After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 2

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We still have two weekends to go of preseason games, but from Thursday, three weeks exactly until the season opener. What, what? It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Please find me on Twitter, ALawRadio. Had a lot of good interaction the last couple of days, even going back to my beach trip over the weekend, but being able to share some of the different parts of my life with you, always fun. And I love the fact that you always continue to send your questions for Ask Amy anything. We've been doing that feature on the show for almost 10 years now, and yet you all still participate and engage. And I try to respond to as many tweets and Facebook posts as I possibly can. I can't get to everything, as you can imagine, with just one producer, with just Jay and I working the show. Really, I man the social media myself, so it can be a lot. Some days I don't get to it at all, but I try to answer as many of your posts as I can. And I do appreciate the fact that you're involved and you're engaged and that we can connect on both Twitter and Facebook, named after the show.

Again, After Hours with Amy Lawrence or on our YouTube channel. We'll have some fresh content between now and the start of the NFL season. It's been a busy couple weeks for the Dallas Cowboys, but when is it not? We know they're in for a lot of transition this season, but the latest Zach Martin getting the reworked deal to pay him $36 million or $36 million fully guaranteed over these next couple years. So getting what he wanted from the Cowboys so that he can now join the team in Oxnard all smiles when he got there.

And Oxnard is where we find Clarence Hill, who's covered the Cowboys for a long time for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. For Zach Martin to be back in camp is a big relief for the Cowboys, Clarence, but what does he mean? What does it mean to have him back in camp? For the Cowboys, it means everything because this season is going to be what they hope it's going to be and they have to protect Zach Prescott.

They have to overhaul the running game. And Zach Martin is the best at what he does on the team since he's been on the team and one of the best in the league and certainly has already submitted himself as a Hall of Fame career, but what he's done at guard. And so they need Zach back.

You know that that's important. One of the dirty little secrets about that struggles in the struggle last year with the offensive line was mediocre pass blocking it and Zach is the best player on that team on that offensive line. So yeah, they need him back. He didn't miss much.

He's a veteran. He didn't need to be here for the first week of camp, but he will be here in time to get acclimated and be ready for the start of the season. Well, let's talk about the offensive line then it will work our way backward from there. How does it look with Martin on the line?

What are the prospects for that group this year? Well, it looks much better and I mean you you know this is the line theoretically they hope to have last year, you know, going into the season. They hope to have Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith and Tyler Beatty's and Zach Martin and Karen Steele, you know, Tyron Smith who also, you know, is going to be a candidate Hall of Fame. He got hurt in training camp last year. They were forced to move Tyler Smith from guard to left tackle on the fly for the season opener. You know, their first round pick of a year ago, and then they kind of went whoever had left guard and created a an issue throughout much of the season with that offensive line. And so now coming into this season, Tyron Smith is back left tackle and Tyler Smith is at left guard and and this is the line intact and they're just crossing their fingers that there's no freak accident for the start of the season because Tyron was great.

And then he had, you know, hurt his hamstring in camp and was out for the first 13 games of the season. So they feel good. They feel much better about the line going to the season. You got to understand that the schedule can be much tougher and they face a lot of teams with great defensive lines, including the 49ers and the Rams and the Eagles and the Cardinals and the Giants and the Jets. You know, they face a lot of great defensive lines and so the Washington football team is a studs up front so they have to have this offensive line intact.

That's line one for the initial step on offense. They get the offensive line intact. They've improved their receiver core.

They think they should be able to move the ball. And for the first time in what, eight years, there'll be no Ezekiel Elliott behind that line. Why are they so confident in turning to Tony Pollard as the feature back? Well, he was the best back on the team last year. I mean, he had a breakout season. He was the leading rusher. He was the big playback.

He was a pro bowler. They think he can handle more touches. He is healthy after being injured in the playoff game against the 49ers.

He's good to go, ready to go. He had no limitations really in training camp. It's his time to shine and Zeke with his salary, it's a financial thing. Tony was a free agent and they had to put the franchise tag on him but basically traded Zeke's $10 million salary for Tony getting a $10 million salary and they couldn't keep Zeke at that same salary range. In the best of worlds, they probably would have tried to have him both back this year but financially it just was not going to work, especially with the evaluation running back and needing to pay Tony. You couldn't pay Zeke that type of money and it was an opportunity to give Zeke a first start. But they feel good about Tony and they feel good about the guys behind Tony that they're going to make this thing work. Clarence Hill is with us from Oxnard, California where the Cowboys are holding their training camp and he's been covering them for a couple of decades now for the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. While we're talking about Zeke, what do you think he has left in the tank now as he joins the Patriots? I think he has a lot left in the tank. He's certainly not the back he was when he first came in. He's winning those two rushing titles. But the last couple of years when Zeke was healthy, he was productive.

People forget he scored 12 rushing touchdowns last year. He's still a strong goal line back. He still has a nose end zone and with the knee injuries that really derailed his seasons the past two years. Being a backup to Ramondre Stevenson and splitting carries with him may actually make him more effective in the roles that they have for him. New England is the perfect fit for him because they're going to be a runner-orientee with Mac Jones.

They want to run the ball, play defense, so they're going to rely on that strong running game with Stevenson and Elliott. I think it's a good situation for him. I think he has a couple of years left in him. I don't think he's done.

I don't think he's washed up. Certainly he's not the superstar bell cow he was, but he can be very productive. Again, smart back, team player, great for the passing game, great blocking back.

He does a little bit of everything. I think it'll be a good fit for him with the Patriots. Alright, so the big question mark around the Cowboys, the play calling. No, Kellen Moore, he's now with the Chargers. Mike McCarthy takes over the play calling and we've heard about more freedom for Dak Prescott.

What have you noticed to this point in Camp Clarence? With Dak, it's more about mixing in the West Coast offense. They're going to be, again, they're tying the receiver roster. They're going to try to get the ball off quicker to help them make quicker decisions. Certainly they want to improve the protection. One thing I talked about earlier, protection was bad last year.

That's Mike McCarthy. His main thing was improving protection and showing up the protection up front and the blocking schemes up front and the blocking schemes so Dak can make quicker decisions and make better decisions. Hopefully, eliminate some of those turnovers in the past years. It's about getting the ball off quick. The West Coast scheme, the three-step drive, getting the ball to the back, getting the ball to the receivers and taking the shots downfield. You talk to Mike, Dak has mastered his offense.

He's very comfortable in what they're doing and what he's asking to do. I look for him to have a big year. This is the first year Dak has been healthy in the offseason. Since going before that horrible ankle injury, he's had a clean offseason to focus nothing but on football, no rehab. He should have his best season. We know Mike McCarthy has received the vote of confidence from Jerry Jones multiple times.

They did win a playoff game last year and got to the divisional round. What type of pressure is on McCarthy, even as he takes on more responsibilities in 23? Clearly, the pressure is on him. It goes without saying that he was brought here to not get the Cowboys to the playoffs. Jason Garrett did that. He was brought here to get the Cowboys to the NFC Championship Game and possibly the Super Bowl.

That's why he was brought here. He's won a title before. That's why they had him replace Jason Garrett and they have not done that. Yes, he's had back-to-back 12 win seasons, which is nothing to sneeze at. No one's won more games. The only person that's won more games in the regular season the past few years than Mike McCarthy is Andy Reid.

That's nothing to sneeze at, but again, the golden dollar is to get to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995. That's why you're getting rid of Kellen Moore. You put the onus on yourself when you're fired off in the corner and you make yourself the play caller.

If you're going to go down, you're going to go down doing it your way. There's pressure. There's a lot of pressure. They're saying all the right things and they believe Mike McCarthy can take them to the next level, but if they don't get it done, they take a step back. We all know that Jerry will make a move as he has in the past. Clarence Hill is with us from Dallas Cowboys training camp.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. The receiving corps has had a bit of turnover. What do you see with the group that they've got now on the field? Well, I think the question mark was last year. I mean, you know, you get rid of Amari Cooper and it was CDing a bunch of maybes. We can't week out that one of the worst receiving corps is in the league. You know, Noah Brown was essentially their number two receiver last year. Michael Gallup was coming off an injury and he's running third or fourth string in Houston this year. You know, you bring in Brandon Cooks.

You have a healthy micro gala. It's receiving corps is much better, much more capable than a receiving corps last year that also played a role in a number of stacked interceptions. A lot of those interceptions was bad routes, miscommunications, kick passes off their heads. They go to other teams.

That was all part of it. And Brandon Cooks, I mean, he's been on a number of teams, but he has 4,000 yard season or 6,000 yard season. With four different teams, he's been productive everywhere he's gone. He can still run.

He's a perfect complement to CD Lamb with his speed. This receiving corps is much better. It's going to help Dak Prescott. Certainly does help if they've got another year of experience under their belt. So then, as much as the offense gets a lot of the attention for obvious reasons, it kind of looks to me like the defense could end up being the strength of this team. What stands out about this group with a lot of returning veterans?

That's just it. I mean, if you go back to the Tony Romo era, the defense was always the weak link. It was always their Achilles heel. They've had great offenses. Even the Dak Prescott days, they had great offenses. And they had to make up for a poor defense or a suspect defense. But this defense is the best part of the team in any hopes they have of having success.

Because the defense is going to be one of the best units in the league led by Micah Parsons, who has been great NFL defensive year runner-up his first two seasons of the league. And to be honest, he didn't know what he was doing. He was just learning as a pass person. He should be better this year because he's kind of learning and he's kind of honing his skills as a pass person.

Just think, everything he did as a pass person, it was on the fly with sheer athleticism. You know, this year, he's really matured. He has really studied pass drugs and fields and done different things in the offseason. And he's having a hell of a training camp. He's been the best player on the field day in and day out. Recognized for the offense.

I look for him to have a big year and really finish and finally be the defensive player of the year. But yeah, this defense is special. It's not just Parsons. It's DeMarcus Lawrence and that secondary.

You bring in Gilmore to go with Diggs and that cornerback duo as good as it is in the league. And that safety trio is pretty salty as well. They really feel good about their defense.

And this is what's going to lead them. And if Leighton Vander Esch can stay healthy and be on the field the entire season, he's also one of those players that can make a huge difference. Yeah, he's the quarterback of the defense.

He calls the play and gets everybody lined up. And he's actually been healthy and surprisingly healthy considering what we thought about him a couple years ago. And he played well last year and he's been clean in his training camp. And so yeah, they feel good about their linebacker going deep with the line. Remember, they signed Mazzie Smith or drafted Mazzie Smith from Michigan in the first round to help show up their run defense. It was there if there was a weakness last year of on this defense that their ability to stop the run was the one reason why they got no sack of Mazzie Smith in the first round to help show up their run. Because people would rather run against them than pass and face that pass rush with Mike and Parsons.

So, you know, if they get that run defense shored up, you know, that pass rush is going to lead Mike and Parsons is going to get to the quarterback. I will tell you this, Clarence, you are the first of any of our NFL reporters or insiders that I've asked a question about a kicker. There's a guy that is new for the Cowboys and Brandon Aubrey, the only one who's in camp. How confident are they in this brand new guy? Yeah, you know, it is one thing to go with Brandon Aubrey. They like him and they're giving every chance. Obviously, you know, they're still veteran kickers out there and guys they could go to, you know, and they can always pull that lever.

They want to give him every chance to prove he can handle the job. But you're talking about a guy that Brandon Aubrey, yes, he kicked the last two years in the U.S. of L, but he's never kicked before. He played soccer in college, played soccer growing up. You know, he didn't start doing football after his soccer career was over. He was in the U.S. of L and certainly did a good job in U.S. of L the past two years. But he remains an unknown, you know, and he's been solid in practice.

He did miss a real goal in the first Christmas game. Again, they're going to give him every rep and every opportunity to win the job. They like his ability to kick off and all that good stuff.

But for the life of me, I just don't understand. For the team that you want to have and the season you hope to have, that you would leave with the chance to kick them. Because the games of soccer, I don't care how great you are, and we know, you know, even last year with the Chiefs, I mean, they had to win a playoff game on their kicker. As great as Pensacola Holmes is, you know, you still need your kicker to make plays and be able to rely on your kicker to do some things.

Right. And I just don't understand leaving with a chance to kick her with so much on the line. We'll see if that turns out to be the Achilles heel. Last year, three teams from the NFC East make the playoffs. If you look at the moves that have been made, you think the division will be as strong or will we see a drop off?

No, I think the division is strong. I think Dallas is better than they were last year. They're more talented than they were last year. Now, they may not have a better record because the schedule is much tougher for the Cowboys and the Eagles. They're more talented. And certainly we know the Eagles are talented and they got those wonderful draft picks to show up for some of the guys they lost.

And you think you know Hertz is going to be even better in his second year in command. No, I don't see a drop off in the division. I think the Giants have gotten better. I think Washington has gotten better.

There will not be a drop off. And I think there's a good chance that three teams, again, will make the playoffs without the NFC Eagles. One thing, you know, it's easy to say the Eagles should be favorite. I think the Cowboys were also a favorite last year, you know, coming off the year before. The Eagles should be favorite coming this year. But it must be noted that no team is repeated in the NFC East since 2004. It's been a lot of turnover, real competitive, always a lot of drama in the division too.

But Clarence, before I let you go, you've used the word hope a couple times. So what is the hope for the Cowboys in 2023? Well, the hope is Super Bowl.

With this team, with the talent they have, with being experienced, being in the playoffs in back to back years, with the NFC that is as wide open as it's ever been. You know, and you love Jalen Hertz and what he's done. But there is no Aaron Rodgers out there. There is no Tom Brady out there. There's no Big Bad Wolf at quarterback.

You can't beat this guy, right? You know, it's wide open. Even the 49ers, I mean, who's scared of Brock Purdie, so to speak? And they have a great defense, a great offense, great head coach, and all of that stuff. But it's as wide open as it's ever been. If you don't make the move this year, if you don't do it this year, when are you ever going to do it? Because it's there for the checking for the Cowboys. They went 12 and 5 last year and are looking to build on that this season. A lot of hope and promise.

You want to find Clarence on Twitter, at Clarence Hill, JR, Cowboys writer since 1997, now with the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Do you ever get tired of it or do you love the rat race? Well, I mean, every job is a version of hell, as you know, but I mean, I get paid to watch football. I get paid to do this. You get paid to talk football.

How can you get tired of it? Well, we always appreciate having you on the show. Thank you so much for a couple of minutes.

Thank you. It's interesting to hear him talk about Dak Prescott in the Cowboys offense and the fact that he's mastered it. He's mastered this offense. They do want to do a little more West Coast flair, but he can see that because Dak is healthy and because he's had a few years in this offense, now they're going to open it up a little bit more, give him a little more autonomy. Well, autonomy is too strong of a word. Give him a little more authority over it.

Clarence believes that it should be even more fluid. No more question marks about the receiving corps. They're another year of experience, excuse me, another year together working with Dak. Looking at the offensive line, he believes will be a lot stronger this year.

Tony Pollard's healthy. I mean, that's the offense. I actually think the defense is going to be the stronger side of the ball, but that's saying something. Of course, a lot of teams look great on paper in preseason. He's right. He makes a fantastic point about the NFC East. It's not had a repeat winner in forever. I know Cowboys fans are everywhere.

You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, our Facebook page, too. And we're going to go back through some of your answers from our show question 24 hours ago. And it was really completing the sentence, filling in the blank. The NFL season will be a success if what? Some of you expecting me to guess which team you were referring to.

I do have some ESP, but I choose not to use it, employ it. Jay tries to tell me that he is clairvoyant. So maybe we'll ask producer Jay if we can't figure out which team. If you just write Super Bowl as your response.

Now, not every team has Super Bowl aspirations. Let's be fair. Thanks for hanging out with us as we put Wednesday in the rearview mirror and morph into a Thursday. I got to tell you, Penny's latest. She is getting better after falling down the stairs. She is actually getting better the last couple of days.

And I'm greatly relieved. But the dog has the longest nails in the history of canines. Her toenails are so long.

I have to take her for an appointment just to get her toenails cut on Saturday. I know. Be jealous of my life.

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This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. We are well past the midway point of the work week, but there are not many summer weekends left. You know that. Coming up between now and the end of the month, I've got my first ever colonoscopy. That'll be a lot of fun. I'm really looking forward to it. Apparently, according to my doctor, I'm a few years overdue, which is interesting. They've actually lowered the age for your first colonoscopy.

But it's funny because I've asked a bunch of my friends and many of them have still not had their first. Not looking forward to it. However, with our friend John Kincaid right now battling, staring down, facing his colon cancer with all of the energy and optimism and strength that one human can and an incredible support system around him in Philadelphia.

I do believe it's important to go and get this colonoscopy and I will be thinking of him as I do. So that's between now and the end of the month. What were you talking about last night, producer J, how when you are anticipating some grand event or a plan down the road, time seems to crawl. But when you're dreading a particular moment or day or event, then time appears to streak by in a blur.

Yep. The tricks that times play. It's kind of both for me right now because I'm really excited about the NFL season. I don't really want the summer to be over, but I am excited about football.

Plus another trip to Houston over an extended Labor Day weekend to see family and Bob. But at the same time, I have to go through a colonoscopy before I get there. So I want time to speed up, but I also want time to slow down. Slow down. But I don't really want it to slow down. I just don't really want to go through a colonoscopy.

Yeah, I get that. Do you know the last time I went under anesthesia? Are you ready for this? My senior year in college, I got my wisdom teeth out. That was the last time I was under anesthesia. I never have, so I don't even know the feeling, but that's a long time.

Oh my goodness. That is a long time. I don't generally have to go to the doctor or the hospital too often. I go for my regular checkups, of course, but this will be my first procedure in decades. I've heard that people love the anesthesia sleep, though. People say it's the best sleep you'll ever get. It's the most relaxing. But it's not sleep, really. It's not like getting, your body's not resting, but apparently it's pleasant. That's so I've heard.

I can't confirm or deny. That's what people say. My last procedure when I went under anesthesia with my wisdom teeth, two days later, first of all, it was painful. I couldn't eat really anything. My mouth was packed with gauze and ice and all that jazz. Three days after I had my wisdom teeth out, the stitches, some of the stitches came out.

I don't know how it happened. My mouth bled for eight hours straight. It did not stop. We kept expecting the bleeding to stop.

It didn't stop. Do you want to know what day it was, by the way? December 25th, Christmas Day, because I was playing college basketball and I was on my brief hiatus home from hoops. We had to go back the day after Christmas to campus because we had a tournament in California that holiday season. And so I get the wisdom teeth out when I get home. Three days later on Christmas Day, we had to go to an emergency dental hygienist who could stitch me up again on Christmas Day. It was the worst.

That was my senior year in college. But that was the last time I went under anesthesia. What if I am allergic to it now? What if I don't wake up? That's an irrational fear I have, actually, of anesthesia. See, I've never done it. I don't know. Because I actually haven't had my wisdom teeth out yet.

I think it's going to have to happen within the next few years. And the anesthesia part is really the only part that's kind of freaking me out a little bit. It's just weird. You're dead for a couple hours. You're not dead.

You can't say it's the best sleep you'll ever have and then transition to you're dead. You're not dead. Your heart is still beating. You're still breathing. You're not dead.

Stop it. Can I wake up? And if I want to, no. Well, only because you're drugged, not because you're dead. You're technically dead. No, you're the opposite of technically dead. You may appear to be dead while you're on the table. But you're the exact opposite of technically dead.

I don't know. The idea of it just is a little... Sure, it's a little scary. And I worry about it too. But you're not dead. You're breathing. Your heart is beating.

There's nothing dead about that. You're not brain dead. You're not functioning.

Yes, you are functioning. You're still breathing. Your heart is still beating. Your brain is still working. You're just drugged. You're drugged to the point where you're asleep and won't wake up. That makes it sound creepier.

Okay, well, it's better than being dead, in my opinion. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Once again, no easy transition from anesthesia to Jonathan Taylor. I'm happy to report that's not what's happening with Jonathan Taylor. But he's not with the Colts again, so I guess they can neither confirm nor deny. Taylor, as you recall, last was sending a message to the team by rehabbing his ankle and not practicing the ankle that was supposed to be recovered within two to four weeks of the injury at the end of last season. So still rehabbing his ankle, reportedly, theoretically. Well, now he's left camp to attend to a personal matter, though he does have permission from the club. So he first left for ankle treatment.

Now he's gone because of a personal matter. And the team will only say his absence is excused. As much as the team can gloss over it and not make a big issue of Jonathan Taylor being gone again. We can't ignore the pink elephant in the room or purple, really, I like purple. We can't ignore the purple elephant in the room, which is that Taylor wants a contract extension. The Colts are not giving it to him. He's asked for a trade and the relationship is sour, cantankerous, acrimonious at best. Not that it can't be repaired.

Everything can be repaired with money, right? A general manager, Chris Ballard, is staying optimistic. I think the world of Jonathan. He's been a great Colt, been a great player for the Colt. Unfortunately, last year he got hurt early in the season, was dinged all year.

Fought through it until he finally got to a point where he had to have the surgery. And now he's finishing his rehab process. And so hopefully as we move forward here, we'll get him back. But we need to get him 100% healthy before we do anything. I'd be a little concerned if I were the Colts and this ankle is still an issue. He had surgery in January.

Why is it still an issue? It's August. This was not supposed to be an injury that would take months to recover.

It was two to four weeks. So if it's me and I'm part of the Colts, whether a teammate, a coach, the general manager, and you hear Chris Ballard talking about how much he loves Jonathan Taylor, how much they want Taylor to be a part of what they're doing, he's on the pup list. He hasn't been on the field for an actual practice or OTA, team activities, going back to that moment at which he hit the IR in December. The Colts do not plan to trade him, according to Jim Mercy, though he is excused from camp.

But neither option is appealing. Either he's holding out and sending a message to the team pretending that the ankle is hurt and that he has a personal matter, and maybe he does have a personal matter. But if the ankle is actually still bothering him, isn't that a huge problem?

Then here's the question. If the ankle is still bothering him, why would you want to give him a new contract? If this injury that is supposed to be healed within a couple weeks is still bothering him eight months after he had the surgery, what part of that makes you want to give him a long-term extension? I'm not sure it behooves him to play up the ankle or to request continued rehab over the ankle. I think that sends the message that you're not healthy and potentially can't be relied on.

We'll see how this plays out. I actually saw one headline. I did not read it. I assume it was clickbait. It was something about the death of the NFL running back.

It's like Jay saying that when you're under anesthesia, you're dead. The running back position is not dead. Christian McCaffrey is making $16 million this year. Derrick Henry and Nick Chubber are making $12 million plus. Saquon Barkley and Tony Pollard, they're making $10-plus million this season on the franchise tag. Austin Eckler got a reworked deal. It's not a dead position. It's just a position where you don't have a lot of leverage against the NFL and its franchises and you really can't afford to hold out because you only have so many years in the prime of your career. It's not a dead position by any stretch of the imagination, nor are you dead when you go under anesthesia, Jay. I said technically dead.

We just got this tweet from JM. Anesthesia sleep is the best. Also, the colonoscopy is no big deal and super important, thank you for letting me know. He says you'll have basically one day of downtime.

So here is the question. After I go under the knife, well, under the knife, after I have my anesthesia sleep, should I work later that night? Would that be scary?

Will I still be under the effects? You know how sometimes when you take a pet to the vet? So I haven't been under anesthesia since I was in college, but Penny has had her teeth cleaned and she also had a procedure to take a growth off of her gums.

In both cases, already over 11 years old, when under anesthesia, she does not recover well. She's groggy. She's really disoriented. She's upset. She wanders around.

She pants. She does not do well coming out of anesthesia. Let's hope I don't do any of those things. I'm disoriented and panting, but do you think I should work that night?

Initial thought says probably not, but I think you got to see how you feel maybe after it. Kind of like a game time decision kind of thing. The doctor already, well, it's hard to do game time decision when you host a national radio show because it's not like we have people just hanging out waiting to fill in. But the doctor did tell me he does not want me to drive that night. So he said, if you're going to work, I don't want you to drive. Don't tell me if you're driving.

So I, considering what New York City traffic is like anyway, I'm not sure that I want to have a slow reaction time and drive into work 10 hours after being under anesthesia. What do you think? It doesn't sound like a great combination. No. Hmm. Are you prepared to be without me for multiple nights?

Multiple nights. You're going to call in sick, aren't you? Very possible. Very possible.

It's very possible. We'll both be sick. Call in sick. I'm not taking a vacation day for the colonoscopy. It's going to have to be a sick day. It is a sick day. It is a sick day. I am, well, as Jay says, I'm virtually dead, so I can't work if I'm virtually dead. You're so dumb. Call that a sick day. I mean, sick is the better option, I suppose. Dead day?

I'll be back tomorrow. I'm dead. Isn't that a social media thing? I'm dead.

It is. Actually, I think people say that. The cool kids say it when they see something crazy on social. Yeah, when you're laughing extremely hard or like something's absolutely outrageous. I'm dead.

Yeah, I'm dead. I don't think I'm going to be laughing under, well, unless they give me laughing gas. That would be funny.

Maybe I will be laughing even more so than normal. On Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page, we're glad to hear you. It's never a dull moment here on the show, I think, because sports are just part of what we do.

Life hacks, really about the life hacks. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Obviously this sport has given me so much in my life to my family and my team, so I'm eternally grateful and I'll try to be honest and return the favor to this sport and play as much as I possibly can.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. The unmistakable voice of one Novak Djokovic, and don't look now, but he's back in the United States into the third round in Cincinnati. It's actually a shorter night's work for him because his opponent retired. And so in the Western and Southern Open, it is Novak's return to the US for the first time since 2021.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. As you could imagine, there are a lot of emotions surrounding his return to the US. Remember he missed a bunch of events the last couple years with all the different COVID vaccine restrictions. Hasn't been in Cincinnati in four years. They moved this tournament to New York because of different pandemic challenges. And it's also the first time we've seen Novak since he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in that Wimbledon final and you hear him there even as we're returning to the show.

It's After Hours on Facebook, on Twitter as well. We always enjoy connecting with you, especially as we get closer and closer to football season. There's lots of buzz around Novak and Carlos Alcaraz, the number one player in the world who did win Wimbledon is also at this tournament. So will we see them match up again in a tune up to the US Open?

That remains to be seen. But on the YouTube channel for this particular tournament, Novak is talking about what it means and how it feels to be back in the US. It's great to be back. Time flies incredibly fast.

It's been way too long without being in America. You know, I've had a great reception last couple of days here in Cincinnati by fans and hopefully I can have a good tournament. You know, I haven't played since Wimbledon at the tournament and playing on the hard court again after many months because I didn't play near Wales and Miami, obviously, so I look forward to it. You know, hard court has been arguably my most successful surface overall in my career.

I haven't played since 2019 in Cincinnati and the first time I managed to win the tournament is 2018 against Roger in the finals and after, I think, four or five finals lost before that. So it feels better. It has, you know, I feel like more relief to be able to be here and compete. If I would never win the title here, then I would probably be a bit more anxious as I was for many years.

But I'm excited. You know, hopefully I can have a great restart of the hard court season for me. I'm glad he's back. He's certainly one of the most popular tennis players on the planet. And even as he mentions Roger, I still get a pang with an Omar Roger Federer, though Bob does have Roger's voice directing us on Waze. So I feel like Roger's not completely gone because I hear him on the Waze app.

Hazard reported ahead. But yeah, it's just it's hard not to see Roger or Rafa out there anymore. I know we have a new rivalry developing between the youth and the elder statesmen in Carlos and Novak and certainly there are others who will try to be part of that conversation. But it's just not the same.

I've not adjusted yet to the retirement and the loss of Roger and Rafa on the ATP tour. It's after hours. CBS Sports Radio. What else can we cram in here before the top? We're going to get to some of your football and also Ezekiel Elliott now with the Patriots. Bill Belichick commenting on him. But there was a serious injury for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Wednesday. Russell Gage tears a knee ligament. My heart goes out to Russ.

That's my dog. And, you know, like you say, he's been he's been battling some things, I say, since he's been here. So to see him go down again, you know, is, you know, is very, very tough. I'll be praying for him.

I'm going to check in on him when I get here. I just hate to see it like with anybody, especially someone like that you're close with. But I mean, like you said, is, you know, there's opportunities now for other guys to kind of step in. And we had a great group of young guys that have been working their asses off all camp.

You know, now it's, you know, time to see who's going to step up and to be able to fill out. You feel a big void there. It was so unfortunate. He was just getting back in the game ready shape. He was looking good, had made a nice catch and like his knee buckled a little bit. You know, we've been praying for him, you know, the rest of practice.

I just pray that it's not as bad as it looks. According to sources that are around the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it was, in fact, a season ending knee injury for Russell Gage. It's not been confirmed by the team yet, but he did get carted off the practice field. This is a joint practice, actually, between the Buccaneers and the Jets.

So this was taking place in Florham Park, New Jersey, and that's where the Jets practice facility is. So you hear Mike Evans, you hear Chris Godwin, two fellow receivers, and Gage himself was in tears as he was leaving the field. The worst part is that it was a non-contact injury. It's always, well, almost always a precursor for torn ACL or another torn knee ligament. When a knee buckles like that, there's been no contact, so we'll wait to hear on Thursday. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio.