After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

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Shop in store or visit Ashley.com today. We did it! You guys, we did it! It was not easy. I'll just admit it. It was a project. But we are proud that at least we accomplished the major first step forward. Now, there's a lot on Producer J's plate.

A lot. Because he is the technical director and editor extraordinaire. And while I will offer input and feedback and encouragement, of course, so much encouragement, the next major step will be taken by one Producer J. The editing.

But I'm telling you, we're now so close to sharing our next big video with you, exclusively on our YouTube channel. You've asked for it. You've asked over and over and over again. I can feel you. I can feel your angst because I am not a patient person.

Patience is not my virtue. So I understand we've been talking about it now for, oh, gosh, the better part of a month since I shared with you that I was engaged in getting married in December. You all have sent dozens and dozens of questions about the wedding and the future specifically. And so we decided we would do an Ask Amy Anything Walks Down the Aisle. Ask Amy Walks Down the Aisle. Jay put an outline together. He grouped the questions into four categories.

I've never seen Jay that organized. Otherwise, though, he and I would not have accomplished the goal, which is to answer your frequently asked questions about my pending nuptials. Producer J, how are you feeling knowing what still stares you in the face?

What still lies ahead? I feel great. Do you? I feel great. The video was fun. It worked out. The audio sounds fantastic. The video came out fantastic. That's a little editing.

It's fun. Okay. All right.

Good. I want you all to know that Jay didn't wear a hat for this video. Notice. Yeah, it's like you're missing a part of your body. There's no way that I couldn't notice. Jay actually did his hair.

So forget the frequently asked questions. You will want to watch the video because Jay's hair is perfectly quaffed and because he's not wearing a hat perfectly perfectly quaffed. It's I'm trying to build him up here because I know he's got a major editing project ahead of him. He was slightly off in his prediction that this would be a two hour video.

Heavens. It could not have been much longer than it was, though. I'm not sure how many of you are going to watch all the way to the end. What do you think, Jay? The thing is we built up the questions or Jay structured the questions in a way that the most common and popular questions are at the end. Smart of him, huh?

Attain that retention. What did you think of the answers? Were there any answers that surprised you or that you didn't that you didn't expect? The answers were fantastic. I loved a lot of stuff that you like ideas that you had and you and Bob had for your wedding and your family that I really enjoyed. I really liked.

I was like, wow, that's a really clever, good idea. And, you know, the food items, which everyone will hear is amazing. You got to tune in and hear what's on Amy's menu.

I told Jay I'd bring him back a doggy bag. Yes, you did. And I'm looking forward to it.

Yeah, it was great. Anything that I didn't expect, maybe in that in our in our final section of the most asked ones, I didn't expect something there. Okay. Yeah, we might even have to break this up into two separate videos, a part one and a part two of Ask Amy walks down the aisle. I really do like that name for it, by the way.

Ask Amy walks down the aisle. That's kind of cute. It's clever. I like it. It's clever. Okay, good.

All right. So we will let you know. But Jay is going to take part of the next few days to start to edit to make this a perfectly finished project that we can share with you. It will be exclusively on YouTube. So make sure that you subscribe to our YouTube channel even now. After hours with Amy Lawrence on YouTube, there is a recent welcome back football video, which we talk about the seven new teams that will make the playoffs in our latest edition of our stairway to seven series.

So yeah, check it out. Subscribe, like it makes Jay happy. Jay's got a lot of work ahead of him, but at least he knows there'll be so many of you who are appreciating this finished product.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio on Twitter, a law radio on our Facebook page to looking forward to these next four hours spent hanging out with us. My grandpa in northeast Ohio, he used to say use with an S on the end. He was one of the funniest people I ever met. He was my hero. And he also played bocce, which my brother and I would sit for hours at the bocce courts and watch my grandpa and his friends play bocce and talk smack. My grandpa used to talk smack and then they would giggle.

It was the funniest thing. I miss my grandpa so much. True Italian grandpa through and through.

I know many of you can identify. I don't think he liked football. My grandmother loved baseball. She watched baseball every single night. I don't recall that my grandpa liked.

He took me to my first baseball game when I was eight years old at the old stadium in Cleveland. But I don't recall we ever watched football together. It's probably best.

It's probably best that way. More family time, less time in front of the TV watching sports. Bocce was way more interesting to this little kid. Have you ever seen bocce ball? I love bocce ball. Bocce ball is awesome. Anybody in your family, because your family is Italian, ever play bocce ball? Of course, all the time.

I have it set in the backyard. I actually used to tell people that my ancestors invented bocce ball, my last name boccioni, and people would be like, oh, no way. Really?

I'd be like, no, I'm totally kidding. But it worked a little bit. You can believe it for a second. Nice. Why can't we do a bocce ball tournament for After Hours listeners? Wouldn't that be amazing? You don't have to tell me twice.

I've signed me up. That would be amazing. Not in New York. There'd have to be somewhere else. We'd have to go somewhere else to do that. A destination bocce ball tournament. A destination bocce tournament.

Absolutely. We need some bocce courts. We might have to go to my grandparents' old neighborhood in the Youngstown, Ohio area. That would be so cool.

Oh, my gosh, bucket list item. An After Hours bocce ball tournament. Please let me know on social media if you would be part of our bocce ball tournament. And if you don't know what bocce ball is, it's not that different than curling.

It just happens to be on dirt court. Yeah, oh, so good. All right, so Twitter, Facebook, YouTube channel, we're all set. We're good to go. We're going to dive into the latest in Major League Baseball, twist turns. We call it diamond drama because there are some playoff spots up for grabs. And we're getting close to the end of the season now.

And so it's getting more and more compelling and the sense of urgency and recognizing that there is no time to lose. We do have a handful of teams who have clinched playoff spots. But for the most part, when you look at the wildcard standings, other than the Rays in the American League and their way out in front, everything else is up for grabs.

And there are some pretty tight, tight as in too close for comfort races. So we'll get to some baseball and a possible playoff preview coming up here momentarily. But we were thinking about starting week three of the NFL season and how this always becomes a point where the question is asked, which of the 0-2 teams can rally to make the playoffs? Because it does happen almost every year that 0-2 NFL teams, at least one of them, ends up in the playoffs. And last year, don't have to go back very far, last year, the Bengals started out 0-2, they were 2-3, obviously made the playoffs. Obviously got back to the AFC Championship, right?

So we know that it happens every year. I'm going to look for the number of years in a row, but it's not necessary to panic if your team is 0-2. But there are 0-2 teams that are likely not to improve their status in their division or in the NFL overall.

For instance, the Arizona Cardinals, I think a lot of you picked them as the team that would be the last to get a win. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a few more losses before they got a win. They're in a tough division. I do believe the Carolina Panthers will get a win before too long. Considering what's happening with the Chicago Bears and the rumblings coming out of the Windy City, I don't know about them either.

There might be friction that threatens to derail their direction. The Vikings will get a win before long. The Chargers will as well. I don't know about the Broncos.

Man, speaking of friction, Sean Payton and Russell Wilson, that's tough. Houston Texans, they are absolutely a team in rebuild mode, but I think they're heading in the right direction, they're in the right vein. I think the Patriots and Bengals will get victories before long.

And I'm not saying the Pats will beat the Jets, but there certainly is an extensive history there. So, no time to panic, because it happens every year that an 0-2 team, maybe even more than one, rallies to make the playoffs, especially now with the expanded Super Wild Card format. So our question for you tonight is, which 0-2 teams are playoff bound? Which 0-2 teams are sunk? Either end of the extreme. You can answer both questions.

You can answer one question. Which 0-2 team is headed for the playoffs? Which 0-2 teams are sunk? Yes, of course, we're prognosticating.

It's more fun that way. You all want me to tell you who's going to win the Super Bowl in July, so here, it's your opportunity to look ahead. And definitely consider schedules and divisions, injuries, of course, that will be a factor too. We're on the cusp of week number three. Wowzers. Couple fun things we have for you the rest of this week. I know we talked a bit about the video. It probably won't be ready before the end of the week, but a conversation with the Baltimore Ravens on tomorrow night show. That'll be fun. Jay and I are working on establishing good connections and relationships with the various PR peeps around the league. And to that end, we hope to have a couple players a month here on the show. We talked to Antonio Gibson of the commanders going back to preseason and the Baltimore Ravens, the next team that we will connect with. And so we'll have a conversation with the Baltimore Ravens on tomorrow night show. Also, for those of you who know Entertainment Tonight or used to watch CNN and sports updates on CNN, Nichelle Turner, who is now the host and producer of Secret Celebrity Renovation, she will be a guest on our show tomorrow night as well.

And if you remember, if you listen regularly, you will remember, or if you follow me on social media, maybe you saw the link. Secret Celebrity Renovation is a show that airs on CBS that features athletes, entertainers, singers, influencers, and they have a chance to remake the home, renovate the home of someone who's important to them. And the reason that we highlighted the show going into Labor Day weekend is because Damar Hamlin renovated and really gutted the house that his grandmother lives in, a house where he spent a lot of time growing up.

Well, Damar isn't the only athlete on this season of Secret Celebrity Renovation. The next episode airs on Friday night and it's Devante Adams. Oh, good stuff. I've had a sneak peek of the episode.

It is so good. It's Devante like you've never seen him back in East Palo Alto, California. Also, he's damn good with a sledgehammer.

That's all I'm going to say. So last time we spoke with Boston Rob, Rob Mariano, who is the designer. He's essentially the guy who does the work, the actual nuts and bolts in the work of it. He's a contractor and he is part of the design team.

There's a designer. We're going to talk to the host, Nichelle Turner, who gets to spend a ton of time with the celebrities. And this week, Devante Adams kind of keep him busy and get to know his story and his background while the home renovation is taking place. Really cool. I'm a big fan of Devante anyway.

And here he is also choosing his grandmother, his grandparents, as the project, as the renovation project. It's awesome, you guys. So Nichelle Turner on tomorrow night's edition of After Hours, along with a member of the Baltimore Ravens. On tonight's show, NFL and CBS analyst Charles Davis begin to scouting, begin to draft.

And a lot of the run up to the draft with the various senior bowls and showcases. Charles Davis was on Jaguars Chiefs last week along with Ian Eagle. And this week on the NFL and CBS, he is calling Panthers Seahawks. So we'll talk to him about those teams as well as week one, he had Browns and Bengals. And so we'll talk to him about Browns and Bengals and obviously the big story being the loss of Nick Chubb.

You may have seen the developments this week. Kareem Hunt is back with the Browns. You will hear from him coming up next. On Twitter, ALawRadio. Yes, we will get to baseball as well this hour.

On Twitter, ALawRadio. We've got our brand new show question up. Which of the NFL's 0-2 teams still make the playoffs? Which 0-2 teams are sunk? By the way, if you haven't made your picks for Survivor Island yet, and I'm speaking to me, I have not yet made my week three pick for Survivor Island. I went with the Dallas Cowboys last week and survived. Jay, who did you pick last week? The Dallas Cowboys. Oh, we both went with the Cowboys against the Jets. Alright, that Dallas defense, but now here's the problem, we can't pick them ever again.

No. Are we going to go with the who plays the Jets strategy this year? No, well, it's the Patriots this week. Are you confident in the Patriots? Oh, with the Jets, I might be a little more than I would be against any other team, but I'm not sure if I'll go with them. It's a tough one.

The Niners, they play Thursday night at home against the Giants who don't have Saquon Barkley. Oh, so you're going to get cute then? You're going to get cute. You're going to avoid your own team.

Okay, alright. This early in the season, I just kind of sit there and root against my own team. I would kind of like the idea of winning on Thursday and being done with it. My mom's husband picked the Chiefs in week number one and they lost to the Lions.

He was out before they even got to the bulk of week one. I might go, once we find out who's starting for the Colts, I might go Baltimore. I like that.

Yeah, I got to take a real look at the slate. I might go Chiefs over Bears, too. Oh, there's some tough ones this week. Damn, the Cowboys would have been nice this week. I might go Dolphins over Broncos. The Broncos seem like a disaster waiting to happen, or maybe they're already happening. Maybe the Jaguars, who didn't look good last week.

They did not. Was it the Texans this week? Oh, good call there. Good call. Jaguars and Texans.

In Jacksonville? I might go Niners and get it out of the way. I mean, that's probably the better play. Without Saquon Barkley. That's probably the best play of the week, and Andrew Thomas is out as well. Yeah.

Daniel Jones' numbers are not nearly as good without Saquon Barkley. It should be a safe pick, but you know. All right, so if you haven't made your Survivor Island picks, make sure you make them and save them. And again, find our show question up on Twitter and Facebook now. Our phone number, 855-212-4227.

That's 855-212-4CBS. We're close to week three. Off and running.

Let's go. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Imagine you're looking at a balancing scale with everything you do for other people on one side and everything you do for yourself on the other side. If it isn't balanced, maybe it's time to spend a little more time on you. And therapy is a great place to start. BetterHelp connects you with a licensed therapist online who can help you find that balance and stick to it. Visit betterhelp.com slash positive to get 10% off your first month.

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Sponsored by Pfizer and BioNTech. On CBS Sports Radio, you are listening to the After Hours podcast. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It was 24 hours ago we told you that Kareem Hunt had visited with the Browns again, even though they set him free during the offseason and decided they didn't want to pay him. Nick Chubb gets hurt on Monday Night Football week two and Kareem Hunt is back in the fold.

And this is really a no brainer because he already knows the coaching staff, already knows the system, the playbook, the personnel, obviously familiar with the locker room. And because he was still available, it's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. At this point, the team has not officially disclosed the terms, but according to different sources, one year deal for Kareem Hunt to play out 2023 worth up to $4 million. That comes from Adam Schefter if he meets incentives. And Nick Chubb, of course, has been placed on injured reserve.

The two moves going hand in hand. Now it's been made clear by the Browns that Jerome Ford is their starting running back. So it's instead of Chubb and Hunt, it's now Ford and Hunt. And Kareem Hunt had a lot of success with the Browns once he joined them.

Remember, they picked him up after Kansas City, after he was cut by Kansas City. He has more than 1,800 yards rushing in his time with the Browns up through last season. Sixteen different rushing touchdowns. In their 2020 playoff run, he had three touchdowns, I believe.

Nearly 1,000 yards receiving as well, seven more touchdowns through the air. The reason that the two sides parted for a time, a short time, is because he asked for a trade when the Browns didn't want to give him a contract extension. I mean, this is a tale as old as time in the NFL. Cleveland ended up not dealing him before the trade deadline, and so he spent the rest of the year with the Browns. And that was the end of his contract. And he had visited with different teams. The Colts were one of them.

Ended up not signed, still as a free agent, which meant the team did not have to give up anything to get him other than a one-year contract worth up to $4 million, according to the report. Jerome Ford and Cream Hunt. Can it be as productive a tandem? Well, there's a chance, especially considering the offensive line. We know that Nick Chubb is a special talent, a special back. But a lot of the pieces are in place for some success in the offense, running the ball. And here is Cream Hunt, who gets to go back to a franchise and a team, teammates, with whom he's really familiar. I never fully closed the door or whatnot, but I didn't think it was a big possibility. So, I mean, things work out in situations for a reason.

I mean, I guess it was just meant for me to come play for the hometown again. And as much as everyone is very careful to point out that the Browns are not the same without Nick Chubb, and that is true. It's one of the topics that I brought up with Charles Davis when I spoke to him a few hours ago.

You'll hear that conversation later on the show. A lot of people still look to the other talent on the roster. Deshaun Watson, who's still getting comfortable again after, gosh, I know he played a handful of games last year, but after the time away from football. And now, as they wait for him and the offense to get in sync, a running game is so important.

But Kareem Hunt, he knows these guys and I think he's got a point that they're still a contender, though it doesn't look the same. The team, great. Love the defense. Love the offense that we have.

And I'm excited to see us put it all together and gel it together and keep working to get to the end goal. The tough part of this is the division where they play, obviously. The Ravens are sitting at 2-0 in that division. Steelers got the victory over the Browns on Monday night, though it was largely the Pittsburgh defense. So both Steelers and Browns are 1-1. The Bengals are 0-2, though I do not expect them to stay that way.

Our show question, you're already answering. Which 0-2 teams can rally to make the playoffs? Which 0-2 teams are sunk already?

Let's be melodramatic and overreact, shall we? On our show Twitter After Hours CBS and then on our Facebook page too, here's a response on Twitter. 0-2 teams that are sunk, Broncos and Chargers. 0-2 teams that have a chance, Vikings and Cardinals.

Interesting. Vikings I agree with, I'm not sure I agree with the Cardinals. Will on Twitter says the Bears at 0-2 are sunk.

So again, you can find that on Twitter or on Facebook. And our phone number is 855-212-4227. I like the special connection that Kareem has with Cleveland and with the fans. It's quite exciting, I guess, because I'm from Cleveland. Born and raised, like I always say. And I still want to bring a championship here and help contribute. That was my biggest goal for the past four years, to do everything I can to bring one to the hometown. Good for you Kareem Hunt, and good for the Browns for not overthinking this.

For not getting cute, as we say in Survivor Pools. No need to reinvent the wheel. Go back to what worked. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt were the most productive running back tandem in the NFL the last couple years. And sure, a lot of it was Nick Chubb.

But Kareem Hunt has been productive. He wants to play there. He's comfortable there. The team should be comfortable with him. Has nothing to do with the other players. The reason why he left, or the reason why they parted ways for a time. And so there should be no issues in the locker room whatsoever.

This should help. I think it provides a lift too, because it's someone with whom they are familiar. Not trying to replace Nick Chubb, just trying to pick up the slack. Straight ahead we've got some pretty dramatic playoff races. As we're now down to the final handful of games in the Major League Baseball regular season. And especially with the wildcards, exactly the way that Rob Manfred wants it. The way they've designed it with this new wildcard format, which I don't love.

But the way they've designed it is plenty. Plenty on the line over these next, gosh what is it, a week and a half now? With the games that are left on the schedule. So that's straight ahead. Excited to connect with you. Get set for week number three. But also talk about some of the other storylines in sports, including Major League Baseball.

But not limited to baseball. If you missed my conversation about Deion Sanders and the way he's changing Colorado culture. It's a lot of fun too, because he is the story right now in football.

Just how he wants it. So the link to that podcast and that interview with our Buffalo's Insider is also on Twitter and Facebook. I did go back and answer a bunch of your Ask Amy questions. The ones that have nothing to do with the upcoming wedding. So check social media for that as well.

Gosh, we keep you guys busy. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. And he leads off here against Ryan Walker and hits the first pitch to deep right field. Back of the warning track.

Back of the wall. Have a day. Corbin Carroll. His 25th of the season. And it's 4-1 Arizona. Wow. Let's just get something. Here's a 1-2. And a drive to right. Down the line. Back to back. Go Carroll and Marte. And the Diamondbacks now lead it 5-1.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. On Diamondbacks radio against the San Francisco Giants. A little NL West action. The Cardinals. The Cardinals.

Oh dear. The Diamondbacks. It won't be the first time that happens this month or next month. The Diamondbacks score 7 runs on 14 hits and another scorcher for Corbin Carroll. 4 for 5 with 3 different runs scored. This is one of the dynamic races in Major League Baseball right now. And so you've got 5 in a row for the Diamondbacks. Which makes them one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball. But the competition in that division alone for wildcards. So we know no one's catching the Dodgers. The Dodgers have run away with the NL West again. But right now you've got the 3 teams behind the Dodgers all battling for possible wildcards. The Diamondbacks. The Giants who were their counterparts. The losing team in that game tonight. And then the Padres.

Don't look now. They've won 7 in a row and 8 of their last 9. You kind of wonder if these teams hadn't been screwing around or messing around after the All-Star break specifically when the Dodgers went on their surge.

How different this race might have looked. Except there's nothing you can do about that now. And they're feeling good. I mean now they're locked in. We mean business and we're getting after people. So I think that's kind of what you're seeing through this whole process. You know, even that lull we had after the All-Star break to playing better and then putting us in a spot that we're in.

That's the sense I get in talking to the young players, the veteran players. And you put that together in a series like this and win 5 games in a really, really critical time of the year. I think we're in a really good spot. Alright, so here's how the standings look. The Phillies are the number one wildcard in the NL. The Diamondbacks right now are the second wildcard. And they are two and a half games back of the Phillies. The Cubs are sitting in that number three spot. Marlins are right on their heels after dropping two of three to the Mets. The Marlins are a half game out of the third wildcard. The Reds are one game out. They also lost on Wednesday, almost at Thursday.

Nope, we're not quite there yet. Then you've got the Giants, three out. The Padres, four and a half out. Again, it's hard not to play the what if game when it comes to the NL West.

But there's nothing you can do about it now. And as these teams go toe to toe, the Giants come up on the losing end. Gabe Kappeler knows that this is not optimal. Obviously these were must-win games. And going back several games, those were also must-win games.

And now the math is not on our side. And every game is one that we have to win. They have dropped five of their last six and six of their last eight. So they definitely have put themselves in a really tough spot. And it's not so much the number of games out. That's, I mean it's challenging, but it's not insurmountable. The fact that they are three back of the Cubs.

And time is running out for sure. 153 games, 152-53 games now. So you're talking about roughly ten games for each team.

It's possible. The challenge, the far greater challenge is the number of teams that sit between them and the wild card. The number of teams that sit between them and the Cubs. The different teams that are vying for that same real estate.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. As I mentioned, the Reds suffered another loss to the Twins. And you can hear the tone of voice for David Bell, similar to that for Gabe Kappeler. They're all important at this point. There's no question about that. They hurt, you know, when you don't let them. When you need to know what's happening, it's time to get hit in the huddle. And nobody's picking the Colts to win the Super Bowl, so let's just go learn, right? Well, this is always going to happen. Jim Irsay's calling all the shots there.

And the hunky-tonk man didn't draft this kid where they drafted this kid to have him look great in practice and look awesome running the scout team. You know what I mean? But yeah, let's play this Minshew cat or whatever on Sunday.

He's like, no way. Listen and subscribe to In the Huddle, available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, it gets smoother. It's getting delivered tomorrow.

Visit Carvana.com or download the app to get pre-qualified today. But at the same time, we remain really excited and positive about our chances. We still, we have time to get it done and that's all you can ask for. I don't root for teams much anymore, but I do root for individual players to have their moments, their redemption. I love the old dudes. It's been one of my themes here on After Hours for years, because older athletes, they're face to face with their own sports mortality. They know that this doesn't go on forever.

And so in many cases, they've overcome injuries and other personal and professional challenges. And for Joey Votto, he's 40 years old, just turned 40, loves playing this kind of baseball where there's something on the line. And for the Reds, that's not always been the case over the last decade plus.

I would love to see him in October just because he could be in his final few games with the Reds, a franchise to whom he has devoted so much. But it's the same story for the Reds having to battle with the Diamondbacks, the Cubs, the Marlins, the Giants, even the Padres now who are encroaching. So that's the National League. In the American League, we know the Rays have either, well, they've clinched a playoff spot.

Either the wild card, the top wild card, or they could end up winning the division. So Orioles and Rays are only separated by two and a half games. And actually the Orioles, I don't want to say they're backpedaling necessarily, but they're leaving that door wide open.

It's really stiff competition. And again, when there's so much on the line late in the season, you're getting everybody's best shot. So Orioles and Rays, one will win the East, one will claim the top wild card. The World Series champions, they're on top of the A.L.

West, but boy, they are locked in some kind of a dogfight. Mullins and center-shades the other way, infield and outfield both come in. Dubon lifts it in the right, base hit, that'll score Diaz. Astros walk it off, two to one. Your winners, and still all alone in first place in the A.L. West, the Houston Astros. It's nice to see the guys happy and partying because it's been a morgue in there the last couple of games.

Boy, that was a huge game. The Astros are not in a good spot right now. Well, good spot. They're on top of the West. I mean, they're not playing great baseball right now. They've dropped six of nine. Again, it's extremely competitive when it gets to this point in the season, and you're talking about very few opportunities left to make up ground. So they've dropped six of nine, however, they still have the nose in front of that A.L.

West race. A half game up on the Rangers and the Mariners. It sucks that you get to this point and after, I mean, by the time the dust settles, there's 162 regular season games that there are teams that are worthy that are on the outside looking in. But that's the beauty of 162.

Anything can and will happen. Think about the number of opportunities these teams have had over the course of the last, oh my gosh, we're talking two seasons, and by seasons I mean the seasons of the weather. The seasons of, that sounds odd, the summer and spring seasons.

But that's not what I meant to say. What are they called? What kind of seasons? They're called not sports seasons.

Sometimes words are hard. We're about to turn into autumn, by the way. Really excited about it. It's my favorite time of the year. I think it's also the busiest time of the year. I'll go back and forth on which seasons I like the best. Seasons of the year, I guess that would be the right term.

I like them all in turn, but summer is actually my least favorite, believe it or not. It was 51 degrees in my neighborhood on Wednesday morning. Inside the house, I left the windows open because I love it cooler in the house. Inside the house, 65. Fantastic sleeping weather.

Can I tell you something? When I got home from work yesterday, not yet, but I almost did. You did not turn on the heat. No, but I almost put on sweatpants.

Oh, okay. I've actually worn sweatpants to walk the dog. I know you don't have to walk moose in the mornings, but at 51 degrees, I was not walking the dog in shorts. So I definitely have had the opportunity to taste fall. So autumn begins this weekend.

So my favorite season of the year is autumn. Here are these baseball teams. They played in the spring.

They played in the summer. They've had plenty of opportunities. We know what they can do. We know who they are. Well, you're running out of time in real estate.

No time like the present, right? So the Rangers and the Mariners are a half game back of the Astros in the AL West. And the wild card, outside of the top wild card, which will either be Rays or Orioles, Blue Jays from the AL East are a game up on the Rangers, who are in the third spot, and the Mariners, who right now are tied. It's those four teams. Well, take the Rays out of it. Take the top of the AL East out of it. It's three teams for two spots.

That's going to hurt. Rangers have put together this team that was on top of the AL West. For months. For most of the seasons of the year.

Now I've got to keep saying it. The Rangers, they were overtaken by the Astros. They went through a really tough swoon. We know the offense is incredible. In fact, against the Red Sox on Wednesday, they scored 15 runs on 16 hits.

Six of 13 with runners in scoring position. Stop it. But they could find themselves on the outside looking in, or the Rangers could.

Or the Blue Jays could. Oh, it hurts. It hurts. I tell you.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio. And then you cry. And cry some more. Yes, this season is going to be bananas. But after eight years of successfully uniting soulmates in marriage and kids, there is still magic in Paradise. So only one question remains. Who will find love next? Bachelor in Paradise premieres Thursday, September 28th, 9-8 central on ABC and stream on Hulu.