Colors Bracket

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast.

Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons 3 to 7 on Sports Hub Triad. We are loaded with football and plenty of fun today. In the NFL, it's been a big game of quarterback musical chairs this week. Tom Brady going to Tampa, Philip Rivers to Indy, Dick Foles to Chicago, Marcus Mariota to Vegas, Ryan Tannehill staying in Tennessee.

Boy, it's hard to keep up with everything. And of course, Teddy Bridgewater arriving here to the Carolinas. However, we're running out of chairs for Cam Newton to potentially land in by the time music stops. And I think I still feel comfortable with the pick I have for Cam Newton's landing spot.

But as of right now, Robert Walsh, there are only two places I could realistically see him playing at this point. I've acknowledged the favorite, but there's also a dark horse that we haven't spent a lot of time talking about. Let's of course talk about the favorite, the Los Angeles Chargers. I still believe it's going to be the Chargers.

I don't know on a timeframe. Yesterday, they had the report, Ian Rappaport put it out there saying that they don't plan to add a veteran quarterback. Instead, they're going to move forward with Tyrod Taylor. They might pick a quarterback number six in the draft right before the Panthers selection.

I don't necessarily buy it. They wanted a star in Brady. They were going to put him on posters. They were trying to get butts in seats at this new stadium that's going to be marvelous in Los Angeles. And you mean to tell me that in the span of 24 hours, their mind just changed and they said, nah, we're good with Tyrod Taylor.

We're good. While they're still a star who is obtainable at this moment, I think strongly that information that they gave to Rappaport is a smokescreen. I think they want to communicate to the Panthers that they're not going to trade for Cam.

They're not going to give the Panthers anything since Carolina has already showed all of its cards. When they signed Teddy Bridgewater and had all those statements from Herney, David Tepper, their marketing and social media departments. Thank you for all your time with the Panthers. Oh, it was quite a run.

We wish you the best of luck. It told the entire league that if they don't trade for him, he's going to be cut. He's going to be released. Now, I don't know the timeframe on that. Is that going to happen sometime soon or is it going to happen closer to the draft? The Chargers, they could be patient. You already said Tyrod's going to be the guy right now. They're not planning to add a quarterback, but plans can change.

Remember Carolina said a few weeks ago? Yeah, we fully expect Cam Newton to be on the roster. Matt Rule absolutely wants to coach Cam.

He did all the interviews, the entire circuit. Plans changed when another quarterback became available that they preferred over Cam. That quarterback being Teddy Bridgewater.

So that's what I predict is going to happen here. They're not going to trade for him, but there's just too much, too much of a fit to think Cam is not going to be in Los Angeles. Lifestyle fit, football fit, all the suits Cam Newton wore, his flair, his interest in television, doing the kid show, going on a game show, great during his press conferences, polished, good-looking, handsome guy, perfect for Los Angeles. Football fit, he has familiarity with Trey Turner, who's one of his best friends from the Panthers.

He's going to be playing offensive guard. You already invested in Brian Balaga, the left tackle from the Green Bay Packers. You have a number six pick. You could continue to push forward and try to win now with Cam at the controls. I just see too many pros here to think that the Chargers are out of this.

So that is still my pick. However, I said there's a dark horse here. I believe the only other team I realistically see Cam Newton signing with and starting game one for this year to be the Miami Dolphins.

They are the dark horse. It's an upgrade from Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has one year left on his deal. They have the cap space to do it. Third in the NFL and cap space at the moment.

They had an upswing towards the end of the year. Remember the last week of the regular season, they beat New England in Foxboro. They finished with five wins, even though they led the NFL and dead cap hit. I think they had $66 million against the dead cap.

I mean, come on. Everyone thought they were tanking. They started winning games with the first year coach. Now it's year two for him. They have some decent young players, some decent weapons, lifestyle fit would work as well for Cam, and it could be a good bridge quarterback to have someone develop under. If Cam has success, okay, you're not rushing along this QB. If he's ready for his second year, maybe you could trade him the same way the Kansas City Chiefs traded away Alex Smith after they knew they had Pat Mahomes behind him. If he has a good year, you can franchise him and somebody's going to take that contract if Cam shows any resemblance to the quarterback we saw before he injured his shoulder and injured his foot. You could tweet the show at sportsubtriad.

336-777-1600 is the phone number. So the Chargers I think are the favorite, the Dolphins a dark horse. I can't rule out the Washington Redskins, albeit I just don't see it. They are top 10 in cap space. Ron Rivera is there.

Thomas Davis is there. But they're already paying Alex Smith, who I believe to be their richest contract at the moment. You got Dwayne Haskins under contract as well. It just seems like a bit much at that position to add Cam to that mix. I don't see the Cincinnati Bengals being a team because you already got Andy Dalton on the roster and you don't have to be concerned about his injury problems. If you want to have a veteran quarterback in front of Joe Burrow, well, you have one already under contract. So if you trade him away, I don't see you adding Cam to that fold. The Jaguars, same reason. You could have done it with Nick Foles, but it seems they're dead set on playing Gardner Minshew, stripping things down, tanking, meaning going to shorter contracts and cheaper contracts.

Minshew's contract is dirt cheap. The Jaguars also are not in the top 15 or 16 in terms of salary cap space. Neither are the Cincinnati Bengals. Then there's the New England Patriots.

As we discussed with Beaumont Jones yesterday, that doesn't seem like something that fits either from a brand perspective. Cam's brand versus the Patriots brand, that city welcoming Cam Newton the way they welcome some of their pro athletes. I thought this was very interesting from Bo yesterday. If you missed that, this is how that sounded. Oh, yeah, obviously.

And I'm going to tell you this right now. Cam winds up going to New England and playing for and playing for the Patriots. I'm trying to look into every sports radio segment that they have in that city. I want to see how in the world they handle the Cam Newton experience in Boston.

Let me know how that goes. I want to see it back. Keep it in mind. The Patriots have had literally one game started by a black defender.

In the history of their franchise. And you're going to bring in that dude with the funny suits. Oh, yeah, I'm here for it. In the business of being honest and accurate, I said Brian Bellaga is a left tackle. He's a right tackle. We got John Forslund, who's going to join us, our good friend from the Hurricanes in a little over 20 minutes. Jordan Rodriguez, guest on today's show, the voice of the Panthers.

Mick Mixon, a guest on today's show. It's day four of our five brackets. In five days, Reviving March Madness, our own special way. We had the 90s kids bracket yesterday. Before that, romantic comedies. 2000s pop music.

Today might be the strangest one of the week. It is our colors bracket. Yes, colors.

Let's get to the first reason. It's the colors bracket. Let's go to the Crayola region. Where the number one seed is Candy Apple Red. Going up against 16th seeded Cobalt, Candy Apple Red. The strongest of all the reds. The strongest of any team in the field. They easily win in the first round.

8-9 seed Robert. It's Fuchsia versus Lime. Just because I used to illegally download music off of Lime Wire. I've got to push Lime through. There you go.

Through the first round. Got like Eminem's whole discography off of that. I also dabbled with Frost Wire. I don't know what that is. Gold is a four seed facing 13th seeded Lavender. I think Gold might be a bit overrated. But they do win in the first round. Teal. Feel the teal. Fifth seed facing Army Green is a 12 seed.

I think this is a tough first round matchup between two teams familiar with each other. Two greens. But Teal, shouts to UNCW, wins in round number one. Cardinal, a six seed facing 11th seeded Burgundy. I just think Burgundy is a little bit more pristine. I think it's a more common color than Cardinal. Like people get confused. The Stanford Cardinal thinking they're the Cardinals. That's something that bothered me as a kid. So I'm going Burgundy to pull off the 11-6 upset.

I'm Ron Burgundy. Navy, a third seed facing fourth seeded Peach. Could you imagine if the Navy football team faced Peach, the Mario character? A whole team up there. The triple option versus Peach.

Navy is through. Neon Yellow versus Sapphire? I love Sapphire. Like, I think about Rose throwing the Sapphire off of the boat at the end of the movie. I'm not going to get fired up thinking about Titanic.

That movie really bothers me. Sapphire advances here. White versus Copper. White through to the second round.

Sapphire, though, takes down White to go to the Sweet 16. Burgundy versus Navy. It's all Navy. I look great in that color.

Gotta have it advance. Gold versus Teal. I said Gold is a little over seeded, a little overrated. Teal takes advantage and you got a five seed going on to the Sweet 16. Candy Apple Red beats Lime.

What do you got, Robert? Candy Apple Red versus Teal. This is the toughest matchup, I think, of the entire Crayola region.

And especially if you mix those two together, you're going to get some sort of black or blue. And that's what's going to happen in these matchups. They're going to beat each other up. But I think Candy Apple Red comes out on top, but with a few more scrapes and bruises. Candy Apple Red through to the Elite Eight. Navy versus Sapphire. A couple of blues. It is a battle of the blues.

We can appreciate that in the state of North Carolina. Navy's just a stronger color. They have no problem doing the dirty stuff. They're the darker shade of blue.

You know, they don't mind playing in the shadows. Navy, they're on to the Elite Eight. I think it's Candy Apple Red winning in this region because I think of Tiger Woods on Sunday, man. He's got that Sunday red and it is Candy Apple Red most times than not. So I like Candy Apple Red to advance to the Final Four.

Ron Swanson off Parks and Rec also, after he has a great night with his wife, he will wear a Candy Apple Red shirt. And it's the strongest one seed in this competition, is it not? I mean, this was as advertised. We expected them to do this.

Yes, they did exactly what they needed to to get to the Final Four. Coming up, how I expect Tom Brady's Tampa Bay chapter. I don't know why I put the emphasis on the second word there.

Yeah. How I expect this next chapter of Tom Brady's career to affect his legacy. This is The Drive. We're still waiting for the official announcement from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers saying that Tom Brady has joined the squad. Also, we're waiting for the new color scheme and uniform changes for the Buccaneers as well. A popular take I've seen on social media from people who just don't like change, I think, but also people who've loathed Brady and the Patriots the last two decades is this. Oh, Tom leaving to Tampa, it's going to ruin his legacy. It's going to tarnish what was seen to be the greatest career a quarterback's ever had in the NFL.

That's garbage. Tom Brady, his legacy is not going to be tarnished one bit, regardless what happens with the Buccaneers. He can only further his legacy by separating from Belichick and having some success. He can only further what we already know about Tom and what we believe about Tom with a big year with the Buccaneers.

Like, I think it's going to happen too. I see the story from today that says there are several players who are reaching out to the Buccaneers who want to join the team because Brady's now on it. This doesn't surprise me, we see it in the NBA all the time. Oh, LeBron's playing there. Ray Allen maybe will take a pay cut in order to be on the Miami Heat. Look at those 13 and 14 Heat rosters and you'll see guys who are just taking pay cuts.

David West took a pay cut in order to be on San Antonio, in order to be on the Golden State Warriors. We see players willing to join greatness and are willing to take a pay cut in order to win. That's why guys went to New England. Otherwise, why would you go to New England? You want to go to the Patriots even at the risk of having to change your lifestyle and handle things the Patriot way with the air quotes.

You were willing to do that and be subservient to Belichick if it meant you got a Super Bowl ring, that you went to the playoffs, that you had success. It was a line of players who wanted to be a part of the Brady Belichick Patriot monster that had been around for 20 years. When you look at Tampa Bay this year, you got weapons. Weapons that Brady hasn't had in nearly a decade. He threw for 4,000 yards last year. Don't give me this nonsense about him having the same QBR rating as Jamis Winston.

I know Brady's numbers weren't great the final 10 games of the year, but you got to consider who he's throwing to. You got to consider the weather. Playing in Foxboro, playing in the Northeast, that's not going to be a problem in Tampa Bay.

You're not going to have to worry about that. Oh, we're going to a dome to New Orleans? We're going to go to a dome in Atlanta? We're going to play in Charlotte? That's a lot better than going to Buffalo in December.

It's a lot better than having to face the Jets in New York or make it New Jersey, right? It's a totally different dynamic. The weapons are different.

The scene is different. This is a franchise. I mean, last year, they went 7-9 and they lost six of their nine games by one possession. You had a quarterback who turned it over, interceptions, 30 times last year. Brady, he's had 29 picks in the last four seasons combined. So this is going to be a playoff team.

I think it could get better. They're a few moves away from being a contender. Trent Williams, I'd acquire him from the Redskins for a second round pick. Todd Gurley, I read something today where the accelerated cap for him is going to have the Rams on the hook for all of his guaranteed money. So while it's a fat contract for a running back, if it doesn't work out, you could cut him at any point without owing him a guaranteed dime. So I think this Buccaneers roster, in the next three or four weeks, it's going to be bolstered to be a contender. But in the way of Brady's legacy, let's just say it goes awful.

Let's say they go 5-11 this year and we're just thinking, oh man, Brady's washed. When you go back and think of the greats, you don't think about the negatives, even if it's the most recent thing you saw. Like, when we think about Elvis, we're not thinking about fat Elvis. We're not thinking about fat Elvis that died in a bathroom stall. No, we're thinking about the guy who's doing weird things with his legs in the 50s. We're thinking about, you know, he ain't nothing but a hound dog.

We're thinking about the movies that he did, right? We're not thinking about how it ended. When you look at the legends in the NFL, Joe Namath, you're not thinking about the Chargers in San Diego. When you think of John Unitas, you're not thinking about the fact he ended things with San Diego as well. You're not thinking about the Chiefs when you hear Joe Montana's name. You're not thinking about the Wizards' years when you're talking about Michael Jordan. The same thing's going to happen with Brady. He won six Super Bowls.

He is the greatest of all time. That's not going to change regardless of what happens here with Tampa. It can only get better, not worse for Tom. Your thoughts are welcome on Twitter, at sportsubtriad, 336-777-1600, the number. Jon Forslund, the voice of the Carolina Hurricanes, going to join us in 10 minutes with a fascinating life story and tie to the coronavirus that I think you will find very interesting when he stops by, also one of NBC Sports' national NHL commentators, North Carolina co-sportscaster of the year. Can we hear, speaking of Tom Brady, Dick Vitale's reaction? Dick Vitale, massive Tampa Bay Rays fan, massive Bucs fan, lives in Sarasota, Florida. We've had Dick on many times here, and you think college basketball when you think of Dick, but I've seen him all over the place. It was weird seeing Dick Vitale on NFL Network yesterday talking about Tampa Bay Rays baseball.

Think about that, college basketball guy talking Rays baseball on the NFL Network. This was Dickie V's reaction to the news that his Buccaneers had brought Brady into town. Hey, everybody, we're so excited. Tom Brady, baby. Watch out, Tom, I'm going to take that job, number 12. Hey, we're ready to affect the Tom Brady. He's already been a winner. He's already thrown touchdown passes, and he hasn't taken one snap yet. Why?

Chicken Seals. And I read today a lot of great players said, we want to come to Tampa Bay and play with Mr. Brady, so it's going to help a free agency getting some players. Hey, I love the Bucs. Look what they sent me on my 80th birthday. They sent that when I turned 80, man, from the Bucs.

I got that. And then, see this football? This was sent to me by Jon Gruden when I won the Super Bowl, baby. And you know what?

I want to get another one of these at the end of this year. From Mr. Arians and Mr. Brady. So go get it, Tom. Super Bowl, yes siree, right in Tampa Bay. And I'll be there, acting like a 12-year-old, cheering. Let's go Bucs. Let's go Bucs. Tom Brady here is awesome, baby. Come on, Tom, go to touchdown pass. Evans with the catch. Enzo, the Bucs win the Super Bowl. Brady and Evans, wow. I love that guy. I'll never stop loving Dick Vitale. Never.

Never. But as the Buccaneers are adding Tom Brady, here are some of the sterling signings the Carolina Panthers have made. According to Adam Shefter, the Panthers, this is breaking news, Robert, have brought in former Saints wide receiver Keith Kirkwood to a one-year deal.

Did the kids have a reaction to that news? If you don't believe the Carolina Panthers are tanking, I just give you that piece of information. Also, who's he going to be lining up next to potentially?

The Panthers also have signed to a one-year contract. Seth Roberts. Yeah.

Awesome stuff. So John Forslund, he's a great friend of ours. Voice of the Canes, he might have the craziest tie to the coronavirus pandemic, at least in terms of sports, in this entire state.

And he will join us to tell us about it next. Before we get to John Forslund, a quick announcement I've been asked to pass along. The Greensboro Chamber just put this out on its social media. Each day, right here, Sports Hub Triad is going to air brief announcements for local businesses about revised hours, different or limited services, delivery and takeout options, and other information you want out to the public.

It's a free service for local businesses as well. Some of these brief announcements we're going to have during the day. If you are a local business and you need that information put out, email us at SportsHubTriad at CurtisMedia.com. John Forslund now with us, and I think you're involved with the scary portion of a sports tie in North Carolina to the coronavirus, but the Carolina Hurricanes are involved with one that was very good, to say the least, something that has us very positive and optimistic about where we're headed with all of this. But, John, for those who may not know your tie to this story, outline what this last week has been for you. Well, Josh, last Thursday when the league decided it was suspending play, we were headed back from New Jersey and was on the bus, just getting ready to get to the airport, and one of our staff people got on the bus and asked some people to leave and came to the back and said he had some news for me, and I really didn't know what to expect. It didn't look like it was going to be good news, and he just informed me that I occupied the same hotel room in Detroit as one of the Utah Jazz players. So he said, your life's going to change a little bit. Now we've got to make some changes, and I had some questions, and they made provisions and got clearance from their doctors for me to be on the team plane and fly home. But I got on the phone with my doctor, and based on the fact I didn't have any symptoms as of yet that I wasn't eligible to be tested, I just assumed that I could get tested because I was directly exposed to it, someone who had tested positive for it, but that wasn't the case.

So I had to go into self-quarantine where I've been at home here since last Thursday, and I'll clear on Sunday, and then on Monday morning I'll be able to join the world again in this battle against the virus. Did you know what was happening in Oklahoma City as this was taking part? Did you know about what the positive test of Gobert led to? Yeah, I mean, we were in New Jersey ready to play the Devils on Thursday, so that would have been Wednesday night. And yeah, just based on social media and the way the news gets out today, I never heard of him before, I didn't know who he was, I don't really follow the league, and then I saw that their game had been suspended, then I could, why?

And then all these links started coming in about what he kind of did a couple of days earlier to kind of make fun of the press conferences, the way reporters are getting sequestered away from their subjects, and kind of like what we call now social distancing, it's a common phrase now all of a sudden. Anyway, that's how it all came together, but I went to sleep and then I got up in the morning on Thursday and was prepping for the game, just with the outside chance that the league, the NHL might maybe get one more game in. I had the feeling inevitably this thing was going to be shelved, and once the NBA suspended I figured the NHL has to follow suit, but they waited until the next day, they had a conference call at one Eastern time with the Board of Governors, all the owners, and Gary Bettman suspended play, and that's when we headed home and that's when I got the news. So I was aware, and I was also aware that they were there. We knew that they had occupied the same dressing areas as the players at Little Caesar's Arena, but Tampa Bay was there on Sunday, the Jazz had played there Saturday night, Tampa Bay played the Red Wings on Sunday, the Hurricanes played the Red Wings on Tuesday, but we had been there for a couple of days, so we knew they were there, but nobody would have thought of this, and then they just cross-referenced the rooming list, and I lost the reverse lottery.

Jon Forslund with us here, the NSMA North Carolina Co-Sportscaster of the Year. Before we get to the positive angle of this, one I believe to be positive, how are you feeling, and are you still self-quarantined? Yeah, I'm self-quarantined through Sunday, so it has to be 14 days. I'm okay, I don't have any symptoms. I'm fighting some allergies right now based on the weather and the fact that everything is starting to bloom a little bit for spring, and under normal circumstances it wouldn't even bother me because I get it all the time. But with this, you wonder, is this due to maybe a possible late outbreak of this? You just don't know.

I don't have any of the symptoms, the warning signs my doctor told me to be on the lookout for, thank God. So we're just going to plow through, and I'm in my basement at my house and where I have been, and just totally quarantined off. No contact with anybody, and that's just the way it is through Sunday. What response have you gotten from the Canes? Because we are aware, of course, of the news this week that the team will be compensating PNC Arena event staffers making up for home games that are going to be missed.

Yeah, which I've seen from afar, and I think that's great. They're going right in concert with so many teams and all the sports who are figuring out a way to do this, and some great moves by Major League Baseball, the NBA. Mark Cuban was the first owner right away to say he would do something for his people, and that was great. And the Canes took a few days to figure out what they wanted to do, but I knew that they wanted to do this for all the arena workers, and there's seven home dates remaining, I believe, so they're going to be compensated for that, and that's terrific. I haven't had much contact with the team. I spoke with the president and GM, Don Waddell, I think it was last Saturday. Haven't heard anything since.

John Forslund with us here. Give me a sense with the most productive thing you've been able to do while quarantined. There hasn't been much. To be honest with you, this is different because of what's happening in the world. I've been paying strict attention to the news and maybe too much.

I think if this were maybe later in this process or just a normal sickness, God forbid, say you had to be quarantined and be in isolation like this, you would probably figure out a way to do a little bit more reading than usual, maybe work on something. I've been watching a lot of television and just trying to stay up to date with the ever-changing global climate, if you will. I've got two in college and one's home from Pennsylvania. My oldest is at Clemson as a grad student. She's on her way back today. I've got one in high school.

We're just trying to figure out what's happening next in terms of their lives because they're upside down. I've done a variety of these things. Interviews, people have been kind enough to have me on like yourself. I think it's important because I just want to stress that I'm not a hero by any stretch or any kind of martyr or anything like that. I'm just doing what I've been told to do. I just hope people do that. We've been told to do things as citizens. Let's do it.

Let's flatten this thing out and get back to as quickly as possible some kind of normal life. I think it's just important to have you on because for me, I was at the Greensboro Coliseum when everything shut down at the ACC tournament a week ago today. But even then, okay, you're taking precautions because of what happened in Oklahoma City the previous night and the NBA shutting things down. It wasn't until I saw the news with you, Johnny, that it became very real for me. In the state of North Carolina, people know who you are.

They might not have heard of Rudy Gobert or might not have a tie to it. So that's why I wanted to have you on. Also, as a return token, since you have some free time between now and Sunday, if you need any television shows or movies to watch, I mean, we're your show here. We're people who can help you out in that regard.

Yeah, I know. And everybody's been great with all these recommendations. I have a few books and people have dropped off a couple here.

I've read a couple and I'm just working through one right now, but I'm not a big movie guy and I'm not a big binge-watcher of Netflix and television series and all this stuff. I'm pretty one-dimensional during my professional time and I'm pretty one-dimensional during my personal time in the offseason. So in the offseason, I'm totally dedicated to everything I can do for my family that I miss during the season.

And then during the season, as you know, I'm watching hockey almost every night. Busiest guy I know. Yeah, and I'm working a lot too. I was working a lot and I just finished a long stretch.

I had one stretch where I did eight games in nine nights in eight different cities and that was maybe the busiest I've ever been. So I'm throwing on the brakes, which is way different than usual. It feels weird at this time of the year. But we'll just have to wait and see. There's bigger fish to fry here. This is a major, major circumstance that we've never seen before as a country and as a global society. So let's get everybody back to normal again and then we can worry about sports.

And when we do, I think sports are going to play such a vital role in propping up the country again. It's going to be a lot of fun to be part of that. Johnny, it's just good to hear your voice. I'm glad to hear you're doing well and thank you so much for joining me today. Appreciate it. Thanks. Keep up the good work. And if you can, I know you will use your medium to get what you need to get to the people and be of service out there because I can't reinforce enough.

We have to stand together through this and we got to stop picking sides and just act as a country for a change. Absolutely. Thank you, Johnny. You got it. Take care. He's on Twitter at John Forslund. Send him some nice thoughts because, you know, it's not every day that you have somebody on that, you know, a week or four or five days after sleeping in a hotel room, he found out that the guy who basically got sports canceled across the United States was sleeping in that same bed the night before. Yeah.

So a really strange circumstance. And I think a place that you could start is where I started this segment talking about local businesses, you know. It's imperative. You could still shop local. You can't.

How about a gift card? That's the way to go about it, I think. I was talking to Sarah Bradford about this. You know, 68 percent of money spent at local and small businesses stay in the area. I mean, what happens to Main Street and Winston-Salem if nobody supports it? What happens to Friendly Center in Greensboro and all these hot spots with local locations for us to visit?

Just because you can't sit inside a restaurant, let's say, or go inside a store doesn't mean you can't support them. So I reiterate what John Forslund said right there. Let's take a step back. Let's get through this together.

I'll tell you the three ways Cam's tenure with the Panthers will be most remembered by us as media in the state of North Carolina, Panthers fans even, heck, maybe even nationally as well if you don't give a rip about the Panthers. That's next on The Drive. Want to become a real sports fan? Leave it right here.

It turns everyone it touches into raging psychotic. All things sports. Well, sometimes. On The Drive with Josh Graham. What a time to be alive where you see NFL players who are just quarantined in their houses with nothing to do but tweet, especially when there is news regarding them. So Adam Schefter reported that Todd Gurley has just been released by the Los Angeles Rams. A Scarborough, North Carolina native just took the Twitter a few minutes ago and he said, quote, damn, I got fired on my day off.

Hashtag quarantine and chill. Jordan Roderick, we brought a tweet from her a short while ago to the audience where she essentially said that the Carolina Panthers are having difficulty trading Cam Newton's contract. Shocker after you put out all the graphics and such saying that he's essentially not going to be a Panther. You're going to be moving off of him. Thank you for your service. All of that stuff. And she expects that Cam is going to be released very soon.

Those are the words that she said on her social media account. Lucky for us, we have Jordan Roderick with us here on the show. It's good to have you back.

We'll get to some food in a bit. Food and football, one of our favorite segments to do with you, Jordan. But who do you believe ultimately pulled the trigger on or pulled the plug on the pro Cam narratives that we heard at the Combine to essentially move off of Cam? And now eventually this is going to end with him not being on the roster because Teddy Bridgewater is here.

Well, my perception of the whole situation, first of all, is that it's a huge mess. And second of all is that, you know, I do think that this was a somewhat fluid situation for quite some time where the team had to talk about all of its options as it pertained to Cam Newton. And obviously one of those options would have been running with him through 2020 and another one of those options would have been cutting him. Another one of those options would have been trading him.

Now I also believe him when he said he did not ask for a trade as the as the phrasing of the sort of fateful press release kind of indicated. But there is a lot of things kind of as more information starts to trickle out, there's a lot of different scenarios that were discussed as it pertained to Cam Newton over the last several months inside that building. And it kind of was like the company line to just say his health, his health, his health. Well, I think that's what people are are upset about right now is, well, you said, you know, if he's healthy and he looks healthy, and obviously he can't pass physical right now because everyone's in social distancing situations, but, you know, are you saying he's not healthy?

And I don't get that sense either. So it's a messy, complicated situation. I do think that, you know, there there are a lot of conversations that have been had about a variety of scenarios.

And obviously they're in the loop on those things as those conversations happen. Mercy is the key word, and it was in Jordan's story talking about Cam's exit that you can find at the Athletic Carolinas. Over the last month and a half, what do you believe to be the team's biggest public misstep? Was it something that happened this week or something that happened prior to that? So I think I think the phrasing is bad of that press release, because if you say he's given permission, you're implying that he asked for permission. So I don't think that that was a great way of phrasing it. Also, it implies that Cam Newton's calling GMs. Is he going to be like, yo, what's going on Howie Roseman?

What do you got going on in Philly? Like I mean, it doesn't it didn't make much sense and we all kind of knew what it was, I think. Right.

I don't even think his team like I don't think his camp were the ones that asked for the trade. That's the impression that I have. So or like got the ball rolling in that regard. You know what I mean? So I think that that was something he kind of took offense to because he didn't want it to turn out like kind of this Greg Olsen situation where there was this perception out there that it was mutual, but it wasn't actually mutual. So so I don't so I mean, it's just so complicated, man. Like I think there's a lot of hurt feelings right now. That's kind of the perception that I've been getting on the phone for the last 24 hours or so.

And I think that I think it's fair. I feel for the guy, you know, he's having a hard time getting traded. That's no fault of his own. But you know, that's that's kind of a tough thing is your your sort of tunnel is shrinking. And that's probably a tough thing to deal with. The last few years, nobody's covered the Panthers as closely as you have.

I think you and your coworker, Joe Person, who we, of course, have on quite often. But I'd be interested to know and just your feelings reflecting on Cam's time with the Panthers, especially after reading your story. You included an excerpt where you said, Newton taught me something very important early in my career. You can feel messy about someone or something for a moment. Things can be messy and complicated and can hurt in a lot of ways people will never know.

But that doesn't that that doesn't affect how you should treat people. So when you're trying to process everything, how have you processed your time covering Cam? Well, I've been I've been lucky. I mean, like, I don't think I've learned as much in life and kind of about people and their complexities and their nuances than from covering him because, you know, there are a lot of layers and a lot of levels to him and he's kind of had to grow very much in public and sometimes painfully so and so I think that's that's a really hard thing to ask of somebody. But what I appreciated of him is that he was not afraid of having to do that. He kind of threw himself and continues to throw himself wholeheartedly in the process of growth very publicly. And yes, that means sometimes making mistakes.

And yes, I think that that's admirable to be able to continue to try to set an example that you always want to be the best version of yourself, year after year, no matter what you go through, no matter what people say about you, you always want to continue to try being the best version of yourself and that's exactly what he does and that's what I learned from him as well and I think that is extremely important and if there's one message that people take from Camden's time in Carolina, I think that should be the one. Two quick things I want to get to you on the way out. Some fun stuff here. We have so in the tryout, we were expecting to have March Madness games played in Greensboro for the first time in a long time, but there's no March Madness, no NCAA tournament. So all week long, we've been doing our own personal brackets. Each day we had 2000s pop music on Monday, we had romantic comedies on Tuesday, we had yesterday, it was the 90s kids show bracket, today it is the colors bracket. We have one more region to knock out and we're going to do that in five minutes, but among the final four teams right now, you got Candy Apple Red, Sky Blue, and Hot Pink. Out of those three, which one does Jordan Rodriguez prefer?

I like Sky Blue because it reminds me of just how wide open the sky is out west, out in Phoenix and California, it's just a different shade out there. Alright and lastly, see, everybody's being forced indoors so people are figuring out how good or bad they are as cooks, I think. You're somebody, we've even seen it, like I think it was you, was it Bradbury you and him were cooking steaks with? Yeah that was awesome, the man makes a great steak. So you are one of the people I closely associate with food knowledge, somebody who appreciates good beer, good food, good culinary experiences, but if you're in your own home and you're being tasked with making a good meal quickly, what's your go-to?

I'm really into making ramen, I have a huge book, not like the pack of ramen, I have like a huge book full of all of these kinds of ramen recipes, really kind of intricate broths and things that take some time and now that I'm practicing social distancing, I have had more time to try to make different types of broths and the bonus is that it's really good for your immune system so it's like things that take like four or five hours to do, but you can keep it and freeze it for a little while and kind of add vegetables and proteins and things like that and so I've really enjoyed doing that. You're the absolute best Jordan, I know you're busy, thank you so much for doing this. Thanks Josh, appreciate you man, take care. That's Jordan Roderick, she's on Twitter at Jordan Roderick, read her stuff in The Athletic. Carolinas will get more Carolina Panthers thoughts from the voice of the Panthers McMixon when he joins us in a little over 30 minutes.

So we have breaking news to get to at the top of the hour and our five things at five. I think there are two places I could realistically see Cam Newton playing when he is released, I think that's the day that this all happened a few days ago, I said that it feels like it's been a month, it's been just a couple of days. When that happened, I thought we were headed towards a place where he's going to be released, not traded, so I think that's going to happen. When it does, and Jordan Roderick says it's going to happen very soon, there are two places I could realistically see him playing. One that I think is a clear favorite, the other is a dark horse that we haven't spent much time talking about.

We'll get to that and the final region of our colors bracket next. What are you going to remember the most about Cam Newton's tenure with the Panthers? It's crazy, the first thing that came to mind to me, came to mind for me today, is Cam Suits. I'm trying to think what my favorite one was. Robert, you've seen these things, I've been in so many Cam press conferences and the orange one that was paying homage to Dumb and Dumber really sticks out. The time he wore the robe that was black and had the headband on, that was pretty cool. The barbershop quartet, I think I was after a Bills game a few years ago. That was solid, he had the bow tie, he had the sleek hat on, really was a fan of that. At the Ravens one time at M&T Bank Stadium, he wore a plum colored hat with a plum colored scarf. I really appreciated that. Remember he wore the romp hem at Coachella? I'm going to miss the outfits, man, I'm getting emotional right now.

I always think about the one that was compared to like Grandma or Graham Newton. Oh yeah, that was the robe, where he has like the last time we ever saw Cam after a game. I could tell you a story about that.

I would love it if you would do that. It was one o'clock in the morning, Eastern Standard Time. It was after the Panthers didn't give the ball to Cam on the goal line. They tried some trick play with McCaffrey and Vernon Hargraves, pushed him out of bounds before he was able to get the first down or even get in the end zone.

And we're just waiting for Cam, it took him, it took an hour, maybe an hour and 15 minutes for Cam to come out. Like mind you, this is a Thursday. This is my birthday too.

It's my birthday, it's Thursday. So we have a show on Friday and it is 1.15 in the morning and Cam emerges wearing that. And there is a person who sits behind me who just lets out an audible, a Cam darted his eyes in that direction and we all stiffened up, all the butt cheeks got clenched in one moment.

But I took the photo and then immediately I was surprised how many people were still up at 1.15. It's like, what the hell is that? Yeah, it's either that one or his Joker suit when he looked like the Joker. It's a purple one with, he had a hat to match it with a red trim on it. I'll send you a pic.

It's pretty nice. One time he wore like a fez, he wore a red fez and I asked him about that. I asked him about it and he usually would just say, nah, man, it's my sauce, it's my drip, all that.

He wouldn't give credit to where he thought of that for, like where the ideas came from. But on that instance he said, no, it was Andre 3000. I saw Andre 3000 in a GQ interview and he had a brimless hat is what he called it. He didn't call it a fez. He said, I had never seen anybody in the NBA, NFL, anywhere else wear a brimless hat.

So I wanted to wear a brimless hat. That's how Cam thought. He was an entertainer, man. He was already the most unique person you could find in the league at that position, but he furthered that with the way that he dressed.

He was an interesting dude. I'm going to miss that. I'm going to miss Cam and I'm willing to bet you probably are too. Even if you dislike him, having him and hating him amid successes is a lot more fun than being bored while losing because I'm here to tell you, there is not going to be a Teddy Bridgewater press conference that is more interesting than Cam's least interesting press conference. This guy wears dare t-shirts to some of his pressers, shouts the dare.

That was always a popular thing in college to wear. Like if you go to a party, have the dare t-shirt, I'm ironic, I signed the same contract you did. So he's not going to be a lot of fun and the Panthers aren't going to be a lot of fun this year. Locker rooms, they're not generally fun places to be. Like I don't look forward to going into the locker room.

Generally it smells and you're invading on these player spaces and they don't want you there most times. Like even after wins, I remember Duke won against Carolina a few weeks ago. I don't know how I'd forget it.

It was only two weeks ago, seems like years. And we're going into the locker room and they have loud music playing. You could see players dancing around, but when they see us approaching, they turn the music off and then they sit and slouch into their chairs as if they're about to get some sort of medical exam. It was different when the Panthers won, like when the Panthers won games, that locker room was fun. Cam would be blaring Beyonce after every single win. It would be irreplaceable by Beyonce.

You'd be trying to do your interviews and just in the background, you'd hear, you must not know about me. Cam Newton singing at the top of his lungs, Beyonce, like that's different. Cam's pressers, different. He had a heart for kids and for the state of North Carolina.

That never wavered. You might be one of those people as we were talking to Mick Mixon about, Hey, you might think he's a showboat, just hand the ball to the referee like Barry Sanders did. But what did Cam do with those footballs when he scored? He gave it to children, right? This guy has a heart for kids. He wasn't a high alcohol guy. He didn't commit any crimes, sans the laptop incident people like to bring up when he was a dumb 18 year old kid at the University of Florida. As a pro, he's been about as good of an ambassador to the city of Charlotte and the state of North Carolina as anybody you can find. He made this area relevant and I'm going to remember him that way.

Most people aren't and I understand it. Most people are going to remember Super Bowl 50 at his failures, the press conference where he left early, not diving on the ball, had a relative called me not too long ago, bringing up that with Cam. I mean, that was four years ago, injuries, perhaps it's one of our state's biggest sports what ifs, at least pro sports, the Hornets. What would have happened if they just drafted Kobe Bryant and didn't trade him away? What would have happened if Cam remained healthy? If Cam remained healthy, I think Ron Rivera is still the head coach. I think Cam Newton's a slam dunk Hall of Famer.

That's the way I feel. Look at it statistically, he is the greatest red zone threat in NFL history, 58 career rushing TDS. That's more than or to spine or that's more than Roger Craig. That's more than Tiki Barber. It's three short of OJ Simpson and that's back when they were given the ball to one guy all the time and weren't passing as much.

He has 15 more than the second quarterback on the list, Steve Young, who had 43 the most iconic athlete we've had in this state. So these are the things I'm thinking about as the Panthers inevitably, probably in the next week, are going to move off of Cam Newton. Don't think they're going to get a trade. I think he's going to be released to give Carolina a release of 19 and a half mil, but also to protect Cam here because it's over and he's still in the roster. People are telling him his goodbyes and he's still drawing a paycheck there.

It's strange. The Panthers need the release Cam. On Twitter at sportsubtriant, 336-777-1600 is the phone number if you care to chime in that way. We have the final four of our colors bracket to do. Our colors bracket is today's bracket. We're doing five brackets in five days. I'll tell you what, the last of our five brackets will be in a few minutes, but we need to get to the final four here. Robert, this has been a hotly contested bracket so far. Let's get to the final four.

The madness continues on sports hub triad. It's the colors bracket. We've reached the final four. All right, it is the final four for our colors bracket coming out of the Crayola region. It is number one seat Candy Apple Red, which was the tournament's overall number one seed. Out of the Instagram filter region, another number one seed Sky Blue. Out of the Olympic logo region, number two seed Hot Pink. And out of the Taste the Rainbow region, it's number two seed Royal Purple. Let's get to the first of two matchups, Robert. Candy Apple Red, one seed versus number one seed Sky Blue.

How do you see this matchup? Got into it. I didn't know. The only thing I was sure of is that in the championship, we are going to see a one seat play a two seed, but I will say this Candy Apple Red. What's the first thing you think of? I think of candy apples, right? What's the first thing you think of when you think of Sky Blue? I think of the sky.

All right. Which one of those is bigger? The sky. Sky Blue is my pick to move on to the next round. Wow.

That's analysis right there. I think Sky Blue is a more delightful color. I think Red can be a little abrasive. Tiger wearing Sunday Red, it's great. I root for Tiger, but it is an abrasive color. So I think Sky Blue has to be the choice to win. It's just a bad matchup for Candy Apple Red. Doesn't mean it's a bad color, just really running into a buzzsaw in Sky Blue. Now it's Hot Pink facing Royal Purple.

Two seeds and their respective brackets. Hot Pink, it might be the more flashy choice, the more popular choice, but Royal Purple has been getting it done for a very long time. What do you think about these two? I think when you look at them both on paper, it's colors that men would be scared of if it wasn't for their masculinity. Are you right? Are you sure about that? Hot Pink, yes, but then there's been this trend of, you know, men can wear pink too.

Exactly. And then Royal Purple though, I think men have been wearing Royal Purple for a long time. It's Royal. But the thing is, which one of those are you scared to wear? I'm not scared to wear either one of them, and I think someone is going to be scared on the court, and that somebody is Hot Pink. They've had everything going for them this whole tournament, I don't really think they've faced any real competition until they run into Royal Purple, and they are going to lay the smack down. Royal Purple might as well be Deep Purple, which is the name of a band.

I know this. When Duke plays North Carolina, media members, they have to dress. It is responsible to dress neutrally. So blue is out of the question. Can't wear blue. You also can't wear red because people will immediately associate NC State with that. So the most popular color that is worn by media members when Duke plays North Carolina, Purple.

Gold. As Dave Chappelle once said in the comedy bit, give me that purple. Now we have a matchup in the championship. Did he say it like that, or did he say give me that purp maybe? I think he said that, purple.

That purple stuff I think was the expression. 3-3-6-7-7-7-1-600 on Twitter at sportsubtribe if you care to chime in. We have the championship matchup here. It is Sky Blue, one seed, facing number two seed, Royal Purple, been a great run to the championship at this point.

But man, I think this is where I'm leaning, Robert. I think Sky Blue is going to be the favorite, probably a three and a half, four point favorite if this is a game in fact played with points. It's just a more classic color, we're in the state of North Carolina, Sky Blue means a lot to the folks who root for the Tar Heels. Royal Purple is the opponent though. So let's go to Jeremy in Burlington who has a Royal Purple fact that might affect the voting here as it is a championship matchup between Sky Blue and Royal Purple. Ask Jeremy. Hey Josh, great show, love it, man, listen every day, any day I can. The fact that I was actually told about Royal Purple was that only men of the cloth wore purple back in the day, so it hasn't been a while that men have been able to wear the purple because if you were seen wearing purple then you would actually be berated and chastised and looked down upon, so we weren't able to wear purple. Wow! Thank you, Jeremy.

So we will factor that in to consideration. Also Zach tweets in, gotta go with Royal Purple, it's a primary color for the Western Carolina of Catamount. Sky Blue is also a color of a local team as well. It's okay, we're not, we're ABC over here, at least in this. You are? Oh I'm ABC all day.

Man, I didn't know you were, I didn't know you were an ABC person. You might have just offended so many people sitting in their cars. Well I don't think whether they're sitting in their cars or sitting in their home they can de-quarantine and come down here and argue about it with me. Fist fight? Fist fight? We'll watch the ECU Carolina game together? I don't care, we can relive that 70 burger.

That's all I gotta talk about. Yeah Larry Fedora's already forgotten about that, I'm sure most Tar Heel fans have as well. There are so many Carolina fans that think I root for Duke and so many Duke fans that think I root for Carolina. I really just don't care.

I don't, I find it exhausting to be emotionally attached that way. Josh hates both your teams. Yes, I hate all of your teams, and love their rivals. Sky Blue versus Royal Purple, what do you think?

You know what, maybe I'm a homer, maybe I'm a dreamer, but I know I'm not the only one. I'm going with Royal Purple as my color bracket champion. I'm going Royal Purple too, dammit.

That's what I'm talking about. Royal Purple! Royal Purple!

Let's go! Beat Sky Blue March, this is March! And that has been the colors bracket. Got Royalty here, and Western Carolina, and Robert's Homerdom.

All of it gets Royal Purple to the finish line tomorrow. The last bracket that we have is the only one that I didn't sit at home and do myself seating. So, I'm worried there are things on this bracket I do not know. It is the video game character bracket. Robert has put this thing together, and we're going to have the last of our brackets of the week be the video game character bracket. How much time did you put into this?

Actually a lot. On Saturday, I was kind of indisposed of all day, but in the midst of that, I just thought of random video game characters. After I passed this along to my friends, they were like, why didn't you include this? Why didn't you include this?

What was the most popular one you excluded? Odd Job from GoldenEye. They were upset about that. I don't think James Bond was on it. He's not. He was not.

Odd Job? I think he's more of an iconic character just because he was so small and that... So it's kind of cruddy to have the guy who throws the hat. Yeah, right? That's kind of cheating. I would agree. And he's really small.

Hard to get a headshot on him. What do you got in Ticket to the House today? Everybody's been quarantined for about four days now, maybe even longer. I've got activities that might make the time pass just a little bit quicker. All right. I'll see you in the House next.