JR SportBrief Hour 4

You're listening to the JR Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. It is the JR Sportbrief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio and we are coming to you live from the Rocket Mortgage Studios. Whether you're looking to purchase a new home or refinance yours, Rocket Mortgage can help you get there.

For home loan solutions that fit your life, it is oh so simple. Rocket, Rocket can. I'm gonna be hanging out here with you for one more hour. And thank you oh so much to our producer doing an amazing job tonight, my main man Manny Rodriguez. And thank you to you, everybody listening all over North America. Whether you happen to be on the road for the holiday, whether you happen to be at work, whether you happen to be at home, I'm glad that you're here. I get started 10 p.m. Eastern Time, 7 p.m. Pacific. I am on every single weeknight.

Tonight will be my last weeknight until Monday because like a lot of people, I'm taking a couple of days off to enjoy the holiday. If you want to holler at me, it's simple. We got a phone number with multiple lines attached. It is 855-2124 CBS.

You can also contact me. I am on social media at JR Sport Brief. We opened up the show talking about the NFL games for Thanksgiving. We have talked about Zach Wilson getting benched. We've talked about Justin Fields and his shoulder.

Whether or not is it a wise decision for him to play football against the Jets this upcoming weekend. And then also because it's Wednesday night into Thursday morning, I gave you a new top six list. Tonight, no different because it's Thanksgiving. I told you the top six things I am thankful for appreciative of in 2022 regarding sports.

Of course, here's a quick recap. And number six, I gave you to Otago Valoa. I am thankful that he is finally getting a chance at an opportunity and he is making the most of it. Despite all of his injuries, he is standing up.

He is lighting every one up. And number five, what am I thankful for? Dusty Baker. A chance, another chance to actually go to the World Series and walk away as a champion, as a manager.

Last year, losing to the Atlanta Braves almost 20 plus years ago, losing to the Angels when he managed the San Francisco Giants and Dusty Baker at 73 years old. I am thankful that he finally got that ring as the boss. And number four, I'm thankful for the Georgia Bulldogs still number one, still leading the way, still leading the charge and not necessarily have to worry or worrying about Alabama pulling the rug from underneath them. I'm thankful at number three for Steve Nash. I'm thankful that he got fired. Yeah, that sounds terrible, but the firing or the mutual leaving of Steve Nash is good for him because he didn't deserve the crap that he was getting in Brooklyn. And number two, I'm thankful that Aaron Rodgers is suffering with the Green Bay Packers, a miserable individual, always seeming hell-bent to make everybody as miserable as him. It's nice to see him be humbled just a little bit, for the time being at least. And at number one, the top thing that I'm thankful for in 2022, I'm thankful to have witnessed a historic season by no one other than Aaron Judge.

You forgot how historic his year was? Here it is, courtesy of John Sterling and the Yankees Radio Network. Here's the 1-1. Swung on. There it goes! Deep left, it is high! It is far!

It has gone! Number 62 to set the new American League record! Aaron Judge hits his 62nd.

All the Yankees out of the dugout to greet him. Hey, he's such a cool dude. Everything that he gets is seemingly deserves, man.

So good luck to him. And he's about to be paid, big time, about 400 million dollars. It's just a matter of who gives him the cash. Is it the Yankees? Is it the Dodgers?

Is it the Giants of who he just visited? Regardless of that, Aaron Judge is number one on my list of people and things in the world of sports that I'm thankful for in 2022. I'm going to take your calls 855-212-4CBS. In about 15, 20 minutes we're going to talk to Miss America. Yeah, she's going to be in a parade.

And I think she's also doing something that is much more important. Let's get to your calls. Let's go to Greg from Michigan. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What are you thankful for, Greg?

Go ahead. Hey, JR, Mr. Positive. What I'm thankful for is, first of all, happy Thanksgiving to you and everybody out there in radio land. What I'm thankful for, my friend, is LeBron James, 20 years playing and he's playing still at a high level even though he's getting a little bit more injured.

And I'm very thankful for him breaking all the records and hopefully winning a title with his son or winning another title. And I'm going to hang up and listen to your thoughts. Everyone, go for your dreams. Love you, JR, and have a great day tonight. Thank you. You as well, Greg.

Thank you for calling from Michigan. Yeah, I'm with everything that he just said, except for I don't know how healthy LeBron James is. Every time I look up, the man is sitting on the sideline in a fancy outfit. I mean, his age catches up to everybody.

LeBron James is not impervious to it. I mean, he's feeling it just like us all. 855-2124 CBS. Let's go to Springtown, Texas, and let's talk to Chris. You're on CBS Sports Radio.

What are you thankful for, Chris? Go ahead. Hi, JR. How are you doing? Very well.

What's up? I just want to tell you, number one, you are very good at your job. You are so well-spoken. The phrases, the way you articulate them, I just love listening to you.

I've only been listening to you for about two months, but I really enjoy your show. I'm just going to tell you, I'm thankful that being in Texas, my Cowboys showed some signs of life just last week. I know that it's Kirk Cousins, and he doesn't play well against them, but I was very grateful that they stepped up, and hopefully they'll finish the season as well as they did last week.

No, I hear that. What do you think happens Thursday, prime time, for their whole country right before or maybe during dinner as the Cowboys take on the Giants? What do you think happens? Hopefully the defense will shut the run game down again, and they will have another blowout victory, not just a victory, a blowout victory. Being at home in front of the big Giant fans that they have, the 100,000 fans, hopefully they will show up and destroy the Giants. Wow.

Okay. Thank you, Chris, for calling from Springtown, Texas. I'm also favoring the Dallas Cowboys to beat the New York Giants in Dallas tomorrow afternoon. A matter of fact, I really want you to hear this because head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Mike McCarthy, he spoke to the media in somehow some way. Mike McCarthy says that this Thursday afternoon game, this Thanksgiving game, Mike McCarthy says it's just a regular Thursday game.

Listen to him. I would say you really don't have any time to even enjoy the win, so I think it's a normal Thursday game. We've got another one on the Christmas holiday too, so this is a challenge every year. Obviously there's some familiarity with it.

Being at home obviously helps. Yeah, nonsense. Oh, it's just a regular Thursday game. Nah, man, cut it out.

Trying to downplay it. 855-2124 CBS, what are you thankful for here in 2022? Brandon is calling from California. You're on CBS Sports Radio. Hey, AJ, I appreciate you.

Appreciate your show. Just wanted to throw out Albert Pujols in being Comeback Player of the Year. Getting to see him break the 700 home run. Mark grew up going to spring training in Florida at Jupiter and getting to see him and Molina and Wainwright together one last time really was something special this year.

No, absolutely, and he made it very clear. Thank you, Brandon, for calling from Cali. Albert Pujols let everybody know. I'm done. I'm finished. I ain't coming back. There is no more.

This is it. And I actually respect that because I'm not. Not mentioning anybody, but we have some dudes, some players who don't know when to call it quits. And sure, if you're a professional athlete, it's it's not easy to walk away. But I give credit to Albert Pujols, who's been an exemplary human being, not only on the field of play, but also in the community. Just an advocate for for human beings. I really appreciate Albert Pujols.

855-212-4CBS. Josh is calling from Maryland. What you thankful for, Josh? Two things, actually. The Ravens organization as a whole, just everything they do and Lamar Jackson and everything he's able to do with what he's given. With not being given a real number one receiver or not being able to keep a healthy team around him. And the fact that we're able to continuously every year be in contention about who's on the team and keep building a defense that is normally top 10 in the league without anyone constantly being hurt. So let me ask you this, Josh.

Very simple. I love the Ravens. I like Lamar Jackson. I always feel that they're going to go to the playoffs and be eliminated because they can't light it up. What is your confidence level that they go further than I don't know the first two or three rounds? Honestly, with the defense playing the way they are, that's the only way I see is getting further because the offense that we have right now and things that we are doing there and it's not playoff football and it's not going to be able to win games against the Chiefs or the Bills with the shootouts and stuff like that because our offense isn't built for that. But with the defense we have, we're going to rely on them heavily to get the stops we need for the offense to be able to go out there and get enough points to beat the other team.

Okay. Now we'll see what happens. Thank you, Josh, for calling from Maryland. I look at the Ravens, it seems, every year. They're going to win 10 plus games and then they'll go to the playoffs and go, well, how the hell do we score?

And it's a detriment at that point after they ran over everybody. 855-212-4CBS. Wayne is calling from New Mexico. What you're thankful for, Wayne?

What's up? Hey, JR. Thanks for taking my call. You know, I'm like a lot of other people said, I'm grateful to you because you just have that voice when you talk about sports.

It's just the right volume and I just appreciate that so much because I, you know, if I'm only going to listen to one show a day, it's yours. But the thing I'm most grateful for as far as sports this year is Jimmy Garoppolo. As an Italian-American, you know, there's not a lot of Italian-Americans in the NFL, so it's kind of cool to have somebody with a little profile who's representing for Italian-Americans. He's kind of, you know, in a sense, he's like a throwaway dude. He was not their first string guy.

They wanted him to go away. No other team really made a play for him. And so it's kind of fun to watch the San Francisco games this year because there's just like an honest chance that they can win their games and there's a real chance they could go to the playoffs. And, you know, I think that Jimmy is just surprising people because his tank is not empty. I think he's also surprising folks that he's healthy enough to actually play football.

I think that kind of leans in his favor as well, Wayne. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm going to keep watching all those San Francisco games with interest. You know, I mean, sure, if they lose two in a row, then maybe the negative talk will just flow freely. But for now, it's kind of nice to ride the wave. Most certainly. Thank you, Wayne, for calling from New Mexico. I think the 49ers, we talked about this the other night. I think they are just starting to hit their stride in regards to health.

The players that they now finally have active, Christian McCaffrey still being acclimated to the team. It's not so easy. Dan, it's calling from Kennesaw in Georgia. I was in Kennesaw today. You're CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Dan? Good morning. Good night, JR. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

Thank you. What I'm thankful for is, first of all, I'm thankful for sports, man. It kind of gives us a getaway from what's going on in this world. I'm also thankful that the USA men's soccer team is back in the World Cup. And last but not least, I'm thankful for my most favorite team, although they may not be winning as many games as I would like. They're giving us an exciting game every Sunday. Go Falcons. Rise up.

Have a good day, JR. Oh, thank you, Dan, for calling. Yeah, I mean, yeah, Falcons were expected to be hot crap. And they're decent right now. I think we all know they don't have a future, not with not with their quarterback.

That ain't that ain't happening. Marcus Mariota, we know he is not the future for the Falcons, but they are winning games. Yes, they're being competitive and they're not quitting. So that has to count for something. Arthur Smith is not looked upon as one of the worst coaches in the league.

And that's a beautiful thing. Nelson is calling up from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Nelson? Hey, I just want to say I'm thankful for you while I work. I listen to two shows tonight, you and Amy Lawrence.

And that's it. And I'm thankful for how good you are. Well, thank you, Nelson. I appreciate you, man. Keep on listening.

Thank you so much. Always will listen to you. OK. Thank you, Nelson. You have a good Thanksgiving, OK? Yes, sir. You too.

OK, thank you. Oh, well, that was nice from Nelson. I should ask Nelson for some money while he was thanking me.

I'm like, oh, give me some money, please. James is calling from Chicago. You're on J.R. Sportbreeze Show. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, James? Hey, J.R. I just wanted to say I couldn't agree with your list anymore.

Aaron Rodgers at second. I can't. It's just perfect. What I'm thankful for is Justin Fields and the hope that he gives the Bears as a Bears fan, you know, seeing the future that he has. I just can't agree with him more. I'm so thankful for him.

No doubt about it. I hope his shoulder is OK, James. You think he should play this upcoming Sunday against the Jets? You think they should sit him out? Honestly, I think they should sit him and save him for the Packers.

You know, I think the Packers game is worth more. And I think, you know, even if he's not 100 percent, you know, he can take a day off. He's proven himself to be a great quarterback and he's our future.

And I think he should set up for the Packers game, in my opinion. Yeah, I mean, if for all of that, they might as well continue taking, right? Exactly. I mean, you know, we're not doing the best this year, but you know what? We have a future with him. We can keep thinking. We have the cap space. We have what's needed. We have the future.

And I think, you know, it's OK to take it out. You know, we're not doing anything special this year. But if anything, I think we should sit him for the Packers game. I believe the Bears want to win that game.

And I think the Bears could 100 percent win that game. Oh, no, I believe so, too. Thank you, James, for calling from Chicago. We're talking about things, people, individuals you are thankful for in the world of sports for 2022. Let's go to Daniel. He's calling from Cali. You're on CBS Sports Radio.

I'm just calling. I want to wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving, but mainly everybody at CBS because I'm an avid listener. But beyond that, I'm actually thankful for just how football is going right now. Nobody I don't think anybody expected it, but it's a good thing.

And. People don't expect. Well, wait, Daniel, people didn't expect what from football? Oh, just just how everything's playing out, certain teams doing certain things, how everything's going to winning and losing from, you know, especially from your your beloved Aaron Rodgers. But no, but other than that, no, I'm just thankful that, you know, it's pretty much an open game and just everything from life into sports.

Everything's good. And I wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving. Well, thank you, Daniel, for the kind words calling from California. Yes, my beloved Aaron Rodgers.

What a miserable loser. Let's go to Dallas, Texas, and talk to Julian. You're on CBS Sports Radio. Hey, I just want to wish everybody a happy Thanksgiving. First and foremost, you know, I'm I'm, you know, thankful for Dallas teams mattering. Lucas doing his thing.

How is doing that thing? And, you know, Rangers are in free agent talks to get down to a personal level. I want to say I'm most thankful for my son. He spent eight months in the hospital. He's he's here at home now. And, you know, we couldn't be happier as a family. And, you know, I want to share that with the world. Oh, congratulations. I'm glad things are on the up and up, Julian. All the best to your family.

OK, much for everything. Thank you. I missed him at the end. I don't know what he was saying.

His family is the most important thing that he mentioned. So let's leave it there. Theresa Collin from Baltimore. You're on CBS Sports Radio. Oh, good afternoon, Jay. I just let you know I enjoy your show very much. Thank you, Theresa. I appreciate you for listening.

Yeah, yeah. I sit up and wait. I was working through my radio station and I picked you up one night and I've been listening to you ever since. I wait to hear you talk about the sports. Well, and you talk so intelligent.

That's what I like. Well, thank you, Theresa. I try my best.

I got a couple of brain cells that still work, so I try to use them, OK? OK. Thank you. Have a nice given. You as well, Theresa.

Thank you so much for calling from Baltimore. Yeah, listen, folks, I got three brain cells rolling in my head and I'm trying to make the most of them before I kill them off. Oh, that's that's Kawhi. I don't know if his brain cells actually work because Kawhi is a.

You don't ever hear the man speak. It's the J.R. Sportbrief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Speaking of speaking, see, I just lost a brain cell there. We're going to take a break. And when we come back, we're going to talk to Miss America and we're going to talk to someone who I think is even more important than Miss America. It's the J.R. Sportbrief show. It's Thanksgiving here on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the J.R. Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. You are listening to the J.R. Sportbrief on CBS Sports Radio. I found you about two months ago on the radio and you're just very easy to listen to. I find myself looking for reasons to go out and make little runs to the store and stuff at night, just like listen to the show for a couple of minutes on my ride.

So just keep doing what you're doing, bro. I really appreciate it. And it's a great show. Call in now at 855-212-4CBS.

It's the J.R. Sportbrief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. We know this is a holiday week. This is a time of Thanksgiving. We're moving into the holiday season.

But there are quite a few things I believe we should take beyond the holidays and apply to our lives. So I have two guests joining us right now on CBS Sports Radio. Very important. Renee Manfredi of Special Olympics. She is an amazing athlete and we're being joined by Emma Broyles, who happens to be Miss America. Ladies, how are you? Good. How are you? I'm good.

You know, I'm clearing out a little bit of room in my stomach, but what we're going to talk about is more important. Renee, give everybody a background because it is very eclectic. You play how many sports? What sports do you play?

Thank you for asking. I'm a Special Olympics Hawaii slash Texas athlete. I compete in basketball, softball, swimming, soccer, track and field, volleyball and swimming again. It's a lot to keep up with, but it's fun to say that I compete in all these sports that I used to that I was left out of when I was in school. But then Special Olympics opened their doors and I've never looked back.

That's a beautiful thing. And I need to let people know this as well. You are versed in how many languages? What do you speak?

I am familiar with Arabic, Hawaiian and Spanish. Wow. Put me to shame out here.

Put me to shame. Emma, at the same time, a lot of people hear Miss America and they might see you. What does being Miss America entail?

What is the role and responsibility? Yeah, so a lot of my work as Miss America is centered around Special Olympics. Of course, every Miss America has a different social impact initiative that she chooses to advocate for and mine is Special Olympics. So a lot of my year has been centered around working with the Special Olympics and of course, furthering the message of inclusion wherever I can.

Absolutely. We appreciate that. And at the same time, you have a personal connection that makes Special Olympics that much important to you.

What is that? Yeah, so my older brother Brendan has Down syndrome and he's been an athlete since I was about seven or eight years old. So well over half of my life has been spent involved with Special Olympics and it really made me into the person that I am today. So it's really cool to kind of have this full circle moment, you know, from going to Special Olympics track practice twice a week with Brendan up in Alaska to now working with Special Olympics on a national and international level has been just a huge honor and privilege to give back to an organization that's given so much to my family. Miss America Emma Broyles is here with us Special Olympics athlete Renee Mann. Freddie Renee, when you talk about participating in Special Olympics, you mentioned the opportunity that you've been given.

Everybody is always talking about with good reason Thanksgiving right now and being thankful. What are you thankful for participating with Special Olympics? What I'm thankful for is to be given the chance to participate in sports that I was often left out of when I was in school.

My school days were hard and difficult. I was mainstream most of my life until my senior year, which was the first time I was put in this bed class, but I was often ignored made fun of talked over gave me the chance and the opportunity to compete in sports that I admit I was hesitant to join but they just welcomed me. They embraced me. I became a part of their Ohana and I've never looked back.

I can easily say that that's what I'm thankful for the opportunity to say I am an athlete. I love it. And when you say Ohana, correct me if I'm wrong that means family, correct?

Yes, that's a way in for family. See you're learning. I think that might be the only word I know and but I'm picking up slowly but surely what Renee you've been able to take that and help out other people in the process. You are a global messenger on many levels. What is this message that you are sharing here in the States and then all over the world? What are you sharing with people? I'm hoping that by sharing my story. I'm inspiring those that may have felt small lost alone all those emotions that I felt when I was in school that there is a place for them in this world. They just have to keep having faith and keep going down that path till they find it. It may be long.

It may be hard difficult whatever the term is you want to use but it's well worth it in the end. That's what I'm hoping to that my story will inspire change. We love that and Emma at the same time the Thanksgiving Day parade is right around the corner. You're going to be participating in the parade.

People will see you as Miss America, but whether you're on that float or you're off of it. What do you want people to know about you in this message? You're trying to share with Special Olympics, right? Well, I think that you know Renee and I were just saying this is the perfect time to be giving thanks for things in our lives, right? And of course my family is always giving thanks to Special Olympics, especially because we've never had to pay a dime for Brendan being able to participate in Special Olympics for you know a majority of his life. And that's the really special thing about Special Olympics is that it's providing equal opportunities.

So for all families doesn't matter. They don't have to pay anything in order to be able to participate in Special Olympics and to receive those those real life-changing services. So I think that with Thanksgiving coming up and as we give thanks, feel free to you know, check out Special Olympics and what we're all about. I think this is the perfect time to get involved whether it be donating donating to Special Olympics or getting involved in volunteering at one of the Winter Games or the Summer Games or participating in the Polar Plunge or the Law Enforcement Torch Run. There's so many different ways to get involved and I think that this time is such a wonderful opportunity to really give thanks and to give forward. Absolutely.

We have listeners all over the United States of America right now involved in many things. It's it could be a volunteering of time. Obviously people think money there's so many different ways you can be involved from a coaching perspective.

So it's not just showing up you also get something in return. I think this is a good message to have not just at Thanksgiving Renee. I'm going to allow you to get the last word here. What would you share to anyone who's maybe hesitant or on the fence about participating with Special Olympics? What I would say is don't be afraid. I admit that was my big concern was how would I be treated if I joined Special Olympics? How would they treat me? So don't be afraid but I can tell you that I was welcomed. I was embraced just as I was.

It didn't matter what level I was at. They built up my skills and just said that's okay. We'll work on it. So I'm telling I'm here to tell you to not be afraid give Special Olympics a chance because it will change your life just as much as it changed mine something for everybody all over the country multiple events all year long state level local level city level Miss Emma Miss America. Where can people find out more information? Well check us out on all of our social media channels and as of course as well as our our website, I think that that's probably gonna be the best way to find us. We're always updating you on what's going on. You can even check out your local Special Olympics state organization to see how you can get involved even just in your state or at the local level.

I think that really especially at Thanksgiving time this is the perfect time to get involved with Special Olympics or to give back and donate but again as Renee said give it a try. Absolutely thank you so much Emma brawls Miss America Special Olympics athlete and stupor superstar Renee Manfredi you guys been checking out the JR sport reshow right here on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR sport brief on CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR sport brief on CBS Sports Radio. I listen to you five days a week and it's great to decompress with you all the time. I don't watch the four letter sports channel. I listen to J. I call in now at eight five five two one two four CBS.

It's the JR sport brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Yeah, I'm here every single week night 10 p.m. Eastern Time 7 p.m. Pacific with the holiday because I'm here all the time. Yes, I'm actually going to take a couple of days off. I will not be here tomorrow. I will be watching football just like everybody else. I will not be here on Friday after tonight.

I will be back with you on Monday night. I want to thank my main man Manny Rodriguez for holding it down on the board producing with us here tonight. Hey Manny, I gotta ask you man in the world of sports. What are you thankful for here in 2022 in the world of sports?

Well, I guess I would have to start off with the fact that I have a job in sports. But also I mean the Knicks JR my Knicks they they might have a point card. They might have a point card. I thought that they overpaid for that point card, but I was going to give I was going to give Jalen Brunson until about the new year for me to make a final decision on that front.

But I think I've already made my decision. I'm very thankful for the move that the Knicks have made in acquiring and signing for Jalen Brunson. I think the Knicks have a point card Jr.

I think so as well. It'd be nice if they were able to round out the rest of the team. I don't know maybe dump Julius Randle, but I guess baby steps right Jr. You and I are on the same wavelength when it comes to that athlete. Yeah, just baby steps not thankful for a man who told his own fan base last year to basically go screw themselves and use more colorful language than I just did 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS. Let's get more of your calls in before I have to roll out. Hey the producer Dave Shepherd producer and host Dave is going to come on after me. So don't move but let's hit the phone lines. Frank is calling from San Francisco. You on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Frank?

Hi Jr. I'm thankful 2022 that the 49ers got McCaffrey. Okay. I'm thankful that Jimmy Garoppolo didn't get traded before Trey Lance got hurt. We would have been screwed.

Correct. I'm thankful that the 49ers beat the Rams the Chargers and the Cardinals and second half the defense 49ers defense shut out all three team. Nobody scored and defenses wins championship and I'm hoping this year the 49ers will get over the hump and Jimmy Garoppolo, which I don't really care for.

I'm a Joe Montana fan Steve Young fan. Okay, and I hope he wins. I'm thankful for the Warriors winning the finals.

Oh my God, I hope to be I hope to be thankful. Oh, I also want to thank Kevin Durant with the championship. Okay. Okay. If he was there they would give him a which should we call it a ring? No, no, not a ring a statue.

They were going to get a statue. Sure. But he screwed up. All right, and I also want to say I talked to your call screener really nice guy. Yeah, and he goes I said I want to talk about Aaron Judge coming to the Giants because the ownership Larry Bear and the ownership had talked to him first and he goes no, please don't Frank don't take my I'm a Yankees fan.

Don't take Aaron Rodgers Aaron Judge from us. Okay, Frank. Well, thank you. You got a you are thankful for a lot of things man. That's that's a lot brah. Thank you.

I could keep going if you want. No, no, no, please don't we appreciate you. Hey, you have a nice Thanksgiving you and your family you as well Frank.

Thank you for calling from San Francisco. I'm like, hey Manny, how many more things could he be thankful for? I'm like, wow. He's not gonna I mean he's in the moon. He's in the moon. It's Thanksgiving Jr. He is he's in the mood. I'd rather him be cheerful than be absolutely miserable.

So I'm happy that he's thankful. I don't know if we have enough time on the airwaves, but sure. Let's go to Chase. He's calling from Las Vegas. You're on CBS Sports radio. What's up, Chase?

What's up, fellas? I just wanted to call in and say I'm thankful for the NFC East actually being good this year. My Cowboys having a winning record and not having to make excuses for these bums every other year. Okay, are your Dallas Cowboys are they going to jump ahead of those Philadelphia Eagles? The Eagles look like a powerhouse right now. I mean as long as our defense keeps up. That's all that matters right now. Just yeah, keep them sacks coming from Parsons.

You got to keep them picks coming from digs and we looking good. Okay. All right, my main man Chase with the optimism calling from Vegas.

Thank you so much. Alan from Toronto. You're on CBS Sports radio. What's up? Sorry. I just have a bit of a cold. Oh, no, very.

Yeah. I'm very grateful for Buck Showalter. He came back 2018. They were 47 and a hundred and fifteen a three-year retirement. He came back to the Mets and they were a hundred and one and sixty-one and it's amazing that he didn't walk out on the Orioles in 2018 because it gets to a point.

How much more can you take? I still recall Whitey Herzog walked out in 1990 for this Cardinals. Tony Pena walked out in 2005 for the Kansas City. Yeah, the Kansas City Royals. They were a horrible team then too.

So it's amazing that he still stayed there and imagine going from a hundred forty seven and a hundred and fifteen to 101 and sixty-one. They failed in the playoffs, but it's still okay. I'm very glad for him because I really like that guy. He's a very sincere very very down-to-earth man and the Orioles too. I'm grateful for the Orioles because they had a 31 game improvement.

They were 83 and 79 and last year they were 52 and 110 with a 19 game losing. Alan, there's a lot of numbers man. Alan, forget about the numbers man. I care about you. You've been taking some medicine?

Yes, I have. What type of medicine you've been taking? I've been taking cough medicine. Bucks. It's horrible, but it tastes pretty good. Oh Bucks.

Oh my God. Bucks, it tastes terrible, right? Yeah.

Oh my, I haven't had Bucks in about 20 years. Is it helping? Oh yes it is. Yes it is.

I've only had it for four days now and I'm not coughing anymore. So you're in Toronto, Canada. What do y'all do for Thanksgiving? You ignore it, right? No, we still celebrate it. Launching the three football games. Oh yeah, it's just another day for us. It's a business day for us. That's all it is. Right. So how do you watch three football games if it's a normal day?

How do you do that? Yeah, I'm fully retired now, thank God. I've been retired for three years now so I have lots of time. Good. I was in Detroit, as a matter of fact, on Sunday. Oh good. I mean, that's not far. You were in Detroit doing what? I went to the football game with Buffalo Bills. Oh wow.

Okay. I had a lengthy year. Maybe that's how you got sick. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it was because I had to wait outside. It took about an hour to get in because the crowd was so huge, you know, so I had to wait outside for an hour.

Wow. Well Alan, listen man, you keep on drinking that Bucks, don't have too much because it's disgusting and I hope you feel better and enjoy the football, man. Yeah, and the best of everything to you and yours too for a great Thanksgiving. Well thank you so much Alan for calling from Toronto. A big shout out to all of our friends in Toronto. This show is broadcast all over North America so we got friends in Calgary and Montreal and Vancouver, Toronto obviously.

We got people all over Canada. We love you. Play hooky tomorrow, watch football with us. Don't care what you do, just hang out with us and unfortunately I have to share this news with you as well. It's not that unfortunate. We talked about Aaron Rodgers.

I gave you my top six list of things and people, individuals that I'm thankful for and I told you that I am thankful that Aaron Rodgers is having a down year. This isn't necessarily going to change my thought or my opinion really. Aaron Rodgers shared with everybody today that he is playing or has been playing with a broken thumb, okay?

And that's not going to change things. He says his thumb has been broken since October 9th when the New York Giants took on the Packers and I believe that game was in London. So Aaron Rodgers has been running around with a bum hand, still absolutely amazing overall, having thrown for 19 touchdowns and 7 interceptions but they stink. I don't know, maybe there's something wrong with me. I don't feel bad.

I don't feel sorry for Aaron Rodgers and yeah, I'm still thankful that his team is stinking to join up for this year. I guess that's just par for the course. Man, that doesn't make me a terrible guy now, does it? No, no, not at all. Not at all, JR. Okay, alright, yeah, I mean, well look, I'm not wishing injury upon anyone. Now that would be rude.

No, never that. Who wishes injury on anybody? Not me. Freaks, weirdos. There's some people who actually do do that but I digress. They do.

They do it for like fantasy purposes, I guess, right? Just because also people have hate in their heart. Oh yeah, people do have hate in their heart. This isn't the time of the year for that. No, we gotta get rid of those vibes right now.

Yeah, we don't need hate in our heart. That's why we're hanging out here. Hey, Manny, I want to thank you for an amazing night. Thank you, man.

Hey, no problem, JR. My pleasure. Fill in for Shep. Yeah, no doubt about it and speaking of Shep, what is he? Manny, you're gonna tell me to shut up in about what, a minute and Shep is gonna come on right after me, right?

That is exactly what I'm going to have to do. Yeah, Manny's gonna make me shut up and then I'm gonna be forced to be quiet for about, I don't know, 4 days if I can count correctly and I'll be back with you here Monday night, 10 PM Eastern Time, 7 PM Pacific. Listen folks, I enjoyed myself tonight. I hope you're having a good time. I hope you're safe. I hope you're well. If you're on the road, I hope you're safe and not worried about traffic and I wish you nothing but an amazing Thanksgiving. I hope you're well. I hope you're safe and I wish the same thing to your families. If you wanna keep up with me, yes, I will be watching every single football game. I will be watching the World Cup over the next several days as well. You can find and identify me at JR Sport Brief on every platform on social media.

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. Yes, I'm there too. Thank you, Manny for an amazing night. Thank you everybody for listening all over North America. Be well and be safe. The JR Sport Reshow here on CBS Sports Radio is a wrap but don't move. Why? Because Dave Shepherd, my main man, he's holding it down for Amy Lawrence and he's coming up next. Yeah, great host and producer. Don't move.