It’s Friday and it’s roundtable time!!

It is round table time.

Victoria was responsible for setting up the round table this week. It's going to be of your many jobs. This will be your responsibility the rest of the way. I'm tired of calling these people.

Actually, that's not true. I absolutely love all of the people that we have on to do these things because it's fun. We get to talk about a lot of different things and we get to make fun of each other and that's what we're all here for. But I know one of them now because somebody can't keep a secret. Oh no. I knew that was going to happen. I kind of anticipated it. That's why I knew that it was going to be good. I anticipated it.

So let's do the round table. The only surprise was that my friend Josh Graham, sports hub triad at Josh Graham Radio on Twitter, didn't also tweet out who the other guest was. Oh boy.

He probably didn't know. That's okay. Hi Josh.

How are you? I have no idea who the other guest is. Otherwise I would have. Otherwise you would have. Exactly.

Which is, I kind of knew. Well, let's see. If it's going to be Josh, I'll just look at my Twitter timeline. Boom. There he is. All right. Now we have to, I got to find out who the other person is. Who's the other victim?

Hey, how are you? It's Slack from a man, Randy. Yes. So I was confused. You said tweeting. I was like, dang, did I tweet that I was going to be on the Adam Gold show? I was, I was a little confused. I was actually secretly hoping it would be you too.

Uh, we could have so much fun. It was your two of my favorites, all time favorites. Uh, I'm not going to rank you like the two of you because honestly, I think you just did. I just said you're two of my all time favorites.

You're in the top 10. It depends on who wins the world cup. That's who you decide who.

That's true. We started the world cup. He said that it was going to be France. And I said it was going to be Argentina. Are you serious? Did you really pick Argentina, Graham?

I picked Argentina, but it also offsets because I may or may not have said that Maradona was still alive the last time. Oh, that's right. That's right.

Which is offset. I was right. And then I was dead wrong. Literally very, very unfortunate about, uh, about Maradona. Who I, you know what, who, who, who among us would be surprised if Maradona just wanted to just lay low for a while. Uh, all right. I guess we're going to start with the world cup.

So I didn't really mean anything like that. Uh, all right, Slack, tell me why France is winning this tomorrow, uh, Sunday rather. Uh, you know, I used to do radio in Pittsburgh and one of Mike Tomlin's best Mike Tomlin isms was been there, done that France has been there, done that team. They won the last one.

They returned a lot of their guys and they're going to win this time. Honestly, I wasn't even really that committed to France until Josh was like, if France wins, I'll buy you a beer. I don't even drink a beer, but I want that beer from Josh and I'm going to pour it out onto my yard just to prove that I am that I am victorious.

Wow. You're going to pour a beer on a perfectly good beer under your yard. Uh, what do you drink instead? I mean, a beer is we can substitute a beer.

Yeah, we could do that. I'm not really much of an alcohol guy, but if I do, I like a nice maker's mark on the rocks. Oh, very nice.

So it's a, it's a, it's a maker's mark on the rocks for, uh, for Randy. If France wins, by the way, it's not quite the same side that France is putting out there on the pitch that they did four years ago. No ungolo Conte, um, no Paul Pogba. I mean, they are, they are no Kareem Benzema.

They are missing. Actually Benzema wasn't there either. I think wasn't Benzema still serving the suspension. He had been suspended for two world cups. Josh has shaken his head.

Like what the hell is gold talking about here? France is missing about four players who probably would be in their first 11. And they're sick, which is a little nerve wracking.

Yeah, I read something about it today. I think the illness part of this is a little bit, a little bit overblown. I think they're all, they're healthy enough to, uh, to give it a go. All right, Graham, tell me why Argentina's winning this. Well, they have this guy called Lionel Messi who's pretty darn good. And even when he's not scoring, it's just the impact he has on the game. That's so incredible to watch as somebody who grew up watching the sport and loving the sport and playing the sport.

I've never seen anybody who has been as impactful on the, on the plus end of the field as messy is. And it's hard not to get suckered into the storyline when you talk about his last world cup and getting to win for the first time since Maradona did so such a long time ago in the first world cup that Maradona hasn't been with us. That's. Now you are all in on the Maradona timeline.

Miss me with your Maradona facts here. Yeah, exactly. No, it really just goes back to that though, where Argentina, you just know the way that they're able to counter punch. If France relaxes for even a little bit, it's just into the back of your net immediately.

And the way that messy can create, you just know, that's good for one, potentially two goals. Even if he's not the one scoring on either attempt, it's, that's, it's going to be such an entertaining final. I can't wait to watch it Sunday morning. Josh, you actually are making me believe that you, that you do really watch the sport because that is Argentina. That's the way they would, they will win this. If they do is that France has the best offensive attack of the, of the, of the teams that got to the round of 16, France is either the best or the second best offensive team there. Argentina is by far the best defensive side of the, of all 16 that advanced out of the group and the way they will score. They have, they have gone defense to offense better than any team in this entire tournament.

And that's where they will, if they win it, that's how it's going to happen. They turn defense to offense better than any team in this entire thing. I think they have, look, both goalkeepers are world-class. They're both premier league goalkeepers. I know Luis plays for Spurs higher up in the table, but Martinez is awesome. And, you know, he plays at Aston Villa.

They are very, very good, both of them. But I think there's a little edge to Argentina in, in, you know, in goal. But I'm with, my heart wants Messi because I've always been a Messi over Ronaldo guy. And this whole last year and a half with Ronaldo proving that there's no I in team, I'm just done. I'm done with the whining and the look at me from Ronaldo, trying to claim a goal that wasn't yours. It was a meaningless goal.

Just claim it. That was, he's complaining about it. Does that conversation though, the Ronaldo versus Messi reminds you of the conversation with Oveshkin and Crosby too, where since Oveshkin's the flashier player and he has the 800 goals, it almost seems like that people put him on the same terrain with Crosby, losing sight of the overall complete game that Crosby has and that Messi has, I guess, in the soccer conversation? I mean, I don't, I think the Ovechkin Crosby thing is simply a thing because they came in together, to be honest. I think you can, I think that legit, I don't know that anybody has ever called Ovechkin the best player ever, right?

I don't think anybody's ever said that because I don't think anybody thinks that. Crosby has been, at one point, the best player in hockey. He's not anymore. I mean, Connor McDavid is, I don't even know where Connor, he's on a planet that we don't even, we haven't even discovered yet. It's frightening when you watch him.

He just does whatever he wants. But the legitimate conversation about who's the best of this generation between Messi and Ronaldo, Ronaldo is a pure goal scorer. Messi is a better player.

I think the better, and that's, and that's why it reminds me of it, where I think Ovechkin obviously is the better pure goal scorer, Crosby's the better player. It just seems like that when you talk about goals scored and such, that the overall complete game gets lost in it. And I'm glad the way you're talking about Messi, you're kind of shining light on these other things that he does that impacts the game. He's, to me, the conversation, and he's got to win this to have, to be able to eliminate the, well, he's never won a World Cup. The conversation is Messi and Pelé. And I mean, as a kid, I watched Pelé play for the cosmos and it was, he was even beyond the real Pelé, but he was still next level great. That to me is the conversation that I'm interested in hearing, not having, but hearing when, hopefully when Messi wins the World Cup. Wow, we talked about World Cup soccer. I'm so excited. Hey, I don't even know this.

Real quick, just tell me who it is. Who's, do you have a pro side that you root for? Or, I'm sorry, are you a supporter of Josh? I'm not.

I don't. I haven't picked the squad. It used to be Man United when Ronaldo was playing there a long time ago, but since then I haven't followed it as closely. Shiny object guy.

Randy, you have a side you support? Well, I've been getting into football manager on my PC. So currently my, look, I didn't know soccer until I found this football manager on Game Pass.

I'm running Fleetwood FC in League One in England. We're a counter-attacking 4-3-3. We're the fastest team in League One.

The biggest, strongest centerbacks. We counter-attack. We punch you and we like to score goals. So now I'm kind of, I'm kind of looking forward to France now. I mean, Argentina, cause you know, we're the same cloth. Fleetwood FC in League One.

I'm sorry I blacked out. Why not just go play Wrexham? Be Wrexham.

Because it's too easy. You're down there in the National League. You have way more money than everybody else.

Like you can just buy and get out. They're in second place. Wrexham is second behind, was it, Nottingwood or something like that. Knott's Berry Farm.

I don't know. They're making jelly and they're leading the National League right now. Four points clear, but Wrexham AFC has a game in hand.

Why do I know this? I used to run Kingsland Town down there in the National League. Look at you.

After five years of not getting out to League Two, I just, it was heartbreaking, but I had to just quit. Look at Adam. He's beaming. Like we're tickling him by talking about.

I love this. I'm still mad at Dagen Red. I'm still mad at Dagen Red for drawing that final match a couple of years ago. Here's how bad I am with soccer. I asked Aidan Haney, the men's coach at UNCW. I asked him for strategy for my National League team just to try to get out of the leagues.

I have no idea what I'm doing. He's like, just get a big striker and hit crosses. Exactly. That's what Oliver Palmer's about.

That's why Wrexham went out and brought him in during the transfer window. All right, let me, let's talk a little Panthers here. Josh, are they making the playoffs?

No. Why is, why are you so dismissive? Because they're a four and four football team under Steve Wilkes, five and eight on the year, and four of the five wins have come against the NFC. It's kind of like the San Francisco 49ers last night. Oh, can they be a Super Bowl contender? No, they're eight and two against the NFC, two and two against the AFC. And none of those eight wins or 10 games against the NFC were against the two teams that matter, Dallas and Philadelphia. So I don't think Carolina is even going to win Sunday against Pittsburgh because the only AFC team they've beaten is Denver this year. They're 0-3 against the AFC North.

And Sam Darnold hasn't thrown a pick yet through the first two starts in Pittsburgh, second in the NFL in interceptions game. It's, it just feels like it's a little too much too soon. Wilkes should still get the job. I agree.

He has deserved that. And I think that's what this season really ultimately should be about, not this long shot, and I still think it is, of winning the NFC South and hoping that Tampa Bay, who I actually think has a good shot at home against Cincinnati this Sunday, of winning the division. I still think Carolina needs to finish three and one, and I don't see that happening. They have to finish three and one. They're not going to finish two and two unless the, well, I think Tampa's just done, but that doesn't mean they can't win a game because it's the NFL and we've seen anything happen.

Randy, you want to counter, Josh? Well, luckily for the Panthers, they play in the NFC, so that's very advantageous for being dominant against NFC teams. Also, let the record show, in early November, when the Carolina Panthers were getting waxed by my eventual Superbowl champion, Cincinnati Bengals, I tweeted the Panthers have a realistic shot of going nine and eight.

That was when they were, I believe two and six or two and seven at the time. Lo and behold, here we are. They're playing a Steeler team that has given up. They, people want Ben Roethlisberger back in Pittsburgh.

Are you serious? They're asking for Mason Rudolph. The only game, the only game that's worth anything is they played Detroit, which should be a Sunday night football game, but this team has figured out who they are.

They like to beat people up. I don't know how many interceptions Pittsburgh gets, but I know they throw a lot of them. And if you give Carolina the ball more than you should, they will beat you into the ground. They will hold onto the ball and they will somehow win that game. If Sam Darnold doesn't throw it, he can't throw interceptions.

And that's the thing. They have 400 rushing yards the last two weeks against Denver and Seattle, who are five or six of the worst rush defenses in the league. Pittsburgh isn't great against the run, but they're better than that. And Mike Tomlin's a defensive coach that is going to force Sam Darnold to beat him. And when that happens, that's when the interceptions come.

That's what I think is going to happen. There is no doubt that there are no gimmes for the Panthers and it has nothing to do with the opponent. It has everything to do with the Panthers, but Steelers offensively are every bit the mystery that the Panthers are. I would even say more of a mystery because right now Pittsburgh's identity offensively is turning the ball over.

That is their identity. If that doesn't happen, if Mitch Rudolph or Mason Trubisky doesn't throw any interceptions, then they'll be fine and they have a good chance to win that game. But I don't have any faith that Pittsburgh's quarterback is going to be more successful.

I'm not even going to hedge. I think Carolina, believe it or not, will win the quarterback battle and then we'll see if they can create actual points. The real problem for the Panthers, and I've been talking about this earlier in the week, is that I honestly do not know how Carolina moves the ball if they don't move it on the ground. They still only have one receiving target. We're sitting here how many weeks into the season and it's still just DJ Moore.

And frankly, he's been relegated to a supporting role because all they do is run the ball. Whether they make the playoffs or not, they must win this week. The Lions are really good, but the Lions aren't going to win out. So I actually think the Lions are going to beat the Jets this week and the Lions have too far to go to make the playoffs, even though that might also be a nine and eight thing. But the Panthers don't have to worry about the wild card. They only got to worry about the division and the Buccaneers, I think, are toes up.

All right, let me ask one more thing and I'll start with you, Randy. Give me a good reason why we shouldn't have like 80 bowl games. We should have 80 bowl games and here's the thing.

My philosophy on what we need to do to pick these games that aren't playoffs, because let's be honest, if it's not a playoff game it doesn't matter. We should do a draw like they do in soccer tournaments because I would love to see Nick Saban's face when he finds out he's playing in the holiday bowl against the middle Tennessee. That would be a lot of fun to watch that broadcast of just drawing.

Yeah. Drawing the lots of who you play in your bowl games. I would 100% watch that show. I'd like to see the face of the middle Tennessee coach that just figured out you drew. Oh, that would be great.

That would be great. Here's my reasoning on this. Luke DeCock didn't get on board with me here. I don't care. I am looking at this entirely from a player perspective. Going six and six, that's fine. You're bowl eligible. But why should I treat you as a player any different than the guy who practiced however many hours a week, played 12 games and you just weren't on a team that was that good? Why shouldn't you also get the same reward for your season? Okay, so you guys went three and nine. I mean, maybe you lost some tough games. Maybe you had some key injuries. But how about the coaches of those teams also getting practices so they can so they can maybe improve.

It bothers me actually, when you think about setting it up for the teams that always do well to continue doing well. Let's find a city that has a suitable stadium. Do we go into Myrtle Beach? Do we still have a Myrtle Beach Bowl? Yeah, Monday. Do you have a stadium in Wilmington, Randy?

Legion Stadium, it would probably hold enough that would feature a one-win team versus a three-win, you know, mid-American conference team. Let's go to Wilmington and then we'll all meet at the Killwins right there off the corner of Front Street. Let's go to Boom Bilates.

Let's support local Adam. Okay. It sounds like this is the same argument I've been hearing from basketball coaches who are totally not interested in having the incentives in their contracts to make the NCAA tournament or expanding the NCAA tournament. Hey, everybody, college experience, come on, you should all make the tournament, right? I don't care about the, if you're gonna put a, if you're gonna have a clause in your contract that you get a bonus for going six and six, then shame on the athletic director for giving you that bonus. Shame. Like nobody should be, and by the way, that bonus is probably like lunch or, you know, a gift certificate to Killwins, which is fine.

Killwins is an assault on the senses. I just think that the athletes deserve something for just completing a season. That's me. I care about the kids, Josh. You don't care about the kids. You don't care about the kids. Yeah, that's Josh. Put it on my headstone.

Josh Graham doesn't care about the kids. Michael Jordan said something similar apparently, but I can't say that. You'll be right next to Maradona. I bet you Michael Jordan's a fan of Killwins. I bet you.

There's got to be something about that. You and I are going to have to talk later. At Josh Graham Radio, on Twitter, at rslack37 on Twitter, from ESPN Wilmington, Slack on Sports, Josh Graham Sports Hub Triad. Thanks, man. I appreciate you guys doing this. Always a pleasure. All right, that was fun.

That was fun. We couldn't get Randy apparently on video, though, but that was good. Randy has others. He's a busy man. He has all sorts of things to do. Whew. I need a break.