Slept on NFL Teams (Hour 2)

The wait is over.

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Price and coverage match limited by state law. And away we go, hour number two of our radio program. That's right, it is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We will chat it up with Shane Beamer, the head football coach at South Carolina coming up 20 minutes from now. Jared Greenberg will join us an hour 20 from now. We'll have you all covered in all things NBA with the NBA on TNT reporter.

So I saw that Mark was valid to Scantling who joined us in studio a few weeks ago. He's finally made his decision. He's going to be signing with the Buffalo Bills. You look at this Bills team. I think they're getting slept on headed into this season. I know we reached the point with the Buffalo Bills where everyone's like, I don't care what they do in the regular season. They're a good team. You know, they always give a good game up against Kansas City. But then when the moment is the brightest, they'll come up short.

And that's a fair criticism. That's a fair level of expectation with the Buffalo Bills. But I still walk into this football season thinking the Bills are going to win the AFCs. And I still think the Bills are on the shortlist of contenders in the AFC. And they're high on that shortlist. You know, Kansas City's number one. The Bengals are two. You want to tell me a team like Houston is in that conversation?

I will not debate it with you. I love what I'm seeing from the Houston Texans on both sides of the ball. We know how sensational their coach D'Amico Ryan is. But the Buffalo Bills are still a top three or four team in the AFC. And they have been right there. They have been stuck the last few years in the second round where twice they've lost heartbreaking games to the Kansas City Chiefs. The 13 second game and then last year we know Tyler Bass missing that kick. But now with them having Staphon Diggs out of the organization, I think that means a lot of people start to say to themselves, okay, this is going to be the demise of the Buffalo Bills. And they'll just go down as one of those teams that they had a chance, they had an opportunity, and they just came up short. But they still have, correct me if I'm wrong, number 17 in Josh Allen. And as long as you have a top three, a top five quarterback in the game, you're always going to be in it.

And that window is always open. They went all in Brandon Bean. It did not result in a championship. They had some contracts catch up to them where they had to say goodbye to players to get under the cap. And there's a retooling phase now with the Buffalo Bills. But when the Bills retool, I don't think that results in a reset. I don't think that means they're going to have to go through a year or two where you're going to be missing the playoffs.

Like this Buffalo team is going to go win 10-11 games this year and they're going to be a force come playoff time. And I look at what the Bills have done, you've seen the last few years, they've set themselves up for this moment where they drafted James Cook in the second round. Last year he had his big monster season in year two. You drafted Dalton Ginkade in the first round a year ago. He came on strong at the end of the year. You used the first round, or excuse me, it was a second round pick because they traded back on Keyon Coleman. But he was a first round wide receiver, first round type of talent coming out of Florida State. And then the other day, you go and sign Marquis Valdis-Gantling, who is not going to merely move the needle for me. It doesn't change my opinion about the Buffalo Bills, but it gives the Bills another resource, another asset, a guy that has caught footballs from Aaron Rodgers, has caught footballs from Patrick Mahomes, now going to do so with Josh Allen.

And no crap, he needs to catch a football when it's actually thrown his way. But the Bills have a good enough offensive line led by Deion Dawkins. You have a defense that that's where I wonder where they're going to be defensively.

And that's my biggest concern with them. And then it's also Sean McDermott. Can you win a big game? Because the Bills were so bad for so long. And ever since McDermott has got there, they have been a consistent playoff team. But now, just being a consistent playoff team isn't good enough. You got to take that next step. And as long as you have Josh Allen in his prime, you're going to be in the conversation.

You're going to be in the running for the possibility to take that next step. And losing Staphon Diggs is going to be an adjustment. But Staphon Diggs is also the same person that didn't catch a touchdown since Thanksgiving and also didn't have a 100-yard game since October. So either he's in the start of his decline as a talent in the NFL, or he was so unhappy in Buffalo, which a lot of it was his own wrongdoing, that he checked out and he knew he wanted to eventually get out and he got his way. So I look at the Bills entering this season.

I guess they're an afterthought to a lot of people. Because they have gone into that form of, so what do they do in the regular season? Their season really starts in the postseason. But I view them as a team that people are sleeping on. And I would still be somewhat surprised if the Bills don't win the AFC East this year, just for starters. I would be surprised if the Bills aren't playing in the divisional round. And either this is the year they get over the hump and they beat Kansas City, or maybe someone else takes Kansas City out and they do your dirty work and then you're able to beat the team that takes Kansas City out. You know, we have seen for a long time in sports, teams consistently get close and either two things happen. One, you never break through.

Or two, you do break through. You know, I'm not saying Josh Allen is Peyton Manning. I get that. Josh Allen's a damn good quarterback, though. We know number 18, though, Peyton Manning is a top five quarterback, top seven quarterback of all time. And for a while, that Brady and Belichick fellas, they were standing in the way and Manning couldn't break through. Eventually he did.

You know, John Elway didn't win, I know he won two Super Bowls, but he didn't win them towards the end of his career. Sometimes there are roadblocks in your way. And I'm not one of those people that are like, oh, tough times build tough people and you need those tough times. You need to overcome adversity to have success.

Nonsense. You win a championship, especially in an organization that's never won a championship in your first few years in the league. Who gives a rat's ass about not having tough times? But this Bills team, I don't think there's going to be a fall off. And I look at Buffalo as a team that will be double digit wins and they will have a chance. I mean, they're going to get there, but they will have a chance to advance to a Super Bowl this year. They are not a top two team in the AFC, but they are not far off. They are on that list of a top four, top five team in the AFC. And sometimes you can be a top five team in a conference and not have legit Super Bowl expectations. They are still in a Super Bowl or bus window.

As long as you have 17, you are in a Super Bowl or bus window and maybe these changes, right? Now, Joe Brady, you've taken over full time as the offensive coordinator, getting Stefan Diggs out of the building, bringing in a key on Coleman. Like we've seen a lot of wide receivers take the lead by storm early now. You know, I know Jamar Chase was a top, a top 10 pick. He had a sensational rookie season. Justin Jefferson was a top 25 pick, had a sensational rookie season. Heck, it doesn't need to be in the first round though.

Pukanukua, year one, as good of a rookie season as you'll see. So change usually makes people uncomfortable. Change usually elicits people to doubt. I don't think change is the worst thing for Buffalo because what they were doing the last few years worked, but it didn't work to a level where you ended up getting to a Super Bowl and you ended up winning a Super Bowl. The limitation for that group, the apex of that group was going to an AFC championship game, which they did up against Kansas City. So now you have to tinker.

Now you have to alter and we'll see if it ends up making them better. But I feel like people are sleeping on the bills, which it's weird when they've been right in the forefront of the conversation that I think people have looked at Buffalo and said they have fallen off the contender status. I still think they are a Super Bowl contender. Stu, who's the team that you have this year?

I'll go around the room here with Stu and Carlos. Who's the team that you have entering this NFL season that you look and you say, hmm, maybe people are sleeping on them a little bit? So it's not a team that I think is like a Super Bowl contender or anything like that, but I think it's a team that can return to the playoffs, a team that made the playoffs last year, but really is not being talked about. And that's the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Obviously, a lot of people are big into the Falcons as they should be because you get Kirk Cousins.

That totally changes your trajectory. But the Bucks got a good year from Baker Mayfield. They resigned him. They brought back Mike Evans. I just think it's a team that won nine games. Again, I'm not saying they're going to win 11 or 12 and compete for a Super Bowl, but as good as the Falcons might be, don't forget that the Bucks are also a pretty good team. And I think Baker can continue what he did last year and get even better.

Yeah, there's been some talk about maybe a Chris Goblin trade, so we'll see what happens there. But you were able to bring back Mike Evans. I thought Mike Evans was as good as gone when free agency did begin and they were able to retain him. Baker Mayfield, he's one of those guys that's just, he's a solid quarterback. He's not Heisman Trophy Baker. He won't be that in the NFL. But this is a dude that was a quarterback of the Cleveland Browns and won a playoff game with the Browns and then had the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the playoffs. And everyone gave up on Baker Mayfield, right? Jettisoned out of Cleveland, had that short time with Carolina, started to show a little sign with the Rams when he walked in there out of nowhere at the end of the season.

And then this year he goes to Tampa Bay, it's like, oh, you're playing some Brady. And that team is 8-9, they're going to regress. And they got better. Now, I know they had some changes this offseason, but you're able to get the deal done with Antoine Winfield Jr. yesterday too on that mega record-breaking extension, they're going to be a solid football team. And I give credit to Todd Bowles last year because I don't think Todd Bowles is a good NFL coach, I don't. Todd Bowles proved me wrong in the last year.

Todd Bowles did a really good job with that team. And I get that division, it's not good. I have no confidence in the Saints entering this season, I don't think the Panthers will be a playoff team.

That feels like a two-team race. Like, you know the Saints will be competitive for that division, but I just don't ever believe that the Saints get the job done. And yes, I believe Atlanta is the team to beat in that division, but you do look at Tampa Bay, they never get that respect outside of when Brady was there and they won the Super Bowl. They don't get that respect nationally, and that's a team that even without Tom Brady, the first year without Tom Brady, they proved they could still be a damn good team. So it's a good one that you bring up there, Stu.

Carlos, who's your team? Give me the Indianapolis Mini Horses. People are sleeping on the Colts. Can you do that sound effect again?

Sorry, I didn't hear that. I don't know, I mean, I guess that's what a young horse would sound like, but I'll take the Colts. Everybody's in love with what CJ Stroud did last year with the Texans, and you know, deservedly so. He was an MVP caliber quarterback. But the Colts were only one game behind him.

Anthony Richardson, if he doesn't get hurt, I think the Colts are in the playoffs. I don't even think it's the quarterback situation. If they would have just put, and I've said this 9,000 times I feel like in the last month, if they would have just put Jonathan Taylor in the damn field instead of their third string running back, they would have been in the playoffs last year. So, Steichen's a heck of a coach. That was one of the guys I was most impressed with last year in the NFL, Shane Steichen. When he got hired, I know he was with the Chargers, I know he was with the Eagles, and I'm like, how good of a head coach is this guy really going to be? You know, I had my doubts, I had my concerns about Shane Steichen. You lose your quarterback early on, you make Gardner Minshew be solid, you know, you have a solid defense there in Indianapolis, the offensive line came back to life.

I'm with you. That Colts team and that division too? It's winnable.

That's an excellent division. It's winnable, but it is really good, but it's still winnable. Houston didn't run away with it, they definitely made some moves. I would love to see how Diggs fits in with everything.

Things would be great, but... The Texans are deserving of being the lead dog, but if you tell me that, and I think the world of CJ Stroud, but if maybe he had a little bit of a regression this year and another team takes that division crown, I don't think that's inconceivable. Yeah, and that Latu pick is going to be real great. The Colts massively improved their defensive line.

They also got Raekwon Davis, they signed as a DT, so I'm all in on the Colts. I think they make the playoffs this year. You know, is any division right now, would it shock you if someone else won it? The AFC East, you know, Buffalo, Miami, the Jets, you can make a case for all three.

I'm saying like, is there not a by far and away lead dog where it would shock you if that lead dog didn't win it? AFC North, any of those four teams can win it. The AFC South, I don't think Tennessee could win it, but the Colts, Jaguars, and Texans can. The AFC West, even with the Chargers getting horrible and you have Herbert there, the Chargers ain't winning this division this year. The NFC East, you can tell me the Eagles, you can tell me the Cowboys. The NFC North, like even Detroit. Detroit should win that division, but if you tell me Green Bay wins that division, is that something I'm shocked?

I'm surprised I'm not shocked. The NFC South, you know, just as everyone says it could be Atlanta, it could easily, like Carlos, or like Stu said, it could be Tampa Bay. And the NFC West, the 49ers should win that division. It'd be surprising if they didn't win it, but if the Rams ended up winning that division, is that startling?

I don't think so. So I think the only division that it's untouchable on who's going to win the division, and it's a lock on who's going to win the division, as long as 15 stays healthy, is the Kansas City Chiefs. So that means it's going to be an excellent football season.

That's what it shapes up to be. So teams that people are sleeping on, I think Buffalo still is a Super Bowl contender. You have Carlos ended up going with the Indianapolis Colts team. That thing's going to be good this year, and I never like to give the Colts any compliments, just because of the fact that you had the 18-12 rivalry for all those years. The wait is over.

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Hyundai. There's joy in every journey. And then Stu is rocking and rolling with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We'll take a timeout. We'll do a little college football fix next with Shane Beamer. We miss college football. We can't wait for the 2024 season. He's in the clear.

His second touchdown run of the ballgame, this time for 46 yards. And Michigan has taken a 13-3 lead on the second touchdown of the night from the man who was not tripping. And we're counting down the days to kick off. Are we there yet? No. Are we there yet? I said no. Are we there yet?

What's wrong with your ears? There is your college football fix only on the Zach Gelb Show. That's what I'm talking about. 109 days away until South Carolina kicks off its season against Old Dominion. Now joining us is the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks. And that, of course, is Coach Shane Beamer, kind enough to join us once again on the Zach Gelb Show. Coach, appreciate the time as always.

Thanks so much for it. And how you been? Been great.

Always appreciate you having me on and looking forward to it. You know, I had some good barbecue a few weeks ago at this place in New York City called the Mason Jar. And they're big South Carolina fans, big South Carolina bar.

Spencer Rattler's been there before. And they mentioned that I knew Coach Shane Beamer through what I do. And man, I got a lot of free food at that place, Coach. So thank you very much. You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. I've heard amazing things about the Mason Jar.

I literally was just talking this morning with someone that lives in New York City. And that's a Gamecock. And we were talking about the Mason Jar.

So great spot. Encourage all Gamecocks to get over there on Saturdays in the fall. Well, let's do this. Let's talk about last season first before we get to this season. We know what you've done recently. 7-6, 8-5. And last year, you guys ended up going 5-7. How do you look back at last season? Look back at obviously not our expectations, not what we wanted by any stretch of the imagination. We, you know, we did not play.

We were just too inconsistent in all three phases. And we dealt with injuries, not to make an excuse, but we lost 12 players to season-ending injuries that were significant contributors. We, you know, started five true freshmen.

So at that point, now after the season, me as the head coach, you really have to look back and ask yourself, you know, why and how we can be better, how we can stay healthier and are there things that we need to tweak, whether it be training, practice, whatever it might be. So I'm proud of the way we finished. We were, you know, at one point we were sitting there 2-6. And we won three out of our last four games and had a chance to win the last game against Clemson and get bowl eligible.

And, you know, we didn't allow Clemson to score an offensive touchdown, but we still lost the game, which is a really, really tough way to lose. But one of those things, we certainly grew from it. We learned from it. And there's no question we are better because of it and excited about 2024 and beyond. Yeah, outside of the injury part, Coach, I'm just wondering, like, what specifically did you learn from last season when you get hit with a little adversity as the first two years things were going in a very successful direction? I learned we got the right people in our program.

You know, it would have been very easy. We had some tough, tough losses and heartbreaking losses. I mean, we were up two scores to Florida with under 10 minutes left in the game and lost and had Georgia down 14-3 at halftime. And we couldn't finish in the second half. You know, some really tough losses, but found out that we had the right kind of people, that a lot of teams when you're sitting there 2-6 could have easily folded up. And we did, and our guys continued to fight and compete.

So that was a great testament to the people in our program. And then, you know, a lot of things that just, like I said, too inconsistent. We didn't run the ball well enough. We gave up too many explosives defensively, particularly early in the season. You know, situational football, we need to be better on third down, particularly offensively. So there's a lot of stuff that you look at and learn from, just like we did after the 2021 season when we won seven games. And just like we did after 2022 when we won eight games. You learn after every season and figure out how you could be better the next year. And last year into this year is no different.

Shane Beamer here with us. Talk a little bit about South Carolina football as we gear up for their season, 109 days away. I read a quote via the Daily Gamecock from Clayton White, your defensive coordinator. To me, the way things went last year, and for most of our defensive guys to come back, to me that says a lot about our culture, our program, the defense that we have here, and what guys really want. Everybody has options. Coaches and players all have options, and we're back. So, like you said, it tells you you have the right people there. Now, with getting a lot of guys coming back that maybe you thought would have left you, a trans reporter will go and go somewhere else, what do you want to challenge your defense to kind of look like and do this upcoming season?

Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly with that quote. And Clayton White, our defensive coordinator, is exactly right. I mean, we bring our top four defensive tackles back. All four of those guys are going into either their fourth or fifth year in the program. We bring back our top two linebackers. We bring back three of our top four defensive acts. So, we've got a core group of guys that are returning. They're older guys that are going into their fourth year or fifth year in our program.

So, my challenge would be for them to take the next step. We played pretty good defense down the stretch last season. We went through some lumps early in the season. There's no doubt about it, but we played pretty good football. We held Kentucky in our 11th game to 14 points in the final game against Clemson.

Clemson did not score an offensive touchdown. We held them to three field goals defensively. And now the key is going to be can we continue to build on that and be even better this season?

We should be. We bring back those guys. We're experienced, but at every single position in the front seven, we're deeper and we're more athletic. You know, one of our issues last year defensively is just a lack of depth at times. And this year we have so much more depth, which I'm excited about, at the linebacker position, at the defensive tackle position, and at the outside linebacker position as well. So, eager to see those guys take the step and be an even better version of the defense they were at the end of the season.

Shane Beamer is my guest right now. Your quarterback, Lenore Sellers, replacing Spencer Rattler, who's off to the NFL. He's won the job. What has stood out to you with the offseason that Lenore has had? Yeah, we named Lenore as the starting quarterback coming out of spring practice and told Lenore and told the other quarterbacks, you know, it's Lenore's job to continue to earn this thing throughout the summer. And we're going to continue to compete at every position, not just quarterback.

And the guy that gives us the best chance to win the football game against Old Dominion in game one is the guy that's going to be out there. But Lenore is a guy that came in last season as a freshman. He played in three games, and we were able to red-shirt him. Every game he was able to play in, he just performed.

And he's one of those guys, just the crazier the moment around him, the calmer and more poised he is. He's a winner that won a state championship in high school here in South Carolina. He's worked really hard in the weight room, worked really hard in the meeting room to get better as a quarterback, worked really hard on the field. He's a young guy but has a big upside and has the confidence and the belief of the players around him in the locker room.

Outside of leadership, if you just talk about his play style, if someone has never seen him play, what type of player is he on the field? Yeah, he's a big player. He's a big kid. I mean, he's 235, 240 pounds and throws the ball very well.

That's what he did in high school, but he has an element of being able to run the football as well. And just very poised and can do a lot with his arm and do a lot with his feet. And again, he's a freshman. I mean, we're very young.

He's very young and we've got to be great around him. But all of our quarterbacks, we like their athleticism. Robbie Ashford is a transfer from Auburn.

It's a similar skill set to Lenores, close to a 230-pound-plus guy that can make plays with his arm and his feet. Luke Doty is back for his fifth year in our program. And we brought in a transfer, brought in a freshman. So we've got a compliment, our skill set in that quarterback room that they all compliment each other.

Excited to watch them all continue to compete. Let me talk a few more minutes with Shane Bieber, the head football coach at South Carolina. Some of your former players, Avery LeGette gets drafted at the end of the first round to the Carolina Panthers who trade up to get him. What do you think he'll bring that organization as they try to get Bryce Young back to the player that a lot of us got to see in the SEC at Alabama? Yeah, Avery LeGette, he's a fantastic person first and foremost. He'll make that Panthers organization better on and off the field. He's a great young man, but extremely hard worker, never satisfied, made himself into the player that he was this past season.

And no one deserves it more. He's a guy that I think can help the Panthers in a lot of different ways. You know, Xavier was a guy that even before the season he had this year offensively, he would have been drafted just for his ability to play special teams.

The cover kick to return kicks. He can do all that and now the ability to play receiver as well. He'll help the Panthers in so many ways and excited to follow his career. And obviously Spencer Rattler has been under the spotlight for a bunch of years going back to Oklahoma. And obviously with your program the last two years, I was surprised that he ended up going in the fifth round.

I thought the latest it would be the fourth round. But when he got that call from the Saints and you found out he was going there, just what was your reaction? Yeah, excited for him. I agree with you. Shocked that he didn't go earlier than what he did, but it is what it is.

Those things happen. But like I told Spencer, the most important thing is he got an opportunity. So he has an opportunity and I know he'll take care of the rest. His best football is in front of him. He's not your typical rookie quarterback. He's been through a lot if you talk about his career at Oklahoma, his career here at South Carolina. His best football is still in front of him though. And Spencer was a very motivated, competitive football player. But going a little bit later in the draft and what we all anticipated will do nothing but motivate him even more. And really looking forward to the next step for him. When you hear after the draft that maybe how he was portrayed in the QB1 documentary in high school is the reason why he did fall, what's the thought on that?

Is that something you just laugh at and go, if that's the case, that's ridiculous? Yeah, I think that's an absolute joke. I'd be really, really, really disappointed if there were NFL teams that were basing decisions on who to draft based off a show about a potential draft pick that took place, what, six, seven years ago when he was a 16-year-old in high school or whatever he was. You know, my respect and I have great respect, it's for the NFL teams that called me, that talked to me, that spent time around Spencer, spent time around our program and found out what he's really about.

And that is a guy that is an unbelievable young man, great family. That's a two-time captain at the University of South Carolina. So if there's any baggage with you, if you're not a good teammate, your teammates aren't going to elect you one of their permanent captains once, much less twice like happened here in Columbia. Last thing I'll ask you, Coach Shane Beamer, we know what you guys did before last season, seven and six, eight and five. Last year you guys go five and seven. Let's just say if someone called you up and they go, hey, I'm a South Carolina fan, but now I'm concerned about the program, I'm wondering why we're still moving in the right direction. Since I'm speaking to the head honcho of the program, why is this program still moving in the right direction under your leadership? Yeah, I think we took some, we dealt with some adversity last year and we're better for it. All you have to do is look at, you know, like you just said, the players that returned to our program for another year.

Talk about what we're doing academically, our grades just came out today. We just had the third highest grade point average for a semester in the history of the South Carolina football program, and we've had two of the five highest GPAs in the history of the program the last three semesters. You know, you look at the way that we've recruited, you look at the young talent in our program. Last season, I get it, record-wise, it wasn't what we wanted, but we made progress regardless of the record, and we're better this year before up because of it. We've got some unbelievable people in our program, and there's a strong work ethic and a strong desire in our program right now to get this program to levels that it's never been before.

We're going to win championships here, and we're well on our way. Coach, appreciate the time as always. Thanks so much, and good luck as we get set to gear up for the season in 109 days. Yeah, appreciate it. Be here before you know it. Thanks for all you do. Take care.

You got it. There he is, Shane Beamer, the head football coach at South Carolina. Please appreciate his time joining us for a little college football fix right here on the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network.

Okay, let's take a time out when we come on back. The NFL schedule about to be released tomorrow, and I saw some of the leaks already. The Chiefs are going to play the Bengals in week two.

That tells me one thing that the NFL is really concerned about. We'll get to that on the other side. Update time first.

Here he is, Marco Belletti. This portion of the show is brought to you by Wesley Financial. If you're stuck at a timeshare and want out, contact Wesley Financial Group now and get a free timeshare exit information kit at WesleyFinancialGroup.com. You know, it's crazy, by the way, how these series could just change in the postseason. Like, you look at the Nuggets and the Timberwolves. Everyone thought that was over when Minnesota walked into Denver and took two games, and they were up 2-0 going back to home. You know, you knew Denver wasn't going to go down without a fight, and you didn't think that Minnesota was going to drop both of the games on their own home court.

So that momentum has now shifted back to the Denver Nuggets. You know, my hockey team, the Rangers, that series is over. You're up 3-0. You lose game four okay.

I'm in the building last night. You got a Jacob Truba short-handed goal to put you up 1-0 in the game. You know, the game isn't over there, but you're thinking to yourself, okay, the captain who has not played well, he gets a short-handed goal to put you up 1-0.

You got a good chance to win the game. And then the Rangers went all Elaine Vignot style where they were just like dump and chase, dump and chase, and the next thing you know, they lose that game 4-1. But I'm starting to think, and maybe it's a morbid thought, like the Rangers don't win this series.

This is the worst, the worst out of the teams I root for choke job that I've seen. And let me remind people, I'm a Mets fan. The Mets were once up 7 with 17 to play. They did not win the division. They did not make the playoffs.

They were up in the NL East 7 games with 17 to play back in 2007. And I'll never forget that. And I was actually one of my good friends Bar Mitzvah was the infamous Tom Glavine game.

And I had one of those Watchmen kind of TVs that you bring in the portable and all that at his Bar Mitzvah. And the Mets just got obliterated in that first inning and the game was over right there. That out of the teams I root for Patriots, Colts, AFC championship game 2006, that was a bad choke job by the Pats. But the Rangers being up 3-0, if they find a way to lose this series to Carolina, that's the worst choke job by a team I root for in my lifetime.

I actually could predict, Stu is easy. Yours is Yankees, Red Sox. The Yankees being up in that series 3-0 and then they choked and Boston ended up, not only they beat you in game 7, the Red Sox, they dragged you up and down the field for the entirety, all around the diamond for the entirety of that game. That was a slow painful death.

Since the first inning and at home at Yankee Stadium, at the old Yankee Stadium too. So that was painful. You had a Damon Grant slam right and then another home run? Yeah, the Damon Grant slam off Javi Vasquez was kind of, that's when you knew this was over. And you kind of knew going in it was over. I think you had two home runs in that game.

I think you did too. That was your worst moment. So Carlos is, you're a Bulls fan, right? Bulls, Cubs, Giants and Rangers.

Rangers. Oh well, the worst collapse in your lifetime is the Steve Bartman series, right? Yes, because everyone blames Bartman. There was a game 7. Yeah, and they still lost. And we smoked that game. But also, even within that Bartman game, you had Alex Gonzalez who botched a shortstop. And it was a, what worse could happen in this game? And let's be real, if Moises Alou doesn't point up to Steve Bartman.

He becomes nothing. No one is really eviscerating Steve Bartman for all those years where he practically had to go into hiding. Because that's just a natural reaction.

Like a ball is coming your way, it goes in the stands and you hit it. Now I remember there was a fan that threw a hot dog at him and they did remove him right away. So there would have been some reaction. But I don't think it would have been with as much vitriol if you didn't have Alou pointing up losing his mind going berserk on the guy.

Well the hot dog flew because Alou went nuts. I don't think anybody would have really batted an eye. Because people reach over for a foul ball all the time.

In every game. Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. But man, I'm not worried yet. Like naturally as a sport fan, you get worried when your team is up 3-0 and it's like oh you're on the road in game 6. Like it feels that this is going 7.

But you know what? No one. And I mean no one is going to pick the Rangers on Thursday night. I think the Rangers are going to win game 6. And that's not just me being a homer.

Like some dope in the YouTube chat will accuse me of. Because I'll tell you when I think my team is going to win. I'll tell you when I think they're going to lose. And trust me, I think my team is going to lose a lot. But when it comes to the Rangers. When no one thinks you're going to win. And you are the President's Trophy winner. And I hope you're the curse, the jinx of the President's Trophy. Yeah, I do believe the Rangers are going to find the way to win game 6. And I think they're going to avoid game 7.

But think about this. So a year, over a year ago. I was supposed to go to Florida to visit my grandma. I've seen my grandma since, just to preface this story. But one of my best friends was getting engaged. And told me, oh my engagement party is the weekend you're supposed to be in Florida. So I had to cancel the flight, you get a credit. And if you don't use the credit within a year, you lose it.

So two months ago I get that notification, you're about to lose your credit. So this was the weekend that worked for me to go visit some family. Because I only visit my grandma, my aunt, my uncle, and all that. So last week when the Rangers go up 3-0. Because I didn't know at the time when I scheduled this what the schedule is going to be. My flight is Thursday evening at 8.30pm Eastern. So I'm thinking to myself, okay I'm going to avoid having to watch the game on the airplane.

But now, the game 6 is going to be Thursday at 8.30pm Eastern. So I'm going to leave the show at 6. Quickly get, I'm going to JFK. So I'll quickly get there, get there by 7, watch the first period and a half, then I have to board the plane. And thankfully I'm flying, well I say that now, maybe there will be some delays.

I actually, I would not have a problem if I have a little delay. Alright, so I can watch the whole game at the airport. But I'll be able to watch the game on the plane. I can't ever recall watching a game on the plane where I have skin in the game. Like I had to watch that when I was coming back from Nebraska, when I went to the Nebraska Michigan game this year. That Sunday I had to watch that Jet Chief game, that Sunday night game on the plane. But I didn't care who actually won the game. So that's going to be an interesting experience. And I just hope, and I don't think it will line up this way. That the game is over by the time that I land. Because how terrible is that when you're having to land and the TV starts to go out?

If that game is still unknown, who's going to be winning? So I had a fun time at the Ranger game last night until the third period. I was in, so I got to the game, I went to one luxury box, then went down to my seats. And then I went to another luxury box for the second and third period. Let's just say I took advantage of the whiskey that was in the luxury box. So I had a few whiskey gingers last night. Sources say I can't confirm nor deny.

I also can't confirm nor deny when walking out of Madison Square Garden. There may have been a large drunk fellow by the name of Zach Gelb that saw Danny Hurley out of the corner of his eye. Now, I see Danny Hurley, most sane, sober people would just be like, oh, yeah, coach, how you doing?

Like, go Huskies, something like that. Well, in my drunk escapade out of the garden, I thought it was an appropriate thing to yell at Danny Hurley and say, hey, coach, those Rangers could have used that Husky toughness tonight. And not only that, because I guess he chuckled at me yelling at him, which I wonder in his mind, did he just think, man, who is this drunk bozo?

Or he thought I was funny. And then I proceeded to say, your father would have coached that team to victory tonight. Get his ass behind the bench for Bob Hurley Sr. And then he went into some car and then I went down into the train station to get on the subway to take the one train back to my New York City apartment. So next time we get Danny Hurley on the show, I have to ask him if he remembered that moment or if he was just trying to give a sympathy chuckle and just scurry his way away from the large whiskey drunk fellow that was walking out of Madison Square Garden last night, which I can't confirm nor deny may or may not have been me. So that was my interaction or maybe not interaction with Danny Hurley last night. I'm sure he's had a lot more worse things thrown at him. That's pretty tame.

It wasn't anything bad. I was just hyping up his program and I was just marveling at his program's toughness and how they know how to close out games and win back to back championships. I would just like my team to win one sticking championship. It would be nice if they could win a championship in my lifetime, but we'll see if they can find a way to close this thing out. So I hope so in Game 6.

If not, Delta 9 Brian is going to have a lot of fun at my expense with his Hurricanes. And this would be then three straight years because they're up 2-0 against Tampa. Choked. They were up 2-0 last year against Jersey.

Choked. If you go up 3-0 against the Hurricanes, when you have a team that is good enough, I still think Florida is the best team in hockey, but you have a team that's more than good enough and capable of winning the cup. This, like the Tampa Bay one, I could swallow it because the fact that they were, it was a breakout year. Last year, painful, but blowing a 2-0 lead, it's not as if that's like the craziest thing to happen. Up 3-0 and having, you know, if they can't win, two chances to close it out at home and they blew the one last night, they squandered that away. Yeah, that would be a tough pill to swallow.

It would definitely be. And by the way, the NFL, their schedule is coming out tomorrow. And the Chiefs and Bengals are scheduled to play in week two. So you get Chiefs-Ravens to open up the season. And then you get Chiefs-Bangles in week two.

Usually those games are later on in the season, Chiefs-Bangles. And the NFL got burned by it last year because Joe Burrow got hurt. And four years in through Joe Burrow's career, two years he's been healthy. He's been to an AFC championship game and a Super Bowl. And the other two years, unfortunately, he got hurt and he's had to had season-ending surgery. I think that's the NFL saying, we got the two best quarterbacks in football, Burrow and Mahomes.

Let's not run the risk that one of them gets hurt. And I think that's a little concern that everyone has with the Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL schedule makers as well. Hmm, Joe Burrow's great, but can he continuously be there at the end of the season? Because you know when he's there at the end of the season, he's cool Joe, he's dominant, he's great. He took the Bengals to two AFC championship games and a Super Bowl.

But that's been a concern that all of us have had. Will he continue to find a way to be healthy or will the continuation occur where every other year seems like he's out with the season-ending injury and the NFL's like, yeah, we're not going to take that risk at all. Let's throw that matchup in second week of the season. But what a start for the Chiefs. You get the Ravens, then followed up by the Bengals. And no one's going to freak out even if the Chiefs start off 0-2. Or even if they start off 1-1. But the NFL's like, you want a three-peat this year?

We're going to make it tough for you right out of the gate. It is the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We will take a timeout. Jared Greenberg's going to join us, talk some NBA playoffs coming up 25 minutes from now. When we return though, we're going to do a little draft here. In honor of Jared Goff getting the long-term deal done with the Detroit Lions and Dan Campbell being one of the better coaches in the NFL these days. Who's the best head coach QB duo? We'll make four selections each, we'll go around the room.

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