Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome into the WinklerVerse.
I am Bart Winkler, Grant Bittles alongside and Paul Imig. It's time for our Mm-hmm. We will probably have a pick episode with Horvat. I woke up today and I was just, I had a hard time getting out of bed. So, I was the one who said no. Maybe tomorrow.
Oh no. I'm also trying to, if you're on the Dan Cheney YouTube stream, typically my head is down here. I'm trying to get it up here. Mm-hmm. I'm trying to work on my posture. I've got a back curve that's more pronounced than I thought it was. And I'm getting that little hump from looking at my... You've got the thing that scientists have been like speculating about? I think so. I mean, I saw a picture of me and my wife's like, it was me and my kid playing soccer.
And she's like, it's a great picture to send to your dad. I go, no. Cause my back, my, the way I described it is like, if you're making a Lego figure and then instead of putting the head on top, you then use like a two piece Lego and then put the head on the front. I feel like my head sticks out from my body. So you added like a back neck piece to you, to your body? I feel like my head is in front of me. Oh. I feel like my head gets somewhere before I do.
Oh my gosh. Like I, I would, I would win a race, not by like a nose or a chin, but a full head. See, it's an advantage. Like if you ever go into like cross country at your age, you can always win.
Well, you can win if you're equally as fast or flow. But I, I bought, I did buy one of those things that I'm not wearing it right now, but I bought it. Oh, it's like, it like makes you tighter posture device or something. Yeah.
I've not heard of such a thing. Oh, they're all over on Amazon for like 20 bucks, but then I want one that I needed to go all the way down my spine. Or I could just see a doctor, but instead I'm going to try to Amazon prime my way back to health. I'd go the other way, but okay. So I'm going to try to, and this chair is a fold-out chair from Fastlane WWE. You use your Goldberg one for all this? Yeah. I'll, I'll just show it just for the stream.
I'm sitting on a brewer's cushion at least. Okay. Back from the 1980s, I believe. I want to see the Goldberg thing.
That's cooler. March 5, 2017. Goldberg.
Oh my gosh. Is that when Goldberg defeated Bray Wyatt? Kevin Owens.
Kevin Owens. Okay. All right.
Hit me, Paul. Grant two. Brewers or Packers?
Let's start with the Brewers. I heard someone say something on a national radio show last week, and Grant probably didn't hear this. And so Grant can react to it live. I won't say who the person was, who the host was, but someone we know, Grant. And this character said, I think I want the Brewers to be the host of this show. I think I want the Brewers to be the host of this show. I think I want the Brewers to win 65 games next year to reset this era. Yeah.
Without naming names, Grant, I'm going to have you go first. It would, because I'll preface for this person. The reason was like it's playoffs, playoffs, playoffs, but every year it's just wildcard defeat, wildcard defeat. It is annoying. So to snap things back into a fun fan era, the Brewers should only win 65 games next year. That's what you want as a fan or. So the Brewers have won a lot of regular season games and make that smile off your face. The Brewers have wanted a lot of regular season games and got into the playoffs and lost in the first round.
And I'm about to have a discussion with you two knobs that the takeaway, the lesson moving forward is they should win fewer regular season games. Spoiler alert. It was Bart.
I stopped what I was doing, wrote this down in my notepad because what the fuck are you saying Bart? So let me let me are you with meatball? Of course. It was a ridiculous take. Well, yeah, it did just be a lot easier to win one playoff series.
Just win one more playoff game. That would be the better solution. So I kind of, I mean, maybe this is what was in gray was Bart's take, but turned up to 11. So I maybe not. So Bart, explain yourself. Did you see what I just did? I put a bag of Barbies behind me. Cause I need like, I have a bag of Oh God. Sitting up straight hard.
Sitting up straight hard is hard. That too. I really thought you said the other day. I did. Where I was thinking with that is cause Grant and I were talking about how he and I came up with the phrase golden era of Brewers baseball, which do you say is, is Bart trying to get, does he want credit? No, we just were happy to see it have blossomed. I do agree. I don't need credit for that one.
It's like a poet that whose work takes off after they die. Like I, I didn't do that for the glory. I did that.
Cause it was, we did that cause it was the right thing to do at the time. I would like credit for blackout Wednesday, which I came up with. There are things that I would like credit for too, that I know I'm not going to get. And I'll just keep them to myself.
Cause I'll just get, that's always what happens when we go down this path. Did you hear what bill Simmons stole from you? I don't want to talk about what people are stealing from me. The meme team. He said it.
No, I'm just fine. I call them, that's the meme team and nobody else. I want that to someone else will say it though. And they will then become the one who was, I, you probably should put it on the record though, like tweet it. So it's like, I just want to say that on this day at this time, I have been calling it the meme team in case this takes off in the course of the next couple of weeks, I get credit.
But anyway, sorry. I'm getting America's booth to be a thing. When the Packers play in Monday night football this year, and you need to look at the schedule, I will book Joe Buck with bill and I will utilize the 45 seconds with him before patching him through to bill. And I will plant that seed and it will spread like wildfire because Joe will walk away saying that's awesome. And Troy will love it because he's Troy Aikman. Why would he not love being referred to as America's booth? And then he'll say that I will get to catch on. And then he'll say it. Graphics, it'll be it'll be everywhere. Anyways, Mark, say more about your take here.
You want the Brewers to win 65 games to reset? I would say that did you see Twitter this morning is like, hey, we're giving you more money for tweeting. No, I didn't see that. I didn't I wasn't aware we were getting any money. Oh, now they're now they're like, they I got a thing that said make a living on Twitter.
Which means they're going to reward more for engagements, which means it's going to get even worse. Anyway, I feel like I'm the only one fighting this. I've given up. I don't love it I don't love it either.
But I I've stopped caring. My thought is, I'm jealous of the year Detroit's having. Yeah.
Where they, you know, or even Kansas City lost 100 games last year. Yeah. I don't like that we've gotten to a point where making the playoffs is not a formality. I don't want to say it's a formality. It is it was with the Packers for a while.
And it is a box. I think it's an expectation. But even this year, they're they're like, even this year, they're like, no, no, we're not gonna and then they did.
And it's like, oh, well, but also this is the same thing. This is the Brewers path. The Packers path is Super Bowl contender playoff. The Brewers is, oh, let's quell our expectations.
We all say 78 when we all really think 89. Because that's what they've been doing. So I just want a year we're making like I, this just goes back to me wanting the regular season to be fun again. It was a blast this year.
It was an absolute blast start. And that's my own. That's my own where I wasn't as involved because I will.
I don't want to say blame. But you know, there's nights I'm watching things from a national perspective and not. And that's why I'm a little Brewers Reds game on a random Tuesday.
I just I don't hold it against you. Last regular season, I think was a little bit of a slog this year. Because it was different. It was Murphy that like there was lots of there was lots of things that were different about this season.
That were not true of the last couple. Now next year, if we run this back and lose the locker and I Alright, maybe I'll maybe I'll meet you there. But I think again, my take would just simply be winning the playoffs. God damn it. Like that's the solution not missing the playoffs. Right. So we appreciate a playoff loss again.
Right. So I, I'm at the point I'm already resigned that they'll never win a World Series. But I'm at the point where now I'm resigning myself that they're not going to win a playoff series again. So if this is what we're going to do, like if this is the norm, then I would like it to come on a year we're making the playoffs feel special.
I also really can't stress enough how I do want them to be bad. In the formative years of my son's life, where I can take him to games cheaper. But but for games, unlike box games, they're not cost prohibitive.
No, but even you know, when we had the seats that we got on TV, we were all the way down the first baseline at like a weird angle. And those are still 80 bucks. Each. It was a weekend game. Okay.
Well, with fees, Paul. Who are they playing? I mean, like, was it like a marquee Sunday or something? It was September. I'm trying to remember who it was. Why can't I remember it? It's bothering me.
I were into it. Jared Caning got the save. Oh, who was it? Yeah, it was against the A's.
Was it the A's? No, no, I can tell you. I got it.
You really don't remember who it was again? No. Oh, it's gonna be Oh, oh, it's close. No, no, I lost it. Um, oh, I got it.
Well, you got it. They're still playing. Oh, it wasn't the bet. It wasn't that final met series. Was it? No, but they're still in the playoffs. Doo, doo, doo, doo. Yeah. I was there before. Oh, what a good series.
They're still in the playoffs as of this recording. Was it August or was it September? August, mid August.
Okay. You said September, I think, Bart. So I was like, I did at first.
Make some memories you made with your son, huh? Also, the Mets. Like they are going to win.
They're going to the World Series. Yeah, because they did the thing. Guys.
I said this on Bill's show earlier today. The brew, the Brewers have it figured out. You need to build a team that's just good enough to get in and to get hot. You win that first round and then you have to play in the first round.
Yeah. And they played in the first round every year. They have it. They just don't win the the games. That's the only thing they're doing wrong is they're losing the baseball games.
Everything else they're doing an outstanding job. So Devin Williams obviously had a rough go of things and you kind of think like, boy, I'd really like to get into a closer's head. Maybe like an all time closer tonight on the Bart Winkler show, we will be talking with Trevor Hoffman. Oh, wow.
Eleven twenty p.m. Central Standard Time. Wow. Sweet. Now there was a pitcher who led his arsenal with the changeup and was effective in big spots. Unlike Devin Williams. Should I ask him, was breaking the record in Milwaukee a little underwhelming? Do you agree with Jesse Winkler? Do you hate Milwaukee? Yeah, just Jesse Winkler has become this legend because he sucked.
I mean, he's he just like sucked it now. So anyway, that's why I just want to take my kid to cheap games. I also want to enjoy getting to the playoffs more. This is an incredibly selfish take that I'm only thinking of myself. Okay. I don't want much more of this to say, but I just had to at least bring up what I heard.
Let Grant make sure Grant could hear this silliness. I do think so. What I'll reference is the twenty twenty three packer season. We talked about it. The three of us was going to be a fun season. You were going to get to discover if your quarterback was the guy for the future or not.
You had no expectations. If it went poorly, you'd say, yeah, I mean, you know, that's kind of what we thought. And we're going to get a good draft pick or it starts going well. And you're going to say like, whoa, like this. So like the idea of what you're saying, you like, again, you might have had a take and you just turned it up to eleven for the sake of the show and the, you know, whatever. The idea is we are. Okay.
You didn't. Yeah. But the idea is that, yeah, like last year's packer season was the fun thing. What the Tigers fans are getting to do right now is the fun thing.
The Royals fans, that's the fun thing, having minimal to no expectations and then doing something with it. It's like if there actually was such thing as a Marlins fan, what they've been through in their franchise's existence when the World Series dump everybody for salary reasons. That one, Paul, I think the better example is actually Tampa.
The the Buccaneers. Oh, yeah, because the Marlins, the Marlins were like they bought and, you know, it's clear what they did. Yeah, but it worked. Yeah. But I but I think there's, you know, I think there's more Buccaneers fans than there are Marlins fans. Yes.
I don't know. I've shifted to using Tampa in that argument. It's I mean, it's it's it's a good these two things aren't mutually exclusive. You can be competitive and have expectations and win. But like look what the Mets did. The Mets spent $500 million on a payroll sucked. Now their payroll is like what 499 but somehow they got it to where they're the plucky underdogs.
And yeah, like it's working. I don't I don't I don't I do not give I don't give a darn what label is assigned to my team. I just want them to win a playoff series.
I don't care the framing. I don't I don't care about any of the rest of it. I just want them to get out of the first round. So I know this is like, I think I would have loved if the season ended last night, instead of 100%. Even though I did hear a portion of your show, Bart, where you played a clip from Phillies fans, which was an amazing clip of Phillies fans. We still might have had that like it's not like we were like, Oh, shucks, I guess we're not going to the NLCS. One guy goes, Okay, goes, I'm already in the fifth stage of grief, acceptance, acceptance that this team will never win. The most impressive thing is that guy was very likely you know, like six or seven deep and still was quite timely with his comedy.
Grant any other thoughts on the Brewers before we put it? I thought that I really liked Matt Arnold. And he is super gracious with the media. The two times I was there this summer, he was down in the dugout and just enjoyed talking baseball off the record with reporters and just shooting the breeze.
He mentioned that in his presser today. I thought the Brewers beat who I love. I think they all are very good. And I love their work. I thought Bruce fans were underserved in that presser today. Well, then you should have played the Brewers. Well, then you should have been there grant.
And I was waiting for Wagner to tweet that back at me. I'm like, I have a fucking I'm sorry, I'm trying not to swear. This is like, like my only outlet where I actually get to be like, upset. So I'm sorry. I but I couldn't be there. But I actually couldn't.
I am in this padded room by myself for nine hours a day. But I couldn't have been. But if I would have been there, I would have said, Matt, it's great that you guys have made the playoffs as much as you have.
It was an awesome year with Murph. There's certainly a lot to celebrate with this franchise. But there's a large portion of fans that believe that this isn't good enough. And they're really frustrated. And they're left wondering after last Thursday night, if not, then when is this ever going to happen? So what would you say to those Brewers fans? And that question wasn't asked.
It wasn't even like, was even skirted. It was like, what was your favorite Murphy moment? What are you proud of? Well, so great. And some of that is okay. But that can't be the whole press conference. Right.
Well, so great. I mean nothing by this question. Are you a question asker at press? Have you?
Yeah. If you're going to go, you should have to participate. I think you should have to. Not everyone agrees with. I didn't do shit at media day.
Well, I don't know. If I'm going somewhere, if I'm taking the time to get a credential and go, part of the reason you should go as a radio person, as a B reporter, it's different. But as a radio person, if you're going to go, I think part of the motivation behind that is I talk smack behind a microphone. I should also have to go, not talk smack to these people's faces, but I should have to interact with them as humans. Right.
That's that's why. Let's say you go to bucks. Let's say you go to bucks media day and you sit in the crowd, a few rows back, you're really just a blur. And then a week later, you run into one of the people from Bucks, the Bucks, maybe Yanis, at a joint function with your children.
This is hypothetical. Yeah. Do you say hi? Do you do anything? Does he think you're just a fan?
And let's say also that you're wearing your Golden State Warriors hat at the time. Is there no part of you, you've talked about this scenario on your show before, right? That you, there's a place like, this is something you've discussed, right? Yeah.
Okay. So you see him at swimming. Is there not part of you deep down that's like, wouldn't it be cool if the kids ended up being friends and do play dates and stuff?
There's no part of you that your mind goes there. It's like, that'd be kind of sick. I would. Would it be cool if my kid was... Have you kicked around the possibility that you could pull that off?
That's what I'm asking. I mean, I've thought of every scenario. Okay.
None of them end good for me. I'll answer your question, Bart, to say, early in my journalistic career, I 100%, I was younger, bolder, dumber. I definitely would have been like, hey, Yanis, Paul, Fox Sports, Wisconsin. What's up, man?
Good to see you again. I would have like played... I'm sure I would have. I'm sure 25 year old me would have done that. Now I would just be like, I've done most likely nothing.
I mean, I walked right by Adam McAlvey at a concert at the Festgrounds two weeks ago and I got scared. I didn't say anything. And I had seen him a week and a half before. So I... No, I wouldn't say anything. No, I wouldn't if I were you, Bart.
But if you do, I don't think it's bad. Part of me, Grant, thinks though that in two years, you'll do that differently. And what I'll reference is Radio Row, Grant. No, I wish I would have said something that was a miss by me. Well, not just because of McAlvey, who understandably you're starstruck by, but like... A little by me. Have you seen Adam McAlvey?
He's an awesome dude. Like, are you performing? He walked by and I'm like, is this... No, that's right. I'm not here to see McAlvey. But you lived it up at Radio Row. You came out of that shell, right? Well, I had to.
But you did. It's a different environment. It's a different environment. I know.
Hey, I'm very much a situation specific guy where it's like, I could do it here, but I couldn't do it there. Totally. I'm with you. All right.
Ready for pivot? If I was like, Eric name, I'd be like, what's up? But I'm like, I showed up to a media day and the last time I actually talked to him was seven years ago.
What if you were Jimmo? Wait, is that how long you've been... That you haven't been with name at all? No, the last time that I directly asked Giannis a question. Oh, I'm sorry. I got you.
Was at a media day and I mean, Thonmaker was on the team. That's a while ago. All right, Paul. Paul, you've wanted to move on. Although this is interesting conversation.
I'm enjoying this. We can. I'm always just kind of waiting for like, does Bart have more? Does Grant have more? Okay.
Well, I do have more. I have more savings for you at happyplacehemp.com. The promo code is Bart. 25% off.
25. I had to get Grant in there. You liked that one.
Well, it's just funny. You just sent it. I just went right in. Send it in. Send it to Goodell. We got the happy place hemp part of the show. Send it. Get it on the podium.
25% off each and every order. I think this weekend we're going to up the dosage. We'll see. I got to figure that out, but I am going to continue to do what I've been doing on the way home. Maybe 10 minutes out. Put in the CBDC in and then I get home.
Look at my phone for a few. Fall asleep. The nights where I take the gummy and where I don't take the gummy are it's night and day in the most literal sense. Either I have a good night or I'm up until day because I have a history of sleeping problems. I don't know why.
Then you get some weird dreams maybe sometimes, but that's part of the fun. Happy Place Hemp. Promo code Bart. 25% off every order. Go to the website. Browse around. You can get sample packs if you just want to mess with some stuff and try some stuff.
That's the fun of it. The Seltzer is very popular. We had a guy from Hawaii that listens to the show ask for a whole box. That was nice. If you're that guy, send me a DM or as boomers still say a PM. Happyplacehemp.com promo code Bart. Do you know what I'm talking about when I say send me a PM? Personal message. I have an SMS. Private message? When Facebook started it was called personal messages. Then Twitter came into direct messages. I'll still see people on Facebook. One guy I used to work with on radio is always like PM me.
I'll let you know. It bugs me so hard. I remember PM in my formative years when I first was on Facebook. People were saying PM. People were saying PM.
DMs became more of a thing via Instagram. I can't believe that. I hate when people say via. That's a pet peeve of my own.
I cut that from the pod, Tim. Thank you. Now we all love PM Dawn, the popular 90s hip hop artist. I don't know who that is. I'd play the song. Can you give me a hint? I'll send it to you on the number one preferred podcast listening site, non-Odyssey division, Spotify. I don't think I'll be able to open it.
Paul's an Apple Music guy. Which I knew. No wrapped at the end of the year for you, dude. No.
Which I would like to have. No left out. I can't wait to share my wrapped with you, Bart. I cannot wait to share my wrapped. It's going to be a lot of Paw Patrol soundtrack and a lot of Halloween songs because that trend's continuing. People, blow ups, people that decorate their homes. We've got two full-fledged skeletons sitting on chairs in the front yard waving to adorners passing by.
Nice. Yeah, we went for it, dude. Yeah, we're decorating. We do it up too. We do it up too. We have mums on our railing.
Fucking awesome, dude. I think they look nice. I'm sure they do.
You being a prick right now or do you actually like, I think mums are great. Anything? I don't know. Sure.
The world is a canvas and we each get our own slice of it and it'd be foolish not to express it in the way that you want and join the fun. Ryan Wood is battling with Packers fans. I'm glad you're bringing this up, by the way. This is good. Thank you, Paul.
You're welcome. I'm excited to talk about it. Ryan Wood is battling with Packers fans on social media. Ryan Wood says it's not his opinion and he's not hot taking and he's just telling like it is, which is that Jordan Love has been bad this season. So, Ryan Wood, Jordan Love has been bad this season. I know I'm speaking for you, Ryan.
Yeah, I mean, he would say. Barton Grant, Jordan Love in his three starts this season has been, I'll call it a below average. You can say bad if you want, Ryan.
Starting NFL quarterback or Grant. Not bad, but I'm with Ryan Wood that he hasn't been good enough. I think if Ryan were here and gave his piece on this, he would say, no, he hasn't been bad.
He just hasn't played to the level the Packers need him to play to for this contract and to go on a run. I feel like if I go look at his tweets, he might have said bad. I'll confirm that.
I'll confirm that. I have seen people on Packers Twitter is like, well, you know, that one guy's becoming the anti Jordan Love guy. And I never read it that way.
I think Ryan Woods. I agree. It's been interesting to watch like, and again, like some people are reading it with how they're reading it. But also granted goes back to like, if you are going to tweet these things, well, at least then go interview the person. Right. So Ryan, he's putting these things publicly and then he's got to go ask Jordan questions. So he's clearly standing behind it. It's not like he's like, okay, well, I can just say this and then hide in the corner and cover the team without talking to the quarterback.
So anyway, sorry, you keep going. Do you think Jordan Love would say that he's played his best football this year so far? If you'd ask him? No, obviously not. He's only played three games. One was in South America on a really slippery field. One was coming back from a knee injury. And then the one after that, like, and then the one after that was probably his best save for a bad decision to throw out of the end zone, which I, I don't, I don't know. No, that was, that's an extraordinarily Will Levis style bad decision. Yeah. I mean, Will Levis did that.
Will Levis did that in, in field goal range. Like Jordan Love is trying to avoid a safety. It's a bad decision, but people are like, they're like a historically bad. I don't know if it's about, okay.
Yeah. Look, look, we don't need to, by the way, my answer is my answer is actually going to be pro love, but that particular decision was here's, here's, here's what I'll say. Here's what I'll say. If this is how Jordan Love plays the rest of the year, it won't be good enough for the Packers to go on a run. And if he keeps playing like this, he won't live up to the contract he just got. And I think that's the point that Ryan Wood is making. And I think that's a very fair point. That's not to say that like, I don't think Jordan Love is going to play like this all year.
I just, I think he's more of a rhythm thrower, suffering injury, weird game, but I don't think Ryan is lying or making things up about how Jordan Love has played so far this year. Yeah. Regarding the interception.
Go ahead. Regarding the interception, he was smart to think. I don't want to give up a safety in the way that you're smart to say like, oh, there's a deer in the road. I don't want to run straight into this deer. So he swerved out of the road.
Okay. But what he didn't consider was, well, now he's swerving into oncoming traffic. So he made an immediate decision to prevent something bad from happening, focused on that, not thinking, oh, there's a chance I don't miraculously get this out of bounds and it's picked off for a two yard return.
Right. It was still about as bad as it, like, if you're ever like, what Grant? Well, I was just going to say from a watchability standpoint, me watching at home, I'm like, all right, just give us the ball back. Who gives a shit? Like, I almost prefer that to give them two points. I'll punt them the ball. I'm like, just take six, give us the ball before half. I was, from a watchability standpoint, I was fucking fine with it, but I didn't watch it and be like, oh, no, we've made a huge mistake. Right. It was like, well, that was a very bad moment. Right.
In what we hope is a nice career. A lot of things at play here. Can I read a couple of the Ryan tweets real quick or at least response? Yes. No. The ball, this is in reference to Dontavian Wicks, but you'll see why it's about love. Uh, the ball being dropped does not mean Jordan loves pass was accurate here.
Ready? Hashtag two things can be true. I knew it. Well, he did. The ball should have been caught, as I said, but love had a TD. If he hit wicks and stride down the sideline and he did not, then he went on to say, and a different response to which someone says, you do hate on Jordan love every week, by the way. And Ryan responds, he has not been good this season. His passer rating is 89.55. His completion percentage is 56.1. There's a standard of play of Packers need him to reach stating that he is stating that fact is not hate calling poor play. Good is delusional.
Nothing about this is personal. This is just a moronic reaction. He was saying to the tweeter, um, anyway, you go, but it's wanting to get back to the classic beat writer, by the way, behavior on Twitter. Like let me respond to this with as many words as possible. I've got so much circling around here.
I hope it comes out in a, in a way that makes sense. I'm going to turn my mic off cook. Aaron Rogers played at a level where he, the Packers needed him to be the MVP. They built a roster where they needed him to be the MVP. The bills have done the same thing now with Josh Allen. They have a good roster. If Josh Allen plays like an MVP, then they can get to the NFC AFC championship game where they will lose. That was the way that this roster was built. This Packers roster and the attention they're giving the defense with a new coordinator. And they thought they were giving the special teams with a false God at that position.
I don't know. It seems like Jordan love doesn't need to it seems like Jordan love doesn't need to play at an MVP level for them to have success, but we're so used to our quarterbacks needing to do that. Oh, but then he got paid as an MVP player with the $55 million.
All right. Who else is making 55 million? Joe burrow. Well, he's one in four, uh, Trevor Lawrence, same thing.
So the 55 million isn't like it doesn't anywhere from 40 to 55, you're making a decision. Do we want our quarterback or do we want to try to find a new one? Is this guy good enough to continue? And he was good enough to continue.
Good take. Now, if he's played like this, if this is the sample size, we get these three games and then you're like, okay, you want to pay him 55 million? You're probably like, well, I don't, I mean, is this the best that he's going to be? And then to what grant was saying, crazy way to start the season coming back from injury in which he's under through everything and not even under through, but like the accuracy was so bad. He's throwing a guy's feet all the time. That was better in game, uh, the game against the Rams. It got better in the second half against the Vikings too, to be fair. Like, yeah, especially in the second half of both of these games, like Niners have a quarterback in Brock Purdy. That's amazing in the first half.
And then he's throwing picks all over plays in the second half. You want that? Or you want a guy to, to improve? So if you're looking at Jordan love 2024 and saying, this is all, you know, of them, would you pay him $55 million? I think a lot of us would be like, I'm not ready to do that.
And also last year, it was kind of the same thing where it built and built and built. Jordan love is a good quarterback. He has played, he has done some uncharacteristic things that we thought were uncharacteristic that have maybe lowered us to think he's not playing as good as we think or know him to be. I'm not as worried about as bad as it was that interception, because again, you're trying to avoid one thing and then you forgot about the other thing that comes in time.
Perhaps. Um, what I'm worried about is he doesn't throw into double coverage. He throws into single coverage or triple coverage, never double coverage, single or triple. That Jaden Reed catch was amazing and will be on every Jaden Reed highlight for the end of time.
Yeah. I mean, I'm looking at that pass and being like, I think there's more problems there than with anything he threw to Wix. Well, did you, did you hear the follow up on that? That I think love was asked about whatever day that was Wednesday, maybe that he said he talked with Tom Clements about it. And then love was asked after talking with Clements about it, will you be making that throw again? And love said never. So even though it was successful, you know, I am not worried that Jordan love is not going to live up to the contract.
That's I mean, that's an interesting way to think about it unless you and, and, but some people might, but it's just, it just depends on what do you expect out of the contract. So if you expect $55 million to be Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, I expect it to be more than, you know, what I said it was where you just pay a guy, like I expect Jordan love to continue the long line of success. The Packard quarterbacks have had maybe not at a hall of fame level, but certainly where the quarterback is not a constant worry weekend and week out Jordan love. There's all this discussion at no point was there like, well, they should go back to Malik Willis. People are at least smart enough to know like he is the starting quarterback at a far superior level.
So yeah, he's had a wacky start to the season. That concerns me. None.
Well, long-term concerns, you know, short-term concerns you none also. Well, I think they're going to beat the Cardinals. Okay. Who do they got after that? Texans.
Ah, geez. It's hard to win in this league, man. There's not. But I would add to this into what you were saying. I think what Jordan love needs to always be each year of this contract is on the bar to meter for best quarterbacks. It's better, but better than he was before to a little bit. Not necessarily. I think if he is in the top eight to top 10, always like, it's not like, well, he's kind of like 14 right now.
Oh, now he's seven. Like, I think he needs to always consistently be during the length of a contract that he's being paid. Like, I think he needs to always be unquestioned a top 10, top eight color, which is not as good right now in this jointed start. Then he was at the end of last year. Right. And there's plenty of reasons for that.
So that's what people want. But you, again, you don't hear anyone saying, go to Malik, will you don't even hear anyone saying, oh, I wish we should go to Malik Willis. You don't even hear anyone saying, oh, I wish we still had Rogers. You didn't hear any of that. Thankfully. I mean, did you hear my Rogers thing last night at all?
I heard the first couple hours. So yes. So my thing, Grant, was Rogers, here's point A, here's point B. If you ask Rogers, did you get Salah fired? The, the shortest line between that is, hey, Woody, please fire Salah. So he will say, no, I didn't get, I didn't get Salah fired, but he actually did.
He went, all right, this one. And eventually he got to point, his actions and behavior over the course of a year and a half led to Salah's firing. So if you ask Rogers point blank, did you get Salah fired?
He will say no, and he will believe it with the language that he believes. But yes, Rogers, Rogers eventually led to Salah's firing. But if you say got you fired, it's different than led to. And you know, you know how particular he is. Well, and I, it turns into a different discussion is like, was it Roger's responsibility to save Robert Salah's job? And that's a LeBron thing. I think, I think what he called him and said, and said, Dan dance around like, well, you know, I might be, I might be forced to make a change.
I almost guarantee there was some version of that. And, and you didn't think Robert Salah was a good coach. You've bitched about him for years at that moment during that phone call, do you want Aaron Rogers to go?
No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Like it's, that's not his job. You know, also back to a Jordan Love Point where it's like, we, he doesn't need to be Patrick Mahomes. There is a middle ground between how he's played and how he's played.
And MVP like there, those aren't the only two options. Like there, there is a middle ground of quality quarterback play that he is failing to reach right now. Yeah.
Just to address, just to circle back to piggyback diving board off of something. I'm guessing I've said enough in this to make you think that I'm actually like teetering. I'm not, uh, love has not through the three games he's played been good enough. Um, their record being one in two with him. Like, I think if he had played better, like you at least, I mean, these games don't come down to mini plays. Right. But like presumably they are better if he plays better.
Like they have a better record than one in two with him if, if they had, if he had played better. So no, I have no long-term concern. Like if we revisit this question every five games for the rest of the Jordan love contract and we say, Jordan love will live up to this contract or like, I think my answer every time we'll be like, yeah, I mean, I think so because I think he'll always be a top eight to 10 quarterback. I'm not, I'm not so high to the pie high on him to the point where it was like, well, yeah, this is a top three quarterback in the next three years. Like, I don't think it is.
It's probably not. Um, but if he can stay in that top eight to 10, I think it'll be right. All right. I got a bucks one to conclude. Sound good?
Yes, sir. There was a ranking that I saw of the NBA's we'll do a bucks one. I'm I'm I saw bucks and pistons on TV. I only watched two minutes of it, but I just saw it on the DVR and I was like, oh hell yeah. Like I just loved seeing like bucks, pistons, and there's the fucking pistons, but still I was, I just loved seeing it.
A visual was really stimulating. One of my son's dad's plays for them. My son's friend's dad's I meant that's a lot different of a phrase. Yeah, it is.
Shay host. Cut it. There was a list of the NBA's best number three players. So the third best player in every team was chosen by here's the third best player and then ranked. Uh, where do you think Chris Middleton, we, if we can agree, maybe we'd say Brook Lopez is the third best player, but if you were to take this at, I'm just saying, I don't know what you say.
I don't think so either. Middleton is the bucks, third best player. Where do you think without seeing the list, where do you think Middleton is ranked among? Who did the ranking?
I have the list here. Um, I thought it was nba.com. I, I, so I have a screenshot, but I don't have where like, it's not large enough.
So I have a screenshot, but I don't have where like, it's not large enough to expand where I can see the, depending on the writer, I'm not going to go any higher than 13 and I'm going to say probably 21. So it was Yahoo sports. Okay.
Um, I can see enough. So it actually was, yes. Thank you. Appreciate you. 17 grant. Where would you guess?
I'd probably say like 15 to 20, but based on the way you're setting this up, it's probably like 25 encouraged then that 11. Hmm. So tell me if you have any issues with any of this guy's smoke. Middleton ain't that he melts.
It sucks. So let me tell you the guys he's in front of, let me, you want to know the guys that are in front of him or that he's in front of. I want the whole list. The guys through 30. Middleton is a better player and I'll go in order from one.
Just, just go through this quick one. Middleton is better than Paul George. The six, Paul George is one. Paul George is the number one ranked third best player on this. Jake Fisher, Yahoo sports list. Who else do the Clippers have?
No, he's a 76 or Bart. Oh my God. What month is it?
Maxie and MB is the answer to this. God, I got all this shit to refresh. Did you guys know Russell Westbrook is on the nuggets? All right. Paul George is number one. He's no LeBron plays with his son. That one. I know, you know, because that's your national story. Rudy go bears. Number two. This was actually, this was pre towns trade. So maybe go bears. There's like a best player down.
I don't know. Chris stops. Number three, Chet Holmgren is fourth. Desmond Bayne. Holmgren should be one on this list.
I love Chet Holmgren. Evan Mobley, Cavs six, DeMar DeRozan. Who's DeMar DeRozan play for the Kings? I don't know Grant. Oh, uh, who is the player you mentioned before DeRozan.
I already forgot. There's no way in shit. He should be that high.
There's not a chance. He's also a head of McHale bridges, who they have as the next third best player and eighth on this list. I think bridges should be, these are apples and bowling balls. Like all of these players play wildly different positions and do wildly different things. Well, you would say like, yeah, I mean, of course it's been to your two best players are that ninth is Draymond. I mean, that's, that's really high. Okay. Right.
He's launching a football show with insider Jordan Schultz. Oh no. With your guys.
I'll send you the link. Oh, bar. That's terrible. There's miles. Turner is 10 and then middle. Turner's good. Like every other month he is. Yeah. He's a good stretch.
And then he goes away. Middleton is 11. All right.
Then I'll just quick, go quickly. DeJounte Murray, pelicans 12 Fred van Vliet rockets, 13 Bradley Beals sons, 14 Colby white bulls, 15 Jalen Johnson Hawks, 16 Brandon Miller, Hornets, Michael Porter, junior nuggets, clay Thompson, Mavericks 19. Jalen Suggs Tyler hero is 21st.
Austin Reeves, 22nd Zubats from the Clippers. All right. This list is just so hard to like put any of these guys together in any form.
So the only version of a list where they're all like together, I think my job is really dumb. Like I'll come home at the end of the day and she'll be like, how was your day? I'm like, good. The jets fired their coach.
That gave us a lot of, you know, like what does that even mean? You know, right. If I had to come home, you're like, how's your day? Like I ranked the best third options in the NBA. I'm leaving you.
That's so dumb. Jake Fisher's good. Like he's a good writer. I like him, but whatever.
All right. I like these kinds of lists. I mean, not, not to get angry over, but just of like, Oh, how do other people value the talents of these people? And I certainly would not have Draymond nine. I mean, would you trade Chris Middleton for X player above him?
That's always how I approach stuff like this. Do you guys believe Bradley Beal? I do not believe Bradley Beal.
No. Paul Henning had Paul Henning had the juice on that. He said that Bradley Beal was lying. It was actually his wife that put the kibosh on that. It wasn't Bradley Beal who was like, that doesn't seem right. It was his wife saying there's no way in hell.
I want to go live in Milwaukee. I'm glad he didn't. I mean, let's be clear. Like not that Middleton is the personification of like health, but Beal, I just, well, neither guy, they both, I've not looked at like their games played, but I don't, I would say like the worst thing that could have happened to get me hyped for buck season. I just told you I'm excited for it. I saw a graphic on the screen. It was enough to get me going, but when it was like, you get that, that tweet, I don't remember who it was wasn't whoa. And it was, you just get the notification Middleton to likely miss start of camp is from a few weeks ago, obviously.
And I was like, Oh, for fuck. You know, like I have just this predetermination that you're going to get a Middleton injury note. And it's like, it doesn't matter. It's October, right? Like this wouldn't matter if it was January, let alone October.
I think when I sent that to you guys, Bart's response is sit him until March. And you know, like, sure. Okay. Like, right.
Like just have them healthy for April, May, June. But that's all I got. Speaking of the NBA, I think LeBron is right. By the way, why are they flying to Milwaukee for a while? That's the Lakers fault.
Sure. Oh, okay. I like, I'm not, it's, it's how it was scheduled, but it is stupid.
Like, I'm not saying that it's stupid for any person, but it, it is dumb. And they usually don't, that's a long flight. It usually is just like, I think a couple of years ago it was grizzlies and bulls. Like, yeah, bucks always play the ball. Who's even the bucks playing? They played the pistons.
Well, I know the Lakers preseason scheduled to a T now. Yeah. They play the bulls again. Yeah. They play the Mavs.
Oh, they do play the bulls. Did you guys see what JJ Redick said to that opponent or opponent that reporter when asked about Rui Hachimura? Yeah.
It made me want to end myself. Bart, did you see that? No. Where the reporter was like, JJ, I don't remember which reporter it was, but it was like basically JJ, like, like, how can Rui play the ball?
Like, how can Rui take the next steps under your coaching? You know what I mean? Like classic, classic Paul, you've been on a beat.
That's a classic question. A guy who's been here a couple of years, had some nice moments. How can you maybe help take this guy to the next level? And JJ was like, what do you mean next level? And the reporter's like, I don't know. I don't even really care.
I'm just doing my job. And JJ is like, well, you tell me you're the one creating this narrative. I'm like, he's going to be like that all year. I know.
And it's going to suck. He's going to be insufferable for sure. And to be clear, there's not a chance the reporter cared. I don't remember who it was, but the reporter is like, I don't know, man.
Can you just say something about him, please? This has got to be in by three. I'm going to look, I want to know who it was now. I'm going to look it up. Not that it matters, but.
Grant, I think you shine in the, in like, in the mold of like, I'm just here to do my job. And like, I'm not even particularly proud of it, but like, you know, just, can we just move on? Does this have to be a thing that gets aggregated by NBA central? Yeah. Also speaking of aggregation, Mac, if you do want to host a talk show or not, do you want to host the biggest sports talk show in the world and make all the money with all the big guests?
Cause if so, it's going to get aggregated. And every time you have a guest, it's so annoying. And you're like, well, that's going to get clipped. And then the guest, I don't care. What'd you say?
Sorry. Don't they ever like, just take a snippet of something and then talk about it. It's called a breakout clip for Christ's sake. Every show tweet.
Well, I can't see him. Cause I'm, I have been, I have had my tweet years ago featured on the Pat McAfee show. I know they clip things. Did you really? When, when Kevin Durant's security guard tackled PJ Tucker during the playoffs. Remember that? Yeah. Oh yeah. That was my tweet that McAfee picked up.
Are we getting TJ Tucker back? What's that? I saw the report that we are leading the sweepstakes to sweepstakes.
That was how it was phrased. I thought it was pretty silly, but you know what? Like it worked last time. I mean, I don't care. I just don't care. I just don't. Who are they going to get rid of?
It'd have to be Pat. Which I don't care. All right.
Well guys, always a pleasure. Anything you want to promote now that we're 50 minutes in Pat for PJ Tucker, who gives a fuck Paul, you got any appearances you want to promote? None. Thank you though. Grant. Uh, I'll be off tomorrow.
So the show you will hear will be a best of, and I swear Friday show. No, great. I'm not.
Grant just put it off. Don't I look kind of baked right now? You said earlier that the happy place hemp gives you weird dreams. I find it to be the opposite. I don't dream at all.
When I go to bed under the influence, when I go to bed sober, it gets wild in my mind. Do you have anything to promote tomorrow? Well, my point is I'm off tomorrow and you wouldn't believe how many people I play stingers going in and out of segments where it's like, you're listening to the best of, and I'll get tweets like people engaging with the content.
I'm like, I guess this content is serving the role. It needs to serve for you tonight, which I guess is, I guess is a good thing, but like you can't watermark an audio project that it's prerecorded. Yeah. Go ahead. You go. Well, I I've gotten into this bad habit too, where I'm just like, well, it's already prerecorded.
What does it matter if it's even up to date? You know, like, so I'll run, like I was off two weeks ago. I'll probably run the same best of tomorrow night. Like, I don't think, I don't think you're burned out yet, grant.
You have a lot of good energy and everything, but like, I know you do, but like a lot of your comments, it's very, it's so cynical. I love that. I did a segment in Fondy where me and a couple other people tasted these different sodas from Rocket Fizz, this company that makes like bacon soda and ranch soda. And it was classic morning radio. And that thing probably ended up running 15 to 20 different mornings as part of best doves. I can only run this. I can only run my page, but it was evergreen. You need evergreen.
I know, but I need more evergreen things. The problem, the problem is, and this is what I think is unfair. If I'm taking a vacation day, I shouldn't have to spend two hours out of a previous work day. Like that's my off day. Well, it's not, Hey, you won't be at work Friday. So do all of your work ahead of time. Some work. Yes.
Paul, don't give me that. Look, a reasonable amount of work, a reasonable amount of work, which is, should be minimal. Do you disagree?
All I would say is if you ever leave the sports industry, that will not, that part of what you're explaining will not change. I don't, I don't, if I'm at, if I'm a doctor, if I'm taking Friday off, am I just supposed to see all of my Friday patients on Thursday? Maybe teachers though, they got to do a lesson plan for the sub. Sure.
Sure. And also you will still see all of your patients, Dr. Bill's just in a, like you'll just have a longer Thursday and a longer Monday to make up for the fact. I'm not saying it's a good thing. I really need to get going, but we got to start a radio movement where Fridays is a weekend. I mean, I'm five days a week is fucking killing me. It really is five shows a week.
High octane. It's hard. Bar, you did all the wall, man. You did the thing the other night where he's, and it was, you did it intentionally for comedy value, but you said, all right, everyone have a great night. Oh, I have one more hour to go. Everybody will be back after this. Oh, I felt like my final hour. I think you were joking.
All right, guys, always a pleasure. Do you have Bartle meter and are you once again, ignoring my great suggestion? Yeah. Bartle meter is most hated NFL players.
Ooh. I mean, Deshaun's one in a landslide. I really got, cause I got, I kind of like the Browns to beat the Eagles this weekend and get Nick Sirianni fired in one fell swoop.
That's my, that's my hope for this weekend. Um, will you ask Christian McCaffrey's eight DAC, Kelsey Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, Russell Wilson, kickers comma all Rogers Deshaun Watson. Those are most hated. Yeah. Who was four or three? Uh, Russell Wilson.
Yeah. I mean, even that he could be, he could Tyreek Hill, the two popular chiefs. Now I could say Harrison bucker, but it's an election. Let's leave politics out of it. Thank you. But he is in the list with kickers and I'll say, oh, you guys like Harrison bucker. I don't know.
I'll do that by the way. Joel Klatt yesterday on with cowherd said coward, you flip-flop more than Kamala. And I'm like, Oh, there's a, Oh, Klatt responds to fake Elon accounts that he thinks are given away like free Teslas. We all, we all know, we all know Klatt story. Yeah.
I just, I just thought it was funny. He's a brilliant broadcaster though. He is God.
He can God, he can broadcast. You are correct. All right. Well, you have to go Bart. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Thank you all for stopping into the Winkler verse. See you guys.
