JR SportBrief Hour 4

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Just use Instacart, Brian. Happy Thursday night. Happy Thursday evening. It is the JR Sport Reshow on CBS Sports Radio. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Super producer and host, Brian Hickies.

Brian Hickies coming to us live from New York City. Thank you to everybody listening all over North America, at home, at work, on the roads, the highways, the byways, the in-betweens. People going to work.

People leaving work. People doing stuff they ain't got no business doing. Don't worry about it. I'm not there with you, so I can't tell. And I'm not telling anyway. I know how to mind my business.

Unless there's something about sports. Why the hell they pay me? We're going to pay you to stand here. I stand when I talk.

We're going to pay you to stand here and talk about sports, so that's what I will do. I get started every weeknight. Weekday. Afternoon. Evening. 6 p.m. Eastern Time. 3.

Pacific. I'm only going to be here for one more hour. My apologies. I'm a human being. I got to take a nap. I got to sleep. I got to eat. I got to do other things. So that's why I'm only here for four hours a day. So I get started. 6 p.m. Eastern.

3 Pacific. Today's been a very, very busy day. Raheem Morris is the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Dave Kanellis, he is the new head coach of the Carolina Panthers. If you have no idea who the hell he is, join the club. The man has only been an offensive coordinator in the NFL for one season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past year, helping Baker Mayfield get himself a new contract, helping them go back to the playoffs in the post Tom Brady era. And now he is the new head coach of the Panthers.

He gets to work for David Tepper, who we know enjoys, you know, throwing drinks at fans. Oh, my God. Ryan, I got a great idea. Maybe Luca Doncic, David Tepper and Draymond Green, maybe they can start like a support group for the angry. Now we're talking.

This is put in a community first and making a difference for once. I know. So David Tepper, I mean, he got fined three hundred thousand dollars for throwing a drink at a fan. Luca Doncic last night had a fan ejected or, you know, just taunting him and telling him to put his fat ass on a treadmill. And then we know Draymond Green. Well, I guess we can leave him out. Draymond has already been through counseling or whatever the hell he needed to get his life together.

And so we've had a busy night. You know, speaking of Luca Doncic, the NBA All-Star starters, they were announced. Luca Doncic starting five time All-Star LeBron James is now a 20 time NBA All-Star of the first in NBA history to meet that 20 All-Star game mark.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was tied with LeBron at 19 appearances and now LeBron has 20. But Luca Doncic, like I said, he he got a fan ejected last night. And allegedly the words that got him ejected were, yeah, you you're kind of out of shape.

Get your fat ass on a treadmill. And Luca had enough. And Luca in speaking to TNT and Shaq and Ernie Charles, all them good folks.

Hi, Kenny. They asked him about that. And Luca kinda sorta apologized. You be the judge.

Listen to this. It was the whole game, you know, a little bit. But I was really frustrated, you know, we were losing.

I twisted my ankle in the second half. So in the first half, it was just a lot of emotions. But yeah, probably shouldn't have done that. So when I'm wrong, I admit it. So probably shouldn't have done that. But it was just the whole game going on.

I prop. No, Hickey, I understand why we didn't get a full apology, why he said he probably shouldn't have done that, why he admitted that he was wrong, but he probably shouldn't have done it. It's the language barrier, Hickey. That's why it's the language barrier.

Oh, that's it. It's not that he doesn't believe what he's saying. It's the language barrier.

Do you understand how difficult it is just to say not I probably shouldn't have done that, just to say I shouldn't have that? It's a massive difference. English is so difficult, man.

I would agree. I'm glad that we have learned English first here, because I could not imagine trying to, you know, learn English as a second language. All the stupid rules, how many words sound the same, but mean different, spelled the same, but sound different. Very that I'll give you.

English is very difficult to learn. Yeah. So Luca Doncic, he apologized. It just it didn't come across as as heartfelt.

So, yeah, Luca, get it together and just lay off on the fans. Also, thank you so much. That's somebody who's angry. Earlier on in the show, we spoke to someone who is happy. Mark Schlereth joined us.

Yes. Three times Super Bowl champ, Pro Bowler, analyst in the NFL. Today is Mark Schlereth's birthday. So I want to thank Mark Schlereth for taking the time on his birthday to come through and give us some some NFL insight and some NFL news. We talked about Bill Belichick, the fact that he might not get a job.

There are only two jobs that are still available. Head coaching jobs, excuse me, in the NFL. That's the Seattle Seahawks.

And that's the Washington commanders. And as we learned today, I told you, Raheem Morris is going to be in Atlanta. And the word on the street is the Washington commanders don't want Bill Belichick. There's a reality that we may not see Bill Belichick coach a game in the NFL this season. And the other coach who's still available is Mike Rabel. We might not see Belichick or Rabel in the NFL. And these are some of the best head coaches available. Mark Schlereth had a great line. He said. That NFL owners who happen to be 80 years old.

Hiring young offensive coordinators is like Viagra form. I didn't say that. Mark Schlereth did. Thank you, Mark Schlereth.

I hope you're having an amazing birthday, an amazing birthday night. 8 5 5 2 1 2 4 CBS is the number is if you want to call me. We paid our bills. The phone lines work.

And me, I'm also online available everywhere at J.R. Sport Brief. One of the other things that I asked Mark Schlereth was about the AFC championship game, the NFC championship game. And as we move forward towards these these matchups on Sunday, Mark Schlereth gave us his preseason predictions. And he said, I'm sticking with them.

I'm looking at the forty niners and I'm looking at the Ravens. Ultimately, he thinks that the forty niners are going to go out and hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy that Brock Purdy is is not respected the way that he should be. And I asked Mark Schlereth about Brock Purdy.

I said, why doesn't this man get the love that he deserves? I just don't think people really understand what he does and as good as he is, I'm telling you, getting through a progression. The timing of an offense is kept in the quarterback's feet and there's nobody better than Brock Purdy in regards to his feet in the timing of that offense. And I've watched him work in progression of through four guys in a progression in under a second and a half and deliver a touchdown throw. So the guy is exceptional at what he does.

You know, it is weapons and it is scheme. And, you know, he's the quote unquote game manager. And I asked him about that, man. He bristled.

He said, anybody who calls me game manager doesn't actually watch the tape, which I love the answer. I loved his kind of saltiness. Didn't play very well last week. I think he'll get a bounce back as well. I think so, too.

I think against the Lions, I believe that they're going to be in a shootout. I think this is ideal for Brock Purdy to go out there and and try to light it up. That's with or without Debo Samuel. We know he's been dealing with a shoulder injury. And so Brock Purdy, he may not get the respect from the general public, but I'll tell you this. Brock Purdy has gotten the respect from the sports writers. Brock Purdy has gotten the respect from the Associated Press, which helps manage who gets the NFL MVP. Because today we found out the finalists for the NFL MVP for the twenty twenty three season.

Not too big of a shocker that a lot of these dudes or at least three out of the five are still playing. Here are your finalists for the NFL MVP award and we will find out who they are. An NFL Super Bowl weekend out in Las Vegas. Josh Allen is a finalist for MVP. Christian McCaffrey is a finalist for NFL MVP. Dak Prescott is a finalist for NFL MVP. Lamar Jackson is a finalist for NFL MVP. And then, yes, Brock Purdy is a finalist for the NFL MVP. Now, I think we all most of us understand where the award is going. It's going to Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson is going to go out there and pick up his second NFL MVP. Now, this is kind of wild because if you want to think about players who are criticized, it's one thing to be Brock Purdy and be selected number what? Two hundred and sixty two to fifty two in the twenty twenty two NFL draft. It's one thing to be Mr.

Irrelevant and no one expect anything from you. Brock Purdy, he's still being disrespected. Can't you say the same thing a little bit about Lamar Jackson? You know, it's not as loud as it used to be about, oh my God, he's just a running back who throws the ball. Oh my God, you're never going to win anything with Lamar Jackson. I mean, he doesn't always get the credit that he deserves as well.

And so it's tough for me. You know, outside of what I think will happen, I would love to see Lamar Jackson win a championship. I'd love to see Brock Purdy win a championship. I'd love to see Patrick Mahomes win one.

But we know it's not going to happen. And so, quite ironically, Lamar Jackson, heavily criticized, is a finalist for MVP. He's likely to win it. And Brock Purdy is on this list as well.

Josh Allen. He ain't winning no damn MVP. And by the way, the award is voted on at the conclusion of the regular season. And before the start of the playoffs. And so no one is taking into account, you know, a loss to Patrick Mahomes. The votes were in before the postseason even got started. Josh Allen's not winning it.

Christian McCaffrey and Purdy might as well just cancel each other out. We know Dak Prescott ain't winning no damn MVP. It's going to Lamar Jackson. And Lamar Jackson, always a little bit of a lightning rod, regardless of how you feel about him.

The name is always in somebody's mouth. Well, this time Cam Newton brought up the name Lamar Jackson. And Cam Newton brought up the name Lamar Jackson as it relates to another Ravens legend, Ray Lewis.

He was on the fourth on one podcast. And Cam Newton talked about Lamar Jackson receiving the ultimate respect. He actually said Lamar might be more important and influential and valuable to the city of Baltimore than Ray Lewis.

Listen to Cam Newton. I was having a conversation by a native of Baltimore. He was like, Lamar Jackson means more to the city than Ray Lewis. And that's a bold statement. Lamar Jackson is that guy.

But, damn, when you think about it, this just shows your age. It's like, damn, over Ray? Are you are you agreeing with it?

I have to. There's not a more dynamic player in all of football than Lamar Jackson. Patrick Mahomes, dynamic in his own right. Correct. A different dynamic. But electric.

Virginia Tech, Michael Vick, electric. That that's Lamar Jackson. And he's become a more vocal to like he didn't speak on it. So people just had their own perception.

This is like the societal kind of crossroad. We're not used to seeing the position played to look, feel and stand on culturally play like Lamar. They will want you to be on commercials. You can't name me a commercial that Lamar Jackson's on. You can't even probably name me an endorsement that Lamar Jackson has.

Lamar Jackson is the epitome of keeping the main thing the main thing. Hickey, what did I just listen to? Can you can you help me there? I know we just talked about how difficult English is to understand. I think I understood every word that he said. What the hell is he trying to say? What is he saying? What's he saying? Well, the good news is he's not saying negative things, right? Usually he's gotten a lot of attention for negative comments about quarterbacks.

But at least pumping Lamar up, which is first and foremost, a good thing. Trying to hype up Lamar and saying that he's bigger to the city than Ray Lewis. I also I'm pretty sure I'm not 100 percent sure.

Maybe you can correct me here if I'm mistaken. Doesn't Ray Lewis have a statue outside the stadium? He does. I mean, for years, for years, even coming off of through one of the tunnels in Baltimore, Ray Lewis had a big old billboard that was nothing more than a welcome to the city. And I understand Lamar Jackson and and everything from a football perspective and Cam Newton alluded to it. He didn't dive deep. He talked about the cultural relevance of Lamar Jackson and keeping the main thing the main thing.

And I think, Hickey, we discussed this the other night. Lamar Jackson is just so relaxed, so chill. Nothing bothers him.

If Lamar Jackson kind of walked by you in the supermarket, you know, you would go, oh, my God, NFL quarterback, because he's not he's not possessed. I mean, the guy shows up to the games in a hoodie and sweatpants. He's very salt to the earth and he's very much himself. And it doesn't appear that he has changed what I think is a think is an admirable quality. He's just he's a regular dude who got money. That's what he comes across as.

And so I understand that aspect of being more relatable. But to put him in the space for Ray Lewis, I guess maybe it's a generational thing for someone who's been around for both generations. Lamar Jackson got to win something first.

There's the difference. Ray Lewis won two Super Bowls for the Baltimore Ravens. OK, Ray Lewis is an icon in the city. I mean, we can think about Cal Ripken Junior on the baseball side. We can look at Ray Lewis here on the football side. Lamar Jackson has to win a championship before we start talking about his significance. I mean, if you never saw Ray Lewis hit somebody in your life, then sure. If you thought that Ray Lewis was was too made up in Hollywood, then where the hell were you when the man could have went to jail for allegedly reportedly killing somebody?

Like, what are we what are we doing here? So he's been able to do a complete reverse. From his from his character and who he is and how he's appreciated. And now you can see him on ESPN.

You see people doing the squirrel dance. I mean, I've interviewed Ray Lewis. I don't got a problem with the dude. He's one of the nicest people I've actually met for a guy on the football field who ripped people to shreds. But there's one thing that nobody could take away from Ray Lewis. It's the two championships and the fact that he is one of the best linebackers. He's one of the best defenders. He's one of the best NFL players ever. Even with two MVPs come in his way or at least another MVP come in his way. We can't yet say that about Lamar Jackson.

Can I say that in a month from now? Post Super Bowl? Possibly.

But for right now, let Lamar Jackson win something before we talk about his significance to the Ravens and the city. Can he be beloved? Yes.

Can he be appreciated? Yes. Can he be the next big thing or he can be the thing right now?

Yes. But let's let's slow down on where he lies in Baltimore until he wins a championship. Please. I would apply that to any city, not just Baltimore.

Win something first and not just an individual award. I can look at Joel Embiid. I know the fans out in Philadelphia.

They love him. He might win another MVP this season, but you want to know what Joel Embiid needs? And Shaquille O'Neal said this the other day and Shaquille O'Neal funny guy. Sure.

Ha ha ha. Shaquille O'Neal said, I cannot let this man into the big man alliance. Until he wins a championship. Joel Embiid wins something first before you get moved into that upper echelon. Lamar Jackson wins something.

We can talk about your your your relevance culturally to the city, to the country, to Florida. Oh, hell yeah, we can do that. Win something first. Know that we're going to get that statue outside of the soon to be renovated M&T Bank Stadium.

Win something first. It's the J.R. sport ratio here with you on CBS Sports Radio eight five five two one two four CBS. That's eight five five two one two four CBS. Cam Newton is like, man, Lamar, more value, more Baltimore, more city. What do you say? I'm going to get to your calls on the other side of the break.

It's the J.R. sport ratio on CBS Sports Radio. The sultan of sizzle. The titan of toastiness. The kingpin of kindling.

These are the admired ones. Those who've created the prime place together. They don't just have a backyard. They have the backyard because they know a solo stove. Fire pit is more than just the ultimate smokeless fire pit. It's a place where friendships are forged. Football is revered and food is enjoyed. Solo stove, the perfect flame for the big game. A peanut butter M&M's production in a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring.

But the runners up get nothing. One retired cop. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. That's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter.

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It's the J.R. Sport Brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio. Right before we went to break, we talked about comments made by Cam Newton on his podcast.

He said and agreed with the fact that Lamar Jackson means more to Baltimore right now or in general than than Ray Lewis. And I got to go, huh? What? Huh? Like, I understand the significance of Lamar Jackson on the football field, the significance of Lamar Jackson in the community. I get all of that.

But I'm like, damn. Already, Cam Newton says yes. We heard and shared with you his explanation before the break.

You can hit rewind on the free Odyssey app if you missed it. Phone lines are open. It's eight five five two one two for CBS. That's eight five five two one two for CBS. We know Lamar Jackson is going to be in action this upcoming Sunday in the AFC championship game as his team, the Ravens host, the Kansas City Chiefs. And then we also know on the NFC side, we talked about Brock Purdy. We had a great conversation with Mark Schlereth about Brock Purdy of those forty Niners will be hosting the Detroit Lions out in the bay to watch and keep up with all of the action. I need to let you know that you can stream the NFL on Westwood one for free, sponsored by AutoZone all season long.

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They do apply. Eight five five two one two four CBS is eight five five two one two four CBS. Let's go ahead and hit the phone lines up and let's talk to Jonathan. He is calling from Baltimore.

Jonathan, you're on CBS Sports Radio, the JR Sport Brief Show. How are you doing, sir? How are you doing today?

I hope you're doing well. And we get ready for these ratings. But what I'm calling about is there's two types of Baltimore.

I called yesterday and talked to one of the other guys after EJ or later tonight. It's two types of Baltimore. There's Baltimore fans who love Lamar, who praise Lamar. And there's another Baltimore fan who secretly want Lamar to fail. There are people out here that say he can win 12 MVPs. He's still not a quarterback. He's still not a champion.

It's always going to be something for him. And the reason why they say this about Ray Lewis. Think about Jonathan and Ray Lewis. Ed Reed, Terrell subs, all of those Hall of Famers, the potential Hall of Famers. None of them has any substantial office in the Ravens organization.

You know why? They tried to do Lamar Jackson the same way they did Ray Lewis. And what they did when Ray Lewis came up for his contract years ago? They had him go out there, go to Dallas.

They rodeo clowning. He went around. They didn't give him what he wanted. He had to come back. Lamar stood up for himself.

Vashadi had billions. Lamar had talent. And the people here in Baltimore, they appreciate that Lamar didn't sell his soul. Which means, I'm going to tell you right now, there are Baltimore fans that hate when he came into the game Sunday.

He had sweatpants on, sneakers, and a gold chain. They hated it. And they secretly hate that. And why Cam Newton said, Cam Newton talking codes. He want to keep his dollars. He want to keep his dollars for his show. So he can't just say anything. We're limited to what we can say on the air. And Cam said it in codes.

If you can figure it out, you can figure it out if you can't. And so be it. Well, Jonathan, I don't think to clarify, I said this as well. He didn't really go all that deep and in-depth with it. Cam Newton has a podcast. He has never been shy in expressing himself.

He has never been shy in expressing his opinion. He doesn't have a radio show. I have a radio show. I mean, not a radio show. Well, hold on. Hold on, Jonathan. This is my ultimate point.

That's one point of it. He is not restricted in what he has to say. Cam Newton has said controversial things about a woman's place. Cam Newton has been cursed out up and down by people who know nothing about football because of his commentary, regardless of whether it's about football or what a woman should be doing.

You know? So he ain't shy about expressing himself. But we have said, hold on, Jonathan. There have been plenty of times where people have looked at Lamar Jackson and said, oh, this guy is is too black or he's from the hood or he conducts or acts like this or acts like that. And so my point being, you know, I can understand enough said this.

I can understand people who appreciate him for being who he is. And it's not just about folks in Baltimore. He's a lightning rod for various reasons, because he might be too real for folks, because he might not be quarterback enough, as we've already heard.

But I'll tell you this. I do not think in Cam Newton's comments drawn from what he said that to to say that he might be more valuable to the city has anything to do with a contractual statement. Lamar Jackson at this time last year was pretty much ostracized, not necessarily for standing up for himself, but people were looking at him and going, what is this idiot doing by trying to get his own contract? People were saying, what is he doing?

Not that he was going to leave, but that he was actually screwing himself. And you're exactly right. But you know what happened? The whole deal, which you just said, is exactly what it is. He did it his way.

And there are some claims in people's lives that they don't want. All that they said he did wrong. He came out. He got his contract. He got the players he needed. He got the offense he needed. And he got a chance to thrive.

People think all that just happened by circle, by chance. Cam Newton simply said, it's surprising that you asked that question to a woman and they tried to kill him. He didn't touch anybody.

He didn't put his hands on anybody. He said, it's surprising that you asked that question. And oh, my God, it went viral. So Cam Newton knows.

Yeah, he has a podcast. But we all know the Fifth Amendment is what it is. We don't we all can't say what we can say. You can. You got to pay the price. You have.

Yeah, we all have. We know there's things that you can't say. But in regards to the context of the conversation we're having and what you said, Cam Newton is free to express, oh, people don't like Lamar because he is black or he's too real or he wears sweatpants or people don't like his hair or they don't like his do-rag. Like all of that.

But all of that is as well within free reign to say, you know, Cam Newton wouldn't have been saying anything that is hateful in that regard. Jonathan, I want to thank you for calling up from Baltimore. Thank you.

Thank you so much. 855-212-4CBS. Jeff is calling from Boise. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. Hi, JR. I really appreciate your show and the way you see the world.

I love it. I just wanted to say that I think there's no way that anyone but Lamar Jackson wins the MVP. He has meant so much to his team. And that's the criteria, right? He needs to be the guy. The MVP needs to be the guy who means the most to their team. And there's no way he's not. I mean, they kind of stumbled a little bit out of the gate early on and he took it upon himself to take his team over, put them on his shoulders the rest of the way.

And I don't know how you, I don't know how any, I don't see how anybody else did that same thing. We can talk about Brock Purdy and he played great. I think he plays better than anyone understands.

And he is great. I think we're going to see those two teams in the Super Bowl. I would love to, but I agree with you. I guess you agree with me. Yeah, I got Lamar Jackson as MVP and they're going to be other dudes from the candidates I mentioned, Josh Allen, McCaffrey, Dak and Purdy.

They're definitely going to, they're going to pick up some votes. But ultimately, look, Lamar Jackson is the guy for what your description is of the MVP, the most valuable guy and the most important to the team. Lamar Jackson basically is the team on the offensive side of the ball. Yes, he is. Because he can do it. He sees, he sees it feel like nobody else.

I think right now. I think he sees. I don't know if I want to go that far now. He's improved in that area. I do want to go that far because I can go back to when he was in Louisville, he could pass the darn ball.

And when he got to when he was drafted. Well, the knock was he couldn't pass the ball, but he can hold on, Jeff. Hold on, Jeff. OK, I'm sorry. No, I need to add context.

And I also need to throw to the news. So my apologies. But I just I just want to drive directly into the point and not look back at Louisville.

I want to address what you said. You said that Lamar Jackson sees the field better than anybody right now. That that means not anything having to do with Louisville.

But what's going on right now? We all know about Lamar Jackson and the criticism and what he was and what he isn't. We all know that he's improved most definitely. But when you think about some guy that he's going to oppose named Patrick Mahomes out on the field, it's hard to say he sees the field better than anybody. I think it is much more accurate to say that he has improved a hell of a lot. And this is out of my own mouth.

I think anybody would be hard for us to to not pay attention and acknowledge that he has very much improved as a passer. Jeff, I have to hit the break. I want to thank you so much for calling from Boise.

I would like to say, may you speak? He is an AFC West guy and I'm an AFC West guy. Are you getting so here's the thing. Are you getting ready to take a crap on Patrick Mahomes? No, I'm not.

No, I'm not. He's beautiful. Well, thank you. Well, let's leave it there. Jeff, I got a question for you.

Jeff, I got a question. Please. Are you going to deliver to us the news on CBS Sports Radio? Are you going to deliver to us the news? I don't know what news you're talking about. So, OK, so I have to throw to a news break.

So unless you're going to tell us all of the scores and the updates of everything going on in the world of sports, I have to throw to the news. OK. Thank you, sir. I appreciate you so much. I love listening to your show. I've called in a few times.

Thank you so much for the time. Well, Jeff, don't go anywhere because I need you to know that this is going to go on right now, this second. Thank you for calling from Boise.

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Yep, Graybar does that. You're listening to the J.R. sport brief on CBS Sports Radio, the J.R. sport brief show here on CBS Sports Radio. Damn it, I got to leave in a little while. I get here every every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. We're pulling up on a month of the J.R. sport brief show in this slot. I think by the time March gets here, I will have completed four full years here on CBS Sports Radio. You can catch me Saturday afternoons in New York on W.F.A. and New York City coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. I'm just a happy guy standing here talking about sports.

How bad can life be? And one of the TV screens here, by the way, I'm watching the Boston Celtics annihilate the Heat 138 to 105. Terry Rozier in his debut has seven points. Maybe he's pressing. He'll be fine.

He's going to start lighting people up any day now. Right before we went to break, we talked about Lamar Jackson. Some comments made by Cam Newton pretty much said that Lamar Jackson is more valuable to the city of Baltimore than Ray Lewis. And I had to just kind of go, OK, what was he talking about? Like if you want to talk about this from a football perspective, if you want to talk about this from being relevant right now, today, this minute, this second.

Yes, sure. Because Lamar Jackson is actually still playing football. But when you want to talk about now, what year are we in? The 2024 at another four. When you want to talk about almost 30 years of Ray Lewis in Baltimore.

Yes, it's almost 30 years. Chill out. Like that's that's doing too much. Let Lamar win a Super Bowl. Let him do some more before we talk about his his influence as it relates to Ray Lewis. Ray Lewis helped bring football back to the city.

You've got to put things in a full proper perspective. I'm going to get some more your calls, please. We got a lot of people on the line.

If you can be very direct and think about the other callers, that would be amazing. Eight five five two one two four CBS. That's eight five five two one two four CBS. John is here from Baltimore. You're on the J.R. sport. We show us up, John. Hey, what's up, J.R.? I'm excellent.

Go ahead. You know, we me and my buddies, we tailgated all the way through the 2000 Super Bowl to the Joe Flacco Super Bowl. And Baltimore is a pretty big tailgate city. And you get the you get the feel of the heartbeat of the of the entire city when you're tailgating with these guys. And it's actually a pretty friendly tailgate city.

And we would have college friends bring their parents in from like the New York who are Giants fans or Phillies fans. And they would we come back to the tailgate and they didn't believe it before they came into the game. But when they would come out of the game, they just couldn't believe the hysteria there was for Ray and the passion that everybody had for Ray. And I mean, it just it all took was one game to see the CD to see the the expression on and just the cheer that he got.

And I mean, people wanted to see defense just as much as they wanted to see Joe on the field. And honestly, even if Lamar has a couple of has a couple of Super Bowls, maybe has a couple more MVP. I still don't even think it's in the same category. OK. When you talk about Ray Lewis as a football player. I mean, that's it. It's not apples to oranges.

It's apples to bananas because it's the whole thing that is common. Well, thank you, John, for calling from Baltimore. Appreciate you. Lucy is here from Baltimore. You're on CBS Sports Radio. Hi, JR. It's great talking with you. I love your show. There is no way that Lamar can even be put in the same caliber as Ray Lewis, not with everything that Ray Lewis has done for this town and the way Ray plays as well.

From the day he stepped foot onto the field to the end of his career. That's just my fault. No, I agree with you.

One million percent. Lucy, thank you for being so pointed in your comments. I appreciate you. Appreciate you, man.

Have a wonderful night. Thank you, Lucy, for calling from Baltimore. Tamar's calling from Florida. You're on CBS Sports Radio. What's up, Tamar?

What's up, JR? Hey, listen, I'm getting ready for life after football, OK? And I'm starting to come to the realization that I've got to listen to Doris Burke as ESPN's number one team. You're telling me Mike Breed and Doris Burke are going to call the NBA Finals?

I mean, come on, man. She sounds like Marge Simpson calling a game. Who is Doris Burke? They need to go in there and get us started. They need somebody in that booth. I am not listening to Doris Burke. Well, what are you going to do?

Put the television on mute? Listen, I know that I'm still going to watch and they're still going to get the ratings. But it's a disgrace that of all the talent ESPN has, they just want Mike Breed and Doris Burke. I mean, who's Doris Burke, man?

I mean, come on. You can't get anybody better than Doris Burke. If you're going to sit here and tell me that Doris Burke is something special, then you're wild. She played basketball in college.

That counts for something, right? Listen, you got Doris Burke on one station and Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller on the other to go along with Shaq and Sir Charles. I mean, come on, man. Look at ESPN has turned into a joke, man.

What is this? You tell me the game is on the line. Game seven. I got to hear Mike Breed with Doris Burke. I'm saying what people don't want to say. And that's not I understand. I told I say it quite frequently. I don't I don't listen to the broadcasters really at all.

I guess part of that is being in the studio. I got the benefit of not having to listen. Hey, Tamara, do what I do. Watch the NBA Finals and listen to me. Better idea. OK, I'll give it a shot, man. Have a good night. I thank you, Tamara, for calling from Florida.

Damn. Like, I don't particularly care for Doris Burke either. There's a lot of announcers I don't care for, you know, but it feels a little bit different because she's a woman.

Nobody wants to necessarily say I can't stand this lady. But I take I don't take a crap on Hubie Brown. This guy's like 90. Hey, Ron, how old is Hubie Brown? Is he 90, 91? 90 on the dot.

He's 90 on the dot. Like, I'm just happy that he's still alive. OK, but he ain't my favorite person to listen to. But I'm like, OK, here he is.

He's calling. He's talking about the painted area and I deal with it. OK, I'm not necessarily a fan of Doris Burke either. But me, I don't I don't really listen to the games. I don't. I'm sitting here in a studio. I'm surrounded by one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. There are seven screens in front of me right now. One has a meter. One has Turner and ESPN and CBS.

Another one has a bunch of studio equipment stuff. Like, I don't got to listen to Doris Burke. If you have to do what I do, just put the TV on mute, put on some music. Maybe I just turn the sound up. If they trying to dissect the call and I don't know what's going on, but I don't need the announcers to watch a game. I can look at the stats in real time. I can look at the game in front of me.

And here's the other thing. I go to enough sporting events and I know historically people used to take the radio with them to the baseball game. Listen to the announcers, you know, but I go to enough sporting events when I'm sitting in the seats. Guess what? There is there is no announcers.

There are no announcers. I got to look at what I see and I got to draw my own conclusions. And that part about it. I appreciate. I really do. And you know what else I appreciate? I appreciate you. Yes, you for listening wherever you're at, whatever you're doing, whether you're in Baltimore thinking about Ray Lewis and Lamar, whether you're here in Atlanta with me, mad about Rahim Morris, whether you're in San Francisco waiting for the Niners, whether you're in Detroit waiting for the Lions or Kansas City waiting on the Chiefs. I appreciate you. I'm going to be back tomorrow at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific.

If you missed the minute of the show, you can hit rewind on the free Odyssey app. You can follow me on the Internet. Send your crazy messages to me.

Twitter X, Instagram, Facebook, all that stuff. I am at J.R. Sportbrief. I hope you're well. I hope you're safe. I hope you're cool, warm.

All of that. The J.R. Sportbrief show here on CBS Sports Radio is done. Don't go anywhere. Bart Winkler is coming up next. Thank you so much to super producer and host Ryan Hickey. And thank you for listening.

You'll have a good night and a good evening. A peanut butter M&M's production in a world where Super Bowl winners get the world's admiration and a fancy ring. But the runners up get nothing. One retired cop. That's one retired quarterback. Read the script.

Oh, sorry. One retired quarterback returns to claim what's his. That's claim a ring with diamonds made from M&M's peanut butter.

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