The Drive with Josh Graham - Throwback Astros

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It's brilliant. The Los Angeles Clippers could learn a lesson from the Charlotte Bobcats. No, not the Hornets. The Bobcats. That lesson.

When you have no history that's worth remembering, it's probably best that you turn the page to something new. I don't think I'm being hyperbolic when I say this has been the greatest month in the history of the Clippers. It started, we're at the very end of the month of July. It started with the courting of Kawhi Leonard, the trade to lamb Paul George. Then last week, it was the big introductory press conference where you had Doc Rivers sitting next to Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and of course Steve Ballmer taking the stage. The owner of the Clippers, I think, stole the show from the entire press conference with this.

Love you, dear. I have these notes, but I gotta say I'm just fired up to be here today. It's pretty cool.

Pretty damn cool. A lot of people have been saying that right there at the end, he sounds, no, but a lot of people on social media have pointed out that he sounds a lot like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy. Maybe even Black Sheep. A lot of people, really just every single Chris Farley character. SNL lives in a van down by the river. Does Steve Ballmer sound a little bit like that? Let me hear the entire clip and you be the judge of that.

I'm trying to cite one person, but I've seen several people on social media make this joke. Love you, dear. I have these notes, but I gotta say I'm just fired up to be here today. It's pretty cool.

Pretty damn cool. Fat guy, little coat. Fat guy, little coat. Fat guy, little coat. Now that you mention it, I can kind of picture him in the motivational speaker down by the river.

Where does he live in a van down by the river? I can actually picture Steve Ballmer doing that. So, that happened last week.

Kawhi said he didn't put out a paragraph on social media. Then, the day after the press conference, Steve Ballmer revealed a multi-billion dollar stadium plan that he would fund a new arena that would have the Clippers and Englewood. Yes, this guy right here. Mr.

Excited having the new arena and funding it. Love you, dear. That guy.

I love him, man. The Clippers have become our team. Kawhi Leonard is somebody who's created a lot of content for us. We have a direct line to Doc Rivers, but even as the arena was being announced, the Clippers just couldn't stop helping themselves putting out stuff for us to consume. Such as Steve Ballmer telling reporters that they might explore changing the logo and changing the team name altogether. Now, they're not going to move out of LA.

It's a good spot for them. But Ballmer said, quote, we have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to really step up our identity here another level. I don't anticipate making a change, but we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and that's the kind of thing you somehow do in consultation with the fans.

Why not do it? I think the Clippers should absolutely change their logo and change their name. I feel like the New Orleans Pelicans would benefit from changing their logo with Zion Williamson bringing in a new era of Pelicans basketball from Anthony Davis who forced himself out. But putting the Pelicans aside and keeping it with the Clippers, much like the Pels, much like the Hornets, or make it the Bobcats, there isn't much Clipper history that you wouldn't mind wiping away if you're a Clipper basketball fan.

I'd try to distance myself from all of it. What history do you really want to keep? Yeah, you have the Lob City years that never even got you to a conference finals, but Donald Sterling running it for 30-plus years, I'd do everything I can to separate myself from Donald Sterling and what the Clippers have been for a long time. In fact, I went and pulled up the all-time scoring list, Clippers history. So, excluding the Buffalo Braves of the 60s and 70s, I can reel off right now the top five scorers in Clipper history, and while they are familiar names, it's a very sad top five. The top scorer has fewer than 11,000 points, only one, and the top scorer has cracked 10,000 points in his career. Would you like to take a guess who the all-time career scoring leader in Clippers history is?

Hmm, I tiptoe through the graveyard of careers that have gone through the Clippers. Danny Manning was the first name that came to my mind. Danny Manning is number five on the list.

Danny Manning, number five. My next guess would be Blake Griffin. Blake Griffin is number one. Blake Griffin, number one on the Clippers all-time scoring list. Congratulations to the Clippers? Averaging 21 a game, less than 11,000, but the only one to crack 10K.

It gets sadder after that. Number two and number three, former Blue Devils, Elton Brand and Corey McGeady. Chris Paul, number four. Danny Manning, number five. That's the all-time career scoring list for the Los Angeles Clippers. There's three number one overall picks, I believe, in that group you had there, too.

Yes. Wait, three? Wasn't Brand number one overall when he came out? Brand definitely was number one. Danny Manning was number one when he came out.

Yep, and Blake. Clippers have always said, they've had this thing, they've been cursed with their number one picks for the past 40 years or something like that. And before anybody comes at me, going back to the Buffalo Braves days, please do not. I don't want to hear about Bob McAdoo, who only played one year in the state of California. Do you know where the Clippers name comes from?

So, they were the Buffalo Braves. They moved first, not to Los Angeles, but San Diego. So, in San Diego, they thought it was a good name, a city that was known for great sailing ships passing through the night of the San Diego Bay, they'd be the Clippers, and when they moved to Los Angeles, they just kept the name. So, it's not even a name for your city, much like the Los Angeles Lakers.

Doesn't make much sense. But nobody wants to rock Clipper gear, but people will buy into Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. So let those two guys sell a new brand and sell a new arena. The Clippers, they are more Lakers right now than the Lakers are. They have the richer, more eccentric owner.

They're better ran. They have the star that chose them. They acquired another star. They have the star head coach. Doc Rivers, I'll let you give the pitch yourself. How do you feel about the name Clippers?

Is there anything else you would name Los Angeles' team other than the Lakers? Hello? Is this on? It is on. It's on? Okay, I just wanted to make sure it was on.

You're on the air, Doc. Me and Kawhi are at a Buffalo Wild Wings out here in Los Angeles, and it's my first time here. What it do, baby? Yeah, you already know. Kawhi B-Dubs.

That's a very random place. I don't know. Kawhi likes them. Do we do business with B-Dubs? He really likes them. I don't know why.

I don't think we do business with B-Dubs, but continue. He's weird. Have you ever seen a person eat a wing?

They just put the whole thing in their mouth and pull the whole thing out and all the meat's gone? That's what Kawhi does. It's crazy. I've never seen it before. It's awesome.

It's believable. I asked you a question, though. Yeah, so Josh, I was running through a couple names of Kawhi, right? Just to see how he felt about some of them?

You know, if we get a chance to move and play a little defense in San Diego or something? Kawhi doesn't seem like the person who would be good at naming teams. He's actually very methodical. I like him. He says a couple of words, but they're very meaningful. And he plays defense.

So, you know, wait, what am I going to do? How about the Los Angeles LeBrons? Well, LeBron plays for another team in Los Angeles. That's true.

That's true. You know, I don't want to step on your toes or anything like that. Would that be a tampering violation? The Los Angeles LeBrons? Doc, you've already gotten a tampering fine from the NBA for comments on Kawhi Leonard. If you just outwardly named the team the LeBrons, would that be a violation of NBA tampering rules? I'm legitimately asking.

That tampering situation is on appeal. So we'll find out if I was wrong. LeBron wants to be an owner, so you already get part ownership by thinking the LeBrons if you are the LeBrons. Now you're thinking outside of the box. I like that. My next thought with Kawhi was, how about the Los Angeles Celtics? How about that?

You know? I think the Celtics are taken. I mean, we could be like the West Coast Celtics, you know? We've got different color schemes. What color would you make the Celtics?

I don't know. Maybe we'd do like a light green with a white maybe? Ah, because they have the darker green.

So if you make it light green, nobody would have an issue with that, I'm sure. That was my fault. Do you have anything else?

I had one more. How about the Los Angeles Blue Devils? Blue Devils. You know, my son Austin, you know, he played for the Blue Devils, you know, Coach K and everything. There are no Blue Devils in the pros named pros, but I know one thing.

If you're not talking defense, Josh, you're not playing defense. That's just plain and simple. You have to slap the floor? Would that be a necessity? A requirement?

How competitive can you be without losing your discipline? I'm Doc Rivers. Curtis Strange. Thank you, Doc.

It is such a valuable tool we have, this direct line to Doc Rivers. Curtis Strange, longtime golf commentator, World Golf Hall of Famer, will join us in 20 minutes. We're going to be broadcasting live from the Wyndham Championship Thursday and Friday, first and second round action from Sedgefield Country Club inside the Margaritaville. So if you're attending the first and second round, feel free to drop by and say hello.

We'd love to meet you. The big thing I want to talk to Curtis about is the big topic of this week. It's the change in schedule for the PGA Tour. This event being bumped up, the three event playoff following it, the last regular season event with the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. And while the field is better than it's been in past years for the Wyndham as a result of where this is located and the Wyndham Rewards Top 10, Jordan Spieth being the signature name on the field, is it something that will get better? Six weekends in a row playing golf, that's not ideal going into the playoffs. Mark Brazel, the tournament director, joined us yesterday and he admitted as much, but he felt this field was good. It's the field he thought he would get, but he believes it's going to get better moving forward as players further understand the schedule. And there's some break in between tournaments to allow for players to want to play in this without stretching themselves.

Next year you have the Olympics. So other than the U.S. Olympic, U.S. Olympians competing in golf, players will have a break between their previous tournament and the Wyndham Championship. And that could make a big difference in getting some of these top names. Maybe it is a Phil Mickelson. Maybe it is a Brooks Koepka.

Jordan Spieth's a nice consolation prize, but it is a good thing to know you have a better field and moving forward it can get better. So we'll talk to Curtis Strange about that. But coming up, Drew Brees slips up, Zion Williamson continues to grow, and Katy Perry gets caught with her hand in the cookie jar? What's next on the drive? This is the Sports Hub at AM 600, AM 920. Now back to the drive with Josh Graham. A reminder that we're going to be broadcasting the show live from Margaritaville, Sedgefield Country Club, the Wyndham Championship, Thursday and Friday.

First and second round action. And again, that's where we're going to be broadcasting from later this week. But before we get to the tournament, I want to speak a little bit about here the lineage of Wake Forest golfers. It was really special to talk to Webb Simpson in the spring about this former deacon who just got inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame. And he just said to be a part of this lineage of golfers is a really neat thing. And on that note, we welcome in Curtis Strange, one of the best commentators on golf to the show and another member of the Wake Forest Golfing Lineage World Golf Hall of Famer as well. How special is that to the group though, when you think about Arnold Palmer going way back when, to you, to Webb Simpson, and heck, even Jennifer Kupcho getting the win in Augusta earlier this year at the first ever Augusta women's amateur.

How special was that lineage to you, Curtis? Well, I first want to say, Jennifer and what she'd accomplished at Augusta this year in the spring was fantastic and gave us a lot of exposure. You know, it's something special to say you played golf at Wake Forest.

I think it's something that's different than most other schools. We have a connection. We stay up with each other and we stay in touch with the program as well as other sports.

So, I think we have something just a little bit different and special. Even though Arnold Palmer played in the city of Wake Forest collegiately, did you and Arnie ever talk about your Deacon days? A lot. Yeah, it doesn't matter where he attended school. It was still Wake Forest U and he was very, very proud of his association and he was very, very proud of the golf program and those who came after him and that was part of our responsibility. When we went to Wake Forest and thereafter playing professional golf was to uphold the standard that Arnold set before us. We talked a lot about it. When you walked in his office, both in La Trobe and Bay Hill in Florida, there was Wake Forest memorabilia everywhere.

He was a huge fan and he kept in touch. Follow Curtis Strange on Twitter at Golf underscore Strange going from the Triads premiere golf university and golf program to the Triads golf tournament. What do you make of the field for this Wyndham championship now that Jordan Spief's name has been added to a late edition too?

Well, it certainly gets better. I first want to say that my first introduction to any PGA Tour event was Greensboro when I was there as a freshman. We went over on the weekend and watched golf and watched the best players in the world, watched Snead and all of them.

We critiqued every swing and watched everything about them so it has a lot of fond memories for me. You know, it's probably not the best field of what Greensboro wanted, but I think coming on the heels of the fifth major or fourth major, fifth month in a row of big tournaments. And then right before the FedEx Cup, maybe a bit stuck in the middle, coming off a World Golf Championship last week where most all the top players played and now Greensboro and then get ready for the FedEx Cup. So those who played well in the year and are already in the FedEx Cup, maybe a week to take off. Those who are trying to get in the FedEx Cup all planned. But, you know, everybody vies for the same dates every year and some get them and some don't, but I'd rather talk about the positive, Josh.

We do have a solid field in that web that is planned. We got Jordan Spieth and it's going to be a great tournament as it always is. Sticking with the positive, it's better than it was in years past because of the Wyndham Rewards top ten, it being the final regular season event.

But also there's a lot of room for growth. Mark Brazel, tournament director, joined us yesterday. He said next year it's not going to be a situation where it's six consecutive weekends for guys, then they're having to make a decision before the playoff whether they want to play or not. It's going to be right after the Olympics in Tokyo and there's going to be a large group of players who get a break between tournaments who might get a chance to play here in Greensboro. Do you anticipate the field improving in future years with the Wyndham Rewards top ten and just the way the calendar falls surrounding the Wyndham?

You know, I don't know how much is for the Wyndham top ten, although thank you for their sponsorship and I will say Mark Brazel does a hell of a job. Going back to Sedgefield was a huge boost. Bobby Long years passed with his people getting the tournament back at Sedgefield.

Wyndham, the members of Sedgefield, it really is nice. The best thing to me is the word of mouth by players. They all know it's a wonderful golf course and a great event. And sometimes it's just about where it falls on the schedule and it sounds like next year is going to be a little better. Speaking of word of mouth with the players, last month we were speaking with last year's champ Brant Snedeker and he said that it's still something a lot of guys are talking about in clubhouses, figuring out the new schedule. How do you think players you've talked to are taking to the new PGA Tour schedule?

You know, it's a change and we are creatures of habit. When you get into a certain routine and if you play well, you seem to stick pretty close to that routine. And there's nothing negative about the tournaments you don't play, it's just spring tournaments, summer tournaments, some time with the family during that time. But this year all of a sudden we had started with the PGA and including the players as a major, if you want to, five straight months of a major. And it really changed for the players.

There was really no time off of two weeks or so because you had to start preparing for the next one as soon as you finished the one before. So that itself I think put some, I'm not going to say strain because, my gosh, we're playing golf, it's not that damn hard. But it did change scheduling and now with the FedEx Cup earlier in the year trying to get ready for the end of the year, which is earlier, I think it's all condensed, a little tighter, a little more golfy and played by some of the players, which is a good thing. But like I said, other than some of the international stars that play around the world that really do have a tough travel schedule, those of us who played the majority in the U.S. ain't the hardest thing in the world.

We're very lucky to be able to play this game and get paid a lot of money to do that. It's Curtis Strange with us on Twitter at Golf underscore Strange on with us on the Triad Sports House. How divided are people in golf on Brooks Koepka's successful approach but one that features much less practice? You know Josh, I just heard that this past two weeks ago before the Open Championship just like many other people and it took me back a bit that he said he doesn't practice before PGA Tour events, only before majors. If that is true, which I sometimes question if that's exactly true or not, but if it is true then you know who's a short changer himself really because he's an incredibly talented young man that has many years in front of him to win many tournaments. We get into this game, not for the money, we get into this game because we love it so much and we really want to do the best we can. I don't care if it's junior golf, college golf, or professional golf. If you don't take each round seriously and each tournament seriously, then you're always short-siding yourself and to some extent the fans.

I hope it's not true. Sometimes we say things that we really don't practice, but he's certainly a hell of a player and if he doesn't practice as much as I think he should, then how good could he really be? What impresses you most about what he's done? You're not had a chance to watch him play quite a bit and he's got a wonderful swing, a simple swing, a very strong swing. He's a strong, strong young man. But even more than that, I love his attitude other than the practice statement.

I love his attitude that he goes about his business. He doesn't seem to let the outside noise bother him too much, although internally we'll never know this thing when he wants to do it. And that in itself is admirable because in a day's time of 24-7 social media, it can get to you. Now I say that with this thought that the young kids grow up with it, unlike we of my generation, so it's a different bird for us.

But for them, they grow up with it, so maybe it's not as big a thing as we think it is. Again, he's on Twitter at Golf underscore Strange. Some of the best golf commentary you'll find. Curtis Strange spending time with us here on the SportsUp. It's good to have you on in the Triad, Curtis.

Thanks for doing this. Hey, my pleasure. The Triad was home for me. It still is like my adopted home years later. I live in Carolina now, so I follow everything about the Triad and all of Carolina. It's great fun, but it's also great to talk to people like you and reminisce a little bit about college golf because it was some of the greatest years of my life.

Yeah, that's so neat to hear. Thanks again, Curtis. That's Curtis Strange with us here on the Drive. World Golf Hall of Famer and one of the best golf commentators out there and a part of this family tree with Wake Forest Golf that is truly unique. When you have recent Wake Forest Hall of Fame inductee Webb Simpson, Arnold Palmer, of course, the signature name on that billing, Curtis Strange. And I'll even throw Jennifer Kupcho in there for the history she made earlier this year and also just to reiterate the point of how this lineage seems to be continuing down the line. It's not just Jennifer Kupcho, though.

They have a great program and a lot of great players, as we saw with their run to a national championship, which just fell short against Duke, but it was certainly riveting to watch. All right. Somehow, someway, Sion Williamson is continuing to grow.

Is that possible? Next on the Drive. We've got a full studio right now. We're sharing with Darren Vaught from the David Glenn Show. Grant Wilkinson, new for the Greensboro News and Record here. Jonathan Jones will join us from Sports Illustrated in about 10 minutes.

It's Throwback Tuesday? And the team we've selected, the Houston Astros, they are in first place in the American League right now. So we're looking not for the best guys.

Throughout the summer, once a week, we get nostalgic about baseball because unlike most sports, baseball, it connects us to previous generations and to our childhood and to our past. We're not looking for the best guys. We want the Nickelbacks of the Houston Astros.

And if you have a good one, send them in on Twitter at sportsubtriad or on the phone, 336-777-1600, such as Andrew right here on Twitter, who sends in Morgan Innsberg. Look at this photograph. Third base? Damn it, Andrew. Yeah, right off the top of my list. Stealing my thunder. Was that number one on your list? Former Buies Creek Astros manager.

Wow. Morgan Innsberg high up on the list. So great soul patch, by the way. Last week we were talking about baseball soul patches.

It was. I completely omitted Morgan Innsberg and I apologize. Excellent facial hair. Morgan Innsberg and specifically the soul patch. Let's go through the list of guys that do not qualify for this list. Because I think there's a number of them. Players who are just too good.

And it starts with the Killer Bees. All of them. No Biggio, no Berkman, no Bagwell.

Right. They are three of my seven I have written down as no-go. Beltron, no-go. Carlos Beltron, correct. Roger Clemens, no-go. Roger Clemens is a no-go. Roy Oswald? Roy Oswald to me is a no-go. He's on the list also. Too good. Andy Pettit.

Andy Pettit is on this list also. We're seven for seven. We're seven for seven. There's one more, though. I've got one more that I wasn't sure. Do you want to say it in unison in case we got the same one? We've never done this right before. Okay, we got it. On three.

One, two, three. Miguel Tejada. Billy Wagner was the shut down closer for a while. Should be a Hall of Famer.

The pride of Tazewell, Virginia. Okay, I agree with Wagner being taken off. What about Miguel Tejada?

What about Ferrum College stand up? What about Miguel Tejada? How long was he an Astro? That's where he left my beloved Baltimore Orioles for. He was there for a few years.

He was over the hill at that point. Yeah, but he was such a good player. No, I mean his career, the body of work, means that you shouldn't mention him in this game.

Based on the rules you guys have laid out over the past couple of months with this game that shifts weekly, it seems as if they were ever really, really good before or after they were with said team. They don't count. David tweets in Octavio Dotel. The top two on my list. An incredible baseball name. Octavio Dotel? Octavio Dotel is a fantastic baseball name. 3-3-6-7-7-7-1-600 on Twitter.

It's sports I've tried. We'll continue to visit that. The very top one on my list. Carlos Lee. El Caballo?

I don't know. Is he too good? He was too good. I think he was too good. Wow!

This is the first time you've pushed back saying a guy is too good. Incredible! We might need a party.

Maybe even a fourth party to see where we're at here. Brent is Carlos for the Astros. He might have been. He was a little bit too much of a household name I think for a little bit there. Okay. It was a very short window. Two out of three in the studio says it's not.

It could be the same for one of mine. No, he stays. Jose Lima.

Hit the Kroger. 46 and 42 with a 4.77 ERA. I feel disappointed that Carlos Lee lands you directly smack dab. Let's go to number two on my list. Juan de Rodriguez.

Done. He cleaned up in fantasy baseball. Oh my god. Juan de was an excellent player. Didn't he go on to play for the Pirates for a little while? Yeah, he was a Pirate for a little bit.

Just a really good player. The Astros went to the World Series in 2005. So you have a lot of guys.

That's why you have a list where there's seven or eight that have to be off of it. Well, and they didn't win the World Series but they were running around to the White Sox. During that stretch they were notorious for picking up guys near the ends of their careers. Like you remember Jeff Kent played a year for the Houston Astros at second base and he's obviously too good. Then you got, of course, Miguel Tejada who was there for just a short while.

Right, and they brought in Clemens and Pettit both late in their careers although they were both still pretty good. Let's go to Mark in Winston-Salem. Mark, give me a throwback Tuesday Astro. Cesar Cedeno. Oh, get hit. Thank you Mark.

Cesar Cedeno. Maybe a little old but whatever. We'll let it slide. It is a little old but it's just a great name.

It's funny. Ned. Ned in Greensboro. Bruce Chen. Bruce Chen? Wait, did he play for the Astros? Wait, when did Bruce Chen play for the Astros?

He played for everybody. That a boy. He's done his homework. I like it. Hit him with the Nickelback. Thank you Ned. That's off the wall Ned. I like it. Bruce Chen probably qualifies for half the lead. What were you saying Brant? I would like to suggest Richard Hidalgo.

Yes, next on my list. Richard Hidalgo. I'm going to double check to see if Bruce Chen played for the Astros. Cedo 3-0-4.

I'm checking right now. I know he was a Philly. He was of course an Oriole. Brave.

He was a Brave. An Indian. He was an Indian. Bruce Chen definitely an Indian. I don't remember him with the Houston Astros at all.

I don't but that makes it even better. He was. 2003. He played for the Houston Astros. Alright.

Love that. There you go. He spent one year with the Astros.

Good enough to be a Nickelback. Uh, may I? Bruce Chen played for 11 teams. Okay, so we already have a lot of my names across the league. I have one name left. I have five.

Give me one. Julio Lugo. Wait a minute.

Julio Lugo definitely qualifies but, Astro? Yeah. Yes. Okay. I don't think of him with the Astros.

That's the first uniform I picture him in. Okay. Brad Osmus. Yeah, of course. Catcher who manages now.

Done. There's, I mean, yeah. There's a handful of them. A handful of guys that are managers now that are Nickelbacks in the 2000s.

Give me the best one each of you guys have remaining because we need to get the Jonathan Jones who's going to join us in a second. Jeff Blum. You're really coming in with fire today, Brad. Yeah, career war of 3.3.

I mean, that's as average as you get. Love that. Jeff Blum. Darren, are you going to send us out on top? Brad Lidge. Wait. Wait. You're going to say he's too good. I really like Brad Lidge.

Beat it, nerd. Come on. Lidge qualifies. Brad Lidge. Qualifies.

Okay. Wait, he was a two-time All-Star. Dez. I'm glad Dez is my ally here, but Dez just comes in with arbitrary things. On this game, though. I so often want you as my ally.

Very often. But in this game, I'm fearful of my ally. I'm just reading stats. It's the only game where I'm fearful to have you as my ally. Nah, don't be, brother. You're good to go. I'm just reading stats here off of our friend Google.

Which does you no good in this game. Jonathan Jones got pretty close to Cam Newton when he covered him day-to-day with the Charlotte Observer. Now he's with Sports Illustrated. He's been there for a little while. How much different is this Cam we saw speaking to Peter King this past weekend, this Cam we've seen on YouTube and on James Corden and all or nothing, versus the one we saw playing in a Super Bowl a little over three years ago?

We'll ask J.J. that next on the drive. Grant Wilkerson-New and Darren Vaught are hanging out in studio. It's amazing how a specific song can get you to a place. Des, this song, I don't know what you think of when you hear it, but I always think of John Cusack in High Fidelity.

It's the beta band. And we had Cusack on just recently, last month or two months ago. He was having a showing, High Fidelity, in North Carolina, so I always go to this song. Anyway, Jonathan Jones from Sports Illustrated now with us. You can follow him on Twitter at jjones9. Were you a Cusack fan at all, J.J.? J.J., were you a Cusack fan at all or no? Do we have Jonathan Jones? I hear him there. I'm here. There he is. We were just talking about John Cusack. Darren Vaught and Grant Wilkerson-New.

Are you a fan of Cusack at all or no? No, I am, and that's exactly what you mentioned at High Fidelity. That's where I know that song, Dry the Rain, right, by the beta band. Wow! J.J., right on point!

That's incredible stuff right there. We saw Peter King earlier in the week talking to Cam Newton. It's the first time he did an interview talking about his shoulder since the Saints game last December.

And we saw a guy who was talking about his football mortality, and we saw a lot of it in All or Nothing, and he has his YouTube channel, and he's been on James Corden. You covered the Panthers really closely for a long time, so how different is this Cam we've seen in the offseason and earlier this week from the one we saw playing in a Super Bowl a little over three years ago? Definitely different than having played in the Super Bowl. I think in the time since has humbled him a little bit, right?

And I'm using that in a relative term. He's not on top of the world international superstar like he was following the 2015 season heading into that 2016 preseason. We're all talking about getting back to MVP form, and now he's had two shoulder surgeries.

He goes on James Corden when, no disrespect to James Corden, but after that 2015 season he was going to be on Letterman, or if that was still on in 2015. So, you know, he's taken a bit of a step back in the public eye, at least internationally and nationally, and so to hear him talk to Peter King and say some of those things, I kind of had the same reaction that North Turner had, where you just kind of roll your eyes because, listen, about two years ago I wrote a story that Cam Newton was going to run less, there's no doubt they're going to change his stripes, and then he went and rushed more times than he had in his entire career in a season. What do you think of Cam Newton's interest beyond football?

If he said, I'm done with football tomorrow, what do you think he gets into? Well, I've long gone, especially since that 2015 season, I think that he has tried his best to position himself in like a Michael Strahan post-football move. I'm not saying that he would be as good as Michael Strahan, I'm not saying that he would be as successful as Michael Strahan, but I think a lot of players should aim for that, where your cue score is very high, you're loved by everyone, you're versatile, you get a lot of your private jets paid for to go out to different things. I think that he, listen, when he came into the league, we're talking about Peter King interviews with Cam Newton, entertainer and icon, he's wanted to do that on the field, he succeeded in ways in doing that on the field, but certainly off the field he wants to do that, and there's no better example than Michael Strahan.

It's Jonathan Jones with us on Twitter at jjones9, read his stuff, Sports Illustrated and SI.com. So, when you're looking at this more efficient style, we saw it, he was 69% completion, 10% higher than his career average last year, and the Panthers were 6-2. If his shoulder is right, and I know that's a big if, if it's right, what does that mean for Cam Newton, can he play at an MVP level? I think so, I like this offensive line. You know, it's going to be interesting to see how this offensive line and how this offense dealt with Ryan Khalil, who was really an unsung hero along that line.

If you want to look at PFF grades, for example, what Ryan Khalil did or did not do on the field, I understand, but his reach really did go beyond just who he was blocking in front of him, and not something as nebulous as good locker room guy, he did a lot for that offense in the huddle and on play. So, that's going to be interesting to see, of course, you mentioned it, if the shoulder holds up, you know, we're already seeing Cam take a day off, two or three practices in, what's going to be the new normal? And is it going to be in weekends that he's not practicing on Wednesday or Thursday? Is it going to be that he can't throw the ball 20 yards down the field come week 13 again? And if and when those things start to happen, you really have to worry about his long-term career, and obviously his long-term future in Carolina, but if everything is as good as it looks the first week in Spartanburg and that continues on and on, yeah, 62 last season, I don't see why that can't happen again.

Let's go through some training camp quick hitters from around the league with Jonathan Jones of SI. Tyreek Hill returned to practice, and even though he's a little banged up today, did the NFL have any missteps with the way they handled Tyreek in your mind? If the NFL should really be in the business of policing these things, that's a difficult question.

We've seen that they have been inconsistent before. This is not me rushing to the defense of the NFL, but if the police did not have enough to charge Tyreek Hill or anyone else with a crime, with all the information available to them, I would find it very difficult for the NFL with a much lower bar granted being able to punish him when law enforcement will not share that information with the NFL. Why does the NFL, JJ, put itself in a position as a moral arbiter and set itself up to do something that, as you mentioned, the criminal justice system struggles with when you talk about abuse and sexual abuse? Because you know if he gets handed one or two games, Tyreek Hill, the Golden Tate news will come out, and they'll say, why are you giving a guy four games for substance abuse versus Tyreek Hill and what he was alleged to have done? Why does the NFL even bother with it?

Well, it's difficult. Obviously, sometimes you get those legal gray areas where, again, a crime was likely committed. You know, it's the same thing in a lot of people's line of work where just because you don't have necessarily some criminal charge against you doesn't mean that you don't face punishment by your employer. It just so happens that the NFL seems to have two left feet when they do this dance. But the teams probably are the ones that want this to happen. In the end, Goodell works for the teams, and the teams would rather have Goodell be the meat shield versus them having to establish the punishment. Oh, absolutely. And then I think this all sets up for, you know, when we get to the new CBA, you know, so much has been made of it, especially the last five or six years, that when, will Roger Goodell give up some of that control, some of that power? Okay. Is that a concession that he and the owners will make to the players?

Sure. And they say, okay, well, we gave you this pound of flesh. What are you going to do for us when, obviously, that should be something that they, you know, first day of CBA negotiation, Roger Goodell should go ahead and hand over that judge during execution of power. Ryan Fitzpatrick seemed to be the leader in the clubhouse in Miami starting over there. It seems like if Fitzpatrick starts, that's almost four or five wins that you have, even with a bad team. You have Josh Rosen, who you traded up, or you traded to get from the Arizona Cardinals, and many think that you're tanking for next year for Tua anyway with a first-year head coach.

The hell the Dolphins doing, JJ? Oh, they're going to be bad. They will probably be the worst team in the NFL, and it's by design. And so, yeah, they're tanking for Tua.

There's very little doubt about it. Whether Ryan Fitzpatrick, and I've heard those reports as well that he's in the lead right now, you know, time will tell whether that there's a self-out until he fits Patrick himself yet again. But, yeah, no, they're going to be very bad. And you say, Ryan Fitzpatrick, in the past, usually when he is on at least an average team, he's good for four or five games until the bottom falls out, right?

And that's, I think, the point that you were making. This is a very, very bad team. So if they go three and 13, I think that's kind of my feeling for the Miami Dolphins. Because the worst thing you can do is play Fitzpatrick and win four or five games, not have the number one pick, and also not know what you have in Josh Rosen. Or does that answer the question? If Josh Rosen doesn't beat out Fitzpatrick, you know the answer.

Yeah, I would think. I think Josh Rosen is a talented guy. I think he's a more talented quarterback than Ryan Fitzpatrick. And so it would surprise me if they go a 16-game season and Josh Rosen.

Honestly, you know, if you can, you know, take care of injury, well, Josh Rosen should play the majority of those games. Last thing for you, JJ, most importantly, best place to eat in Spartanburg? Oh, I'd love to go to Gerhard. That's one of my spots.

But, you know, sometimes you get a couple of drinks and it's been a long day, that hot sun out there, practice, you were sweating, you go to Spartanburg Marriott Hotel and you just saddle up over there, have a few drinks and get a flat iron steak. Well, it's good stuff and you're making us hungry. Thanks for doing it. We appreciate the insight, JJ. Thank you.

That's Jonathan Jones on Twitter at jjones9. So, John Cusack movies, rank them. High Fidelity is number one. Easily. Without a doubt.

I mean, that's a top. There are people who would say... I feel like in sports media, we're all sort of prone to do this, claim something is top five whatever in our lives. It is such a sports media thing. I admittedly do it a lot, but I sincerely believe High Fidelity is a top five movie of all time for me. Wow.

But there are people who would say, say anything though. I respect it. It's a classic. If I ranked like a top 100 or 50 movies, it's probably in. But no, High Fidelity has got a special spot.

What about Gross Point Blank? Again, good. You have the British accent lady from Good Will Hunting whose name slips my mind, and I know it's incredibly disrespectful to say it that way, so I apologize to her. Do you know the name of the actress? It's Minnie Driver. Minnie Driver.

I'm sorry to Minnie Driver. I love Good Will Hunting. Also top five. No joke. Also top five for me. Gross Point Blank is right there for me with High Fidelity. Okay. Except I think what puts High Fidelity in higher regard, two things.

One, nostalgia for record stores. It doesn't date well for that reason. And also the impression that this lady, Missy Driver, has... Like what? Like the mouse. Like Missy.

Like Elliot. In Gross Point Blank, she is a talk radio host, and it's the worst show I've ever heard. Minnie Driver's show in Gross Point Blank is the worst radio show of all time.

Pretty bad. It's almost like there's a radio show at the beginning of the music video, Petey Pablo, Freaky League. I like that radio show. Can you pull that up just the first... Wow.

See if it's appropriate. The first 15 to 20 seconds. Fictional radio shows. Let's rank those radio shows.

How do we get paid to drink Seagram's Gin? Frazier? Frazier? That's what Petey Pablo said. Fictional... We got pizza, but... Also, if you're talking about fictional radio shows, you gotta go with Frank the Tank in Old School at the very end. He's spinning records.

Yeah. Are there other fictional radio shows? You got Minnie Driver in Gross Point Blank.

I'm down going down this road here. Then you have Frank the Tank, Will Ferrell in Old School, and you also have Petey Pablo... How appropriately, though. And Freaky League. How appropriately, though. What about The Douche from Parks and Rec?

Wow. Nick Kroll. Nick Kroll radio host. Joe Dirt goes to tell his life story. Joe Dirt with Dennis Miller!

Wow! Another great fictional radio show! That was before Dennis Miller went completely off the reservation. Was that pre-Monday Night Football Dennis Miller? Hey, babe.

He was on Monday Night Football for a year. Let's make the most obscure reference I can about a nondescript six-yard pass. How many of the women can you hold? Stop! Stop! Stop!

Yeah, there you go! And that's Russell Wilson's wife, Sierra. I had to listen to that four times to make sure there was no curse words in it, and I'm still not sure. What was the name of the radio station? W-Boom-Boom-Boom or something like that. W-Boom-Boom-Boom. What were you saying while interrupting Petey Pablo? How many of the women could you name that he names in the song?

Wow! When did this song come out? This song came out in 2008. This had to come out in 2006.

2008 is when this video got posted. Somewhere in there. Russell Wilson's wife-to-be, Sierra. Are there other fictional radio shows? Ah!

On Twitter. Good Morning Vietnam. I mean, it's based on... Good Morning Vietnam! But that was real. That's a radio show. But it was real. The guy's name was Adrian Cronauer. Robin Williams was portraying him.

That still counts. It's a radio show in a movie. We said fictional. Fine, movie radio shows. Are there other examples where radio... Good Morning Vietnam! Private parts with Howard Stern would qualify. Right.

If we're going down that route. That's a real radio show though, right? So was Good Morning Vietnam.

WKRP. It's like an entire show about fictional radio. Yeah. I used to hate that show. That's the show that's on when you're running in and out of the house in the summer and your grandma gets mad at you and she makes you sit down. And you have to watch that and you have to watch In the Heat of the Night. That is a specific memory associated. But you know what I'm talking about.

I don't want to relate to that. Yeah, mama's family's on all the time. How is it on all the time? I don't know. What channel even is that? Right. What do you got in ticket to the house today, Des? So I've been bouncing around and I figured I'd actually help everyone out that listens to The Drive with Josh Graham the entire triad. You more than likely have been affected by a breach in your security and I'm going to help you get some money out of it. Is this the Face app? No. That's next on The Drive.