The Concept of a Wallet App

This is the Drive with Josh Graham podcast. For internet sensations, guys. Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons, 3-7 on WSJS. We're on a Thursday drive. It is WSJS, News Tongue Sports for the Triad.

We're sent C.J. Stroud's out again for Houston. Bill's Texans isn't the marquee tonight. You can listen to the game on WSJS, but. It just might be college basketball involving one of our locals that gets top billing.

And we'll get to hoops in just a little bit. But first, a look at the marquee football game in our state this weekend. Phew the Michael Jordan. And I took that personal meme. Because for North Carolina, Saturday's game against Duke is going to be personal.

And that's especially the case, believe it or not. for Bill Balichak. Remember his introductory press conference last December? How could you forget it? It's on ESBN, NFL Network, FS One interrupting Colin Cowherd's show.

Every local channel down here Had it. on everybody was watching. And during the presser He held up the UNC sweatshirt that his dad wore. As a tar heel assistant for three years between 1953 through 1955. Bill shared with everyone that his first words were, quote, Beat Duke.

Here was Bill this week. About eleven months later, When asked about What this rivalry game means to him. It was the game. That was the game. I mean, I I don't think it's Army, Navy, but it's that kind of type of game.

and my whole life I've been involved. And grew up in an Army-Avia rivalry. I was a little too young for the Duke UNC rivalry before we left Chapel Hill. I went to Annapolis. But from the time I was the littlest kid in Annapolis, when it was Army, Navy was...

You know, there was 10 games and then there was, or however many games there were, and then it was Army. And so You know, here you got a couple other state games like Wake Four, Since State, and Mouse said those are big rivalry games, too. But You know, dukes, that's it. Carolina fans might not agree with that. They think that the NC State football game means more, but.

He is factual when he's talking about the history. That Back when Steve Belichick was an assistant at North Carolina, Duke was the game. And that's what matters. To Bill. When Duke's facing Carolina in basketball, Bill Belichick is bringing pizzas to frats and Beat Duke.

His first words, but even though. Those were his first words. His dad never did beat Duke.

So Bill has the opportunity to do it. to go back to the place that his dad coached. and follow through in a way on the prophecy of One, two, or three year old Billy Belichick. and beat North Carolina, A little bit of a history lesson. Steve Belichick, how cool is this?

His three years in Chapel Hill. Happened to be the first three years of the Atlantic Coast Conference's existence. And did you know That Duke In twelve conference games, those three years win a perfect 12-L. Two shared ACC titles, one outright title in 1954. Of course, you didn't have the championship game at that point.

And Duke went 3-0, obviously. against Belichick's Tar Heels. 35, 20 winners at then Duke Stadium. This is 13, 14 years before it got renamed to Wallace Wade Stadium, which it, of course, is still today. Then at Keenan Stadium, the most lopsided margin, 47 to 12.

Duke beat North Carolina. And then in 1955. Steve Belichick's last year there. A six to nothing win. Four The Duke Blue Devils.

So he'll look to do something that his dad was never able to do. Again, Hashtag B took. Saturday will also be personal for the players. Senior day is always emotional. You have the festivities pregame.

You have the final home game element. But for returning players, Many of them remember very well the heartbreak. against the blue devils a year ago. Don't forget that Carolina led that game last season. 20-0 in Durham halfway through the third quarter.

And then what happened, Will? Find heartache, Mitch. They found heartache. Duke Scored 21 unanswered to win the game 21 to 20. Feel the need to let people know what these clips are when we play them.

The firm is. Do you? Close to 35 years old, and that's just Wilford Brimley. Most people probably just know Wilford Brimley today as the diabetes guy. Instead, we know him as the guy giving Tom Cruise an ultimatum and the heartache, Mitch.

Yeah, find heartache. Mitch. To add further incentive The Tar Heels must win to keep their postseason dreams alive. North Carolina's four and six. They must beat Duke and NC State.

in order to qualify for a bowl game. And if you're Belajack. You're really hoping, hey. Can we at least win one of these big four games? It would be quite the sour note.

to go into the offseason. with losses against Wake Forest. Duke. An NC State to close the year.

So there's more incentive on North Carolina's side. There's more personal attachment on North Carolina's side. Kickoff for this game. that you can listen to on WSGS. three thirty Saturday on the ACC network.

On X. We are streaming video. at Josh Graham Show and at WSJS Radio. You can watch us there in addition to YouTube and Twitch. Will Dalton, he is the executive program.

Director of this show? Producer of of this program. Changing your title a little bit there. Do you know how many guests we have today, Will? Mm-hmm.

Uh we have three, do we not? Three, we got Of course, Darren Vought here in a little bit. We'll answer unusual questions with him. This one's going to be a treat. Brendan Marks.

Shout out Athletic, fresh off a trip to MSG and the Champions Classic earlier this week. And we got Wake Senior Nick Anderson. Senior Day on Sunday. For the deeks.

So, quite a lineup. And how about we use that as a segue, use Nick as a segue to talk demon deacons? You might think that because it's only November, There isn't any urgency yet in the college basketball season. You'd be wrong, though, to think that. Because in the age that metrics seem to be king, we're often reminded.

College isn't the NBA. The NBA regular season, just take this game off. Take this game off here. Load management. Guys are out left and right, but make sure you're ready for the playoffs.

It's a marathon, it's 82 games. College, it is a 31-game sprint to March Madness, and. For no team does it feel more like a sprint. Than it does for Wake Forest looking to snap its long NCAA tournament drought. Consider this.

Tonight is perhaps Wake's last chance. at a perception-changing non-conference win. Tonight, before we even get to Thanksgiving, The opponent Number 15. Texas Tech on a neutral court. Bahamar, don't know where that's at.

Not going to pretend to. Maybe you can look that up for me, Will. Texas Tech. Is likely the only ranked team that Wake's going to face the rest of the way until ACC play arrives, and NC State is the opener in Raleigh on New Year's Eve. There is a possibility that Wake could get number one Purdue checks notes.

Tomorrow Because you're in this event. The first game is Purdue facing one and two Memphis, but That would either require Purdue to be upset and you lose to Texas Tech to get them, or in the more likely scenario, you upset Texas Tech and get your opportunity to play Purdue the next day. But If you lose this game and Purdue beats Memphis as they're expected to do, you're probably not going to get another ranked team the rest of the way. You're likely getting Penny Hardaway's Memphis team to close out this. Showcase.

After this, you have Oklahoma at home, that's not probably going to be a quad one. Porter Moser's team's two and two. Vanderbilt, they're okay. At home, though, that's not a quad one either. Neutral site, West Virginia.

Don't think this is a special West Virginia team in year one, even though Darian DeVries was right there, nearly made. The tournament? They were the first team left out, you might remember. You had their governor. Talking about North Carolina and Bubba Cunningham, and some of the controversy of the Tar Heels getting in.

That's going to be a neutral site game in Charleston, West Virginia. But none of those are. Shoe in quad ones. None of those are. Perception transforming caliber wins.

Wake out a couple of opportunities at that, only a couple, in this non-conference season that are guaranteed to you. This is one of them against Texas Tech. And then you had last week in Detroit. And this is what made the Michigan law so heartbreaking. Wake Forest fans.

There we go with heartache again for Wake Forest. Find out some things about diabetes. Oh. Didn't know that was the Wilfrid Brimley quick we were going to go to there. This, it's what made the Michigan Loss heartbreaking, and we had the reaction from Wake fans being, you're being dramatic.

Oh, it's just the first couple weeks of the season. But again, the opportunity was there. The Wolverines are ranked in the top 10. The Deeks led that game by seven with less than five minutes to go. And if Wake wins that game, They are viewed in a completely different light now.

As They are in this moment. Having lost the game. Or now, most fans are still saying, Is it likely we make the tournament? Probably not. Most people are assuming you're a tournament team if you beat.

A top ten Michigan team. If you hold on to that win. Getting into the matchups, there are some similarities between Texas Tech and Wake. Both are 3-1 with missed opportunities on the road last week. Texas Tech was at Illinois, faced them in Champaign last week, led in the final 10 minutes of that game, just wasn't able to hold on.

They're both 3-1. They both are trying to. You know, recover from the losses of all conference players. Darien Williams transferring out of Texas Tech to NC State, of course, preseason player of the year in the ACC. Wake Forest.

Four straight years, they've had a first-team all-conference player and Hunter Salas, who's no longer there anymore. The way that. Texas Tech is bridging that gap. You have a tremendous player returning. JT Toppin is awesome.

Also, a shout out to UNCG Transfer, Donovan Atwell. It is Wake Forest and Texas Tech. 8:30 tip tonight, CBS Sports Network that is getting the main screen. In the Graham household, with respect to Davis Mills and the Shield. And Houston.

Facing The Buffalo Bills. We must talk. Go ahead. Talk Back to the Drive with Josh Graham. Don't think you're going to find this note.

On Wake Forest's game notes. But how long has Nick Anderson been at Wake Forest? When he arrived in Winston-Salem, On campus, the name of the football stadium was BBNT Field. And then that became truist field. And now it's a legacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.

So two names ago. Was when Nick Anderson started playing ball. With that in mind, as Nick Anderson joins us now, what will you be feeling when you emerge from that tunnel for the last time Saturday afternoon? There. Yeah, uh first off, thank you guys for having me on.

I appreciate it. Um Yeah, it'll be it'll be an emotional time, but um all I can focus on is Is playing my best against Delaware and hopefully coming away with a win, another win force. You know, all the festivities and stuff really will be for my family.

So all my focus is going to the game. Tell me about that support system a little bit, Nick, because I can't imagine a more difficult way to start your football journey at Wake. When you think about when you arrive at the end, you often think about the beginning. Your first football season was the COVID year. You're also a walk on when you arrived.

How do you reflect back on your introduction to college football and to Wake Forest? Yeah, I definitely think it starts with a strong support system at home. You know, both my parents Uh two sisters. just growing up, they always taught me what the formula was, consistent hard work will lead to success.

So that's something I've just taken with everything I do. I've applied it to football and I like where I'm sitting at today. Love that. Um, what's the age difference between you and your sister? I have a I have one older sister.

She's a 99 birth year. Don't ask me to do the math right now, even though I'm in the first grad. 26. And then my younger sister, she's a 04, so two years behind me. She's 21.

Love that. The night you had, I remember being in the building when you had the three interceptions your freshman year against ranked Virginia Tech. After the game, Dave Clausen gives you The scholarship.

Now you've been here as long as you have. I don't know where you're at academically with degrees that you own, but. What does that non-football piece, the scholarship you received? And Owning a degree from Wake Forest and working to probably get more than that, what does that piece represent? Yeah, I mean, you know, just being a part of Wake Forest University and the community as a whole.

has been so special for me, for my family. I finished with an undergraduate degree in communication. And now I'll finish my project management graduate degree here in December. You know, not only the the football success, but to come away with two you know really high level degrees from this distinguished university is something that will set me up for the rest of my life. One thing...

I think I was talking with Duke basketball player Jeremy Roach about this. His first two years at Duke were Coach Kay's last two years. His last two years at Duke were the first two years of John Shire.

So there was a transition there, and he was talking about his place in the history of that program. And it reminded me of your story a little bit, just because. When you tell your story, like you, you. You were there for the COVID year. You were there when Wake won the Atlantic Division.

You were there for a transition that's going to end with a bowl appearance in Jake's first year. Are you somebody that keeps souvenirs, that keeps trinkets along the way? Or how do you how much time do you spend in reflection of some of the things that you've been a part of? Yeah, I think at the moment, my number one thing is just staying present and staying in the moment. There's been tons of stuff that I've gathered over the years.

You know, that is in my apartment right now and that will stick with me forever. Um you know, I'm sure as I get older and and Start to look back on what this experience has meant, those memories will flood and give me some more time to probably think and reflect on what our journey has been. But at the moment, I'm just staying present, staying present. Give me one example of a prize possession that Nick Anderson owns from his football career.

Okay. Uh Yeah, that's a tough question. Uh probably I have a Polaroid picture. of my dorm mates after the three interception game. All of us just back in the dorm.

During the COVID year, you can see we have our masks hanging around our necks.

So that's a little Polaroid photo that I'll keep forever. That's really, really neat. Nick Anderson's with us here. Wake for a safety.

So let's make it about the team, less about you. I'm sure you would prefer that. Jake Dicker I'll I'll say we'll make it about your group of seniors. Because on Saturday night I was asking him about Winning an ACC Big Four game, it being sold out, getting to a bowl game, exceeding what other people on the outside, people like me, the expectations that are set. And Jake would always respond by saying, It's not about me, it's about these seniors.

It's about the decision they made to come back to Wake and buy into what we're selling. What has made this season most satisfying to Nick Anderson? I think just the group that stayed in the group that's merged together through the transfer portal through the incoming freshmen. A lot of new names and faces and I haven't, I don't think I've been a part of a closer team. Just a really, really good group of guys outside of football, outside of on the field, you know, guys that will be invited to each other's weddings.

Surprise that, you know, text and Just have a genuine care for the well-being of each other. And that's something that's special. Not everywhere is like that. I haven't had as close of a unit, I think, as I had this year. You know, that's those are the relationships I'll keep the rest of my life.

What Do you remember a meeting or a conversation? where Jake Dicker won you over. Yeah, the first time I talked to him. Um the first FaceTime that we had Um after his press conference. I was hooked.

Just the energy, the belief in the same values, the same style of play, how to approach things, how to go about things.

So from the first conversation We developed a deep connection, and you know, I've been so blessed to just been a part of his first year here. Last week, we were talking with Coach Dicker. And he said He made sure to point out, and he's very in tune with his timing and his schedule. He said, Josh, I have up until this exact point to talk to you because I got my leadership meeting. I got to talk to my players.

It's a leadership meeting I have. What do those meetings look like? One thing that I credit Coach Dickert a lot of is. He truly values the player's opinion, what the players think, what the players feel. And he takes what what feedback we give him and addresses the team.

You know, we had a a leadership mer meeting earlier this afternoon and You know, that message that we provided him of what the team needs to hear, he'll have that in our meetings tomorrow and the night before the game.

So, just someone that truly values the players' feedback and encourages us to make it a player-led team as much as we can. Without getting to the details of what's going to be conveyed to the team this week, can you give me an example just earlier this year of something, a time where you did feel seen, where you meet with the leadership meeting, meets with the coach. And it's something that Coach Dickert found very valuable, valuable insight from you guys that ultimately helped the overall group. Yeah, I think it was, you know, at the end of fall camp, what kind of things do we want to keep in terms of the practice schedule and in terms of how we want to keep practice during the season competitive. And one of those was including what we call our fourth quarter finishes.

And that was something where it was an offense, defense compete At the end of practices during camp, and we've kept those in all throughout the season as well. And so, those that's something that he valued from the players, the players. Thought it was a great way to stay competitive against one another. It kept the juice and energy up at practice. And so that's a great example of something that he took that wasn't in the initial plans, you know, that stayed with us the whole season.

It doesn't sound like you're the guy that's going to be emotional Saturday. Am I wrong? But you know I Just staying in the present, not thinking too much. You know, and when you think and reflect, I'm sure that there'll be some emotion. you know, after the game or or at another time, but I've got a game out there to go to go win and play my best for my teammates.

Love that. Vick Anderson. Thank you for doing this and appreciate all the times we visited with you over the last six years or so. It's kind of crazy, six seasons or so. Enjoy it with your family, and we'll see you on Saturday.

All right, I appreciate it. There he goes. Nick Anderson, wake for us, senior safety, kind enough. to join us here. Six seasons, W.D.

That's not a short amount of time. Do you have, by the way, the fall into winning for this week?

Some of the things. That we need to shout out. We have to get to that in a second because we got best bets. on the way. But again, his story, it's an amazing one when Um You go to a new place, he's from Virginia.

And you are a freshman. When COVID hits. That is your freshman football season. That's your exposure to a new place. That's your exposure to college football.

And here's the added bonus, Will. He's a walk-on. And later that year, they play a top-20 Virginia Tech team. He has three interceptions and a game-high 11 tackles. And Wake wins that game.

And on the field that night, Dave Clausen says, you have a scholarship. And I'll tell you this, W D Having a scholarship at a place like Wake Forest? It's a big deal, especially if you intend to be at school. for six years and you Listen to what he described he planned to do after the fact. But just Again, I made the Jeremy Roach point.

Think about the the correspondence with history. We're never going to forget the COVID year. He's a part of that. Wake Forest fans are never going to forget being ranked in the top 10 during the 21 and 22 seasons. He was part of that.

got to the ACC championship game. You're not going to forget. The A new coach coming in, a transition from maybe the greatest coach you've ever had to a new coach who impresses right away, and he's part of that too. When people throw the word legacy around, That's a legacy. That's a foundational player.

And um Yeah, make sure you're out at. A legacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. to honor a guy like that on Saturday. What do we have in Fall Into Winning for this week? If you go on WSGS.com, click on the Fall Into the Winning tab if you haven't won in the last 30 days.

You register for tickets. You simply tell us your name, your email, and which of these prizes you want. What prizes are available to win this week?

Well, for starters, you got Motley Crew up there. Not bad. Charlotte next year? Yeah, you got that one. You do have the opportunity to get speaking of that Wake Forest game.

If you want to try and win tickets to go see Nick Anderson. Last chance today, pretty much for that. Got those up there. We got Greensboro swarm tickets. I was just out at the field house yesterday.

Go see PJ Hall. Yeah, you can do that now. I don't know if Dajohn Solano still be there on November 28th, which is when these tickets are for. But. Good chance of it.

And then you got Wake Forest basketball. Campbell.

Next Tuesday night.

Next week.

So WSJS.com fall into winning if you want to register for those prizes. I was thinking about music as well. The Merle Fest lineup dropped this week. I'm trying to figure out what day to go. Generally, I'm a Saturday guy, but then I see Old Crows on Friday.

Seen Old Crow a couple of times there already. And then on Sunday, I've never seen Allison Krause before. And come to think of it. It's half day. I haven't been to Sunday.

I've been to every day of Merle Fest. I've been to Thursday, Friday, Saturday. I've never been to Sunday.

So this might be the year I look at going to Sunday at Merle Fest to see. Allison Krause in the Union Station. This week we have six, a six-pack of college football underdogs to hand out in best bets. That It's next on the drive.

Okay. We'll circle back to the Carolina Panthers in a little bit. The Monday Night Game. just messing with our weekly schedule. Usually on Thursdays we have Panther coordinator sound.

But because the game's on Monday rather than Sunday, They're pushing that to Friday.

So we have to wait before we hear from Special Teams Coordinator. and blossoming media darling Tracy Smith. and former Wake Forest quarterback Brad Idzick, who doubles as the offensive coordinator. Don't forget about Agiro Evero had a tough couple of weeks. But He's probably going to bring it.

This week, when meeting with the media. Whose birthday is it this week? We'll find out. Oh. Hey, you know, you know, when you're on, you're on.

Tracy Smith. always delivering. The picks. have been delivering of late. A Thursday staple.

Me handing out college football underdogs that I love and you're probably going to hate in today's best bets. I'm not a betting duck. Care to make it interesting? You know you do. You're on.

Call me in on this. Your best bet. But my money's on the other team. This is Josh's best bet. It is true.

That we're picking up steam. All year long, when we were at our lowest point, Will, we told you to do what? Trust the process. Yeah, trust the process. Four and two two weeks ago, five and three last week.

We are one game under 500 for the season. 44 and 45. One game under. Here are six, a six pack. of college football underdogs.

Again, I love and you're probably gonna hate. Up first to the SEC. But wait, Josh, I thought this weekend was the weekend that half the SEC takes off because they're playing underdogs or playing cupcakes. playing cupcakes that they're gonna beat by a million.

Well That's not going to stop me. From saying something I haven't said literally all year long. Give me the Charlotte 49ers! Plus 43 and a half between the hedges at Georgia. Send me that cash up, Fam.

Can you give me one touchdown, Tim Albin? Can you give me one? Grayson Loftus, former Duke quarterback. Don't think Harold's playing for them anymore, the former Tarheel. One touchdown, Charlotte 49ers, and we're probably going to get there.

The game starts, and we're leading by 43 and a half. We know Charlotte's bad, but Georgia... They're probably feeling pretty good after beating Texas last week, like they did. And Next week. might be the biggest Georgia, Georgia Tech game.

In modern history, of that rivalry.

So if they're up by a ton, Will. They might. As we say, Park the bus.

So to speak, not try to run it up, maybe save some. for next week. We think Charlotte's going to get there. We say that 43 and a half is too many. Send me that cash out for you.

How about another local? You give us gear, we will take you plus five and a half against Marshall. App State needs two wins for bull eligibility. Marshall is playing on the road for the second straight week. You don't just go on the road multiple weeks in a row in the Sunbelt.

and expect To avoid disaster. We like this spot for Dow Logan's team, so we'll take the candy, take the five and a half on the rock. Send me that cash up, family. 3:30 window, perhaps the game of the week in college football. USC, number 15 in the country against number Nine ranked?

Eighth ranked. Whatever ranked, Oregon. This is a huge game. Who are we taking? Our guy, Will.

Lincoln Riley. Former ECU offensive coordinator. My guy. Plus nine and a half points. In Oregon, in Oxford.

Oregon They haven't beaten anybody. Look at their resume. What's the best win that Oregon has this year? It's not great. They lost on their home field by double digits to Indiana.

I'm getting pretty much double digits with USC here.

So, again, we'll take the points happily, and we think that's going to be a really good game up in Eugene. Send me that cash up, family. We have two more SEC plays to get to. I can't quit him. Arkansas plus nine and a half.

At DKR at Texas. The Longhorns might quit, Will. You hear Steve Sarkeesian on... Teleconferences saying he's not going to leave to go anywhere. They got beat by Georgia.

That ends their playoff dreams. Here's the history lesson. A lot of history lessons today. Arkansas. Hates Texas maybe more than anybody.

It's one of those deals where Texas doesn't really care much about Arkansas, but Arkansas cares a lot about Texas. And Bobby Petrino cares a lot about this game, and Taylin Green rules. And this stat is insane, Will. You ready for it? Arkansas is 2-8 on the season.

Two and eight. They are. Plus 18. In Point margin. What does that mean?

That means despite the fact they've played 10 times. and have lost eight of the games. It almost sounds like a riddle. They have outscored their competition by 18 points this year.

So, when they play SEC games, they play them close. That includes losing to Notre Dame by about 40 before Sam Pittman got fired. We love Taylor Green. We love Arkansas in this spot. You're giving us too many points.

Arkansas plus nine and a half is the pick. Send me that cash up, family. Around the same time, It's Vanderbilt, well. Vanderbilt. Give me The lesser of two evils.

Kentucky. Plus nine and a half. at Vanderbilt. Kentucky Plus nine and a half at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt.

Might get caught looking ahead. Will we talk about how Georgia, Georgia Tech, that might be the biggest game that rivalry we've seen in a long time? How about a potential Playoff Clinching win for Vanderbilt. At Tennessee next week. Vanderbilt to Tennessee.

Maybe looking ahead just a little bit. Mark Stoops team, well coached, coming off a buy. They have a chance to qualify for a bowl game with a win. I think they make things spicy in Nashville, Kentucky, plus nine and a half points. Give me that cash up, family.

Do you know where I was born, Will Dalton? It uh weren't you born in Youngsville? Baltimore.

Okay. That's where I was born. Go Birds. Half my family. Maryland Terrapid fans.

I don't watch Maryland games. They're not in the league anymore, but I have a group. Thread that talks about the Orioles during baseball season. During football season, I hear a lot about the Ravens, and I hear a lot about the Maryland Terrapins. Maryland's playing Michigan.

In College Park. on Saturday. And the Terrapins are getting 14 and a half points from the Wolverines. Again, look ahead spot. Who does Michigan play next week?

Oh, that would be Ohio State. It's pretty big. Game for Michigan there. Consecutive road games. For Michigan.

Last week they barely won, one on a kick. In Wrigley against Northwestern. Maryland just gave a. Vote of approval, a vote of confidence for their head coach, Mike Loxley. All of this points to it being a trap spot in the snake pit for the Michigan Wolverines.

So we're taking Maryland plus the 14 and a half points. Send me that cash out, family. In review. We like Charlotte plus 43 and a half plus a lot. Uh we're taking app state.

Plus the number in Boon. We're taking USC on the road at Oregon. Underdogs in the SEC elsewhere, Arkansas plus 9.5, Kentucky plus 9.5, Vanderbilt, and Maryland plus 14.5 against Michigan.

Some stay away. Oh, so close to firing. On Delaware plus 17 and a half at Wake, but we just had Nick Anderson on. We can't do that. And literally, if I wasn't wearing this hat right now, this ECU hat.

And the Pirates have some CFP hopes. probably would have taken UTSA at home. They're a different football team at home versus the road and UTSA getting points at home. That's hard to resist, but we are. We are resisting, and I want no part.

Of two games, no part of Duke Carolina. You can have it, it's all yours. I want no part of Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh as well. You guys can have fun with those games. I am staying away.

I do have a bonus pick for tonight, though. You ready? Wake Forest basketball plus 10.5 against Texas Tech. Send me that cash up, family. I think the Deeks are gonna hang around in that game.

Think they're gonna Hang around. The Drive is brought to you in part by our friends at Atlantic Coast Sports in Mount Airy. It's not just an apparel store. It is that and it's fabulous. Pro-sports merchandise, college sports stuff, sports equipment.

But if you want to watch games which I take it if you're listening or watching me right now, you probably do. Go to the loaded goat because the food's good. They got big screens. They got screens up top, I think, as well, inside the green room where they have the two golf simulators. Party room, batting cages, pretty much everything you could ask for.

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So pay them a visit. Tell them that we sent you. Shout out to Derek, shout out to Wes. And the folks at Atlantic Coast Sports. You can learn more online about them, Atlantic Coast Sports.

Dot com. Here's the question. with Panthers Niners on Monday. Is it the Christian McCaffrey revenge game? How much of a revenge angle Is there in reality?

Is it could be a revenge game, it could be nothing. Here's the case for both. The case for revenge is this. The Panthers are the franchise that drafted McCaffrey. Eighth overall, twenty Seventeen draft?

twenty seventeen draft. Aha. This is the first time that you're facing the Panthers. That's kind of nuts. You're in the NFC.

You kind of expect with the AFC, you don't meet for a long time, but it's the last time the Panthers played the Niners. Was In October of 2022, it was the last game Matt Rule coached as the Panthers head coach. Fired. After the game, it was a C of Niner fans. McCaffrey, McCaffrey was on the Panthers, traded at the deadline soon after that.

Carolina hasn't. Based San Francisco since then, and a lot has changed in Charlotte. Um But that still is David Tapper owning the team. That still is A guy that you know, and there could be motivation facing. Carolina.

Because of that, when you see that uniform on the other side. The case for no revenge is this There are maybe four Five players on this roster who played with Christian McCaffrey? The trade happened so long ago. What is the list? How many guys do you think have played?

It is, we went through this earlier. It's Taylor Moten. Ikiya Kwanu was drafted the year that McCaffrey was traded. JC Horn was on the team. Derek Brown.

And J. J. Janssen. There's your list.

Alright, five guys. That you have recognition on the other team. It's not like Scott Fitterer. Yeah. Is The general manager any more, by the way.

Scott Fitterer, Saul Seen in Winston-Salem last weekend. Scouting for the Washington Commanders. He was at the North Carolina. Duke game. And Again, the coaching staff, nobody on this coaching staff was around.

Three years ago, and McCaffrey was here.

So Maybe there is no revenge angle to it all. Which do you buy more? I tend to buy the latter. There's no revenge angle to this. If anything, it's going to be a really cool thing for him to finally.

You know, go up against his former team that he spent a lot of time with at the start of his career and Not only that, but he's he was shipped off to a better situation. He's been to a Super Bowl. He you know, he's he's gotten to avoid the dumpster fire that's Ben. you know, before the last You know, year, year and a half that the Panthers have started to grow. He got to avoid a lot of that.

So I don't see any revenge angle to this. This is the hot take for. this portion of the conversation. It's a hot take. You're probably going to disagree with it.

Oh well. The McCaffrey trade wasn't a mistake. It wasn't a glaring mistake for Carolina. Last week, check, running the football, has it been a huge issue for Carolina the last few years? The team was not in good shape in 2022.

They were trending down. Running backs are a luxury item. You just paid him a ton of money, a lot of money. He had value. what pretty much equates to a first round pick.

For McCaffrey, who at that point had broken down with some injuries, too. Don't forget about that context.

So You get a second, a third, a fourth, a fifth. All that amounts to a little bit more than the value you have for a first-round pick.

So when he's as expensive as he was. Dealing with the injuries he dealt with at that point. And The team was in the position it was in. Don't think it was a bad trade for Carolina. Don't think that's the one you regret.

If you're going to knock. We even defend the Bryce Young trade before last Sunday because This is the thing we always say about the price trade. You might not like the Panthers' selection with the pick. They could regret that. They could come to regret drafting Bryce.

But that doesn't mean the trade was bad. Like, if Carolina takes C.J. Stroud in that spot and he's great, well, then that trade looks awesome. Thus, the trade isn't bad. It's Who you took with that pick.

And those are two separate conversations, unless you think Carolina should not have made that pick because the draft a year later was a lot better with Drake May and Jaden Daniels, and maybe you don't have to give anything up. But that's a different conversation than just evaluating the merits of. The trade to the number one pick based on how good Bryce Young is. Also, Really, the biggest mistake that Scott Fitterer made is the Panthers GM. Singular thing.

was not trading Brian Burns for two first-round picks. That really is the one glaring thing you point to and say, yep. You messed up. With that, the McCaffrey trade. Not so much.

As we just noted, We were thinking it was going to be difficult to find baseball topics for Darren Vought before answering unusual questions. Darren Vought, D1 Baseball, ACC Baseball, et cetera, lottery boy, ECU Basketball Announcer, Jack of All Trades, ESBN Hatware. Quite literally, for those watching on YouTube, Twitch and X. But then the Orioles trade Grayson Rodriguez for 31-year-old Homer strikeout King Taylor Ward of the Angels. And.

Trent Grisham signs a qualifying offer. Seemed like one of those deals where the Yankees were like, We're going to extend this offer to you, kinda hope you don't take it so we can get a draft pick. And then he sees more than twenty million dollars and says, Sign me up. Then we get the news that NBC is the new home of Sunday Night Baseball officially in the wild card round. That means another network T V window for Major League Baseball.

Assuming that still matters. That's throughout the spring and the summer. Darren, which baseball headline moves you the most? I don't know that it's what people want to talk about. The new broadcast rights deal fascinates me because it includes Netflix, home run derby.

They get the home run derby. They get opening day. As part of the NBC portion, I don't know that people realize this. All 15 games that are played on July 5th. Are going to be on Peacock.

But why not July 4th? I saw that. That's Sunday. How long have we been asking for something to happen on July 4th?

Now it just seems they're taunting us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like almost there. You're right. You're right there.

But it's interesting to me that the streaming platform gets all 15 there. I am an MLB TV user, so it's important to me, or it matters to me, where that goes in all of this, which is ESPN and their new. revamped app. Um It's a very smart approach, I think, because For all the flack that Major League Baseball has taken with some of its broadcast partners in recent years, they're everywhere now. Apple's going to keep it on Friday nights.

Sunday is NBCs. They're going to do some of the Sunday morning games in addition to Sunday night baseball. Peacock has games. Netflix, ESPN keeps like 30 or so for the regular season. The playoffs are still going to be predominantly Fox, but TNT and and Um You know, that group is going to keep a lot as well.

Like, it is. It is NFL-like. The level to which Major League Baseball is kind of spreading the love with the broadcast rights. The baseball's fine, it's why you're here. No, it isn't actually.

It's part of the reason you're here. The real reason you're here is unusual questions.

So let's do that. But last week, guys, everybody made it out that I got mad at Josh and I left the press conference. That's not right. I thought it was an unusual question and it's okay. It's time for unusual questions.

with Josh Graham. It's been a big week. Baby Daniel moved from Infants to toddlers. The big difference between going to the infants from the infants to the toddler's room in daycare. I have a child!

is that toddlers are required to have shoes on. The parents know what I'm talking about. The non-parents have no idea. I learned this week. Pudding shoes.

On a toddler, not fun. And Today was an adventure. Where Get the shoe on, kicks it off, get the shoe on, kicks it off, get the shoe on, and then we're carrying him into the daycare. I put him down, realize he only has one shoe on.

Now dad has to go on a scavenger hunt. to find the shoe between the car And the daycare room. As I'm scavenging for that, Evan Lepler walks by, waves at me, says hi.

So that was part of the scavenger hunt. Shout out to Evan Lepler, we love him. I found the shoe. Went back, put it on him. I do not like putting on shoes.

For baby Daniel. With that in mind, what is your favorite pair of shoes? Ooh, um Takes a long time to get to that one. That's why I always think about it. It was worth it.

It was worth it. The context is important. Um. I've got like a pair of Vans cross trainers that I wear. I don't know if people are aware of the athletic shoes that Vans makes.

Super comfortable. Um They're kind of my like go-do everything shoes, and they're like a fun. green color.

So that's what I got. Say it will.

So, I have a pair of LeBrons. Oh. And I'm trying to remember which year these are. I thought you were going to say the boots. Oh, I got the boots on right now.

Yeah. These are among my favorite shoes. Got them actually almost a year ago. It'll be a year ago on Black Friday. But I'm trying to remember.

I love LeBron's. That's my favorite shit. You also love LeBron. Yeah, I do. Um, for me, it's kind of frustrating.

I think my favorite pair of shoes in my closet. are a pair of like black dress shoes with white bottoms. That are really nice. But I've maybe worn them twice because I realize they're a little bit too fancy for my sport jacket. And Like you you only really wear it w when you're wearing a suit So, I'm trying to find clothing that can work with the shoes, where the shoes don't seem.

So much more formal than my attire. I haven't quite succeeded with that.

So, usually, I just stare at those shoes and they're taunting me. I want to wear them, but I I don't have really A lot of outfits they go with. And when I do wear them, when I tried it one time, my wife looked at me and said, no. I still wore it, but she's like, nah, I'm sorry, that doesn't go together. The problem there is.

It's uh it's It sounds like they're in that genre that's kind of like the casual fancy, right? Like you're trying to not wear dress shoes, basically. Yeah. Um Black is tricky in shoes like that because black implies a sort of dressiness. Correct.

Right?

So had you gone with, and I'm sure you've got a pair or two, I think I've got two pairs of brown. Yeah, it's like the same style of shoe, but it's brown. You can go more casual with that.

So, yeah, no, I get it. I get what you're saying. W D. What do you got? I have a grocery store question.

Of course.

Socialized grocery stores is what we're going to talk about today. No, so I'm out of um. Uh, coffee dreamer at the house. I thought Jordan Hudson was gonna make an appearance there. Oh, I mean, I'm sure she's around here somewhere.

Come on. She should have. It's a great joke. Yeah, I think we're not talking about that.

Okay, well was doing his job correctly, she would have. That's Alright, go ahead. What's your what's the I'm at a coffee creamer and My question is. Do you go to the store? Once a week, just get everything you need at once, and then when you run out of something, you wait till.

the designated grocery shopping day. Again, or do you just go to the store to pick up one thing? Or two things. I'm definitely the latter, but the part that doesn't make sense in what you're saying is. If you go to the grocery store once a week.

You should just be picking out one or two items. You shouldn't be running out of things. Maybe going once a week. Yeah, like if you go once a week, You should just be picking out a few things. Usually.

No, no, no.

Okay. So, so. Will is just like he's eating, he's cooking everything for himself.

So the once a week is fair. No, no, but you're not grab. What he's describing is the type of person that would just shop in bulk until you run out of everything. In general, I know those people. That's my brother, for example.

He'll just shop like once a month, maybe twice a month, and he'd shop big. It seems that you're describing something that doesn't fit the timeframe of what you're looking at because what's the alternative? Oh, well. You're not shopping in bulk if you're going each week. Are you describing a situation where you're going to the grocery store three times a week?

No one's doing that. They might. Like, if you have something specific you want to get that you're going to have to do. I went to Costco two days ago, grabbed milk and chocolate truffles, and then a hot dog. Like, that's all I got.

'Cause I had everything else I needed. I mean, I'm weird with how I shop. Maybe this is, like I said, this might be a me problem. Where, like, I'll go and I'll get a couple things. You ask a lot of bad questions.

That's not a bad question. It just was a bad timeline of. I are, because I know the people who are, I'm going to shop a couple times a month and get as much as I can so I don't have to go back to the grocery store. but just a few times a month. But then there are some people who are like, I'll go every week.

Yeah, but every week for the. What I'm saying is, every week you can. Depending on how you like eat throughout the week. One once per week Can be plenty of time for you to use it. I think we're saying the same thing.

Darren Bott, what's your unusual question? All right, so I got a call from my mother. earlier today. And She has a dire tone to her voice, and she says, Hey, do you have a few minutes? And I'm thinking, Oh God, what's happening?

Oh man.

So I'm like, Yeah, yeah, no, I got a few minutes. I was driving, I was on my way to go run an errand. And she goes. Your father and I are going to a concert in Salem tonight, Salem, Virginia. My parents are in Southwest Virginia.

and it wants me to add it to my Google wallet. I don't know what that is. Oh, no. I'm like, mom, first off, you came in way too hot for this question. Shows tonight though, I mean you Yeah.

So I had to explain to my mother, they have Samsung phones, she and dad. I had to explain to her the concept of A wallet app where you can together all of your tickets and things and they've got a parking pass so it's gonna work out for that too. And it was enlightening for her. And I explained, hey, I use my Apple wallet. A lot.

Um, what is the last thing you had to explain? to your parents. Oh. The Apple Podcast app? Like my mom would just find like the website and then click play on things.

So I was like, hey, actually, there's this app here where it will just download there. And then you click this button. It's like, whoa, that's convenient. Yep. Very much so.

So my mom She, uh was getting these text messages on her phone, like from the provider. Like with these deals, or like, oh, hey, you could get a free phone. And she actually thought, like. She was going to be getting a teen on us when it's not. Yeah, she thought there was that.

And I'm like, no, no, these are. I had to explain. This is like spam. It is my lucky day.

Okay. Darren Bott. It is our lucky day that we get to visit with you. Thanks so much for doing this. Anytime, guys.

You're on the drive with Josh Grail. W S J S Brendan Marks. With the athletic. National. Organization.

Claire, national organization he works for. Shout out to the town. You are based in the triangle right up the road. We have the Wake Forest. Piece covered here as the Deeks get set for a top 15 matchup with Texas Tech tonight, but up the road in the triangle.

Duke Has Cameron Boozer? NC State has preseason player of the year Darien Williams. And North Carolina has Caleb Wilson. All three pretty darn good. All three are ranked in the top 25 right now.

Early on in the season, what have you found most interesting? What have you enjoyed most about all three teams and all three fan bases feeling pretty good right now? Yeah, I mean, I love it. I mean, Triangle is the center of the college basketball universe this season is always, always high on the board for me. Of of the three guys you just mentioned, I will say this, Josh.

Caleb Wilson has been much better than I thought he would be. And I think that has been a consensus from a lot of people who figured coming in that he would be hyper-athletic. A defensive difference maker, which he has been, I have been wildly impressed by his offensive skill. You know, those turnaround jumpers he was hitting against Kansas, those are not shots that you expect an 18-year-old freshman to be making at that consistency.

So, the other two we knew were going to be really good, and shocker, they have been. Caleb Wilson, entering that conversation, has made it a very interesting three-team, you know, sort of area, but also just an individual like. Top three players in the ACC. It's been a fun time. How would you power rank those three teams right now?

That's a tough question. I think right now for me, it's narrow. Like, I don't think there's a lot of separation between them. I would say number, I think you have to put NC State third because I have the most questions about NC State, but. I still think NC State's a top 20 team in the country.

I think NC State is going to struggle particularly against those other two because NC State's two weaknesses in my eyes are defensive rebounding. Um both of those other two teams Are pretty good in the front court. I think NC State's going to struggle comparatively. But offensive-wise, if you told me at the end of the year, NC State has the best offense of the three, I would not at all be surprised. I think then I go North Carolina at number two, especially as North Carolina is currently constructed without Seth Trimble.

Him being there completely changes the calculus for me. But right now, you look at Duke. I don't know that Duke has played an A game yet. I don't think they maybe not even played a B plus game yet as a team. And they're still 5-0 for the first time under John Shire, top team in Ken Palm, top five team in the nation, and sort of the high watermark in the ACC with Louisville.

So it's close, but that's how it happened. Yeah, the North Carolina problem, I'm glad you identify what they're missing in Seth. It's not, people will put a little bit too much stock in the leadership piece of it and homegrown and all that. But for me, it's in the Kansas game, which you were at, saw you there. He had all of his field goals that night.

17 points were scored in the paint. All Luca Bogobots wants to do is take jumpers. All four of his makes were jumpers the other night. I just don't, it's kind of amazing. Like, you have guards, but it doesn't seem any of them can attack the rim, get to the basket.

Yeah, I mean, and that's what Seth is best at. The other thing that I think And I have been saying this since the summer. To me, North Carolina's defensive potential is greater than its offensive potential. I think this can be like two years ago when North Carolina was one seed, won the ACC, Hubert Davis Coach of the Year, R.J. Davis player of the year.

It was because of the defense that they were top five. Yeah, they were top five in adjusted defensive efficiency all year long. I think this team can get to a similar place, but Seth is their best point of attack perimeter defender, too.

So Yes, he gives you the paint touches and he puts pressure on the rim offensively. He gets to the line. He's not the best finisher around the rim, but that's why you have Henry Vissar and Caleb Wilson there to clean up the junk. Um Defensively, too, he's huge.

So, when North Carolina is at full strength, I actually think the two games against Duke this year, maybe we get lucky and we get a third again in the ACC tournament. I think those are going to be fantastic games, but Seth, I think, proved early on that maybe we weren't giving him enough credit broadly across the college basketball universe coming into the season. He is clearly, without a doubt, North Carolina's best and most important guard. Deacon Brew writes in. God forbid any North Carolina ACZ commentator talks about the entire big four rather than the triangle.

I am fascinated. It is going to be on the big screen tonight. Wake Forest, Texas Tech tonight. How much more interesting is this game to national rider Brendan Marks after watching the Deeks last week against Michigan? Yeah, it's definitely more interesting.

And I think Wake Forest under Steve Forbes, for better or worse, has always shown the ability to play to the level of its opponent, right? I mean, when Wake Forest plays top teams, and it's knocked off more than its share of them since Steve Forbes has been in Winston-Salem. Like they can play and get to that level. Unfortunately, they can also do the opposite and they can play down to their opponent sometimes.

So I'm expecting Wake Forrest to bring its A game tonight. I thought it was criminal that Wake Forrest did not beat Michigan the other night. I mean, I know you've talked about it before, but we don't need to relitigate that. But that, I mean, that shows what this team is capable of. Against the team in Michigan, that a lot of people are picking to maybe go to the final four.

I'm maybe a little bit lower on Michigan than that, but there's no reason Wake Forrest can't make this a game. There's no reason Wake Forrest can't steal this. I'd be interested to see how they tried to defend JT Toppin. You can throw an army of guards at Christian Anderson, but Wake Forest has got to get... you know, getting a win like this tonight, the difference between winning and losing.

We hate to say it in November. It is going to make a massive difference come March and Wake's chances of getting in the dance. Yeah. Shout out to UNCG transfer Donovan Atwell for Texas Tech as well. It is, again, I thought it was gut-wrenching for Wake last week.

And then some Deacon fans are like, this seems like a bit of an overreaction. This isn't the NBA, man. It's college basketball is a 31-game sprint. And other than this game, unless for some reason Memphis upsets Purdue and you get them tomorrow, don't know if that's who you want to face, the number one team in the country. This is that.

Tonight's game in Michigan, those are your two opportunities for perception-changing wins. Not to say that beating Vanderbilt and Oklahoma and West Virginia aren't good wins. If you want to change perception, you beat a team with a top 10 ranking, you beat a team with a 15th ranking. And That's, you don't have a lot of those. Brendan, I have this on the way out on the ACC.

Outside of the big four. outside of let's say Louisville as well, because that'd be the easy answer. Which ACC team has most caught your eye through two and a half weeks? Um let me turn my attention squarely to the Commonwealth. Both Commonwealth teams, man.

I picked Virginia Tech. Yeah. I forget. I think I might have had Virginia Tech like. 15th in the ACC in the preseason.

Tech rules, man. I had him 12th, and I feel bad. I was wrong. I was wrong. And I don't know that they've played a murderer's rove of a schedule yet.

And I do think that there are some flaws that are going to get exposed when they're playing more regular competition. Um But man, Mike Young can coach, and man, does he have an absolute freaking stud in Neo Abdullah and then Virginia. Virginia scored 60-plus points and a half the other day. Kari White. I mean,.

These aren't the Tony Bennett Cavs for sure.

So, again, I think Virginia absolutely can be a player in the ACC title race. I would not at all be surprised if Virginia finishes top four in the league. I think it's an NCAA tournament team. Virginia Tech, I still think, is probably on the fringe right there, but they're interesting and they're fun. And if you do yourself a favor, listeners, if there is a night when you have no plans.

Kids are asleep. You've had dinner. It's seven o'clock. You check the schedule. No NFL, no MBA.

You see Virginia Tech's player? Do yourself a favor. Man, turn on that game. Enjoy the show. It is just a like.

We need a college basketball league pass team. The ACC this year has a lot of entrants in that mix. NC State's in that mix, Virginia Tech's in that mix. They're on the Hokies. Go common them all.

Oh my gosh. Yeah. I had them on against Charlotte on Sunday, and I was at a basketball game in Winston. And yeah, just buckets of fun. Real quickly, how much better do you think this league is than last year?

Markedly. Markedly better. You know, I think Miami can be interesting. I think that Miami is going to muck it up against a lot of teams. And I think that they're going to be able to steal a couple of wins like that.

Obviously, Having more than one team in that national title contending tier does a lot. You know, we know college basketball is a top-heavy sport, having Duke and Louisville up there. Is huge. I mean, UNC and North UNC and NC State, excuse me, to me are both clear tournament teams. I think Syracuse is interesting.

Obviously, I've said what I said about Virginia Tech. Stanford, Stanford basketball received an AP top 25 vote, and it was not the most egregious thing I've ever seen. They got a freshman who's scoring 25 a game. I know, I know.

So, you know, I think there are. You know, and I said in the preseason, I thought the ACC would get six teams in the NCAA tournament. Not only do I think that that is still entirely on the table, if you told me by year's end that it's closer to seven, maybe even eight, depending on how the non-conference goes, right? Like, Let's see if the ACC-SEC challenge maybe flips a little bit. The SEC has not had the best start to the year.

I'm just saying. The ACC haters threw a lot of dirt on the grave, and you know. You know that meme where he shoots up out of the coffin? Stick an ACC logo over it. I love it.

That's my second favorite meme right behind the Brendan Marks meme. Yeah, there it is. The athletic. That was Mike Young's face seeing that the athletic ranked Virginia Tech 15th in the preseason. We're looking at James Franklin's budget.

Yeah, that might be his reaction, too. Brendan Marks, thanks for doing this. We'll see you at a court somewhere, I'm sure, sometime soon. Hopefully sometime soon. Appreciate you guys.