8-9-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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Listen on your Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. You'll be glad you did. Middle show of the work week.

Oh, we made it. Downhill toward the weekend and actually next week is very atypical for me. Not because I'm on vacation, I'll explain, coming up at some point. We do have your chance to ask Amy anything next hour here on the show.

So send your questions to our show, Twitter, After Hours, CBS, or my Twitter, ALawRadio, still ahead, Steph Curry singing, singing out loud and proud at the Chase Center. We'll explain why. And more from the NFL and the training camp iteration, even as Thursday evening represents the start of the official first week of pre-season games, the Hall of Fame game notwithstanding. So even as the NFL and our Football Day Americano enters the center ring of the circus, well, we know that for the Women's World Cup, they're winding down. And Team USA, the earliest exit since the start of the Women's World Cup. Team USA has never been out in the round of 16 before. And yet, trying to find the silver lining, the fact that U.S. women's soccer is in a better place now than it was, say, two, three, four World Cups ago. We're leaving the game in such a great place. I think that's something that all of us who've played in this generation, I think around the world, but I just know the players that I've played with. We all talk about that, how proud we are of, you know, where this team is and the progress that we've made and just where the game is in general is amazing. I mean, I think this World Cup is a testament to that. You know, incredible results, such parity across the games. You never know what's going to happen.

I hope the grip. Kelly always says that we just rent these jerseys and it's the job to pass it down to the younger ones to continue that in their DNA. It's been an absolute ride. I've learned so much about myself as a player, but even just as a person. So this team obviously competes and plays soccer, but it does so much more and I'm just very grateful.

So emotional in the wake of their loss in penalty kicks to Sweden in the round of 16. Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz, part of what has been an established legacy now going back for 20-plus years, though they have played in their final World Cup, barring some drastic change. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Our friend Jesse Bradley, former pro soccer goalie now. Well, gosh, what doesn't he do? He's a pastor. He's an inspirational speaker. You're starting to see him more and more on network TV when it comes to not just sports topics, but ways to inspire families and to help families rally around sports. And we're such big fans of Jesse and he's continued to offer his time and his insight here on the show. And when we decided we wanted to deliver a eulogy on Team USA, he was the guy. So Jesse joining us from Seattle.

All right, Jess, what did you see? What stands out to you about the Americans' early exit? Well, when they exited, they lost to Sweden and they lost in a shootout, but they completely outplayed Sweden.

It's probably the best match of their four games. It's disappointing to lose that way. But I think people forget sometimes when you take the overall perspective that they've won the last two World Cups and it's tough to three-peat. I mean, it's tough because complacency can set in.

There is a shift in the players over those years because the World Cups once every four years. It's hard to stay hungry. It's hard to stay united.

And certainly like the coach will take a lot of heat because of the result. And they struggled. I think bottom line, they had a lot of talent.

They just didn't have the chemistry. And with sports, talent's not enough. There's something that happens on a team with the culture and the bond. And you can see it when they play together and it just looks like it's one and it's flowing and there's like a dance to it. There's a joy to it. And it takes a while to get there. You know, national teams have the additional challenge that they don't play every week together. So they come together for a tournament. There's a lot of pressure there. But staying at the top is tough. And I played at Dartmouth College for undergrad and we won the Ivy League my freshman year and we just didn't repeat my sophomore. Then we won at the junior year and we didn't repeat my senior year. So that was just a repeat we were going for.

And I know how hard that is. So when there's a three-peat, expectations are high. That's just a lot on their plates. And, you know, the women play with a lot of skill.

There's a lot of tenacity. I was thinking back to those Dartmouth days. And I remember this is kind of a side note. At that time, we're close to Ben and Jerry's. And I remember my freshman year was this competition. There's something called the Vermontster.

All this ice cream, massive amounts of ice cream. And then you get four reps from your team. They had all the sports teams represented. And I thought we got a pretty good chance. But I'm looking over at the football team thinking like, OK, they're clearly bigger than us. And it's like, ready, go. And it's Vermontster on. And we're all diving in trying to finish this.

I'll say this. The last fifth is the most difficult because at that point it's kind of like soup and everyone's spoons have been in there. It's like, who's going to pick it up and chug it?

So there was a little pause, a little hesitation. But who wins? The women's soccer team. And I just looked at them like they are fierce competitors.

Like they down that. They beat the football team. And then it's like I started to pay more attention to their games.

I was like, OK, this team's getting after it. And what's been exciting in the U.S. You know, the last 20 years is how committed we've been to women's soccer, how dominant they've been. And I think we've set the example for other nations.

And there's a lot of countries that are improving. Women's soccer has taken off. The English league is getting strong. You know, our team is still exceptional, but the other teams are catching up. And in a tournament, especially single elimination, anything can happen in a shootout.

Anything can happen. Tiger Woods was so good and he was so dominant in his heyday that it forced the rest of the PGA tour to raise its level of play. Otherwise, they were never going to be able to compete. I think about UConn women's basketball and how far and away the Huskies were over the rest of women's college hoops for years.

And it forced the rest of the schools, if they wanted to compete, they were going to have to get better. And I feel this the same way about the U.S. women in soccer. Every other nation recognizes that if we don't raise our level of play and get more competitive, well, then we're never going to be able to beat the Americans.

And that's really what happened. If you look around the World Cup even, there are some really strong teams that have figured out how to play the same style and be competitive against the U.S. That's right. We've set the standard and we've raised the bar.

The bar is high and the other teams are all chasing us. And, you know, it's interesting in soccer, there's not much scoring. So what you really need in soccer is a goalkeeper that's exceptional, defense well organized. And then you need a couple of players that can put the ball in the back of the net. You know, when we played Sweden, their goalkeeper, she was having the game of the tournament.

Phenomenal saves. And when a goalkeeper is on fire, you can keep your team in the game in soccer. And, of course, if a goalkeeper makes a mistake, you might lose the game on that mistake. So there's a lot of pressure on the goalkeeper in soccer. And then it's a rare skill to put the ball in the back of the net.

A lot of the teams you'll see, they dribble well, they pass well, they move off the ball well. They even control possession. When you're looking at soccer and statistics, one of them that jumps out is percentage of possession. Now, people pay a lot of attention to that because possession is important. That's you're controlling the game, controlling the pace, controlling the ball. And if you keep it away from the other team, they're not as dangerous. However, possession can be misleading because there might be a team that dominates the middle of the field, but they're not creating great chances. And then the counterattack, the other team is actually putting a lot of pressure. So possession wise, they might only have 30, 40 percent, but they're getting behind the defense.

And that's an unofficial stat. But how many times are you getting behind the defense? And when you have a player that can put the ball away, you don't need a lot of chances. And that's why teams pay so much money for a great striker, a forward, someone that can consistently score. Because in soccer, that's a rare skill. You have to have, you know, the ability to place the ball, to hit the ball with speed.

But then there's that it factor with some forwards. They just know how to be at the right place at the right time. And they're fearless.

They'll put the body on the line. They're savvy. They just know how to in the clutch moments. And that's what the World Cup's all about, playing under pressure. You know, when you think about sports, there's so many life lessons.

I feel like the soccer field's just kind of a microcosm of life. And when any kid is involved in sports, they're learning these character lessons. How do you respond to adversity? What about when there's a bad call? How do you build teamwork?

But one of them is how do you handle pressure? And the greatest players, they're able to handle the pressure. Whether it's a goalkeeper or a forward. And we just didn't have anyone that stepped up in this tournament. Now we have phenomenal players. They've been so steady. But even the greatest players under that kind of pressure, it's different every tournament. And it's different every opponent. There's going to be some games where you have to win and it's not pretty.

It's just gritty. And we did that to get in there. But we're all a little disappointed. Let's just be honest, because we would love to keep watching the tournament with America in there and doing well and winning as usual. And the value of the World Cup is the younger players and the younger kids in the nation get to see the success. They get to see the level of competition and they start to get those pictures in their mind of what could be.

Those dreams are formed and it fuels a next generation to take it, you know, to the next level. And I think that's what our women have done. There's a legacy there. And the men are still catching up in that regard. But the women have really set the standard.

And worldwide, so much respect. But they're going to have a lot of long talks. It's painful to lose when you're a competitor and you're used to winning. And they're going to re-evaluate everything. And they'll probably come out really hungry. And they have more major tournaments coming up before the World Cup.

So we're going to see them rise back up. It's been more than 20 years since that Brandi Chastain goal. Really, U.S. women's soccer was catapulted to the forefront and became such an iconic group. U.S. women's soccer has been fairly dominant since then. Jesse Bradley's with us from Seattle.

Always excited to talk to him. This time it's Women's World Cup. Former international pro goalie himself. And even though it was your job to prevent goals, because of the nature of the sport, how frustrating can it get when you dominate? You play well. You generate chances like the U.S. did against Sweden and just cannot get the ball in the back of the net. It's so true because you don't have that many chances. Now we have a lot of young talent, but we're going to have to build that core up again. There's going to be a lot of sacrifice.

There's going to be a lot of work involved. And that's true with sport is that you get used to it not being fair sometimes. Because sometimes it could be the referee's calls. Sometimes you keep hitting the post and it doesn't go in or you outplay a team.

And how do you respond when life's not fair? And I think that they've got to go back and they've got to double down on the things that got them there. There's some areas they could improve, I think, as they watch the film. And for any of us, when we have failure, when we don't get and reach our goal, we don't get to that mark, we stop and evaluate. And watching yourself if you're a speaker, that's very truth-telling.

Or listening to yourself if you're on a podcast. If you're in sports right now, there's so much video coverage. It's like you go back to the film and the film's revealed. So the answers are going to be there.

They'll put in the due diligence. I remember as a goalkeeper, the shootouts were so intense. And I loved it in one sense because no one expects the goalkeeper to make a save. So the pressure's really on the shooter.

I also was a psych major at Dartmouth, and I liked to kind of read their approach, read their eyes. Sometimes I felt like they would kind of give it away where they're going. And then I would go there early, and if I made a save, it's like we could win the game. So I know what it's like to steal games, especially when we were on the road. I felt like we stole a lot of games.

Our best years, we made it to the NCAA Elite Eight. We stole some games to get there. And in soccer, you can steal games maybe easier than some other sports, because if you have your system and you have your defense, you can absorb a lot, but the other team doesn't score, and all you need is one, or just get to the shootout where you can practice your shots there. You can have five incredible shots, and the other team can do nothing about it. If the forward hits it right or the striker hits it right, whoever's shooting, they put it in the corner, no goalie's going to save it. So when you get to the shootout, sometimes a lesser team, an inferior team, can prevail, because that's such a specialized skill. And I think the U.S. will feel like they should have gone further. They outplayed Sweden.

And that taste in your mouth, it can motivate, and it can bring out the best. You know, my career ended. I was playing overseas in Africa. I was a tragic illness, fighting for my life for one year. It took ten years to fully recover. And so my soccer, there was tremendous loss there, disappointment. It felt like it wasn't fair.

It was medication, side effects of an anti-malaria drug. But where that took me in life, that's where my faith grew. That's where I started to become more intentionally thankful. That's where my identity shifted from performance-based to knowing that I'm loved and I'm not going to try to earn it. And performance, like a lot of athletes, see, when you lose a big match, it tests you to the core, and you think, well, who am I? And for some that are performance-based, it hits them so hard. But when you step back and you say, no, I'm not going to ride that roller coaster, inflated, deflated, pride, shame, performance-based, when you get away from that, then when you lose, you didn't lose your whole identity because soccer is just in its right place. So for some of these ladies, they're going to do some deep soul searching and really have to go back to, okay, what's my foundation in life, and then where do I find motivation? I think you learn the greatest lessons when you go through the hardest times. Pain can fuel and forge a new purpose and passion in your life. And the best situations can come out of the worst experiences.

That's where the U.S. needs to be right now. Don't divide. Don't criticize each other. When a team loses, it's so easy to point fingers and blame and then division, and then you just can't pull it back together. So if you messed up, you own your mistakes, and then you get back to work and you stick together.

It tests the unity, and the great teams, the championship teams, know how to stick together. The unity is even more important than the skill. And it's true in corporate. It's true in marriage.

Like, if the unity breaks down, you've got a mess on your hands. I say it all the time to the leaders in our church. Like, the most important thing is we're united in this room, because if we're not united, a house divided can't stand. And the great coaches and the great captains know how to maintain that during seasons of disappointment.

And that'll be a key right now, that relational unity, and then turn this loss into a greater hunger for what we can do in realizing our potential. Jesse Bradley with us from Seattle, talking a little bit about the Women's World Cup, the Team USA with its early exit, but we always tend to get off the beaten path here on After Hours, CBS Sports Radio. You've got kids. Some of them play soccer. Soccer's really huge around our country, even as a youth sport, and obviously MLS is growing. We're talking about the national teams.

Even though this was, I would say, a colossal disappointment for Team USA, how can sports, in this case soccer, teach us as humans to handle disappointment and failure and not feel like it's the end of the road? Right on. Yeah, we do have four kids, and right now two play soccer. I've given my kids a choice. Like, I wasn't going to force them there. And, you know, I was a goalkeeper, but I said in soccer, there's 10 other great positions, and none of them chose goalkeeper, so that was probably wise, too.

That'd be a little crazy to be a goalie. My wife would like to have an all green grass backyard, and we don't have that. We've got dirt everywhere, two soccer goals, and then kids that come over and play all the time. So there's a lot of soccer happening, and like I was saying, soccer can teach you about life, and I think it really starts with the parents.

And as far as the parents go, a couple of things I think that are key. One, let the coaches coach, because parents sometimes get on the sidelines. They're yelling at the kids.

The kids are distracted. It's like it's a little embarrassing. I'd like to say if there's a ref cam, if we had a camera on the ref's head and we could see the parents and how they were acting, it would be embarrassing. We could post that on social media, and it has some accountability. But like if you're a parent, the refs aren't getting paid that much, okay?

They probably have day jobs, and they don't need all the abuse you're going to throw at them. So, you know, model it for the kids. When you're kids before the game, like just help them relax.

Most kids are putting too much pressure on themselves. So crack a joke. It's a good time for a dad joke. It's a good time to like have some fun, and, you know, we pray with our kids before games, whatever works for you. And then after the game, here's the thing that a lot of parents do. The kid gets in the car, and then right away the parent wants to point out the three things the kid did wrong.

And it's like, come on, you wouldn't want that when you get home from work. So basically ask the kid, hey, what do you think you did well? And then ask the kid, any areas you want to improve? And you don't need to be like the instant, intense corrector of all things the kid did wrong.

So that enables a kid to play the game with some freedom and then with some joy, because sports should be about joy. And I think it's a great opportunity to process with the kids. You know, as you talk through the dynamics of the team, they're going to be learning things.

They're going to be hopefully sharing it. And even those long commutes, you're going to feel like a chauffeur a lot of times as a parent, and that's just the reality of it. It's easy to think like, okay, well, here goes three hours of my night, or on the weekends, okay, we got four games, and there goes my weekend. But instead, that time in the car is valuable, and you can go deeper with the kids. It's a time to ask some questions. My wife, Lori, likes to have three levels. There's a level one, it's a fun, goofy question. Level two, a little deeper. And then level three, it's like, okay, now we're really talking about life. And it's like, are you ready for a level three question? Try to make it a time where you can connect, bond.

If it's a road trip, you're staying in a hotel, have some fun in the pool together, and you're making memories. That's what you're doing. And also, you're having that experience, because we learn by experience. It's true if you work in a company, like, you can read books, you can get the principles, you can go to school, but you learn by getting in there.

And for kids, there's no substitute getting in the game, and what happened, and how did you respond? Sports is great for kids, because you build relationships, you can do all those activities with other people, you get fitness, it's good for your mental health. Overall, you're getting some skills that can be lifelong. I mean, running, swimming, hiking, golfing, like, these are lifelong sports. Tennis, and it's really valuable. That's what it's about at the end of the day.

So parents got to chill a little bit, is what I'd say. What I think of is Marshawn Lynch saying, take care of y'all's mental. Yeah, sports is great for your mental health.

Also, certainly for physical health, for activity, just in general, interacting with people's social skills. I'm a big fan, going way back to third grade when I played my first organized team sport. Okay, Jesse, we cannot have you here on the show without asking you about messy, messy, messy, messy, messy, but we have to take a quick break. I know you want to talk about him, so that is straight ahead here After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It is, it is, and we are spending a few more minutes with our favorite former pro soccer goalie, Jesse Bradley, joining us from Seattle, because there's a lot happening on the pitch these days, but nothing bigger than the phenomenon taking over MLS. Still Robert Taylor, floats it towards Joseph Martinez, settles, messy! It continues to go perfectly to enter Miami script. Another brace for little messy. Right now, you've got so much attention in the United States on MLS because of messy, messy has landed.

Oh my goodness. And also I feel like he's toying with some of the defenders in MLS, but what's it been like to watch this incredible star, Jesse, in our own league? Yes, he picked a great time to come because there's no NBA.

There's no NFL started yet. And then he joins in Miami. I mean, you got to give some props to Beckham. And it's a reminder, you know, this is about trust, relationships, and vision. Beckham had a bold vision, bringing messy. And it just didn't happen.

Like he just didn't pick up the phone. And it was like two days later, messy's here. It was a vision.

It was intentional. There's trust, there's relationship. That's the core of all great teams. And messy comes in and like you say, you know, like Muhammad Ali used to toy with some people in the ring, having some fun with them. Seriously? It feels like I remember watching the Harlem Globetrotters and it was like, all right, are the Washington generals going to win this?

No, there's no chance. And you knew what was coming. You didn't know how, but these scripts, messy is winning these games. And I know it's not scripted.

I know there's no bribes. It's the real deal. Like he's going against professionals, but when you have someone at that level, I mean, this, this messy, you know, he might be in an MLS all star. If he keeps us going, it's the only award he doesn't have yet.

You know, after the world cup, he just really wanted that MLS all star. Now I'm tongue in cheek here, but you know, when someone's dedicated, I remember going to the symphony in Dallas and I'm not someone who usually goes to symphony. But when I went there, I was in awe because of the dedication and the excellence and the skill and, and it was just beauty, all those instruments playing together. And what they could do with, and it's like a life that's been devoted. And you just appreciate it.

I don't know that much about music, but I couldn't miss what was going on. So you don't have to be a soccer fan to watch these clips and what messy's doing and the shots and the passes, the dribbling, the savvy, the awareness, like he's hitting these, uh, free kicks that are just going barely over. There's a wall of like seven people and they're going just over the wall. And then they travel up to the corner in the top bin of the goal. And there's even a guy running backwards, trying to hit it. It's just going right over his head. The goal is flying across. He can't get it.

And it's just pinpoint accuracy. So messy right now is having fun. When you change the culture, when you bring in some skill and you start winning, this is the beautiful thing about sports Miami right now, the city is lit and you got LeBron flying in, you know, so you've got our greatest athletes traveling across country just to see and get a hug from messy. We have the world cup coming in three years to America.

It's coming right here in Seattle, uh, looking forward to it, but this is all part of the momentum. And when you have someone like messy, I was saying this about the women, it awakens the dreams and the potential of the kids. And now what they see messy, do they start to practice in their backyard? And for any athlete you improve at your normal practice, but greatness comes in your backyard or in your garage. And it's when you get that passion for the game and you don't know what else to do, but to go out there and just practice those moves and pretend like, you know, you're messy on the free kick and watch what'll happen just from messy. Come in here and playing, you know, when Pele came to New York, it moves soccer so far forward for the, for our nation and messy stirring some of those dreams for kids right now, it's, it's fun to watch.

And if you're not into soccer, just go to YouTube type in messy Miami, and then just watch some of these highlights right now. And it's, it's inspiring and it just gives a lift to everybody. That's what sports can do though. It just changes even the tone in a city. There's just something that happens through sport where people come together. I remember back in the twin cities where I grew up when the twins won a world series, it was just like everyone was best friends. And the mood just changed for about four years there.

It felt like in the summer. So it's a party in Miami and everyone should be enjoying it. Right now through four games, he has seven goals and one assist and there have been some really dramatic moments where he's rescued Miami. They've been able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. So yeah, it's been pretty incredible. He just continues to raise the bar.

It is worth paying attention to messy right now because messy fever, it's maybe the biggest thing going in the U S all right. So we love talking to Jesse. He always brings such great energy and insight the former pro goalie himself talking about the women's world cup and messy landing in the U S uh, on Twitter at Jesse J Bradley.

And these days you'll catch him on network TV as well. So we're just so thrilled to have you, Jesse. Thank you. Amy, I always love joining you. You've done an amazing job.

I mean, who does this 10 years like after hours CVS. So everyone like show some love, share some appreciation. Uh, what she brings, it goes beyond sports and that's what we need. We enter in and Amy, you do a great job of guiding us entering in.

And there's so much happening in the process and just to have fun with it. So thanks for everything you do. And yeah, if anyone wants to reach out, let's connect Twitter, my website, jessebradley.org, a lot of free resources there on hope on inspiration and sports.

So love to hear from you. Truth be told, the reason we continue to invite Jesse Bradley back on the show is because he's so complimentary of the host. Thank you, Jesse. Actually, Jesse is great about reaching out to me and saying, Hey, I have an idea over father's day.

He told us that he had written an ebook with some inspiration and counsel for fathers, and it was awesome to be able to have him on the show. Then he's now been our correspondent for two different world cups. And as he says, the men's world cup will be landing in the United States in its next iteration. So we can't wait for that. It'd be a lot of fun. Never seen a world cup game.

I've seen a world cup qualifier, but this will be my opportunity to experience it in person, but also Marco Belletti here in studio, the Olympics will be here. Is it 28, 26, 28? Don't know. Jay, you got that.

Is it 26? I think that's, that sounds right. Those are two major international events that will finally get back here in North America. And I can't miss them. I can't miss them. I remember watching the Atlanta Olympics when I was a kid, but didn't get there.

So this is going to be amazing. Right. That I didn't see. I did go to a bunch of world cup games in 94 though. That I did do.

I'd like to go again, but the Olympics, that I didn't get a chance to do in Atlanta in 96. So it is 28 in Los Angeles. 28.

Okay. So the world cup will be in, it was 22 last year, 26. Wait, world cup and the Olympics in the same year in the United States?

No. So I would imagine that's 26 and then 28. So it's probably the two year.

I think that's where, I think that's where we added the 26 sounds like it would be the world cup and then 28 is the Olympics. Is that right, Jay? Correct. Okay. Yeah. 26 is the world cup in Canada, Mexico, United States.

28 is the Olympics. Yes. Which is also supposed to be taking place all over, in many different locations, right?

Not just in one city. I would think so, yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Wow. We have a lot to look forward to as sports fans. All right.

Coming up, what do I want to do next? Actually, Jonathan Taylor has left the Colts, so we'll talk about that. Also, running backs are not letting it go in case you were wondering. You can send your questions for Ask Amy Anything now an hour away here on our Hump Show to our show Twitter, After Hours, CBS or our Facebook page.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Taylor, the back to the left side. They give it to Taylor and he scrapes off a block and he's in there. Touchdown, Jonathan Taylor. Touchdown, I-N-D-Y for JT. He's got a rushing touchdown in three consecutive games, and the Colts have their first touchdown of the night. It's 16-9.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The state of running backs in the NFL may be the hottest topic. This side of Patrick Mahomes, even as we get set for the first official week of the NFL preseason, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio, The Hump Show, middle show of the work week. Running backs maybe have hit the hump, and it doesn't seem like they are willing to move on yet, at least not all of them. It's still a question being posed to a lot of running backs. How do you feel about the fact that Dalvin Cook is not getting paid? Now Kareem Hunt actually visited the Saints.

I think that's where Kareem was. They definitely need to add another running back to their stable, especially with Alvin Kamara's early season suspension. So we'll see whether or not Kareem ends up with a new job. Ezekiel Elliott is still out there and available. And obviously, all the flap over Saquon Barkley, not getting a new deal. Tony Pollard, same thing.

Obviously Josh Jacobs. And now Jonathan Taylor. Now he's not up for a contract yet, but he had asked for a trade. He's been in a standoff with the Colts because he feels like his contract should be extended, and he should be rewarded for what he's done for the Colts. Not last year as much where he had the ankle injury, but the year before where he had an incredible campaign.

We're talking about whether or not he or Derrick Henry was the best running back in the NFL, if you remember going back to the 2021 season. Well, the situation, the sit rep, if you will, the relationship between Taylor and the Colts has taken another turn, according to Ian Rappaport. Jonathan Taylor received an excused absence from practice, actually has not been with the team since at least yesterday, he is, I'm told, away from the facility seeking treatment on his ankle. Remember, this is the same surgically repaired ankle that he really battled through all last season, so many different times.

I know certainly there are plenty of other players who might have shut it down. He battled through it, you look at his production last year. Part of the reason why he produced where he was was because he was fighting that ankle injury all year long. Got it fixed this offseason, now is going to be a way for the team for a little bit to get the treatment that he needs and make sure that he is absolutely 100% when the season begins. Now, who he plays for when that season begins is a whole other topic, and obviously that has been something we've discussed. The trade request is still outstanding, but that is what is going on with Taylor today.

Ian Rappaport, NFL Network, delivering the update. Is it about the ankle? Is it about the dispute with the team? Is it about the ankle?

Is it about the fact that Jonathan Taylor is trying to make a statement and let the team know maybe a taste of life without him? He's actually been on the pup list, physically unable to perform since he got to training camp in late July. There have been some other kind of aches and pains. Man, it's too early for players to have aches and pains. Talk of back and hamstring tightness, though JT has not spoken publicly about that.

In fact, has said the opposite. But is this about his health or is it he's coming off of a rest period, a time when he should have been taking it easy, recovering, being ready for the start of the season. So is there a chance this is about his displeasure, his frustration with the Colts?

Here's new head coach Shane Steichen. This is part of his rehab process. If you guys don't see him out here, it's part of his rehab. Is he rehabbing here on site or somewhere else?

I'll refrain from getting into that. Do you expect him back tomorrow? Yeah, if you don't see him back here out on the field, it's because he's rehabbing.

Shane, what is his health status? Yeah, he's got an ankle and he's rehabbing his ankle. And like I said, once the medical staff clears him and he's 100 percent, he'll be out here practicing.

Has there been much progress, do you feel? Yeah, I think he's in a good spot and we're going from there. Do you think he'll practice during camp?

Yeah, I'd like to see that. We'll see how it all plays out, though. Again, once he's cleared, he'll be out here. Don't you love that Shane Steichen, even as a first-year head coach, has already developed the ability to answer a question without actually answering the question?

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. He's got an ankle or two, really, and that's why, according to Steichen, that Taylor is not with the team. But he did not answer the direct question of whether or not Taylor's rehabbing at the Colts facility, which would be standard this time of the year, or is he rehabbing elsewhere?

According to different sources, you know how that goes. And we just heard some of this with Rappaport. Taylor is still hoping the team will look for a trade partner. Now, the owner of the Colts, Jim Irsay, said hell to the gnaw when Taylor asked for a trade.

So that was out there, going back a couple weeks, that Jim Irsay thought and said that's stupid in a manner of speaking. No way, we're not trading one of the best running backs in the NFL. 3841 rushing yards since he entered the league in 2020, fourth in the league since then, 33 rushing touchdowns. So these are not empty yards, these are yards that matter. And the Colts actually are down a couple running backs because of injuries, so Jonathan Taylor is key.

Is he actually rehabbing his ankle or is this more about giving the Colts a taste of what life would be like without him? Running backs, I don't know if they're resigned across the board, but some of them are. Now, they're still taking the opportunity to highlight what they believe is an unfair situation when it comes to their compensation, when it comes to the franchise tag, when it comes to how much money they make under the franchise tag, feeling like it doesn't give teams incentive to actually give them the next long term deal.

And you know what, that's true. This is the plight of running backs, it's been the plight of running backs for quite a while. Teams get gun shy when it comes to a second free agent contract, right? So a lot of them will get an initial free agent deal following their rookie contracts, especially if they're highly touted free agents. Think Ezekiel Elliott. He got a big free agent contract from the Dallas Cowboys after he was drafted early and kind of played out part of his contract, his rookie deal. He got a free agent deal on top of it, but the Cowboys balked at giving him another one.

Why? Well, because injuries have slowed him down, have really changed his production. So instead, they want to ride Tony Pollard. Teams do not want to have to pay their running backs buku bucks. It feels like one area where they can save under a salary cap. And if a running back decides, hey, I'm going to hold out or I want to trade or I don't want to play for you anymore, then they'll plug and play. They'll find another running back who's got fewer miles on his body, less pounding on his body, and he may not be as good. He may not be as great a blocker, but they'll take what they can get. It's one area where NFL franchises are willing to scrimp and save.

Thus, the whole CBA in which running backs get less money when they are franchised. So Melvin Gordon, he sounds more resigned, though, yeah, it's not something they're going to leave alone. We just got to go out and play. At the end of the day, I think the talking and this and that is not going to get anything done. I think we just have to shine in the brightest moments. When we get to the playoffs, the backs that are on that team got to take initiative to be like, you know what, I'm going to take over. And I think that's when things will start changing. At this point, it's tough. The league is changing, you know, and it sucks to say. It's a passing league.

But you still need a great running game. Let's not get away from that. But I think for us to really get changed, because the CBA I don't think changed for what, another four or five years or something like that. So we kind of screwed, I feel like, for the next couple of years.

The only thing we could do is just kind of stack it. It's more than four or five years. Didn't they just ratify it in 2020? I feel like I remember that was the year when the new CBA went into existence. I see here the current CBA expires March 2030.

Yeah, so then a 10-year deal. So it was ratified in 2020. All right, top of the hour, there's breaking news about Kevin Brown in Baltimore. I wasn't going to bring it up again, but there's news. And speaking of breaking news, one, one Mega Millions winning ticket has been sold in Florida. Do you guys play Mega Millions? $1.58 billion, a billion and a half dollars, one winning ticket sold in Florida. Expected to be the largest payout in the lottery's history. That's a lot of money. $1.58 billion and exactly one winning ticket that hit all the numbers plus the Powerball.

Okay, listen to this. I don't play lottery, so I have no idea. I saw this on, oh shoot, it disappeared. Where'd it go? All right, I'll have to get to it coming up next hour because I saw this analogy about the odds of you winning. The Mega Millions are winning this jackpot. It's actually really funny, but I'll have to find it again on Twitter because it recycled out.

We're halfway through. It's The Hump Show here on After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. The official Winning Time podcast from HBO is back. I'm Rodney Barnes, executive producer on the show. Magic and the Lakers are back to defend their title. Join me as I break down each new episode with sportswriter Jeff Pearlman and the actors, directors, and key collaborators who brought the 1980s Showtime Lakers to life. It's not about basketball. It's about winning. Listen to HBO's official Winning Time podcast on Sundays after the show airs on Max.