Radio Storm Surge (8-5-20)

Terevinen to Slavin.

Slavin blocks the blue line. Lays it off for Hayden Flurry. Flurry exchanges the puck with Terevinen. Terevinen down low to Svechnikov. He gets it through. Terevinen in the back and he scores! What great work by the Hurricanes! And they tie this game at one.

Shouts it down. Tries to get it to Vincent Trojcek. But Vogel will now hand it off to Naitchez who steps in. Now shot for the puck and it's scored! Brady Shea, the former Ranger, puts it on target. And the Canes beat Shasturkin and take a 2-1 lead. Canes gets some fresh players on the ice. Brady Shea, he is taken out of the play by Pavel Bushnevich. He tried to put him back on the Ranger bench.

Now back the other way. Oh! He scores! Sebastian Aho!

What sorcery is that? And the Canes go up 3-1! Woooo! The Carolina Hurricanes are officially into the Stanley Cup playoffs.

They have won this weird qualifying round series that they should never have been in in the first place. But hey New York! France gifted you the Statue of Liberty!

Finland just gifted you two flight tickets back to America! Sebastian Aho is the finish Michael Jordan! Andrey Svechnikov is the Russian Scottie Pippen!

But this series certainly was not our last dance. Bad pizza won't keep Seabass down! Speaking of pizza, Robert did you know that the first New York Pizzeria opened in 1895? I had no idea. I only know that because Justin Williams was their first customer!

And he still prefers Sbarro! This is tiring man. I also don't know if it's a good idea at all. It certainly seems... It's not nice. And it's not what Southern Hospitality is all about, am I right?

Like what are we doing here? Josh, I don't like people who mean what they say. I like people who say mean things! RIP THE NOBLE! Alright, alright.

The great Ralph Waldo Emerson. What? He once described New York as being a sucked orange. What? I don't even have a joke for that. What the f*** does that mean? The Empire State Building! Get shocked with lightning 23 times a year! That sounds about right.

Yeah, it does sound about right. Also not a shock, the canes sweeping the Rangers out of the playoffs! So Brendan Lemieux, you can mock our storm surge while you're playing on the golf court. Tea time! New York, you've got blue collars, we've got rednecks, you've got Wall Street's millions, we've got Roy Williams!

I could give a s*** about North Carolina right now. Your most famous K is Michael! Our most famous K is Coach!

No, no, no, no, no, no. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is literally a model! Igor Shasturkin sounds like a James Bond villain! Meanwhile, our best goal scorer can't even drink! At least not legally! Sebastian Ajo looks like Sean from Boy Meets World! But don't get it twisted! They'll both send your a** to detention like Mr. Feeny! Why?

Where are you getting these? This genuinely hurts, Robert. Like, I'm not used to shouting. This is sports talk radio, not sports yell radio. I don't know how much longer I can go.

I really don't. Josh, you gotta put your big boy pants on and do it for the Canes, because they're on to the next round of the playoffs! The Petey Pablo is the good stuff. Stick it right in my veins. Stick it into our veins! More than 800 languages are spoken in New York City! That's a lot. Making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world!

So I want to make this message clear for any Ranger fans listening who might speak another language. Vete a casa. You're so traveled.

André a casa. Y'all get on and get! Get on and get!

Get on and get! I call that last one Yakin' County Eats. We're from Kane! The Canes, they're playing madder than a wet hen! And I've got good news for the Rangers, actually. It isn't actually illegal to be topless in New York.

I didn't know that. So defenseman Tony D'Angelo, you can pick up your clothes after getting undressed on that game-clinching goal! New York! We're streaking in the quad!

New York! We got the football coach that you wanted! Your basketball team is an embarrassment! That's a fact. Our basketball team?

Well, we're right there with you. Big Apple? More like Big Crapple! There you go, give it to him. Times Square? More like Rhymes Square?

That's his now. Madison Square Garden? More like Madison Square? Get the f*** out of the playoff! New York City's Federal Reserve Bank has the largest gold storage in the world, Robert!

Where do you find this at? Over 90 billion dollars in gold is in the New York City Federal Reserve Bank. And thank goodness Henrik Lundqvist isn't protecting it! Oysters were so popular in New York in the 19th century...

When will this end? That shells were used to pave Pearl Street! That's a fact! You can keep the oysters! We'll just stick with kicking your bass! Rangers coach David Quinn looks like he was typecast into American Psycho!

Except in this version! Rod Brind'Amour is the one asking, do you like Huey Lewis and the News? Okay Robert, I'm out of breath. I've got absolutely nothing left. Nothing. I'm so happy though. But I don't think this is the best way to open a radio show. I just have no lung capacity at this point.

I'm just exhausted. And that is what we call a radio storm surge. Now let's move on to football, where former Panther Kyle Love had something to say about Cam Newton. Kyle Love, whose large hanging belly you might remember in the most hilarious training camp photo of all time, did some talking to the Boston Herald yesterday.

And you just knew something like this was going to come. Talking about the fit in New England for Cam Newton, he said, quote, This is just my opinion, but I don't feel like Cam could take the pressure of coaches talking down about his play. If he had a bad game in Carolina, the coaching staff wouldn't say much to him because they may have felt he could be a little frail about it. Maybe pout, they never really corrected to point Bill used to correct Tom.

Okay, so a lot to get to in that. That short quote there. I agree with Kyle Love, strangely enough. I think Cam it's going to work in New England because it's the best coaching staff he's ever had. It's the best offensive line he's ever had.

It's maybe the worst division that he's going up against. Even now, as the Buffalo Bills have added a lot of key players and made the postseason last year, all sides are motivated. Cam, Bill, McDaniels, they all have a chip on their shoulder, probably more motivated than they've been at any point of their football careers. Cam, he's never needed the great weapons. They both love football, so I think they're going to find a way to work with each other, but it is pretty clear Cam has to grow up fast. He's no longer going to be coddled the way he was in Charlotte.

I've been talking about this, it feels like, for a few months now. Cam was never going to get a massive contract from anyone. He was looking at a one-year deal, it was going to be a small amount of cash. Andy Dalton's contract showed us this, Jameis Winston's contract showed us this. He got one year for less than $2 million.

He's no longer the centerpiece. He's making less than Soni Michelle, Baquil Henry, Matthew Slater, Rex Burkhead. Cam's making less this year. There's less commitment to Cam than those players I just mentioned. That is so much different than what he's had his entire professional career, where he was the franchise, he was the number one pick, he was the highest paid player, he was the most important person in that building.

That's not the case in New England. The most important person in that building is Bill Belichick, and Belichick is rigid, and he's not going to change for Cam. That isn't to say he isn't adaptive from a football perspective. There aren't things he could do with Cam and he's excited to do with Cam that he was never able to do with Tom Brady.

But, he's never the guy who's going to overpay. He's an old school defensive coach. If you don't adapt to the New England culture, you're going to end up being like Chad Ochocinco, or Josh Gordon, or many of the others that failed. But if you buy in, and you prove that you love football, we've seen strange relationships work in New England.

We saw it with Randy Moss. It was a good fit. Antonio Brown actually was fitting in well with New England last year before we learned about a lot of the allegations and things in AB's past.

That was going to work. I really believe that. We saw, in a short sample, AB working in New England, because I think at AB's court, he loves football. That's why a lot of guys are still interested in picking him up, a lot of teams. But, Belichick's rigid. Cam's going to have to adjust. Cam's going to have to grow up fast.

What a start to today's show. We've got John Curry, Wake Forest Director of Athletics, that's going to join us in a little less than 20 minutes. But, what about Teddy Bridgewater?

What about the Panthers? I've got a Cam Teddy stat right here that you're going to want to hear about next on The Drive. Everybody, listen up! You're on The Drive with Josh Graham. I can't believe this.

This is insane. On the fly, I'm trying to write some jokes to roast Robert Walsh because it was his birthday yesterday and I just learned this 15 to 20 minutes ago. B Dot's in studio with us. You know him from the 3 Live Crew, you know him from Wild and Out, you know him just because this is the triad and if you've lived here for any period of time and you don't know who B Dot is, shame on you.

Shame, shame, shame! If you have anything you'd like to bring to the show to roast Robert, 336-777-1600 on Twitter at SportsHubTriad. I only got a little bit of material here. I didn't get time to prepare this the way that you prepared a roast of me a few weeks ago.

Robert's birthday was yesterday. B Dot, do you want to go with something or should I just go ahead and start running? I mean, I don't know if you want me to start. I can start if you want me to.

Alright, let's knock this out real quick. Okay, I think Robbie's great. I think Robbie's a great person. He just got a girlfriend. We're all rooting for you, Robbie.

If it was not for Robbie, this show would tank because Josh doesn't know how to work the boards or any of the music. Robbie wishes you nothing but well wishes and happy birthday to you. I love you.

Appreciate that. I was waiting on you to hit me over the head with something like, but this dude has got the littlest nose in the business. Yeah, I mean, Robert is a great producer. Nothing gets past him. Like if you're a bad phone caller, he will let you know it and he will talk trash about you. The same thing for guests too. He complains about guests.

He has a high standard and I appreciate that for this show. Like I'm trying to think of a good analogy for things that, the way that Robert swats things away. Nothing gets past him. You know, nothing gets past Robert the same way food doesn't get past his braces.

Josh comes out swinging heavy. Robert, he ties his hair back the way that a lunch lady would. Like the only thing missing is a net.

Elementary schools though. A net would actually be my lunch lady name. Robert's accent says my first time was with my cousin. That was my second time. Yadkin County E's is what we called that even though you're not from Yadkin County.

Anyway, that's all I got written down right now. Those are good. I like those. I really did like those and I just, honestly, I just wanted to say a bunch of nice things and I was hoping it was going to make Josh mad.

Like when it was Maro, she said all these mean things but for Robbie. Yeah. Your gums.

They don't belong with your teeth. You're like a shark. You could have made fun of.

Lizzo heavy. Like Robert's biggest asset to the show is his forehead. Or his ass.

Yeah, one of the two. I wouldn't have said that. A female called me a shark one time and it scarred me to death. I legit got braces because of it. I feel like women can say stuff and it will cut so much deeper than your friends saying it.

Oh my gosh. The other night speaking to my girlfriend, she was like, you are so ugly when you laugh. And now every time I laugh, all I can think about is how ugly I am when I laugh.

Is that true? I'm like, why are you with me if you're just going to hurt me? Josh, that's tough. You're not an ugly laugher.

You're just ugly. Josh, my boy Josh is on one. Swing it, dude. Alright, let's get to what Russell Wilson did today.

There's a lot to unpack with this. This is from his social media and this is a lot different Russ than pre-Sierra Russ, pre-Star Russ, dating his high school sweetheart from Virginia Russ. Let's play that sound. Hey guys, Russell here. Yes, the typical boring. Yes, Russell. Robot Russell.

The one you guys love to know. Real, real exciting. Yeah, I'm real exciting.

But anyways. Oh yeah, just me. Russell Wilson. I'm just so boring. That's why I'm going to do this video and I'm going to shoot myself with a bunch of people next to me here in my house.

I'm just boring-o Russell. This is so spontaneous. I'm doing this on a whim. I promise I didn't practice this. That's right.

This is not rehearsed at all as you're going to find out later in this clip. Everybody has to have an alter ego, right? And I've been thinking about what my alter ego would be and I think I have an alter ego. His name, his name's Mr. Mr. Mr.

Unlimited. It sounds like his mouth knew what his brain wanted him to say there and was giving him four or five opportunities to rethink it. Can you play that? Can you just play the part? You can hear in his brain, dude, don't say this. Please don't.

Can you please? I'm giving you an out. I'm giving you an out. You don't want to say, Oh God, he said it. His name, his name's Mr. Mr. Mr. Unlimited. Unlimited was not the word. I don't even know how you could connect that to a personification of a person. What is so unlimited about you, Russell?

Your dumb social media videos? I don't understand. Mr. Unlimited? And he ran that by the family.

Yeah, you know he did because he has them involved in it. Let's hear that. You got to be unlimited. You got to have a thought process of being unlimited. So when people ask you, you know, what you're thinking about or what you want to do in life or where you want to go, you got to be unlimited. Tell them, I'm unlimited. You know what I mean? So when they ask you certain questions like, Who brings you motivation, Russell? Mr. Unlimited.

Oh yeah, there goes the spontaneous part of it. Sierra was like, Russell, you are not making any money off sponsorships. We got to get you a brand. And there's like, what's a cool brand? The word unlimited. Unlimited.

This is like the first draft of what the movie The Incredibles ended up being. What if one of them is... Like Pixar's like, all right, we've got Mr. Unlimited.

No, that's stupid. Mr. Unlimited? What?

How is that going to work? What's his wife's name? Mrs.

Unlimited? Yeah, you got it, dude. Did you read my email?

Appreciate it. Yeah, it sounds like you're on board. It's just so cringe-worthy, like the entire thing. Like the moment he pops up on the screen, you just cringe. Like Josh, you are cooler than Russell Wilson. I know I am, because I say interesting things. The most interesting thing Russell Wilson's ever said is when he was laying in bed with Sierra the night that he signed the NFL record contract. That's the most interesting that Russell's ever been.

Period. Then Sierra's in there like, hey, Seattle. Hey. That was the most interesting Russell's been. He's never uttered an interesting syllable before or since, and it's been that way since he was at NC State. And that's okay. Russell Wilson needs to understand that he is of that Nick Cannon cloth, right? Nick Cannon is another individual that just wants to be so cool and so hip all the time, but just accept your corny, Carlton.

It's okay. Everybody can't be the Fresh Prince. He's hilarious. Let's finish up what Russ had here. Who's your role model, Russell?

Unlimited. Who's your go-to person for advice, Russell? They think Pete Carroll. They think this person.

They think that person. Love you, Pete. But it's Mr. Unlimited Tom. I don't think he was going to say Tom O'Brien there.

All I'm saying is maybe he should find somebody else to listen to for advice than Mr. Unlimited. Here's the rundown of the five people I get motivation from. Number five, Tom O'Brien. Unlimited. Number four, I'm going to go with Jesus Christ. Unlimited.

Bit of an upset. He's a little low on this list. Number three, Pete Carroll. Limited.

Number two, Marshawn Lynch. Unlimited. So much determination, though. And number one, it has to be. Unlimited. There you go.

I think Jesus got pushed to fifth. You got to have Ciara in there. You're trippin'. Yeah, she's got those goodies. Russell, what would you say how your ideas come out? Do you have a lot of them, or are they... Limited.

Yeah, they're pretty limited. This is not something broke people do. Imagine how rich you have to be to think that this video is a good idea. This whole video probably spurned from the fact that there was really good lighting coming in their big-ass windowed house. And he was like, oh, Ciara, look at the light today. I should make a funny video.

What voice is that? That's why Russell Wilson get down to business. Unlimited. Could you imagine, I'm serious, like normal Joe Schmoe deciding to do the Mr. Unlimited video? Like, TikTok's still a thing right now. I imagine there are people just making fun of this video and doing the same exact thing Russell did, trying to reenact it.

But aside from that, that is a special kind of tax bracket you have to be in to think that's a good idea. I usually hate remakes of movies, but you know what I would love to see? Face-off, where Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson have to switch bodies like in the movie. And then Marshawn Lynch has to go through, and he's got to do all this Russell stuff, and Ciara's like, oh my god, what's gotten into you? And Marshawn's like, what's gotten into you? And then Russell's got to deal with Marshawn's lifestyle, like somebody checks him and he's like, hey, Buster, don't you know that I'm Unlimited? I would watch that movie. I would.

I am so fascinated by this. I wish there was like a making the band type documentary thing where we learned Russell's thought process in trying to get this thing done. I really feel, who was that yelling at him? Was it Ciara or was it Future? It was definitely Ciara. Yeah, why would Future be there?

Come on, Josh. Isn't the name of his son Future, or I guess Future's son? Ciara and Future's son is baby Future, yes. I thought his name was like Past or something.

There is nothing. Every year, it's like the social media Super Bowl for me, that child's birthday. Seeing what Russell says about that child versus Future, what he says about his actual biological son. Because Future, if you remember two years ago, got the two year old, maybe three or four year old, a Rolex watch.

While Russell posted a really long Instagram post about how much he loves Future and how he's in his life and all of that. Just really annoying, awkward, embarrassing dad bleep. I would love to see another movie remake of, what was that Stepfather movie with Will Ferrell and, you know what I'm talking about? Where they're dads, but do that with Future and Russell.

Stepbrothers? No, I'll look it up. Forget it. I would like to see Celebrity Deathmatch with Russell and Future. You know Future's going to take out Russell.

You crazy. Russell would beat the wheels off Future. Same way that Mike Tyson's going to beat the brakes off Roy Jones Jr. That's a fact. But you've got to understand, Russell Wilson is in a contact sport. He lifts weights and he gets strong every single day.

That's part of his job, to make sure he doesn't get cracked on the backside by defensive end. Future would drink lean and smoke a lot of weed. Russell Wilson would beat the wheels off Future. I don't know.

Where does Russ come in? He would have 36 ice cream. Let me check all these trading cards that are sitting in front of me. Let's be clear. And see if there is a Russell Wilson trading card. I got one from yesterday. There is a chance.

You got a Russell Wilson trading card? Yeah. Fun fact, his favorite movie is Life with Eddie Murphy. Wow. I thought it was going to be like Life of Pine. Listen.

Meanwhile, Future's favorite movie is probably Snow in the Bluff. What is height and weight for Russell Wilson? Like 5'10". One... I think he's six foot.

Do you? What do you think he weighs, both of you, before we hit the break? 285. 5'11". 215. Russell's stout. I said 5'10". 210.

I was good. He's going to smoke. He's going to beat the wheels off Future.

He's going to put Future in a headlock. What would happen if Russell Wilson fought Mike Tyson, though? Sleep. Russell Wilson goes to sleep. Anybody fights Mike Tyson, they go to sleep.

But Robert, I thought Russell was Mr... Unlimited. Unlimited knockouts.

It's unlimited how many times he's going to get knocked out. You are listening to WSJS Winston-Salem, WCOG Greensboro, WPC in Burlington, WMFR High Point. Those signals make up Sports Hub Triad. While I was watching the Carolina Hurricanes sweep the New York Rangers last night, Sarah Bradford said to me, you should start studying for this grammar school segment that you have tomorrow. Like, you need to go back and go to your review words so B-Dot doesn't throw you off guard.

B-Dot's in studio with us, by the way. And this segment, it might be one of the more popular things we do in the week. I am terrible when it comes to the urban vernacular. I said that on a Zoom call trying to explain what this segment was about. And a lot of white people got offended by it. Did they? Saying I was being offensive.

Really? I don't know. Is this segment offensive? What's offensive about this segment?

Anything? The segment is offensive? I think it's just you. You're offensive, but not like... I think it was you saying urban vernacular. Yeah, is urban vernacular... Should I say something different? I think you started saying that and I picked up on it.

I did. Yeah, because I thought that was a nice way to say talk urban. Right.

Okay, well this is me trying to talk urban. Don't say that either. That sounds offensive. I think the issue is that I'm saying it.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We need to figure out the white nomenclature so when I try to explain to my white counterparts what this segment is, I'm not offending anybody. That is very serious.

If anybody could call up and assist with that, I would really appreciate it. On Twitter at sportsubtribe because again, I spelled it out the way that I normally do on the Zoom call and I'm looking at a ton of horrified white faces. I think white allies just at a point want to help so much that they aren't thinking about how it would offend people that they're actually trying to defend. And they're just trying to feel as if they were the ones who would be offended.

And they can, we can, I do this all the time, can overstep our boundaries in trying to correct people when it's not really that big of a deal. Yes. I sign off on that completely. Agreed.

Agreed. So 336-777-1600. Maybe you can help me out with that and also if you want to be an ally for me for real and help me. Sell it Josh. Help me get some of these words. Help me. Help me.

It's time for B. Dot's Grammar School. Josh Graham has his own way of speaking.

In high school he didn't play sports but he did wear a helmet. And just when you think it can't get any worse. My English teacher wanted to flunk me in junior high. Thanks a lot. Next semester I'll be 35. Josh is going to attempt to learn B. Dot's Vernacular. I'm from the old school.

I got all the street knowledge. You know what I mean? You know what I'm saying? It's time for B.

Dot's Grammar School. As I'm playing out that Zoom call in my head Josh, you were in a lose-lose situation regardless there. You were on the Zoom call after I explained the segment.

Oh yeah. So Vashti and them were still on there? Vashti did not stand up for me at all. She didn't? I wish Vashti did. From Carolina Blitz. She does a great job.

Love Vashti. Alright so here's today's episode of Grammar School. We have one review word and we have four new words. Four of these words, Robby or acronyms. That's what I'm talking about! Last week we had the easiest episode ever for Josh.

My boy Robby didn't like that. So I said today I'm going to make it a little bit more difficult. I hate acronyms. I'm so bad at them.

I have even sent text messages to my 14 year old just to be sure that I had the correct answers for these. Alright. Up first, it is August. So what is an entanglement? Ooh!

That was good. Entanglement? Well this is what Jada Pinkett was involved in.

Will Smith's wife. It is when you're in one relationship but are pretty outward in telling people that you got involved with somebody else. Again, not breaking off your current relationship but getting with someone else while you're already in a relationship.

It's a planned thing. Why didn't you just say an affair? Because they were broken up. They were not in a relationship at that point. They were technically separated. As the married person on this show, I will let you know.

Until you go to that judge and sign that, you are still married. Alright, then I got it right. That's an acceptable answer.

It's the sexual relationship between people outside of their relationship or an affair. I hate that noise you make. I did too.

Review acronym. YKTV. I can't. Oh come on. You definitely remember this.

You know the vibe. Oh my god. I've actually worked that into my regular vernacular.

There we go. That's what you're supposed to be doing with these. I'm not just throwing these against the wall seeing if they'll stick. This isn't a spaghetti noodle. It ain't.

So I'm two for two. Write these letters down Josh. I S W I S. I S W I S. I thought I was onto something but the last two letters threw me for a loop. Where did you think you were going?

Just let us know. I stand with was what I thought the first three letters were but clearly it's not that. Yeah I stand with because I don't know what I S would be.

No I don't. Can I get a hint? Not from you Robert but asking you.

Is the first I S the same as the last I S? I cannot give him an answer on that. I'm just saying no it's not. Okay. I S W I S. I saw B dot just nodding at Robert after he said that.

I think I know what it is but I could be wrong. I don't think the first I S is the same as the second I S. But I will also not help you pass this test because you already got two right. Good point. That's a very good point. My lifelines should never work against me. That wasn't a lifeline. You specifically said you weren't using a lifeline. This would be like if you're trying to get off the Titanic if your life vest could talk saying you know what you've had it too good.

If you've had it too good I'm not going to help you here. You're a mother bleeping life vest. You're my lifeline.

I get one of them because none of the callers help. Okay how about I tell you what one of the letters means? No because that's not going to count as my hint for you. I already gave you a hint. I'm trying to give you another hint.

I S W S. Would you like to know one of the letters? No I don't. I'm going to wait to use my lifeline when I'm not in as good of a predicament later on. Josh is really upset too.

I'm going to let y'all know. I stand with Istanbul. That's my guess.

Come on Josh. I stand with Istanbul. Istanbul is one word. It is. You ridiculous. I S W I S. I said what I said. See I was wrong. You were wrong. I thought it was I say what I see.

Shocker. I've never heard that. Now you're going to make me look that up. I said what I said. That is a key phrase in the urban vernacular. All of these words are short words. I don't know why you need the acronym.

Like Ariana Grande is better than Taylor Swift. I said what I said. What's the fourth one?

Fourth one. I D M. I D M. And this is when I saw my son using on his Instagram story. I said bro what that mean right there. Like how am I out the loop.

What is that. And then he told me I was like oh. Does it mean that I DM like you would DM with somebody. That's what you do when you slide into the DMS. I DM.

This is you when you like if somebody is attractive. I DM. Absolutely not. I D M. Yeah I don't know. It actually means it don't matter. Oh it don't matter. Yeah it don't matter. But I guess you could use I don't mind.

I've seen it before and just assumed it was I don't mind. Yeah it don't matter. Josh you started out strong two for two.

Yeah. Then you just flopped the last two. It was partly because Robbie wouldn't help you but we're not going to talk about that. He didn't know the answer to that one anyway.

That's a good point. Your last one. Write these letters down Josh.

Okay. I Y K Y K. He knows this. Maybe he doesn't.

Josh is looking so hard. 336-777-1600 I Y K Y K. Just sound it out. What do you think that first I is. I. Okay and then what's the Y. Well it's not you.

Which would be what I go with. I have all my lifelines available. None of them want to help me. What do you mean?

Phone callers don't want to help me. Robert wants to sabotage me. This is for the game. This is for the game.

This is it. I got two right. I got two wrong.

This game works against me. I have to do this by myself. Look Mr. Complainee. Ryan from Burlington wants to help you out. Okay.

Ryan in Burlington. What do you think I Y K Y K is. It's if you know you know.

That sounds right. Ryan thank you so much. You just helped me won this game.

He definitely just helped you win the game. Congratulations. If you know you know. And I didn't know. You didn't know. To Ryan in Burlington told me. Hey you should have given Ryan a prize pack.

Nobody has ever called up here and legit helped you. Like he felt bad. He was like man if you know you know. And Josh was I could see him say it and Josh was like I. You.

Here's the thing. How often do I say if you know you know. I figured you would know it because we used to do the acronym. In case you missed it. And I was like Josh is going to know I is if.

And if you just go if. Nope. Well congratulations Josh. You did win today. You did pass today's class of grammar school man. I S W I S. You need to work on that one. I D M. You need to work on that one. This is going to be the worst tease ever.

At this point this is your first time listed. Now Josh has to use all of the words used. No no no. Let me say that. I Y K Y K. This is a part where I have to work all these into the T's. Well actually you would have said that word first and then you would have said I D Y K. That's right. I mean I Y K Y K. That's right. That's a part of the T's. But then again I D M. I mean. This there's some smoke right now as one of Cam Newton's former teammates had some criticism of him talking to a newspaper pretty much saying.

I S W I S. And of course Cam Newton stands there upset Y K Y Y K T V. Terrible. It doesn't really work the same when you're saying it. That's more of a text conference. These are more text.

I know it's terrible. You don't have to do the letters. Yeah. Like I mean I I don't know what could make this more awkward. Maybe an entanglement. B Dot thanks for being here.

All right. That's next on the drive. As long as you keep talking they can't end the show.

You're on the drive with Josh Graham on Sports Hub Triad. Due to COVID many of the talking points we would have already covered in a normal year have largely been left uncovered. Not because they're uninteresting but because one specific topic has infiltrated every single aspect of our culture and has absorbed all the oxygen the same way in past training camps. Cam Newton absorbed all of it and nobody was really interested in talking about hey what's going on with the linebacker groups in the defensive line and the O line. I think this year you have a lot of fascinating new storylines with a new head coach and a new coaching staff all together and a new quarterback and a lot of new faces on defense. And to try and figure out what's what and some of the more interesting non-COVID talking points we got Kristen Balboni with us. New Panthers sideline reporter does a lot of great work digitally as well with Carolina.

She's on Twitter shoot her a follow at Kristen Balboni. So I'm going to put the ball in your court real quick. Kristen what side of the ball do you find yourself being more intrigued in right now?

What's going on with Joe Brady's offense or Phil Snow on defense? Josh I'm gonna I'm gonna make a bad first impression and ask you to repeat that last line. Oh it's fine. It's my first time on your radio show. I'm like what was that?

One more time sorry. Offense or defense what side of the ball are you more intrigued in right now heading into camp? Oh my gosh, I'm gonna say defense.

I think the easy answer is is offense and it's certainly exciting with with Joe Brady and Teddy Bridgewater and them having that connection and all of the weapons. I'm really looking forward to getting to see with my own eyes albeit at a very safe distance what Phil Snow's defense is gonna look like. I have a strong affinity for this rookie class. I got to talk to every single one of them the day they got drafted.

I got to introduce them all to each other via Zoom for the first time and I just am a big fan of all seven of those guys. So I'm really excited to see what they do. You know Jeremy Chen is just this monster athlete. For example I'm really interested to see what he specifically can do in Phil Snow's defense. So that's where and then also there's the leadership aspect of it where guys like Shaq and KK are gonna start taking on these more vocal roles, these leadership roles. I know KK and Derek Brown got in some work this summer so we're starting to see these these relationships form this totally new identity be formed on the defense and I'm very interested to see how it's all going to come together at training camp. Along the lines of roles much of the narrative this offseason has been what Carolina has lost but there's still a lot of guys from last year's team who are going to be asked to do different things. Not just because the scheme is different but because they're going to have to pick up more of a workload. Whose role has transformed the most you think on defense from what they were asked to do last year?

That's a great question. You know I think based on the scheme we're still going to have to see. You know I think that we're still going to have to see what Phil Snow has in mind. That three safety look I really would like to see you know we know that up front it's going to change but I really do think it's going to go back to that that leadership aspect. And that is going to be just as important I think as anything that we'll see on the field and I think it's going to be who's going to step up. You know there's there's no Luke equally as Shaq said himself this week. Thomas Davis is of course no longer there like who is going to step up and say all right guys you know we got it we got a young group we're all new here or a lot of you are new here. This is how we're going to do things this is how we're going to practice. This is how you know in another way that that everything is going to change is also that leader is going to have to not only lead on the field but also make sure that all the other guys are doing their job in terms of not putting anyone else in danger by going out and doing things you know stay safe making sure that everyone is is staying six feet apart and that their trackers aren't going off.

So I think it's going to be a Shaq a KK whose role is going to change maybe not as much on the field I think there's still a lot of questions that all of us have about what that scheme is going to look like. But in terms of really having to step up and then having to step up even more because of everything that's going on with COVID. Kristen Balboni Carolina Panthers reporter on Twitter at Kristen Balboni shooter follow there you've been doing a lot of stuff via zoom as you mentioned yesterday I was jumping between Panthers and NC State zoom calls and I found myself doing something catching myself in a moment where last year none of us knew what zoom really was. But now we're at the point in a pandemic where I think the moderator for Dave Doran said hey you need to raise your hand in order to ask a question and I like an idiot started raising my hand rather than using the raise hand function on zoom. And the part that hit me was there were so many people that knew what was up again for something we didn't even know existed a year ago that just immediately hit hit me up via text got video of it and sent me stuff via the chat and the zoom as well that I also didn't know existed. So I just gotta I gotta know what's the most embarrassing mistake you may have made on this new virtual front now that everything you have been trained to do in person has been moved to an online format. Oh my gosh I'm trying to think if have you embarrassed yourself at all.

I'm sure I have I just I wish that I had I would have really tried to come up with something and really come through because I'm sure I've blocked some of it out. Oh man what was done that's embarrassing it was rough again to give you more time to think here. I mean yesterday it was just I'm not gonna lie Josh yours is yours is pretty embarrassed it's it's pretty bad like when when Jonas Pope who's the new NC State reporter puts up a video of you on Twitter and it's just you raising your hand while other people are laughing at your demise. It's just it's just an embarrassing deal.

OK I got one now it's not as embarrassing as some other stuff that I've done over the course of my career in broadcasting I'm all for embarrassing myself if it makes the show better the bit better. But this one was just the first thing that comes to mind I mentioned that with this rookie class we did this really cool thing that we got all of them together on the same zoom and they had not met each maybe texted a little bit they had not all been around each other they didn't know each other. And we kind of got to see over the course of an hour them go from really strangers or people who had heard each other's names to cracking jokes and having fun and making bets on who was going to be the best at NBA 2K it was great. So we set this up and I'm really excited for it. It started at seven. I log on at seven. I mean right on time. I am there I'm ready to go and our wonderful PR guy Preston the first thing I do when I'm saying hey guys how's everyone doing. He's like just so you know everyone else was here way before you you are the last person to be on this call and you know they were like doing the football you know 10 minutes early thing I was like all right all right I'm good to go.

It's exactly seven. Let's get this thing going dead last and not even close. So now maybe not the best the best way to start things off. I definitely have learned to be early when it comes to players and coaches. Are you that one was that are you generally punctual. Yeah yeah I think I've grown on time but I felt like I was 10 minutes late. Okay yeah I try to be punctual.

Yeah yeah well that's a good sign. I'm always bothered by people who aren't really that punctual would be enjoyed by Kristen Balboni here. Carolina Panthers reporter. So you're from Pinehurst right. I am.

Yeah. Did you grow up on golf. And also I realize that's probably something everybody asks you when you're from Piners Yeah. So I have this theory about golfing. I always ask people about you know are you a golfer and a lot of people especially athletes or people you know in our business will say I'm not that great. And that usually means like they're OK. Like they could play a good round with people they might not be happy with it. But when I say that I'm not good I'm really bad. Like I'm like 10 putting OK so I'm really bad at golf but I do enjoy it. I like being out there growing up in such an incredible environment I try to follow it.

You know they've had some U.S. opens there that have been great. But I am I'm not the most athletic person in general and I don't have the patience for golf. So anyone that wants to play 18 with me should just be forewarned. Kristen is a big fan of the Tar Heels and you were also somebody I enjoyed following out west before you got your opportunity with the Panthers as a nervous often nervous wreck fan of the Panthers. So excited that you got this opportunity Kristen we're going to do much more of these throughout the year but good to finally get you in on the show. It's appreciated you spend the time. Yeah.

Yeah. Thank you so much. And likewise I've enjoyed following your career for years too. So it's great to get to reconnect and looking forward to doing it more. There you go. Follow her on Twitter if you haven't already at Kristen Balboni Panthers sideline reporter really good stuff from her and you're going to get a lot of really neat content virtually and digitally throughout training camp from KB.