After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 3

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BetQL.com today to start your three day free trial. I have a bit of a dilemma. I need someone to help me with my dilemma.

It actually is a Star Wars dilemma. And no, it's not about whether or not I should watch this weekend. There's too much basketball this weekend. If I start watching, I can't stop. Really, not very often.

I have a hard time. Here's what's happening this weekend. Taxes. It's tax weekend because when we get to the point at which taxes are actually due, I think this year tax day is April 18th. It's a Tuesday. Don't ask me why it's not the Monday, but it's a Tuesday following tax day, which is the 15th but falls on a weekend. And so that's why it's been pushed to the 18th.

So I can't wait till the last second. And I've tried, I've tried in recent years to move up my own tax day because I don't want to wait till the last second. April is a really busy month between five or six birthdays. This year I've got my Syracuse course beginning in April. It's Easter early in April, actually happens to be Easter my birthday weekend. And it's also the time when I will be taking a vacation.

It's not a real long vacation, but it's still some time away. I cannot wait until the last second to do my taxes. Plus, you know, I'm trying to not be a procrastinator to the nth degree in every little area of my life.

I am in most areas trying not to be in every area. So this weekend is taxes because I have to be posted up in front of the TV anyway for basketball. So once basketball starts on Friday, Saturday, even Sunday after church, I will be yes, like not moving from the living room, but I will also have my taxes in front of me because unlike many of you gentlemen out there, we women can multitask fairly well.

I know that's such a stereotype, but it's fun. Most men stink at multitasking. They can't have a conversation and do anything else at the same time.

They can't have a conversation and watch sports, or maybe they can, but they choose not to. So that's not my dilemma. My dilemma is not about Star Wars weekend, but Jay, are you ready? I need some advice from a male. You are a male. You'll have to do. All right. I'm just kidding.

You're also a good friend. So here's my dilemma. The guy that I had the date with, he's not going to be named just because that's not fair to the poor guy. We'll just call him Bob. Okay.

Bob works. All right. So Bob kind of likes Star Wars, but isn't a Star Wars nerd like me.

Now I have, maybe this is a mistake, but I've indicated that the depths of my Star Wars fandom, Bob likes to send me Star Wars memes, like jokes. Okay. I mean, all right. Some of them are funny.

Some of them not so much. I just, I feel as though I need to underscore to him at some point that, you know, Star Wars is not necessarily a laughing matter to me. I'm going to need you to be a little more serious about your Star Wars or about my Star Wars and recognize that it's a thing.

It could be a deal breaker. So what, is he sending memes, like making fun of it? Well, just goofy memes, jokey memes, you know, not like actual serious, like, cause when we talk about Star Wars, it's like, how dare you joke about Yoda? Right. I mean, there's like serious stuff that needs to be discussed. Right. Or maybe, maybe I should pretend like it's not a big deal because, you know, my nerdiness over Star Wars can be intense.

So maybe I shouldn't scare him off this early. How intuitive is he? Like scale of one to 10.

What are we looking at? Well, as best I can gauge. Yeah.

To the best of your knowledge. He likes the OGs, the originals. Okay.

But beyond that, doesn't really have much invested in the Star Wars universe. So, and, and, oh, and get this. I told him about how my brother and I, this very sacred story about how my brother and I used to set up our basements as a Star Wars universe and play with all our figurines and our X-wing fighters and our Y-wing fighter and our Tauntauns on the planet Hoth. Of course. He laughed. Like a ha ha.

No, like a ha ha ha ha. Oh. So he didn't do that, I guess. He didn't. Yeah. Apparently he thought that was funny.

I mean, that's sacred space. I don't. Hmm. Yeah.

That's like, wasn't a laughing matter. Got to be careful here, Bob. This could be, this could be, I'm just saying. All right.

Another big question about Bob. No, no, no. Hold on though. Hold on. So do I, do I run the risk of scaring the poor man away with the intensity of my Star Wars fervor or do I just pretend like I'm okay with the jokes and the laughing and the memes at Star Wars expense? I'm not really sure how long I can keep up that facade. There's got to come a point where like a meme or a gif or a joke crosses that line. Like you can't even make in front of Admiral Ackbar.

You cannot be making fun of iconic lines like it's a trap. Right. Right.

That's just, that's not going to fly anywhere. No. So you got to see where he takes it. That'll get you excommunicated. Right.

At some point. So you got to see really where it's coming from, I think. Where if it's like a place of like when you said when he laughed at your story, that kind of was a place of ha ha laughing at you the way I took it. But if it's a gif, like kind of like. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and maybe he just, he thought it was cute. And so that's why he was laughing. It just, it seemed more like a laughing at me than it did. I wasn't laughing.

So he wasn't laughing with me. But if he's sending you like, if the gifs and the memes, if those are meant to further, like you're both of your combined appreciation of Star Wars. It's his way to connect with me. Right.

Maybe Bob's attempting to connect with me over Star Wars. That's what I'm saying. But he's, he's in the, I mean, let's just be fair. He's in the kiddie pool. Okay. Barely.

He's got a toe in. Also though, just to point out, when you and I first met, you were in the Star Wars kiddie pool. Pretty much. And now you have graduated to intermediate swim lessons where I let you every now and then be part of, you know, having to actually swim for it, not just walking along in the kiddie pool.

Yeah. I think I was like kiddie pool, like close, getting ready for the shallow end. And now I'm like standing at the end of the diving board. You no longer have swimmies. What are those called? Floaties, I think. Which are banned actually at most pools. Why? Because they're really dangerous.

I used to be a lifeguard. Why are they dangerous? Because if they, you put them on like your infant and they can't really like control. So a lot of parents will put them on their infant, leave them in the pool thinking they're totally safe, but the baby could like flip forward and then can't get itself back up. But you're not looking at it because you think it's safe.

There should be no excuse for ever leaving your baby where you're not watching him or her in the water. That is the reason. Yeah. So they're banned in a lot of pools now. Interesting. Okay. Anyway, that was the tangent. So you are no longer in the kiddie pool, but coming from a Star Wars, I'll call you a newer aficionado who was in the kiddie pool not that long ago.

What do I do? Do you think he can get there? Like, does he? Oh, yes.

Yep. Smart guy. He's a smart guy.

Bob is a smart guy. So I feel as though we could bond over this, but I need him to understand that Yoda is a serious matter. Okay. Do or do not. There is no try. When 900 years old, you reach, look as good, you will not. What if I drop one of those lines on him? He has no idea what I'm talking about. Also, do I judge him if he hasn't seen all nine? We'll say 10 movies if we include Rogue One. Jay, Jay fell asleep during Rogue One.

I just want to point that out. And we're still... Are you lying right now? I did not fall asleep.

OMG. Yes, you did. You fell asleep.

I saw you. And then you try to pretend like you didn't. Anyway, I have forgiven producer Jay for falling asleep during Rogue One is all I'm saying. So my point is, if I can have a little grace for you as I'm shoving you into the deep end for Star Wars, or maybe I should warn him what he's getting into.

The fact is, it's going to rub off on him like it or not. Well, yeah, I mean, that's the big question is, has he seen the prequels? That's where it's got to be next, because you said he likes the originals. So I don't even like number two. Number two is terrible.

Hayden Christensen is a simp. Yeah, number two stinks. It's the worst one. It's not even close.

It's not even a good movie. What if he hasn't seen any of the animated stuff? I doubt he has. Oh, probably. That's like next level, right?

But that's what I'm saying. You got to get to the prequels first, because that's like a whole other universe and world and timeline of Star Wars that you can study on its own. Should I try to keep my Star Wars fandom under wraps until I know him a little better? I would show him... Until I trust him a little more? And let him give his reaction to it. And then I judge him based on that?

And then you judge him based on that. I mean, that's really mean, actually. That's the only way.

That's the only way I can see it. Oh, no. Here's the thing. He likes a bunch of music that I don't like.

I'm not judging him over that. So I suppose you should know earlier rather than later that if you get me, you get Star Wars universe. That's just how it goes. It's a done deal. We're a package deal.

You don't get me without Star Wars. I think it is definitely a green flag. A green flag.

A green flag? That he sends me memes about Yoda? I do. Because he's trying. That's good. It's connecting. It's trying.

It's on your interests. Again, let's just hope Bob is skipping this portion of the show. You should be taking notes. I need him to figure this out on his own. That's true.

That's a good point. So I don't want him to drown in the deep end, but I do want him to recognize that it's important. Don't push him in. Don't push him in. Don't push him in. When he's not looking, don't trip him and shove him into the face first into the deep end. It's tempting.

I don't want him to drown. Exactly. Exactly.

So therein lies the question. All right. Again, could we potentially lose this from the podcast just so no one else hears it? Yeah.

Hour three would just be like 30 minutes. Gone. Right. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Thanks so much for hanging out with us. I mean, there is a time and a place for a good Star Wars meme, but just be careful about Yoda. Just be careful.

On Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It's been a day. Four year brackets and Friday will likely be more of the same ever since the transfer portal. This is what happens. You've got the talent spread out, a wealth of talent, and it's spread out around the country.

So I hope that you were considering those double figure seeds. Also, producer Jay, he tried to pretend like he submitted his bracket and that's it. It's locked in, except he keeps telling me he can change it if I want him to.

I'm not asking how that's possible because I don't want to know, but I trust you, producer Jay. No screwing with the brackets. Got it? I got it.

You just- I outed you. I wasn't going to do it, but- Okay. You have mentioned your executive powers more than once. With great power comes great responsibility.

True. I don't think I trust you with any responsibility, really. I trusted you with the candy and look what happened. Well, on Survivor Island, I was out week two. Did you even make it to week two? Actually, but it's my fault, though. Wasn't it my fault because we were going back and forth between Browns and- Was it Browns and- Bangles, I think, was the other one.

Bangles. I think they actually both lost that week. They both lost, yeah.

Actually, we would have been out either way. Okay, so here's something else then. Are you ready? This is how I absolve you of all of the- You actually did me a favor with the candy job. Even though we've lost our candy stash and you were duped by a coworker who just- It was like one of those scams that you get on email or a text message. Hey, come add your candy to our stash. And it's not just your candy. Then you have access to all of this other incredible candy, except somehow our candy disappeared and we got no stash that we were able to access. Okay, so it was a really bad mistake on Jay's part, but I want you to know I've had a change of heart. I've reconsidered and here's what I've come up with.

I am inside of eight weeks, in fact, seven weeks until my next half marathon. I shouldn't be eating candy anyway, which means you did me a solid. You disposed of the candy.

I don't like the method. I would say the means that you used to get to the end were sketchy. You're sketchy.

Questionable at best. Your coworker is definitely sketchy, but since I can no longer have candy from now until May 7th, I believe is the half marathon. I forgive you. Wow. I mean, thank you. That's very generous of me.

That's very big of you. I was trying to get candy for you too, though, but- Were you? I was. Well, that was it. No more candy. I'm done with candy from now. You remember, though, this is not something foreign to you because this time last year when I was getting ready to run my first half marathon in three years, I begged you to stop bringing candy to work. And? And you did. So I'm begging you if you care about your job.

No, I'm just teasing. If you care about me as your friend and your coworker, you will stop bringing candy to work. Stop shopping at the gas station and bringing new candy to work every couple of days. I can not share it, but I need that. See, you're not great at that, though, because you always want to share the wealth. And so you'll dangle it on the other side of the double pane glass. Like, hey, this is what Jay does. He doesn't actually say anything. He just shakes the candy bag back and forth on the other side of the glass so I can see it. No, that's it.

I've drawn the line. No more candy. I can't quit chocolate over the next seven weeks. It's my treat when I do training runs. Yep.

Right now. Shaking. He's shaking his bag of treats, but no more candy. No more gummies. Got it.

Not even like new ones that just hit the shelf that I find. Jay, that's not helpful. It's not helpful.

You're supposed to be supportive. You got it. No more gummies. No more candy. All right.

No more. And that includes Easter. Easter's coming up.

Come on. I'll buy you Easter candy. And then you're just gonna take it home to get rid of like a Reese's egg or something. If it's chocolate. Yeah.

Reese's peanut butter, cup, egg, chocolate, peanut butter. You're terrible at this. You know that the eggs are like the second best supportive.

No, you're terrible at being supportive. How about this is Jay's idea of training, though. He told me last year that he could probably get ready for half marathon in two weeks. I took that back immediately. You rescinded the statement immediately, but he did say that it did come out of his mouth. Yeah, that that happened. Not the way he eats.

Maybe if we get you at the vat of broccoli and you start eating healthy, potentially. When was the last time you ran more than 400 yards? When was the last time you ran 400 yards? I mean, that's a good, that's a good question as well.

All at once. Like in a sprint and a dash. Have you ever had to chase Moose down the street? No, he doesn't run.

He doesn't run. You and Moose, you're going the same way. I bike a little bit. When?

Last summer. It's getting warm again. It's going to be 58 on Friday and Saturday, actually.

So you can, you can definitely get out there and bike if you need to. But do we have a pact? No more candy.

Except for an Easter exception, yes. It has to be chocolate. Fine. No more candy. Phew. See, I let you off the hook. You lost our candy stash, but as it turns out, you were doing it in support of my training. That's really what I was going for.

Once again, kick saving a beauty. Okay, coming up, Penn State with one of its players on fire. Fire. I can't do any more Beavis and Butthead. That's it. That's all I got. That was good. Thank you.

And also we had a struggle for one top seed in its quest to move on to the second round. You can find us on Twitter, After Hours, CBS. I know I'm so mean to Jay. You can also find our Facebook page After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. Cross-court pass caught by Funk. Overplay didn't get the ball. He fires and scores. I mean, that is just fish in a barrel for Funk. It's like shooting layups right now from 25 feet for Andrew Funk.

You go through that passing lane. If you're Garcia, you better get it. Offensive foul, Texas A&M. And this ball of yarn in Aggie Maroon is unspooling down the stairs at the NCAA tournament.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. All hail Andrew Funk. What a performance for the sharpshooter from Penn State and a big victory for the Nittany Lions. In fact, it's their first.

This is awesome. They're a Big Five school or a Power Five school, but more often known for their football. Their first NCAA tournament win since 2001.

22 years of futility. But because they go 13 of 22 from beyond the arc and because Andrew Funk hits eight triples in this one, they end a lengthy drought. Honestly, it means a lot and it probably means more than people think because I've only been here for one year. But like obviously I went to Bucknell and Penn State has had a big big-time Philly pipeline going for a long time. And you know, I used to play against guys like Tone Carr and Lamar Stevens and Azir Bostic.

So although I wasn't a direct fan of the team and of the program like I watched a lot of those guys. And so to be able to come here and do this you know with these with this group of guys it's just it's really special. And you know I'm really happy to be doing it alongside the group of guys that we have. We really prepared for a few days in a row just because I knew how good this this team was in Texas A&M. The run that they've been on for you know we've played well for 10 straight games 11 games like they've played well for like 20 in a row and their guards are fantastic they rebound like crazy. So we knew how good they were and I thought our attention to detail on defense and offense was really good and that's the benefit of having an older group of guys that that can execute a scouting report on offense and defense. It is one of the benefits of having an experienced roster and in this case and often with mid-majors who field seniors and juniors that's how they survive that's how they get to the point where they can be a participant in March Madness because they've got older guys.

We're not talking about as many one and done's in the mid-major pool. And so here is Penn State they've got a group of guys that have stayed together they played together now they've added pieces as well like like Funk but 27 points for him and boy did they shoot the lights out. Some of his shots were coming from Steph Curry range if you will it's after hours on CBS Sports Radio Jason Benetti with that call on the Westwood One NCAA radio network all of the calls we use on after hours come from Westwood One the way that they shot and it's not just Funk who was able to maintain a high field goal percentage but 48 percent from the field to just 34 percent by Texas A&M. So in every offensive category they were so much better than A&M. A&M really struggled to find and keep a rhythm you had Penn State that was passing the ball around that was sharing the rock and below 10 turnovers as well which is a huge deal. So that's I would say it's a massive upset because they were playing really good basketball they lost to Purdue in the Big Ten championship and so we know they were on a hot streak but considering that they were picked to finish last or toward the bottom of the Big Ten they've been quite a revelation and a surprise this season.

8-5-5-2-1-2-4-2-2-7 that's 8-5-5-2-1-2-4 CBS. So producer Jay tells me we've got a comment from Buzz Williams the Texas A&M coach who has seen what the Nittany Lions are capable of now up close and personal. They won four out of five they won four out of five to close down the regular season playing at a really high level and I would say that tonight don't want to speak for coach I would say tonight was the best they've played in that 10 game stretch.

Nice compliment and and also good recognition by Buzz for Micah Shrewsbury who led Penn State. Now I've been mentioning some of the one seeds Alabama, Kansas 96 points cruising. Duke has no trouble we talked about them over Oral Roberts they start out hot they stay hot I think they've won 10 in a row now so the Blue Devils are peaking at the right time. Houston though is dealing with some injury issues and this was much more of a game that was in doubt until the late stages. Gives it up top to Sharp he'll take another three he got it again. Welcome to the party Emmanuel Sharp Houston largest lead 47-38, 10-47 remaining in the game. Jamal Shedd obviously as Stephen has pointed out a little bit of pain something in the lower extremities bothering him but he drives down the lane here hangs in the air and scores it and Houston is up 10 their largest lead.

Fade away 18. What a shot he limps back he's been injured this game but he's playing with that injury and his team's up nine. That was a pro move on the fade off of the spin beautiful shot by Shedd. Once again on the Westwood 1 NCAA radio network Jamal Shedd bothered by a sore knee but he managed to hang tough and he played 36 minutes had 13 points and six assists. The major concern here and Jay I'm not sure if there's anything from Kelvin Sampson about Marcus Sasser but their All-American actually ended up getting pulled early watched from the bench uh the end of this game and so even though Northern Kentucky the Norse the Norse of Northern Kentucky only trailed by three at the half and this was a tie game past the initial media timeout in the second half Houston was ultimately able to pull away and they play such tough defense um that is it's a it's a major advantage for them when the games turn ugly right so Houston wants to make you play ugly basketball but as the games get tougher and the opponents get more physical more explosive even healthier to not have your top scorer Sasser and the first member of the AP All-American first team for Houston going back to the 80s this is a big deal he's dealing with a groin injury he was a game time decision and did play a little bit but was not out there at the end even as this game was hanging in the balance so manages just 14 minutes and only five points uh and so that maybe maybe the idea is rest him if we can get through this first game without him he'll have two more days to to rest and to recover and to get rehab and treatment but it was a scuffle for Houston as I say the defense a big deal holding the Norse to 19 of 69 from the floor meaning under 28 and it was a relatively clean game too with not a lot of free throws just tough and physical and Houston excels in those areas but as I say you go deeper in this tournament and you need all hands on deck and they definitely will need Marcus Sasser so we'll see it wasn't as easy well easy it wasn't as smooth and it did not come as easily for Houston as it did for Kansas and for Alabama I know that in the case of Arizona and also Virginia though I would say Arizona even more so people are freaking out right because that is a definite bracket buster I actually have been a little intimidated and I've decided not to look how far I had Arizona going so I filled up my brackets at the last second I did have Furman in both the family bracket and the after hours bracket challenge and we're not even through this first round yet so we still have Friday's games before we are down to the round of 32 but I've chosen Jay since Jay and I have a wager and just in general it's about bragging rights and how often if your bracket looks completely blown up do people associate your knowledge with your brackets which is dumb this is why I don't make predictions but in this particular case I choose to have fun and participate but I don't I don't want to not enjoy the rest of the first round so I've decided I'll wait and see what the damage looks like when Friday's games are over I don't know if I'm so glad we did not bet candy oh have you already looked I looked yeah oh how are you doing oh you remember I don't remember I was too tired I did okay not I didn't have a great first day but I'm not out I'm not crushed so did you have Furman I did I did not I should I really should have but I didn't I thought about it I didn't do it did you pick Drake no I picked Miami you picked Miami yeah that was a tough one but I because we've talked to both coaches so Jim Larunaga I'm doing it the way that he told me to now along with Darren DeVries so the thing about Drake is they're not a typical 12-seat they've got a player of the year candidate Tucker DeVries could have played in a lot of power five programs instead he chose to play for his dad and again with the transfer portal now there's a wealth of talent that is spread around the country from the mid-major level on up so I yeah I don't know how my bracket looks I would say I would say I'm probably under 50 percent if I had to guess I think I'm under 50 percent as long as your champion and your runner-up are still in it after the first day after the first two days do you care to reveal who your champion and your runner-up are or at least who your matchup is in the championship game I have Alabama versus Gonzaga do you I do you're going with Gonzaga I'm impressed yep this is the year okay I like it I would be so happy for Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs because they have come so close and been denied I think Drew Timmy has a Kemba Walker-ish performance from when UConn won their tournament what was that 2012 or something like that yeah it was pretty amazing to see Kemba the way that he took over and it went back to the conference tournament for UConn even before that now they obviously play different positions but you never know Drew Timmy because of how he can dominate really at so many different levels and stages and phases of the game I like it I like the boldness so you're you're picking Gonzaga to win over yeah I am who Alabama yeah who also looked really good I have neither of those teams in my championship game I might have one of them in my final four Alabama did look good I actually this is weird and I didn't love it so I went back and changed it I initially had Baylor in Kansas and then I didn't love the fact that I had two big 12 teams in the final so I actually think I went back and changed it to Baylor in Houston and then I was like wait a minute I don't like that either that's two Texas teams plus the final four is in Houston so I I didn't love that I think I did end up with Baylor though in the championship game um from the left side of the bracket so the south versus the east I went back and forth on Bama I don't really love anybody else out of the Bama region so Bama's kind of where I'm at with that I do like Marquette though and so I think I had Marquette in one of my brackets going at least to the elite eight and then I just I don't love picking all one seeds it's it's rare it's boring and it's rare I'd prefer to pick upsets but ultimately here's what's happened here's what's happening and it will continue to happen if you pick a ton of upsets and we see a ton of upsets in the early rounds you're more likely to get back to chalk for the later rounds at least in some of the regions so yes I did end up with at least a one seed in my championship game but I'm pretty sure that I have good confidence in Baylor so I went with Baylor I believe let's see from for both of my brackets I I think I went with Baylor I learned my lesson this year and I did not pick Michigan State every single year do you know I've picked them to win the championship multiple times and they've been out in the first or second round I feel like that's a very common thing for a lot of people with them yeah how many people picked Arizona though and saw them lose to Princeton see that stinks and then now you're marked it doesn't stink for Princeton no no but I'm saying if you're if you're playing like a bracket and you picked Arizona to win then now what you know now you applaud the Princeton Tigers and you hope they run the table I'm not gonna give you any money we're not betting for money even give their athletes money oh well true unless I don't know does the NIL operate in the ivy league I don't know good question all right coming up we'll get back to college basketball top of the hour but straight ahead Jaylen Ramsey tells you why he picked well he didn't pick Miami but why he's thrilled to be back in Florida as a member of the dolphins also we never choose to talk about this on our last show but Ezekiel Elliott is now a free agent Zeke Zeke I didn't see that coming well two maybe a year ago you wouldn't have thought this was the case but Tony Pollard has made Zeke expendable even as Pollard gets franchise tagged by the Dallas Cowboys how much money will it require to bring Zeke on board that's a challenge too Jack Prescott weighing in on the release of his back I was gonna say back court mate his backfield mate and then what I consider to be a quarterback signing worth paying attention to although if this guy's starting his team is in a world of hurt again it's after hours with Amy Lawrence you are listening to the after hours podcast attention sports fans your favorite sportsbook betus.com is back for our 29th year of football action with the industry's biggest sign-up bonus of up to 200 bet us offers our members the opportunity to cash in on all your favorite leagues including NFL NBA MLB and more we've also got hundreds of new casino games including the coolest slots and our live dealers are waiting for you at the tables sign up at betus.com or call 1-800-79-betus and get into the action betus where the game begin in the gun Prescott snapback handoff Elliott driving pushing touchdown this is after hours with Amy Lawrence when the Dallas Cowboys were excelling last year on offense I mean certainly they wanted to spread the ball around Jack Prescott taking care of the football but they didn't have a great receiving core they did not what they did best was use the versatility of their tandem backfield Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard and the offensive line and they were able to show a variety of looks out of the backfield and two very different bodies and and strengths between Pollard and Zeke but Zeke is expensive and now the Cowboys have seen what Tony Pollard can do and here's what I love about Pollard he takes every opportunity and treats it like it's the only one he's ever going to have like he uses every opportunity with a sense of urgency and the wrinkle that he gave the Dallas Cowboys offense was incredible so Zeke because of his expense and because of Tony Pollard who's now received the franchise tag he is expendable and is actually a free agent cut courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys it's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio the voice of Brad Sham on the Cowboys radio network one of our favorite voices here and so Zeke two things here Zeke is looking for a new home and there certainly are teams out there that could use a running back the issue of course is the money he's been very well paid he was very well paid with his most recent extension he still got four years left on what is a six-year deal worth 90 million dollars and there are a lot of people that thought it was a bad move by Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys to give a running back that kind of money and to invest that kind of well that kind of capital but that much of your salary cap into a running back but last year the wheels came off and it became apparent very obvious that they had to to figure out a way to better allocate their funds so he here are just some of the the numbers he finished last in the NFL in yards per carry so under four yards per carry he also finished last in the NFL I didn't even know anyone kept track of this but I came across at my research in the percentage of his runs that went for 10 plus yards meaning he wasn't breaking as many tackles he wasn't getting downfield he wasn't creating more yards for himself where how often do we see Tony Pollard just refuse to go down and not necessarily because of his strength or because of his dragging people but just his ability to uh to kind of elude and evade and and make the most as I say of his opportunities 7.4 percent of Zeke's runs went for 10 plus yards again that's last in the NFL and so the Cowboys are getting more than 10 million dollars in cap relief because of this they do still have some dead money but the the the impact is sizable smaller there was no guaranteed money left on his deal so they're able to get out from under the rest of his contract where does he go from here well he'll have options but they won't be options that pay him nearly as much money it's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS sports radio I just want to apologize because the audio from DAC and also Troy Aikman is muted they're in a loud a place where there's a lot of other voices and there's background noise um but here's DAC on the release of Zeke from from uh Amy here's here's DAC on the release of Zeke period it's tough uh a brother um playing the game with a brother been able to to start this NFL career and uh share share so many memories and um grow up as men grow up as men uh throughout the with this organization I really can't imagine taking the field without him uh something I don't know if it's completely hit me yet um obviously I've talked to him talked to him I'm hurt I'm sure he is but it's more importantly for me just to be able to uh support him I know he's got more opportunities coming his way and uh love that guy proud of him um number one support in here for him no matter what obviously there have been injuries that have kept DAC and Zeke from being a tandem the entire time that they were together in Dallas but they were selected in the same draft so Zeke was the first round pick by the Cowboys number four overall Prescott if you remember was a fourth round pick but they were both starting immediately DAC started as a rookie because of injuries to Tony Romo and they've kind of been together in the Cowboys offense and so they were able to lead even as rookies able to lead the Cowboys to double figure wins that 12-13 wins their rookie year um and it's just another change for DAC now there's a lot of changes that are taking place so you can I hope you can hear his comments from this event for the Children's Cancer Fund he actually chairs that event with Tony Tony with Troy Aikman and so Troy was also weighing in about Zeke and his impact in Dallas and how you fill that void I remember when he came in as a rookie and all the expectations of what he might do I'm a big fan of Zeke's and I think that regardless of whatever anyone's opinion is of him as far as what he was able to do as a running back I I think they're going to really miss one of their real core players in that locker room and I always felt when I was playing that there are guys that you just don't replace and they have a big impact regardless of whatever they're doing on the field with with the continuity and the success of a football team and I really believe that Zeke is one of those guys and and I'm not alone I think the Cowboys understand that as well I think that's what made this decision so good yeah Jerry Jones is pretty loyal he doesn't like to get rid of people but because of the money they were able to save under the cap and just because of how much money he was making ill-advised deal at the time because running backs see the wear and tear tend to mount and be compounded and because now even at 27 years old there's just been a lot of mileage for Zeke he had a thousand yard season in 2021 but we've we've seen his impact get negated by injuries and and also by just other factors and other people around him and so now you think about the Dallas Cowboys and Dak specifically in the offense and everything that's changed around him so no more Zeke no more Kellen Moore who was their OC but is now with the Chargers they've got other coaches that have changed on that staff as well and Mike McCarthy I read this there's just a handful of guys I think 10 guys who are still on the roster from before he got hired and so yeah change is is one way that you get closer to your goals but it's also really difficult because you lose people that you care about but the Cowboys want to build on what they did last year which was finally winning a playoff game on the road and also getting to the divisional round having all those guys I said departure so many close friends good teammates and not win a championship and the urgency was there but then now as that's turned over realizing that hey you might blink and my career may be over with you know what I mean and that's saying whatever seven years or years to come that yeah the urgency is now I mean it's now or never it's simple as that and yeah no sugar coating no sugar coating it according to Dak Prescott a lot of change but you got to keep up with what else is happening in the NFC beast the eagles man the eagles talk about change they've seen a lot of change though they're able to keep Darius Slay which I think is a big deal also James Bradbury staying but man the number of changes they've seen because guys from that NFC championship team want to get paid and there are opportunities elsewhere around the NFL and also when you got a bunch of players who performed exceedingly well who've been part of a huge success story who have had career years you got to pay him and if you're not going to pay him somebody else is going to pay him so eagles giants cowboys that NFC east division's got a lot tougher it's after hours on CBS sports radio