How Old Is OLD? (Hour 2)

We've all taken bad photos.

Everyone knows a photo that they've been in that's just like a horrifying photo where you look miserable and you probably don't look as bad in person as you appear in a photo. I just saw Aaron Rodgers on a practice field for the first time in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform. He looks horrible. He looks like he's the great gazoo with this helmet on, and he's wearing a white Steelers jersey with these just awful looking yellow sleeves. But Aaron Rodgers, and he's 41, but Aaron Rodgers looks old.

And don't get me wrong, Aaron Rodgers is in incredible shape. But how do you determine, and this could be different for everybody, what's something you realize when someone is old? When you look at someone, what is something that you kind of define, wow, that person could be really old if you're looking at a body part of them?

I mean either gray hair or wrinkles. Okay, you're onto something. Stu? Those are my two, yes.

Okay. It's usually the arms of a person, but you see the wrinkly arms and then from their arms even up to their biceps and things like that. And I'm looking at this photo and his hands too. Aaron Rodgers just from, if I just saw a photo of Rodgers' hands and his arms and his biceps in this photo, don't get me wrong, the dude's in tremendous shape. But he's got some old looking skin there. And I get it, he's 41, he turns 42 in December, and he's in shape that we would all love to be in. But I look at Aaron Rodgers right now, and Aaron Rodgers looks like he's showing up to play in a charity football game for old people.

That's what it is. So is this going to go well in Pittsburgh this year? Could they win their eight, nine games?

Yeah, sure. Ten games maybe, yeah. I think they're a fringe playoff team, but Rodgers looks as if he should retire from the NFL. So that's just the first thought that I had of Aaron Rodgers in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform. He didn't look old in a Jets uniform. Even at the end in Green Bay, he didn't look old.

Now Aaron Rodgers, maybe it's the ayahuasca, who knows, but Aaron Rodgers, he now looks old. And that's what I observed from seeing that one photo, which could just be a bad photo. You know, he's moving, so it could be a bad angle, right? The camera could have been snapped at the wrong time.

We've all been there, I've been there, it happens, right? And I'm not the beacon of good health, and I'm not the beacon of looking great. But Aaron Rodgers looks old. Looks old. A lot older than the last time we saw him. Alright, it's Zach Gelb showing the Infinity Sports Network.

We'll get to a little overreaction, proper reaction in just a second. But my man, backwards Brian, is on the line right now. 8-8, 7-10 for ISN.

8-8, 7-10, 44-76. I met Brian. He drove up with Moist Pork and Chris.

He drove up from North Carolina to Baltimore, linked up with Chris and Moist Pork, and then drove all the way to Babylon, I believe, is where the Marash clan is, and ended up going to Bob's Bar, and he tried wings with blue cheese. He'd never had blue cheese before in his life, he doesn't have much of a blue cheese aficionado I am, and he tried blue cheese in front of me, and it was one of the greatest things I've ever seen. Brian, great to see you again, or great to talk to you again. How you been, my friend?

I'm alright, thank you. So, quick backstory. The reason why I never liked blue cheese so much is because my dad would always put it on his salad, and I just thought it stunk. Maybe as a kid it left me scarred. I don't know. So my question for you is, if I was to try to appreciate it more, if I was to go to the grocery store, which brand should I buy? I can't get the good stuff like we had on Sunday.

You know, that's a great question, and you would think I should know. I have never went brand-oriented with blue cheese. It's never crossed my mind. Any time I've ever had wings, I just always get whatever blue cheese that they have, and that's the blue cheese that I end up eating and enjoying. I've never had a blue cheese, Brian, where I said to myself, on my wings. I'm not big, unless if it's—blue cheese dressing I do not like in salad, but if you cut up blue cheese, I do think it's good. But in terms of wings, whatever they put in that cup and they say it's blue cheese, that's what I end up liking with wings.

Okay, well, if you do a little research and you give me your suggestion, I will take that as gospel. But I'm glad to know that you said you do like those wings, and you improve on the pizza. We had an amazing pizza, Pizza North Carolina. I've never had pizza that good.

Yeah, no, that pizza was good, and I appreciate it, Brian, and good to finally meet you, and thanks for the phone call. See, it's so funny, when you get people that don't live in New York, the pizza that was brought to Bob's Bar was good pizza. It wasn't great pizza.

It was good. But if you get good New York pizza, especially a Long Island pizza too, to out-of-towners, they think it's the greatest thing in the world. But they had a buffalo chicken slice that was very good. They also had pepperoni, they had cheese, they had sausage. It was good pizza. But is it a top five or ten pizza that I've ever had?

Obviously not. But it's always funny when you get people that aren't from New York, and they get any type of New York pizza, they're like, oh, my God, this is the greatest stuff ever. I will say, though, I did feel I did a very nice thing. Our buddy Chris, who was listening, probably had a few too many, for being honest. He was enjoying himself.

We all enjoyed ourselves. And Chris was pouring blue cheese onto the buffalo chicken pizza. I don't know why. And I'm a blue cheese aficionado. Just blue cheese for wings for me is what I like. When I have a buffalo chicken slice, I'm not looking to just devour that slice of pizza with blue cheese. But I'm sitting next to Chris, and he's talking about how much he likes the show, right, and all that.

And we're having a good conversation. And I see him eating this buffalo chicken slice. And this slice is marinated in blue cheese at this point. And the blue cheese starts falling off the pizza. And he's wearing flip flops. And the blue cheese is just falling on his ankle and is dripping down onto his foot. And he was still eating the pizza and he still had the conversation. He knew he had blue cheese there. And I go, you know what, Chris? I'm going to give you some napkins.

Here you go. And I was giving the listeners napkins left and right. Even Brian, when he tried the blue cheese, Brian has a big beard.

The blue cheese and the pizza and the sauce and the pizza and then the wings. It was all over his beard. I go, Brian, you need a napkin. So I was basically handing out napkins as if it was a charitable duty at Bob's Bar. I was the hygiene to Bob's Bar, which is a scary, scary, scary thought. No, but it was a great time. Definitely was.

I'll tell you, you know, it looks a little bit like Aaron Rodgers? Badlands Booker? No, no.

Badlands Booker, though, is a legend. He chugged a strawberry Fanta. It was two liters or something like that in a snap of a finger. And then I was instigating. I go, because last time he belched him, whereas his face.

So I go, oh, let's run it back. Belching, whereas his face. And he belched him, whereas his face again. And it was a horrifying belch that morass almost threw up.

And you just see this photo that was taken by this guy, Sean, is a great listener to the show, big Clemson fan. And Sean was so disgusted by the belch, he started to spit. And this like long drooling spit just fell out of morass's mouth. And I kid you not, this must have been 13, 13 feet, 14 or 15 inches of just spit. And it was caught on camera. It was the largest loogie that I've ever seen someone hawk from one Sean Morash.

It was actually impressive. But anyway, this guy, Sean, who was taking great photos and we took a photo together and all that stuff. He looks a little bit like Aaron Rodgers. He looks like now this guy is jacked, like in shape, blah, blah, blah. He a powerlifter.

He looks a little Zen version of Aaron Rodgers. And I've had a few people point that out to me on social media. Alrighty. Anyway, let's get to a little overreaction, proper reaction. We get to that right now. Another football week is complete, which means it's another week to freak out about your favorite team. Which takes are truly crazy. But sometimes a game can be so bad, it's almost good. You know what I'm saying? No.

And which are so crazy, they might be right. He's 6'5", he's 245 pounds. He's probably a Popeye's biscuit away from being a tight end. Zack lets you know in this week's edition of Overreaction or Proper Reaction. A lot of tweets coming in, Brian, if you're still listening on the blue cheese. Loudat31, Rudy's blue cheese out of Buffalo is the greatest blue cheese known to man.

Mr. Brightside, the killers, you think? He says, Zack, the best blue cheese is Neil Yard Stilton. Get at Whole Foods just blocks from where you are now. So there you go. I should have a blue cheese endorsement deal.

It's kind of pathetic that I don't. Alrighty, Stu, what do we got cooking? Alright, so as mandatory minicamps begin around the league, three top defensive ends are looking for new deals. In Pittsburgh, TJ Watt has chosen not to show up, as has Trey Hendrickson in Cincinnati. Though Micah Parsons has arrived at Cowboys minicamp.

Overreaction or Proper Reaction, Micah Parsons should get a deal before Watt and Hendrickson. So Trey Hendrickson is 30 years old and TJ Watt I believe is 30 years old as well. And you look at Micah Parsons, he's a lot younger because he's been in the league for a shorter period of time.

He's 26. So this is not me saying that Micah Parsons is definitely the better player over TJ Watt because he's not. Or that he's better than Trey Hendrickson, right?

I'm not putting in pecking order on who's the best player. But I can maybe understand a little bit of the skepticism by the Bengals and the Steelers, even though I would give those guys new deals. But I look at Micah Parsons, he's 26. Dak Prescott got taken care of, C.D.

Lambs got taken care of. And also we'll get to Brian Schottenheimer later, basically guarantee that this thing was gonna be getting done over a TikTok trend, which there's more on that later. But Micah should get a deal before Watt and Hendrickson because of the age of Micah being younger? Absolutely. So I think there's less to kind of disagree here with. It should be a four or five year deal.

We know what the money is. That to me is a proper reaction, especially when he's 26. Now another camp no-show is Commander Star receiver Terry McLaurin, who is entering the final year of his deal. Now, Scary Terry is coming off of his fifth straight 1000 yard season, making a second Pro Bowl and second team All-Pro. Overreaction or proper reaction, McLaurin is a top 10 receiver in the NFL. So my gut first thought would say, yes, he is. But you could think that.

And then you put the names on the sheet and I'm like, oh, I don't know. So let's do that. Buffalo doesn't have a top 10 wide receiver right now. Miami. Would I rather have Tyree kill or Terry McLaurin, even though Tyree kill is a jackass? I'd rather have Tyree kill. Garrett Wilson or Terry McLaurin? Right now, I'd rather have Terry McLaurin, even though I think Garrett Wilson has a higher ceiling. Stefan Diggs or Terry McLaurin? I clearly rather have Terry McLaurin. The Ravens.

Hollywood. No, who's the who's the no, that's not Hoover Brown. Who's the guy that they just drafted a few years ago?

I'm a blanket on the same. Zay Flowers. Zay Flowers is what I was thinking of. Daniel Hopkins is there, too. Yeah, none of those guys I'd rather have over Terry McLaurin. DK Metcalf or Terry McLaurin? I think I'd slightly rather have DK Metcalf. Um, Jamar Chase or Terry McLaurin?

I'd rather have Jamar Chase. And let's just go number ones for now. Just number ones. Okay, I mean, he can still count. Yeah, but he's not number one.

I'm just trying to do this just for the sake of the exercise. Cleveland. No, I'd rather have Terry McLaurin over Jerry Jeudy. Nico Collins or Terry McLaurin? I'd rather have Nico Collins. Michael Pittman or Terry McLaurin? I'd rather have Terry McLaurin.

Jaguars. Brian Thomas Jr. or Terry McLaurin? It's only one year before Brian Thomas Jr. is an Elite. I'd rather have him. Tennessee.

You can forget about it. Calvin Ridley or Terry McLaurin? I'd rather have Terry McLaurin. Chiefs.

No true number one wide receiver. Chargers. Lad McConkie or Terry McLaurin?

I'd rather have Terry McLaurin. Broncos. No one there. Raiders.

No one there. Eagles. A.J. Brown. Cowboys. C.D. Lamb. Giants.

I'd rather have my late neighbors. Almond Ross, St. Brown. Rather have Almond Ross, St. Brown. Justin Jefferson. Rather have Justin Jefferson. Terry McLaurin would be the number one on the Packers.

Bears. D.J. Moore or Terry McLaurin? Splitting hairs. I think you're splitting hairs there. I'd rather have Mike Evans than Terry McLaurin.

I'm at 11 right now. So I'd rather have Terry McLaurin. Or Drake London even? I'd rather have Terry McLaurin over Drake. I'm a big Drake London fan but I'd rather have him. So the point I'm getting at is that Terry McLaurin is a phenomenal wide receiver. And he's someone that's easy to root for. But I just named 11 or 12 guys and even if you disagree with two of them.

Right? We didn't even get through the entire league yet. It shows you how deep we are at the wide receiver position. So overreaction, proper reaction. McLaurin is the top 10 receiver in the NFL.

I think most people say to do what I just did. Yeah he is but then when you actually get to the list you go, Oh it's not a slight on him but there's 10 guys in the league that are better. So I would go overreaction on that one. Alright Kirk Cousins showed up at Falcons minicamp. Despite the team turning to Michael Penix Jr. this season. Now barring a Penix injury the 37 year old Cousins will make nearly $28 million this year to sit on the bench. Overreaction or proper reaction Kirk Cousins will be on a different team by the end of the year. Yeah I think something at some point will lead to him being on a new team. So I will go proper reaction on that that Cousins will be on a different team by the end of the year.

I believe so. The Jaguars are in limbo right now despite adding Travis Hunter in the draft. And all eyes are on Trevor Lawrence.

Now the former number one overall pick is in the second year of his massive five year $275 million extension. But was seen wearing a sleeve on his throwing arm at camp already due to quote, General soreness, overreaction or proper reaction Trevor Lawrence is facing the most pressure of any AFC quarterback this year. So there's pressure on Joe Burrow, there's pressure on Josh Allen, there's pressure on Lamar Jackson to go into Super Bowl. But those guys are going to be starting for their team next year because they're three of the top five quarterbacks or three of the top four quarterbacks in the NFL.

So I'm going to exclude those guys. You can determine pressure in different ways. There's pressure on Justin Fields, right? There is pressure on Aaron Rodgers. There's pressure on whoever gets a starting job at the Cleveland Browns. There's pressure on Tua Tonga by Loa. There's pressure on Anthony Richardson. But there's not a great belief in Anthony Richardson.

You know what? There's also a lot of pressure on Justin Herbert. It's it's either Herbert or Lawrence.

That's what it is. And I think more highly of Herbert than Lawrence. So now it's another new coach there. Yeah, I'm going to say that that Lawrence is facing the most pressure of any AFC quarterback this year. I think that's a proper reaction. Now, we are still a few months away from most of the fantasy football drafts that will be going on. But ESPN fantasy expert Mike Clay released his top 50 players list. Leading the way is Jamar Chase, the number one, followed by Bijan Robinson, Justin Jefferson, Saquon Barkley and Jameer Gibbs rounding out the top five. Overreaction, a proper reaction. If you had the number one pick in your draft, you would take Jamar Chase.

I actually think that's a proper reaction. And it shows you how much of a passing league that it is right now that you wouldn't go running back in a fantasy football draft. McCaffrey, injury concern. Saquon, is he going to be as good as he was last year? Derrick Henry we know is a force. You mentioned Bijan Robinson, Jameer Gibbs as well.

Definitely a possibility. Here's what I know with the Cincinnati Bengals. They're going to throw, throw, throw, throw, throw. They're going to score, score, score, score, score. And they're going to have a lot of high-octane offensive games because the defense isn't going to be able to catch up.

So I actually think that's a proper reaction. CBS Sports released a list ranking the 25 most dynamic college football players since 2000. And to no surprise, Reggie Bush was first. However, the rest of the top five could be questioned with number two being Cam Newton, number three Johnny Manziel, number four Lamar Jackson, number five Vince Young, and number six Travis Hunter.

Overreaction or proper reaction, two-way star Travis Hunter should be higher on the list. So Reggie Bush is clearly number one. Cam being two, Heisman National Championship no problem. Johnny Manziel has a Heisman, but he played in the SEC. No offense to Colorado and Travis Hunter, but that's the Big 12. Lamar Jackson, I saw him in person in college. He was filthy.

Filthy. And I got no problem with Vince Young, played in one of the most memorable games of all time and won a national championship. I'm good with Travis Hunter at six.

I am. Travis Hunter is a star. I thought that Ashton Jenti should have won the Heisman Trophy over Travis Hunter, but Travis Hunter did win the Heisman Trophy. I think you're splitting hairs there.

And what he did was so ridiculous. But I can't crush this list. I think him being at six is fair. It's appropriate.

So when you ask me two-way star, Hunter should be higher on this list. I'll go overreaction there. The one thing I will say, though, of those six, only one of them did not win a Heisman, and that's Vince Young. Yeah, but Vince Young also won a national championship. This is true. And Vince Young played in maybe the most memorable college football game of all time up against USC.

When USC was USC, with Leonard and Reggie Bush, not what USC has become with stinking Lincoln Riley. All right, we continue, though. All right.

Last one now. Travis Hunter's former coach at Colorado, Coach Prime, has been noticeably absent from the from the Boulder campus as the school's annual summer camps get underway. But it turns out Dion is dealing with another health issue, and his son, Dion Sanders Jr., says Prime is, quote, feeling well.

Now, we all remember Dion losing two toes after blood clots and also missing Pac-12 media days in 2023 with more blood clot issues. Overreaction or proper reaction, Coach Prime will retire from coaching in the next five years. So we don't really know what's going on and well wishes to Coach Prime. So it's kind of an uncomfortable conversation to speculate on how much longer he's going to coach.

Even before knowing this health stuff, I would have said that this is a proper reaction. I don't know how long he's going to this. I do think there's some fulfillment out there for him to do it without Chidor and without Travis Hunter. And he has that run here. Do I think Coach Prime, though, is going to continue to, I hope he does, but he's going to coach five more years? I think that's a lot. I do.

So he'll retire from coaching in the next five years. I would have said that before this news today, and it's ambiguous, nothing with the best to Coach Prime, but I would say proper reaction. All right. This is Zach Gelb's show right here on the Infinity Sports Network.

All right. This is Zach Gelb's show on the Infinity Sports Network. Hey, Stu, are you familiar up until this Micah Parsons video went viral of the I'm just calling to say good night TikTok trend? Yes, I have seen.

I've seen a bunch of these videos the past week or so. Samter? Now, Stu, are you thirty-three, Stu? Thirty-three, yes. Thirty-three?

Samter, you are? Seventy-three. No, no, no, no, no, no. You told me your age recently. Forty-eight?

Not quite, but not far off. Forty-five. Forty-five. I was going to say I didn't think you were forty-eight. For some reason, I don't know why I thought you said that your fiftieth birthday. You were talking of like a milestone birthdays. Maybe it was with my buddy, David Immerman, who plays guitar for Avril Lavigne, and we were talking about milestone birthdays and how we could get you a gift or something like that.

Maybe that's why I thought. I always thought that you were younger than what your age is. My forty-fifth was in March, right after the Super Bowl, so it's possible we were talking about forty-five being a milestone and me saying I never thought forty-five was a milestone. No, fifty would be a milestone.

Usually by increments of five. Once you get past twenty-one, then I usually think the next milestone birthday is thirty, and then afterwards it's okay you go by fives then. Not that thirty-five is a major milestone, but kind of some recognition in forty is the major, major milestone. Then forty-five is like, okay, nice little recognition. Fifty, another major, major milestone. Fifty-five, all right, nice, double nickels, okay, okay, good, good, good. And then sixty, all right, major milestone.

So that's how it kind of goes. So maybe that was all forty-five and I was like, that's not enough of a milestone. We'll wait to see if we're still talking when we're fifty. And what's the age, not to get too sidetracked, but what's the age where you're officially old? Is fifty old or you middle-aged? Is sixty officially old? What's the official number of old?

I don't know. That's a great question, because you are older. I wouldn't call you old. I don't look at you, Santer, and go, ugh, he's old. Like Tiki just turned fifty. He's not old.

No, Tiki also looks like he could still play in the NFL. Would it be sixty-five? If you're at sixty-five, then that's the, you're moving, isn't that senior citizen territory, right? You turn sixty-five, you technically become a senior citizen. Now there's a lot of people that are sixty-five that look young. You know what? Let's ask the eldest statesman on the show.

And that is the act man, Rich Ackerman. How old are you, Ack? You're calling me old again? I'm not telling you how old I am. Well, you're the oldest person on the show. You're not forty-eight, right?

No. Oh, forty-five. How old are you again, Santer? Sorry, now maybe I'm old.

My memory's going. I'm forty-five. Yeah, you are not forty-five. I'm older than that, yeah. You're fifty-five, Ack?

A little more. Sixty. No. I was going to say, I didn't think you were sixty.

You said a little more than that. Fifty-eight. No. Fifty-seven. Close. Fifty-six.

Yeah, getting there, almost fifty-seven. Okay. So, I wouldn't say that Ack is, you're older. I wouldn't call you old. What is the age to you when you were old?

You know, Jody McDonald once told me this, and this is what I've gone by. You're not old until, as long as there's somebody still playing professional sports that's older than you. Oh, wow. So, Jeff Feagles was the guy that made me old.

Okay. He retired, I think he was forty-four. Gotcha. So, like, if you were like a Chris Chelios guy who played until he was forty-seven, or Julio Franco, you're in good shape. Forty-eight, right, with Julio.

Yeah. Nolan Ryan was also another guy. So, Jeff Feagles, the guy that made me old. Now, I love Jody McDonald, so maybe I was going to say sixty-five is officially old. Now, you said Jody McDonald, I do think old, but Jody, I just looked at Wikipedia, he's only sixty-three. Yes.

So, maybe he's not old. No. Yeah.

But Jody was the one who told me, you're not old as long as there's still somebody playing professional sports older than you. Okay. Not good news for Samter.

Yeah. Well, we've got to figure, Rich Hill, how old? Jake Mountain.

Rich Hill keeps signing contracts. So, Samter, let me ask you a question. Were you familiar with this, I'm just calling this Say Goodnight trend before you saw it with Micah Parsons?

Say it again. So, you were not? Were you familiar with the I'm just before the Micah Parsons trend? No, I was just reading up about the oldest active professional athlete, it looks like Yarmir Yager hasn't officially retired, he's fifty-three. That doesn't count. That doesn't count.

That's a good one. I'm not old yet, Yager. He has not played in the NHL in a long, long time.

I don't want to hear about all these other leagues and everything. How about Kelly Slater surfing, fifty-three years old? Eh, is that really? Rich Hill is forty-five, so.

Oh, forty-five. Okay, so you got hope. You got hope, Samter. Eh.

You got hope. But yes, I did know of the trend. Okay. Hence why I love this video, Micah.

Do you have any idea what happened with Micah Parsons recently? No, I don't. If I called you back at night and just called you out of the blue and said, hey, I'm just calling to say goodnight, would you think anything of it? Be out of character? I would be like, why? Why are you doing? Why? What do you want? Leave me alone.

All right. So it is a TikTok trend. That's what it is, where, right, pretty much girls want their boyfriends to call and call their guy friends and say, hey, I'm calling to just say goodnight. So the NFL has kind of taken this by storm, and this is what happened when Micah Parsons was doing this TikTok trend that clearly Brian Schottenheimer had no clue about.

This is how it sounded on Micah Parsons' Twitter. What up, buddy? What up, coach?

What you doing, man? You all right? Yeah, I just wanted to say goodnight.

Okay. I love that, bro. What's going on? You all good? Hell yeah. You know, I mean, I just feel like, you know, as a player or coach, just checking in on you, mental, say goodnight, hope fans will see you one day, you know, excited for next week.

Just a goodnight. Well, good, man. Hey, look, hey, look, I know this is weird for everybody, man, but look, you're handling everything the right way, bro, and this thing's going to get worked out. And again, I'm just I'm thrilled to see where we take this thing, man.

We're building something special and you're going to be a huge part of it, bro. Yeah, man. Hell yeah. Hell yeah, Sean.

Take a shot at it for me when you got a chance, man. Hey, I'm drinking a shotty right now, man. Get ready, get ready, get ready. Turn it into the night, brother. Hell yeah. Hey, I appreciate the call, man, for real. And I look forward to seeing you Monday, and it's going to be a great week.

Hell yeah. If I'm Brian Schonheimer, I'd actually be annoyed. This is a TikTok trend, you know, Cowboys fans probably have to take a few shottys during this season, if we're being honest. But here you have a coach trying to reassure his player that everything's going to be fine.

It's like a nice, sweet moment. But you basically just tip the Cowboys hand and now the whole world knows it. Now, we all know that this deals eventually to get done with Michael Parsons just shows you the jackassery and the drama that the Cowboys like to to put us all through. Whereas Jerry doesn't want to get this deal done yet because he wants to just suck the entire drama out of this story and just keep on having it go and go and go and go and go and go until the drama just doesn't stop.

And then eventually they have to give him a new contract. But geez, you have a nice, sweet little TikTok trend. And Brian Schonheimer, it would almost be as if I called Ack and I said, hey, I'm just calling to say good night. And Ack would be like, oh, that's a real nice of you. That's right, keep my phone on Do Not Disturb. And here's Brian Schonheimer just thinking his players be nice. And it's all for a social media trend.

The Cowboys, the gift that keeps on giving. Alrighty, Michael Rubens in the building. You'll either be joining us next segment or at the top of the hour at 5 p.m. Eastern time.

Let's get an update in first. Here's Ack. Alrighty, and this portion of the show is brought to you by Ethos Life, the easy way to get life insurance in 10 minutes up to $2 million in coverage with no medical exam, just a few health questions. Get your free quote at checkethos.com.

Not available in all states. I'm kind of looking here for directions as I see Michael Ruben is standing to the left. Are we going to do him here? Are we going to talk to him at 5 p.m. Eastern time? Five?

Is that the dealio? Five o'clock? Alright, we'll do Michael Ruben in studio at five o'clock. He's in the building. I saw he was right there. I thought that was like the awkward moment where maybe he's going to rush in. I didn't want to toss the news brief and then have to go to Michael Ruben and then get to news brief later.

So sometimes, you know, I'm like, just pay demanding on this show. Omaha! Alright, let's get to a news brief. Extra, extra real about it!

Extra, extra real about it! Time for your daily news brief. We get you caught up on the rumors, reports, and reconnaissance from the day in sports. Alright, let's hear from Dan Morgan. He was on the Rich Eisen Show right here on the Infinity Sports Network, and this was Dan Morgan on benching Bryce Young last year. I thought that was a great move by him and, you know, it's what was best for the organization. And, you know, Bryce, you know, he took it running. It gave him a chance to sit back, watch Andy Dalton out there in the huddle, run the huddle, and just take a step back and just, you know, take a deep breath, relax a little bit, and just kind of gather his thoughts. Because we knew he was going to come back at some point, and we knew he was going to play good. So I knew that this wasn't going to keep him down for long.

You know, it's kind of funny. We're in a world where it's either all or nothing. And after year one, it was Bryce, Bryce Young's a zero. Then last year, oh, he's back.

But he played better. Is he worthy of a number one pick? That's still to be determined. Is he going to be someone that could be a franchise quarterback in this league?

That's still to be determined. It was nice. It was good. It was a feel-good story seeing him the way that he played down the stretch, especially because when he got benched, I thought that was it for him. But this is an enormous year for Bryce Young. And he's kind of flown under the radar this offseason just because of the fact that he played well at the end of the season.

I got to see more from Bryce Young, and we got to see him do it for a full season. Here is Adam Schefter. Adam Schefter makes it clear on the ESPN that Aaron Rodgers wasn't the Steelers' first option at the quarterback position. This was the third option for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were in on Matthew Stafford and couldn't get done a trade. They tried to re-sign Justin Fields. He opted to go to the New York Jets where he will meet Aaron Rodgers on opening day. And after they couldn't get a trade done for Stafford and couldn't get Fields re-signed, they pivoted to Aaron Rodgers.

So Aaron Rodgers right now was their third choice, their best choice right now, but their third choice. Matthew Stafford or Aaron Rodgers? Stu, who would you rather have this season? Matthew Stafford. Samter? Stafford.

Alrighty. Justin Fields or Aaron Rodgers? Who would you rather have for this season? I would rather have Aaron Rodgers.

Samter? Fields, 100 percent. Why? Because I've seen what Aaron Rodgers does to a franchise, and like we've said multiple times, he's not the guy he used to be, and so I'd rather have at least a young guy with a potential ceiling who's not going to be a locker room monster and a franchise culture killer. I'd rather have Justin Fields see what he can do, and if he sucks, then you move on the next year. So there's some I agree with you, some I disagree with you, Samter, but I will actually say that I'd rather have Justin Fields over Aaron Rodgers, and it has nothing to do with me thinking that Justin Fields is the better quarterback. It's because what you said, he's younger, and if I'm the Steelers, would you rather go to the well with Aaron Rodgers this year, where it's one year and that's it, or you go to the well with Justin Fields, where Justin Fields still has to prove it. Justin Fields still needs to show you that he can be a quarterback in this league, but if it's a one-year experiment, do I think the win total is that much different with Aaron Rodgers or Justin Fields this year?

No, I don't. That's why I'd rather try to go with the younger quarterback. Here is Mark Murphy on the Packers releasing Jair Alexander. Well, first of all, he's been a great player for us. Obviously elite talent, and unfortunately just injured a lot, and unfortunately that's a big part of our game.

I feel pretty good, and the reality is for the last four years, Jair, it's about half of the games he's been able to play, so we've been used to it. They had to be at some golf tournament. You heard a few golf balls in the background. It sounded like those shots were going to hit pretty good, like right down the fairway, 250 yards. Some really good shots when I listened to that answer.

Some really good shoties right there. But I think this is clear. The player wasn't that healthy. The player became a little bit of a mouth content in the locker room, and they didn't think the juice was worth the squeeze anymore. Now, could he go somewhere in a one-year proven environment and have a monster year?

Absolutely. I think Jair Alexander is still a very good player. I think the Packers knew that this long-term deal wasn't getting done, so they said, we don't want this to get real nasty, so we'll just release him right now. Here is Drake May entering his second season in the National Football League. I think it's opportunity for me to take a jump from last year being a rookie, trying to come in here and earn my stripe, earn my keep through hard work. I think this year is the same approach. You've got new guys in here, new staff. You've got to get to know everybody, show them my work ethic, and then from there, as the season comes around, try to take the next step of leadership and leading the offense and hopefully leading this football team. Let's go to Amunras St. Brown. This was courtesy of part of my take on Barstool Sports. He grew up kissing his family on the lips.

Let's listen up. I kissed my dad on the lips growing up until I got to high school. But then in high school, I think a few times I kissed him on the lips, like when I graduated and I think when I committed.

A lot of people think it's weird. I kissed my mom on the lips too. I kissed my brothers on the lips when I was growing up. My dad made us do it, so we'd get in fights. And then after the fight was over, he would make us kiss each other on the lips. That's a good way to diffuse it.

You can't stay mad at somebody after you kiss them on the lips. That's awesome. It's not a thing I think in America really, but in Germany it's kind of normal. Yeah. So it was normal for me growing up. I'm going to be honest, like four or five, I don't think that is that crazy, that big of a deal.

I decided to get to seven, eight, you know, then eventually middle school. It's a little bit weird. You're telling me if your daughter, Santa, who's two and a half, like pecks you on the lips, that that's never happened before? Not like intentionally. Sometimes I'll go to kiss her on the cheek and like her face moves. Yeah, you're going to the cheek first. Yeah, but it's weird.

And like, listen, if she's like being playful and she kind of runs, sure, but like I wouldn't want it or prefer to make that your go to way to like show affection to your family is just weird. To make it the punishment, I think is hilarious. That's actually very funny.

You fight your brother, kiss him on the lips. I think that's hysterical. Still your thoughts on this situation. Yeah, to me, it's a little weird. I'm with I'm more with you, Zach. I think if it's like a baby or very young child, it's not weird. But once you get older.

Yeah, not not for me. All right. Let's go to Brian Winhorse. Brian Winhorse and the possibility of Jason Kidd and the New York Knicks on the ESPN. Yeah, the way I would describe this is there's mutual intrigue on both sides. And also, I know there's this whole thing about asking for permission. You don't ask for permission to hire another team's coach.

When you ask, you're going to hire them. So essentially, when the Knicks express interest, the ball will be in the Mavericks court. And they have three options as I see it.

One, they could just say, no, thank you very much, Jason. We'll see you in the fall. Look forward to the season.

Look forward to Cooper flag. They can try to make Jason Kidd have zero interest in the Knicks, possibly with the new contract. They did just give him an extension last year. Or they can negotiate a trade. And we have seen a handful of trades of coaches over the last 15 to 18 years, including Jason Kidd being traded from the Brooklyn Nets to the Milwaukee Bucks for two second round picks 11 years ago. So it's not like Jason Kidd hasn't been in this situation before.

I think it's possible I still think Johnny Bryant is going to be the coach. Let's go to Sam Bennett on a 4-1 goal. Let's hear how it sounded on the Panthers radio network as the Florida Panthers just destroyed and embarrassed. And really the Oilers embarrassed themselves last night. The Edmonton Oilers. A breakaway.

Lelousta read it. Hands it on. Bennett in. Bennett scores. Top shelf and the Panthers take a 4-1 lead with 12.34 to go here in the second. What a shift for playoff Sam.

The Panthers lead by a trio. That game was at 2-0. And then it got to 2-1. And then a minute something after they made it 3-1.

And then shortly after that you heard that goal to make it 4-1. Let's go to Aaron Rodgers. Why sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers? I think it starts with Mike Tomlin. I've been a fan of his for a long time. There's a few iconic franchises in the NFL. I played for one of them for 18 years. This is another one of those.

A lot of yinzers in my life. Alrighty. Let's hear why did you sign now. It was a long wait. What made the early part of June be why you said, okay, I'll come on in here. You know, I was dealing with a lot of things in my personal life. Some things improved a little bit where I felt like I could fully be all in here with the guys.

I had a great conversation with Mike throughout the entire process and Omar. But it's good to get that done and get behind us. And finally, let's hear from Aaron Rodgers. And why does he want to keep on playing football at the age of 41? I don't need it for my ego. To keep playing. A lot of decisions that I've made over my career and life from strictly the ego, even if they turn out well, are always unfulfilling. But the decisions made from the soul are usually pretty fulfilling. So this was a decision that was best for my soul. And I felt like being here with Coach T and the guys they got here and the opportunity here was the best for me and I'm excited to be here. It was best for his soul.

That's one way to put it. And that is Aaron Rodgers being a different thinker. I think what the truth is, he didn't want his career to end in such embarrassing fashion as it ended with the Jets. So he's chasing that. He's not playing to win a Super Bowl anymore.

Let's be real, folks. And the Steelers aren't in position to win a Super Bowl this year. I said this the day he announced the signing or the day the signing was announced, that for this to not be a giant waste of time, the Steelers not only have to make the playoffs this year, they have to win a playoff game. If they win a playoff game, it was worth it.

They haven't done so since 2016. This is just, all right, status quo. You show up.

You go 8 to 11 wins or something in Pittsburgh and you're out in the first round. Was it worth it? Was this song and dance worth it? Absolutely not.

I'll play you one more, though. And this is actually Myles Garrett giving his reaction to Aaron Rodgers joining the AFC North. What do I think about it? I think it's a good opportunity to put him in the graveyard. So, yeah, you're going to go after him.

You're going to try to hit him. But Myles Garrett, I know that he does that whole bit with put him in the graveyard and everything. You're playing the Cleveland Browns. All right. You talked a big game this last season. You sat there.

I want to go win a Super Bowl. And you took the money. That's right. You're allowed to take the money. I never fault the player for taking the money. But when you say that you wanted to go to a Super Bowl contender, and then you just take that deal with the Cleveland Browns, it's okay. You're playing. You're still one of the best players in the league.

So maybe the best defensive player in the league. It vacillates between you and T.J. Watt. And now T.J. Watt wants out of town.

If I'm T.J. Watt and he's in a better situation in Pittsburgh than you are in Cleveland, I would still force a trade because T.J. Watt's on a Super Bowl contender. But you look at this whole thing. All right. You hear that. It's all nice.

All right. You're going to hit probably Aaron Rodgers a few times this season. But what are you playing for? Because right now we know the Cleveland Browns forget about potentially trying to win a playoff game. They're nowhere close to even making the playoffs. So that's going to be a circus in Cleveland this year. And I just want to see Shidor play. Whenever it happens, I want to see Shidor play. But until Shidor gets on the field, it's going to be a circus. And then when he does get on the field, if he doesn't play well, then it's going to be fascinating. And if he does play well, oh, that's going to be really fun. It really will be.

All right. That's the news brief for this is that Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We're going to have year two of the Fanatics Fest coming up in two weeks. And Michael Rubin is the CEO of Fanatics. He obviously has an incredible story. You see him all over the sports world. And he has relationships with many stars in not only the NFL, the NBA, all of sports, and also celebrities as well. It's a who's who's of guests going to Fanatics Fest. We'll find out more about Fanatics Fest when we do return. And we'll hear more about the life of Michael Rubin as he joins us in studio on the Zach Gelb show after these short messages.