Sexiest Panther Alive

Welcome in to a Thursday Drive. And as much as I'd like to spend the next few hours only talking about Krista McCaffrey's GQ photo shoot from the day, we need to have a conversation about the college football playoff now that the Big Ten is getting back into the mix next month. And I get we're still in wait and see mode with the Pac-12, but with all due respect to the folks out west, nobody out there has been in the playoffs since 2016. As great as Justin Fields and the Buckeyes were last year, I think too much has to go right in order for a Big Ten team to earn a college football playoff spot this year.

The most obvious reason being, they are only going to play eight games. Look at the other Power Five teams scheduled. Obviously the Pac-12 notwithstanding. The ACC. Ten conference games, one at a conference game.

The SEC. Ten conference games, nothing else added on. The Big Twelve. Nine conference games, one at a conference. So even if a Big Ten team goes undefeated, likely there's going to be a one loss team in one of those other conferences arguing it should get in over the Buckeyes or over even an undefeated Big Ten team. Then there are going to be group of fives trying to book more games than eleven.

We're seeing it happen. And the Sunbelt and the American Athletic Conference trying to play more games so that way they could get into the playoff by sheer volume of games played. I really believe in order for a Big Ten team to have a shot, they have to go undefeated. And you're only talking about the major programs too. Michigan, maybe Wisconsin. Sorry to the gophers and to Iowa. I don't think they could, even if they go unbeaten, I don't know if their case is going to be strong enough to get in given the fact they only have eight games.

Now, probably the most important piece. The Big Ten has no flexibility with its schedule. They are going to be walking on a high wire all season long Robert. No buys in order to allow for rescheduling.

They have a low positivity threshold. The rate is five percent. That's the rate a team has to reach in order to have a game cancelled in a given week.

If you're wondering what that might mean, what specifically the number is in order to get to that for most of the teams. You're talking about six players. And look what happened with Charlotte this morning. Charlotte announced it can't play against North Carolina. Well, Hill's been cancelled. Not postponed, cancelled because the teams don't have any matching buy weeks and they can't get it redone.

North Carolina. They have flexibility at least with next week's buy in order to try and fill someone in. The Big Ten's not going to have that when it starts on October 24th. When you look at Charlotte, only one guy tested positive on Monday.

And apparently due to contact tracing, it's taken out an entire position group. That position group being the offensive line. So I respect Will Healy for doing the right thing and playing it safe. In turn, also keeping North Carolina's players safe.

But those are the type of things that can happen in 2020. The Big Ten, even though they're testing every day, which is a great thing. Not every ACC school is doing that. In fact, only Duke and Notre Dame are doing it among the teams I know in the ACC.

That's a huge step. That's not going to help. If something goes wrong, there's little they can do other than cancel the game.

And you're already in trouble with just eight. Just in the college football playoff discussion. Then there's the political piece here. There are going to be politics inside the college football playoff committee room with the Big Ten choosing to postpone. They postponed and then saw everybody else play. Who clearly made a better decision than they made. And we know that because the Big Ten so quickly changed course. The committee, it consists of human beings. People who have opinions on what's happening.

Just like America. And there are some who respected what the Big Ten did. There are others who look at it and say, you really canceled. You went rogue. You postponed. Well, your partners, your other conferences stayed put just assuming they were going to follow you. And now you want to come back and play football and play on the biggest stage?

Kick rocks. I could see that happening. So they have a lot to overcome. I also think that's going to hurt the Big Ten in recruiting. The Big Ten already has had problems recruiting against the South. Against the ACC's top teams. Florida State when they're good. Virginia Tech when they're good. Certainly the Clemson Tigers. But for the next few years, if Big Ten schools are in the conversation with SEC and ACC schools, the SEC and ACC could say, why would you go play in the Big Ten when they're so quick to pull the plug?

That shows you that we have more of a priority on football than they do. I don't know if the Pac-12 is going to recover from it. They haven't been to the playoff again since 2016 with Washington. They got smoked in that game.

They've gotten close a few other times, but you're supposed to be a power five league. If you're not playing this year, already you're seeing top kids like Bryce Young. He's from Southern California. One of the best quarterbacks in the last recruiting class. That's a kid that goes to USC ten times out of ten. He went to Alabama. And we're seeing a lot more of that as the Pac-12 continues to deteriorate out west. So I think it's going to take too much for a Big Ten team to get into the college football playoff this year. You can tweet us at sportsubtribe.

336-777-1600 is the phone number. Katie George is going to be on the sideline for Wake Forest NC State on Saturday night. She will be with us at the bottom of the hour. And I want to spend some time putting some respect on the Wake NC State rivalry because it doesn't nearly get the respect I think it deserves. When people think about college football rivalries in North Carolina, I think where they go first is NC State and North Carolina.

And there are a number of memorable games there. But I think NC State's won nine of the last thirteen meetings and even given that, North Carolina in the all-time history has won about thirty more games than NC State has. Meanwhile, this has been a more competitive rivalry. And you have two dissimilar schools, two dissimilar football schools in the state going head-to-head. You have the largest enrollment school of any of the public schools in this state, 34,000 last I checked NC State usually has, versus Wake Forest that has about 8,000.

It's the smallest Power Five enrollment in the country. Two different types of students going head-to-head. Two different types of athletes.

Also, there's the historical aspect, which I put on my social media earlier today at Josh Graham Radio. It's the longest uninterrupted ACC rivalry. Now, Clemson South Carolina was an ACC rivalry until South Carolina went pack into the SEC. But since 1910, Wake Forest and NC State has played each and every year. It's tied for the third longest uninterrupted rivalry in the country. Only behind Clemson South Carolina, which started a year earlier in 1909. That game's not expected to be played this year. And in 1906, Wisconsin and Minnesota started playing and they've played every year since. That was really in jeopardy until yesterday with the Big Ten announcement. So, I don't think a lot of people know how long Wake Forest and NC State have been doing it head-to-head.

I know someone who does know it though. That's Dave Claussen. And here's what he had to say about the Wake NC State rivalry earlier this week. This game has been played since 1910. So, it was played through World War I, the pandemic of 1918, World War II, and now it's going to be played in the pandemic of 2020. The Big Four is very, very important to us. Last year, we were fortunate to get all those games at home.

And now the script flips. We've got to play all those games on the road. That's right. They do as they go to Chapel Hill. They go to Durham this year.

I just love a season where you have all these teams playing in the same season. Obviously, not under ideal circumstances with the virus, but Wake NC State doing it each and every year. It's also an incredibly tightly contested series. The last 10 years, NC State's won five games. Wake Forest has won five games.

If you go back even further, last 20 years. 10 wins for the Deaks, 10 wins for the Wolfpack, and even going back 25, or make it 24 because it's an even number, 12 wins for the Pack, 12 wins for the Demon Deacon. So, a very competitive series, which is important in a rivalry, but Wake Forest has gotten the upper hand on the Wolfpack the last few years.

Winning three in a row, looking for four straight. If you want to look at the last time in this rivalry, Wake Forest has won four in a row against NC State. However, you have to go all the way back to 1954. 51-54, Wake Forest won four in a row, and to put that in perspective, 1954 was the year Arnold Palmer, Wake Forest's golfing great, turned pro. The ACC was created a year before 54 in 53, and Wake Forest was still in the city of Wake Forest where I'm from.

So yeah, it's been a while. Let's go to your boy Stan Cotton who wants in on today's show. Your boy Stan Cotton, get the Deacon Nation fired up about Saturday night's game against the Pack.

Oh Josh, it is great to talk with you. First off, I gotta say that if you look at NC State's roster, they've got seven kids from Wake Forest, North Carolina. They've got a kid from Lake Forest Academy. Even their safety coach's name is DeForest. What they're about to be really familiar with is Wake Forest's D-line, because Boogie, Ja'Cory, Terrance, and Miles are coming hard on Saturday night. I am so excited for this game. The Clemson game didn't go the way that we wanted, but I'll tell you what, man. It is going to be a new team here on Saturday, and they're coming for that four straight. That's right, man.

Your boy Stan Cotton. It's good to hear from you. You need to call in more often. Yeah, man.

Definitely, man. Go Deacs. There he goes.

That's your boy Stan Cotton. Let's get to one more call before we get on to other things. Mike in Elkin wants in on the college football playoff. I don't think Ohio State or a Big Ten team's going to have enough to get in this year. What do you think, Mike? I agree with everything you said, unless they decide to increase the playoff by up to six or eight.

And I wouldn't be shocked if they did that because of the virus. You know, if it's Ohio State, if it's Penn State or whoever, they're going to say, well, it wasn't their decision to cancel, even though I guess it was their president. It wasn't the coach and it wasn't the team.

I can't believe Ryan Day wanted to cancel. Really quick though, Mike, would you be in favor of the playoff expanding? This year. Not just this year.

It's kind of like baseball. Alright, we'll keep an eye on that. Mike, thanks for the phone call. It's appreciated. From Elkin.

This show is very friendly to Mikes and Elkin. And yeah, if I would make that trade, if it meant Big Ten teams getting it, if it meant us getting an expanded playoff, which I've been for, I think eight is the magical number because I would love to see an underdog have a shot. I'd love to see a power five or excuse me, a group of five involved in it in some way, shape or form.

I would be okay if even a Big Ten team gets in playing seven or eight games this season. Alright, coming up, why this year could be the year a Panthers great gets into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Keep an ear on the drive. Earlier today, I had a chance to ask Panthers coach Matt Rule about Kristin McCaffrey's GQ photo shoot.

You'll hear what he had to say in about 15 minutes. Robert, what's more brand for me last night that I suggested to Sarah Bradford that we watch My Best Friend's Wedding because I'm a sap and I had not seen that before or that because of Taylor Swift's ACM Awards performance last night, I've been in my office cubicle all day to day listening to Taylor Swift. It's definitely Taylor Swift. And at first I didn't know if you were talking about My Best Friend, a movie or you're actually watch your best friend's wedding, which would be pretty on par for you too. Wow. No, I'm talking about the Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz movie. But I kind of expected you to just watch one of your best friend's weddings because you haven't seen it before.

That's right. Does anybody still make the actual videos anymore? Like when do you go back to watch those?

There's huge money in that. One of my buddies, a videographer, and he films people's weddings and makes it like... I'm fine with the pictures. I don't know if I'd ever watch the video, if I'm being honest.

Maybe that's me being a bit harsh, but I've also never been married either. So I'll report back to you on that. We have a poll that we put out here because again, I'm a sap that likes Taylor Swift and I'm not afraid to admit it. Which Taylor Swift is better? You got Country Taylor Swift and you also got Pop Taylor.

I don't know where you'd go on that. Country or Pop? Probably Country. I think her pop stuff is putrid. Wow. Those are fighting words. I like all of it. Harsh words.

I mean, that's not nice for you to go that path. The new album I thought was really good. Katie George is going to be on the broadcast for Wake Forest NC State on Saturday before we get to the football. Pop Taylor or Country Taylor, Katie?

Oh, that's so tough. I'm going to go Pop Taylor. I was a big fan of her Country stuff, but I appreciate the fact that she's remained relevant and switched gears and entered the pop world.

I think she's pretty talented. Saturday night, ACC Network, 8 p.m. kick. It's going to be Wake Forest and NC State. There are plenty of State and Wake Forest fans in our listening audience at the Piedmont Triad. And this rivalry, it's interesting to me, until the Big Ten announcement yesterday, it really looked like that going into 2021, Wake Forest and NC State might be the longest uninterrupted ACC rivalry ever. It's trailing Clemson and South Carolina, which isn't going to be played this year. Wisconsin and Minnesota have been playing each year since 1906. But the last 10 years, five and five, the last 20, 10 wins for NC State, 10 wins for Wake Forest.

And you can even go further than that and see that this has been really even. You are in the business of telling stories and telling us what's going to happen on the sidelines at these games. What's a storyline you've been following you think deserves the national spotlight on Saturday? Well, I think for starters, how does Wake Forest respond to not performing at a high level against Clemson? I think that they felt optimistic about the way that they played just in talking to some of the players. And we'll talk to Dave Clawson tomorrow in preparation for Saturday night's game. But they felt like there was a lot of missed opportunities left out on the field.

And so I want to see how they respond. And then I'm also just excited to see NC State back in action. It's been an emotional roller coaster for all college football teams, but specifically NC State having their dealings with COVID, having to postpone the Virginia Tech game, which they're going to play next week in Blacksburg. But you know, they were super banged up last season in terms of injuries.

We had them a couple times late. And Dave Dorn was fearless, but you couldn't help but feel for them with having so many starters, so many leaders on their team have to bow out due to injuries last season. And so now that they're healthy again, and they have some of that leadership back from their go to guys back this season, and they're also introducing a new offensive coordinator and Tim Beck, I'm curious to see what he brings to the table and what NC State looks like.

Because, you know, from the last 10 years, it's been five and five. This has always been a game that's really competitive and goes down to the wire. So I'm expecting a very exciting fourth quarter in Raleigh come Saturday night.

Shoot Katie a follow on Twitter if you haven't already at Katie underscore George oh five from the ACC network will be on Wake Forest NC State. There are you mentioned the fact that Wake Forest didn't play well last weekend against Clemson. But I look across the country and I see there are upsets the Sunbelt taking out the big 12 for example you had Arkansas State beaten Kansas State. You also saw we also all watched as nearly Texas Tech lost to Houston Baptist that was a really tight game. And I bring up those two specifically because they're examples of teams that already played going up against a team that hasn't played yet. Does that give Wake Forest a bit of an advantage going into Saturday you think the fact that they've already gotten their feet wet playing an opponent. Well, I think it's a double edged sword, a little bit right so NC State has the advantage because they can watch the film of Wake Forest and they know their personnel, you know, there might not have been guys that they were keying on well now they've got it from the film from the Clemson game, whereas Wake Forest has gone through the motions and they've at least have one game under their belt and I think tackling early on in the season is a big issue for a lot of teams I mean I think back to last year when you saw Miami and Florida go at it.

In the end of August and remember how sloppy just from a ball security standpoint, that was just from a truly tackling standpoint so Wake Forest defense I think comes in with an edge because they have taken the live reps, typically against the number one team in the nation in Clemson, but I think there's advantages and disadvantages for both NC State has more prep time and has film to go off of where, you know, Wake Forest and Dave Klopf and they're going back through all of the stops that Ken Beck has in his career and they're looking at the different film and then they're having to go back even two years ago, just to see different guys who are now going to be back in the starting lineup that we didn't see a year ago because of this injury so they're definitely as pros and cons for both teams coming into this one. We were talking about the NBA a short while ago, Katie George with us here. I know you covered the Bucks for a season. What's the best story you can share with us about Giannis behind the scenes?

Oh, God, too many. He's definitely put me on the spot there. I love my time in Milwaukee, although short lived because this opportunity with the ACC Network came about, but I just think how humble of a guy he is, you know, and I know there's been a lot of a conversation, you know, surrounding him and what he's going to do next as he's a free agent, you know, he's going to get a max deal in the next few days in Milwaukee or if he decides to leave, but I was just blown away by his consistency and the way that he attacked the game, not just from game action when the lights were on, but in the practice facility. He was always the first one there, the last one out, which sounds cliche. I mean, we always say that about the top players, but he was just so humble and very unaffected by his star power and his stardom. He finishes an NCP season and all he wants out in L.A. where we went to cover it for the NBA awards was, I want my brothers, I want my mom, I want my girlfriend, I want my family there. And he is so close to his family members and I think that that stems from the loyalty he has culturally, just growing up in Greece, and then also just traditionally what those families, you know, what they mean to one another. And so I appreciate the fact that just because he is who he is and he's such a recognizable name, one of the best athletes in the world, not just the world of basketball, that he just stays so humble and down to his roots and really, you know, with all that he has, he just wants to hang out at home, take care of his family and play the best basketball that he can.

But I was certainly sad to see them bow out of the bubble early, but not surprised in the slightest to see them lose to Miami. Katie George with us here, ACC Network, Saturday night, Wake Forest, NC State, 8 o'clock kick for Carter-Finley Stadium. I'll see you down in Raleigh on Saturday night. Appreciate the visit.

Hope we could do it more often in the tryout. Awesome. Thanks so much.

Have a great night. And I got some breaking news in here from the ACC. We know when Virginia Tech is going to be played this year, the Commonwealth Cup. That was supposed to be played this weekend between the Hokies and the Cavaliers.

It's back to the end of the season. We were talking about how this would be the earliest these two teams have played in a really long time. How about the first ever December clash between Virginia and Virginia Tech? December the 12th. December the 12th is the makeup date for Virginia, Virginia Tech, and we're looking at a December 19th ACC championship game in Charlotte. Alright, who's the sexiest man in Panthers history?

Well, a strong case was made earlier today, and we'll get to that next. Photoshoppers who just so happen to be Panthers fans, do your thing. Get Matt Ruhl's face on some of those shirtless Christian McCaffrey GQ photos.

Here's the question that I have, and I think we had this discussion earlier this year. I don't want to do reruns too much, but who is the sexiest man in Panthers history? People Magazine has its sexiest man in the universe list that they do each and every year. Christian McCaffrey, is he the sexiest man in Panthers history? What says Robert Wash?

I think that's a completely different question than what we've been posing. Is he the hunkiest or the sexiest? What's the difference between hunkiest and sexiest? The sexiest is the provocativeness of sex.

We're like, oh, I would be very attracted to that person. Hunky is I attribute to male attribute. So does he have a fine jawline? Does he have a nice upper body? Does he look like he could build you a house or a water feature in the backyard? He needs to have male like qualities. And I think the answer to is he the sexiest or the hunkiest in Christian McCaffrey's case is yes.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Luke Kuechly is more hunky than McCaffrey is by your definition. I see.

I don't think so. I feel like Luke is the kind of guy who needs instructions to build something and Christian can see a vision and just do it. He was like, oh, you want to make an improvisation to this foyer? You want me to build you a nice little swing in the backyard?

I'll go buy the supplies. Luke is like, well, let me order this chandelier kit and find something that I can bond it to in the ceiling. Christian is definitely a more how to and let's do it guy. Then I obviously have to throw Cam Newton into this discussion.

I think he also had a GQ photo shoot as well. He's more fashionable than Christian is, I believe. I would agree with that, but I would also say that Cam would be more in the running of sexiest panther than hunkiest panther.

All right. Because I feel like Cam, rather than build you something, he would pay someone to build it for you and he wouldn't be the one taking on that responsibility. He would just be like, yeah, whatever.

I'll get one of my guys to do it. I don't know why Christian McCaffrey gives you more of that hunky vibe than say Cam does because Cam, if you're talking versatility, which is what Christian brings, Cam has more of that because he's bigger and does so much. Josh, you're bringing football into this. This has nothing to do with football.

This is all about sexy, hunky. Well, then you started bringing up like building you a shelf or something. Yeah, I never said a shelf. That's pretty basic. That's just a weight and suspension. But I'm saying, yeah, exactly. That's part of hunky.

Being able to build something for someone, being able to provide for someone. Fellas, ladies, we need your help here. 336-777-1600. Who's the hunkiest and or sexiest panther in history? You think McCaffrey is the sexiest in panthers history? And the hunkiest.

Yeah, I would have to dive back into... If you were broadening it, would McCaffrey be the sexiest in the NFL? More than say Tom Brady? No, I would go with Lamar Jackson. He's probably the sexiest for me.

And that's preference because he plays for my team. And he's got the big chainsaw. I don't know, McCaffrey's eyes.

That's for you, dude. I like the braids. I like the little twist Lamar got going. Big trust. You know, you could just trust him. You wouldn't have to worry about him big trusting all around town. Christian McCaffrey, on the other hand, he's going to attract a lot of women and a lot of options.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. This is not who is the most faithful in the NFL. This is sexiest, Robert. I get that, but you offered me an option between Lamar and Christian.

And I would choose Lamar as sexier because of that. Hmm. Nick Wilson from WF&Z was making some comments on this earlier today. And he's telling me that Matt Paradis is somebody in terms of the hunky discussion. Might want to chime in, but he doesn't know how to enter the chat.

He doesn't have the password. That's someone to consider. Yeah, maybe we're overlooking some of the bigger guys. You know, more. I mean, there's more cushion for the pushing, as they say, Robert. It's a thing that they say.

What's your favorite photo of this photo shoot? No, hold on. Don't run away from that.

Don't run away from that. If we're talking about cushion or the lack of cushion, I would probably go with Gross. I think Jordan Gross is probably the hunkiest because not only is he a rigid man.

We need to get Gross back on. Yeah, and you can ask him about the cushion that he has. He'd be happy to do so. Yeah, he has no issue. He's a confident man, that guy. Which also plays into the sexy part. So maybe Jordan Gross could be a sexier, higher up on the list. I'll throw one in terms of the bigger guys out there. Look at Mike Rucker. Mike Rucker has a tremendous jawline. Back in the day, I mean, there's a reason why he does television. Great jawline and just a really handsome man. I'd throw Mike Rucker into that debate. Ooh, I love the pencil-thin mustache.

That's what I'm saying. That adds a little bit, and I like that. I like that pick. All right, so Mike Rucker, I'll throw him into the mix. There are some ladies I know that prefer Wesley, not Wesley Wells, Dante Wesley.

That's another one. I don't see it. He gives me Cisco vibes, Dante Wesley, but I'm just letting you know. Some of the feedback I've gotten, Dante Wesley, he is in the mix when it comes to sexiest Panthers.

Not really good on the field, even though he had the interception of Brady in the Super Bowl, but doesn't mean you're not a good-looking man. Throw that out there. You got Dante Wesley up? I am. I'm looking through it, but I really don't see it. You're missing me on that one.

Yeah, I'm just telling you some of the feedback I've gotten here. So if we're narrowing it down here, names that we've thrown out. Of course you got Luke. There's Cam. There's McCaffrey. Mike Rucker.

That's the list right now, sexiest Panthers. Oh, and we're throwing Jordan Gross into that, too. Jordan Gross lost a lot of weight when he got finished playing. So Jordan Gross is looking good.

I think he's just hanging out in Idaho, maybe planting potatoes. Yeah. On Twitter, it's SportsUpDrying, 336-777-1600.

Be in the phone number. I want to shift things to some comments that Bill Belichick had today. That sound very newsworthy, but I don't know how newsworthy it really is. This is him talking about Russell Wilson, who the Patriots play on Sunday night this week. This guy's a tremendous player. Honestly, I think he's in a way maybe underrated by the media or the fans. I don't know, but I don't really see anybody better than this player.

Ooh, spicy. I don't know if I've seen anyone better than this player. Even though he coached that Tom Brady guy for a very long time. Was that a subtle shot at QB12? TB12?

I don't think so. I think when you see the list that Mike Sandow does, the quarterback tiers, I think he does a really good job with it. There were only two unanimous tier one guys, and it's Pat Mahomes and Russell Wilson. So even if you think, okay, Bill might be sliding Pat, given that he's played Pat Mahomes in a championship game. He didn't say that Russ was better than anyone he's seen. He's saying he hasn't seen anyone who's better than him, which is a different thing. He could be just as good as Pat Mahomes. He could be just as good as a Tom Brady. I think it's important.

I think getting into the details, it's important that we look at exactly what he said. All right, let's go to Tiana and Winston Sale. Tiana, I'm just asking you the most important journalistic question that I have today. Who is the hunkiest, who is the sexiest Carolina Panther ever? I think Greg Olsen is the hunkiest, especially when he gets that rough beard thing going on.

That's a great choice. I can't believe I didn't think of Greg Olsen. So that is the hunkiest. Do you make a distinction between hunky and sexy? I can say yeah.

After I heard you guys' definition, I think yeah, there's definitely a difference. I think confidence and swagger has a lot to do with that. Who's the sexiest Panther then?

I don't know. I'm such a Cam fan, but honestly McCaffrey is the cutest. He has the best smile. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Cute's a totally different discussion now, Tiana. We're talking about sexy. That's what we're talking about here. Cute.

We could go down a different path. Jake Deloam's cute, but Christian McCaffrey, this is sexy that we're talking about here. Who's sexier? McCaffrey or Cam?

Cam because he has that confidence. All right. Thank you, Tiana.

Your work is appreciated today. I would also like to change my hunkiest vote to Greg Olsen. Greg Olsen's the answer. Yeah, she knocked that out of the park.

Tiana did knock it out of the park. That guy could build you a shelf. Dude, build you a shelf.

He'll build you a house that you can attach a shelf to. Greg Olsen? Wow.

How did that slip through the crack? How did we not think about Greg Olsen? Recency bias. We're just like, he's on to... Well, so many guys have left. We're thinking about Luke. We're thinking about Cam. We forgot about Greg.

What are we doing? What photo is your favorite, by the way? I don't know which one my favorite is, but my least favorite is that stupid cowboy hat-ascot combo.

Like, it just looks so dumb. Are you trying to be Fred from the Mystery Van? Like, what in the Wild West? Shirtless Fred. Who wears an ascot? They don't look good. Unless you're Jeff Goldblum, it doesn't matter.

I'll say this, though. If I lose the bet with B-Dot, where B-Dot, if, you know, the Cowboys, if they win 10 games, I have to do a cowboy. I have to do a photo shoot where I'm wearing a Cowboy Speedo and only a cowboy hat. The first shot has to be me, shirtless with an ascot and the cowboy hat, just like McCaffrey.

As long as I'm not the one taking the pictures, it's all good. You are listening to WSJS Winston-Salem, WCOG Greensboro, WPC in Burlington, WMFR High Point, where the signals make up Sports Hub Triad. Alright, we got a number of important things to get to with Darin Vaught, who spends time with us each week. We do Comparin' with Darin. Before we do Comparin', Christian McCaffrey, he had his GQ shoot this morning and, or at least it was, released this morning.

Matt Ruhl, I caught up with him earlier today. He made sure to point out that he wished he was asked for a similar opportunity. Maybe do some shirtless pics and all that. But anyway, we were discussing who the sexiest Panther alive is, or the sexiest Panther ever, to use the People's Magazine type approach to this. And Robert made sure to point out that there's a difference between sexy and hunky, and certainly a difference between sexy, hunky, and cute. But if we're just looking at sexy, Christian McCaffrey, it seems, is right there with potentially a Cam Newton. I threw Mike Rucker into that mix, potentially. Got a great chin.

Robert likes the thin mustache. Darin, when I say sexiest Panther alive, who do you think of? It's Cam.

I think there's no doubt about it. And this is a totally different conversation than hunky-est, right? Because I think probably Luke Kuechly would be tops for hunky-est, but he can't. Robert thinks it's your ability to build a... or to put up a shed or something in your backyard. That's hunky.

And he thinks that McCaffrey is better at that than maybe Luke Kuechly would, but also a caller came in with Greg Olsen saying he was probably the best in that category. Super rugged. Anything that's homey in terms of home improvement or building something carpentry, I'm probably going to trust Olsen.

And that's a bit of a tangent when I mention building things, but that's part of it, right? It's a bit hunky-er than Cam Newton. I don't know that I want Cam Newton building things for me. I don't know what's more on brand for me last night, asking Sarah Bradford to watch, and it was my idea of my best friend's wedding with Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts.

I haven't seen it before. I'm a sap. I enjoy rom-coms. Or watching Taylor Swift's ACM Awards performance last night a couple of times and listening to Taylor Swift all day in my office today. Which Taylor Swift is a better Taylor Swift in your mind? Country Taylor or Pop Taylor? Well, there's some in-between here, right?

Because I think... Oh, hold up, hold up. This probably serves as comparing music. This might be a good way to kick off comparing with Darren. I don't want to take Robert's thunder, but can we have the comparing music ahead of time?

Country Taylor and Pop Taylor. There's some in-between, because I think there was a transition period that included Red, which is one of my favorite albums of hers. It's still poppy, but it's a drearier pop, and you can tell that's when we all sort of figured that she was headed down in that direction. But with folklore, she's right back to her roots on much of that record.

So I don't know that I really distinguish a hard line in the same way that other people do. I like both, and I think her most recent stuff is her best. So probably Pop. Okay, you're going Pop Taylor. I'm going Country Taylor. I'm looking at the poll.

57% of those who have voted so far say Country Taylor. So I'm right. Robert, let's start comparing with Darren. Oh, can we start that now?

Appreciate it. Here we go, fellas. Enough of that Taylor Swift crap. Let's talk about something sexy. Christian McCaffrey's GQ spread, Darren. I would like you to compare that to Josh's potential cowboy calendar spread. If you're not aware, if the Cowboys win 10 or more games this season, Josh has to take a calendar photo shoot while wearing a Cowboys speedo. Maybe a cowboy hat. Besides the fact that both would just be the height of erotica, I think Josh would utilize a few more hats.

I would love a picture with Josh, one hat on his head, one hat on his uh-uh down there, and it's just him looking at the camera. Why do I have to wear a hat while that's happening? Why not use the hat that I would otherwise be wearing? Because it's two hats. Or we have your hat over your uh-uh and you're not holding it. That would be even better in my opinion.

Yeah, the Burt Reynolds. I'm gonna run away from that one. Josh, I would like you to compare the Panthers almost beating the Raiders to watching your friend's t-ball team lose a game. Well, I think in both instances it's probably not important the result.

Like Carolina's kind of building for the future, just like I don't think the t-ball score really matters. Also, both probably aren't that good. There you go. And I'm not that invested in it. But I'm gonna drink watching both of them.

Darren. No, I got something for that. You probably won't even realize a team lost in either instance, right? T-ball half the time they don't even keep the score.

Yeah, unless you got money on it in both instances, I guess. That's pretty good. Darren, your podcast, you had Jim Abbott on, right? That's already dropped this week. We did, covering the bases, the official podcast of USA Baseball.

Get it where you get your podcasts. That episode released yesterday. Yeah, thanks for that.

Hey, no problem. I would like you to compare that man, Jim Abbott, to Krillin from Dragon Ball Z. Who is Krillin?

Okay. Krillin is the short, bald character who dies a lot. Yeah, so he's the short, bald character, pretty much the only one without hair that wasn't like an alien.

And he's got those six dots on there. Oh, I know who you're talking about now. Yeah, so I'm not super well versed in Dragon Ball Z, but Krillin, I will say, as a child, was my favorite character because often he's brought in as comic relief. For sure. I don't know how often that was the case in Jim Abbott's career, but they're both certainly underlooked in the performance aspects of Krillin's presence on that show, like as a fighter, and Abbott's presence on the baseball field.

Because this is a guy that was born without a right hand, and he's an all-star caliber pitcher right away when he makes the jump from college to Team USA in the Olympics and helping them win gold to being a Rookie of the Year candidate when he was drafted by the Angels and played without minor league service. I like that. Seeing how Krillin was married to a robot, you could probably say that they both needed mechanical help for certain things. And Josh, I would like you to compare the Nuggets to Average Joes from Dodgeball.

Man, this is tough. I guess both were inspired by excellent coaching that doesn't get nearly enough credit. Like Patches O'Houlihan, I don't think gets enough credit because he wasn't there for the championship match. And I also think Mike Malone doesn't get enough credit with the Denver Nuggets, a really good coach with Denver in the conference final round. Uh, yeah, that's pretty much all I have. So who's Globogym in your, is LeBron Globogym or is the winner of Miami Bucks Globogym?

Average Joes would have to win. So I don't think the Nuggets are going to beat the Lakers, but it wasn't upset that they beat the Clippers. So I think Kawhi was Globogym, just Kawhi himself. And he kinda, with his hair. That's right. Well, I'm just saying Kawhi's hair, the way the braids look and such, it might actually look a little bit like the Globogym logo. Okay. Like a cobra? Yeah, like a cobra. Yeah.

Kawhi Leonard, there you go. Darren, last one for you. Uh, last week's week one loss, I would like you to compare that as it relates to Tom Brady's career to Death to Smoochie as it relates to Robin Williams' career.

Ooh, this is a good one. Undoubtedly, you saw me mention Death to Smoochie on Twitter. I did see that. I'm a big fan of that movie as well. As a movie that I'm certain that I appreciate more than most people around me.

You just love depressing movies. Like, you're trying to turn on, like, Eternal Sunshine earlier today. Yeah, it was 11 AM.

I don't know what I was thinking. It was a rainy day, though. A good day for a gloomy movie. Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis instead, so it turned out to be a good, like, afternoon pick-me-up. Um, regarding Tom Brady and Robin Williams. So, with Robin Williams, his best performances were well behind him when he did Death to Smoochie, right? I mean, that was, what, early 2002, maybe? But he did eke out a few more great roles. Man of the Year was after that.

His portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt in the Night at the Museum movies. Was One Hour Photo after that as well? Yeah, yeah, I think you're right. The timing might be a little off there. But anyways, you know, he had enough in the tank to eke out a few more good performances, and I think the same can be said of Tom Brady.

I'm not about to be the dude that writes him off after one bad week one, when he's playing for a team, a new team, for the first time in forever. Very well said. Josh, I got one for you to close us out if you think we got time. Alright, we can close it out, yeah. Cardi B and Offset, they're getting a divorce. Oh, no.

After a pump fake a couple years ago, this is the real deal. I would like you to compare that divorce to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady's relationship. Relationship talk on the drive. I'm about it.

You've been very sappy today. There's likely cheating that's gone on in both examples. For sure, not likely. I think it's been proven. Yeah, I think there's likely cheating that's happened in both scenarios, and that Tom Brady's thick. Tom would be the, well, I guess he had the decision to leave, so he is the Cardi B in this situation.

Offset, better days are also ahead for him. Can you do the mouth thing that she does? Like, the rolling of her R? Oh, oh, krrrrrr. Yeah, you can do it. I can't. I can't do it like... You sound like a bird that swallowed a whistle. Yeah, Darren, can you do that? No, no, no.

He's like, I'm not trying. Anyway, that's comparing with our good friend Darren. Darren, thanks for being here, buddy.

Of course. Always a pleasure, guys. He is on Twitter at Darren Vaught. Listen to his podcast with Jim Abbott this week on the USA Baseball podcast covering the bases.

Follow him on Twitter, at Darren Vaught. I'm disappointed in our listeners right now, Robert, that a lot of them are favoring Pop Taylor against Country Taylor. Kind of surprising there, you know? I mean, we've seen more Pop Taylor the last decade. Now, they're just, I get wanting to go back to the older stuff, but come on now.

It's probably just that they can remember the older stuff and not so much the newer things. So he was pretty defiant in Cam being the sexiest panther ever over Christian McCaffrey. And we had a listener who's the only female who's chimed in on the air on this topic for us so far say Cam over McCaffrey too. We did have a lone vote for Mick Mixon, which I don't know if you're going to factor that in or not. Yeah, intelligence has to be factored in, so Mick Mixon, he's in the discussion. And the artistic part. You didn't know the music from him. I almost want to put a poll out there and say who's the sexiest panther ever and have it be McCaffrey, Cam, Mick Mixon.

And see what exactly that happens. Luke fans would be upset. No, I think Mick Mixon being in the mix.

I think that's the way it has to be. But in reality, if you stack up all of the sexiest panthers of all time, Luke, Christian, Cam, Greg. Sir Purr. Sir Purr, Mick Mixon. Sir Purr's the cutest panther. Okay, well I'll give you that. I don't know what that bear's doing, but against other teams' sexiest players of all time, where do you think the panthers rank?

Wow. Well, I think we're pretty high up on the list because we got McCaffrey in the GQ magazine. A lot of studs.

Like, I'm sorry. The Browns might want a word. Like, Baker.

They had Johnny. I don't know if you're- he'd probably- Johnny Manziel probably fits in the Q category. Well, Odell. Odell's really fashionable. Odell is also very slobbered over. That's right. Uh-huh. Miles Garrett's not a bad looking guy.

No, not at all. I mean, Jarvis Landry, too, if you're into the different color hair. Every time I see that guy on live TV, different colored hair. I'm trying to think of other teams that have a lot of good looking guys. The Seahawks. DK Metcalf. Russell Wilson. Yeah, I'm not into what Russ is doing with his hair, though. I like the perm, though.

And it's wet out there. DK, though. DK. Let me tell you. That is a hunk. A hunk. A hunk. I'm serious.

When he's building something, he needs no help carrying the load. I think the tiebreaker is we got the younger coach who says he would be willing to do a photo shoot. And on top of that, we got Joe Brady.

Young S.O.C. See, I don't find Joe Brady that attractive. I think Pete Carroll is sexier than- Listen here. He is NFL quality looks.

Head coach quality looks from Joe Brady. Like, I don't think you can discount him. Like, he is really up and coming. Like, I think I like his looks. The look of what he does more than Lincoln Riley. I know some might disagree with that because of what we've seen the last few years. But I'm probably going to go favor Joe Brady over Lincoln Riley based on look alone. I mean, if we're looking at, like, the average NFL coach, you got your people that overcome that. Cliff Kingsbury. Jeff Fisher. And then guys that- You agree on the mustache. You think Jeff Fisher is also attractive. No. But McVay.

Okay. And then you've got other guys who resemble walruses like Andy Reid, Bill Belichick. Dan Quinn looks like, I don't know, he kind of looks like an eagle. Bill O'Brien, where it's these just kind of- A bald eagle. Scruffy looking guys.

But then you have your Doug Petersons. He has the salt and pepper going on. He looks like Myrtle Beach. He looks like he would be wearing some pants that has on one cheek, Myrtle, and on the other cheek, Beach. But then you have Pete Carroll with more salt than pepper, but that dude, the way he chews gum- Richard Gere vibes from Pete Carroll.

I really think- I know I use this guy a lot for attractive old men, but Jeff Goldblum- Pete Carroll is the Jeff Goldblum of the NFL coaching trees. Wow. Wow. Now that you say it, I don't hate it.

I don't hate it at all. And then you've got the bottom tier of attractive coaches. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're not even- I don't even think you hit on the hottest coach. Who is that? Hottest coach there is.

There's no question about it. It's Belichick. Ugh. I hate him. Dude, that guy is a- that guy is a hoss. I think he looks like a walrus. Oh, I thought you were talking about Andy Reid. No, he also looks like a walrus. I was. They are both very walrind.

I am the walrus. Shut up, Donnie. You're out of your element. And then the bottom of the tier, you've got like Mike McCarthy guys, Matt Patricia. And honestly, if we're being honest, that's where Matt Ruhle belongs.

Whoa. He belongs in the bottom tier of attractive coaches. But he also- I think your voice has to factor into this too.

I like Matt Ruhle's voice. Let's hear him talking about Christian McCaffrey today and then we can judge it. Christian McCaffrey's been getting a lot of attention today for the GQ photo shoot. Did any of the teammates bring it up to him, maybe rib him about it? I don't know what anyone said to him. I did see it. One of the offensive linemen showed it to me.

I just wish someone would ask me to do something like that. And you said Bill Belichick was a hunk. Well, here's him talking about Russell Wilson and compare that voice to Matt Ruhle. This guy's a tremendous player. Honestly, I think he's in a way maybe underrated by the media or the fans.

I don't know, but I mean, I don't really see anybody better than this player. Indecisive. I like it though, because we live in a society now where what's the type of thing that people listen to when it's just sounds? Oh, ASMR. Yeah, ASMR.

He has the voice that you would associate kind of with the sounds of ASMR, just his mumbling. It's very refreshing hearing Bill Belichick to the ear. Then I have to bring in college coaches and if we're going off ASMR. You don't have to bring in college coaches.

But I feel the need to. If the ASMR style voice, Coach O, that dude could read you. Wow, but his voice is very abrasive.

See, but abrasive in a soft way. I could listen to him read Goodnight Moon and I would be out like a light. What the hell are we talking about right now? I didn't know, but we kept doing it, so I was all about it. What do we got and take it to the house? If I'm going to die, I'm going to let a mushroom eat on my dead body. We take it to the house, Dax.