So glad you're with us on a Friday drive. Where As long as Daniel Schneider is still in place in DC, and I have no reason to believe he's going to leave, unfortunately. It's really hard to feel any kind of optimism. with the Washington football team right now. I don't really know what else to call them because they're not going to be the Redskins anymore.
More on that in a bit. I have my top 10 reds we'll get to in 15 minutes. But One place I do feel good about is Ron Rivera. who is actually, believe it or not, getting knocked quite quite a bit today. by Panther fans, by Washington fans, just general football fans alike, But to me There isn't a coach in the league.
I'd rather have in this circumstance Then Ron. I think he's the perfect coach. for what Washington's going through. Because he's been through this before.
Now he's made mistakes. And you might view it uh that as a drawback and just harp on 2017, he's in the locker room. It's the day that SI bombshell story drops that leads to Jerry Richardson selling the team. Where Ron, if you don't remember, broke the team down this way. He said this in the locker room after a Panthers win.
All right, do me a favor. Mr. Richardson on three. One, two, three, Mr. Richardson.
does not age well at all. But if we're being fair to Ron, Do you think that Ron Rivera read that entire story? On game day. It dropped that Sunday morning. You think Ron read that before a one o'clock game against the Packers?
Because I don't.
So I bet he regrets that. It's obviously a mistake. But I don't think that should define Ron at all. I think if we're being fair, He's probably heard what it outlines. But If you were hired by Jerry Richardson and you went to a Super Bowl with him.
You're going to lean on trusting that guy first. Before anything else. And you'd feel the same exact way if it was somebody else you knew, somebody else you liked, somebody else you trusted. It doesn't age well. It looks bad.
But a lot of my great successes some of my strengths, they've all come from Making mistakes. That's how you grow. And Ron grew And a circumstance not many coaches go through.
So, the fact that he's been through something similar to what Washington's going through right now. That's a plus for Ron. And this is the part that doesn't get talked about. Nobody else was making cracks yesterday. The Carolina Panthers, they won that game against Green Bay.
While all the turmoil surrounded Carolina and they were the biggest story in sports and it wasn't in a positive way. Ron had to know that. He gathered the team together and they beat Green back. And then after that. They went on to win.
A wildcard spot. They secured a wildcard spot going to the playoffs, nearly beat New Orleans in the Superdome. Really close game there. But he didn't allow for that story to distract His team.
Now he has to keep Washington together. He said in a comment earlier today. He was brought in to change the culture. And I buy that. He is one of the few coaches in the league of color.
That's significant. He can speak. on the red skin slur and a way a white coach can't. Because he understands specifically how harmful racial. insults can be.
Racial rhetoric uh rhetoric. He can relate to his players who are more socially active than ever In a way white coach pro uh coaches probably can't. Ron Rivera. He's a great coach. Who has a great family?
Another thing he's getting ripped for that just bothers me to no end. I hate it. When people defend actions of Sexual abuse or overlooking sexual abuse. Or violence against women in any way by saying that they have a daughter or that they have a wife. We get it.
A lot of people do. A lot of bad people have kids. A lot of bad people have a wife. Ron Rivera said something to that effect today. But most people are mischaracterizing What exactly he said?
It wasn't I'm taking this seriously because I have a daughter. It was, I'm taking it seriously. Because Courtney works in the social media department with the Redskins. I don't want my daughter to be afraid to go up the staircase. in the front of the building.
She shouldn't be worried about that. That's different. It's not. I I have a daughter.
So I'm taking it seriously. No, I have a daughter who's in the building. that allegedly has a lot of problems. With HR. and women feeling uncomfortable.
and scared to hell that they can't bring it to anybody. And people want to come to me saying, oh, this isn't that big of a headline because Daniel Schneider wasn't implicated. The voice of the team's gone. Forced to reti uh resign. Retired this week.
Top personnel people. This is news. This is going to matter. It's going to make an impact. It's impeccable reporting done by The Washington Post.
But Ron Rivera is a guy you want leading things right now. He's the perfect. Coach, military background, great family. Always kind to me, always kind to Any reporter media that he dealt with.
So I have a feeling he's going to press the right buttons. He's made mistakes in the past instance. But That doesn't, that's not a negative for me. I I think He's learned from that. That's how you grow.
Also, I like the team that he has. I really do. I've been saying it for the last few months. I think Washington is going to exceed expectations this year. if you'll just look at the depth chart.
A lot of it's hinged on quarterback play. And I get we just We we discard quarterbacks way too soon. You don't know and I don't know what Duane Haskins is. But I do know he was in a far than ideal circumstance a year ago. You got an interim coach in Bill Callahan thrusting you forward.
And the team is essentially trying to tank. You don't have Trent Williams. It's A really bad spot to be in. But I feel like this year Haskins could take some steps. And if it's not Haskins, there's still a chance Alex Smith.
Could be playing quarterback. He's trying to make a comeback. If you're healthy in the backfield with Darius Geis. Good things can happen there. Adrian Peterson.
He's still around. I liked Antonio Gandhi Golden Out of Liberty. Just drafted him. Cody Latimer. Did some good things.
Not a big fan of the wide receiving court, Jeremy Sprinkle's okay at tight end.
Okay O lime with Sheriff and Moses on the right side. I'm looking at the defense, and there are a lot of dudes I like. Like Chase Young, Ryan Kerrigan, Montez Sweat. That's pretty good to start. Lineback in court, Thomas Davis.
We like that guy. Reuben Foster. I don't think we like that guy. But he was pretty damn good at Alabama. Kendall Fuller from TAC, Landon Collins.
They're guys I like all across this defense. And you got a defensive-minded coach. and a coach that likes running the ball. And I I see good run blockers, I see good running backs, I see a strong defensive team. I see a team that can fit.
They keep pounding Mantra In the Panthers DC Bureau. With Scott Turner as the OC and a former head coach in Jack Del Rio coordinating the defense. Ron Rivera is the right guy. I think they win six or seven games this year. All right, it's Friday.
I want to go into the weekend feeling pretty good.
So we have a top ten list in just about five minutes, but also It's about time we have our weekly positivity. Uh yeah. If there's anything good. Going on in your life right now? Give us a call.
three three six seven seven seven. 1600. Just tell us something good. That's happening to you. or has happened to you this week.
Robert Hey, Robert. Hey Josh. Has anything good happened to you? over the last few days. Yeah, this girl I had been seeing for a while moved down to Tampa, and it was kind of sad.
That's not good. Uh I mean, it was good for her.
So it made sense. Oh. But then she also got a job up here, so maybe she would move back. I don't know. We've been discussing it.
Wait, I thought she just moved to Tampa. I mean, her brother lives down there, so she's staying with him right now. She didn't technically move, just like. To do the interview, to do like the onboarding process, but she didn't accept the position yet because she got offered another job.
So Who knows? Maybe it'll work out. Yeah. Maybe it will. I watched a documentary that B Dot Recommended to me this week last night.
It's called A kid from Coney Island. About Stefan Marberry. He was pretty good. ACC Legends Stefan Marbury at George Attack. Steve Forbes actually tweeted out today.
The 95. All-American. Yeah. Or excuse me. The McDonald's all Americans.
in the 95 class. And Here are some of the names that played in that McDonald's All-American game. Paul Piers Stefan Marberry, of course. You have Sharif Abdurrahim. Chauncey Billups He was pretty good.
Kevin Garnett? He was in that game. Antoine Jameson? Out of Charlotte? He played at Providence High.
And Vince Carter. He was pretty good, too, I'd say.
So I thought that was pretty good. Andrew in High Point. You're on weekly positivity. What's good, Andrew? I had a great day today.
I took advantage of my employer's Worked from home policy to play 18 holes of golf while still working from my phone. And I also found out that our one year old foster child is going to stay with us for another month. Wow, that is good. Where's your foster child from? He is from the Triad area.
I can't give out too much information per PFD's regulations. That is smart. How did you shoot today? I shot an 82 and loved every minute of it. That that is really good.
Well, thank you for the phone call, Andrew. Have a great weekend. Thank you, Josh. You too. There you go.
Andrew? From High Point. And that's Bin. Weekly Positivity Now, why did you do that? I mean, it was so peaceful and you end it so suddenly.
Come on. Like... Have some more responsibility than that. Up next. My top ten reds.
On a Friday drive. Ah!
Now comes the moment they have our All right, whenever you're ready. Back to the drive with Josh Graham on Sports Hub Triad. Many of The proposals for Washington football's next nickname, replacing the Redskins. involves some iteration of the word red. The most popular Example being the Washington Red Tails.
So, in honor of the Washington name change, I have my top ten reds. It's this week's top 10 list. This is not Like the other top ten lists we've been doing this week that involve Decade in stuff. Word play is generally involved in this. You probably know.
about the top 10 list by now. If not, Let's Get her started, top ten reds. Oh god. I probably should have said get or done if I was going to go down that path. Get it started.
Get it started, Josh. Go ahead. What's your issue, Robert? What's it? Did I sound.
Kind of like a halfway redneck. You just don't talk like that. Led, I can just see you out in the field. People are about to cut hay, maybe bail it up. All right, fellas, get in your tractors.
Let's get her started. No, no, no. Imagine me one day. being the one that's lucky enough. To say the most famous words in racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
And rather than saying what you know the words to be, I say, all right, guys, let's get her started. Yeah. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's Friday. It's close to the weekend.
Top 10 Reds, number 10. Red Grange. He's an ass, and he's dumb. There's going to be a common theme with these sounds. Red Grange.
Explain to me who Red Grange is. He might be. The most famous football player of the first a hundred years of college football.
So college football started And I think it was nineteen sixty five-ish, nineteen sixty-five range. 1865, excuse me. 150 years of college football. From to 1965, Red Grange might be the most famous college football player to ever play. And If not for Red Grange.
being popular in the NFL in its infancy stages. Who knows, maybe there is an NFL today. Number nine. Number 9 Red Red rag toppin'. Yeah, I dumbass.
Is that like Obi Toppin, dude? You're missing me every time. Obi Toppin, yeah.
Okay. You got that? How did you. How is it red then? Red rag toppin'.
Okay. You don't like that song? Red Rag Toppin' by Tim McGraw? I didn't even know. Oh come on!
I want you to pull up that song right now, Robert. I know you know this song. Right ragtime. That song? Yeah, red ragtopin'.
Uh uh That's how it goes.
Okay, I'll let it slide. I'll let it slide. Number eight, my number eight, red. Michael Red. Reason that bad things happen to you.
is because you're a dumbass. Do you like that canned laugh when they're in here? Are we gonna see? Is that like An old novel concept now. Studio laughter.
Because that's the most revolutionary thing that the office did, right? The office, it was a sitcom. Without Any Studio laughter, any of that. Yeah, it was shot in the style of like a documentary. Correct.
Maybe, because you see it in Parks and Rec. I don't know, that's a good question. It depends if sitcoms continue going, because that's a staple of sitcoms, having the canned laughter, so people know when to laugh.
So you don't consider. The Office 2B is a gun? Uh I mean it's still In the term situational comedy, yes, it is. And the way it's shot, maybe not in the studio situational comedy style. Because it's the office, it's Parks and Rec, it's the community.
Yep, community was the other one I was going to bring. Right. It seems that's now becoming the norm. Maybe more like that because you feel more connected with the characters because they're talking directly to you in that. Like you would do on Jersey Shore when you would go into the confessional closet, they're talking to you about their situation.
So maybe it does. I don't know. Number seven. Top ten reds. Red rumble in the jumble.
Joe Ass! Here's my boy! I love Red Foreman. And that's great. Is that it?
Do you think that's Jack Nicholson's biggest? Movie to date, shining. I watched For the first time, one flew over the cuckoo's nest earlier this week. I'd probably say That The Shining is number one. I haven't seen.
As good as it gets yet. Have you seen Chinatown? I would put Chinatown. I'd take. Shining over Chinatown.
I've seen that. I would agree with that as well. But yeah. There you go. Pretty good.
Red Rumble in the jungle. Number five. Or make it number six. My number six red. The Red River Showdown.
I love that woman with a FIRE ACK PACK! that consumes my soul. Oklahoma and Texas? Yes. Nice.
Always a really good game too. Texas needs to win this year. Like, you got Sam Ellinger. This is put up or shut up time. It's time that you start winning Tom Herman.
Number five, my number five red. Red Don Staley. I wish I'd had 2,000 feet! You know what he would do with those 2,000 feet? Yeah.
Who was your favorite character in that seventies show? I am a big Red Foreman fan. Just because he's like a mirror image of my dad. I really like the mom. Kitty.
Kitty's too. She's great. was not great in Seinfeld. She was the worst in Seinfeld. Kilso's good.
Hyde is good. I don't know if you can like hide now with. I don't think you can like hide anymore. Just like it's not cool to say. How much you like Darren Sharper.
Hardest hitting safety in the league.
So much determination though. No. Number four? Number four, top ten reds. Red Solo Cup Jack.
Well, that's kinda stupid, Bob. Red didn't like it, but I did. We talked about my Toby Keith. uh affinity earlier. Uh But I would put the Did Toby Keith write Red Solo Cup Check?
Red Solo Cup Check. Red Solo, I'll fill you up. I didn't know Toby Keefe wrote Red Solo Cup Chat. Yes, he did. I would still put that on his lower tier.
Of songs, kind of like on there with Redneck or Trailer Park Party or whatever that song is. The music video, the tornadoes coming through the children. Whiskey Girls Underrated. It's later, Toby Keith, but an underrated song. I would agree with that.
I would agree with that. That song I mean when it hits the chorus It's just uh Good country song, it really is. Number three. Top 10 Reds. Red Hour back.
Is this the kitchen? No, it's a petting zoo. Yeah. There's a horse And here's your sign. And Here is...
A dumb you know, yeah. Yeah. Red Hour back. Number two. Top ten reds.
Little Red Rodney Hood. There's a hundred morons in my basement. Yeah. Stop it. No.
No. Josh, I feel- I wish I had a squirt bottle like you would squirt an animal with after they go number two on the floor. No! You enjoyed that one. Rodney Hood, isn't there a story about him...
Poohing his pants on the sideline of Duke or for the calves Not that I know. I know he didn't check into the game one time. Yes, that was because his stomach would get... You gotta look this up. You gotta look this up.
I don't know. Can you confirm this rather than just asking? And Recklessly saying that Rodney Hood little head little red rodney hood Wood Go number two during games. Like, I think that's something we need to get ironed out. Fittingly, Little Red Rodney Hood is at number two on the top ten list.
Go ahead and do number one. I'll give you the Rodney Hood.
Okay, we'll get to that in a sec. Number one, my number one red. King Griffey Jr. This is the way an immature, engaged high school with no car, no job, and no money trims the hedges.
Alright, what do you have? On Little Red Rodney Hood. This is only one instance of this, but there are many more that you can find. On December 20th, early in the game, it's when Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors. Jazz Marksman Uh Rodney Hood.
left the court due to uh what was called Gastric distress. It was later not gastric distress. It was. That he pooed his pants. Wow.
Kind of like Paul Pierce in the 2009 finals. That's also who came up when I. Or the 2008 finals. My Gmail account has to be on some. FBI watch list because I Google the stupidest stuff all day.
Just like this: Rodney Hood pooping pants. They're like, who is this guy? Who is this man? And then they interestingly figure out that Rodney Hood Did pooh his pants and then it's understood why you did that. That's the top ten list.
There are some other ones that didn't make the cut. Would you like to hear those? Oh yeah, for sure. Do you have a bell? Um Somewhere around here.
Steve Clifford, the big red dog. Kyle Rudolph, the Red Nose Reindeer. Oh, I like all of those. Yeah, just a little too long. Ron Burgundy?
I guess that's a type of Red. You could have done Red 4, man. Red Fox? Red Skelton. I assumed those guys were gonna be in here too.
After I pulled all these red foxes. Red Rick Fox. After I pulled all these red foreman clips, I was like, ah, I could have got Fred Sanford just saying dummy. Over and over again. You definitely could have done that.
He works blue. Like if you're talking about a comic that is just outrageously dirty. And his stand-up He is that. Like, he is. If he is what Bob Saget is.
In terms of racy when he is on a stand-up microphone. Like A lot different than Sanford and Sun. He works pretty blue there, too. Yeah, he does. Bob Sagett doesn't in full house.
So maybe it's a little bit more jarring with Bob Sagett. You kind of expect it. With Red Fox, more than you would Bob Sagett, if your only familiarity with Bob Saget. Is Being the The dad. to the Olsen twins.
Right. Did you ever watch Fuller House? Never. Oh, it should have been called Fuller Blouse because everybody on that show just got boob jobs. That's all it was.
Whoa. I'm serious. I'm not I don't think that's offensive to say. If you look at everyone on that show, that's that's what it was. Even Bob Sagett?
Even Bob Saggett. Uncle Jesse, everybody was extremely busty. Dunk. Yeah. That doesn't surprise me.
Uh Yesterday Before this Washington Redskins. Or I guess Washington football team bombshell dropped. My criticism was that the media was blowing this up too much. and speculating before the story had been released. And it's hard for me to blame the Washington Post because if you read the story, you saw there was work being done referenced on Wednesday and Thursday.
So the day that it was published, there are aspects to this story that were still being finished.
So it's hard for me to criticize that because it was impeccable reporting. My mic is still on.
Sorry for that sniff. Did you just. Do you want to? Can you? Just Hmm, there you go.
The I think the media is overhyping this, essentially, making it. A pregame show yesterday for An important News story? I think it damaged the story. Because when you allow the internet to speculate And you allow news outlets to irresponsibly speculate in 2020. You're going to get to a place.
Where You oversell and the story naturally. Under delivers. Like I was seeing people realistically say, Oh, Dan Schneider, he's gonna be caught up in a sex trafficking ring here. Like that's what this is going to be. And When the story released The story publishes and it's just I don't mean to say just, but When Dan Schneider is not implicated of anything, The story it loses its teeth.
It does. to some people. Not me. But a lot of the internet Their reaction And I think general people, some people out there is uh can't even complic complim compliment a woman anymore. Right?
There are people who actually read that and that's what they think. Rather than These women were uncomfortable and in a position, if they complain, they would be fired. Constantly reminded that thousands of people want the jobs that they have. There's one part-time worker who makes up the HR department until last year. And no Protocol to report complaints within Washington's football team.
That's That's malpractice. That is a poisonous Uncomfortable. Culture. But the media, they immediately fixated on Snyder. And that wasn't right.
It wasn't right. Because When it did not specifically implicate him. The media felt like they were let down.
So they said that the story was underwhelming. when in fact it still is a monster headline. That The voice of the Redskins. Retired and was forced out because of these allegations. Because of these complaints.
Fifteen women. We're saying that These these top-level employees Won't it stop harassing them? They were saying they couldn't go up the front staircase. Veteran women would say, Hey, Don't go up there. Men are gonna look up your skirts if you do.
It was damning, it was disgusting, it was uncomfortable. And Also, the build up allowed for Washington to prepare its defense. It allowed for Washington to fire all the involved parties.
So that way, the headline wasn't Former Redskin employees implicate current Redskin employees. Instead, it's former employees are implicated. Even though that was former employees as of four days ago. It still had a different effect because most people read the headlines, they don't read the story. That's where we're at in twenty twenty.
That's important. The team hired this. Firm to investigate. The NFL, before it could do anything, said, Yeah. We'll let you guys we'll let the investigation do its job, even though The job they're doing is on Dan Schneider's.
Dime. How do you expect that to come back? Here's my prediction. Snyder He's going to change the team name. It's going to get a lot of attention.
The football season's gonna start. That's going to get a lot of attention. and Dan Snyder's going to skate. Just like Mark Cuban did. Because so much is happening right now.
We have to focus on coronavirus. We have to focus on social issues. There's an election in a few months. The media cycle it's so small, our attention span's small. That Unfortunately, I think this is going to get overlooked.
Now, that doesn't mean there isn't going to be any change. Like you obviously outed these people. And they're gonna call for more HR. Um support. And Ron Rivera, he's his daughter works in the building.
He's going to want that to be an uncomfortable environment. If it isn't, she can go to him. There's power there So it did good, but it's not going to lead to Dan Schneider ultimately losing his job. I don't believe that. Come on, places, please.
We're ready. Back to the drive with Josh Graham on Sports Hub Triad. I've got two bummer. North Carolina soccer updates to bring to you. There's the breaking news.
that Charlotte's MLS bid That was going to start play their inaugural season in 2021 has officially been moved to 2022. They just announced on their social media a short while ago.
Next Wednesday they're going to announce. what their team name is going to be, And it In Raleigh, the Our state's champions. It is. The North Carolina Courage defending champs in the NSWL. Just suffered an upset loss one to nothing to the Portland Thorns.
Earlier today. And it's just strange to see the Courage lose. They're a dominant team. They even dominated in this game, 21 shots on goal. But Terrific goaltending.
On the other side, the kept them out of the net one to nothing The final count. And That means the courage knocked out of The N SWL Challenge Cup. quarterfinals.
So A couple bummer headlines for North Carolina soccer fans out there. For me, I love soccer. But I don't watch the EPL. I don't really watch European soccer. And that makes me kind of a strange person because it seems like if you are a big soccer fan, you love the sport.
You're more likely to watch it overseas than you are to watch it in the States, which. Is it the case for me again? I've been concerned for a while. That Charlotte is going to go full British with their MLS team name. I'm not a fan of FC.
All eight Of the options that were presented on social media included the FC tag at the end of whatever name that was out there. Uh you have the Charlotte Crown FC, you have the Charlotte Monarchs FC, All Carolina FC, Charlotte FC, all of them have FC, which of course stands for football club. Uh I'm annoyed by it. They have that announcement next Wednesday. It's my biggest gripe with MLS.
How about you create your own identity? You try and tailor things to what makes you unique versus trying to pander to the British. Try to pander to people who Watch the EPL and want the MLS to sound just like the EPL. We got Real Salt Lake and we got New York FC in a town that has the Giants. It's such an annoying deal, and I know I should be bigger than this.
I should probably just move it aside. But it genuinely bothers me. Then I saw the first ever show. that Charlotte MLS has produced. with their own talent.
It seemed to be this is going to be a recurring show they have on their social media. And Here is the opening presentation. Between two pints. Between two pints. Robert You've drank your fair share of pints.
When's the last time you referred to what you were drinking? As a pint. To a pint. Not once. Never.
Never We're in the South. I love being in the South. Uh I'm a proud Southerner, even though I don't sound it. How many people going to these games. in Charlotte at Bank of America Stadium are going to call their beers a pint.
Maybe it was like a Lord of the Rings night and they were dressed up like that, they might. How many people were gonna do that?
So, my concern is being fully realized here. You have the FCs on every single name when you could do SC. The way that Orlando is doing, the way that Nashville has done. No, you're going to go football club when you have the Carolina Panthers already in place. Nobody who's going to these games are going to call the sport that they're watching football.
Nobody speaks that way. Nobody's going to call their beer a pint. Like what's next? I don't want this to sound so nationalistic, but here we are. Where does this rank among?
The intro songs in the history of wrestling. Oh man, it's probably top five in there, maybe top three. I'm sorry for trampling over it. You gotta take a stand, you don't have to. Like, what year is it?
Seventeen seventy-five? We're trying to be like the British. Come on. American soccer is different than British soccer. We have better athletes.
We have better goaltenders. They never have good goalies over there. Nobody wants to play goal. in the UK. Here, we have other sports that require Hand-eye coordination.
So, have you noticed that a lot of great goalies have come from here? We have. A lot of the best Shaped athletes in terms of. Physique. I was like, what do you mean?
And just how great. Robert, great shape. I love the shape. Yeah, in terms of physique, like they're in great shape. Right?
Physical endurance. We have our own style. We should embrace it. We don't call it a boot. We don't call it a pint.
We call it We got 12 packs here, man. That's what we're drinking here. Give me a tall one. Give me a tall boy. That's what we're about.
This is so stupid. 3367771600. Like I'm uncomfortable right now. Because somebody's going to get upset. Like, if it was another country where the people weren't predominantly white.
I would be on all the TV shows as being like a racist bigot type. But since it's the British and all our people are like. You know, we have just as many white people as they have. It isn't. It's not like you made fun of funny.
Since we defected from the British, we are not going to make fun of their teeth today. I know. Last time I made fun of somebody's teeth, I really ticked off everybody. In Kentucky. Yeah.
Yeah. Some people hate me. I don't want to go to war with an entire country. I don't want to start World War III. I'm very lowbrow, though.
We don't eat fish and chips here. We eat fish fillets from McDonald's. I actually like fish and chips. We don't, we we do. I like fish and chips.
It's good. Yeah, it's steak fries. What? Again. Like nobody talks this way.
Why are we naming our teens this? Like I'm not surprised the breaking news that they're pushing the 2022 Because I thought it was. incredibly uh aggressive Ambitious, if you will, to try uh and get a season in by February 2021. I thought that was really ambitious when you signed the dotted line to close this deal. In December of last year.
Hey, we're going to have our team ready to go when we just signed our first professional player a few weeks ago. Yeah. It was already ambitious and now with the pandemic, it just became impossible.
So I was waiting for this headline. It eventually arrived, of course, about 10 minutes ago. And Charlotte MLS is gonna be pushing things. Back to 2022. I want to get to the story David Thiel wrote.
David Thiel going to join us in about five minutes. Virginia Hall of Famer.
Now with the Richmond Times Dispatch. He's looking at The ACC Salvaging its season with geographic pods. Pods that consist of Five teams, and there would be three of them, with Notre Dame being a member in this instance. And Having Pretty much all the northern teams in their own pod. Notre Dame, Louisville.
Pittsburgh, Boston College, and Syracuse. Then you got to figure out a way to divvy up the other two pods. David thinks it's likely they would split up the North Carolina schools. I'm trying to figure out why that makes a lot of sense. You would still have one game against someone else in another pod to play.
So rivalries will remain intact. But there's a chance you could get 10 games in if you have another conference as a partner. And it seems the SEC might be game for something like this. in the worst case circumstance because hey You already have a relationship with South Carolina and Clemson playing uninterrupted every single year since 1908. And Florida and FSU playing each other each year.
And Kentucky. going head to head with Louisville. Every single season, Georgia Tech and Georgia. You want to maintain some of those rivalries. You have other non-conference games on the books between the two leagues.
Virginia set to face Georgia as well. North Carolina has Auburn in that opening. That Peach Bowl opening weekend game. Actually, I think that would be the second week. Of the season because a part of that opening kickoff series that the Peach Bull has.
That Virginia Georgia game also qualifies as that. I think it can be... Intriguing. I think Possibly it's crazy enough to work. but I'm interested in the details of it.
David Thiel He is as plugged in more plugged in. Then anybody I know on the ACC beat. He'll give us the latest on what ACC football could look like this year when he joins us next. You wanted to hear some great sports talk?
Well, here it is. Oh, what an appallingly ironic outcome! The drive with Josh Graham. It's not ironic, it's just coincidental. On Sports Hub Triad.
Before we get into ACC football. A post script and an update on the MLS. News of the day where MLS Charlotte is postponing. It's inaugural season for 2022 rather than 2021. As I mentioned last segment, Sacramento and St.
Louis, they also received bids last year. And they were set to start in 2022 already. They're going to be pushed back too.
So St. Louis and Sacramento are going to start in 2023. Charlotte. Its inaugural season will be in 2022, as Tom Glick was commenting to the Sports Business Journal that. Bank of America Stadium, the renovations being done to house the soccer team.
uh have been delayed during the pandemic. And the same could be said for Sacramento's new 21,000-seat stadium as well.
So that's the latest update on that. We're now chatting with. A Hall of Famer. And one of the best ACC writers out there, and David Thiel from the Richmond Times Dispatch. Two things you were writing about this week, I find very interesting, and we've been dissecting as well.
ACC scheduling options, should it not be a full 12-game schedule? And also, Notre Dame. Their unique relationship with the ACC while still. Being an independent, I want to start with this one you wrote about yesterday, this story. the geographic pods, For the ACC season, that right now is just a concept that the ACC potentially could be looking at.
The way it works, it's. Three five team pods that are geographic, and every team would play each member of the pod. Twice, which counts for eight games, and you would play another team in a pod. Another pod one time to maintain some more of the rivalries. And that would allow for historic cross-country rivalries or cross-conference rivalries to maintain as well.
Where you have Clemson and South Carolina playing uninterrupted since 1908, one of the longest-standing uninterrupted rivalries. Of course, you have the SEC, ACC rivalries of Kentucky, Louisville as well, Florida and Florida State.
So this seems to be really interesting. I'm just interested. If it includes Notre Dame and it's three pods, five teens per pod. What do you imagine the league does with the North Carolina schools plus Virginia Tech and Virginia? Keep them together or split them up?
Well, You would either have to split the Carolina schools, Josh, or the Virginia schools. I mean, you couldn't. Keep them Yeah, they Keep keeping them all together is impossible. those six schools, so that they couldn't be all together. You can play it either way.
Could you put all four Carolina schools in with Clemson? Sure. Then you could put Virginia and Virginia Tech in with Syracuse, B C Pitt. Do it that way. where you could put Virginia with the four Carolina schools.
and then put Virginia Tech in with BC Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame. One way to do it What do you think? is the biggest pushback. If this is something they explore deeper, what do you think is going to be the biggest resistance the league office gets from the football schools?
Well, they have to figure out the the pod structure, you know, who's who's going to be playing whom twice. Then the r the presumed rotation of, okay, who else would would you play in the league. Do you accommodate before end of season SEC ACC rivals. You would hope so, as you just noted. Clemson and South Carolina go way back.
and Florida, Florida State and Georgia, Georgia Tech are pretty dang big deals. in those respective states.
So I think those would be the primary sticking point not really sticking points, but They'd have to debate him pretty rigorously. We had Scott Satterfield on with us yesterday and. It's funny the way the coaches talk about Notre Dame. When I brought it up to him, he laughed and said, I'm still trying to figure out what that relationship actually is. David Cutcliffe said, Hey, if you want to reap the benefits in this unforeseen circumstance in 2020, you need to join for this one year.
And I've talked to assistants, I've talked to many coaches in the ACC who have. openly spoken about um How annoyed they can be. There's a frustration, a tension that Notre Dame. uh receives a ton of benefits. A lot of the benefits you would get of being a football member, a full-time member, without actually being in the conference.
They get their cake and they eat it too. And they have the television deal, and there might be a little bit of jealousy in that. But there's a lot of jealousy in that. But that's a lot different than what you get among the administration of the ACC, isn't it? Because you got, of course, Jax Warbrick is the Notre Dame AD and They're a member in all the other sports, but Buk Horrigan, he's a Notre Dame alum.
His dad. The great Gene Corrigan was the AD at Notre Dame before he took the ACC commissioner job. Bubble Cunningham, Notre Dame alum. You look at Kevin White, he was an AD at Duke.
So I think it's next to impossible, especially considering it's one more year left of John Swofford. He's patient. He sees the overall big picture all the time that they're going to strong-arm Notre Dame to get into the league. But an argument you've made. I actually buy and I don't hear enough people saying It actually kind of is best for all parties.
that Notre Dame remains Independent, isn't it? Like, what what do you, how do you best explain that?
Well, I don't think it's best for all parts. It would be best for the ACC. if Notre Dame came all in. because the the television rights fees would go through the roof. The ACC is so far behind the Big Ten and the SEC right now.
You talk about envy. Certainly, ACC Athletic Directors envy those per school distributions in the Big Ten in the SEC. you bring Notre Dame in full time. and that gap closes in a hurry. But For Notre Dame, This is not a financial decision, Josh.
Mother Dame gets a pittance. Of ACC revenue, on average, about six million dollars a year. which is about 20% of what the rest of the schools get. they get around thirty million. a year.
And The NBC deal, you add that in. to the six million a year that Notre Dame gets from the ACC, Vernay would make far more money if it came all in with the ACC. But the culture of independence, the national scope, is such a part of Notre Dame's fabric. and has been for decades. And that means the world to its alums, to its board, to its president.
to its fans. And absent some college football playoff snubs. or a loss of interest from NBC, I don't think that changes. He's on Twitter at ByDavidTeal. For the Richmond Times Dispatch, he's with us.
Read his stories that he's written on. The pod structure that the ACC might be looking at, and also Notre Dame's relationship with the ACC, Richmond.com. You can find that. What's your level of confidence, David, that at least the Power Five schools will be playing f conference games this year? Mm Mm twenty percent.
Why so low? All you have to do is look at the numbers. Yeah. Look at the numbers and then read the NCAA document. from yesterday on COVID-19 Guidelines.
If you so much as Touch.
somewhat. Who was COVID-19 positive? And oh, by the way, there's a little bit of touching in football.
Well If if you touch someone. Who is COVID-19 positive? And it comes out in contact tracing. was on a fourteen day quarantine. You could have entire Teams.
Who are in quarantine. By week two, by week three. The idea. I just think they're thread trying to thread such a needle here. hey, maybe science helps, maybe the curve flattens, who knows?
Maybe people finally get smart. and everyone starts wearing a mask. I I can't predict that. But right now, it is virtually impossible to be optimistic about any fall sports, especially one as contact heavy as football. being played this fall.
Do you feel differently about pro sports? No. Now they have the you know the the NBA and MLS and Major League Baseball, they're going to try the bubble thing. Let's let's see how that works. I have serious reservations.
or doubts about whether the NFL can can pull this off.
Now, maybe they've got so much money, they can test every day. They can pay the labs to turn around those tests. rapidly I've talked to athletic directors who are very frustrated at the slow turnaround. on testing. And if that doesn't improved, then how do you test midweek and then make sure all those tests get back before you get on the bus or the plane to go to Saturday's game.
I just Uh But Josh, it was so crazy to read the document from the NCAA yesterday. It got down to: we really suggest that coaches use electric. Electronic whistles. because the force of breath required to blow a whistle. puts droplets into the air.
It's amazing. A lot of red tape. Yeah. Yeah, a lot of red tape. On Twitter at ByDavid Deal.
Read his stuff always. And uh it's just good to hear from you. I hope you're safe. And I hope we can catch up sometime soon. Thanks for doing this, David.
Josh, I hope the same for you and all your listeners. There you go. That's richmond.com. Ritzbund Times Dispatch. It's David Thiel, Hall of Fame writer, joining us on.
Sports Hub Tryan. Electronic whistles, Robert. That seems like a good idea. But If the NCAA is recommending electronic whistles, Because Whistles aren't safe? Football, huh?
Football. Coming up. I prepare you for what's going to happen to Dan Schneider with the latest. On the Washington football scandal. And uh we'll get into Maybe some optimism, who knows?
on a Friday drive. We are two weeks and one day away from the NHL returning. And the first game on the NHL's return slate. Involves our Carolina hurricanes as they're facing the New York Rangers, and we're now being joined. Bye.
A Carolina Hurricane Jordan Martinook. Forward for the Kanes, one of our favorites to catch up with on the team. I'm being told you're golfing today. Is it solo, duo, Foresome? What are we looking at, Jordan?
Oh, we got two foursomes. We got the two fins. Battling two Americans, Reamer and Dazingle versus Aho and Paravinen, and then. Me and Big Eddie. versus Gardner and Shazy.
What's uh the lowest score you ever shot? Uh eighty-one, I think. What are you gonna shoot the dang? Today we had a tough workout, so I'm thinking maybe about a 94. What's the best club in Jordan Martinduk's bag?
Uh Yeah. I don't know, probably seven hundred. Just like tin cup. You're a Canadian, and I'm looking at. Canada, they seem to be handling The virus is a lot better than the United States is currently.
Due to that, do you feel safer restarting knowing that you're going to be in Toronto? Yeah, yeah.
Well, I I was in Canada for the whole I guess quarantine period, and it was kind of like life as usual. People were still wearing masks, but. obviously our cases were way lower than than here, so Um But the way that the NHL is setting, I guess, this bubble up, I think wherever they were doing it, I you're going to be safe.
So I think honestly, no matter where they're going to do it, if they're doing it right w like the way they say they're going to do, I think we're going to be fine anywhere. What makes you what gives you the most assurances based on you're talking about protocol. I don't think people have all read through the specific details. What makes Jordan Martinook feel most safe? Uh just uh amount of testing that's going to be I guess being done, just Um nobody's allowed into our, I guess, secure area.
Our hotel is just for us pretty much. Nobody else is going to be in there. If you want to order food, I think it gets dropped off to one area and then somebody else picks it up, sanitizes it, and takes it to you. There's just their precaut the precautions they're taking is just through the roof. And It's uh Yeah, I think I think we're probably going to be in one of the safer places going when we get started with.
Hurricanes Forward, Jordan Martin Nook is with us here. He's on Twitter at MartyMan17. With no fans to draw energy from during games, how much of a responsibility do you take on your shoulders as Somebody to motivate the guys and keep them energized. Yeah, I I feel it's it's definitely going to be different with no fans and not having the, I guess, the emotion of the fans, but Um And obviously we have a little bit of a quieter team, so it's guys every guy is going to have to step up, and if you have a If you have a big hit or a nice play, everybody's got to be. Which is probably out of some guy's comfort zone.
but that's the way it's gonna be and It's going to be funny for the fans to see the perspective of When it's a full building and you hear people yelling on the ice, you very rarely hear what they're saying, and now it's going to be. everything that you're saying is going to be heard.
So it's definitely going to be Different that way.
So I'm I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be cool to see games and watch games and see how it how it all plays out. You said it's a quieter team, Jordan. You're not the quiet time, are you? Yeah.
No, I'm dr uh I'm definitely loud.
Some guys on the team would say I'm I talk too much and sh shut up sometimes, but Um, that's just that's who I am, so you guys are used to it. How much talking goes on on the ice, really? Uh, it's it's more with within your own team. It would be just like letting a guy know he has time or uh just kind of telling telling him what's going on 'cause sometimes you you need somebody to be the eyes in the back of your head and um And then obviously, there'll be a little bit of chirping, especially in playoffs.
So we'll uh Will the playoff beards look better or worse because of quarantine? Oh, I think. I think we're going to. I think guys are kind of starting right now because I guess we're in. we're pretty much in playoff mode.
So they should be pretty good, I think. Jordan Martinook with us here, Hurricanes Forward on Twitter at Bartyman seventeen. If you're DJing in the locker room, how much nickelback is being played? Ah, quite well, at least my number three my three number nickelback songs. All right, all right.
Let's let's pause things real quick and set them up. I want you to put them in order three through one. Robert even has sounds as well to accompany this. Jordan Martinook's third favorite Nickelback song is What? When we stand together.
What's the second best Nickelback song according to Jordan Martinuck? Rock star? Rockstar is a classic. Number one, the number one Nickelback song accorded to Jordan Martin is what? Animals.
Animals. Animals? Jordan. Animals. Uh oh.
That's crazy talk. I didn't expect that. That was an upset.
Well, animals, I do a I do a little dance um before each game. Um And I dance to animals, so that's my number one song. It gets gets the boys going, gets me going, so. That's my song. Before we let you get back on the golf course, can you describe to me what that dance looks like?
I might not be wearing every article of clothing, and I run around the dressing room. That's excellent. Jordan, go shoot a low score for us. Break into the 80s, not into the 90s, even though the legs might be hurting a bit. And good luck getting prepared for the season.
I appreciate you visiting with us. Awesome. Thanks guys. We'll talk soon. Yeah, that's uh Jordan Martin Duck.
Keynes Forward on Twitter at MartyMad17. Uh I don't even know what this animal song is. Do you recognize animals by Nickelback? Yeah, you've heard it before. It's like, we'll kick out every night.
Oh, I know that song. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Are we sure that's the right song? Who knows? They all kind of run together at the same time.
Nickelback does sound very similar. To other Nickelback songs. It's just one of those bands where you could kind of recognize a Nickelback song when you hear it. Uh I've shoot I should have asked if he sings at karaoke. Because I remember we caught up one time and he said He has sung Nickel Bank Karaoke before.
You know me as somebody who doesn't mind singing Karaoke. I'm not a great singer at all. But Would you like to hear I think I can narrow it down to five. Five karaoke songs that I feel like I could knock out of the park. Really good karaoke songs that if you play these and you do it well.
You're bound to impress whoever's in there. Would you like to hear those? Are you going to sing them or are you just going to tell them to? Just going to tell you.
Okay, yeah, I would love to hear them. All right. Do we have the bell? Hang on, it's in the other room. Let me go get that real quick.
Alright, you're good. The fifth Best karaoke song of my choosing. Creep by Radiohead. I mean, if you get that last part of the song after it started so slow. Oof.
It impresses. How about Just Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Boublay? I can get that low. Like, I mean, if I have a deeper voice, Robert. Like, that's just right in my range.
Like, I don't have to try too hard. I don't have to reach too high. Both of these songs sound like trying too hard. But yeah, for sure.
Well, no, I think people know these songs. It's important you choose one that people know without doing something that's just way too difficult. And and the good part for you is like the people at karaoke aren't gonna know who you are. If they knew who they were, they'd probably hate 'em. Number three.
When you were young by the killers. You wouldn't have got so high with anybody when you were young. Still a good song though. Yeah. You gotta take into account that your dad was a DARE officer though.
Right. Or maybe take it to account, just haven't met you yet. I'm kind of in a committed relationship right now. Maybe. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. Probably have to account these things. I didn't have much time to think about this. Are you kidding me?
You've thought about this your whole life. In your Twitter bio, it literally says karaoke officiate or something. That's a good point, but I don't sing the same song twice. Fly me to the moon, Sinatra. That's the next lit that's yeah.
You can't go wrong with Sinatra. Yeah, if you're a good lounge singer, it's like you can't go wrong with a sirloin.
Well, it depends if you're going to cook it in the oven or not. And uh the number one one to think about. I believe I could fly R. Kelly. I didn't even want to give you the bell for that.
If you would have told me, hey, Robbie, would you rather have done a whole week of top 10 lists or hear me sing one of these songs? I would take a whole week of top 10 lists. What would you sing? Uh I don't know. Probably something country that I know all the words to.
Maybe like fancy by Reba or like Cover of the Rolling Stones. I would love to hear you sing. Fancy by Reba McIntyre. Or uh I'm Gonna Be Somebody, Travis Tritt. That would be a good one.
Oh, that's ice cream. Probably any Toby Keith song. I could sing any Toby Keith song. Dude, I could know them all. I'm trying to think what would be the best Toby Keefe song to hear Robert sing.
Probably like How Do You Like Me Now? That's good. Um. Should have been a cowboy. Should have been a cowboy would be good.
Uh I love this bar. Eh, I like the older stuff.
So maybe like uh who's your daddy? Oh Toby Keith. When I hear his stuff, I still I still get into it. I like it. Dude, I ended a relationship because a girl did not like me listening to Toby Keith.
That's not true. It is true. 100% true in high school. She thought redneck country music was so stupid. And I just had to cut it off.
It wasn't going to work. But specifically Toby Keith? Yes. She hated, hated Toby Keith. Yeah.
I know how much you hate TID top ten lists. I do. We do have one today, top 10 Reds, but I also have another top 10 list that just falls in line with this trend that we've been doing all week long. Top 10 list of the decade. Yesterday we did ACC basketball teams.
Since we spent a lot of time talking about college football and how they're going to get it on the field this year, I'll list off the top 10 college football quarterbacks of the last decade next on the drive.
