What up, and for JR tonight you got me sports machine Sean Levine on the mic right here on the Infinity Sports Network. The numbers. 888-710-4ISN. We were talking about best uh sports fights before we went to break there. Particularly hockey fights.
Did you see, speaking of hockey fights, the Kraken mascot? Getting into it with the bear. Did you see this, Ryan? You know what I'm talking about? No, I saw it.
So if you didn't see it... The Kraken mascot, for whatever reason, is A troll. Right? Like, I'm not misleading people. It looks like a sea troll named Bowie.
Damn, you got the details. He's a sea troll named Bowie. Why is he not a kraken? That seems like that'd be a badass map. I don't know how it walks around, but why is it a sea troll?
Because how are you gonna make a kraken? into a mascot. without making him look like Davy Jones. I mean, there's got to be. More difficult mascots that they've figured out than a Kraken.
What's the problem? Because it's got so many tentacles or whatever? Yeah, 100%. Dude. It's 2025.
Like, a couple of those are CGI or 3D or fake or braided up or put them in cornrows. And he walks on a couple of the. I don't know. I'm just talking to no microphone here. I'm no.
But anyway, so here's what happened.
So, what's our what's the troll's name? Bowie.
So, Bowie the troll. is with An actual human, and then some photographers, and they're basically taking pictures for, I believe it was, the schedule that they're gonna put out this upcoming season. And by the way, the Kraken that's a great name. Hockey's doing the right thing when it comes to team names. The Utah Mammoth.
The Seattle Kraken, this is good stuff. But so they're taking this photo. And it's out in the great northwest, right? And they're in shallow waters, probably like some good fly fishing going on in the area. And next thing you know, the troll buoy the troll.
turns around and there's a bear, an actual bear charging toward them. I'm not going to lie. If everybody would have been okay, if you would have told me afterwards that everybody was perfectly fine, nobody got hurt, the person inside of Bowie, Buy's not real, right? The person inside of Bowie got a couple of scratches, then it would have been hilarious. If the bear would have charged and started just trying to snag, trying to eat.
First of all, who was more confused? The bear, who is where he's supposed to be, and he looks out and sees Bowie the Troll. Like, all right, it's go time. I'm a bear. This thing's on my property.
Or Bowie the Troll, who's like, yeah, I'm cool. I'm just a person in a mascot, taking a couple of pictures. And then a bear charges toward them. Like, who's that really on? And by the way.
People on that, like depending on what part of the country you're in, it's very strange to me as a Midwesterner. How you're just not scared of certain things. Like these big ass animals, people in Florida, I feel like, oh, there's a shark close to the shore. Let's take some pictures. Let's just barely get our feet in it.
Dude. Mm-hmm. You gotta run like Ford is gump. There's a shark in the water. Far and fast People in Texas Look at that there, snake.
Yeah. You might want to get the hell away from that thing. And then next thing you know, they got it around their neck. It becomes their pet. That's Stevie the Snake.
What are you doing? And bears. I never got it. Like I had a buddy who's from Montana. Outdoorsy type of guy, right?
No matter what, he's got his little pocket knife on him. You know, those type of guys, right? I said, How many times have you seen a bear? He goes, almost every time I go camping. That would be it for me.
The first time that I go camping and I see a bear, unless it's Brian Herlacher. If I see a bear, then I'm done. That's the sign that I shouldn't be there. I'm gone. That's crazy.
But anyway, I'm not going to lie. I was. Kind of rooting for the bear. I was kind of team bear. As long as nobody got seriously hurt.
You wouldn't want to see a bear. At least chew on a little bit, toss around, buoy the troll elf-looking mascot thing for a little bit. Come on now. Don't lie. Um Fantasy football drafts, y'all, are right around the corner.
I got mine coming up two weeks from today. How about that? At the Lake of the Ozarks. And. To say that I'm looking forward to it.
I'm not going to lie, that's a stretch because we got to house both this year. Me and all my idiot friends with one toilet on a houseboat.
So we'll see how that goes for two days. But it did make me think: let's play a game of who'd you rather? Fantasy football style. Give me some beats, Rhyme. Here we go.
I know you got your draft coming up in a couple of weeks, also. This is all quarterbacks. Which way would you go? Jaden Daniels or Josh Allen? Gotta go Josh Allen.
Just for pure rushing ability. And his ability to score on Because just by his legs, on top of that, he's always a top-five passer, and it always seems like he's always healthy.
So I. I don't think he's anywhere but quarterback one or two in your league.
So last year, Josh Allen had 28 touchdown passes. Here's the good thing: not that turnovers kill you too bad in fantasy football, but he only had six interceptions and four fumbles, which 10 turnovers for a guy that averaged like 20-something per season. He did a great job protecting the football.
However, if we're talking about fantasy football, 28 touchdown passes, that's. kind of middle of the road. Jaden Daniels this year, I think there's a chance he puts up bigger numbers than that. You say on the ground, Jaden Daniels was awesome. He was as good last year of Josh Allen when it comes to rushing the football.
So. I can't believe I'm going to say this. I think I'm going to go Jaden. I've been talking to Jaden Daniels so much this offseason that I'm starting to buy into the hype myself. If it comes down to it in my draft, I'm taking Jaden Daniels.
How about Sam Darnold or Geno Smith? Which one are you taking off the board first? Oh my gosh. This is like. Any of those are your actual quarterbacks in a one-quarterback league?
I don't know what you're doing. But I would take Geno Smith over Sam Darnold just because. I feel like He's in a better I don't know, I trust him more. If you could say Sam Darnold, because you saw at the end of the year with Sam Darnold, not a great offensive line to help him after all the injuries. And he basically crumbled apart.
And I don't know what we're going to see in Seattle with the new offense.
So I would just take Geno Smith just for the experience level.
So Gino, you're talking about if he's your starter, you're in trouble. Yeah, you're probably right. 21 touchdowns last year to 15 interceptions. Although, check this out: 70% completion percentage and almost 4,500 yards. I totally disagree with you when it comes to Sam Dartle.
Anybody that's heard this show knows that I've got a man crush on that guy. Dude, he was unbelievable last year. And if you look at his career trajectory, Except for the Couple of games that he played for the 49ers, who were obviously a competent organization. Outside of that, he played for the Jets and the Panthers. And those are two of the worst organizations in the NFL over the last at least decade.
The minute that he got to the Vikings, All of a sudden we think he became a competent quarterback. Or do we think that the organization that he went to had something to do with that? 35 touchdowns to 12 interceptions last year for Sam Donald. He finished fifth in the MVP voting. He had his team going 14 and three in the regular season, 4,500 yards.
Sam Donald last year was unbelievable, especially if you think about how he ended up getting the job. The plan was: let's draft J.J. McCarthy and put him on the field the same way that pretty much all those other teams at the rookie quarterback did. JJ gets hurt. They scramble, and Donald was awesome.
Sam Donald, I think, is going to prove this year in Seattle that he's more the guy that we saw last year. Is he going to have 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions? Actually, yeah. I feel like I'm the only person saying this. I think what we saw last year was the real Sam Darnold, and I think that Seattle got a huge upgrade at quarterback.
I'm taking Darnold all day. over Geno Smith, Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow. Who you taking? Oof. You gotta take Lamar.
Once again. Burroughs injury history, his wrist, ACL. On top of that. Lamar gives you more touchdowns. VA rush.
So I would trust him more. And then of course he's been really, really, really good at passing the football to the last couple of years. Yeah, a lot of people don't talk about that enough. That he had 41 touchdowns to three interceptions last year. That's crazy.
It's crazy that he didn't win the MVP again with those type of numbers. Although, speaking of MVP and numbers, last year Joe Burrow had 5,000 passing yards, 43 touchdowns to nine interceptions. And I'm not smart enough to know how QBR works, but his quarterback rating was 108.5. How the hell did that team miss the playoffs with a quarterback playing that well? Again, 5,000 yards, 71% completion percentage.
This is when you win MVP every single year, and somebody wasn't even in the conversation because his team missed the playoffs. Again, 43 touchdowns to nine picks. Yo, Joe Burrow's just that dude. I wouldn't be surprised if this year he's even better in the fourth. He's even better.
What are we talking about? 50 touchdowns and seven interceptions. I love Lamar, but I love Burrow even more. How about Let's see here. Jalen Hurts coming off a Super Bowl championship, if nobody told you, or Brock Purdy, who got paid.
It's got to be Jalen Hurts. I don't think there's... I think Jalen Hurts is by far the best fantasy quarterback. in the game right now, just because of how many tush pushes they run. And how many scrimmage touchdowns he scores, his interceptions will not matter in the end because you're getting either four or six points for each rushing touchdown.
And on top of that, he has AJ Brown still, Devontae Adams, not Devontae Adams, Devontae Smith, and Saquon Barkley still there. I don't see why he's not quarterback one in fantasy.
So you're telling me That if you get the first pick in your draft and quarterbacks start to go, and Josh Allen's get going off the board, and Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow, before those guys. You would take him. I would seriously debate taking Lamar or Jalen Hurts, first of all. Lamar, sure. I mean, Lamar, fantasy-wise, has proven it.
Jalen Hurts, and I actually agree with what you're saying. I can't believe the disrespect and the underratednessability-ish. That's not a word. That Jalen Hurts, the way people are talking about him this year. The guy won the Super Bowl last year.
As you said, you know what the problem with Jalen Hurts is when it comes to the eyes of the fans? He doesn't put up these huge numbers like a Burrow, like a Mahomes. He's not quite as flashy as like a Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson type player because he does exactly what his team needs him to do. To win a Super Bowl. You know what I'm saying?
Like, If you look at Joe Burrow. Maybe the eye test tells you that he's a better quarterback. And then you look up and you go, wait, how did his team only win nine football games? There are some quarterbacks, Josh Allen. The first few years of his career, when he was already elite, he would cost Buffalo football games because he would turn the ball over, right?
In the case of this dude, like, man, I mean, Jalen Hurts just doesn't make the big mistake. Like you said, the tush push is 98% successful. He just won the Super Bowl. If we're really going to call a spade a spade, he's outplayed Patrick Mahomes in two of the last three Super Bowls. What are we talking about here, man?
Jalen Hurts is elite, and I would definitely take him over Brock Purdy. I don't agree with you that he should be the first quarterback taken, but definitely higher than on most people's boards. Um, CJ Stroud or Jordan Love? I trust C.J. Stroud more.
I know there's complaints about the offensive line. I just don't believe in Jordan Love. And I it's year three starting at least. And I don't see it with him. He had a great end of his first year starting.
And now, CJ Stroud getting out of that year two struggle. His receivers were all injured. I think they'll improve the offensive line a little bit for him. And so I think he's going to bounce back this year. Ryan, I thought you were romantic.
I thought you love love. No, I don't love it. You don't love love? I don't love love. Non-invention, at least.
Don't you love love?
So his numbers through the first couple of years, first of all, feels like he's been the starter for much more than just two full seasons, doesn't it? Like, how did this guy just get to the party? And I get it, he was the backup for a couple of years behind Aaron Rodgers. Technically, this is year number five.
So it was time to pay him. And he definitely got paid. Right now, he's the fourth highest paid player in the history of the NFL. But it does feel like it's time for the numbers to go up a little bit.
So his first full year as a starter. When we all went, oh damn, okay. He might not be Brett Favre for Aaron Rodgers, but he's next. 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions. Last year, 25 touchdowns, 11 interceptions.
It's not a foregone conclusion that his numbers are going to get better. Again, 32 touchdowns to 25 touches. You know what that kind of sounds like? Justin Herbert. If you look at the beginning of his career, 33 touchdowns, 35 touchdowns.
And then you go, well, hang on, 24 touchdowns, 21 touchdowns. It feels like this great assumption that all these guys just get better as the years go along. It's a big season for Jordan Love because I think his team. And himself have a chance to be in the MVP race and to be in the Super Bowl conversation, really. Outside of Philadelphia, if you're a Packers fan, there's no reason to think that you're not part of that conversation.
888-710-4ISN is the phone number around these parts. Yeah, I think, ah, man. I think I'm taking love over C.J. Stroud. A Dak or Justin Herbert?
Uh I would take I'm gonna take Dak. George Pickens, C.D. Lamb. I feel like they're going to be down because of that defense often this year, so they're going to keep throwing the ball. I just, and also Justin Herbert, they run the football so much, especially when they just drafted Amar and Hampton.
They're not going to be A passing team like that.
So I'm going to go Dak Prescott. Justin Herbert last year had Pretty similar numbers to like Caleb Williams. 21 touchdowns to four interceptions. Like, great job protecting the football. But at this point, you got to be the reason why, because of your right arm, that your team wins a bunch of football games.
And Justin Herbert isn't that guy. Zach Prescott. Wildly underrated. I understand he got paid. He's got high expectations.
He plays in. Dallas, America's team. You got to go out there and win 13 games or it wasn't a good year. All these different things. But if you look at the numbers when he's healthy, Dak Prescott's definitely a top 10 NFL quarterback.
I'm taking him over Justin Herbert. Let me get one more in here: Bo Nicks or Baker Mayfield? Gotta go Baker. Second year quarterbacks lump is due for Bo Nicks. And then Baker Mayfield.
You drafted the guy Abuka out of Ohio State. That's more weapons for him. Bucky Irving's great. I just think they're like in a similar situation where the Cowboys are. They're going to be passing the ball a lot this year.
So I expect Bickmanville to just do Good quarterback. Remember what I said about Sam Darnold and how maybe the problem early on in his career wasn't him, but it was the organization that he played for? You look at Baker Mayfield. Browns for the first four years. Then he went to the Panthers.
He split that year with the Rams. He got to the Bucs. In the last couple of years, not only has his team won the division, in fact, the Bucs have won the division going on four years in a row. Who knew? But he's a top How are we gonna go?
Seven? Hey, quarterback in the NFL? And to me, the sample size is big enough that that's what Baker Mayfield is. There's a reason why he was the number one overall pick way back in 2019. Yeah, it took him a while to kind of round into 2018.
He was the number one pick with the Browns. But he is that guy. And I'm not saying that he's Mahomes or Allen or Burrow or Hurts or Jaden Daniels. I probably forgot somebody in there. He might be next though.
41 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 4,500 yards last year. Baker Mayfield is the dude. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number. Coming up on the other side, let's go back to college. Talk some college football right here on the Infinity Sports Network.
You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. Here's Sean Levine. What up? Thanks for checking us out this Friday right here on the Infinity Sports Network. Why did the NFL get rid of smelling salts?
Why why I guess I guess the better question is why did the NFL ever have smelling salts? Like I was looking it up during the break, and it says it helps you out with energy and focus, which makes sense. I've seen the guys open it up and take a whiff. Go off. What I'm asking is.
If you're making millions of dollars a year. And you know that there's a stadium with 80,000 people cheering for or against you. And there's a bunch of big-ass dudes that are pretty much trying to hurt you. That's kind of what the game of football is. And there's another, I don't know, handful of hundreds of millions, whatever it is, watching at home.
You need smelling salts to get energized, to get focused. I would understand if you're a lawyer and you've got a big case coming up and it's been a long ass day and you've been reading the books. You know what I'm saying? You take a little smelling.
Okay. All right. Your Honor. You know what I'm saying? Now you're ready to go.
If you're a teacher, And you wake up every morning and you're teaching second grade little snot-nosed kids. You know what I'm saying? Little disgusting Cheetos fingers every morning. You got to wake up and do your makeup and do all that. It's like.
Okay. Now that makes sense. Smelling salts for that. And football? I don't get it.
Maybe it's one of those things: like, don't knock until you've tried it. And I I probably would. Like, honestly, if during the next break, somebody came in here and they were like, hey, live on the radio, would you try these smelling salts? I think I'd probably give it a shot. Just, you know what I'm saying?
You got to try it once. Um s speaking of football. The Browns and the Panthers are going at it. 819 left in the first quarter. Normally, when I say Browns and Panthers, you're probably thinking, who cares?
But this is Shador Sanders' first game, and he is on the field. He has the football. He is three of six through the air with 30 yards, so he's been okay. Nothing really to write home about. On the other side, Bryce Young has been what Bryce Young has been his entire career.
He is 0 for 2. He's got negative 2 rushing yards, and he's got sacked a couple of times.
So it looks like both those guys are in mid-season form. Who would you rather have? If you're not an actual Browns fan or Panthers fan, because you're probably thinking neither one of these guys, I don't know. Maybe there's still a little bit of optimism for Browns fans for Shador Sanders. There certainly should be.
With Panthers fans, I guess you have to pretend like Bryce Young's still your guy because what are you going to do? He was the number one overall pick, not last year, the year before, but the year before that. Like it wasn't that long ago to already call him a bust. It's probably a little bit too soon. But if you're not a fan of one of those teams, Who would you rather have?
as your starting quarterback. Uh to me, it's got to be Shador. Shador, even though he was a fifth round pick, come on, we all know that was because of his arrogance or cockiness or because he was brash or because his dad's Dion. I don't think it had a whole lot to do with his actual football playing abilities. If so, then what was all that hubbub?
All college football season about this guy's going to be the number one overall pick, about this guy's got all the NFL talent that you want for a starting quarterback. How's he going to finish in the Heisman Trophy race? What was he third? And then all of a sudden the draft comes around. If he wasn't the number one overall pick and he sled to the end of the first round like Jackson Dart, okay, cool.
Then obviously people know that he still has ability, but the second, the third, the fourth, something we all know. Funky was going on with that slide. It didn't have much to do with the upside that is Shador Sanders.
So I think Browns fans should here's the thing. By the end of the year, there's no reason the Browns don't know who their quarterback of the future is. It's either Shador Sanders or Or you put Chador out there. He sucks like a straw, which could happen. You only win four games, and then you get a top three or four pick in next year's draft, which has a bunch of dudes coming out at quarterback that the Browns would love to have.
So I think they're in a great situation. They got a quarterback that's going to be on the field early. You can't call him a bust if he's a fifth-round pick. You didn't pay him first-round money, and if it doesn't work out well, You just make him your backup, or you cut ties. You say the Shador experiment didn't work.
And at least if he plays bad, that leads you to a good draft pick. And then you take a quarterback. In a weird way. Cleveland fans, you're not going to win a bunch of football games this year, but I think you're about to figure out who your quarterback is going forward, one way or the other. 888-710-4ISN is the number.
Let's go back to college for a few minutes, and then we'll get another sports flash with Gordon Damer. He'll get us caught up on this Browns Panthers game, the other couple of preseason games going on, and all the baseball action tonight. But let's go back to college for a couple of minutes. Because I was talking earlier about one, two, three, four, five different teams getting first-place votes in the first coaches poll: Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Charlotte. Georgia and Clemson are all getting first place votes.
Here's what's crazy. Most of the time at the beginning of the college football season, when these polls come out. It's based on How good these teams were last year. Or it's based on the transfers that came in, or it's based on the health of these teams, or sometimes it's just. The school, like Notre Dame, you look up every year, they get a top 10 preseason ranking because, well, they're Notre Dame.
Same thing this year, they're ranked number five. And maybe that's a little bit harsh because they did make it to a national championship game last year, but you get my point. It's a little throw it against the wall and see what sticks when it comes to preseason college football polls. Here's the great part. After the first week of the season, whoever's number one and whoever's number two are the same.
going to have earned it. And then that's going to be our barometer going forward. Because, like I said, Texas plays Ohio State in week one. That's the favorite to be the national champion, Longhorns, versus the actual national champion, Buckeyes. That is incredible because if for nothing else, We're going to find out who everybody else is going to be chasing this whole college football season.
after week one. Whoever wins that game. Like I said, five teams right now are getting first place votes: Texas, Ohio State, Penn State. Georgia and Clemson. Whoever wins that Texas-Ohio State game.
Probably doesn't get all the first place votes. But they get most of 'em. They probably get like fifty of them, something like that. And then we've also got number six Clemson versus number nine LSU.
So you'd think whoever wins that game instantly becomes the number two ranked team in the country. If week one, you can beat Clemson out the gates, or vice versa, you can beat LSU, which, in the case of LSU fans, you know, since.
Well, Brian Kelly's been there. Week one has been not good. He's lost every week one so far. Since he's been the head coach of LSU, go out there and win that one all of a sudden? You might not be Texas, but you're probably ranked number two right behind them.
The schedule makers hooked us up like a tow truck. We're not going to have to actually wonder who's elite. We're going to know after the first week of the college football season. Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia, Notre Dame, your top five. Clemson, Oregon, Alabama, LSU, Miami.
Five through 10. And then here's the rest of top 25. I'm going to burn through this real quick. Arizona State, Illinois, South Carolina.
South Carolina is going to be a problem. I know they play in the SEC, so that's going to be tough to win a ton of football games. But if you remember how good they were at the end of last year, that's a 10-win team. Michigan 14. Ole Miss 15, SMU, Florida, Tennessee, Indiana, K-State at 20, Iowa State, AM, BYU, Texas Tech, and Boise State rounding out.
Yeah. It almost looks like According to the first poll. That the Big Ten is the best conference in college football.
Now we know that's not true. We know that the SEC is the closest thing to the NFL. We know over the last 15 years that the best college football program has either been Georgia or Alabama, right? And if it's not them, LSU's winning championships, Florida's winning championships, Auburn's winning championships. I mean, you go up and down that entire conference.
Pretty much everybody at some point over the last 10 or 15 years has had their moment in the sun.
Well, the big 10 after conference realignment. Again, I'm not saying that they're the SEC, but I look up, they've got the national champion, Buckeyes. Penn State right now has 14 first place votes. I think Drew Aller is the best quarterback in college football, and they're ranked number three. To me, it's the best Penn State team by far.
since James Franklin has been there.
So we're talking two out of the top three teams are coming from the Big Ten. And don't forget, Oregon, quack, quack, after moving over last year with conference realignment, won the regular season, was ranked number one for a portion of last year. They're ranked number seven in the preseason poll. Like all of a sudden? Big Ten football look at this as I speak out loud Illinois?
What? Word? Ranked number 12 in the preseason poll, that's four out of top 12. That's as many teams as the SEC has. I can't wait for college football to start this year.
Anybody that's complaining about the college football playoff because it's imperfect just needs to pipe down right now, honestly. Like college football is right around the corner. And if you remember what it used to be just a couple of years ago, if we got these great matchups early on, these teams could eliminate themselves by losing. Texas and Ohio State, I want to see as a fan, both of those teams, those coaches, those quarterbacks, those fan bases. at the end of the year.
Well, if we didn't have a twelve team college football playoff, Then whoever ended up winning that Buckeyes vs. Longhorns game. Probably. I'm not saying they'd be out of the college football playoff, but they would have had to win every other game the rest of the way. That's not how it is anymore.
To me, the college football playoff, and I think we saw bits and pieces of it last year. At some point, it is going to be the best postseason in all of professional sports. Not professional in all of sports, period. Like right now, if I ask you what's the best playoff format out there, something tells me you're either thinking the NFL, because it's the NFL playoffs and we all love it. or college basketball, the NCA tournament.
You're at work that first Thursday and Friday, but you're not actually working. You're at your cubicle. You're making bets. You're talking to the person next to you. You just hit the over under the parlay.
The boss comes by. You pretend like you're working. There's just a good vibe. when it comes to the coup first couple of days of the NCAA tournament. But last year with the college football playoffs, At home, those campus games?
Oh. I'm really excited just talking about it. How about the Arizona State, the the Scataboo game? Come on. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number.
So, yeah, college football, a couple of weeks from what, uh, we got the first game two weeks from Thursday, I believe it is, and then It's full go. By the way, why don't they call it week zero of college football? Why do you have to confuse people? And if I bet on week zero games and I lose my bets, do I get my money back? Because technically week zero means it didn't happen?
I d I don't I don't think that's how it works. Um Coming up a little bit later on in the show, we'll get back into the NFL because there are a few guys this upcoming season that I think are about to go off. I can guarantee you these guys are stepping into a career year. And then there are a few other guys that I don't think I want anything to do with.
So, again, we'll talk a little bit more about NFL coming up in just a few minutes. Far as the college football goes in North Carolina, Did you see that they sold every single seat this season? First time that North Carolina footballs had a sellout for every single game in the last like 20 years, and it's because of Bill Belichick. I don't know. Like.
I I don't see this going well. Can Bill Belichick relate well with twenty-something year olds? Yeah, look at his girlfriend. Ha ha ha ha ha. But I'm talking about Players.
I'm talking about athletes. It's one thing if you're Bill Belichick and you're the head coach of the New England Patriots and you get Randy Moss or Corey Dillon or one of these free agents.
Well, those guys respect you because you've got a fist full of Super Bowl rings and you're Bill Belichick. But at this point, if you're a 19-year-old college kid that committed to play for North Carolina, did you go there because you got Bill Belichick? Or did you go there because you got NIL money? and a chance to play in the NFL. And maybe there's some cute girls on campus.
And maybe they gave you a little bit of scholarship money. I don't think that Bill Belichick is going to command the same respect from his players. that he did at the NFL level. And if it goes south, it goes south. Real quick.
I'm in for it though. And clearly, North Carolina fans are also. How'd they get older at head coach? How do you go from a seventy three year old Mac Brown And then you think, you know what? You know what?
We're going to build the future of North Carolina football. Let's go older. Who can we get that's older than Mac Brown? I mean at that point I was going to say Bob Barker, but we lost him a couple of years ago, didn't we? I'm I don't know if there's there anybody there's not another option.
Except for Bill Pell. Could you Pete Carrible? I think even he's younger. They went from 73 to 70.
Now I sound like an ageist. I sound like a bigger jerk than I already am. But if you're trying to build the future of a program, don't you want to go the young route opposed to the, I don't know. What's that? 147 years old combined coaches over the last two years, Bill Belichick and Mac Brown.
They got older than Mac Brown. You know how hard that is to do? Damn near impossible. But again, the fans are excited for it. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number.
We'll talk more college football later on in the show because I've got the national championship odds for you. I got an update for you on Shador. Plenty of NFL coming up. On the other side, We'll play a game, get rid of one, right here on the Infinity Sports Network. But before that, let's get into those sports flash with my guy, Gordon Damer.
You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. Here's Sean Levine. That's me. I for one, I can't wait for fantasy football and real football to start. I like my chances this year, even though I haven't had my draft yet.
My team I changed my team name. I'm now called the uh Reggie Robey RIP is the name of my team. Remember Reggie Robey? He was that brother punter that had the single. Single bar face mask.
Anybody? This thing on? Reggie Roby. Uh, this uh NASCAR race preview is sponsored by Weather Guard truck and van equipment. They're just as driven as the hardworking pros they serve.
This Sunday, August 10th, 2025, the NASCAR SUP Cup Series rolls into Watkins Glen International for the Go Bowling at the Glen, one of the most iconic road course events on the calendar, known for his straight. Tight corners and elevation changes. The two and a half mile track is a favorite among drivers and fans alike. With the playoffs fast approaching, this marks a crucial chance for drivers to secure their spot and build more momentum. The road core specialists like Chase Elliott and Tyler Reddick are expected to contend, both recent improvements across the field.
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There we go. I made that weird, and I had to. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number. Man, I miss Reggie Roby. I missed the single bar face mask altogether.
Like, how many other guys use that? If you're a punter, do you really need anything more than that? If we're being honest, why do punters even wear pads? Do they wear pads? I assume punters wear shoulder pads, but do they need to have a helmet?
Couldn't they have like an old leather one for as often as they actually I don't know. Maybe, maybe it saves us some more concussions. We all know that's a bad thing. Either way, Reggie Roeby, rest in peace. Speaking of the NFL, we got action going on right now.
Before we play a little game of get rid of one, let me get you an update. Falcons up over the Lions. That game, the first quarter, is wrapping up. Lions got the football back. 3-0 Falcons.
So not a ton of action there.
However, There is a ton of action in the Patriots Commanders game. In fact, the Patriots took the opening kickoff back for a touchdown. They're up seven to zero over DC and the Panthers first on the board. As soon as I start talking smack on Bryce Young, throws a touchdown pass. How about that guy?
Um, MVP. Panthers up 7-0. Shador still in the game. Hasn't done a ton early on. Let me check out those stats for you just to be accurate here.
Shador got the start. He's five of 10.
So they're letting him throw the ball. 10 passes in the first quarter for 33 yards, still on the field right now as the Cleveland quarterback. 888-710-4ISN is the phone number. Give me some beats, Ryan. Let's play a game.
Get rid of one. You know the rules. I'll give you four options. And you get rid of one. Uh Yankees.
Red Sox Mariners Rangers, you would think that three of those teams are likely to end up With a wild card. I don't know. Maybe somebody ends up winning their division, but you got to get rid of one: Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners, Rangers. I'm going to get rid of the Rangers just because they had such a slow start with all their injuries.
So they're hitters and some of their pitchers. And on top of that, I do trust the Yankees will get back on track. They just have too much talent. To keep failing. And on top of that, the Red Sox and Mariners, Mariners made a lot of moves at the deadline that I like.
Their rotation, when healthy, is top three, top five in baseball. And the Red Sox, they're hot right now. And I think they're going to take that after trading Devers and the good momentum to the playoffs.
So, what exactly makes you think the Yankees are going to get right? Like, so they're 61 and 54. Let me do some quick math. That's 115 games, which leaves us, what, 54? Was it 47?
I don't know why I tried that. Like, 47 games left for the Yankees. And they're. Six and a half games out of first place. They're barely hanging on to a wild card spot.
They're in third place in the division, two and a half games behind the Red Sox for second place. Bro, they're four and six in their last 10 games. But you're the one guy, Ryan. You're the guy that still believes in the Yankees, huh? I just think that any team that has Aaron Judge and the amount of money put into their team with that bullpen they just traded for.
They're bound to get back on. I'm not going to say an uptrack where it's just like straight success. but they're gonna be enough to where they get back to they were comfortably in a wild card spot. If They don't make the playoffs. Then, before Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone make it out to their car.
They probably lose their job. For all those reasons that you just said, expectations and money. It'd be one thing if this was Milwaukee and they start to fade away toward the end.
Okay, well, they're not spending all the money in the world on getting every single free agent. There's no reason the Yankees are in this situation. I would point to injuries. Yeah, Aaron Judge and their rotations got a little bit banged up. Garrett Cole at the beginning of the year and such.
But honestly, there's no reason that the Yankees are 61 and 54. Let me pull up the standings, give you a couple of other teams that generally have that same record. You got the Guardians. You got the Rangers. I mean, there's no reason that teams like that Are playing about what the Yankees are doing this year.
The Reds essentially have the same record.
So I dude, I don't they're probably gonna make the playoffs ultimately. But are they going to make any noise? I don't think so. I kind of want to get rid of the Yankees. How about appetizers?
I just had fried pickles for the first time in my life. I don't think I can ever go back. Those things were great. Fried pickles. Mozzarella sticks.
onion rings. Chips and salsa. Get rid of one, Ryan. Fried pickles are heading out the door. I'm not a pickle person, I can deal with the pickle.
On a chicken sandwich, anything else? Way too much. Nasty.
So, I'm not rocking with fried pickles.
So, you're cool with a sandwich with like a sliced-up pickle, but you would never. Dip your hand into a jar with the giant kosher dill pickles and just take a bite out of one of those things, like a sausage. Nasty.
Not even that. No fried pickles, no, was it moonshine pickles, nothing like that. What the hell's a moonshine pickle? Is it what I think it is? Yes, it's a pickle in moonshine.
What? And it's like basically infused with pickled juice. How do I get Three of those during the break. I think they're at DoorDash. I don't know if DoorDash has that.
That'd be great. Can you imagine? Yeah, you know what? Why don't you pick me up three of the moonshine pickles also? And give me a Slurpee, too, while you're there, you know?
Um, dude, like. Those fried pickles were unbelievable. Chips and salsa, I told this story the other day. I'm a little bit turned off because I took a girl on a date. This is like six months ago.
And it was the second time we ever went out and I thought we had this vibe going. And she ordered I got chips and salsa for both of us, and she ordered a separate side of ranch, which I thought was kind of sexy, honestly. Like I'm a big ranch guy, until she poured the ranch into the chips and salsa without asking. And it became this like dog pewte color looking stuff. And then she looked at me like I was the weirdo.
And Let's just say we didn't talk again after that, but I'm a little bit turned off the chips and salsa. Fried pickles, bro, those things are great. Um. We talked earlier about Sam Darnold this upcoming season: Darnold, Geno Smith, Jordan Love, Brock Purdy. Long-term success.
I'd cut Geno Smith. Just because He's the oldest one there. That's the easiest answer. And I trust Brock Purdy more than the other the other three. Yeah, but Gino doesn't have much tires tread taking off the tires as you would have thought because he had to sit for the first couple of years as a backup.
But you're probably right. Ultimately. Like the upside for all these other guys, Jordan Love could have an MVP type season. Brock Purdy literally was in the MVP race a couple of years ago, and Sam Donald finished fifth last year. If Gino's missing that conversation, then the Raiders are going to win a bunch of football games.
And I Don't think the Raiders are going to win a bunch of football games. Go back to college, just when these guys were college hoopers. Kevin Durant. Michael Beasley. J.
J. Reddick Cooper flag Get rid of one. Gotta cut Cooper flag, right? Am I dumb for doing that? I just think that.
Tem Durant. Great score at Texas. JJ Reddick, of course, legend at Duke. And on top of that, Michael Beasley is one of the best isolation scorers, one-on-one scorers I've ever seen. I I I don't No, like Cooper Flag is not a bad player.
He's a great prospect. But In college, I think the other three just had standout. I guess traits that made them elite, a super, super elite at the college level. Remember how fun that year was with J.J. Reddick and Adam Morrison going back to the world?
I was quite young.
Well, still, I mean, you probably remember Adam Morrison crying and J.J. Reddick dropping 30 a game on the regular at Duke. Michael Beasley, from my money, is the greatest college basketball player I've ever seen. I still have no idea how that didn't work in the NBA. All these different stops, only played like eight or nine years.
If you watch him still to this day, he is an absolute bucket. And I think I know the answer. He's a little. He's a loose wire, Michael Beasley is. But there have been other guys in the NBA that have made it work.
He's the best college player I've ever seen. He averaged 28 and 13 at his one year at K-State. As you said, Kevin Durant was incredible. I think I'm getting rid of Cooper Flag also. Um All right.
Uh, let's go with. Are you a Seinfeld fan, right? No, I know, like, of Seinfeld, but I don't watch it. I haven't watched it. Are you familiar with the soup Nazi?
No. Wow, this guy.
Okay, we move on.
Okay, you can't just drop that and not give a 10-second. Here's the thing. I don't want to embarrass you because you're my boy, because we're friends, but I'd say 98% of people listening right now, and remember, we're on all over the place, all over the United States, all over Canada. What's up, Nova Scotia? We're big out there.
They got love for the sports machine. But I think only 1.5% of people are in your boat right now when I say soup Nazi that are going, what? What's he talking about? The younger generation. Because I, it's not even before I was even born.
But it's you should like you, it's a little bit irresponsible of you not to. Do you know Uncle Leo? No, and I know that Keith Hernandez, there was a spitting incident. I know, I know. Like, there's some things.
And then they had a bet where, like, they had these binoculars to something next door that they were watching. I don't know. It was weird. Are you talking about the yeah, they did make a game there was a bet I remember there was a bet yeah I remember I know that bet there was a bet yeah Kramer was the first one out and then uh ultimately the winner of the bet was uh Was Costanza, but we find out at the very end, I believe the last episode that he cheated.
So I think the actual winner of the bet was Jerry. Oh, one more hats: sombrero. Bucket hat, cowboy hat. Fedora. Fedora.
You just look like I I don't wanna disrespect people who work for Doras. But you're either dressed like a mobster Or you're dressed like someone who has a Discord m And it's just weird. I mean, I don't disagree with you, but at the same time, I may or may not be wearing a fedora. What's the matter with you? How are you going to say that about me?
Right now? And my Discord. Yeah, no, I'm making that. I'm wearing a flatbill hat, though. This thing's got to be 25 years old.
It's disgusting. But I have worn a fedora before. Don't lock the fedora until you tried it. Two hours down, two more coming up. I'm the Fedora machine, Sean Levine.
