The Drive with Josh Graham - Good Segment Chain

Attention, please. This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast. Tune into The Drive 3 until 6pm weekdays on the Sports Hub. I love it. It's brilliant. I've been debating whether Andrew Luck handled this the right way, and I've seen even some already leaping to defining his career legacy.

That's fine, but this is the part that's frustrating to me. Nobody is talking about what is primarily responsible for sidelining into retirement. The greatest quarterback prospect of this generation. The answer is simply football. The sport itself is what to blame, is what's the blame for this. Throughout the press conference Saturday night, Andrew Luck kept referring to this cycle that he's been enduring through the last four years. That cycle being injury, pain, rehab. If you talk to any professional football player, what Andrew Luck is describing there isn't special to him.

They all deal with that. That is a prerequisite to football. This cycle that he's describing of injury, pain, rehab. When I first started covering the NFL, it was the most staggering thing that stood out most to me. We get this access that's incredibly intrusive. The game ends, and ten minutes later, we're in the locker room, and we see these players literally stripped down to their skin. And you see how broken they are, game to game. Then you hear about fans that say they're entitled. That these rich athletes, they have too much and they make too much.

And they never see, and you never see it broadcast, just the physical toll that these players take week to week and how inhumane this sport can be at times. Just listen to the way Andrew Luck, again, was describing what he was feeling while even standing at that microphone, saying that his career is over after six seasons. I'm in pain. I'm still in pain. I've been in this cycle, which feels like, I mean, it's been four years of this injury, pain, rehab cycle.

And for me to move forward in my life the way I want to, it doesn't involve football. I really feel like this is a problem for the NFL where you have this player, generational talent Andrew Luck, coming into the league. Everybody thought he was going to be Peyton Manning. He was going to be Tom Brady.

He was going to take over the league and it never happened because they could not keep him healthy. They couldn't get an offensive line in front of him that could protect him appropriately. But the NFL, ever since Carson Palmer got hit low in that Pittsburgh Steeler playoff game nearly 15 years ago, we saw the rules of the game tailoring in a direction to protect that position more than any other position on the field. You can't hit quarterbacks low. You can't hit them in the helmet. You can't hit them a certain kind of way or else you will get penalized in the interim, maybe fined after the game.

The goal was to protect the quarterbacks and they could not devise the rules and the game in such a way that it protected Andrew Luck from this headline. What he's citing are the side effects of football. This does not happen in other sports.

Early retirements do. Magic Johnson due to HIV, Michael Jordan due to pursuing baseball. I'm not saying players don't even leave other sports due to injury, their bodies not being able to go on. But the injuries that Andrew Luck has sustained are far different than the injuries that have ended basketball and baseball careers. In basketball, it's soft tissue injuries, ligaments being torn, knees and shoulders being knocked around, displaced to a point where you just can't play that sport. It's just a wear on your joints. Baseball, that happens quite a bit, especially with catchers. And throwing a baseball, it's not the most natural of motions.

But that's not what we're talking about with football. Lacerating your kidney? Internal bleeding?

Urinating blood? God knows what he's dealing with right now. These aren't injuries that you're used to seeing in sports.

These are injuries you're used to seeing because of car accidents. It's an inhumane sport, even as we're being told that the game has been made safer. Your thoughts are welcome on Twitter at sportsubtriad. 336-777-1600 the phone number if you'd like to chime in that way. The voice of the Carolina Panthers, Mick Mixon, will be with us to talk about this topic, Cam Newton's foot, and some of the leftovers from Panthers preseason game number three, the final preseason game the Panthers face in the Steelers this weekend before getting set for the Los Angeles Rams at Bank of America Stadium on September the 8th. Let's go to Joey in Thomasville. First call of the week? Let's make it a good one, Joey.

Joey, what do you got on Andrew Locke? Well, it's actually not even my take. It's actually my wife who's not even a sports fan at all. But I was sitting there watching his press conference and listening to him talk and my wife was sitting in the room with me. And when it got done, she looked at me and she said, I think that's a painkiller addiction. And let me preface this by saying that, I mean, obviously we have nothing to go on to suggest that would be the case. Other than the fact that my wife has worked with a lot of people in addictions and things. And when he just talked about the cycle and especially when he looked over to his wife, when she's recently married and looked over at her and the way he thanked her, that was her take on it. And I really got to thinking about it.

And I don't know if that's something that will come out, if that's even true. But with all of his pain and everything that he went through to play, as you said, the lacerated kidney, the shoulder, the concussion, everything that he dealt with, I had to believe that he and so many football players have been on these painkillers. And it just makes me wonder if recently being married, if she said, hey, look, this has got to stop. And like I said, this was her take.

This is from a female perspective who's not a sports fan. And just looked at it and said, I think he's quitting because of an addiction to painkillers. Joey, thank you so much for the phone call. I love that, that he likes the take from his wife, but he knows better than to steal his wife's take and then bring it onto the radio. However, on Mondays, we play this game called Let's Get Crazy, where based on very small sample sizes, we jump to conclusions with opinions and we just throw things against the wall, sometimes irrationally.

I think jumping to the conclusion that Andrew Luck is addicted to painkillers, I think Joey's wife deserves this. It's a good hot take. It's a great hot take. It's well thought out. Yeah. I'm not going to dispute it. Thorough.

Very thorough. Another thing happened since the last time I was talking to you guys, the ACC network launched last Thursday. And if you had any doubt what this network is going to be built on, the first 10 minutes of the ACC network, really the first night of the launch, I think made it pretty clear the network's going to be built on college basketball. In the first 10 minutes, Virginia basketball and Ralph Sampson. Ralph Sampson's in the studio.

Christian Laitner was the first guest that I think was on the network. Then what do you got two hours in? A Duke basketball documentary? I did a Duke documentary drinking game, which I put on social media.

Turned out not to be the greatest of idea. But perhaps we'll have time to get to that. And in addition to that, talk about some of the other stuff I've been driving across the entire state of North Carolina, spending time in Charlotte, of course, here in the Triad, but also in Durham and Greenville, America, out in eastern North Carolina. We're excited for football season, officially starting in college with week zero games this past weekend. But with the ACC network, the network is going to be built on college basketball.

And that is where it should be. This market, I don't know if people know this, but this place, Greenville or make it Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, as a media market was the second highest rated market for the college basketball national championship game. March Madness. We didn't have North Carolina, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest playing in the Final Four. It was Virginia and Texas Tech. But in terms of market shares, specific markets, in terms of the percentage of people in that market watching, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point was the second highest rated market in the entire country, which just blows my mind. But it speaks to how much we love college basketball in ACC country, and it's something different.

It's something that's certainly going to distinguish the ACC network from the SEC network and all these other conference networks that have been built on football. Dave and Clemons once in on Andrew Luck and specifically the draft class that he was in, quarterbacks, running backs and other positions who turned out to be pretty disappointing. Dave, what do you got?

Hey, Josh. Yeah, I'm pulling up the 2012 draft, and this is absolutely interesting. So first of all, Andrew Luck to the Colts, right? Major injury. Second, Redskins, arch three. We know about him. Major injuries as well.

Second, we have to make an answer. I think he's playing for the Ravens. Third, Cleveland Browns, Trent Richardson. The Vikings took Matt Kalil. Fourth, fifth, Jacksonville took Justin Blakeman. Sixth, Dallas Cowboys took Morris Claiborne. The Tampa Bay Bucks took Mark Barron. Seventh, eighth was Ryan Tannehill. To the Dolphins, Major injuries.

And ninth, Carolina Falcons. Yeah, great player, but major injury concerns with a lot of these guys in the top nine. A couple of them are out of the league now.

Yeah, we don't have a great line on you right now, unfortunately, Dave. But I think the point you're making there, the 2012 draft's just crazy. Andrew Luck and RG3, one and two.

And look where they're both at. Actually, let's just try to think about it after just the first year that they played. Going into the 2013 season, we thought that was the future of the sport. Luck and RG3, both marred by injury. We thought that the Colts were going to take another step on offense when they acquired Trent Richardson via trade. But he was an absolute bust.

Panthers fans, I don't have to tell you much more about Matt Kalil. But Justin Blakeman bust. The best player in that draft was Luke Kuechly. He was taken ninth by the Panthers that year. But if you go later on in the draft, you get other interesting players taken. Bruce Irvin, who's now a Panther in that draft. That was also the Brandon Wieden first round draft pick that year.

Seven years removed. And that's the first round of the NFL draft. And just so many players with great promise who didn't amount to much because of injuries.

And it's football that's most responsible. But here's another thing that stood out to me about the Andrew Luck press conference. He closed his comments.

Opening his press conference before taking questions. He wanted to talk about his love of football still. And he was asked if he had any resentment towards the game because of the way he's going out.

And I thought the answer to be pretty fascinating. This has been my personal journey in football, obviously. And everybody's journey is different. Over the past week, I sit and think, am I going to have a bunch of resentment towards this game or spite towards coming to this building?

And I don't. All I feel is love for this game and love for my teammates and walking in. And I know my journey has had some ups and downs. And physically, it has taken its toll over the last four years.

And that is why I'm here. And the mental and emotional toll that that takes as well. The injuries he sustained just don't happen in other sports. It's a problem for the NFL. It's a problem for the sport of football. Philip tweets in, I agree with your point of view on football. As a family, we're grappling with the decision to allow our oldest son to start playing football. But my thought is each one of those players in the NFL make personal decisions that each day to take to the field.

Now, they know what they're getting themselves into. But if I'm a parent, I'm not letting my kid play football. With all the information that we have, everyone trying to make the game safer, it's just not a safe game. Boxing, not safe. UFC, not safe. They're just a little bit more transparent about what's happening than the NFL is. This is evident that football is just inherently not safe.

It's entertaining. It's just not safe. He loves the game, but is conflicted and he needs to protect himself. You heard it in the clip earlier. He can't live the life that he wants to if he continues playing football. What other athlete and what other sport says that as a means to quit playing? At 29, what basketball player have you heard say that?

I can't live my life because of my knee ligaments? No. Baseball, just not the case. Coming up, why Saturday really was a win for Miami football.

This is The Drive. The Carolina Panthers are getting set for preseason game number four, facing the Pittsburgh Steelers. But ever since Cam Newton sustained a foot injury on Friday night, or make it Thursday night, the discussion has been about the preseason and whether or not you need four preseason games.

And if you do have four, how much the starters should be playing in them. Mick Mixon, longtime Panthers play-by-play man on the radio, now with us on Sports Hub Triad. Mick, has your view at all about preseason football evolved in recent years? Oh, I reckon, but I'm barely able to speak because I'm captivated by a long train running by the California-based Doobie Brothers. Tom Johnson and the boys are still touring some.

They are. What was the last concert you went to before we get to preseason football? It wasn't great. It was Justin Timberlake. I went with my wife. I felt like I was me and maybe eight or ten other guys were in there, but a lot of estrogen for the most part. And it would have been better, but our seats were not fantastic.

We were in the upper deck and it was hard to see. I heard from people who were down front that it was one of the great shows. And, of course, Justin Timberlake is an immense talent. I mean, just phenomenal Motown, R&B, soul, funk.

I mean, he can do it all with the dance moves to boot. A couple of weeks before that, we went to see James Taylor in Charlotte, and that was a lot of fun. Bonnie Raitt was supposed to open for him, but she was sick. So JT did the whole show and was phenomenal. Gosh, I really it's bucket list stuff to see James Taylor. A few weeks ago, I was set to see in the triad Willie Nelson and Allison Krauss, but Willie got sick at 83, I think he is. And the rest of his tour got canceled a week out from the show.

I hate when that happens. So going back to the preseason, we get sidetracked. It's been a while since we've chatted Mick. How has your view evolved when you look at it strictly through the prism of offensive players, or maybe just all kinds of starters, what their involvement should be in the preseason and the length of the preseason altogether? Well, as I always tell you, young man, and this will be words to live by for you as your career, the Josh Graham cottage industry continues to build momentum. And that is do not coach the team from the press box. That having been said, you asked me the question and Coach Rivera is probably down the hall somewhere, but I happen to be the one that's on your show, so I will endeavor to answer it. I do not see the wisdom in playing even one starter unless he's a rookie, one minute of any preseason game. You'll never convince me that Cam Newton, if the Panthers take over with a minute 20 to go against the Rams, down six from the minus 20, that Cam Newton is in the huddle, dropping to one knee as his teammates drape in around him, thinking at any level, thank goodness I played against the Patriots week three and got three first downs. He knows he can play. He already knows he's good. Practice can simulate closely enough the rehearsal that the game demands.

So I do about like Sean McVay and the Rams did, and that is not play anybody at all, try to have all my starters lathered up fresh and froth and ready to go against the Rams on opening day. Now, someone could say – someone could look at me and say, when was the last time – and not ask me when was the last time you've been to a concert, but when was the last time you had a jockstrap on? When was the last time you made money playing a professional sport? And to that I would have to say I get it. But Josh Graham asked me the question. I just tried to give my response.

And the response you gave there right at the end is the one that I encourage some to have the perspective on when you're talking about the Andrew Luck story from this weekend. With some time to process his retirement, what sticks out to you about it? Well, your first blush on it could be, you know, he's soft. He didn't love football. He just liked what the game could do for him. He's got – he's probably one of these guys that likes to read Russian novels and he likes wine and he likes to go to Napa Valley and likes hanging out with his wife and kids. That shame on him, he's got a life, dreams, goals, aspirations beyond football.

But I think there's more to it than that. And I think that only this athlete knows, only he knows what it felt like to try to play. Only he knows what it would have been like for him to try to take this money from this organization not having his fastball knowing that he's not all there. With the shoulder, the lower leg injury, calf, the things that he's been through and he's gotten lit up in his career. And he's gotten banged to the ground quite a lot. It's been different than Breeze, different than Brady where they get rid of the ball so quickly.

Their O-lines have mainly kept them clean. It hasn't been quite like that for Andrew Luck. Sometimes no matter what you want to do, no matter how much you love it, you're eating up with it, you want to do it. Sometimes in this game these athletes play, your body just won't cooperate.

What do you think when you first heard about it? I thought about the inhumanities at times that this game, that comes along with this game compared to other ones we see, maybe basketball and baseball among the major sports in this country. When you look at the injuries that are often sustained, say in basketball, you get often soft tissue stuff with, you get knee ligaments and you get stuff that you're not worried about the quality of your life beyond you playing that sport professionally. But to hear Andrew Luck talk about, I can't play football any longer because his concern was the life that he wanted to live. And you look at the injuries he sustained, they don't look like injuries you expect professional athletes to sustain.

They look like the injuries you would get after a car accident with a ruptured spleen and urinating blood among other things he's dealt with over the years. Now the way we've handled injuries I think has changed with sports. I saw Ron Rivera talking about it yesterday when asked about Andrew Luck's injury. The knowledge we have, we have a lot more of that and some rule changes have made things better. But when you see a guy at 29 stepping away from the game because of these injuries he sustained and this cycle of pain that he's going through, are you concerned or convinced that the game has gotten significantly safer? I think it is safer now.

I mean five minutes ago they didn't let players drink water at football practices across the United States. It is better, advances in science, technology, hydration, stretching, what causes a cramp, what causes a shin splint, all these things. But while all that's happened, players have gotten bigger, faster, stronger, and the field has not gotten any larger. The field is still 160 feet wide and 300 yards long.

So these collisions are more violent and they happen in a relatively smaller area because of how big these linemen are and these players. And it will be interesting to see. Nobody said this was easy, it was going to be, you know, this pillow fight out there. It is, it's brutal.

But that's part of why we love it. We're finally able to talk about this headline that Joe Person reported in the spring, that you will be joined in the booth in addition to Jim Zocchi, who's been in the booth with you since 1996, or has been with the Panthers since 96, you joining him in 2005. Jordan Gross will be working games with you. Jake Deloam will be a color commentator for 10 games as well. We already got to know Jordan on the network. He's worked with you guys before. What will Jake Deloam add to the broadcast, do you think? I think it's going to be must-listen-to radio.

I really do, Josh. I think that Jake Deloam is this ad-water, stir, instant, instant, natural-born analyst. And here's why I say that. Anybody knows, would know, if they follow the Panthers, Jake Deloam is an iconic Hall of Honor, former quarterback, one of our all-time favorite sons.

That's obvious. What you may not know is that he's a storyteller. He's a gifted communicator. He's got a very good sense of humor, rapier-like wit, home to razor-sharp edge. And he listens. He's kind of a radio file. In other words, he listens to the Saints' broadcast. He's done some high school football.

He already knows kind of the mechanics of when the play-by-play guy should shut up and let the color guy talk, when the color guy should put a period on it, let the play-by-play guy come in, when to analyze the play, when to ascend to 30,000 feet and analyze the game from altitude. And so I think he's just going to be phenomenal. I can't wait.

I'm like a little kid with new toys in my hands. Before becoming the voice of the Panthers, you were with Woody Durham all those years with North Carolina football and basketball. Mac Brown is going to be a guest on the show a little bit later on.

The Tar Heels will be playing in Bank of America Stadium against South Carolina on Saturday. Do you have a good Mac Brown story you can share with us? Let's see. I have many, many good Mac Brown stories. Mac Brown could sell your own shoes back to you and you would think you had gotten a good deal.

He is an amazing, amazing communicator. And I learned a lot from Coach Brown. The Tar Heels went to Virginia one year, early 90s, with a powerful team. Hadn't beaten Virginia at Virginia since 1980, and things did not go well. First quarter was 10-0 Virginia. So on the Tar Heels Sports Network, given the first-quarter stats, your humble correspondent says, welcome back to Scott Stadium, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Beautiful sunny day, but things on the Tar Heels sideline are partly cloudy. Score is 10-0 Virginia. First downs are Virginia 11, Carolina none. Total offense, Virginia 170 yards, North Carolina 25 yards.

And time of possession, Virginia 11 minutes, 4 seconds, Carolina 3 minutes, 56 seconds. And right now the Tar Heels have a drug problem on their team, and that is that their defense is getting drug up and down the field by Virginia's offense. I didn't plan on saying that. It just kind of slipped out. But Mack Brown heard tell of it, and that next week called me into his office, and he dog cussed me, my parents for having me, their parents for having them. And I learned a great lesson from William Mack Brown.

He was right. It was not something that I should have said. You have to be very careful in our business, Josh, how you use humor. I wasn't trying to hurt anybody's feelings.

It's obviously an inflammatory kind of a statement. And so I owe Mack Brown a debt that I'm sure I'll never quite be able to square up with him for helping me understand the difference between the appropriate and the inappropriate on a major college radio network. Nick is somebody who is very effective at using the full name. Your name's what, Forrest O'Ryan Mixon III? Do I remember that correctly?

Yes, that's what's on my driver's license. When's the last time someone called you Forrest? It was probably my mom back when she was upset with me a long time ago when I was a little Mickey Mixon. Mick, it's so good to hear your voice. Look forward to seeing you sometime soon. Thanks for doing it. My pleasure, brother. Thanks for having me on your show.

That's Mick Mixon, voice of the Carolina Panthers, all-around good guy. Look forward to hearing Jake Delome and Jordan Gross on the broadcast too. Drive brought to you in part by our friends at Twin Peaks Restaurant. Do I need to tell you more about Twin Peaks?

Come on now. At this point, you should know that that's the place you should be going to watch sports. Ames Mall Boulevard in Winston-Salem, it's right there.

They have the big illuminating sign. And if you're looking to watch Panthers, Steelers, preseason game number four, and if you're not interested in preseason ball, Panthers, Rams, week one on September the 8th, that's the spot. I've been there many Sundays.

And every game is on. Terrific service, cold beer, delicious food, and the Twin Peaks girls. What more can you ask for? Twin Peaks, eats drinks, scenic views. Up next, connecting this big Andrew Luck headline to North Carolina basketball.

Keep it here on the drive. Come on! You're on the drive with Josh Graham, the sports hub at AM 600, AM 920. If you find you're aligned with the following three people and an opinion, it might be wise to second guess that opinion that you have. Because I don't know if these are the three people you want to have in company, believing what you believe. Doug Gottlieb, Dan Dokic, and OJ Simpson. Do you want to be on that corner? Hey, I believe this.

Why? OJ, Dokic, and Gottlieb are saying it. Those are the three people who had the most, I think, reacted to, response to Andrew Luck, at least from a negative perspective. These are the guys who went out there. Dan Dokic, I forget the exact context of the tweet. Aaron, if you could find this very quickly, that would be helpful. Dan Dokic talking about, I have parents who are on the steel mill.

Toughness, my backside. Dan Dokic, who I think is in Indianapolis. I think he's an Indianapolis guy. Doug Gottlieb calling Andrew Luck a millennial, saying it's the most millennial thing ever, because you're tired to not want to play anymore. And OJ Simpson was just sitting there at a fantasy draft, upset that he just drafted Andrew Luck, apparently.

I don't believe that. The camera was panning in such a way, they wanted it to look like, oh, you just happened to cross OJ. I'm not saying OJ didn't draft Andrew Luck, but I'm saying that's a possibility after watching him take that American flag down a million times during the OJ Made in America documentary, acting like someone had just broken in. That music still gives me goosebumps. While we're using that music, before we would circle back to Doug Gottlieb and talking about him, I think there's a proper way to address Doug Gottlieb.

In fact, let's play this sound first. Doug Gottlieb, when I think about him, I go back to the winter of 2016. It's February, and he's one of the college basketball insiders for CBS, and he had an opinion saying, based on his sources, his Chris Broussard sources, that Roy Williams would retire if he got to the Final Four that year and passed the reigns across the United States. That year, and passed the reigns across to Hubert Davis. Well, word got back to Roy Williams that this was said, and after the game ends against, I think it was Miami, if I remember correctly, Roy's walking away from the microphones at his press conference and had a message to express towards Doug Gottlieb. You said that I was going to retire and you were going to replace me. That's sinful.

Sinful. You have no frickin' idea what you're talking about. This guy that said that couldn't put his damn pants on the right way was playing at Oklahoma State. Kansas crowd breaks shorts on backwards, shorts on backwards.

And Doug, I like Doug. That's not journalism. Don't make up crap. So every time Doug Gottlieb is in the news, Doug Gottlieb is saying something that sounds completely crazy, like, I just want this sound that we can play time and time again as a sounder, as a form of notification that Doug Gottlieb is out here saying crazy bleep. Shorts on backwards, shorts on backwards.

I think it's a good practice. The funniest part of that, and the reason why I spelled out the timeframe rather than just playing the audio, Tar Heel fans know that North Carolina did go to the Final Four that year. They lost to Villanova on Chris Jenkins' shot. The next year, they went back to the Final Four. Roy didn't retire. Went to the Final Four.

They beat Gonzaga, won the title. Two years after that, Roy Williams is signing an eight-year contract extension, once again dunking on Doug Gottlieb. Shorts on backwards, shorts on backwards. Ah, Aaron, what exactly did Dan Docich say? I want to say this in that manly tone that you hinted to earlier. The one that sounds like this?

I have family working in steel mills. Cops, teachers, making farm lists, and this guy's tired? My backside. Shorts on backwards, shorts on backwards. Why do these sound like he's from Texas? They sound like he had a little... Listen here.

Listen here, bud. Back in my day, we ate spleens that were ruptured for breakfast. Sardines for dinner.

That's right. Pee in blood, I'll show you some blood. Straight out of the can. Dan Docich, it's just hilarious. It's like a cowboy or something with you. Doug Gottlieb talking about millennials, getting dunked on by his own colleagues. Shorts on backwards, shorts on backwards. Troy Yankman just started.

There's no better way to start a tweet than that's total BS. Yes. Doug. Shorts on backwards, shorts on backwards. Let's go back to the X-Files sound because that music really conjures something inside of me.

Every single time I hear it, I get goosebumps on my body. Usually, that sound means there's aliens about or maybe even conspiracy theories to deep questions being asked, which leads us to the future of Indianapolis Colts football. Jacoby Brissette is going to be taking over for Andrew Luck, which means QBU and C-State. Mike Glennon, who's prevalent in hard knocks. And Philip Rivers, who's playing ball, joins Jacoby Brissette. And those are the only quarterbacks who are NC State guys starting in the NFL right now. That's the list. It's Philip Rivers, it's Mike Glennon, and it's Jacoby Brissette. There's nobody else.

There's plenty of Wisconsin guys, but no other NC State quarterback is in the NFL at the moment. But Jacoby Brissette, as we discussed with Dave Claussen, or make it Dave Doran, at ACC kickoff in Charlotte, he is interesting on Twitter and doesn't mind asking the questions that are important to ask, such as this one that he tweeted out in July. Sitting here, what shape is the sky?

Huh, what shape is the sky? That's an interesting question. Jacoby Brissette's the one asking that question.

Interesting fella. Same month, a few days prior to that, Jacoby Brissette tweets, at which point does it change from going up the street to down the street? This is an interesting question because there are cities that have uptowns and downtowns, and I don't quite know the difference. Do you find yourself saying, I'm going up the street or down the street? It depends on where I am. I mean, if I know where, like in Winston, I can say I'm going down to Spragg Street or I'm going up to North Point.

So you're actually talking geographically when you say it. Because most people would know the general direction you're going. If you say I'm going downtown Charlotte, you might get jumped because it's uptown Charlotte and they take offense to people calling it downtown, even though it is downtown. Listen, the people that generally jump people are not the ones that care if you're calling it uptown or downtown.

I don't know, man, they're pretty rough. I got a less scientific way I handle it. I walk out of my house and I'm going to the right, I'm going down the street. If I go to my left, I'm going up the street. Why left, right? That sign goes that way.

I said less scientific, man. I got no idea. On Twitter at Sports Hub Triad, do you say up the street or down the street? Do you know geographically when you're saying it, if it is in fact up or down, you're going? I don't think I've ever really thought about it.

I use both. Jacoby Brissett bringing up the questions that matter. Yes, people were wondering if the Colts are going to be a playoff team, but how about this one? Jacoby Brissett, which part of the pig skin is actually a football?

The snout. I've got so many NC State jokes in my head right now. Give me one.

Give me one. What are y'all doing at NC State? What's happening over there? Ask the question. He's asking profound stuff, man. You're not going to stop him completely.

We just have to contain him. You're on the drive with Josh Graham, the Sports Hub, at AM600, AM920. Even worse than Doug Gottlieb, Dan Dokich, and O.J. Simpson's takes from the weekend, the way Indianapolis Colts fans reacted to the news of Andrew Luck retiring, booing him as he was exiting Lucas Oil Field for the final time.

It had me thinking about something that is one of my biggest pet peeves in sports. When fans win media, we the team. Saying, hey, when a team wins, we won that game or we lost. We're playing Clemson.

We're getting set to face the Wolf Pack or the Demon Deacons, et cetera, et cetera. This story, the way the Colts reacted, it's further evidence fans aren't really a part of the team. Do you know who doesn't boo when things are going, when bad news that maybe inconveniences the football team arises?

Real teammates, people who are a part of the team, people who are in the organization, administrators in college, people who work in the franchise office for the Indianapolis Colts and whoever you're talking about. Teammates didn't boo or immediately criticize him. They listened, they showed compassion because they really care about Andrew Luck. These fans don't. If you're booing Andrew Luck as he's walking off the field, you don't give a damn about Luck.

You don't. You care about your team. You care about that logo. You care about your own experience at the stadium. You might just care about your fantasy team like O.J.

Simpson does. Fans can boo too, by the way. I'm not objecting to fans having the right to boo.

You could do that all you want. Just don't be surprised though when players don't factor you into decisions that affect their lives because this weekend showed how fickle that relationship can be between fans and players. LeBron James learned how much Cleveland fans loved him when, or just how much that was when he decided to leave for Miami in 2010. And they started burning his jersey. And they booed him when he came back. A kid from Akron who led you to an NBA Finals appearance.

And they seemed to love him just fine when he came back in 2014. If it was the Carolina Panthers and Cam Newton deciding, this most recent foot injury that I have, that's it. This Thursday night against the Steelers, he's walking off the field and it's going to be the final time. Adam Shafter reports it.

It's going to happen. This is it for Cam Newton. How do Panther fans react? How would you react?

336-777-1600. The worst thing we do in sports, sports fans do, is scapegoat athletes. Bill Buckner is the prime example of this.

Bill Buckner who passed away earlier in the summer. History doesn't remember the details when it comes to scapegoating. We remember the guys we established blame to for losing games.

But the details often melt away. Did you know that when Bill Buckner had the ball roll through his legs, that the Red Sox weren't leading at that point? That a wild pitch allowed for a run to score and the game had tied?

You probably don't even remember the name of the pitcher. But Mookie Wilson hits the ball through the legs of Bill Buckner. He gets blamed for losing game six, even though it was tied at that point. Also, it's often forgotten that that's game six.

And the Red Sox still have a game seven in which they can win to rescue things. So Bill Buckner did not effectively lose the series for Boston. But he was shamed out of that town because of the way we scapegoat athletes. The way New Orleans Saints fans have been blaming this referee for the NFC championship game loss to the Rams. Even though the game was tied and then the Saints hit a field goal after that penalty, allowed for the Rams to drive all the way down the field, hit a game time field goal, got the ball in overtime, threw an interception before the Rams ultimately won on a game winning field goal. And it was a wicked long kick by Greg Zirline to make that happen.

But no, history is going to remember the officiating gaffe because of the way we scapegoat athletes. When I was covering East Carolina in Greenville, the all time leading scorer at the time for ECU was a kicker named Ben Hartman. And Ben was an excellent kicker.

He beat North Carolina on a game winning kick in 2007. But in 2009, the Pirates were facing Arkansas and Ben Hartman missed not one, not two, but three kicks that would have won the game for ECU. That game ends, everybody's blaming Ben Hartman.

There are people who are dressing up like Ben Hartman at Halloween as a joke because of how much people dislike this player for missing kicks, going back to the scapegoating in sports. But do you know who stood by Ben Hartman? His teammates. Do you know who didn't throw him under the bus?

His coach. People in the program, the people that actually, I think, have the right to say we when they talk about their team. It bothers me when fans do, because if you really were a part of the Indianapolis Colts, you're not booing. You're not booing Andrew Luck for the decision that you that he made. You're compassionate. You're listening. You're caring for Andrew Luck.

You're appreciating what he did for you before you arrive at a place of instant judgment and booing. Three three six seven seven seven one six hundred is the phone number if you'd like to chime in on the drive. Let's go to Randy and Winston Salem. If it was Cam Newton walking off the field Thursday night, say this foot injury is just too much in addition to the shoulder stuff I'm dealing with. I'm going to retire just like Andrew Luck. How do Panther fans respond, Randy? I'm not sure how they would respond, but I'd be sad, but I wouldn't be mad. I wouldn't move.

He's given me a few great years. Would you cheer? I don't know if I'd cheer or not, no. I'd be sad. I wouldn't cheer, but I wouldn't move.

You just sit there in your seat sad? NFL's a rough sport. I'd understand when he's tired of being injured, tired of going through the pain.

That's what Andrew Luck's probably doing. Yeah. And he said it himself.

Thank you for the phone call. He said that it's the cycle of injury, pain, rehab that he was tired of. Those are prerequisites to the game. That's what those things are. We've also been talking about the idea of a good segment chain. If see, Miami has the three oh five new turnover chain that they unveiled this past weekend.

They also have the touchdown rings that say hurricanes across the knuckles look like brass knuckles. So we thought, hey, why not do it in radio? Have the good segment chain. Aaron made a good point in saying that's the ultimate visual joke that we can do. The new boss lady here at Sports Hub Triad chimes in on Twitter, just heard Josh Graham say they need a good segment chain allow the turnover chain for the show. It's radio, guys. Find some jingling chain sound effect. You can't see a real chain on the air.

Also, it's not in the budget. So we have the question. We have the question asked on the air and question answered by the boss. New boss here because he on Twitter.

But it is a good point. Aaron, I think, deserves the first ever good segment chain. Oh, wait.

That we're going to award. Get ready. Let me get my shoulders ready. Can you grab can you grab the chain real quick? Let's hand the chain to Aaron.

All right, Aaron, here's the here's the chain. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. What do you do, baby?

That is such a sick chain. Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Be careful. Be careful. Don't drop that. What are you doing? This is radio. Why are you knocking it off the table?

We didn't have a lot of money in the budget. Just be careful. Wow.

Oh, that's a lot louder than the sound all of Charles Barkley's championship rings make when you throw them on the table. Oh, my goodness. That was rough. Well, it's true.

That's terrible. Can you stop playing with the chain now? I know.

You're just twirling around. You're just bragging now. Yeah, I mean, you won the first ever good segment chain. How about you have a better segment after this one? Who's going to get the good segment chain for Let's Get Crazy? We need to figure that one out. We got that coming up in about five minutes.

Good segment chain. I love it. I really do. There's a lot of things. There are a lot of things I want to talk about on Let's Get Crazy.

Takes that I've accrued over a couple days of vacation. Things I need to talk about, quite honestly. If you want in, we're throwing away journalistic integrity for 10 to 15 minutes, just throwing hot tickets against the wall, seeing what sticks.

It is the radio equivalent to the jump to the conclusions, Matt, from Office Space. If you want in on the action 336-777-1600 is the phone number. We get crazy next on the drive. We've got our brand new segment chain that has to be earned this segment. Let's get crazy.

Hot takes only. There's a chance that the audience could be awarded the good segment chain to collectively as a unit. If you guys come in strong with great phone calls at 336-777-1600, Aaron might have to get rid of the big, massive gold chain that he has around his neck, the sports hub triad gold chain. Just stop making the sounds into the radio microphone. Why are you twirling it like you keep twirling it around? I don't understand.

A little bit of jibs leading us into the segment. Turn his microphone off. He keeps dropping it. Just turn his microphone off. He doesn't get how radio works at all. But bring in hot takes 336-777-1600.

A lot to get to. Let's get crazy. All right.

The rules are simple. Hot takes only. We will not judge a hot take. But if the take's not hot at all, we will judge that.

Desmond, are you taking notes here? If the take is hot, we won't judge it. If it's not a hot take, we will judge that. That's not what I was told that this segment was going to be. It was supposed to be a no judgment zone no matter what. We're not judging takes for being too hot.

But we will judge them if they're not hot enough. It's pretty simple. If it is a hot take, you will be rewarded with this sound. Desmond's had some issues with this segment in recent weeks.

He gets upset. It's actually the past couple of weeks. I've been right.

My patent average is getting higher. I think he has a better understanding for the segment. Aaron certainly does. He's swaggering in right now. He has the good segment chain on.

But I think I'm going to come in pretty hot right here. Clearly you turned his microphone back on. Get that out of here. Taylor Swift dropped her new album this weekend. It is the best album of 2019. All music.

Oh, my gosh. Just going through some of the songs of this album. I love Taylor Swift. Biggest star in music right now.

There's no question. The Netflix special she had. I watched it maybe three times. Not saying that I did, but maybe I did that. But looking at the new album, she has this song called Lover.

That's just excellent. And me, the music video with Brandon Urie. Oh, it's going to be the biggest album of the year.

And if you disagree with that, I'm going to call you a hater. And Taylor Swift does a great job of dismissing the haters. Aaron, if you just look at the names of these songs, you got the Archer and Cornelia Street. I really like Lover, which is the title track of the album.

The man's really good. There's also a song called Paper Rings, not gold rings like what you're wearing right now. Paper Rings, a big song. Biggest album of the year. I don't know how much it was streamed over the weekend, but I've maybe listened to this album about seven times already. Taylor Swift.

Lover. Biggest album of 2019. Shout out to North Carolina's own little brother who put out an album this week that was fantastic.

Not as good as Taylor Swift's album. Let's go to Aaron. Let's go to Aaron and Greensboro. There's two Aarons here. Aaron has the chain, but let's go to Aaron and Greensboro very quickly.

Give me the hot take. Let's get crazy, Aaron. Aaron and Greensboro, let's get crazy. Yeah, let's talk some NFL here. Before the start of the regular season, Eli Manning will be a cult, and Melvin Gordon will be training in Houston, Texas for Clowney.

Whoa! They are shopping Clowney. It's going to be interesting to see what happens to that division.

Now that Andrew Luck's not there anymore, and Lamar Miller, he got injured over the weekend too. That's good stuff. A good start from the audience, and let's get crazy. Thank you, Aaron. That wasn't bad. Let's go to good segment chain Aaron.

Aaron, go. The new Star Wars movie, as Josh alluded to, will be coming out this Christmas, in which Luke Skywalker will finally die. Holy bleep! Wait a minute. Did Luke Skywalker not die in any of the other Star Wars? I think he's dead already. I'm pretty sure he died at the end of the last one. Really? Yeah, that's the whole thing. That's how Jedis go. Did y'all watch the last one?

Oh, he did kind of just fade into Bolivian, didn't he? Yeah, think of every Jedi you've ever seen that's died. That's how they usually go.

Their bodies move on to the next level. I think he's already dead, so I need to take your air horn back, buddy, and I might have to take your chain. Wow. Is Aaron about to have his chain devoed by Dez? That's already happened, but I can't be a hot take, right? Jacoby Brissett is going to lead the Colts to the playoffs. This is a good team. It's not a bad division. I like Jacoby Brissett as a quarterback, and also, for those who push back and say, oh, they're not a playoff team, name six good AFC teams.

Name six good ones. You got the Patriots. You got the Chiefs. I like the Steelers. I think the Steelers are going to make the playoffs, but I'm not that sure about them anyway. Browns, right there. Steelers, maybe. Ravens, maybe. There's not a lot of great teams in the AFC. Someone's got to come out of the south. Is it going to be Nick Foles, Jacoby Brissett, or Deshaun Watson, without a good offensive line?

Jacoby Brissett might sneak through the back door and get into the playoffs. I'm a little upset here because you jumped me in line, and you kind of jacked my take. All right, Des. What do you got next, Des? Let's hear your crazy.

Big Trouble in Little China is the greatest movie ever created. What? All right. Let's hear the case.

All right. For starters, you got a young Kurt Russell. That gives you 50% of your points right there.

Kurt Russell. You got kung fu action in it. You've got Chinese girls with green eyes.

And you've got three kung fu godlike creatures, one of which shoots lightning out of his arms and hands. And it's just a fantastic movie. You've never seen it before, have you?

I've got no retort to this. I like John Carpenter movies. It was one of his first, and it still stands up. I watched it again the other night. It's my favorite movie of all time.

It should be yours, too. Is this a 90s movie or late 80s? Well, mid 80s. When did it come out?

Like 85, 86. Trouble in Little China. Dwayne The Rock Johnson is supposed to be doing a remake of it. Wow. I don't know how that's going to be. I don't know how shredded he is compared to Kurt Russell.

Kurt Russell's a little bit less shredded than The Rock. We'll see how that all plays out. I hope he's not playing Jack Burton.

That's not going to be a good look. Miami Hurricanes are going to win the Coastal Division. I like what I saw from Miami.

I was more impressed with Miami than I was with the Florida Gators, if I'm being completely honest. I liked what their defense did. It was just a couple of small plays where, okay, you miss a couple of tackles and it ends up in your end zone. Florida, they fake a punt. They get it on a short yardage situation. 4 for 4 on fourth down. The offensive line, it's a problem, but you're probably not going to face a D-line as good as Florida's the rest of the year. I loved what I saw from Jaron Williams.

Didn't turn it over against that front that had 10 sacks. I thought Miami probably should have won the game with 36 minutes of time of possession and winning the turnover battle 4 to 1. I like the Miami Hurricanes to win the Coastal. The big question was Manny Diaz. I like Manny Diaz. Dan Enos, great script on the first drive, driving down the field, the new offensive coordinator. You just got to clean up the penalties, some of that procedural stuff, delay of game a few times that was problematic. But I love what I saw from Miami.

They're the most talented team in the Coast. I have one more. Well, let's go in order real quick. Very quickly, lightning round. Aaron, let's get crazy.

Kentucky Fried Chicken has announced they will start testing Beyond Meat fried chicken. In three years, we will be out of real meat in this country. What do you expect this dystopian universe to look like? Terrible. It's going to be awful. It's going to be heavy. Popeye sandwiches while you can.

It's going to be eating tofu and kale salad. Dez, let's get crazy. Forget the Colts winning the AFC South. The Colts are winning the whole thing, baby. They're winning the Super Bowl. He took my take and went just another step further, even though he doesn't believe it. I'll give you two reasons why.

All right. Number one, Devin Funches is on this team. And B, Frank Reich is the coach. Who led the biggest comeback of all time in NFL playoff history? Frank Reich. Who led one of the biggest comebacks in college football history?

He did it at Maryland. Frank Reich. Who's the coach of the Indianapolis Colts? Frank Reich. He loses his quarterback.

No one expects him to do squat, except for me and Josh. They're going to win the whole thing. All of it.

I think Dez, he's probably going to win the good segment change, if not for this last phone call. It is up to the last caller. Oh, no. Oh, my God. It's the human highlighter. Human highlighter. Let's get crazy. It's the one. It's the only. It's the H.H.L.

of the human highlighter. And I want to tell you, there's a lot of speculation. There's a lot of talk about Andrew Luck and his retirement. He's dealing with pain, dealing with hurt. Have you heard that man's voice? That deep, melodic voice. Let me tell you something, man.

There's a new top 40 countdown, and it will be starting year one and only, Andrew Luck. Highlighter. Hey, stay with us, highlighter, because you just won the good segment change.

Congratulations, human highlighter. Oh, no. He dropped the mic. He doesn't want the change. He dropped the mic.

Oh, my God. What just happened? He didn't want the change. We're still going to give it to the audience. Audience, you get the turnover chain. He just dropped it and walked out.

Where are you putting this change? Just putting it around the audience neck? You're just. He's very clumsy with it. It's a mannequin over there. See, again.

Well, see, it's a metal mannequin. Careful. I don't know where we got this change.

Can you be a little bit more responsible? Where did we get this change from? I don't think we can say. Oh, not a sponsor? Yeah, I don't think we're allowed. Right. That's understandable. All right. Congratulations to the audience for winning the turnover chain. Since it's 2019. Can you guys just keep it together? We're good. Over there for a second. I played a Coach K Duke basketball documentary drinking game, and it did not go well. That's next.