1-5-24 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

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Call 562-314-4603 for complete details. Are you ready for some football? I bet you are. I can't decide. I like to be honest, as honest as possible. I can't decide if I missed Thursday Night Football or I didn't.

I don't think I did, actually. I think with the Saturday, Sunday, Monday football that we got last weekend, over New Year's weekend, and all the buildup to what's to come now with this final weekend of the NFL regular season, and then on into the national championship, right? So, on the heels of us getting the matchups and the playoff bracket all set in week 18, and there are a lot of possibilities, you guys. It's pretty incredible the number of various scenarios that we could see for the upcoming playoffs.

This weekend, I'll give you the numbers as we head through this show, but there's some type of record number of teams that are still alive for the playoffs at this point in the regular season. It's exactly the way the NFL wants it. They don't want you to get comfortable. They don't want you to think you know what you know, because every time you think you know, you don't know.

That's one of my lines, actually. I love the fact that there are still so many possibilities, and it certainly is good for business. It makes this time of the year a lot more compelling when we actually don't know how it will play out, and that is how we head into the weekend. Four hours to talk football with a little basketball and maybe just maybe a little baseball and golf mixed in, but there are reasons. We're not just yapping about these other sports to yap.

No, that's not how it works. We actually do have reasons for why we do what we do. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. For some reason, I have misplaced my chapstick. I don't know where it is.

I had it in the car, and now I do not have it, and I'm a little bit nervous that it fell out of my pocket, and that's bad because I really can't do an entire four-hour show without my chapstick, but we'll deal with that when the microphone is off. So you can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page after hours with Amy Lawrence. On Thursday afternoon, I woke up to text messages from family, text messages from friends. Some of them hadn't even heard the wedding stories or they were at the wedding and didn't realize some of the things that had happened.

Like yes, a horse did bite me on my wedding day. For those of you who listened to the show 24 hours ago or you caught the podcast, we were blown away by the response, a response still coming in on both of our social media sites. And as I say, I had family who listened to the podcast themselves even though they were there and enjoyed hearing the stories and my retelling of it. And then I had friends who texted me to say, wait, what?

What happened to the seating chart? And so it was just a lot of fun to get reaction from people that were there actually and still didn't realize some of the drama that was going on behind their backs or in another part of the barn. Anyway, it was fun to share those stories and other moments that we didn't expect or that did not go as planned. Thank you for all of your messages. I wish I could respond to all of them.

It's just not possible. But thank you so much for caring the way that you do. And as I've said a hundred times since, oh gosh, since the summer when I announced the engagement and just on through this past couple of days. Thank you so much for sharing my joy and excitement. It really does mean a lot to me. And so if you missed it, the Wedding Stories podcast at hours two and three of Thursday morning, top secrets finally revealed.

And of course, not everything that went wrong, but the moments that did not go as planned, I had a top 10 list. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. Thank you for your reaction. You guys are cool to care and it does mean a lot to me. Also, Bob enjoyed listening to the Wedding Stories too, even though he was there and we've talked about them multiple times. Our phone number is 855-212-4227.

That's 855-212-4CBS. As I say, it will be primarily a football frenzy on this edition of the show, getting you set for what's to come. And that means playoffs scenarios, yo.

That means that we will look at the divisions where we do not yet have a champion. That includes the Jacksonville Jaguars and coming up in, oh, let's say 50 as in 50, well, top of the next hour, but 50 as in 5-0 minutes. We will welcome our friend JP Shadrick, who covers the Jaguars and is part of their radio network.

I'm interested to hear the latest on Trevor Lawrence, of course, because the Jaguars are a different team with Trevor. And as they hit the road in Tennessee, they've got a win and they're in Scenario. But if they do not take care of their business, well then the Colts and the Texans have the same record and are hot on their heels and could steal that AFC South. And actually, that's something I'll ask JP. All of the momentum, all of the promise, so much talk about the potential with the Jaguars, even that they were a year ahead of schedule by making the playoffs last year and winning the division crown.

Is he surprised that this is where they are? That here it is week 18 and they're still looking for the playoff spot and that they very well could end up not winning the division. Also, we haven't done one in, gosh, I think it's been three weeks, but the after hours game of the week poll, it won't be the last time we do it. We can actually do it on through wildcard weekend. It's a supersized wildcard weekend, you know, and then into divisional weekend as well where it fits perfectly because we'll have just the four games. We have many games, as I say, because it's a record number of teams that are still alive. We have many games that matter for playoffs, but not all of them are a battle between two teams that are still alive. If you've looked at the schedule, you may have recognized that all the games are between division opponents.

The NFL, I don't remember how many years ago it was, but it's been since my jump to network radio, so it's been in the last 15 years. The NFL made a concerted effort to backload the regular season schedules with division games so that they could end up in these types of battles for either playoff spot or in the case of four different divisions. So half the divisions in the NFL, you've got games that will determine that division winner. So the AFC East, for instance, Buffalo versus Miami, last game of the NFL regular season, number 272.

That's how many games there are in an NFL regular season, 272. And so this year comes from the AFC East. The winner of that game will capture the division crown. In the case of Buffalo, if they don't beat Miami, and this game is on the road in South Florida, if the Bills do not prevail, they actually could end up on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

Crazy enough, Miami's already clinched, but we know they're coming off a real tough weekend against Baltimore, not just because they gave up 56 points or because they lost Bradley Chubb. You've also got the game between Chicago and Green Bay. Packers win and they're in. Tampa Bay on the road at Carolina. Now we know the Panthers are not headed to the playoffs, but Baker's Bucks, Baker and Bulls Bucks, the Bulls and Baker Bucks.

I know I'm an idiot. If they win, they capture the NFC South. But if they lose, it's either Atlanta versus New Orleans. So the winner of that division. So not all of the games are for playoff spot. Houston at Indy is huge. Those two teams are both 9 and 7. That's your Saturday evening game coming from Indianapolis. Pittsburgh, Baltimore. The Steelers need a bunch of different dominoes to drop, but the first and most important step is the Steelers must beat the Ravens. And I know it's a weekend in which we won't see all teams fielding starters.

In fact, well, I was going to say you're going to see a lot of backup quarterbacks this weekend, but heavens, isn't that what every weekend in the NFL looks like right now? And so we'll put up the after hours game of the week poll on our show Twitter after hours CBS and also on our Facebook page named after the show. I recently had someone ask me if this is actually a colleague in the well, not a colleague, but it was a. A conference commissioner who asked me my Instagram handle. Well, I just can't do any more social media, so I said to her, I don't have Insta. Sorry, I just have Twitter. So those are the two that we've got Twitter and Facebook. Or I suppose you could check out our YouTube channel and you could write us a novella there.

I did go back and answer a bunch of your questions in the wake of the wedding stories for those of you who didn't hear, and I think I shared the link to the podcast about 300 times, but that's all right. Repetition is the key. You keep repeating it eventually. It sinks in. We've also got college football national championship.

On Monday. And the Michigan components interesting, not only because the Wolverines like the Huskies are undefeated, but because there's so much talk around Jim Harbaugh about whether or not he will. Springboard from this incredible season for Michigan to. An NFL job again, so a lot of speculation there. And whatever the Big 10 intended to do. When it came to Harbaugh, when it came to punishing him, making him a poster child. Using the sportsmanship clause. There's a lot of gray area with this whole situation around Jim Harbaugh and this former school employee who bought tickets to all these other stadiums. No actual tie between Jim Harbaugh and this employee. Now I tend to think that if you're the boss, Buck stops with you, and even if Harbaugh didn't know he should have known, that's how I felt about AJ Hinch. Going back to the whole Astros cheating scandal sign stealing trash can banging scandal scandal as I tell you. He gets suspended three games and all it does is rally his team and make them closer, tighter, maybe even more focused on the task at hand. A lot of times adversity or feeling like. You're a target and. You're under fire or in this case a conference is out to get you but fans are piling on.

Yeah, a lot of times it serves to galvanize. So we'll get that poll up. We'll talk a little something something when it comes to football. And the only reason we bring up baseball is because Trevor Bauer has done an extensive interview with Fox News. Now, I'm assuming most of you remember his name. He played baseball in Japan last year, hasn't pitched in the majors in two and a half years. Going back to was it his first year with the Dodgers.

Sign him to a really fat contract. And then a San Diego area woman accused him of sexual assault, and some of the accusations she leveled were disturbing about her being choked to the point where she passed out. It was hard to think about it was hard to read. There were some other allegations from women that followed, though, ultimately, he was not charged. And these were civil lawsuits. He settled one of them or maybe more than one of them out of court. There is still an active case. I didn't read the details of it, but there is still an active case ongoing.

Now, according to Bauer, all of these sexual encounters were consensual between two adults. But now that he does this interview with Fox News, he admits he made a lot of mistakes along the way. The Dodgers have since released him. His suspension was reduced to 194 games. Oh my gosh, 194 games. But I think, effectively, he was banished from Major League Baseball.

There was no team that was going to touch him. Wait until you hear what he has to say about his skills and a potential return to the major leagues. So Trevor Bauer, a little bit later on the show, but coming up next, as the Golden State Warriors prepare to welcome Draymond Green back to their facilities, not necessarily back to the lineup yet, but back to their facilities following his indefinite suspension, or I guess it's not over yet, but All signs point to it coming to an end relatively soon.

The Warriors are scuffling along, but man, on Thursday evening on national TV, they put up 44 points in the third quarter. That's how you get on track, right? That's coming up next. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Okay, what's the number one reason you should try Instacart? Shopping over 1.5 million unique products from over 1,000 retailers and get everything delivered right to your door in as fast as one hour, all in one app.

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Get six times longer lasting freshness plus odor protection with Downy Unstoppables in wash scent beads. Almost Friday to you here on CBS Porch Radio. You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Off the screen, Jackson throws to Jokic. Quick move by Jackson Davis, runs over Pajemski. It's an offensive foul. And Jokic can't believe it.

He jumps in the air. He thought he was going to the line. Warriors up 12. Final minute of the third. Ball off a screen by Jackson Davis and it was nasty.

Paul skips it to Pajemski. Let's it go. Three ball. Right corner.

Bucket. The Warriors have a 15 point lead and Michael Malone wants to talk it over. Warriors should get another player back there. Chris Paul will take it and heave it from the back court on the way.

It's no good. Well, the Warriors with a 44 point third quarter. That's a season high one pass stolen by Pajemski. Pajemski is a foot race to the rim. Goes up and scores. He beat Porter Junior and Jokic to the rim. And Denver calls another time out. The Warriors have an 18 point lead.

It's their largest of the night. And listen to Chase Center. This is Clay Thompson, four time champion with the Golden State Warriors. You're listening to one of the best shows in America. After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. That never gets old. It never, never gets old. Thank you, Clay Thompson.

We think you're one of the best in America, too. And actually, Clay gave an insightful answer to a question recently about the pressure he put on himself and body language and leadership. And a little bit later, we'll mix that in. And it stands out to me only because I know how much he cares about basketball and how much he's even indicated in the past. It weighs on him when he doesn't do it well. And I have a very similar personality. I'm a perfectionist. When I do not do my job well, even if it's one or two moments, they will stick with me and I will let them affect me. I have to work hard to make sure that I don't compound those mistakes and then end up getting off track or losing focus for the next hour or the next segment or the next night of shows. So it really appealed to me when I heard Clay talk about a recent conversation he had with head coach Steve Kerr.

When I don't make shots, it can affect my mood. See what I mean? It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, CBS Sports Radio, Tim Roy on the Warriors Radio Network into the fourth quarter hosting the world champion Denver Nuggets.

They were large and in charge, but it did not stay that way. 1.15 left to go in the game. Denver's down by four. Murray goes to the right hand, gets a pick from Jokic. Pick and roll, joker in the paint, alley of dog, two hands, Aaron Gordon.

Denver's made it a one possession game, 1.27 to 1.25. Timeout Steve Kerr. Murray has it at the point. He backs up Curry, goes to the left hand. Jamal, jump past the corner to Watson. Watson throws it off over to Jokic. Jokic's two for one is gone. One on one with Sarge. Looking for the tie. Jokic's jumper.

Yes! We are all squared, 1.27. On the Nuggets Radio Network, Jason Kosmicki. Yeah, that wasn't even as excited as he would get. With the game tied, just a handful of seconds left on the clock. Nuggets have got the ball. 3.6 seconds left. Denver looking for the game winner. Here we go. Aaron Gordon looks in, throws it off over to Jokic. Two seconds.

He's across the timeline from 45 feet. Got it! At the horn! Nicole Jokic buries the Golden State Warriors. For the second year in a row, Denver stuns the Warriors with a last second three point shot. And the Golden State Warriors can go ahead and take that out all the way out. Oh, man. What a shot by Jokic.

That was from the logo. Final on the big board. 1.30 to 1.27. I think we were down 12 in the last 3.40 to go. I think there's actually three points in the last 3.40.

Something like that. So it was a really, really nice comeback for us. We didn't give up.

That's what I think is one of the best descriptions of us if we never quit. Great players make great plays. And Nicole catching the ball there and then making something happen behind that is just incredible. That's our sixth road win in a row. And when you get down to this team, it's very easy to drop your head in this building with that crowd.

And that's probably the thing I was most pleased with tonight is that everybody, coaches, players, we just stayed the course. Even after that third quarter, which they dominated. Mike Malone and Nicole Jokic and the Denver Nuggets are able to hand another stunning loss to the Golden State Warriors. And if you remember last season, the Achilles heel for Golden State is that it could not win on the road. I mean barely 10 road wins the entire season out of 41 games on the road.

They were terrible. Well it appears this year that their Achilles heel is not being able to close. And I know they've been without Draymond Green.

This is his second suspension of the season actually. And while it is expected to come to an end soon, fact is that they've dropped a lot of games without him. And he's the cog, the center cog for their defense.

And actually, as much as missing shots or getting out of your rhythm can lead itself to other opportunities for your opponent. Defensively, they just don't have the same bite without Draymond. And everybody recognizes that, including Klay.

Oh everywhere. I mean it's Draymond Green. He does everything. We're all just so excited when he comes back because it doesn't even have to be stated what he means to this team. He certainly is the guy around whom Steve Kerr has not just built the defense, but around whom he has predicated most of what they do.

He's a great passing big man as well. He's the key to them being victorious. Now, when you build a 18 point lead, it's nearly 20 points in the fourth quarter, you shouldn't be coughing it up even without Draymond Green. But this has become a bit of a theme for the Warriors.

And this is happening at home. Four games this season in which they've led by at least 17 points and have ended up losing. Each of them for different reasons. The King Sacramento game was a bunch of turnovers. This one was just one with subpar offense and defense for a sustained five minute stretch. The other games for different reasons is just the nature of the season right now.

So I don't know. You don't want to be in a position where you're having to explain away bad losses, but that's who we are right now. Give them credit. They really tightened up defensively and then their guys hit some big shots. They got to the line. I thought Aaron Gordon was fantastic tonight. Really dominated the second half in the paint and especially the fourth quarter. And then, you know, Watson hits the big three. That was probably the shot of the game.

And they did a good job getting stops. These games all come down to the wire. It feels like for us this year. And we've we've probably lost four or five that we should have won. Maybe we've won one or two that we shouldn't have.

But these are these are gut punches for sure. Steve Girt mentions Aaron Gordon. He's coming back from that dog bite. It was the family dog who got him in the face. It was on Christmas right where he needed. I think it was twenty one.

Don't quote me on that. Twenty one stitches in his face. So I'm glad he's doing OK. Thirty points for him along with nine rebounds and he's such a load in the paint. And then you throw in Jokic who was a rebound shy of a triple double because that's just what he does. And the world champions, while they did get down by nearly 20 points, are able to come roaring back.

And they certainly have the Warriors number right now. You put that in your pipe, you smoke it. On Twitter after our CBS, the Game of the Week poll is up for week 18 in the NFL. Week 18.

How do we get here? Also on our Facebook page, you're already weighing in about the game of the week. Dallas Cowboys have a win and get in. Well, they're already in. I like to say win and get in because it rhymes. A win and capture the NFC East.

It doesn't sound nearly as good, but it is the truth. That's where they are because of the Eagles skate in which they've dropped four of five. Dallas has to win at Washington and the Cowboys will have that number two seed. So for them, it's a big deal because they're such a good team at home.

Not necessarily as good on the road, which is why to be put in this position or to be in this position is a huge deal. Micah Parsons, he's got the Edge podcast. We always look forward to it every week.

A little bit later coming out this week. Of course, he's got to weigh in on Lions and Cowboys. Point blank period. And the end of that game before he says that's enough. Oh, OK. So when you say it's enough, well, then we're done talking about it cry later.

You are listening to the After Hours podcast. I'm good. We will use this as fuel. I got pure octane right now. I woke up, I'm ready. I've got controlled fury.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. I'd hate to see Dan Campbell with uncontrolled fury. It was quite a call from Dan Miller. The two point conversion. Lions go for two and the win instead of the P.A.T.

to tie. But after one successful try, waved off by penalty. A second successful try also waved off by penalty. Finally, the Cowboys are able to defend and hang on for a one point victory and yes, uber controversial. But as we found out since then, there were other mistakes, missed calls or just incorrect calls made by that same officiating crew.

And so it all comes out in the wash, except I know it's not acceptable for a lot of NFL fans. It's After Hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Micah Parsons with his podcast, his weekly podcast that we've really come to enjoy this week. And he was giving his assessment of the game last Saturday night. It was a monster's game.

Great game. We're still healing from that game. It was a hard fought game, I think, for both sides.

But obviously, what came up the most is obviously the controversy at the end of the game. And I'm just going to let it know right now, when the ref came up to me and for some reason, I was kind of like on edge that a play like that was already happening. But when 68 caught it, I did not think he was eligible. The ref reported that 70 was eligible.

He reported him eligible majority of the game. So therefore, you know, when it happened, when the flag was thrown, I was not surprised. But I was surprised they went for it again after I jumped offsides.

That was kind of like, wow. But at the same time, I guess in their mindset, they already clinched their division. They kind of have nothing else to lose.

So it's just kind of like we want to beat them. So Micah Parsons says he was actually surprised they went for two again. And then he also said, hey, we were told that it was number 70 that was eligible, who, by the way, is not Taylor Decker who caught that first two point. He said we were told by Brad Allen, the referee, that it was 70 who was eligible. And so Micah said right away, I didn't think that it was a legal play, you know, expected the illegal touching flag because that's not the guy that reported it. At least that was his version of the story. And he is sticking to it, of course.

It's now nearly a week later and he doesn't have the controlled fury, but I think he's about as done as Dan Campbell is. However they feel, Dan Campbell said he... No, you don't have to buy custom window treatments in person because Blinds.com invented a better way. Blinds.com is 100 percent online, so there's no showroom markups or waiting hours for quotes from pushy salespeople. A Blinds.com designer helped me pick the perfect style for free.

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You win some, you lose some. But it was a great game. And, you know, it was some great football played. Point blank period. I was waiting for the point blank period.

Micah makes a good point. If you are the Detroit Lions, you really had nothing to lose. Really nothing to gain either except another win, but you had nothing to lose by going for that two point conversion.

Why not put yourself in a pressure cooker of sorts and hope that it works out or hope that that experience benefits you down the road? The Lions have won the NFC North. And based on what the Cowboys may or may not do. The Cowboys actually have the tie break over Detroit based on the head to head win percentage.

All right. So Cowboys would be the two seed behind the Niners. Lions, the three seed. That would leave once again the NFC South as the weakest of the four division winners. Buccaneers could end up with a winning record if they can have the victory on the road at Carolina. Of course, that would clinch the NFC South for them. Eagles at this point, if they don't win the East, would be the five seed. Rams, the six seed.

And then we're looking for the seven seed. It's fairly stunning for the Eagles, who even should they end up with the 12th win and have the same record as the Cowboys are going to be a wild card. After the way they started, after being the best record and the best team in the NFL, even if they weren't playing their best, they still had the best record for two thirds of the season. But now they've dropped four of five and there's some unrest, which, you know, as a Dallas Cowboy, I'm not sure Micah Parsons is qualified to weigh in, but he does.

Getting hot when it matters. The Bills have lost and their last loss was an OT against the Eagles. They have gone on to win four straight. The Eagles have lost four of the last five games since they beat the Bills. What does this mean for the Eagles? The Eagles' last loss moved us into first place in the NFC East and gave the 49ers the number one seed. You could say what is going on, right?

You know, a lot. One of my teammates said it's better to learn when you win to learn when you lose. And I think what's going on right now is the same mistakes that Philly was making when they won. They never corrected them. When they won and when they lost, they're just like, well, this should be corrected.

This could be fixed. So something internally going on for sure. Definitely going to count on and lean on to their leaders to make things change. You never want to start losing confidence in your teammates and your coaches around this time. This is when you're supposed to come together. You're supposed to build your team chemistry. You're supposed to lock in just a little bit more because you know how important playoffs is. You know how important everyone needs to be locked in. Kind of feel like he's taking a dig there at the Eagles. A not so subtle point.

They're not making the changes that they want to make or should be making. This is the edge with Micah Parsons. And credit Dallas. They have put themselves in position by beating the Eagles the way they did at AT&T Stadium a couple of weeks ago.

Now, they then lost two games in a row, too, so they had to turn around and right the ship. But for Micah's teammate, Dak Prescott, everything they want is right there in front of them. What an excellent opportunity. Just getting to have everything in our control, obviously.

Talked about running our own race, just doing that and staying committed to that. Not looking around or waiting or fingers crossed on things to happen. We've got one game right here to go win this division, have a two seed, and that makes it a playoff game.

That makes it a game, obviously, with a lot of implication. But another game that this team needs that will just help us, obviously sets us up in the position for the playoffs. But also for us to have that playoff mindset as we've had for the last couple of weeks or so headed into the actual playoff. I know there are many people who will reserve judgment on the Cowboys and whether or not they actually can capitalize on another double digit win season.

Jay and I were even speculating earlier this week about coaches that may or may not find themselves out of jobs, may or may not find themselves looking for new gigs. And I posed the question about the Cowboys and if they do not get to the NFC championship. So if they lose in the divisional round, let's just say they win in the first week because that game's at home.

If they would end up bowing out like the 76ers in the second round, quote unquote, does Mike McCarthy keep his job? There are a lot of people who don't necessarily believe that they are still a Super Bowl worthy team. I think their defense can be. And at home, not that they're unbeatable because even though they have a perfect record at home, there's no such thing.

But they are a better team with that humongous stadium, the comfort of the fans there behind them. Dak Prescott looks so fluid at home. That's why getting the two seed with the division title is big for them. Now, interestingly enough, Micah told us not that long ago that Dak Prescott should be the MVP of the league, but he has changed his tune. Lamar Jackson is playing unbelievably right now and they just keep proving people wrong. You know, obviously on back-to-back wins against playoff caliber teams, I mean, both playoff teams, obviously, the 49ers are the number one team in the NFC. And wherever Dolphins is going to be, they're going to be a top seed.

You know, the back-to-back moments, back-to-back blowups. And, you know, these is MVP. I mean, these are people that's been involved in MVP conversations. Tool was involved in MVP conversations. Brock Purdy was the leader of the MVP conversation before he played Lamar. And Lamar just walked through both of them.

I mean, this is mind-boggling what he's doing right now. It cracks me up to hear him as the defensive player talk about quarterbacks going head-to-head, which obviously they do not. But I agree that Lamar Jackson has finished strong. Does it affect his MVP candidacy if he doesn't play in week 18? Well, neither is Brock Purdy playing in week 18. Joe Flacco, not that he's an MVP candidate, but he, I think, should be the comeback player of the year. He's also not playing in week 18.

There are a bunch of teams that cannot improve their position, change their position. So should it matter if they don't get on the field in week 18? That's something for the voters to determine, but people ask me every year, is this a regular season award? Well, yes. Yes, it is.

So the votes are due soon after Sunday is done, right? So you don't count playoffs when it comes to NFL MVP or any of the other awards. Lamar Jackson certainly has great numbers, but more than the numbers.

And they're good, especially that touchdown, the turnover ratio. He looks freer. He looks like a better leader.

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