The Drive with Josh Graham - Top 10 Beaches

Attention please. This is The Drive with Josh Tram Podcast. Tune into The Drive 3 until 6pm weekdays on the Sports Hub. I love it.

It's brilliant. There appears to be a North Carolina soccer war coming, and when it arrives, the triad will literally be stuck in the middle of the two combatants. The professional soccer powers that be in Raleigh have been angling for MLS for years, with multi-billion dollar facility projects and rising support. Then David Tepper officially threw his hat and Charlotte's hat into the race with the same goal in mind, bringing MLS soccer to our state just in Charlotte rather than Raleigh. Now, if it comes down to those two, I personally think Raleigh might be a better fit for soccer.

I think soccer's bigger over there. I think Charlotte is a little behind when it comes to the facilities, having a stand-alone stadium and such. But if MLS has its choice, and MLS will, Charlotte's going to get a franchise before Raleigh will. Charlotte has most of what pro leagues would be looking for, and specifically the MLS. Number one, it's a corporate city.

It's the ninth most populous city in the United States, and it's continuing to grow. It's a pro sports town. You've got the Panthers. You've got the Hornets.

Heck, you got the Checkers there. You have NASCAR there. Pro sports city that can easily work in one more pro team for all of us to follow and love.

Then you have the interest of an NFL owner. Tepper has been clear about this for a long time. As soon as he bought the Panthers, he started talking about MLS. As soon as he got to the Carolinas around this time last year, he wanted to hit the ground running. And MLS was on his lips at the very first press conference he held with two or three buttons down.

You might remember he was wearing the sport jacket, had two or three buttons down on the shirt. And not only is he an NFL owner, he's the NFL's richest owner who also owns the stadium. Think of America Stadium. Raleigh, meanwhile, college sports market, lower level pro soccer. It's good to see that the National Women's Soccer League got a television deal, but there is still a lot of room for growth as the U.S. Women's National Team has pointed out, as has been pointed out for the last five years, really since the league launched. So there's a lot of room there for the North Carolina Courage in Raleigh, North Carolina FC, which previously was the Carolina Rail Hawks.

That's still lower level soccer. And there really isn't one money man there. Steve Malik owns both the Courage and owns North Carolina FC. In order to get this stadium project through, he's having to partner with other business owners, partner with other investors. David Tepper doesn't have to do that. David Tepper can show up with the money necessary right up front, just like he did with the Panthers. He bought the Carolina Panthers $2.2, $2.3 billion in cash.

That's what he did. He's worth $12 billion, more than any other owner in the league. So, of course, the MLS would like to get in business with that guy and then figure out the rest of the details from there. Also, Charlotte has hosted higher level soccer matches than Raleigh has. Now, Raleigh's had professional soccer, again, the Courage and North Carolina FC.

Before that, the Carolina Rail Hawks and Kerry. But Charlotte just agreed yesterday to a five-year contract for the International Cup, a five-year deal for the International Cup. And if you're unfamiliar what that is, it's a cup that's going to feature the top clubs from all across the world playing in the United States and specifically in Charlotte.

Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Man United, Inter Milan, Arsenal, Rio Madrid, the Gold Cup. A few weeks ago came to Charlotte, the United States played inside Bank of America Stadium. You might say, oh, but David Tepper, he's less of a soccer guy than, say, Steve Malekas. And that might be true, but David Tepper hired Tom Glick to be the soccer guy. He's the team president of the Panthers. He has soccer background overseas. He helped land New York City, an MLS franchise.

So this isn't his first go round. Tom Glick is a very important figure in all of this. And he was meeting with reporters yesterday to talk about the International Cup I just mentioned, that five-year deal. But all anyone wanted to talk about was the breaking news that Tom Glick and David Tepper are set to meet with MLS officials next week.

Here's what Tom Glick had to say. Charlotte has been performing as a soccer market for many years. And the reason that we've been able to do this five-year agreement with the ICC is because the last five years have been so successful. So it's the right bet. Maybe you could even say it's a safe bet.

It's very predictable. We know that fans are going to turn up. They're going to be passionate. They're going to support.

And I agree with that. I think Charlotte will support an MLS soccer team. Tom Glick is the soccer guy.

David Tepper is the money man. The one big hurdle that Charlotte faces, the biggest drawback is this. It's the stadium. MLS likes having teams with standalone stadiums. Pretty much all of the teams have their own stadium, the exception being Atlanta United. Atlanta United, who won the cup last year, won all of MLS. They've been a sensation selling out games in the same stadium that has been recently built for the Atlanta Falcons, but has also hosted the Super Bowl this year and hosted the college football playoff championship the year before. That's the home of Atlanta United.

But what did Arthur Blank have? He had pulled because he's an NFL owner, the same way David Tepper is. Bank of America Stadium is already hosting international cup games. That is attracting major crowds, the U.S. soccer team playing there. I think, as Tom Glick noted there, the Panthers, or excuse me, Charlotte is probably one of the favorites to land an expansion bid, not just one of the smaller players. If it's between Raleigh and Charlotte, I think it's Charlotte for David Tepper, for Tom Glick, for the Panthers Stadium, et cetera, et cetera.

But against the other competitors, I think Charlotte's a favorite, too, because it all goes back to who you're doing business with. And David Tepper has more money than you do. And Tom Glick has about as much soccer expertise as anybody else who's getting involved in these deals. You might wonder why all of this is happening now, why Raleigh is pushing for a multi-billion dollar facilities, a multipurpose facility that will include a stadium in southeast Raleigh, why that's happening with Steve Malik pushing it in the last month or so.

It should see around 20,000 people, I think I read. Why is that happening? Why David Tepper wants to meet next week with MLS officials?

The reason is simple. By July 31st, the MLS is going to name two more expansion teams in addition to the 27 they already have. Now, only 24 are playing right now. Next year, we're going to see three more teams added to the MLS. Most recent franchises, LAFC, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Minnesota. But in the next few years, we're going to see more expansion with Nashville, Austin and Miami being added to the MLS. Many people on the inside believe St. Louis and Sacramento are locks, which means that leaves one more spot.

Reportedly, Detroit might try to make a play. And there are other big markets that could be interested in this, but none of them have David Tepper. Support from an NFL owner with his kind of pedigree and Tom Click's pedigree that already hosts soccer matches. So I really do feel like this is bound to happen if it comes down to Charlotte or Raleigh, even though Raleigh's put more groundwork in over the years. It's small potatoes with the National Women's Soccer League and whatever the heck the North Carolina FC plays in.

David Tepper will have the advantage over Raleigh and time will tell, maybe in the next few weeks, whether or not Charlotte will be able to get the 30th expansion bid if, in fact, the first two are going to St. Louis and Sacramento. Your thoughts are welcome on Twitter at Sports Hub Triad three three six seven seven seven one six hundred if you want in on the show that way. Darren Vaught will join us as we're sharing with Darren.

That will be in a short while. Desmond Johnson is taking your calls at seven seven seven one six hundred. We have Aaron in the house as well. And we also have Intern Olivia here.

Yes. I want David Tepper to own everything like I've just come everything, everything I want him to buy everything, this radio station, everything we love, just buy it all. I read the article on David Tepper on ESPN Dotcom yesterday.

I think it's still on the home page for them. And after reading it, I just had a newfound appreciation for him. We both liked him before this. But if he could bring MLS soccer team to Charlotte, build a soccer stadium for them that he owns also. I want him to buy the Hornets. I want him to get an MLB team here.

I mean, I just I want him to everything. Tepper, just bring it all in here. Can you do me a favor and see how much Steve Ballmer is worth compared to David Tepper? Ballmer and the NBA owns the Clippers. And I know because I saw it earlier in the week, Steve Ballmer is so rich that he could purchase the net value of every single one of the top 15 most expensive NBA franchises and still have money left over. He's got it. That's that's how that's how rich Steve Ballmer is.

I don't know how that compares to David Tepper or hedge fund money versus Microsoft money. That's what that looks like. All I know is, like you, I want some of it. The drive is brought to you in part by our friends at Pi Guys Pizza and More. Try either the brand new secret item, the Philly cheesesteak pizza or the Graham Slam pizza.

And if that's not your cup of tea, neither of those things. They have other terrific menu items like garlic knots, New York style pizza, specialty pizzas, Buffalo wings, which I'm a big fan of, salad sandwiches. They have great desserts as well, including gelato and cannolis. Visit Pi Guys Pizza and More, Lewisville, Clemens Road.

And the Kenneman Village Commons, or you could simply order online at PiGuys.com. What do you got on Steve Ballmer's net worth versus David Tepper's 12 billionaire? So if David Tepper is worth 12 billion dollars, according to Forbes, Steve Ballmer clocks in at number 19 on the Forbes list with a as of the 10th. So just a couple of days ago or is that today? Yeah, today is the 10th. Look at that. Fifty point six billion dollars. Wow, bro. Well, damn, Aaron, I'm sorry I asked.

I bought a car straight cash like two weeks ago and I thought I was doing good. Steve Ballmering it up. Yes, you were you were you were acting all Ballmer. No, no change. You weren't being a baller. You were being Ballmer.

Why are so many people charged up about Megan Rapinoe? That's next on the drive. This is the sports hub at AM 600 AM 920.

Now back to the drive with Josh Graham. We're sharing with Darren Bott from the David Glenn show. Every single time we have you come in, Des pulls a pop punk song because we've come to figure out that you're a big pop punk fan.

So I feel like it's only fitting if I just ask you on the spot. Do you know what this song is? This sounds like All-American Rejects, but I'm not I'm not immediately recognizing it. It is All-American Rejects. Swing Swing is the name of the song. Swing Swing. There you go.

I look when it got to the chorus, I surely would have gotten there. We'll do throwback Indians in a bit because All-Star Weekend is in Cleveland. It's also the 30 year anniversary of the movie Major League. I look ridiculous. I have purple hair for the second. I love it. I think it's looked. Are you read? Are you recoloring it every day?

Yes. And that's excellent because it's it's held up. I was like, man, how how did he get that to hold up?

There are a lot of there are a lot of embarrassing elements to this, such as me going to the baseball game, the Dash game last night, and everybody just pointing, staring and laughing. And also I kept the bottle in the studio the first day Aaron went to go grab it in my office. And I've never seen him so happy than he was when he raced into the studio right here in the law offices of Timothy D. Wellborn Studio brings it in to find that the brand that I got this spray at Ulta Beauty in Greensboro was the brand was unicorn hair.

The specific collection was from the I think it was the lollipop color. Oh, that's what we were going for here. We got it in Ulta. That's how you know it's legit, right? Like you're not just messing around. Yeah, it was a fifteen dollar bottle.

Scouring the clearance aisles of Wal-Mart. That's the respect for the dedication. It was a fifteen dollar bottle. Fifteen dollars? You left that part out. I didn't realize it was that much for that little bottle.

Fifteen bucks? That's what it is. You don't want to go cheap on hair products.

That's why you want to go missing patches. No, that's what I'm saying. So now I'm looking like Megan Rapinoe all week this week. Aaron, look at this. I have great hair.

I don't mess around. He does look good, doesn't he? It's a lot of quality hair. He looks like a better looking version of me. That's it. Your hair is brighter today, by the way.

Like it is a brighter shade of purple than the past two days. I'm still concerned for you, my friend. I'm a little upset that you're not wearing a jersey. I tried to get a jersey. I went to Dick's Sporting Goods and plenty of Alex Morgan's, plenty of Mallory Pugh's, no Megan Rapinoe's.

Huh. So it's 2019, so when I decided I wanted the Megan Rapinoe jersey, did not go to a store and hit the old Internet. And it was, I got one, but I'm just going to say it was disappointingly difficult for me to get a Megan Rapinoe jersey in a men's cut. It took a lot of effort for me to find that, and I'm not complaining because, like, I said this to another person and they took it the wrong way, as it was me complaining that, oh, well, women can get a football player's jersey in a women's cut or whatever. That's not what I'm complaining about. I'm saying it should not be as taboo for a guy to want a woman's jersey and to want to wear it, because that's the reason it was hard for me to find it in a men's cut.

So I eventually went straight to the source, U.S. Soccer, and got one made. Megan Rapinoe. Yes. Rapinoe. That person. That's the correct pronunciation for Darren.

No, that's not Darren. Megan Rapinoe. U.S. Soccer President Carlos Cordero at the parade earlier today butchering Megan Rapinoe. So, OK, so the players, for obvious reasons, somewhat to very high levels of tanked, right, at this celebration?

Tank. I don't, I think, I think he was, too, because did you hear him when he pronounced the word tournament beforehand? Before that, you guys might even have it earlier in the clip. Let's hear the full clip. And there was some conversation about the way Cordero said the word tournament here, too.

And finally, but not last, winner of the Golden Boot, the Torminants, top scorer and the Golden Ball, the best player. He fixed letters. He swapped letters.

He called it a torment. Torminants. Yeah.

Torminants. This year, everybody, we got Megan Rapinoe, Mallory Pooh. And yeah, these girls, these girls, they're just, they're awesome.

You don't even know. Hey, hey, hey, hey, Megan, what's her, what's her name one more time? Hey, Megan.

Megan Rapinoe. I'm just going to call you purple hair. Remember that time, remember that time you scored in the World Cup Final against France? That was cool. Torminants. Yeah. The drunk guy sounds more like a little child. I didn't miss that the first time we played it. In the most difficult left turn I think we've ever done here.

Torminants. Tyreek Hill in the news again as audio, the full 11 minute audio sound from his ex-girlfriend was released. Remember the Kansas City TV station ran short excerpts of things that Tyreek Hill said in relation to the accusation that he, that he harmed their son. She alleged he broke his arm. Tyreek Hill broke the child's arm. In fact, I think we have the cut that the TV station played all those months ago.

This is from what, this is what the TV station ran. Tyreek Hill in a conversation. This is happening overseas in an airport with his ex-girlfriend in relation to a dispute in 2014. He is terrified of you and you say that he respects you, but it's not, it's not respect. It's terrified. He is terrified. You need to be terrified of me too. He's terrified of you.

He's terrified of you. So that was the major piece of the clip that everybody gravitated to. We didn't get the full 11 minutes. We didn't even get the brief audio right before that where he said, I can't believe you would accuse me of this. Can't believe you would do this. Accuse me of hurting my own son.

I would never do that. That stuff did not run because the TV station only had the brief clip. And today in the full 11 minute clip of sound, we have more details. And unlike the clip that was released earlier in the spring, Hill vehemently disagreeing and denying what is being said by his ex-girlfriend about the dispute in 2014.

Again, Tyreek Hill doesn't know he's being recorded here, but this is another piece from that 11 minute recording. And if you want to rewind that night, we can rewind that night too. You was in my house and did I pick you up and slam you? Hell no, I picked you up and put you out my door. And after that you left. And on my son, you did that, bro.

And then when you get in the courtroom, you want to sit up there and cry on the stand. He hit me. Man, come on, bro. Then where did the bruises come from?

Tyreek? Did I hit you? Where did the bruises come from? Did I hit you though? I'm asking you, where did the bruises come from? Did I hit you though?

Did I hit you? Tell the truth. Tell me the truth in my eyes right now.

Look at me. It's a tricky situation. Journalism, I think, led us all down here. The release of the full tape isn't exoneration for Hill by any means of the imagination, but it might as well be because the police, they stepped away from pursuing a criminal case against Hill. They reopened the case and then they stopped pursuing it a short while ago, a few weeks ago. Now this helps Tyreek Hill because he can use the media slanting card. This was irresponsible journalism by the Kansas City TV station. There has to be a better reason to not play the full tape. What was said before, they didn't play the full tape because there were intimate moments in the 11 minutes that they didn't want coming out.

And sure enough, they're going through the airport, they're doing things, and there are some intimate conversations that are there. But what was conveniently either left out by the woman giving the tape to the Kansas City TV station or the Kansas City TV station making an editorial decision not to run is Tyreek Hill protecting his innocence and saying that he didn't do these things. And I don't care how much you dislike Tyreek Hill, Darren, this is something, this matters. His denial is very important. And the fact that that was left out before and now it's released, it strongly helps his case.

And I really believe he's going to be playing this fall and going to be in Kansas City Chiefs camp. Yeah, I don't disagree with that point. It's a bad look for the journalists involved, and it certainly gives him an upper hand in what otherwise was a sort of neutral situation. I am interested in the idea that he pleaded guilty the first time around, though.

It's tricky for a lot of reasons, and that's one of them to me. In 2014, he pled guilty, which led to him being kicked off the Oklahoma State football team. But with three years probation, he had it erased from his record. So deals are always cut here. So if he knew he accepted that plea, that it could be wiped off his record after three years of probation, that might be a deal you take, maybe. Yeah, it's not as cut and dry as I say I'm guilty in the legal sense, therefore I'm admitting to doing everything that is alleged.

No, no, no. And I guess there's potential of a deal there. But again, it's such a tricky situation. And look, I would like to say I'm surprised that a guy who is paid and trained to essentially be a tragic, fleshy machine of violence and intimidation has conducted himself in such a manner, because I think even whether he did abuse his son or not, I think in the recordings there's some alarming language and things like that that are used. Something happened and it wasn't good, but we don't know if he choked this woman or punched this woman. We don't know that. Right.

We don't. And that's why it's irresponsible journalism to selectively choose what runs. I don't know, again, what kind of negotiation went in place between the journalist and the woman herself.

But details are very important and we need to raise the standard for journalism here. We were talking about Chris Broussard a little bit earlier on in the week. My God. Like, you can't say Clippers are out if you're a reporter and then he signs with the Clippers. You can't do that. If you're going to be in this chair, if you're going to be a radio host, put the reporter stuff aside, right? You can't be a reporter and say something.

Everybody is out and then he signs with that team. There should be repercussions for that. And the same thing for this Kansas City TV station. They have answered. They have questions to answer for why they left Tyreek Hills defense out of the recordings or the clips that were released publicly.

Yes, Aaron. In the in the you mentioned earlier that they said that they just discarded some portions of the interview because they discussed, quote, intimate moments in that same tweet. I don't know if that same tweet you're referencing, but before that, she says the reporter there that was on the on the story, she says, we released the newsworthy portion. Yes, the newsworthy portions.

The part where he said, you better be bleeping scared of me, too. That's the newsworthy portion in the mind of the TV station. It is alarming, but it's just as worthy as I didn't do it. That's the world we live in now, though. It's all shock value, shock TV, shock headlines.

I'm not completely there yet, but you know, there are there are so many that practice journalism well that I'm not willing to say that's the standard at this point. I'm not willing to say that everybody go out and Broussard and say that something's wrong, say that someone's out and then and then it not be or offer both scenarios officially to Broussard's defense. Everyone said that those were out to no defense Broussard, who said you are a no, no, no. Jalen Rose said he said 99 percent, 99 percent.

And it might have been that. But he never said the Clippers were out. Well, and Rose signed with the Clippers. Rose also is not like a woadge. That's the other thing. Broussard is not the news breaker. All he has to go on is the word of guys like Woadge and Shams. And up until a certain point, Broussard, I'm saying Broussard claims to be in that same category. I'm told that we need to lift this standard.

We do. There needs to be consequences for Broussard. There needs to be consequences for this Kansas City TV station, for what they deemed to be newsworthy excerpts and why the entire thing wasn't released.

And specifically, Tyreek Hill's defense. You don't have to like him. You don't have to believe he's in the right. You could still believe he's wrong and expect journalists to do things the right way and that both sides are covered fairly.

I don't think it's too much to ask. I think I think there's a little bit more gray here than you're letting on, though. I'm not I'm not apologizing for the TV station. I'm not really defending what the TV station is doing. But their job is is to to relay what is newsworthy.

And we're all people, we're all humans who think differently and feel differently about certain things. This isn't like a this isn't a a subjective. This is newsworthy. This is not newsworthy thing. There is like, dude, I took like I was trained in journalism, too.

And it's and it's just not that easy. It's not as easy as hearing Tyreek Hill defend himself and saying, oh, that part needs to be played because some people might say, you know what? Of course, he's defending himself like it's that's the obvious thing to do. I would disagree because he didn't know he was being recorded. The man. This was a debate, an argument, excuse me, back and forth between the two. And I think it's incredibly journalistically unethical for the fact that Tyreek Hill's defense didn't come out there.

Instead, we're talking about him accepting what she claimed by saying, you should be scared of me, too, without having the prior context at play as well. We're listing off throwback Indians next. Come on, let's go. You're on the drive with Josh Graham, the sports hub at A.M. 600, A.M. 920.

Full disclosure, Darren Botts with us, we're sharing with Darren. He hates what we're about to do, hate it. It is time for our weekly top 10 list. This is one of our most polarizing segments.

Just because somebody dislikes something doesn't mean that the entire thing's bad. Look at Chris Broussard. You can tweet the show at sports hub triad if you have any guesses for the top 10 list. Top 10 beaches. It's the summer. Top 10 beaches.

These are places that you should be visiting this summer if you're on vacation. Des has no idea where we're going. Aaron says he has a couple of guesses. He's gotten pretty good at this.

He really has. Darren, I mean, it's a fun game to play at home. There's people tweeting in the show right now trying to guess what's on the top 10 list. See, that's my problem with it is that I think it's ridiculous, but anytime I'm in here with you guys and you're doing it, I'm like, I'm upset at how into it I'm getting. I feel the same way. Like I have a few written down.

That's not going to fit. What's Josh thinking? Everybody loves the top 10 list really, though. It's so much fun to play along with. And we've got this wonderful music that's in the background of it. Aaron feels pretty confident in one that he has.

He's whispering to Desmond in the control room. So there's a lot going on here. Let's just go straight to the music. Let's go all the way in.

All the way in. It's another thing. This doesn't doesn't fit with what you're doing. I don't get it. I know it's become a thing, but it's time it is. There's no time for snuggling. I've been warmed up for this just going in immediately.

That's what we're doing here. Top 10 beaches. Number 10. My number 10 beach.

David writes, Bill Beach. That was the first one I came up with. Wow.

It really was. Aaron got it. And I also forgot that Des has random sounds that are going to play throughout this thing. Number nine. My number nine beach. T.Y. Hilton Head.

I hate this. That'd be a good fantasy player to pick up. T.Y. Hilton Head. He could really help your team. It should be a good year for the Colts.

I don't know how many targets Devin Funches is going to take away from T.Y. Hilton Head, but it'll remain to be seen. Number eight. My number eight beach. Atlantic Division Beach. No.

Not a good one. I mean, the Atlantic Division Beach is a lot better than the Coastal Division Beach. You can agree on that, right? Yeah, but if... I mean, you never know what you're going to get from Coastal Division Beach. Yeah, but if NC State... What were you saying about NC State? I said, but if NC State played in the Coastal.

Or the Atlantic, how does that work? Was that the upset girl from Nashville at the draft I just heard randomly? What were you talking about? I don't know. Number seven.

I rarely know what I'm talking about. My number seven beach. Kitty Hawk Harrelson. That's not bad.

That's not bad. Do you want to give us your best Hawk Harrelson impression? No. I would rather not. Put it on the board!

Yes! Because that's it. And everybody sounds... It's a lot like, dude, like if you work in summer collegiate baseball or minor league baseball for one season, you go to every press box in the league or whatever conference or construct you're working in, everybody, everywhere, there's one guy who's like, oh yeah, you should hear my Harry Carey.

And everybody in the press box, yeah, he's got the best Harry Carey. And they all suck. Number six. My number six beach. Laguna Beach. Wait, what? You didn't watch that show?

No, I did. I just thought there was going to be a play on words. See, you thought the word play was going to come in there.

Because this game makes no sense. Laguna Beach. That was the show. I think we've been over this. I love The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but my entry level drug into The Bachelor and Bachelorette was Laguna Beach.

I initially watched that show to have something to talk about with women. It's true. Really? That's the first time that's ever been mentioned on the drive. Laguna Beach? Yeah. I'm about sure. We almost got a year into it. I think it's literally the first time you've ever met.

I just walk up to a couple of women and be like, can you believe Jess and Bobby? Like what a snake. Oh my God. So wait. Hold on. We're going to back this up into a broader question.

And I know it's going to derail your list, but quite frankly, that makes me kind of happy. You guys do that? You take interest in things that you otherwise are not interested in? To have something to talk to women about?

I don't know. I mean, Des, I know you're married. That was me back in the day. I've gotten a lot better since then.

This is back when I wasn't married. Yeah, but now you like those things. Well, yeah, I've grown to like it. When I was a kid, I did the same thing. We got home from school and full house was on. I'd make fun of my little sister for watching it. And then I stay in the room and she eventually called me out of it. If you hate it so much, why are you watching?

I became Mark Wahlberg and the other guys. I had to make fun of how much you like it. That's why I'm here. I want to be excluded from the you guys too. Yeah. Like what about you guys?

We don't have to. Nah. What do you mean? I was pulling the room. I was pulling the room. Number five. Number five. On my list. That's all.

Top ten beat him. I was pulling the room. Oak Man Island? Yeah, appropriate sound.

I don't know what that was, but it sounded frustrated. Oak Man Island. That's not where you want to mess around. If you mess around at Oak Man Island, you're going to be in trouble. Oak Man Island.

Oh, yeah. Oak Man. Oak Man Island there. Oak Man gets paid. Number four.

My number four beach. Matt Nagy's head. I was trying to figure out what you were going to do with Nags head, because it's an impossible one. Aaron, I think, actually had that one. Did you have that one written down Matt Nagy's head? Not quite Matt Nagy, but I was trying to work.

I had Nagy and I couldn't figure out how to get it in. Number three. My number three beach. Beach please. What? I'm just going to move along. Beach please, Darren. What is happening? Number two.

Wow, bro. Sorry, Kobe. My number two beach. Kate Patterburg. It's just stunned silence from Darren. I'm sorry, Darren. I'm looking straight at you.

I don't have anything else here. Not a fan of Kate Patterburg, it doesn't sound like. I thought you'd like that one. Number one.

My number one beach that you should be visiting this summer. Michael Jordan's bald head island. Aha, aha, aha, aha. No, nothing. Nope. I mean.

I can't get behind this. Michael Jordan's bald head island. Michael Jordan's bald head island. Why would I visit Michael Jordan's head?

That makes no sense. No, no. Not Michael Jordan's head. Michael Jordan's bald head island. It sounds like a failed attempt of a reality show on Fox, like during the summer.

Michael Jordan's bald head summer? Uh-huh. Island. Island. Sorry, what? This is good. Brent tweets in.

Josh Hamilton Beach. There you go. That's how you do the before and after.

Done. And you pull me in, and you pull me in with a good baseball reference. That's good. Yeah, you weren't a fan of Kate Patterburg, though. Steph Curry Beach. That one was, I was certain you were going to do that one. Brian says, Ernie Outer Banks. That's well done. Yeah.

They're way better at this than you. I actually had Ernie Outer Banks written down. They should do this segment. Sandy Roddick.

With people on Twitter. Sandy Roddick. Sandy Roddick. Sandy Roddick. Sandy Roddick might have been the best one. Yeah, actually. I really. I left Sandy Roddick out.

Yeah, that's pretty cool. What are you doing, man? Yeah, yo, what are you doing? Sandy Roddick. Blue Devil Hills. Blue Devil. Yeah.

That was kind of obvious. What is your favorite beach to visit? I'm a big Atlantic Beach guy. I spent a summer in Moorhead City. But not Atlantic Division Beach.

No. I'm more of a coastal guy. I'm an ocean-isle, cherry grove kind of guy.

I've got a family, some kiddos. See, I generally go to Myrtle Beach because that's where my sister lives right now. My parents have a place out that way. On top of that, I probably go to Wilmington. Yeah, Wilmington's up there. Carolina Beach. That area.

That general area. Yeah. Darren, I'm sorry I filled you with rage.

I wouldn't describe it as rage. Did you ever hear about it from Paul Shuey? No, but I'll get you an answer.

We're going to find out what Shuey thinks of Nickelback. Yeah, we need to figure out the answer to that. Thanks for being here, buddy. Of course.

Anytime. Up next, two topics I'm sure management would prefer I stick away from. This is The Drive. Come on!

Let's go! You're on The Drive with Josh Graham, the sports hub at AM600 AM920. We're over three days removed from the U.S. National Team's World Cup win, and I still can't stop watching videos from former Tar Heel Ashlyn Harris, the backup gold-sender. Her Instagram feed, like if there was a paywall to access her Instagram feed, what she's put out, even just today, there's a video of her, or actually she's filming one of her teammates Abby Long eating a page from the U.S. Women's National Team's lawsuit, and she's telling the camera and anyone who's watching to pay us B-word.

And there's a lot of other cursing in there, which is why Des can't play any of the sound, but with some discretion, you should watch what Ashlyn Harris has done, and they are just having the time of their lives right now, this U.S. National Team. Darren Gant from profootballtalk.com now joining us. Every time we talk to Darren, we talk about football most times, but he's also a noted music fan as well. Since it's the summer, what's the best show you've been to? Well, I just came back from Tedeschi Trucks in Blackbird and Smoke and Shovels and Rope on Sunday night at the PNC amphitheater here in Charlotte, and it's just what a great show. It was a good atmosphere, a lot fewer people than I thought it was going to be, probably would have been a little better served in a smaller venue, but hey, some weather rolled in, everybody got under the cover, and it was a great show.

Those guys, I mean, as somebody, I'm quite a bit older than you guys, as somebody who grew up with a lot of Allman Brothers on in the background, it's as close as you're going to get to it right now, and it was fantastic. Before we get to the Tyreek Hill update in the NFL, staying with soccer, when you look at how polarizing Megan Rapinoe seems to be right now, what do you make of it? You know what, I've been impressed, I mean, it would be easy for her to just be characterized as a loudmouth or a malcontent or a rabble-rouser or stuff like that, but I mean, if you stop and look at what she, or listen to what she's saying and watch the way she's saying it, you know, there was the viral video moment about the White House during the tournament that kind of put her in the crosshairs with a lot of people, but if you listen to her since she's done the lap last night on the cable news shows on a couple different networks, her speech today was fairly eloquent, and the message was basically, hey, we're not here to fight, we don't want to fight every day, we just want to be treated fairly, and I think if you get right down to it, the fairness is at the core of this, and I think a lot of people would have a hard time arguing with it. I get frustrated sometimes as a result of my job, I have to be on social media a good portion of the day, and it's really out, I mean, because there are people who simply just want to argue to be arguing, and I try to ask people every now and then, what exactly is your opposition to these ladies being paid at the same level as the men's team, when they're a lot more successful, and people, you know, guys will say, oh, a little economics, you don't care about economics, oh, you don't care about those things, this is simply about wanting things to be the way you're comfortable with that they've always been, and these ladies have changed the order of things, they're the best soccer playing team on the planet, and frankly, I respect the way they've handled their business as Americans, I mean, this country was built on defiance, this country was built on individualism, and I think when you look at the way Megan Rapinoe's handled herself for the last couple weeks, she kind of embodies those things. And for her to choose not to go to the White House and then to double, triple, and quadruple down, and how many times she has to down until ultimately the team's not invited or the invitation comes and she turns it away, her choosing- Well, listen, you know who else isn't going to the White House? Tom Brady.

He's found convenient excuses every time. He was friends with Donald Trump once when it was cute and fun, and they were buddies at the golf club, and ever since then, Tom keeps stepping away, I mean, that's, you know, Bob Kraft still gets to hang around at the White House, but Tom doesn't want any part of that anymore, I mean, they might still be friendly, but, you know, I think as a leader of me and Tom knows what it would potentially do to his standing in his own locker room. Looking at- you're the perfect person, I think, to talk to about the city of Charlotte. I grew up outside of Raleigh, and I grew up in the minor league, or let's just call it the grassroots soccer scene there with Castle and other things that are based there. I played a lot of soccer growing up, and I know with the North Carolina Courage and North Carolina FC and Steve Malik over there and the project they're trying to push forward, a multi-billion dollar development in Southeast Raleigh that is in the works, whether the MLS is a part of it or not, they really badly want to put something on the MLS's table that would be appealing to them to try and get MLS to Raleigh. Then we have what I think was inevitable from anyone who followed what David Tepper has said closely, David Tepper and his team president for the Panthers, whose name slips my mind, Tom Glick, they're going to be going to meet with MLS executives and push Charlotte's case now, which, semi, sounds like North Carolina soccer war if there's one place for the MLS to land a soccer franchise, Charlotte or Raleigh, who do you think the better fit is, Darren Gaines?

Well, if this is a soccer war, I would apologize to my friends in the triangle, because we just got more bullets. David Tepper is the richest single owner in the NFL. If he is invited into MLS, he would be the richest single owner in MLS. And I think that when you're still talking about a league that is making its money based on expansion fees rather than television rights contracts, they want somebody who's got that kind of bankroll, and it makes sense for them to have somebody like David Tepper in their club who knows how to do business and how to turn undervalued commodities into greater valued commodities. So it feels almost inevitable, but I say that with the arrogance of a Charlottetian that is so often put upon us by people in other parts of the state.

It just feels like it's a no-brainer. The only advantages I can see is, or for the triangle is, if they are committed to build a soccer-specific stadium, which MLS would prefer, but we'll find out if it's a deal-breaker. If not having to play in a talked-off Bank of America stadium is that important to them, that they would turn away a guy with significantly more resources, then that seems like a strange business decision for the league. The United States played in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium in the Golden Cup a few weeks ago.

The International Cup deal got done yesterday, a five-year deal that was announced by Tom Glick, and he was meeting with reporters about it. Since you live in Charlotte, how much of a demand do you think there is for MLS soccer? I believe that there is a substantial demand, and to be honest with you, with the Charlotte Hornets going the direction they're going, I think a lot of people who are interested in having tickets to a sporting event, I think it's looking even more attractive, to be honest with you. It's going to be significantly cheaper than NBA games, shorter-term commitment, and frankly, the product can't be any worse than what we're about to see in the NBA right now.

Thanks, Michael. But I think there's a significant market. They have had these international preseason games and drawn at least the low 50s for a couple match-ups that haven't been great. We had a bunch of people in the building for Liverpool, had a bunch of people in the building for Bayern Munich, even though they basically brought the B team a couple years ago.

It turned out pretty well. This year, Arsenal, Fiorentina, which isn't quite the marquee match-up a lot of people are hoping for, but I think part of what you'll see, my suspicion is, by signing that five-year deal with the ICC, they'll start to get a little better traffic through there. Maybe you'll see some of the bigger clubs from Spain even roll through if they're going to be a part of this thing. So I think there's a good market locally, soccer. It's always been minor league soccer, and MLS, by the international standards, is still what the seventh or eighth best domestic league in the world.

It's not to the standard you're going to see on Saturday mornings in the Premier League. Thanks, NBC Sports Network, my boss. But I do think there's a market, and all the internal talk I've heard from those guys, they seem to believe that they'll have a season ticket base that could push 30,000. If you're doing that, then I think the idea of tarping off part of a football stadium, which is going to shrink anyway. When David Tepper renovates that place, it's going to go way down from 73,000 seats, probably somewhere closer to 65. And I think with half of that almost taken up in season tickets, it's a lot more palatable to those guys. I understand soccer wants to grow their own deal and not be beholden to the football masters, but David Tepper also wants more dates in his building.

He wants more stuff than just 10 football games a year and a couple of straight bowl games. Darren Gantt with us from ProFootballTalk.com on Twitter at DarrenGantt. Let's get to Tyreek Hill, who about a month or two ago, it was in April, a Kansas City TV station released a portion of a recording that was done without Tyreek Hill's knowing it was his ex-girlfriend and an exchange as they were passing through airport security. And that exchange included after the woman alleged that Tyreek Hill broke their son's arm. And she said that he was terrified of his father. Tyreek said that he should be and that you should be too, essentially paraphrasing a little bit. But in this clip, we didn't get the full 11 minute recording because this is from the Kansas City TV station.

They were only concerned with the, quote, newsworthy portions and didn't want to include the rest, including intimate moments, they called it. But in the 11 minute clip, we see adamant denials from Tyreek Hill that wasn't in the initial recording. And we see adamant denials that he harmed his son and also harmed the woman in 2014, despite the fact that he pled guilty to those charges, got kicked off the Oklahoma State team, and then those charges were then wiped away from his record after three years of probation. I only paint that entire picture to ask you this. What does the release of the 11 minute tape likely mean for Tyreek Hill?

I guess I would begin the whole thing by saying this is our regularly scheduled reminder that we don't know these people and no one knows what's happening behind the doors of other people's houses. This is a complicated situation. Has he been a perfect boyfriend, father? Maybe not. Was she trying to set him up by secretly recording something and trying to trap him into something?

I don't know. I mean, there are all kind of ugly possibilities. I know it's a terrible situation for a child to grow up in. I think it's a really complicated situation. So let's start here, Darren. Let's start here. What do you make of the journalism of it first? Saying that you are an absolute expert in the journalism from the Kansas City TV station to leave out the denials. Yeah, I mean, I'm not a fan, I guess would be the shortest way to say it. I'm all for transparency.

And that usually means all of it, not just the part you like the best. Yeah, it's uncomfortable the way they handled it. And I don't know after the immediate shock value they got out of that clip early on.

I think that took some of the sting away from hearing the whole thing the other day. But it's really, it's a complicated situation for the NFL because there may not be charges. They've proven that they're willing to suspend people without charges. But you hear different stuff from people who are connected inside the league saying they might not charge him. And I think that's a terrible look anyway, because if you go back to some of the other situations, Ezekiel Elliott and a couple other ones where Rogers decided to ride alone without the cops alongside, it's kind of difficult and it's uncomfortable.

And I think it's okay to be kind of skeeved out by the entire situation, to be honest with you. I thought back to Eugene Robinson, who's one of my favorite people to come through Charlotte. Gene obviously had the situation at the Super Bowl in Atlanta when he was arrested shortly after receiving a Man of the Year award for solicitation of prostitution. And Gene was always really open about that when he came through Charlotte late in his career.

And the thing he said that will always stick with me is there's a difference between innocent and righteous. Tyreek Hill may not be guilty of anything. The law may not be able to evict him of anything. That doesn't mean he has to play football. And I think at a certain point, even though the league has proven itself fairly incapable of administering justice over the years, I wouldn't, I mean, as a just personal opinion, I wouldn't have a problem with Tyreek Hill not playing a bunch of football this year.

I just wouldn't. There is some degree of pattern of behavior here, no matter how you look at it, and it's a troubling relationship, he has with this woman. And again, beyond football, I mean, I know training camp's coming up and that's what we all focus on, but listening to that entire tape, I just thought, oh my God, what a horrible moment this is going to be when this child eventually listens to that tape. What result would surprise you for how this ends up?

And I think no punishment would surprise me. It's almost like at this point, so much has been said and there's so much heat on this thing, especially when you look at the track record of the Kansas City Chiefs. I mean, for the impression of middle America wholesome values, the Chiefs have taken more chances on more character risks than practically any other team in the NFL, and they just gave Frank Clark a gigantic new contract, and Frank Clark came into the league under his own cloud of suspicion. So it's troubling for me to see the same team doing it over and over again, and it would bother me, I think, to be honest with you, to see them go unpunished for this. I mean, when Tyreek Hill's on the field, he's one of the best players in the NFL, that much we know.

Because he deserves the right to play in the NFL, simply because he can't be proven legally liable for this, yeah, I'm not prepared to go there, either. Darren, it's good to hear your voice. I'm sure we'll be catching up sometime soon with training camp, as you mentioned, right around the corner.

Thanks for doing this. Right around the corner. All season's about to be gone.

This is the best week of the NFL calendar for NFL writers. Well know this, Darren. Know this. Until next week, ACC kickoff is in Charlotte.

It's crazy to think it's all here. Enjoy. Yeah. Thank you.

We'll see y'all soon. Yeah, that's Darren Gantt. On Twitter, at DarrenGantt.

ProFootballTalk.com. The drive is brought to you in part by our friends at Twin Peaks Restaurant. At Twin Peaks, they encourage all sports fans to experience the finer things in life, like barrel-aged bourbon poured over a handmade ice ball, or one of the classic whiskey cocktails, such as the Tennessee Stud.

Tennessee Stud! Compare that with any made-from-scratch menu item, like, I don't know, how about a burger with some bacon on it or some naked wings? It's good stuff. That's a meal worth indulging in.

Twin Peaks eats drinks. Scenic views. Des, what do you got? Take it to the house today. Me, you, and Aaron are going to take a field trip to Atlanta, and we're going to get rich. I love field trips. Yeah!