation precede you. They didn't believe it when they brought Kyrie on board in 2019, but now they get it. Although he's happy in Dallas. He's praying for KD's happiness. Kevin Durant headed to the Suns. Man, they have definitely gone all in. So regardless of the Nets, and I know I focus more on the Nets side of things, regardless of the Nets side of things, this is humongous for the Phoenix Suns if it works out, right? If this is the move that they believe it should be or the player they believe they're getting, this could set them apart in the West or at least make them a championship contender because they haven't been to this point this year. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

Devin Booker, DeAndre Ayton, Kevin Durant when he's healthy. How much longer, Jay? Do we know? Another week or so? He's out through the all-star break, right? Yeah, probably about two weeks I'd say he'd start. He'd be back on the court.

Sorry, I thought you were done. That's the key is that he's not staying healthy throughout a full season now. It's the wear and tear on his body. He's older. Obviously the big injury he went through with the blown Achilles, all of that now is kind of coming into focus and so he does miss significant time.

But you know what? LeBron has as well. Other players have too. The season's really long. If he's healthy for the postseason, that's what they need. So Devin, CP3, DeAndre Ayton, now Kevin Durant.

That's a pretty sweet starting four. Will it be worth it? We will find out. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page after hours with Amy Lawrence. A lot of you have been tweeting me your reaction. Some of it's snarky.

I get it. Some of it can't be read on the radio. We're going to hear a lot more reaction coming up on Thursday, but also football.

If you haven't seen any of our Super 6 video series, our show's been hijacked too. We've had so much going on and then I've had to help with the CBS Sports Minutes for our CBS Sports Radio Network because Boomer Esiason apparently is not feeling well and so isn't going to do his morning show and ask me to do the minutes for him, which of course he's my friend and I want to help out. So I've been running back and forth recording CBS Sports Minutes. There's a lot of them.

Boomer has a lot of them. And so between that and the show and the breaking news, Jay's wanted me to watch our latest Super 6 video so that I can get it posted, we can get it posted, and that doesn't happen yet soon, very soon. So it's just been one kind of a crazy night, but I would not have it any other way.

I love this job. If you have missed our videos, we've got one up on YouTube. The second one hit Facebook. The third one was Twitter.

The next one is about to go back to Facebook. We like to keep you guys guessing. And also, if you're on our social media, please check out the links to the conversations we've had. An atypical radio row for us.

We're not there. I've told you it wasn't our choice, but we are doing some good work here and I'm really proud of producer Jay. Really thankful for the guests that we have had. Rodney McLeod, he's awesome.

Honest, candid, open. Great conversation with him about a tough year in Indianapolis. And also, if you missed it, Matt Overton, long snapper, 10 years in the NFL, most recently with the Cowboys.

You want to know why it's different in Dallas? He laid it out for us. Jay kept texting me during the interview.

Oh my gosh, this is awesome. I love this guy. He was really cool. He has a side gig that's pretty impressive as well because he has been in four different cities in the last five years. He sat out in 2019. Wasn't sure he would get a job this year, but the Cowboys picked him up in the first month and he was with them all the way through the Brett Maher situation right on special teams.

His childhood team, the Niners. So I asked him about the Cowboys and the Niners playing in the divisional round. And then really just about how his faith and his stay ready motto has kept him going through the uncertainty. Great talker, which is why he started a podcast. But really good stuff about the Cowboys, about the NFL, about the DeMar Hamlin situation and how it changed their locker room, but also about his future as he is an unrestricted free agent. So please, please, please check it out. You will not be disappointed. Again, we post the link to our podcast every weekday morning on both Twitter, ALawRadio, After Hours, CBS, and then also on our Facebook page.

Or you can just find it out yourself. It's on Odyssey. That's our parent company, but After Hours, AmyLawrence.com.

It's another way to find our podcast. All right, a little bit from the NFL. Just as we head up toward the top of the hour, Roger Goodell was doing his State of the State address and in his press conference that he does every Super Bowl week. I was joking with Erika Herskowitz at the bottom of the hour that the NBA headlines have kind of taken some of the heat off him because he went all in on defending the NFL's referees. My only point in saying this is, yes, he's right.

They grayed out near 95 percent. We hear this from Gene Staratore. I trust Gene.

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Learn more at goalie.com today. We are so touched. You all made the trek out here. Robert, Renata, we hope our marriage is nothing like yours.

Cheers, everybody. From the director of Pitch Perfect and the producers of The Proposal. Something doesn't feel right. We're pirates, and they took everybody hostage.

Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel. This is not happening. Pirates chasing you wasn't on your vision board?

You're the only thing on my vision board. Come on. Shotgun wedding rated R watch now on prime video When you look at officiating, I don't think it's ever been better in the league. There are over 42,000 plays in a season Multiple infractions could occur on any plate take that out or extrapolate that that's hundreds if not millions of Potential files and our officials do an extraordinary job of getting those are their mistakes in the context of that Yes, they are not perfect and officiating never will but we've also had Obviously replay and other aspects that help us address those issues to make sure they're not something that We can't correct on the field communications between our office that is not the case the in the championship game that that was stopped Appropriately because the clock was running by an official on the field that happens frequently in our game That's not an unusual thing to have that happen. So again, we want to go back and look at the facts We may not disagree. We may not agree with every TV announcer or every officiating expert But we think our officials are doing a great job But we're always gonna look through our competition committee and everything else we have how we improve our officiating But it will never be perfect In addition, I think we all have to realize through the quality of what we see on our broadcasts You've never been able to see the kinds of things that you can see today That's true and you see it in super slow-mo. You see it where you can actually stop it. Sometimes that just sorts Call potentially but the reality is our officials are held to an incredibly high standard and I think they meet it Will we try to get better you betcha?

I agree with what he's saying I do and what else was he going to say? Of course, he's going to say that though These guys do get graded very harshly and and all of their grades are meticulous again Jean Stewart or has taken us behind that curtain before a lot of times the officials rail against the grades They don't agree with the grades. They have an appeal process, but the NFL they grade Officials every single one of them on every single play even if they're not the official who's throwing a flag or who's involved in the play It's hours of manpower to look at all these tapes and to grade them. So it's a it's a very Exhausted process because they want the best of the best.

I don't need them to be perfect Yes, of course replay comes into it. You want that to be used judiciously but also Effectively without slowing down games to the point where people are bored out of their minds like some other sports But I I do believe that the headline was always going to be they've never been better No way around that it's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio also This is a big topic that keeps coming up more and more I'm telling you I'm nervous that the NFL is going to try to move the Super Bowl to Europe But they do want an increased presence across the pond Every time we play a game whether it's in the UK or Germany. It's just extraordinary to see the reaction of the fans when We went to Germany. I don't think any of us would have anticipated the kind of reaction we got there For our first game there and having been somebody who was involved with American football in Germany through the NFL since 1989 to me it was It was really rewarding to see how our fan base has expanded and we want to make NFL football a global sport It's Coming I just hope NFL fans are ready for and ready to protest so loudly that the league will reconsider It's our football. This is not global football.

They've got their own football. They like their football a lot better It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio, so we'll get to more football tomorrow But did want you to hear the latest from Patrick Mahomes Updating his ankle situation It's 45 J I Don't think you'll know exactly until you get the game day. I'm definitely in a better spot I mean, I definitely can move around better than I was moving last week or two weeks ago And so it's just trying to continue to get the treatment in the rehab And get to as close as I can to a hundred percent That's good because the better he is the better the game will be Like I said, there's more We're gonna continue to hear from all these guys because a lot of the players are available every day Not sure if you heard about the Michael Irvin situation The reason I say that I wouldn't normally bring it up only that he's been removed from the NFL Network coverage of the Super Bowl and he was a guest on our Dallas affiliate 105 three the fan obvious connections to Dallas and there was an encounter where a female Has accused him of being inappropriate earlier this week. And so he was talking about it on the fan I'm just kind of hiding away How it comes how everything comes down and you know, you know this this world here It was a 45 a minute meeting somewhere in the lobby in the lobby. I don't even remember it really cuz I had a few drinks to tell you the truth.

I don't really remember but but that's what they said So right now he's laying low Doesn't really remember it because he was not sober. I Just wanted you to hear it because on our Dallas affiliate 105 three the fan Because he was kind of saying he has no idea why he got pulled from the NFL Network coverage And there's a lot happening in the sports world right now Is there not not even sure that Roger Goodell and certainly not Michael Irvin are anywhere close to being top billing or the top stories? So here's what we know that I mentioned Russell Westbrook's no longer a Laker Russ is no longer a Laker.

He's Headed to Utah, but most people think that he's not likely to stay there Not a great relationship with the Jazz or Salt Lake City fans And so he's probably gonna be on the move again But a three-way trade that sends D'Angelo Russell from the Timberwolves back to the Lakers the Lakers Divest themselves of Russell Westbrook's and the whole six-man thing it worked out for half a season And then the big news that happened. Oh gosh, not even five hours ago. I was I was Cackling over breaking news. I love it.

Kevin Durant is headed to Phoenix. We'll get more details today. Have a great Thursday It's after hours with Amy Lawrence CBS Sports Radio They're so touched you all made the trek out here Robert we hope our marriage is nothing like yours From the director of pitch perfect and the producers of the proposal something doesn't feel right Jennifer Lopez Josh Duhamel, this is not happening I was chasing you wasn't on your vision for you. The only thing in my vision for shotgun wedding rated R Watch now on prime video We're so touched. You all made the trek out here Robert. We hope our marriage is nothing like yours From the director of pitch perfect and the producers of the proposal something doesn't feel right We're pirates and they took everybody hostage Jennifer Lopez Josh Duhamel, this is not happening Pirates chasing you wasn't on your vision for you. The only thing in my vision for shotgun wedding rated R. Watch now on prime video We're so touched. You all made the trek out here Robert. We hope our marriage is nothing like yours From the director of pitch perfect and the producers of the proposal something doesn't feel right Jennifer Lopez Josh Duhamel, this is not happening Pirates chasing you wasn't on your vision for you. The only thing in my vision for shotgun wedding rated R Watch now on prime video