After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. One hour from now, a conversation with Hall of Famer Ann Myers Drysdale. She's now the Vice President of both the Suns and the Mercury and actually she's remained as part of the administration of these teams, of this ownership group, even though the ownership has changed.

And so the culture has changed as well. Plus Brittany Griner is resigned with the Mercury and determined to play basketball again. And of course, she's in the spotlight for an entirely different reason since she started to speak publicly about her detainment in Russia.

So I wanted to talk to Ann. First of all, she's a great basketball mind. But also, it's, I think, a unique position right now because the Suns traded for KD and are still part of this playoff equation and because of Brittany Griner's return and the growth of the WNBA. There are some new TV partnerships and media partners and the league is approaching 30 years.

It's 30 year anniversary and it continues to grow, continues to attract fans. They've got such incredible talent. You've never watched the WNBA. You enjoy basketball.

I mean, the talent level in the league has also greatly increased. And so it's a good conversation with a variety of information. Also, she's just a lot of fun. So it's great to talk to her. You'll hear that an hour from now.

After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio, looking at the games that were played on Wednesday night. Hope you survived your hump day, by the way. I tell you what, it was one of those days where sleep was not my friend. I feel like I have more of those that I actually have days where I sleep. I still have not slept eight hours. I'm not even sure I've slept a full seven hours in a row since the half marathon. Maybe that's why I didn't have a ton of energy on Wednesday afternoon. I do feel like after my crazy five weeks from early April through the half marathon on Sunday that I'm finally starting to catch up and get a few items checked off my to-do list. Not feeling quite as overwhelmed with a few more things checked off the list. I sent mom her Mother's Day box on Wednesday afternoon.

That was fun. I not only sent her a small pig squishmallow. I told you I got squishmallows for everybody in my family.

I want to get a squishmallow for Jay too. When's the next gift opportunity for Jay? I guess the anniversary. Our anniversary.

What is that? Do we mark that as August or when you actually became a full-timer? Oh, so like four months after the fact. Because illegally they were asking you to work here on the show full-time when you weren't actually full-time. They're hoping that that would somehow slip through the cracks.

They wouldn't have to give you benefits or anything like that. Oh my gosh, the boss was about ready to fire me. I was such a pest about that. Hey, when is Jay going to be full-time? Hey, I think this might be illegal. He yelled at me through an email. It's not illegal.

I was like, oh, I actually think it is illegal. Anyway, so do we go with October or actually when we started working together on the show? No, I think the August. That official date. Because that's when you'd like your own squishmallow? I would just like it sooner rather than later. You would?

Okay. Well, last year we went to a Mets game. Would you prefer a squishmallow over a Mets game?

Don't I owe you a Mets game? Yes, actually. Let's find out. So did you actually go and look at the March Madness standings to determine that I did? Or are you just guessing, you jerk?

What are you doing in there? You never looked, did you? No, I didn't. I don't have the final numbers, actually.

I don't remember them, but I can get them. But yeah, I won that bet. So we got to pick a game. Or, well, you can pick the game.

No, I'm paying for the game. You can pick the game. It just has to be a Saturday.

We actually have a lot of Saturdays at 4 o'clock Eastern coming up, so that's a good time. Okay, who do we want to see? I don't want to see Max Scherzer, so don't even consider that.

Yeah, that's alright. Well, he won't pitch anyway, so. That's true, he's unavailable. Verlander would be cool, if we could line that up. Well, okay, since Saturday's really the only option, I suppose at some point he's going to pitch on a Saturday.

Senga, Ghost Fork. Alright, he's the only one who's healthy. Yeah. Okay, so Mets game I owe you. So for the year anniversary then, or actually it would be two years. For the two year anniversary of us beginning to work together, Squishmallow it is, because I'm not buying you two Mets games.

No. The two year will be the Squishmallow anniversary. I will name him George, and I will hug him and pet him. Are you going to name him George?

I might have to now. Actually, I think they all have their own names. I hate to break it to you. My hippo, it's Hannah. Her name is Hannah the Hippo, and it came with the name. Kind of like the Beanie Babies. You can't have Hannah the Hippo. What Squishmallow would you like?

Or should it be a surprise? An animal Squishmallow? They have a Bulldog Squishmallow.

Do they? Except you don't even like your own Bulldog. Well, the Squishmallow will probably be more active than he is.

The inanimate Squishmallow. My mom yelled at me today on the phone because I was being frustrated with Penny. I'm like, Mom, she can't hear me anyway.

What does it matter whether or not I'm frustrated? Selectively, she decided not to. She said, I can't believe you're talking to her like that. And I was like, Mom, she can't hear me say she's driving me crazy. And she doesn't care. She just keeps doing whatever she wants to do. She can't actually hear me.

That dog has been such a good companion for you. Don't you be mean to her. I'm not being mean to her. I'm just speaking mean things because she can't hear me. So the Sunday morning story just went in one ear and out the other. Penny wasn't rude that morning?

No, goodness. I'm not even sure I told my mom that story. I guess I did. I probably did.

But more people heard it here on the radio. I wasn't being mean to her. I was just frustrated. I was tired this afternoon. And so I was jawing at her.

Let's go, buddy. Now that the dog can hear it. And again, she doesn't care anyway.

So what is the difference? My mother was really upset at me because she thought I was being mean to Penny. I can't believe how you're talking to her right now. I said, Mom, you don't know what it's like to have a dog like this.

Oh, I have two of them. Like, yeah, they're not like this. Plus, Mike takes care of them more than you do. Anyway, Penny's fine. No one's being mean to Penny. Penny still runs my life. So yes, Penny is actually getting ready for the heat because there's a couple of really hot days coming up and that's not her favorite. So I don't even know why we're talking.

Why are we talking about Penny? Oh, Squishmallows? I wasn't rude to her. Yeah, we were talking about Squishmallows. Oh, we're talking about Mom because I mailed her Mother's Day package.

That's where we're going to land the plane. I sent her Mother's Day package on Wednesday because her town is notoriously slow with delivering mail. And I wanted to make sure that it arrived before Mother's Day. So I did send her a little piggy Squishmallow. And it's really cute. It's probably only three inches tall and it's handheld size and it's adorable.

So you could have your own little handheld Squishmallow if you want. Are you Googling them right now? Yes, you are. I can see your face when you're Googling something. This is how well Jay and I know each other. When the look on his face changes, I can tell he's Googling something. Which Squishmallow did you Google?

They got some new ones that apparently just came out. I see Vic the Frog who looks awesome. Oh, Vig, excuse me. Vig the Frog. Little Vig. Okay. He's great. I'm going to get you an avocado.

Avocado's alright. I don't mind that. Oh, goodness. That's a ways down the road. Okay, so I'm going to get the Squishmallow.

You don't get to pick. Have you seen the Chewbacca one yet? No, I haven't.

You should look that one up. Is he a little Chewbacca or is he a tough looking Star Wars Chewbacca? Is he a cutesy Chewbacca? See, I don't love it when stuffed animals turn fierce characters like Chewbacca into a cutesy little thing. He's not cutesy.

He can rip your arm out of its socket. He's a Wookie. He's not a Yoda. He's definitely not fierce as a Squishmallow. No, there's really nothing fierce about him. He's got a smile.

He's squishy. Exactly. I don't know. Besides, we do have other interests besides Star Wars, don't we? We do. Don't we? Maybe. Sometimes. Usually.

Every now and then. I will say, though, that his his armor belt. What do you want? What are those called? You know, like the mares wear them. Yes, I got you.

Yeah, that's really cool on him. So what are those called? I don't even know. Harnesses? No.

Maybe. Belt. It's just his belt. Like his belt. Yeah.

It's his tool belt. That's really cool. That's a nice touch. No, no Chewbacca Squishmallow. I'm going to find one. If it's not an avocado, maybe it'll be a cupcake. I could see you liking cupcakes.

Anyway, so that's fine. We'll do the Squishmallow. But I sent this one to mom.

It was a Piggy Squishmallow. And also sent her cookies because I've got to get rid. I baked so many cookies last week that I got to get rid of them. I have a plate of them ready for my neighbors for this weekend. And I'm thinking I'm going to have to send some home with you, Jay, for your mom for Mother's Day. What are you guys doing for Mother's Day? Probably just kind of laying low in the backyard. We just kind of, last weekend, the last few weekends, been setting up like, you know, the deck area with tables and the umbrellas and the ponds already.

It's going to be hot out. How many tables do you need? There's one by the deck and there's one by the pool, which we don't use as often.

But the one by the deck is like a mainstay. So yeah, probably just barbecuing some stuff up. I'll help out, do whatever I can. You'll help out. Make Mom's Day easy. Oh my gosh, your mother better not be cooking on Mother's Day. She won't.

My dad will probably barbecue just because he's better at it than I would be. And I'll just, you know, do whatever else is needed. You'll just hover?

Hover around. Maybe offer to walk the dogs that your mom doesn't have to? I could. I mean, if he would want to walk, that'd be nice. But yeah, usually he doesn't really want to go. The bulldog has a mind of his own.

He just doesn't like to walk. I don't know. It'll be nice. It'll be a nice weekend, hot weekend. And I hope wherever you all are that you're also planning something special for your moms.

Since I can't be with moms, instead I sent her cookies, some of her favorites, and also sent a Squishmallow. And then I put, what's that called? Shoot, what am I thinking of? It's like tinsel, only it's birthday colors.

It's not Christmas colors. So I put a bunch of, like, confetti and tinsel in the box too, so that when she opens the box it'll make a big mess and all the confetti and the tinsel will come out. That's fun.

Yeah, it'll be fun. It's like paper confetti. You know, like little strips of paper, like crinkled strips of paper confetti.

Yeah, like paper tape. Yeah, so it'll be cute. I'm looking forward to her opening the box. That'll be nice. So I got that done.

As I say, you are working on the horizon. I finally finished my book and returned it to the library three weeks late. Oh my gosh. I didn't even have time to read the last couple weeks.

That's how crazy it's been. Did they give you a hard time? No, I returned it when there was nobody there. I returned it after hours into the book drop. So they did send me an overdue notice, which I was a bit mortified. That's never happened in my entire library career.

I've never received an overdue notice before, but they did. I probably owe the library 30 bucks or something just to keep this book, but I wanted to finish it. It was really good. And I kept thinking I'll finish it this weekend or I'll finish it on this trip.

Nope, didn't do any of that. So essentially my life fell apart in the last five weeks and now I'm trying to put it back together. I know I can't be the only one in this boat.

Spring is nutso. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Edgar says it's a bandolier. A B or a V? A bandolier or a bandolier? A bandolier. A bandolier for Chewbacca, I'm assuming is what he's talking about. I think you should Google bandolier and read us the definition for bandolier.

It is. They actually sell bandoliers these days. A pocketed belt. I said it was a belt. I said it was a tool belt. A pocketed belt for holding either individual cartridges or belts of ammunition. See? That's exactly it.

That's exactly what I said. It's called a bandolier. Chewbacca. I'm going to Google Chewbacca bandolier. That's a pretty cool word. Chewbacca bandolier.

There it is. You can actually buy one on Amazon. Would you like that for your two year anniversary? A Chewbacca bandolier?

How much are they? I don't know if I can wait that long. You can get a plastic one for 15 bucks.

I need movie quality. That's a good question. Or I could just buy you Chewbacca and you can have his bandolier. Interesting stuff.

Why do you get me started on this? He also has a pouch. You know he carries a pouch too, right?

Does he? Yeah, in some cases he has a pouch. I'll take his pouch too. It's a man pouch. It's a wookie pouch. Yeah. How does this happen on the show?

How do we end up down these rabbit holes? Stop laughing and encouraging me. No.

I need to stay focused on... Wait. There's one more thing. Oh no. You can get Chewbacca's bandolier with like fur on it for your car seatbelt.

So you put it on like the front straps so when you put on your seatbelt it looks like you're wearing Chewbacca's bandolier. That is going in the cart. Oh my gosh. It's going in the cart?

It is not. Are you actually putting it in the cart? Oh my goodness. Whose cart? Is this your parent's Amazon?

And they're just actually going to accidentally buy it? I think it's Dave Sheppard's actually. Oh my gosh.

He left his open? No. I'm just messing with you. Whoa. Okay then. Nice.

Alright, on that note we're going to get to basketball next. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Randall drives by Adebayo. In the lane runner. Got it.

Hept his control against Love. Randall with 14. Nicks by 10.

Grimes to Brunson. Open three. Knocks it down.

And the Garden erupts. Timeout Miami with 736 to go in the third. Randall wants it. High post against Love. Jab step. Now a three.

Short. And gets the bounce. It's all going right for the Knicks. Randall with the shooter's roll. They lead by 16. Barrett the catch. The jumper. Got it. From 15 away. Short left corner. Eric Spolstra wants another timeout. They arise at the Garden.

Listen to them. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. That is Ed Cohen on Knicks Radio. And yes the New York Knicks. They were hitting their shots. They got a balanced attack. Jalen Brunson played all 48 minutes.

Julius Randall, RJ Barrett. Is that the Knicks big three? Well this game they were doing the yeoman's share of the work on the offensive end and the shots were dropping. However, even though they outscored the Heat by 20 in the middle two quarters of the game does not mean the game is over.

Oh no. We've seen what Jimmy Butler and the Heat can do when they got a little time left on the clock and they are motivated. Duncan the drive. Kicks it out top to Lowry.

Pump fake. Back to Duncan. Stayed on the toe. They think he traveled.

They didn't. Got it to Martin. To Lowry for three.

Splash. Kyle Lowry. Pushing closer for Miami. The jumper from the bottom of the circle.

It's short. Bam gets his own rebound. Knocks it to Jimmy. To Duncan for three. Got it.

Duncan Robinson is here everybody. It's his neighborhood. Left side. Splash down. Butler with a rock.

Working right side. Mid range. Jumper in nothing but net.

Mr. Mid range. Jimmy G. Buckets. It might be go time. Miami pulls within two points late in this game because of some hot shooting. The three pointers that weren't falling early.

Earlier they fell later in this one. Jason Jackson on Heat Radio. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. CBS Sports Radio. Ultimately the leadership of Jaylen Brunson was huge. Really appreciated seeing what he could do. And this is fighting through some fatigue.

This is making sure that he's out there for every last bit of what the Knicks need. So all 48 minutes and he filled up a stat sheet but it wasn't just that. It was the determination. It was the focus.

It was the control. So when the ball was in his hands he had the control. And it doesn't mean he makes every shot. But the ball is safer in his hands. I think that's the smart play for the New York Knicks.

And yes, they live to fight another game. Brunson foul on floater. Gets the balance. Brunson with 37.

Knicks by 6. 4 change to go. Randall. 8 to shoot. In the corner.

Couldn't get free. Bounce to Barrett. 4 to shoot. Barrett up top. 2 to shoot. Barrett drives. 1 to shoot. The runner.

No. Slam follow. Isaiah Hardstein.

Knicks by 4 with 2 away left. Robinson. Short. Rebound. Knocked away by Randall. Lays it up.

Lays it in. He snatched it from Lowry with 17.8 to go. And they're going bonkers at the guard. Once again, Ed Cohen on Knicks radio. So yes, on this night the New York Knicks are able to protect a lead.

The Miami Heat come up just short. And a lot of it is due to the first year point guard for the Knicks. Jalen Brunson. His coach Tom Thibodeau raving about him as much as Coach Thib can rave afterwards. What can you say about the guy? He's just incredible. All-around player.

Great leader. Great toughness. Mental toughness. Physical toughness. Ability to think on his feet. Ability to lead. Just to, you know, have the wherewithal. And they're, you know, putting a lot of heat on him.

And he just makes the right play every time. I'm pleased to announce that Radio Rental is returning for another installment of Terrifying Tales. If you happen to be new here, I'm Terry Carnation, current proprietor of the Radio Rental Video Store, where I possess a collection of the scariest true stories you've ever heard. All told by real people.

Mark your calendars for, oh, apparently it's available right now. I'm a little late with this promo. You know, at the core of who he is, he's a competitor and he wants to win. So, you know, he left it all out there tonight and carried us in a big way.

So, you know, it takes everybody. He was big time though. 38 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists. And this always impresses me about Jalen. A very high assisted turnover ratio. Only one turnover.

Julius Randle, you hear right there talking about Jalen, JB. 24 points for him. So, he rebounds after fouling out in the last game.

He's able to contribute a ton. And also RJ Barrett, who continues to grow up. We saw him, really the early training of his career at Duke, but then got into the league. He was so young. He had a lot of adjusting to do. Didn't always play defense. Really had to grow up a bunch, but he has found his rhythm and he's found his niche with the Knicks.

And so 26.7 rebounds for him. Now, there wasn't a whole lot off the bench in this game. And really in this series, the part that has grabbed attention, or my attention at least, is that it's a reversal from the regular season. The Heat had one of the worst bench productions.

That sounds awkward. Had one of the worst bench contributions over the course of a regular season. While the Knicks had one of the strongest of all teams in the NBA, Knicks were among the top few when it came to what they would get from their bench. While the Heat got almost nothing from their bench. It's been completely the opposite in this series. So still, the Knicks are operating mostly with those starting five.

And on this night, it was plenty. But also the Heat, after building an initial lead, so they had a small lead early on. Their defense was really setting the tone in that first quarter when they held the Knicks to 14 points. I was wondering if it was maybe nerves from the Knicks being in this situation, on this stage, at home, feeling the pressure of not wanting to be knocked out of this semi-final series on their own court. And maybe tight.

So a little bit of pressure, a little tight, a little nerve, a little nervous coming into play as well. But once they got comfortable, and once Brunson became much more of an aggressor, then it was obvious that they were the ones that had the production they needed, even though it was with that starting five. Now for the Heat, it's not like they were scoring great gangbusters in the first quarter. It's just that their defense was even better. They never scored more than 30 points in any of the quarters.

So they scuffled to find any offense. They did get hot with a few threes late, and that helped them to chip away at the lead. But this was much more like the Heat that we saw during the regular season in terms of the offense.

They were among the worst teams in the NBA in scoring offense and field goal percentage this year. And so for the most part, I would say the majority of this game, that was the MO we got from the Heat. They did get hot late. Again, so we saw a flurry from them, but it really reminded me of how they were so inconsistent during the regular season that you never really know which Heat team was going to step on the court.

Some nights they'd be world beaters, other nights they couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. Now they've been hot on a hot streak, the Heat, for most of these playoffs, and it's been really impressive, but not for the first three quarters of this game. So they still have a 3-2 lead. They get to play the next game at home. But obviously, Jalen Brunson was a problem.

Julius Randle can be a problem when he actually stays on the court and doesn't get into foul trouble. And Eric Spolstra knows that the Heat, as much as they did pull within two, they were chasing all night long. The tenor of the game was probably more in their favor. That's the way the series is going.

Who's winning those ball in the air, ball on the floor, the plays in between, just the big muscle areas. I didn't see a box score, but the energy, multiple effort game, it wasn't like they annihilated us in that game, but I would objectively say they beat us to the ball and were more aggressive. They did what they were supposed to do.

They played desperate, they played hard, made shots, that always helps. Whenever we get a lead, we got to build upon that lead and do what we came out to do. We did not do that. What you want us to do about it now, that's okay. Now we got to get back home and protect our home court. A lot of looks that we had were open. So, I mean, you can't be mad about that point.

We got the looks we wanted, we just didn't make them. Bam Adebayo, and before that Jimmy Butler, who did not score 20. That's a rare occasion for him in these playoffs.

And a couple of numbers that jumped out at me. So, if you're thinking about a game that ultimately is only separated by just nine points. Now, the Knicks had a 20 point lead, they blew it. The Knicks had 40 free throw attempts. 40 free throw attempts. Now they only made 29, but still, we had to watch them shoot 40 free throws.

Gag me with a spoon. Also, the Knicks gave up 29 points off turnovers. Think about that. So just the fact that those two numbers are the same. They make 29 free throws, but they also give up 29 points off turnovers.

So those two kind of negate each other. Their aggressive kind of attacking style from the onset. Once they found that rhythm, they did get to the free throw line, but they also gave up 29 points off turnovers. All that work you did for the free throws, and then you give it right back with your turnovers. Oh, it's just the brand of basketball that these two teams play at times is my eyes, my eyes.

It hurts my eyes. I wish I could say I'm surprised hearing that because the Knicks have always been sloppy with the ball because it's led by the human turnover machine and Julius Randle. So, they have a tendency to turn it over. Well, Jalen takes good care of the basketball though.

Brunson is tremendous. Most of the other guys are sloppy with the ball, especially Randle. I think he averages in the series like six or seven a game. So, they definitely turn it over too much. The Heat do a great job of pestering and being able to get those plays. The Knicks jumped out to that big giant lead and they needed every part of it to hold on late because the Heat just wouldn't go away. And then they started hitting the shots that they weren't hitting earlier. But yeah, not necessarily pretty basketball.

We wouldn't call it that. But the Heat want you to play ugly. They want to frustrate you.

They want to force you into a game that's clunky and that's sloppy. And the Knicks in the half court, their offense bogs down. They don't move the ball as well as they need to. And the Heat are a really good defensive team where the Knicks need to be able to and where they're able to thrive is not necessarily in a full transit. It's not like they need to be in a frantic, but they need to be moving to get their offense to go because if they are slow to bring the ball up and they're trying to set it up from that regard, they really only have one guy that's going to be able to not get his own shot off.

And you can't have Jalen Brunson run every play. So the Knicks really do bog down in the Heat. That's what they want to do.

They want to slow them down and that's where they can turn them over. They did win that fast break point category tonight too, which is good. You saw them pushing the tempo a little bit. So Jalen Brunson with a huge game and he was definitely a problem for Eric Spulstra and the Heat. Brunson is a great competitor. You have to respect that. We have great competitors in our locker room. This is what the playoffs are about.

It's pure competition. In an elimination game, everything matters. You can't really take anything for granted. You can't take plays off. That's really all it comes down to. One possession at a time and just being together for the minutes you're out there. Nothing really to celebrate. We obviously won. Get this another day.

This is great, but we'll get one down there. Can't take any plays off. Well, he didn't take any minutes off. He was out there for all 48 minutes and we'll start to see more.

It's rare, but you'll get guys that are playing 45, 46 minutes even now with games and post seasons on the line. Coming up, Jordan Love speaks for the first time as QB won in Green Bay. The clouds have parted for Jordan Love and by all accounts, there's a lot of confidence in him with this franchise, even though he's following up not just one, but two Hall of Fame quarterbacks. On Twitter, ALawRadio. Also on our Facebook page, After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Good to connect with you. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. That takes nothing away from the 18 beautiful years I spent in Green Bay.

How can you ask for any anything better than that? And just such a special place to play. But 18 years, same spot.

You also get used to everything and everything is just kind of the same old, same old in a lot of ways, which has this beauty for sure. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. That is the voice of Aaron Rodgers. He used to be the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers. Now last week we had the chance to check in with our Packers insider Andy Herman. You missed that conversation. It's on our podcast and actually on our social media.

It got a ton of traffic. Apparently there are a lot of people out there who care how the Packers fans are feeling, how Green Bay Nation is doing in the wake of Aaron Rodgers departure. Now that their long regional nightmare has finally come to an end.

While the clouds have parted, the birds are chirping. According to Andy and many of you who found us on social, there is hope in Green Bay. Despite the fact that the four time MVP, the future hall of famer is wearing jets green. It's not Packers green and gold anymore.

It's jets green. You may feel as though you were jilted. As though he's found a new love. He's moved on so quickly.

How can he be so dang happy? But you have, are you ready for it? Love. And all you need is love. And that's fine. It really is. It's totally fine. And love makes the world go round. The secret to peace, joy, happiness is love. I got engaged. It's just wrong.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. The only thing that would be worse is if Aaron Rodgers reminds us all that people are coming here to play with me. So now I'm not there anymore. Love is left behind.

I'm excited for Jordan Love. Am I the only one? Raise your hand. It's funny because teaching my students at Syracuse, they actually raise their hands. There's nine of us in the entire room.

We're sitting around a table. We're all looking at each other and yet they continue to raise their hands. Like old habits die hard. Everything you need to know you learned in kindergarten and they were still raising their hands. I told them they didn't have to, but they did. That's respect. Yes.

And they call me Professor Lawrence all the way through. So raise your hand, just because it's respectful I guess and because otherwise I can't see you, if you're excited for Jordan Love to get this opportunity. And I don't just mean Packers nation. I mean across the board. He has waited three long seasons.

And he's had to not only listen to all of it, but stand just off the stage waiting to see whether or not he would be promoted from understudy to the starring role. What is the tone now around the Packers considering that Rodgers is gone and there is peace as well as calm? I would say not nearly as much attention on the Packers, at least for now, because a lot of the circus went with Aaron Rodgers, but it's not a problem for Jordan. It's exciting.

I think there's a lot of energy around it for myself. And you know, I think I can kind of step up and be a little more vocal and things like that, knowing that I'm the guy and not being a backup. So I think from that aspect changed a little.

He is the guy. And he's certainly had to become more mentally tough over the last several years, right? Because he knew when he got drafted, at least for one year, that he would be behind a Hall of Famer. Reminds me a little bit of what happened in Kansas City when they drafted Patrick Mahomes. Alex Smith was the starter the first year. He started every single game until week 18 or week 17, I guess it was at the time. He started every single game and then they traded him, remember, to Washington. And this was right after Mahomes took over in week 17, final week of the regular season. He took over as their starting quarterback. Now, I don't know if Jordan Love is going to be Patrick Mahomes.

I don't think there is another Patrick Mahomes out there. But the idea that Jordan Love would have to sit behind Aaron, well, he knew that. He just didn't know how long. When I got drafted here, I knew right away that I knew exactly what situation I was being put in, who I was being behind. So I knew it was going to come with time, that I was going to come in and learn and grow. I mean, I'll admit, I think the hardest time was when he resigned the contract last year. It was kind of like, OK, well, where do we go from here?

What do I do? I appreciate that Jordan will admit that. Remember, we we joked about it a little bit. Kind of this on again, off again relationship with the Packers. And this time last year, same thing, a lot of people had expected his tenure would be over. But it wasn't. And I remember reacting on the air to him getting this contract extension and renegotiating with the Packers. And I wondered out loud, wow, how Jordan Love must feel. And so we had to wait through another year.

And still. The only real reps he got were in preseason. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Now, I do believe that mental toughness he developed, certainly what he learned by watching Aaron Rodgers and working with Aaron Rodgers, studying how Rodgers approaches the game, but also the fact that he's had to wait for it. He's not going to take it for granted.

And I think mentally he understands the highs and the lows of serving as the starting quarterback for an NFL team. And we all know that it's ups and downs in the sport. It's never it's not easy in this league. I know it's not going to be easy this year. But, you know, I just one thing I do is I tell myself every day that I'm good enough.

I've really like I said, I have really high confidence myself. And one thing I learned in college is my coach has always told me it's never as good as you think it is. It's never as bad as you think it is.

And that's one thing that stuck with me. You know, even when it feels like, you know, the world's falling down, you're playing so bad. And you go back to film, you're like, I really wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I made a lot of good plays or vice versa. You're playing you feel like you're playing lights out.

It's like, oh, no, I could have did this a little bit different. So my thing, like I said, is keep growing. I know it's not going to be easy. I know there's gonna be ups and downs. And the thing I would tell guys, try and stick together, stay together through the whole process.

And the tighter we can get a bond together as a team, the easier it's going to be to face these challenges. I like that wisdom from Aaron. Whoops. Sorry, Jordan, I swear it won't happen more than, say, a month into the season. I'm offended. You have nothing to be offended about.

How could you possibly say that? You, you again, we're trying to talk about your former team and the new quarterback, and you keep injecting yourself into the conversation. Pipe down in the peanut gallery, Aaron Rodgers.

It's not going to happen, man. You're happy. Can't you let the Packers and Jordan Love be happy in the wake of your departure?

I don't think so. Oh, my gosh. So, wonder what Jordan was doing when he heard about the trade, and I suppose he's not going to actually give us his authentic reaction. I remember my agents calling me, and they were the first ones to kind of inform me about it, and just talk with them. And then, you know, the phone started blowing up a little bit, things like that. So, just kind of dealing with that through the day.

Talk to Matt, talk to Goody and them. So, yeah. He's not going to tell us his reaction. Do you think that when the agents called, there was a, wow, on the phone? There was definitely some sort of congratulations in there, definitely. No, but from Jordan, of course, they were telling him congratulations. Matt Lafleur, yeah, congratulations.

We know that they've been working toward this. Brian Gunkunst, if not for the two MVP awards, they would have moved on to Jordan before this. But, do you think that Jordan let out an exclamation of, wow! I think internally he did. Anything else?

I've given you two different expressions. Can you think of one? Like a wahoo?

Hot damn! That's a good one. Maybe one of those.

Yeah, I can see them doing that. Yes! Cowabunga? I don't know. Oh, Cowabunga.

Interesting. You jabroni! Get out!

Maybe it's something like that. Or, actually, we could go full Travis Kelce here. You gotta fight for your right. You jabroni! You gotta fight for your right to party! Jordan Love did it!

He fought for his right to party! Well, okay, that's great and all, but did you actually talk to Aaron Rodgers after the trade became official? We talked after the trade. Kind of just wish you the best going forward. He wished me the best and always there for me if I need anything, if I don't have any questions or anything. I'm always just grateful to be around him and for the time I had with him to be able to learn and be behind him. He was very grateful for me. Maybe he cried.

I might have cried if it was me and I finally get the call. After three years, well, the first year maybe you knew what was going to happen, but you didn't know about years two and three. And for heaven's sakes, there were reports, at least for a while, there was speculation that he might actually, Aaron I mean, he might actually stay in Green Bay for another season.

According to Brian Goon Koons, they wanted to have a conversation with him. Could you imagine Jordan Love? Now, he's a first round draft pick, which means the team could have picked up his fifth year option.

But they wouldn't have known if they wanted to pick up his fifth year option until they saw him actually play and navigate this position as QB1. But I don't know, I might have cried finally after three years and the relief. Thank you, man. I love you, man. I don't have your number. You're not going to have my number. Wow. I mean, Aaron, let it go. You got what you wanted. You got to trade to New York. You're the king of New York. Let Jordan have some fun. Don't be such a bully. It's just not going to happen. It's After Hours, CBS Sports Radio.