A Buss Down

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast. Three internet sensations, guys! Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons, 3 to 7 on WSJS. You are on a Thursday drive. It is WSJS News Talk Sports for the Triad, where Wake Forest basketball is just tipping things off at the Joel. It's live action, Tracy!

About a mile away from where our studio sits in Winston-Salem. We have our final list of vets to hand out for 2020 bridge. That's in Graham's gambling a little later. Plus, B Dot, six man of Tar Heel basketball, is going to join the show. And when that happens, he'll take me to grammar school, but we'll also give away basketball tickets as well. So a lot for us to do. But before we do any of that, Florida State's at it again, you guys. Tomorrow morning, FSU's board of trustees have called for a 10 a.m. meeting where it is expected that they're going to vote to file a legal challenge to the ACC's grant of rights and begin the process of attempting to leave the conference.

Have a great day and go, ACC. To put it another way, the Seminoles want it so badly getting out of this conference. They want that so badly. That they're willing to take the ACC to court over it.

That's how badly they want it. And without hearing specifically what the trustees are going to say, there seems to be three possible outcomes here. Scenario number one, a judge rules the grant of rights and admissible.

Ross Dellinger of Sports Illustrated started talking about what some of his sources have told him. Something to do with declaratory judgment action. There are some other arguments FSU folks have opined about talking about what FSU brings in revenue wise and their TV ratings. And if they bring so much, then perhaps the rules of the grant of rights don't apply so much to them.

This, to me, seems to be the most unlikely scenario that the court just says, yeah, you're fine, you can leave. It doesn't apply to you, this grant of rights, because the consequences of that would be severe. Other schools would probably take the easy path out. Looking at more lucrative pastures, such as the SEC or the Big Ten, looking at North Carolina, looking at Clemson.

There's a good reason why nobody has tested the grant of rights in court. I'm talking about media rights deals. There's a reason why every realignment cycle that we've seen has coincided with the ending of media rights deals. The fact is that Texas and Oklahoma decided in the summer of 2021 that they would join the SEC. Now ask yourself the question, the SEC has a lot of money, the big, bad SEC, why hasn't Texas and Oklahoma joined until now? Or they'll join next summer and start next football season. It's because of the media rights deal. Same thing for USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten Conference.

There has to be something to that, you'd think. When you look at who runs the sport, TV networks play a big role in it. TV networks play a big role in it, and TV networks have a vested interest in making sure these grant of rights agreements hold up as well, because that's their business.

They agreed to a certain price and they set budgets for their business based on those agreements and those properties, the numbers that they've agreed to. So that seems to be the most unlikely scenario. A judge ruling that the grant of rights is inadmissible doesn't apply to Florida State. Outcome number two, the courts ruled the grant of rights is ironclad, which means FSU, you're going to stay in the ACC through 2036.

This is where I've been for a while. Sorry, FSU, nothing you can do about it. You're going to stay in the league till 2036. The grant of rights is ironclad. But this is starting to feel like an extreme example. FSU, can they really come back from this? Can you really have FSU in league meetings, privy to private matters, having a full vote when they are going to war with the conference? They are going to court against the ACC. They are trying hard. They are smearing the league publicly. They are bored, did it last summer.

They do it on social media all the time. Can you really come back from this? It's starting to feel like no. So if those are the two extremes on the spectrum, hey, you're getting off scot-free. You have to stay here till 2036, the most likely outcome here, and this isn't even talking about where they're going to end up. This is them trying to get out of the ACC. The most likely outcome is FSU and the ACC in court, but also between the two parties, agree to a negotiated buyout. That's probably what's going to happen. Now, this wouldn't happen until legal proceedings take place. And that's probably going to take four or five months.

That's being generous. If Florida State wants out of the ACC by the 2025 season, they have to put a notice in by August of this year or part of me, August of 2024, that seems like a really narrow window to try and get it done. It feels like if you're going to negotiate something with the ACC and negotiate your way out, a massive number, it's going to be for sure.

With the legal element to this and the negotiation element to it, you're probably looking at Florida State being in the league for 24 and 25. And the soonest they'll be gone playing somewhere else is 2026. And the number for them to get out, I doubt it's going to be this astronomic $400 million number, but it's not going to be that far off of that. And then you're probably going to have to get a private equity company or something involved in this to try and help pinch in and TV networks. And they'll figure out a way. And they'll figure out a way to get that done. But the ACC's intention needs to be it needs to be a rigorous enough process, a more a difficult enough process and a number that is scary enough to deter Clemson or North Carolina wanting to take the same path. Those seem to be the three most likely outcomes for FSU's attempt to leave the ACC that starts in earnest tomorrow at 10 a.m. on X at WSJS radio, if you want, and that's where we're streaming video.

In addition to YouTube and Twitch. W.D., Will Dalton, the executive producer of this show. Who would you say is the perfect guest to have on today to talk about this issue?

It would be none other than our guy David Glenn. He has a legal background. Yes, he does. He also has covered the ACC for over 30 years. He has. If you don't believe me, you probably never heard his show. He'll join us at about a half hour.

We'll go over these topics. Last night was a terrific night for the old North State and for ACC basketball. Duke beat top 10 Baylor at MSG.

Then right up by 85 or 52 or however you get to the Queen City. Charlotte handed, not Charlotte, North Carolina handed number seven, Oklahoma, its first loss of the season by double digits. The best story of the night and really the best story from the first month and a half of the season around here has been R.J. Davis, because after all the crap that he's been through and all the times he's forgotten about or dismissed, he's finally getting the attention he deserves. He's finally taking center stage and it's become clear this is his team. This Tar Heel team is his. And honestly, this has been R.J.'s team for a long time now. You just couldn't see it when Caleb Love shared a backcourt with him. He was in Caleb Love's shadow.

You think of that 2022 run. Everybody remembers the shot that Caleb hit to extinguish Coach K in the final four. But when you look at who the best player during that run was, it was R.J. Things really started to turn around when R.J. took initiative as the point guy on that offense, the Baylor game, where he was spectacular. He was the best player on the floor in the final Cameron game for Coach K. So R.J., he's been at this for a while now without Caleb Love obstructing it all.

And it's been best for both parties. Caleb playing for one of the five best teams in the country that last night got a big win against Alabama late. Playing for Arizona.

It's been best for him, but it's certainly been best for R.J. too. R.J.'s playing like a national player of the year right now. Top 10 nationally in scoring. Second in high major scoring to Zach Eadie at Purdue, the reigning national player of the year. Seven straight games with 23 points or more. And all seven of those games are against high major competition.

Four of those seven are ranked in the top 10. Hubert Davis was beaming last night when asked about R.J. Davis. Here's what Hubert had to say. I know it's hard because collegiate sports, specifically basketball, you forget about the guys that stay to their senior year.

You know, it used to be that way. I'm just really happy for him. I feel like this is the first time that he is being celebrated supported, encouraged and noticed, and I love it.

To Hubert's point. This is a guy that brings more to the table than just scoring. Like he shares the ball. Last night he had no turnovers. He's actually played good defense. What a great defensive effort for the team all together against Oklahoma. And another thing that guys are talking about in the locker room, he's been more vocal in huddles and the huddle on the court. Just the type of guy you want representing your university and you want on your basketball team.

The drive with Josh Graham, only on WSJS. Six man, a Tarheel basketball beat up, go to join us in a bit, likely still celebrating North Carolina's win in Charlotte last night. I wonder if Dot was there, considering he lives in the Queen City now.

Good chance you could take the boy out of the triad, but you can't take the triad out of the boy. VDOT, the pride of Winston-Salem State, will take us to grammar school in just a bit. I do feel a responsibility to remind people next week, we're not going to be here.

I think you get it, right? We're going to be on that holiday break next week. We will not be live, but we will be back.

It's live action Tuesday, January the second. So just want to put that public service announcement out there now as we welcome in the six man of Tarheel basketball, VDOT, Dot. Rather than talk about North Carolina at large, I just want to talk about R.J. Davis, because Hubert had some comments last night where he was saying he felt that R.J. has been overlooked at times.

And I think that's true. He's not on any of these all ACC lists, not on any of these preseason lists. It seems like he was in Caleb Love's shadow a little bit, even though I felt he was the best player during that run at 2022. Some of that might be Armando Bacot's likeability.

Armando! And the records that he was breaking, Tyler Hansbrough's rebounding record. You've gotten to know R.J., so I'll just put it to you. How much have you enjoyed watching him during this run of seven straight twenty three point games or more, and why do you think he's been overlooked? I think it's been amazing to see. I'm so happy for R.J., man.

He waited for his time and now his time is coming. Twenty seven points per game. He's filling it up, and I think he gets overlooked because he's a six foot point guard. I think he lived in the shadow, you know, of the big shot that Caleb Williams, I mean, Caleb Williams, Caleb Love hit versus Duke. Everybody had big shots. Everybody had big moments. Armando eclipsing Tim Duncan.

Caleb Love again with a huge shot. But, you know, wait, sorry. Sorry, Josh.

I can hear you. But but, you know, you know, he's showing that he is a bucket. He can score against anybody. He can get off his shot whenever, however.

And it's just been dope to see him really fill it up and become the guy that, you know, the fans, if he is, a la myself, have been waiting to see with him just with the green light. We trust the decisions he makes. Sometimes he does have some issues. We trust the decisions he makes.

Sometimes he does have some turnovers that are a little ridiculous, but we love our job. It's pretty clear this Tar Heel teams better than they were a year ago. Not saying a lot considering they missed the tournament, but it's a seven game stretch. This is their most difficult stretch of the season, all against high major teams. And four of the teams that they faced right now are in the top 10. And North Carolina finished four and three in that stretch.

And I've always said, in my opinion, hasn't been moved all that much about this. North Carolina is a team that should finish the season ranked in the top 25. They should make the tournament, obviously, and they should win a game in the tournament.

Anything above that, I feel, is icing on the cake. But that's my expectation for this team. If they get to the Sweet 16, they've exceeded my expectation. If they don't win a game in the tournament, if they don't finish the season in the top 25, then I think it's beneath my expectation.

How do you view expectations as we headed to conference play, starting next weekend? Now I think we might have lost that. Dot went dark on us. You know, Zero Dark Thirty or anything. I don't even know if I can make that joke with you, W.D. Have you seen Zero Dark Thirty? Yeah, I have. It's the bin Laden thing, right? Yeah, it's the bin Laden movie. Talking about, forget the name of the actress, Redhead.

Yeah, and uh-oh, there he goes. What was her name? Jessica Chastain. There you go. Oh, thank you, chat.

Appreciate that. Jessica Chastain, fantastic in that movie. You're gonna watch Man on Fire. That's something that we also have to talk about with Dot, who was apparently moved to tears by that movie.

So, Dot went dark on us for a second. Oh, we were just talking about movies and Man on Fire and W.D. next week is gonna watch that movie. Well, I'm very excited that he's gonna watch Man on Fire.

I was listening to y'all yesterday and I'm like, screw RoboCop, Man on Fire is a must watch. Were you proud of me? What are you talking about? Were you proud of me? I was very proud of you. I was so thankful.

I even sent W.D. an immediate text that said, dude, Man on Fire made me cry. Like, that movie is amazing. Like, wait till you see who Creasy is. Oh, gosh.

Yeah, there are some scenes of this movie, some line readings that are particularly great involving one under the interstate that's a very iconic moment that I don't think we could talk too much about on the air. Anyway. I'm sorry to get cut off right there. What are your expectations for Carolina this year? What are my expectations about Wright?

I hate agreeing with you, but I do agree with your sentiments. Like, if we make the tournament and win a game this season based off last year, that right there should be the ceiling. And now we go past that ceiling, well, not the ceiling, but that should be the floor. That should be where we're expecting to be. If we get past that, my gosh, like, woo-hoo, like, let's keep it going. And if we don't even sniff the tournament, if we're not ranked, then there's gonna be some changes in Chapel Hill, I'm sure. But I think this team has the pieces when everybody's hitting. I'm still waiting on a game where H is in his bag, C-Mack is in his bag, RJ is in his bag, and Mondo's in his bag, all at the same time. I'm still waiting on that. But we got a long season ahead.

We got a lot of ACC games coming up, and I'm sure that they will all get in sync. No Justin Timberlake, very soon. You ready for grammar school? Always ready for grammar school.

Let's do it. Josh Graham has his own way of speaking. I love, I love, I love, I love, I love, I love, I love.

And just when you think it can't get any worse, rah, rah, rah! Josh is going to attempt to learn B-Dots vernacular. I'm gonna put one in the air. It's time for B-Dots Grammar School. Nobody better than B-Dots.

Free game, during game, post game. Brought to you by Heritage Hardwood Floors. When it comes to flooring, they have no ceiling.

You know what? Heritage Hardwood Floors. Heritage Hardwood Floors!

When it comes to flooring, they have absolutely no ceiling. I got a caulkastic question for you before you start throwing some at me. Dot, you're familiar with what this weekend is, right? Christmas Eve weekend. Yes, Christmas being on Monday.

So I just got to ask you a very basic question. Can you name any of the actors or actresses in the Christmas classics, It's a Wonderful Life or White Christmas? He got so flustered, he dropped his phone. It's a Wonderful, It's a Wonderful Life or White Christmas. Can you name any of the actors or actresses? Let's go to the sidelines. Tony Haines. No. Is a het burn in one of them? Is there a het burn in one? I don't think so.

Rosemary Clooneys and White Christmas. But I don't think that you have a het burn in there. You don't know who Jimmy Stewart is? I'm a. Love Jimmy Stewart. Jimmy.

No, I don't know who the damn Jimmy Stewart is. He's the guy who had the iconic line who said, you want the moon, me, Dot? Well, I'm going to put a lasso around it and bring it right down for you. That's really good. That's really good.

That was a damn good job, John. You want the moon? Well, I'm going to put a lasso around that. Put it right down for you.

I wish I could put a black and white font, I mean a black and white filter over you right now. That's good. Thank you.

My brother played Jimmy Stewart in like a play in Los Angeles and he would then, like when we would hang out, say incredibly raunchy things as Jimmy Stewart. Nice. Very off-putting. Very off-putting. Okay, you failed that one.

What do you have? I've never seen that movie, Josh Graham. I've never seen it.

Neither of them? I've never seen that movie before in my life. I take it you haven't seen White Christmas either.

Neither one. Okay, that's Sarah Bradford's favorite Christmas movie. Actually, shoot, I said it was, her favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas. I said earlier it was Christmas Vacation.

Yeah. So the big three for her is White Christmas, Christmas Vacation and Polar Express. You know, as much as I love Christmas Vacation, my wife reminded me that I've never watched that with her. Like, she was like, how is that your favorite movie?

We've never seen that. And I'm like, dang, I've never watched Christmas Vacation with you. I love that movie. It would be a great experience seeing your reaction to watching White Christmas. That would make me smile a great bit. Whoa.

I think you would enjoy it. Maybe, possibly, Bing Crosby. And I forget what K's first name is. Anyway, what do you got for me? What is a come through? A come through? What a come through.

Yeah. What is a come through? Three, three, six, seven, seven, seven, one, six hundred. We have swarm tickets for next Wednesday or next Saturday. You're choosing very good tickets at the Field House. Three, three, six, seven, seven, seven, one, six hundred. You get the tickets for the attempt. So if you can help me figure out what a come through is, I'd appreciate that.

At three, three, six, seven, seven, seven, one, six hundred. Help! Come through. What is a come through?

W.D., anything come to mind? I would imagine when you're, you know, you're making an appearance, you're gonna come through. I'm gonna use my lifeline on this one. Three, three, six, seven, seven, seven, one, six hundred. Because I just wanna get off on the right foot, potentially, so that's your guess.

Who should I go to here very quickly? Keenan and Kernersville. Keenan, what's a come through? I don't know, but I think, sounds like a shindig, maybe.

Like, you know, low key, nice little party, something you just show up to. I like that. I like that, Keenan. Thank you so much for the call.

Enjoy the swarm game as well. I'm gonna go with that. I'm gonna say it's like a shindig, like a party, a come through, come hang out, come to the come through. See, I would love to give you that, Josh, but I was very particular when I asked you what is a come through. Now, if I would have asked you what does it mean to come through, then you could have said, yes, that means to pull up.

So for that reason and that reason alone, that is incorrect. Okay. What is it? A come through is a blessing. Something has come through, something has blessed your life. For example, earlier today, WD was a come through because I had totally forgot that I was supposed to be on the show today. He pulled up me.

30 minutes ago, he sent me a link that I just fired you the link. I was like, bro, thank you. I didn't say this to them, but I thought in that moment, woo, thanks for being a come through.

He was a come through, he was a blessing. There may or may not be a scene at the end of It's a Wonderful Life that there's a come through that happens. It's true. There we go. What's the next one? What's a bust down? A bust down?

Yes. Now, strangely enough, Josh Graham, there are two different versions and there are two different definitions of a bust down. If you get either one of them correct, I will give you one point. If you get both, you're satisfactory for the day. Do any of them involve drugs?

No, neither involve drugs, believe it or not. A bust down. I'm gonna say a bust down is like... Hmm, do we think a bust down's positive or it's negative? Um, I think it could be positive. Do you know what this is?

Possibly. I don't wanna go to you. Actually, you might want to, I'm just saying. I don't, I don't.

I wanna try and get this on my own. Okay. Positive. Okay, I'm gonna say it's like a lit party. It's like lit, it's a bust down.

There are a lot of ladies here. Oh, it's lit. Is that your final answer? Yeah.

That is 100% incorrect, though. Okay, what is a bust down? Well, two versions. One, a bust down can be jewelry.

We actually have had this before. A bust down Rolex, you've added diamonds to it. So if the jewelry has been bust, I mean, if you have jewelry that has been bust down, that's adding diamonds.

But if a person is a bust down, that means they like to fornicate a lot. That was gonna be my guess. You should have came here.

I guess you should have came to me. Come on. You know I'm with it.

Let's hope. I don't remember the last time I went 0 for 3. Let's not go 0 for 3 the last time in 2023.

What do we got? Touch grass. What does it mean if you tell somebody to touch grass, man? Just touch grass. My God, touch grass.

Touch grass means go outside. You've been inside too long. Now see, that one was, I was reaching for a final one today and W.D.

gave me that one. And now I'm starting to think that may have had some caulkacity to it. But either way, I will give you that correct.

You did get that one correct. Do you think it has caulkacity to it? Be honest with me. Do you think it has caulkacity to it because I knew it so well? Yes, absolutely. No faith.

Not just that W.D. gave it to me, but because you knew it so swiftly without even thinking about it, absolutely. The caulkacity of it all. Who else is in the car with you? Well, actually, I'm in an Uber. I had to get my car. Oh, shout out to the Uber driver. Hey, shout out to you, Uber driver, to give me a shout out on the radio.

Yeah, that's true. He said, oh, thank you very much. There you go. That's outstanding.

Well, B.Dot, uh... And I just turned the light off on him. The holiday is for appreciating people and showing love where it's due. I love you. Appreciate you spending the time. Thanks for all you do for us in twenty, twenty three and well beyond that. Hey, seriously, man, W.D., Josh Graham and my boy Tom, I love you all over there at the drive, man. Happy holidays. And I will see you before New Year's.

Thank you. The moment you've all been waiting for. You're on the drive with Josh Graham. That's Christmas movie. Polar Express for me. A man, a few words now is Bryce Young sharing that his favorite Christmas movie is Polar Express. He does seem like a Polar Express type of guy. My wife's favorite Christmas movie is Christmas Vacation, which you have not seen. Abhorrent. Well, my wife loves Polar Express, though. Not me.

Not me. I'm a big fan of it. The animation hasn't really aged well.

And I'm not the biggest Hanks fan. It's not older. It's 20 years old. OK, so how would the animation age? Well, it doesn't say the animation doesn't look that good. That's my problem with it.

I'd expect better animation for 2004, which is going to be 20 years and about a week. What is your favorite Christmas movie? Is it Polar Express? No, It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite one because I watch it every Christmas Eve. Kind of a tradition.

I'm a sucker for Love Actually, which turned 20 years old this year. Well. Got the signs up to me.

You are perfect. All the side stories. Kiera Knightley's smile, which I'm convinced can cure some diseases out there.

No doubt, no doubt. How do you know who Kiera Knightley is? Pirates of the Caribbean, man.

Come on. She's magical in that just once. I thought you would impress me and say Pride and Prejudice. Never heard of or atonement. Never heard of them.

Pirates of the Caribbean, though. Let's get to Panthers coordinator, so. Going back to the Panthers game winning drive on Sunday against the Falcons, Bryce Young. He had a crazy completion to D.J.

Chark on the last drive, analytic sites that are out there. You see those commercials, percentage chance, probability chance of completing this play. That was the lowest percentage play in the NFL last week in terms of like if you were to put odds on a play happening the way it did.

Send me that cash out, fam. That would have the lowest percentage, given the weather, given the fact it's the Panthers, all of it. Here was Bryce on that completion. The D.J.

Chark is a one on one opportunity. And then, you know, just just trust in and D.J. just wanted to give him a chance, you know, give him an opportunity where, you know, he can go up and make a play on the ball.

And that is that's not an easy play to make at all. He did a great job of making a really tough catch, getting two feet in bounds. But, you know, it was just giving him a chance. And it was just, you know, just trusting him. And he definitely, definitely made me look good with that.

We were crowded in the elevator. After the game with Panthers front office members and Scott Fitterer was the last one to get on the elevator. And I said to Scott. Better throw or better catch? Better catch. Better catch. And D.J.

said the same thing as well. I think Bryce would agree with that. Thomas Brown, he says Chuba Hubbard could have scored a touchdown there at the end, but went down intentionally in order to kill the clock.

Here was the Panthers OC today. Well, if you watch the tape, you can see him kind of put himself down a two-year-old line. That's not how Chuba normally gets tackled anyway. If you watch Chuba, you know he kind of falls forward. But we kind of communicate what we call a a Rolex scenario in the headset to Bryce's, which means that we want to, you know, save the time over scoring touchdowns.

If we have a chance to be able to get into the end zone. You call that a Rolex? Rolex. Yeah. So Rolex expensive watch.

Time is more important to want to save the time. So that's kind of a Rolex deal for us. You like that?

I'll talk to Mike. Rolex. I'm not a guy who generally wears watches.

I do with like an Apple watch. Never understood in investing much in a Rolex or an expensive watch. I mean, it's like a nice car. No, it's not like that at all, actually.

It kind of is. Like people collect cars, people collect watches. I'm talking normal people, W.D.? I mean, normal people can collect watches, too. I know, but normal people don't collect cars.

The point is, it's something that it's like a something people can collect. You like that? Thought you might. Yeah. Thomas Brown.

I'll talk to Mike. The Panthers TD drought. The last time they had a touchdown was at the five minute and two second mark of the fourth quarter against the Buccaneers. The Panthers have not scored a touchdown for one hundred and twenty five minutes of game time in two seconds. One hundred and twenty five minutes and two seconds of game time. The Panthers have not scored a touchdown defensively. I thought you were about to play that Thomas Brown drop. I don't think that's something the Panthers like very much.

I'll talk to Mike. Ajiro Evaro, his defense has been great, which has prompted speculation that. The Panthers are trying to pair him with the young offensive coach, they might interview him for a head coaching job himself. Maybe he looks at other head coaching opportunities. He did say obviously he'd like to be a head coach one day, but his task is on the Green Bay Packers. He opened up a little bit more on this topic than I thought he might.

Here he was earlier. I don't think I can sit up here and say that we don't think about it, you know, and it really from the standpoint of your family, because your families are in limbo. But at the same time, we got zero control, especially this moment of what's going to happen in the future.

And the only thing we can control is getting ready for the Packers. And so, yeah, we think about it. And, you know, families are going to ask questions. People are going to ask, hey, what's going on?

Where are you going to be next year and all that stuff? And I get that part of it. But like, there's nothing I can do about it right now. So it's got to work. Have you had any discussions with Tepper about staying on?

No, we have not. That would be the best case scenario. A Jiro Evereaux back and getting a young offensive line. Oh, Robert Covington is officiating the game in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest basketball is playing right now. Live action, Tracy.

Again, live action, Tracy. Charleston Southern halfway through the first half. It's 12 to 12. Man, the Deacs, they just play with their food. They play down to their competition. NJIT, they did this. They did this the other night as well for the first half.

And Forbes wasn't happy about it. Against Delaware State. Now they're doing it again against Charleston Southern, who's. Two and three, what are we what are we doing here?

One of those things. I'm actually starting to think that this might actually be an older game, W.D. Is it actually?

Are you sure? I don't I don't know if we have the right game on. How about this to make up if if that's, in fact, the case, and I'm just doing who is Wake Forest playing right now? They're playing the Bluehose. Yeah, they're playing Presby. What's the score of that game?

Well, let me let me pull it up here. Yeah, this game's an old game that just so happens to be on. Come on, ACC Network. It's 22 all.

So they're still kind of they're doing they're doing the same exact thing that I just said they were doing while watching the wrong game to make up for what was certainly bad radio there for about two minutes. How about we give away? Do we have another pair of tickets to Wake Forest and Virginia Tech? We do have one more. Let me make up for it then.

Yeah. Sorry for bad radio being bad at being a host. Well, first one to call in right now gets to go to Wake Forest. ACC opener next Saturday, not this Saturday, next Saturday, the 30th against Virginia Tech. Two teams that could be a really important game when you talk about, you know, two bubble teams in the ACC.

Three, three, six, seven, seven, seven, one six hundred. The first to call in gets tickets to watch ACC basketball at the Joel. Trevor's right again. They're playing Presby. We talked about it all week playing the Bluehose.

We got to know that. That's on us. There is some ACC action tonight we're paying attention to. Syracuse USF, the Boca Raton Bowl.

Hard pass on that. Though Garrett Schrader, they're probably going to run some option. Syracuse is without their coach, obviously.

Dino was fired. Not great. Louisville and Kentucky in hoops tonight. Tonight might be Kenny Payne's last stand.

The Cards are six and six. I don't know if Louisville is going to go for being under five hundred heading into conference play back to back years, and they've had bad losses like Arkansas State, for example. Bad loss. They lost another one early in non-conference play, too.

That was a bad look. I think the Chattanooga. Close calls against UMBC. They don't have to beat top ten Kentucky, but this is your rival, allegedly one of the best rivalries in college basketball.

Some say the best. Come on on that. But you better not get embarrassed on your home floor, because if you do, it might be time around the holidays for Louisville to say, Tini Payne passed the sticks, and more specifically passed the sticks to Nolan Smith and give him a shot at it with Danny Manning, former weight coach is already on staff guiding him along.

Give Nolan Smith a crack at it. If Louisville were to get embarrassed later on tonight about as embarrassed as I was watching the wrong game here in the studio. This is the drive with Josh Graham. I don't know what the Florida State Board of Trustees are going to say tomorrow at 10 but I've got a pretty good idea that it's not going to be the most positive thing in regards to the ACC. They're not going to come out and say, you know, we're actually happy.

Just wanted to let everybody know how happy we are. So David Glenn joins us now. Odds are there's going to be a vote for a legal filing to challenge the ACC and Florida State's media deal, the grant of rights that the ACC schools agreed to upon being ACC members with ESPN. That TV deal runs through 2036.

We've you've probably heard us talk about this dozens of times over the years, DG. Now we see probably a test to the grant of rights. What angle to this story are you most interested in? Well, a lot of angles, really, but it just does underline Florida State's desire to get out of this league, Florida State's accurate description of how much the ACC is falling behind and the Big Ten and the SEC especially, and you know that that gap is going to grow in the way that we've discussed over the rest of this decade. And the ACC is locked into a TV deal that's below market value and they have that deal all the way through 2036.

And that's a competitive disadvantage, right? I just talked to Clemson's Brad Brownell on the basketball side. He's like, yeah, if you're falling behind by 30 million a year, especially against the schools that you're supposed to compete against and beat on the field and beat on the court, you know that that adds up over time. But from a legal perspective, I've told you before, if the grant of rights were easy to dodge, it would have been dodged by now. If the grant of rights were not an enormous legal obstacle, Florida State and Clemson would already be former members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. If the grant of rights did not have legal validity, Texas and Oklahoma would have left the Big 12 earlier than they did and paid a smaller amount than the actual amount that they paid when they jumped, you know, soon to jump to the SEC. So I think the ACC continues to be confident in the grant of rights, but what Florida State knows, Josh, is that the Big 10 and the SEC are not going to extend an invitation while this legal issue is looming over the Seminoles. So the Seminoles with this vote tomorrow are going to accelerate the legal process, see what a judge says about the grant of rights. And even if it goes against FSU, at least they have a little more clarity about what their options are. And the closer we get to 2036, you know the deal, even if the grant of rights has kept the ACC intact to this point, I've been telling people all along, there will get a point closer to 2036, I don't know what year, but of course the expense of leaving goes down with each passing year.

The cost of leaving and leaving those media rights behind, et cetera. So at some point, the math is going to come out even more in favor of leaving the ACC, even if the grant of rights holds up legally. But let's call it what it is, Florida State is taking the ACC to court here.

That's what this is. When you're testing your own conference's media rights, is there a scenario where this goes to 2036 anymore? Or I guess a better way to put it, is there any going back after going to this point, or is it inevitable that if they don't find a way around the grant of rights, that a number is negotiated in court between Florida State and the ACC for them to get out? It's a fair question, and I think you're implying that the answer is no, there is no going back, and you are probably correct about that. I've been around long enough that I never say never, I mean weird stuff happens, unpredictable stuff happens, but the money is so large now, and Florida State is so frustrated now, it is hard.

But let's remember, just for a quick example, a side door here. Let's say Florida State, in this legal process that is going to be expensive for both sides remember, it's going to be a lot, the lawyers always win in these situations, but those paying the lawyers often grow tired of it. Wouldn't it be an interesting bargaining chip? Keep in mind, the ACC has already abandoned its 71-year tradition of sharing its revenue roughly equally. They've already adopted a new formula, not the whole revenue, but they're going to start dividing next year some of the revenue based on on-field success, on-court success. That was a revolutionary change that FSU and Clemson got because they demanded it, and they had at least some leverage in the eyes of those who voted for it. The other thing they've been asking for is sharing a large pot of revenue based on which football teams get the most TV eyeballs. Well, they haven't gotten that yet.

That vote has failed every time. So maybe a side door is these other ACC schools or enough of them grant another major change to the revenue distribution model that gives the Seminoles a little bit more reason to stay and keeps the ACC intact a while longer, because the ACC's dream would be to get closer and closer to 2036 so that you can start negotiating that next TV deal, and it's going to be significantly better than the one that they're stuck in right now. Because it's the holidays, I won't ask you to name names, but what is the dumbest take that you've heard today in response to the Florida State news? Well, that is, anything's going to happen quickly. There's some clown out in the Midwest.

If I knew his handle, I would say it because I'm not afraid of the guy. I've been getting the same stuff right for 15 years that he's been getting wrong for 15 years. Something is imminently about to happen.

This is a guy who in 2012 was tweeting that the ACC was falling apart. I mean, come on, how many times, eventually the blind squirrel finds a nut, right? Like if you say the same thing's going to happen over and over and over and you're wrong 99 times, well, maybe eventually you're going to be right.

But smart people know you're a clown because you've been making stuff up for 10 plus years, whereas we've been getting stuff right for 10 plus years. Nothing is going to happen imminently. Nothing is going to happen in the next 12 months. Now there'll be legal arguments. There could be a judge's decision. But the idea that Florida State is not going to be an ACC member, like in the near future is just ridiculous. And it's important to bring up that. That's only said by people who have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. The most practical way to put it in that argument is we know how the legal process can go.

Yes. You have to file a notice by mid August if you're not going to be joining the, or if you're going to leave the ACC by 2025. So there's no realistic way Florida State isn't playing ACC football for 2024 and 2025.

That's a good way to put it. And again, all the math changes, every couple of years down the line, the math changes. And Florida State has some creative ideas about, would a league out there, Josh, let's not right now, but let's say four years down the road. Would a league out there say, you know what, we'll add Florida State now. What kind of subsidize them, because we're not getting any money from their home games. What kind of subsidize them for the next seven years, even though they're not bringing us any money, with the goal of, we really want them so badly for the long term that we're going to kind of swallow these losses and subsidize the Seminoles.

Let's say from 2029 to 2036. But there's only one conference that could do that. And that's the Big Ten, because the SEC is in bed with the same people the ACC is in bed with. And on top of that, if you want to talk about people subsidizing the Seminoles and having a lot of money to do it, the Big Ten has three TV partners, NBC, CBS, and Fox. So if you're looking for a league that could potentially do these types of things, it's the SEC, or pardon me, it's the Big Ten, not the SEC.

One more thing before we let you go. If you want to talk about inaccuracies or things that bother me, I've been told by folks close to Florida State that this has really started to accelerate after FSU was left out. And there's this perception that exists that Florida State was left out because of the perception of the ACC. I don't think that's true. I think if you want to point at anybody for why this happens, it's because of the strength of perception of the SEC and the fact that the SEC schools left Florida State down, talking about LSU not holding up, Florida not being worth a derm for 10 years, and then of course Georgia losing for the first time in two years in the SEC title game.

Yeah, I mean, Florida State was left out for a combination of reasons, but the number one reason was the loss of their star quarterback. And it's written into the criteria that they're talking about misinformation and disinformation, those suggesting, politicians, media people or otherwise, that somehow the state of Florida is going to sue the college football playoff committee and win. Like that is, that is such theater, Josh, it is simply hoping that dumb people will think you're smart. That's all it is. Georgia Congress people are doing that now too, by the way. Those who understand the way this stuff works, those it's just completely hollow.

And it's these clown shows where people want to see they just want to they want to do performance art. See, I'm going to bat for your school, I'm fighting the good fight, whereas even they know that there's no chance that those lawsuits are going to win. But and it's because the criteria include, you're allowed to put weight on the fact that a star player would be missing. Now again, I feel like Florida State was unfairly left out. But it was an unusual combination of the injured quarterback, the Texas victory over Alabama. If it was not for that victory, Alabama would have been in Florida State would have been in the Longhorns would have been out and all of this would have been avoided. But it was an unusual storm of events. The perfect storm, imperfect storm from a Seminoles perspective. And yeah, the end result was wrong, in my opinion, and many others, but they have a legally defensive path to get to the conclusion that they made. And that's why they're not going to lose any lawsuit.

So a bunch of this is just ridiculous. And the reality is the Seminoles and the rest are going to be members of this league. But keep in mind, Josh, there are other schools that under the right circumstances would leave the ACC.

They're just not so hop. What I will say is the emotion of Florida State being left out, allowed Florida State to go to some of their angry boosters and say, wait, hey, will you help bankroll this extremely expensive legal process? If we just go after the grant of rights and the ACC, heck yeah, there are plenty of rich people who if angry enough, will green light something that they were hesitating on. Whereas some of the other ACC schools that are desirable, right, I mean, UNC is desirable in the eyes of the Big Ten and the SEC. But the Tar Heels don't want to be in front of any of this. But they're going to be watching. And if Florida State somehow gets some good news about the legal validity of the grant of rights, heck, all heck is going to break loose. And schools like Clemson and Florida State and North Carolina will find really good homes.

And a whole bunch of other schools that we cover and we love will be in trouble because they will end up on the outside looking in. David Glenn, ncsportsnetwork.com find his stuff. Really do appreciate you spending the time. Merry Christmas to you, my friend. Right back at you, man. I feel like I'm coming to you in a snow globe the way I look on this.

I'm at my sister's house in Pennsylvania right now, so I'm celebrating the holidays. But always great to see you. Thanks for putting up with whatever this filter looks like with Josh Graham, W.S.J.S.. W.D., you got my record for the season, two and three last week, not acceptable, or four over five hundred for the season now as you dig that up. The most bizarre story today is not Florida State. We'll get back to that in just a bit. The most bizarre story of the day that nobody is talking about is who Mike Elko just hired to be his defensive coordinator. Mike Elko hired Jay Bateman. Some hear that and know exactly what I'm talking about.

Others hear that and might think they know what I'm talking about, but won't. Jay Bateman was a defensive coordinator at North Carolina. So you might think, whoa, Carolina's defenses haven't been all that great. Why would you hire that guy? That's not what I'm talking about. Jay Bateman, before being North Carolina's defensive coordinator, was the D.C. at Army. Why am I telling you about that? Well, while he was at Army, Jay Bateman was one of the three coaches that were caught accepting Wake's plays in the WikiLeaks scandal. That's relevant because the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, while that was happening, was no other than Mike Elko.

So Mike Elko, A&M, just hired one of the three coaches that we know of who accepted plays, accepted information from Tommy Elrod in the WikiLeaks scandal. Didn't have that on my bingo card today. W.D., what's my record for the year?

Sixty and fifty six. Gosh, we should be better than that. Since we're not going to be live next week, it's live action, Tracy. Got a lot of picks to hand out. Let's do it.

Graham. If you're not gambling, come on now, let's talk some money. You're not trying. You are so money. You don't even know it. But you do. Let's play some bats.

I'm going to make you rich. This is Graham's gambling to for the NFL this week. On Christmas Eve, the Miami Dolphins are hosting the Dallas Cowboys, W.D. Miami's coming off a 30 point road win. Dallas is coming off a three touchdown road loss. The Lions only Miami minus one and a half. Miami's at home. How could that be? Vegas is telling you Miami's a fraud.

So I'm going to believe them. Dallas plus a point and a half. See me that cash out, fam. Christmas night. Forty Niners Ravens. That's the marquee game of the weekend. The Ravens are getting five and a half, which is just too many. Since twenty nineteen, which is the year Lamar started as the day one starter, the first time that he was the day one starter. The Ravens are 15, three and two against the spread as an underdog. I think they make that 16, three and two. The Ravens play a game that comes down for the last second.

Who knows? Might even pull off the upset. See me that cash out fam. That's Baltimore plus five and a half. Since we're off next week, we got a lot of bowl games to get to as well, beginning with next Tuesday's guaranteed rate bowl.

I know you're going to be locked in on that. UNLV is facing Kansas and Phoenix. And this is a Kansas team that's without its offensive coordinator. The Rebs have an opportunity to get a power five scalp and they're playing as twelve and a half point underdogs. I don't know if they end up winning the game, but twelve and a half is a lot of candy and we'll eat that candy. Give me the Rebs.

See me that cash out, fam. A week from now, it's NC State, K-State and the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Kansas State's without its offensive coordinator, Colin Klein, who joins Jay Bateman and Mike Elko out at Texas A&M. They're also without their quarterback, Will Howard. NC State has an opportunity to win ten games for the first time in 21 years and the second time in 113. Long time that NC State's been playing football, this would be just the second time that they finish with ten wins. They know that. They were red hot down the stretch. They're winning this bowl game. Dave Doran's going to eat that Pop-Tarts mascot and we'll figure out what flavor it is after the game.

Wolf Pack in the house. See me that cash out, fam. Let's jump to New Year's Day. Liberty getting 17 and a half from Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl. You mean the same Fiesta Bowl where UCF's upsetting, I believe it was Baylor ten years ago? You mean the same Fiesta Bowl that Boise State's running a hook and ladder and then doing a Statue of Liberty play, giving it to Ian Johnson before he proposed to his girlfriend and upsetting Adrian Peterson in Oklahoma? That same Fiesta Bowl?

Too many points! Yes, Bo Nix is playing for Oregon, but some of his skill guys are not. Liberty's unbeaten and they keep this an entertaining ball game at 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. local time when this game kicks off on New Year's Day. See me that cash out, fam.

At the same time as that game. We've got the Cheez-It Bowl, y'all. Tennessee! Rocky Top, you'll always be home, sweetheart, to me! And they're facing Iowa. I think you know where I'm headed in this direction.

You'd be wrong. Iowa! Hawks! Punts, baby! Eight and a half points.

Too many points. I think we might learn about some opt-outs with Tennessee over the next week or so, so I'll take more than a touchdown with the Iowa Hawkeyes. See me that cash out, fam. That one college football playoff pick. If you have a chance to get Alabama with points, you do that, especially with a Big Ten opponent on the other side. Yeah, we're going to go Alabama plus a point and a half. They're winning that game.

See me that cash out, fam. W.D., we're going back to our roots. Seven picks that we just handed out. Seven underdogs. Yep, Cowboys getting a small number.

The Ravens plus five and a half at the Niners. We've got UNLV plus a huge number. NC State beating K-State. Don't know why NC State's underdogs in that game. Liberty plus a ton at Oregon. We're against Oregon and Fiesta Bowl. Iowa more than a touchdown against Tennessee. And Bama. Roll Tide. See me that cash out, fam.