Party Gravy (2-7-25)

This is The Drive with Josh Graham Podcast.

We're internet sensations, guys! Tune into The Drive weekday afternoons, 3 to 7 on WSJS. We made it to a Friday drive. It is WSJS, NewsTalk Sports for the Triad, and we've also made it somehow, some way to the final football Friday until late August.

It really is crazy how much these five and a half months can fly by. Super Bowl 59, of course, on Sunday. You can listen to the game on WSJS. And here's what you should expect to happen in that game. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots have been the natural comp for what Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs have been doing of late.

And it makes sense. That dynasty is recent. And there are not many examples in NFL history where a single quarterback and franchise have won this much in a short period of time. But after Sunday, the Patriots will no longer be that best analog because New England's never won three straight. No NFL team has. The best comp for these Chiefs is the 98 Chicago Bulls, who, compared to the first two legs of their second three-peat, weren't all that flashy. In fact, they didn't win as much as 97 or 96. They looked more mortal. They looked more vulnerable.

In fact, they were pushed to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals by Reggie Miller and company before extinguishing Utah in six. But as we know, Chicago, they always summoned what was necessary in order to win. And that's what the Chiefs are going to do against the Eagles.

They will simply do whatever it takes to win the football game and there was no better example of this than the AFC Championship we all just watched. Buffalo might have been a better, more balanced team. It's easy to look at the Eagles and say the same thing. Better, more balanced team in a lot of the key areas. Buffalo, they handed Kansas City the only loss they've had this entire season when the starters were playing, settled down Denver.

But Josh Allen, I mean, Josh Allen won the MVP last night. That team was better for longer and beat Kansas City head to head. And in order to win that game, Kansas City had to do things they don't do. They'd never scored 30 points in a game this year until they had to in the AFC Championship. Patrick Mahomes in his entire career had never had two rushing touchdowns in a game until he had to do it in that AFC Championship.

Talk about rising to the occasion when it matters most. You should expect this game to be close. And if it's a tight game, Kansas City has a massive advantage. The last three Super Bowls have been decided by three points, including that Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl two years ago that was decided on the final snap, Harris and Butler making the kick. Twelve of the Chiefs games this year, one score games, all Kansas City wins. And they've won 17 straight one score games. How many times do you need to see this movie to know not to pick against this? Patrick Mahomes has lost one game the entire year.

And this is not going to be number two. But we can spend all the time we want talking about the offense and talking about Mahomes and Andy Reid. Don't overlook what Kansas City's defense has been this year. Early on in Kansas City's run, the defense wasn't good. And Kansas City was a team that you could be down multiple scores in the fourth quarter, like they were in the first Super Bowl against San Francisco. And they had the offense where, just give the ball to Tyreek Hill, and they're going to score twice before you even blink your eye. That's not what this Chiefs team is anymore. In the same way, the 98 Bulls, not the same as even the 96 Bulls, or certainly the Michaels in the heart of his prime three-peat Bulls.

It's just different. This is not a Chiefs team that can afford to be down double digits. They're more ball control.

They're not scoring a lot. But this defense isn't the same as those defenses either. It's kind of amazing that Steve Spagnuolo is not ahead of the team. Steve Spagnuolo is not a head coach.

We're talking about a top five scoring D in the league. Expect the difference in this game. Mahomes understanding he can't turn over the football, needs to take care of it, and does so. And Steve Spagnuolo's defense, with blitzing and pressure, forcing Jalen Hurts to make a mistake, or Saquon Barkley in his first Super Bowl and a turnover swinging the game. Give me Kansas City 27, Philadelphia 23 in Super Bowl 59. The Chiefs, the first ever three-peats, maybe the greatest NFL franchise that we've seen, greatest NFL dynasty we've seen. You can have that conversation.

You could start having the conversation about Mahomes being the greatest quarterback ever as well for Super Bowls in five years and all this done in a seven, eight-year span. The Chiefs will do whatever it takes to win in New Orleans this weekend. Will Dalton is the executive producer of this show. He is taking your calls if you have thoughts on this game at 336-777-1600. We are streaming video on YouTube, on X at Josh Graham Show and at WSJS Radio. The Drive with Josh Graham is the YouTube channel.

Obviously, we're on a fleet of radio stations that make up WSJS. W.D., what emotion is more prevailing today? Excitement for Sunday's game or sadness that the season's about to end?

I think it's excitement. I mean, yeah, I mean, we'll be sad it's all over when the game's over. But right now, like, I'm like a kid on Christmas. I'm ready to go. I got a party at my place. We're going to have wings.

Gas it up. A lot of people do feel that melancholy, that sadness across the country when the football season ends. We don't feel it as much in North Carolina because college basketball becomes a national sport after the Super Bowl ends when really it's around here, a sport that we follow 12 months out of the year. So with that in mind, I'll be at North Carolina Pit tomorrow.

You can check out an instant Graham following that game. We'll get into the matchup in just a little bit, but that's not where we're headed here. See, as mentioned, once the Super Bowl ends, college basketball takes center stage nationally. And that means all eyes are going to be on number two, Duke and Cooper Flag. And here's the story heading into tomorrow's game at Little John Coliseum.

OK. If the Blue Devils beat Clemson, you should expect that they are going to enter the Smith Center 19-0 in the ACC less than a month from now. That's what tomorrow's game is about. If Duke wins that game, that's going to be an incredibly compelling storyline at the Smith Center. After tomorrow, four of Duke's next six conference games are at home.

While Florida State and Wake Forest could provide scares against this Blue Devil team, Florida State with some size, and you're talking about a Wake Forest team that pushed them in a way that they hadn't been pushed in ACC play so far this year. This team is not losing a game at home. The two road games, they're at Virginia, they're at Miami, two of the four worst teams in the league.

They're not going to lose those games. And if, again, they win tomorrow, this would set up a very compelling rivalry rematch. Duke playing for a 20-0 perfect ACC season, Carolina playing to earn, perhaps, an NCAA tournament berth a lot like 2022. And if you want to write off North Carolina because of what happened last weekend, a reminder, speaking of 2022, Carolina lost the first game that year at home by more points than Carolina lost last weekend at Cameron Indoor Stadium. And of course, playing at home, you would like to think you have more of an advantage than playing on the road.

So don't completely write it off. Unlike last weekend, so getting into tomorrow, Clemson, they're going to have a shot to win this game. Clemson's coming off that triple overtime loss. It's coming off that triple overtime loss to Georgia Tech, probably because they were looking ahead to this game. Duke is coming off the easiest road win that you're going to get at Syracuse. Clemson has the toughness to win this game with Ian Shefflin inside and Chase Hunters, one of those dudes. It's a team that went to the Elite Eight for a reason last year, and Little John's going to be rocking.

OK! But it's hard to pick against Duke. It's just hard. 3-3-6, 7-7-7, 1-600. Let's go to Joey in Thomasville, who's getting us started on today's program. Joey, your thoughts on Super Bowl 59.

Well, let me tell you something, Josh. I'm a Washington fan, so there is no way in heck that I can pull for Philadelphia and some of the worst jerk fans in all of sports. I cannot do that. It's true. However, I also do fall into the category of being oversaturated with Kansas City.

Sure. And I know that's what happens. You pull for them at first.

They're a great story and all that, and you see them all the time. But I do think against the Bills. I think the Bills were a better team. And call it whatever you want.

I do think they got the benefit of a lot of calls that could have swayed that game. Nevertheless, I will be watching the Super Bowl. I don't care who wins. The only thing I'm doing is I'm laying bet after bet after bet after bet.

And I will be looking at my phone and saying, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. That's what I'm pulling for. Can I give you some good news in that regard? Can I give you some good news in that regard? In 20 minutes, the betting world's preeminent prop bettor, the prop queen, Ariel Epstein, will be our guest to help us get some of those props that nobody's talking about, but she feels very good about breaking down everything. So make sure you're tuned in for that, Joey.

And I hope you enjoy Super Bowl 59. There goes Joey in Thomasville. I was a guest earlier today on Adam Gold's show, and he was asking me, why are the Chiefs villains? And again, thinking back to the Michael Jordan example, why are the Chiefs hated so much and the Bulls weren't back then? And I think it's, well, social media didn't exist back then. And I think the reason that, I don't think nowadays you could ever have a team win as often as Kansas City's won without being hated because the social media algorithm is going to tell you that you should hate them. Or in Joey's words, oversaturate things to the point where you're just sick of this team in a way that sports were talked about a lot differently back in the 90s.

In other words, if a team were as dominant with the same type of players and personalities as the Bulls in the 90s, that team would be loathed and hated in the 2020s 30 years later. This year's Pro Football Hall of Fame class, the smallest in 20 years, with modern day candidates being Antonio Gates, his second year of eligibility, five-time finalist and former Carolina Panther Jared Allen and Eric Allen getting in, surprising to some. Sterling Sharp, he gets in as well. Really cool video of his brother Shannon surprising him to tell him that he has finally gotten into Canton.

Our state's Hall of Fame voter is Darren Gant, who joins us now from New Orleans. How surprising was it to land on four? And do you think that reveals any type of a problem given every year how often we talk about how many quality candidates there are? Yeah, not really as surprising for me is just disappointing. I mean, I knew the process going in. I knew that, you know, instead of getting to a final five and then just doing a yes, no vote to get guys to 80 percent, we were given a list of seven and told to pick five. And only the ones who got 80 percent would get in or the top three if no one got to 80 percent. So, you know, I knew it was going to be a shorter class than normal. I was still, you know, going into it hopeful that Luke Kuechly was going to be deemed one of those top two or three guys in this year's class.

But it's, you know, it's difficult and they want it to be difficult and it is difficult and it's even harder than it's ever been now. Personally, and I wrote this this morning on panthers.com, I think this thing about only the guys who get 80 percent is an artificial construct. To me, I believe my opinion and I'll speak for myself alone. If you survive a vote from 176 to 50 and from 50 to 25 and from 25 to 15 and then from 15 to 10 and 10 to 5, you are elite. OK, the problem is when you have those extra two guys in there, it waters it down. They all deserve. And so nobody's going to get to 80 percent. And it's not because none of them deserve to get to 80 percent.

It's because none of them deserve to get 50 percent because they're all Hall of Famers. Then you add an additional problem when you talk about log jams. If we're going to focus on Steve Smith, it's harder when people have that balance. That ballot, they might say, I'm going to pick one wide receiver and it could be Tory Holt or it could be Steve Smith or it could be Reggie Wayne. And that makes things very difficult. We've talked about it. If you're ever in a situation in that final seven and you're one of two guys at any position, neither one of you are getting it.

I mean, that's just the facts. And with Tory Holt being the automatic finalist next year, along with Luke Kuechly, along with Adam Vinatieri, and I'm drawing a blank on the seventh one. Anderson. Willie Anderson, thank you for the save there.

I've done this so much in the last couple of days that I'm losing it a little bit. But if you're in that final seven and there are two guys at your position, the votes inevitably going to split because there is no consensus. I think for Steve, one of the worst things that you could consider for his future in that hall, I mean, it looks like it's going to be several years for him now, because not only is Tory Holt ahead of him in the order, Larry Fitzgerald joins the chat next year. And Larry Fitzgerald ostensibly is one of those guys that you stand up, say Larry Fitzgerald and sit down. He's second in all the major receiving categories behind some guy named Jerry Rice. He's a Hall of Famer. He should be an automatic first ballot Hall of Famer.

But I don't think we can take any of those spots for granted anymore. And if Tory Holt and Larry Fitzgerald are in the final seven together, there's a very real possibility neither one of them get in. Luke Keakley, as you mentioned, one of the top seven finalists.

So he, along with the pride of Gibsonville, Tory Holt, will be an automatic finalist for next year. How close do you believe Luke was to getting in? I think real close.

I am convinced and I don't have any evidence. This is just me going off vibes rather than math on this one. But I believe if we had our standard five man class of modern candidates that we're used to having over the past 20 years, Luke would be being celebrated today for being a first ballot Hall of Famer the 91st of all time and joining his former teammate Julius Peppers, who did that last year. So I think it was super close. Here's the point I made, and I don't mind sharing this during our presentations during our meeting, Luke Keakley played professional football for eight seasons. He was named to the All-Pro team seven times. 87.5% of the years he played professional football, he was judged by his peers to be one of the greatest at it. There are two players in NFL history who ever had a higher batting average in that category. Barry Sanders, Jim Brown.

That's the club. Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Luke Keakley, when that when you're in a group of three people and those are the other two in it, you are a Hall of Famer, my friend. And it's just it's frustrating.

And I you know, we try not to take this stuff personally. I always tell people, you know, I have heard voters say when I got so and so in the Hall of Fame, I will never get Luke Keakley in the Hall of Fame. Luke Keakley gets Luke Keakley in the Hall of Fame. It's frustrating to me, though, to have seen Luke up close, to watched it, to know the stories, to have seen it, had seen that excellence so close and for it not to be rewarded. It's frustrating for me as a voter because we're going to have to do it again next year. And we're going to be talking about people who should have gotten in this year. And I'm not just saying that about Luke.

That's Tory Holt. I mean, if we're only getting three modern guys a year and you look at me and you say, and you look at next year's class when Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Jason Witten, Frank Gore, Greg Olsen, Thomas Davis enter the chat, it's going to be a nightmare. I'm glad you bring up Greg Olsen.

I'm glad you bring up Thomas Davis. There's this recency bias where you see folks look at the last seven years of Carolina Panthers football. Darren Gantt, by the way, with us here from Panthers.com. And they think, oh, woe is me, it's so bad to be a Carolina Panther fan. The team's been in existence for 30 years. The team that they came into the NFL with was the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars, as far as I know, have one MVP or one Hall of Fame inductee. And that's Tony Bicele, who is a tremendous player. And that's a normal thing.

That's a normal thing that happens. Like you get like just a few of these. If we're including Jared Allen, which I do because he played in one Super Bowl and it was for the Panthers in 2015, this marks three straight years that the Panthers have had a Hall of Fame inductee. Three of the last four.

Three of the last four, excuse me. Sam Mills, Julius Peppers, and now you got Jared Allen going in. And then you're looking at potentially three in a row when you talk about Luke Keakley next year. And then Steve Smith's going to get in eventually. And I'm sure conversations will happen about Cam Newton, Thomas Davis, Greg Olsen somewhere down the line. So the last seven years, they are what they are.

But that seems like a special amount of talent in a condensed period of time. What does that say about the Carolina Panthers? Well, one of my friends on the committee was teasing me. He was like, we have to listen to you a lot. And the Panthers stink.

Why is that? But they've had, I mean, and if you want to take this thing to the wayback machine, their first Hall of Famer was Mike McCormick, the original team president who was obviously in from his days as a player. Bill Polian.

Donnie Schell was a long time director of player engagement. Kevin Green. Reggie White, we'll count it. Panthers legend Reggie White is right up there with Panthers legend Jared Allen.

They're in the top 12 on the all time sack list together. But, you know, there have been a lot of talented guys come through here. And, you know, it's great for me.

I mean, you see me, I'm wearing the gear right now. I love Canton, Ohio. It's the happiest place on earth. Don't tell me about Orlando. Why is Orlando?

I don't know. But I just think it's great for the fans. I mean, there's been a lot of good stuff here to talk about and there's going to be more. I mean, I believe, and I have told Luke this and I've told Steve this, I'm confident that they will both eventually get that jacket, be in Canton and get to enjoy this.

I just think it might take a little more time than anybody anticipated unless we get the rules back to normal. Darin Gantt with us here. One of the things I love about the Super Bowl, I feel this way about the draft as well, everybody's kind of in the same place together.

And when that happens, people talk. And you have Bryce Young, who's down there in New Orleans and he's doing, it was just great. He was sitting down with Adam Lefkoe and Mike Gulick Jr. just breaking down defenses, breaking down ball. And the finish to the season has changed the tenor of this team, changed the tenor of Bryce Young's career. What are people saying about the Panthers down there?

What's the most interesting scuttlebutt in New Orleans related to the squad? The most interesting thing on Radio Row about the Carolina Panthers is that Bryce Young is there. This is Bryce Young. You've been to those press conferences. He acts like press conferences are medieval torture.

He doesn't enjoy talking to the media. And the fact that Bryce Young is on Radio Row, A, speaks to the fact that he was invited because he played really well second half of the season. But then he's there over and over and doing shows with everybody.

He's doing Kay Adams. Over there he is with Dan Patrick and you mentioned Mike Gulick. So he's all over the place and Bryce is getting comfortable in his own skin. I've got a story coming up for the folks tomorrow at panthers.com about this very topic. But some of the guys who know Bryce really well believe that that presence on Radio Row, that being comfortable in that situation has carry-on effects that's good for everybody. I had the opportunity to talk to Adam Thielen the other day and he kind of laughed about getting Pearl Harbor at the LPGA tournament the other day when some English newspaper got him to say, yeah, I got some football left in. He didn't really believe at that point he was breaking news or declaring himself back. But the thing he told us was that Bryce is a lot of the reason he wants to come back. I mean, Adam Thielen's 34.

He is old and he is tired and his body hurts. And he wouldn't have ordinarily come back, but he thinks they're on to something here. And so he was kind of eager to sign up again because of Bryce Young and because of Dave Canales and the trajectory they're on as a team. I mean, it seemed like a very small thing winning two out of the last three games in overtime. But to me, and we talked about this previously, I think it reminds me an awful lot of the end of 2002 when a team that was three and eight caught hot won four of their last five of fairly meaningless games at the time and people complained about draft position then. But all of a sudden, that team started to get an identity and started to believe in itself in certain ways. And I think there are a lot of people, I mean, listen, Bryce is not, you know, I talked to Greg Cosell, who I've known for a long time in the hallways and, you know, Greg's like, Bryce may never be one of those quarterbacks like a Josh or a Lamar or somebody like that who can put a team on his back and single handedly carry them to a title.

But he was absolutely efficient and functional and made a team go coming down the stretch. So I think everybody's pretty positive about the way they're going right now. You know, I have joked that this is the happiest I've ever seen a bunch of people about a five and twelve football team.

But when you consider the context of what happened the year before, five and twelve ain't all that bad. Right. But I'll say this, that's all good and well. And I agree with everything you just said. Yeah.

It does seem to me people want that same percentage jump this year. And while that's possible, I believe going from awful to mediocre is easier than going from mediocre to good. Would you agree? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, because escaping awful is fairly easy.

You get a competent coach and a functional quarterback and you can go from two wins to five going from five to nine is a lot harder. But I think, you know, what I anticipate and will, you know, have plenty of time for offseason talk, but I think they're going to treat the defensive front seven the way they did the offensive line last year and free agency. And by the way, the wife's just wandering around in the background and shot. I hope you guys are I hope I hope you guys are having fun in New Orleans.

Like, I mean, shoot me and my wife spent a few days down there. I hope it's not all work. I hope there's some play. Yeah. No, I mean, listen, until I turn in the these expenses, Dave Tepper and everybody needs to know I'm working 16 hour days and leaving everything on the field for the company. So no, we're we're having a good time. I love New Orleans and in three or four days in New Orleans is the. But no, I mean, I think, you know, there's a positive vibe around the Carolina Panthers, but everybody knows they've got to go get dudes on defense.

And I think they're gonna. You know what covers those expense reports that David Tepper? Those concerts. Yeah, those concerts.

That's that's what happens there. When he brings music to Charlotte, that brings music to my ears. Darren Gantt, panthers.com. OK, enough about the Panthers.

Let's get to the game that's happening down the way from where you're at. Chiefs, Eagles, what's your read on it? You know, the Chiefs have kind of entered that territory for me that the Patriots were in for a long time. You know, everybody says, well, they're not as good as they used to be. The Kansas City Chiefs have figured out how to keep not losing. They have they have mastered the art of not losing football games. I mean, they weren't even good, you know, by their own standard this year offensively.

But they kept not losing. And I'm just going to kind of assume here's what I think is going to happen. You want a bold prediction? I think Saquon Barkley is going to run for 175.

Probably a couple touchdowns. Eagles are going to lose anyway because Patrick Mahomes is on the other team. I mean, I just I just kind of assume until he stops doing it that Patrick Mahomes is going to make a play in the last two minutes of the game and win. The analogy I make, I know a lot of people make the Patriots comp, is actually the three p Miami or the three p Chicago Bulls in the 90s where in 98 that team looked vulnerable all throughout the way.

But if they needed Michael to do this while sick, well, Michael will just do it just like the Chiefs. You hadn't scored 30 all year. Oh, you need 30 in the AFC Championship game. There it is. Oh, Mahomes has never rushed for two touchdowns in a game. Well, we need it this game and there it is. And I mean, there is no Tyreek Hill on that roster.

There is no, you know, even Kareem Hunt on it, right? Yeah, it's just it's so different from what that offense used to be when it was it is at its peak. But whether it's Juju Smith Schuster or Xavier Worthy or whoever, I mean, they just find these weird ways to get it done.

And, you know, a lot of it has to do with and sometimes football is as simple as that. They got the best coach. They got the best quarterback.

Who do you like? Nick Sirianni or Andy Reid? Depends who wins an arm wrestling battle. No, there's no depends. There's no depends. Or was that Dan Campbell? No way. Dan Campbell was bite your kneecaps off.

I was just trying to get my Sirianni lingo. But I mean, it's not fair in an in an in an atmosphere without Bill Belichick. Andy Reid is the best coach in the business. And he is going to do something during that game to make Eagles fans scream about Nick Sirianni. What's for dinner tonight? What's for dinner tonight? I don't know, babe. What's for dinner tonight? Well, Coach Sean. Very nice. What are we getting at Coach Sean?

I don't know. They've got a lovely rabbit. I have actually eaten there before. So by the way, I've got a picture of a rabbit. I'll send you when we're off the air. Please. I saw some lovely rabbit art when I was out walking the streets.

Probably not something you want to put on your website or anything, but an interesting piece of art. I would love like a French waiter walking up to you. Can I interest you in some rabbit? That sounds exactly what it sounds like. And then I've got Jake Malone talking about party gravy this morning. So, you know, it's just yeah. Yeah.

New Orleans. Hashtag party gravy. That's that's a thing. It's a good time. Darren, you have fun. Thanks for making the time for us.

And Miss Gant, the same to you. And we'll talk to you sometime soon. See y'all. All right, let's go.

Oh, I'm so excited. And three, two, one, go. Back to the drive with Josh Graham. When we get a minute, we need to talk about NFL honors from last night. More specifically, the night the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heel football program had. But before we get to Tar Heel football, how about we talk about Carolina basketball, North Carolina, Pittsburgh at the Smith Center tomorrow, the second meeting between these two teams in less than two weeks.

Pittsburgh won the first meeting at the Oakland Zoo. You should expect the Tar Heels to rise to the occasion and return the favor against the Panthers tomorrow afternoon. What this team needed is a full week of practice. You hear coaches talk about it. Fans might not realize how important just a few extra days are, but it allows for you to practice without having to be thrust into a scouting report.

Because think about it. You have a game on Saturday and then, okay, you get a day off. Then Monday rolls around. You got the scout for a Tuesday game and there you go.

Sometimes you got to worry about travel. So then, okay, the scout is really happening in earnest on Tuesday or Monday and then the travel day Tuesday ahead of a Wednesday game. North Carolina didn't have a midweek. And given how bad it looked on the court against Duke, just a chance to have some separation from that. Return home, practice, focus on yourself rather than an opponent.

That could do you a lot of good. And being at home, a nice pick-me-up for North Carolina, the change of scenery that they need after a difficult week on the road for them. Their next two games, you want to talk about meaningful, you got Pittsburgh at home, and then you go to Little John to face Clemson.

Okay. Last week, the Tar Heels, if you go, if you look at that pit Carolina game, fans were mad because they barely beat Boston College, the Duke game's looming, and you lose against Pittsburgh, and fans are talking about Hubert and everybody upset. But when I watched it, I actually saw the Tar Heels doing a lot of good things in that game. They led by 10 in the first half. They held Pittsburgh to about 30 in the second half, which might not sound all that impressive, but Pitts got great guards.

Solomon Winston sailing this past weekend, Damian Dunn, Leggett, forgetting one, Jalen Lowe, they got dudes. And those points, it also included a bunch of free throws at the end with North Carolina trying to get back in it in the final couple of minutes. Don't forget, the Tar Heels didn't have Jalen Washington in that game. It was a tight road loss on the road, a little redundant, even though Pitt is coming off a bad loss against Virginia, and they're going to be playing pretty hard to win this game for sure, expect Carolina to play with a little bit more urgency. Pitt had to win that game last week. It seems like Carolina's got to get this game, and they'll have avenging the Duke loss avenging the Duke loss in mine too. North Carolina rises to the occasion to beat the Pitt Panthers. Now getting to NFL honors, where Bill Belichick was front and center, more specifically, Bill Belichick's girlfriend.

Shout out to Bill Belichick. Jordan Houston's her name. She's all over social media. She's going to Carolina basketball games.

She's at the introductory press conference, and she's joining Bill now at NFL honors, where Snoop Dogg is now making jokes about her. Because I've been a football fan for a long, long time. I mean, I remember back when the Cowboys was good. I remember back when the Chiefs was bad.

And I remember, what was it? Bill Belichick's girlfriend wasn't even born yet. Shout out to Bill Belichick. She seemed to take the joke well. She did.

I need to know a couple of things. What was Bill Belichick's reaction to seeing Jordan Houston's dress? When he found out that that was what Jordan Houston was going to wear, his girlfriend, who's in her mid-20s, yes, what was Bill's reaction? Because it had to be, hey, this is what I'm thinking about wearing Bill, and Bill's reaction was, huh? I mean, I'm sure it was positive. I'm sure it was positive. You get them.

Go for it. But he had to also be thinking. I'm going to get dragged on the internet for this.

I don't understand people that drag him for this. There were a lot of Beauty and the Beast memes and a lot of stuff. I mean, hey, don't be jealous. You know, we get it. She's young. She's very attractive. She's an attractive lady. She is. So maybe when Bill isn't that, maybe just settle down a little bit, where it's like, do what Brad Pitt did in a lot of movies, where apparently, behind the scenes, Brad Pitt was very self-conscious about how attractive people found him to be.

So he did a lot of movies where he uglified himself, where it's like, I've got things on my face and stuff like that, because I'm a character actor, and I'm not just a guy who's a hunk with good looks. We need kind of the reverse of that with Jordan, where we know that she's attractive, but maybe not flaunting it so much as to where Bill gets completely dunked on and clowned any time that they're standing next to each other. I mean, if I'm in his shoes, I don't know what to tell you.

Bill. I don't know what to tell you. We're on to Cincinnati. Yeah, that.

We're on to Cincinnati. Has anyone ever asked him about her? I don't think so. Asked what? How'd you guys meet? That is a good question.

What's that relationship like? That is a good question. What do you guys have in common? You know, simple.

And I got a feeling I know Bill's answer if you ask any of those questions. We're on to Cincinnati. I mean, they seem happy. Yeah. Yeah, the decision for Bill to wear all of his Super Bowl rings. He's like, I don't got room for one. You know, you could wear one of these, Jordan. By the way, that was not a Super Bowl ring. That she was wearing? No, that was a cheerleading championship ring.

She clarified that. So Bill was wearing all his Super Bowl rings. He was, on multiple hands. He's got eight. Why? Why not? Because he's got them. Why not?

It's because you're out in public. You don't need that much jewelry on. That's why not. It seems impractical. That's why not. I don't think the NFL honors is meant to be practical. I think he does that every day.

It's like a one-time occasion. Josh Allen won the MVP last night. Why is this a controversy? Well, Lamar Jackson won the offensive player of the year. He's won two other times. Settle down. It's okay for somebody else to win it.

My problem is... People are treating this like some grand conspiracy. We had to learn who all the voters are. And then the votes are revealed. It's 27 first place votes for Allen. 23 for Lamar Jackson. My problem is, you had the Dan Orlovskys of the world and others who voted for Allen. And then they're trying to justify it statistically.

When... Guys, we know why this happened. Lamar won it twice. Josh Allen hasn't won it before. It was close.

We give it to him. I'd honestly have more respect if somebody just said that out loud. Because that might sound nefarious or against the rules or whatever. But it's not saying under no circumstances could Lamar not win a third MVP award against somebody who had never won before. It's saying it was close.

And because it was close, I'm taking the team with the better record and the guy who hasn't won before. That's not so wrong to say. In fact, it's honest.

And I wish somebody would have had the courage to say that out loud today and try to stand behind it rather than worry about what the mob on social media might say if you do. I'm ten toes down. Speaking of North Carolina Pit, iTunes Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Anchor, you can listen to WSJS whenever you want.

On our website WSJS.com just click the Listen Live tab. We're going to be carrying Super Bowl 59 Sunday. We're going to be carrying Duke Clemson tomorrow.

It is the first Super Bowl that you can bet on legally in the state of North Carolina. So we need somebody who's in high demand to join us now and that is Arielle Epstein with a new venture. She is the prop queen so naturally if you want her props on NBA or NFL this weekend. And of course she loves her baseball. That's coming up before you know it. In fact, one week from today Pitchers Catchers Report. No big deal.

Thepropqueen.com is where you go, Arielle Epstein. It's good to have you here. Give me a sense. How long did it take you to pour over all the possibilities all the props that are available for this one game.

Oh my gosh Josh. Well first off Happy Super Bowl Friday. It takes time. A lot of time a lot of effort. I've still been going through the card. I started looking last Monday, the day after the championship games. Wanted to see where some of the lines were. Like for example I know I love Dallas-Goddard over 48 and a half receiving yards. But that number went up to like 53 and a half just a few days after it opened.

That's because the Chiefs have been terrible all year against the Dents. But anyway, so I started looking last Monday and then I said you know when I launched this website thepropqueen.com which I just launched on Sunday night, Monday morning. I want to be able to tell people how the lines moved for the two weeks that the sports books had to get sharp action.

To get public action. The lines moved so much in the props market. It's the most bet on prop game in sports. So that's kind of what I've been doing Josh is monitoring these lines and then when I see a line move in a certain way that makes me think I start thinking oh okay maybe that.

I don't know. I might like that. And then I have so many friends who find these unique markets that of course are about like it depends on where you live if you could bet those markets. But there are very unique markets that only the Super Bowl provides. So with that in mind before we get to your picks for Super Bowl 59 I'll give an example of something I've seen moved. I was looking at Patrick Mahomes' rushing props and I see that there's over five and a half and obviously that counts kneel downs if you like Kansas City to win then that probably feels pretty good especially if he's taking those knees and it's not Philadelphia with the ball in a close game how the game finishes out. But his longest rush prop moved from 11 and a half to 13 and a half last I saw it. So which Mahomes rushing prop would you like better between those two. Longest rush for sure Josh because the longest rush first off like you said it's been on the rise for the last two Super Bowls Mahomes has actually rushed for at least 22 yards on a carry.

He had 13 I think like three or four Super Bowls ago so he's hit 13 or more in three of the last four Super Bowls he's been in. Now I like to warn people about the rushing yards for quarterbacks especially someone like Mahomes whose rushing yards last between 10 and 20. A fun story this actually worked out for me the Niners chief Super Bowl the first time around recently. 31-20 Mahomes I had the under on his rushing yards in that Super Bowl. He went over that rushing yards prop and I thought I was dead thought it lost nothing. That was the Super Bowl the Chiefs won against the Niners where Mahomes kept taking knees on and on and on in the end of the fourth quarter and guess who hits her under rushing yards me and guess who lost everyone who took the over.

So again Jaylen Hurts is somebody that is like a Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen they usually can run enough in a game that kneel downs shouldn't kill you but you'd be surprised. So just be careful about Super Bowl kneel downs hurting your rushing yards so longest rush at least all you need is one good one and with that front seven of the Eagles they should pressure Mahomes enough for him to have to scramble. Okay so how many props Ariel Epstein put this year thepropqueen.com and also you can find her on x at propqueensports in addition to her own handle. How many do we have? How many are we doing for Super Bowl 59? So far I have five.

I really don't like to do more than that because I just am not crazy I know people are crazy. What I like to do is I have five bets I have my most money on the Eagles money line disclaimer and then I like having a prop sheet when I I'm always the prop sheet person so I go to all the Super Bowl parties I print out a prop sheet for everybody to fill out and then we kind of go from there and have a fun day like fun things for that. So I know people love like the Super Bowl halftime show and there's odds like fake odds for Kendrick Lamar's songs and people like the National Anthem and all that stuff so yeah right now I only have five bets that I've actually placed. So I understand in theory taking the Eagles money line rather than just taking the point and a half because you just look at the history of the game the team that wins generally covers small numbers and it's good value there we understand it but why Philadelphia against Kansas City from a football perspective? The Eagles lost a few years ago to the Chiefs because their secondary was exposable.

Mahomes is going to expose that. Nothing has changed more in football this year than the Eagles secondary with Fangio and the secondary being top five in football so they cleaned up exactly what they needed to to get better. The Eagles also have the best running back in football Saquon Barkley. Barkley can run the clock and against that Chiefs defense look at the run D against James Cook in the bills.

85 rushing yards two rushing touchdowns. If Cook can do that against the Chiefs my hunch the Eagles don't run right away against the Chiefs but then they will in the second half. They'll start to I actually saw Saquon's not only rushing yards prop drop overall but it dropped in the first quarter it was 27 and a half and it dropped to 24 and a half. Tells me that the Eagles are going to try to wear down the Chiefs defense to a point that once they get Saquon going in the second half they'll really run down the Chiefs defense it's a smart game plan. So I just see the Eagles being able to dominate time of possession and be able to stop Patrick Mahomes with a strong front seven and a strong secondary.

It's all you can ask for. Better defenses win championships every time Josh and the Eagles have the better defense this year. Eagles money line first pick what's the next pick for Ariel Epstein?

Oh goodness. Okay so we could go with an interesting prop. So I like the field goal prop of the Chiefs having a longer kick than the Eagles or you could have like Harrison Bucker over Jake Elliott for longest field goal. Bucker is trust by Andy Reid. I know he hasn't had a 50 plus yarder since September but he's been hurt most of the year. The Eagles know that they have to score touchdowns in order for them to win this game. They're going to go for it with their the tush push on fourth and short instead of going for a field goal and I don't really get the feeling that Jake Elliott's very trusted by his head coach Nick Sirianni. We haven't seen Elliott really kick that far. I think we haven't seen him. He had 44 against the Rams 32 against Green Bay 31 against Dallas.

December 22nd he hit a 50 yarder against the commanders. He just hasn't been as accurate Elliott. I would rather trust the Chiefs to throw Harrison Bucker on the field because the Chiefs also could get a little confident like we've been here like we don't like we'll just we'll kick the field goal we'll take the points and give the ball to the Eagles and try to stop them like that's how I see the Chiefs playing it out whereas the Eagles can definitely go for it on fourth and short so give it to Bucker for the longer field goal.

This is why I'm a huge fan of her because I love that logic. I knew you would. Longer field goal for Harrison Bucker Panthers legend Harrison Bucker drafted and then let go because of Graham Gennell. Then Jake Elliott okay third of five what do we got so I like for Nick Bolton to go over his eight and a half total tackles the linebacker for the Chiefs led the way in tackling this regular season the last couple of post seasons he's had really good performances which is why it's a little shocking he hasn't had a great performance yet this playoff so Bolton two years ago had at least nine total tackles in two of the three playoff games including the Super Bowl last year he averaged 10 total tackles in the playoffs and 13 against the Niners in the Super Bowl. Nick Bolton over eight and a half total tackles is in plus money I got a plus 116 I think it's very good value for the best tackler on the Chiefs especially when you have to go up against Saquon Barkley linebackers always tend to leave the way. I hope you're getting this all down W.D. it's the notes are there Nick Bolton over on tackles okay we got two more to go what else if you want to bet Saquon Barkley the best way to do it take Saquon anytime touchdown parlay it with Eagles money line do not bet his rushing yards it's dropped from 112 and a half to 109 and a half all his props have been dropping it's too many too many it's too many yards but anytime touchdown you'd have to imagine the best offensive player in football this year offensive player of the year he's going to score a touchdown for the Eagles to win I know they have the tush push but Hertz has been hurt he's had a left knee injury since the game against the Rams so maybe they don't install the tush push as and maybe they do but maybe it's once Saquon's got to get touches inside the red zone for the Eagles to win you'd have to imagine it's correlated so you could get this probably at plus 170 now it used to be plus 210 plus 200 a week ago so plus 170 plus 180 range is great for Saquon anytime touchdown parlayed with an Eagles win W.D. was asking me he's like all the Saquon odds are not good and if you like the Eagles with Saquon that's a good parlay there one more on the way out so we got a linebacker over prop we got a kicking prop what else do we got Ariel Epstein the last one I mentioned this a little earlier you could go for the Eagles tight end Dallas Goddard over his longest reception of 18 and a half yards the number is gone on 48 and a half I've seen it 50 I've even seen it come back down to 49 and a half I'm just going to stay away because I don't like that it went up and it went back down so we're going longest reception the Chiefs have been the worst defense in football this year against tight ends pretty much since they're by I have watched tight ends hit this prop and hit their over on receiving yards nearly every week it's been very profitable I've been betting it every week and I've bet it every week at the playoffs and it's been hitting against teams that are bottom 10 in yards allowed to get tight ends you're seeing Goddard average just under 25 yards per longest catch in those games so this being 18 and a half is a bit too low for me I'm going with the over on his longest catch you're a rock star that's why I know it's going to work the prop queen.com and we'll have to have you on sometime soon soon with baseball getting ready to start I'm sure that'll be something you're going to have to commiserate with my dad and my brother about how your Orioles did nothing yeah WD well I wouldn't say they got orange unis that's cool they brought that back you know Tyler O'Neill we like Tyler O'Neill I guess and okay it's fine WD is a Yankee fan you're the only other Yankee fan I allow on this show that's it I'm honored yeah Ariel Epstein good luck this weekend and thank you so much for sharing your insight we appreciate it thanks Josh good luck this weekend