2 Pros and a Cup of JoeWednesday on 2 Pros and a Cup of Joe, Tyrese Haliburton delivers another playoff performance for the ages. Is there a secret team in the mix for Kirk Cousins? And The Old P, Petros Papadakis believes there is no argument to cancel or move the Notre Dame/USC rivalry.
This is the best of two pros and a couple Joe with Lamar arings and rating win and Jonas Knox on radio.
Of course, we will start with what happened last night in Indianapolis where the Pacers rebound from whatever the hell you called that in the second half in Game three and make a little bit of a statement. And Tyrese Halliburton is having the playoffs of all playoffs that I can recall for an Indiana pacer outside of Reggie Miller, Like he's been fantastic and incredible. Last night was really his time to show. Like everyone's going to go back to the choking gesture and the shot that went in in Game one of this series, but last night was an all around masterclass by Halliburn.
Yeah, I mean historic right him?
Jokich was it like Oscar Robinson the only two other players we've seen in India history do what he was able to do last night, And felt like time the Knicks started to build some momentum, he was able to stop it. He was able to kind of put a squash to it. So to me, it looked like a championship performance. You know that the type that I can player willing his team to get to the NBA Finals, you know, maybe even continuing this run you're talking about to help them win the NBA Finals. But hell of a performance last night by uh Tyry Saliburton and just you know again the dad back in the house and maybe that did it.
Yeah, maybe that that did to some.
Degree with the pops back in the house set a game, Bridge field House able to watch it.
So I thought it was Kinsekoie the game is remember that?
Yeah?
I don't.
But you don't remember that. He used to be called the field House back in the day the Pacers. Yeah, really, I did not remember that. Yeah, something like that. It's like rich Stadium to remember it. Joe Robbie, I don't know.
Can we have Lee looked at up? After a text from Lee yesterday, I'm not sure he'd be capable of much to that.
He's like, unbelievable. It's Taco Tuesdays, man, Uh var is it over for the Knicks? Is the Undertaker calling it?
Uh?
It is over?
The series is over. It'll in in New York. But uh, I just again, I just thought that the pace of the game was too much for the Knicks. You know, I never really paid attention to Karl Anthony Towns outside of him shooting the threes. But I started watching how he runs up and down the court. He doesn't move very well.
Man.
I don't know if he's sore. I know he hurt his knees of big games in the game or whatever. He don't move very well. Man.
Like I get, I get that he's tall and he's big, but he don't move well.
It's almost like he can barely run up and down the court more than one time before he gets like tired or just can't.
He just stops. I don't know.
I was just paying attention to like I was noticing that. I was like, that's pretty interesting. It almost creates a five on four advantage for Indiana almost every single time they're down on offense. And then I was paying attention like, Okay, you know they're bigs, just don't they don't get back very fast.
And I don't know, it's just a lot of.
Open shots there were, There were a lot of there were a lot of missed opportunities for the Knicks because they couldn't keep up with the pace of the Pacers.
It was just way too fast for them.
It caused it caused dress with Nie Smith and the way he was staying in front of Brunson. Brunson wasn't able to facilitate the way that he usually facilitates. It kind of sounds like a replay of the OKC Timberwolves game. And they made a lot of mistakes that a lot of costly turnovers.
I mean, the start of.
The third quarter was just horrible for the next you know, they had no real continuity. They couldn't settle into, you know, getting into the flow of the second half. They turned the ball over I want to say, like two or three times in their first possessions coming into the third quarter. It was a very that was to me, the quarter that kind of made it made it bad.
Now.
I know they came back and I know that they you know, got to a point of where it turned into a game, but it just seemed like the speed, the pace, the intensity of the defense forced them into two mistakes turning the ball over, and then it led to ultimately them being able to get down court and the New York Knicks weren't at full strength on that side of the ball. When they were, they weren't closing out on defense as well as they should have. Indiana moved the ball very well and it ended up being the opportunities for for open shots and they made them, and Halliburton was was giving them a nice blend. You know, they were going into the paint, they were making shots from the outside, so they look pretty good. I don't I don't, you know, I still think, you know, I don't know if it's going to be a good, good final series. I don't know. It could be or it could not be. It could be OKAC. But the Pacers show, they show that they have maybe the ability to keep up with the OKC team both defensively and and speed and pace.
Of the game. So maybe it'll be a good series.
But but as far as this one, the Knicks had their chance and they they blew it terribly last evening.
You know, it is what it is.
When you saw the scores being what they were at halftime, you knew the Knicks couldn't keep that pace up. They just couldn't. Indiana can go like that's that's their style of play. But even though the Knicks kept it close, you knew eventually it was just gonna wear him down. Karl Anthony Towns went down with the knee. He collided knees, I believe with Nie Smith, uh in the fourth quarter. So he's got a ironic around that. Yeah, it is kind of ironic.
And Smith and he smith that knee right. Send those sassy passes anymore, No.
He couldn't, but says speaking of sassy Tyrese Haliburton spoke afterwards about his performance and rebounding following a disappointing Game three.
Just trying to be aggressive, man, just trying to play my best, you know. So I got to let the team down in uh in Game three, felt like I could have been so much better. So I felt like I responded the right way today. Just trying to be aggressive, take what the defense gives me. I felt like I was a little jittery, playing too fast, So just trying to calm myself down, especially in the half court in isolations and stuff, trying to you know, just you know, settle down, you know, and then just trying to find guys and just play the right way.
Uh.
You know, coaches always want me to rebound. Everybody's on me to rebound, So just trying to step up there be the best I could, and you know, everybody's you know, boxing their guy out, you know, especially Miss Robinson and Josh Hart. You got so many guys who can just crash the guy ass like Clary like crazy, sorry, And I'm just trying to come in and clean it up. And I thought I did a decent job at that. But you know, still a lot of ways for me to get better, us to get better as a group. So none of that's possible without you know, full team effort.
So there's your eventual Eastern Conference Finals MVP Tyres Aliburt and you know we'll call that shot right there.
Pretty crazy too.
That was the first home win for a team in the series, So yeah, crazy, it's how it's how it's worked out.
And I know that Knicks fans are going to be really disappointed and this is going to be uh maybe they'll come back and they'll make a game of it in game five and push it to six. But ultimately, I think we're kind of seeing they're just not as good as Indiana, They're not as deep as Indiana, and you just start to come to terms with the fact that maybe the Knicks just aren't that good. You know, like it was a fun ride, you know, it was great, but you know, maybe they're just not that good. I mean, there is that possibility that out.
You love Pilo on on New York fan base, You really do, though, Yeah, this is one of your favorite things to do. Is like, Oh can I just I just knife a New York fan base a little bit, kick them while they're down before they're potentially out altogether.
I look, it's just they're so over the top. The celebration was so over the top.
What does it sound like? Tell me what it sounds like.
I don't know what it sounds like. It just sounds like a bunch of a bunch of people who have never seen a championship before that are just jumping around for Joyce client stuff in the streets because you.
Can't do it fan impression. No, you can't do any impression whatsoever.
Now it's beneath me. I can't, I can't do it. I just I look at him and I go, what was the big to do?
Well?
We got past the second round, all right, but there's like two more series to go, and it feels like all the air went out of the balloon, and especially went out of the balloon when Tyrese Haliburton shot went in, and they've just been kind of scrambling ever since, and I think we're seeing the two best teams in the playoffs thus far have been okay, see in Indiana, and it looks like I know people aren't gonna like that because they want a New York market in the finals and all that, and I get all of it. But the best matchup you could have right now, even though OKAC will be the favorite, is Indiana and Oklahoma City because both of them are deep. You're going to see a lot of people get mixed into the rotation and you're going to see Tyreese Halliburton and SGA get to go Mono Imano to try and win a title for a fan base that's never seen and the title be won there before. So I'm looking forward to it. But as far as these series go, I think it's a wrap.
Which is unfortunately damning about last night's game is that statistically speaking, the Knicks were better in most categories than the Indiana Pacers and still managed to lose by nine points. You know, three pointers they shot at a higher percentage and they only shot just one less. You know, well, they they made twelve. The Pacers made thirteen, all right, Now, they shot twenty eight times. They shot thirty two times, but the percentage was higher right free throws. They won in the free throws percentage, rebounds, they had more rebounds, They had more offense, way more offensive rebounds, more defensive rebounds. They didn't have great existence. They killed them on assist. They got them on a steels and blood. They got them on steals. They got them on steals. Tell you something, blocks that they were even on blocks?
What about free throws? Go across the box? What was the free throw?
Saying?
Well, I think they did better than them on free throws, didn't They don't know.
Brady told me this one time. He said, stats are like a slutty girlfriend can't trust him. Yeah, that's what I think.
So well they were they were. They did better than them by two point by point two percent. They did better than them on free throws. It's just crazy that that statistically, when you look at the slutty girlfriend.
That it's like you should you should feel better about it a lot than that. I just don't I don't get why.
I don't get why they could be so so uh even in in in the in the columns, and it just didn't look it just didn't look good for the Knicks. They just look like a team that is just being outplayed and it's just a better team. And that's kind of how do you make sense of that? Right, Like, this is the biggest game of the series, but all intensive purposes, the biggest game in the series, And how do you go out there and just you're close in everything but not good enough. That's that's like a heart I would assume for New York to coach for the GM, that's a hard one to try to figure out.
Yeah, well, I mean they made more field goals, made more three pointers. I mean that ultimately is what takes it to win.
So it was what it was, and that I think you go back to the break neck pace that the Pacers can play with, and that's tough to match. Especially to your point about kar Anthony Towns. If he's struggling to get up and down the floor, I mean, that's that's what you're looking for, some sort of mismatch issue like that. So if the sassy passer can't get up and down, you know it's gonna be tough.
Then, by the way, was that actually a sassy pass or was that just in slow motion?
It made it look that way.
Was he really That's a great question. There's so many times I've seen myself broken down in slow motion.
I was like, oh man, that doesn't look good. You know, so slow mo is not does not make everyone look good.
It does not make everyone look like Michael Jordan flying through the air getting ready to dunk. Sometimes you've got an awkward facial expression or your hands do something weird.
It's just you never know.
So I'd like to think it wasn't a sassy pass, but it feels it feels like he could be. It's something we need to dive into a little deeper.
Yeah, and see if.
He's just a sassy passer. From now on, I'm into it. Probably more interesting in some of the game to be honestly looking, real, real, spicy.
Be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Errington, and Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern three am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
So OTAs have started up around the NFL, and you know, obviously we were discussing the fact that Aaron Rodgers is not currently at the Steelers OTAs, so we're still waiting word to see whether or not that gets done. Somebody else who is also not at the start of OTAs is none other than Kirk Cousins. He is not at the start of the Falcons.
OTAs on the same team.
Uh well, no, he's TJ Watt as well too. But we'll start with with Kirk Cousins. He decided not going to be there, not going to show up, and he would like to be traded. But it does feel like he's either waiting for Rogers to turn the Steelers down or an injury to a starter somewhere else in the league for him to actually get an opportunity to start elsewhere.
Least I'm just going to say.
Is there is there like a secret team kind of in the mix, because there's one in the back of my mind that I feel like it could be in play here for Kirk Cousins.
That no one's talking about.
Should we guess?
Yeah, take a guy.
I do have game show music, all right, so probably not this early, probably not please come on.
Today. Hell yeah, me wrong.
You're trying to shoot bullets, all right.
It's like ty Tyrace Halla Burton. That was terrible.
It's a great performance, right right, That's what I'm trying to say. It's a great performance.
All right.
So let's see secret team that would be in the mix for Kirk Cousins.
Yeah, yeah, m.
The Minnesota Vikings.
Okay, well, I can't play the scam anymore then.
Yeah? Why not?
Oh you think that's that's a potential, like he would go back to the So there's something to that.
I don't know. Maybe there's something to that. I mean, there's familiarity there.
He knows the system, he knows the offense, everything else. If if there's something that happens with J. J. McCarthy, either a setback in his recovery or they're just saying maybe he's not ready yet, maybe there'd be the potential of Kirk Cousins.
A sign back in Minnesota.
It's I'll throw it out there, throwing it out there. There's another team though. That did kind of hit me and I thought maybe that would work too. I'll come on, var, I'll give I'll give LeVar an opportunity another team.
Yeah, come on, what the Saints?
Uh?
Good, guess I'm not going to say the Saints.
For this reason, I think the Saints are tanking this year, and I think they want to get to a spot where they can take the number one quarterback in next year's draft. So this year, I think they're going into it thinking let's just go ahead and let the rest of the future play out with.
Arch Man against our quarterback next year. By the way, I don't think it's the Saints.
Imagine being a Saints fan right now, You're like, Man, we're gonna suck next year. You know what, I got to take a load off. Let me go buy a candy bar off this kid around the corner.
Oops.
What a miserable existence as a Saints fan right now?
Wow?
You really there?
He'd like, what is like?
What says?
Are you?
Are you referencing our Super Bowl trip where people were concerned about getting sold candy and the next thing, you know, getting mugged around the corner.
What you're saying?
I didn't.
I didn't realize it was a thing until sitting there getting a bite to eat with Lee as he was trying not to fall over the balcony because he was bombed from hurricanes with LeVar at eight in the morning and looking over and seeing how the operation worked. People instructing the kids were to go hiding around the corners and then realizing, oh, that's a real thing. I think you brought it up first. I was like, nah, it seems embellished.
Well it was because it was because someone from our security team said, hey, be careful if you're going to buy candy from the kids, because once you, you know, throw out some cash, they're looking to see how much you have. And then they signaled someone else who ends up trying to pickpocket you.
Or jump you. They get the opportunity. So that was that was more.
Again that at least at least our Fox security had told us about it, But you were there. I digress. There's one more, say the Giants. It wouldn't it would not be It would not be egregious to say that. However, I don't think that this is the off season for them.
But you're getting very hot. You're getting very close, very close, LeVar Okay, I don't know.
Oh geez, that's close. So you're saying the Jets. Do you think it's the Jets?
I think they would be potentially interested. And and again this goes back to before Kirk Cousins went to Minnesota. It was the Jets who actually offered him a deal that was more money than what the Vikings were going to pay him, but it wasn't the three year guaranteed deal the Vikings gave him, So there was interest at one point, And I do think that's a team that, again with justin fields, that could be the plan. But if things look like they need a boost, they need a veteran to come in there. He could potentially be that veteran that they could bring in that has proven to be.
Capable.
Now, last year was rough, but I also think he was coming off of an injury that was part of it. So as far as the two teams I'm looking at like that would be the two teams outside of the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Rogers signs in Pittsburgh, that could be a potential trade partner.
So basically, if you're Kirk Cousins, you need either an injury or somebody just suck so bad before the season for the Falcons to trade you.
That's fair. Yeah, And it's basically what you need if you're Kirk Cousins.
Oh my god, all right, so might as well just chill out home. Back to the original point, why the hell I'm gonna be.
At Giles Camp? Or y'all OTAs, right, y'all kiss my ass.
They already paid him, right, he already got his ten million dollars bonus, So all right, I mean just hang out, okay.
Can they go after his bonus? But OTAs are are I mean OTAs are.
You have to be there?
Those are mandatory. O t a's aren't what what are they called?
Voluntary?
Voluntary?
So they find him that they are voluntary, they're not mandatory. O tas are voluntary, mini campus mandatory, mini camps mandatory.
Voluntary means you don't have to go.
But that's there, right, I didn't know ot as. I thought you might have had to be at ot as.
No, it's no mini campus mandatory. You're subjective fines. The only thing that would be mandatory with making the ot as would be if you have a workout bonus, and that workout bonus is scheduled into being a part of the O t as as well.
But isn't it even though they say it's voluntary, if you don't show up, then they kind of say, say.
It's frowned upon. It's frowned upon.
It it's it falls in the category of you know, watching a guy walk out of a stall at an.
Airport bathroom and now wash his hands from upon.
It probably falls into the category of, you know, being that guy that doesn't want to tip. You know, even though you got a coffee to go, you want to throw a little bit of something in there. It's it's it's frowned upon, you know. Yeah, I don't think the New Orleans Saints need a quarterback.
I would they do more than anyone.
Sure.
I just stated though that I think they're gonna be tanking to try to get the number one pick next year's draft because they want arch They want Arch. That the story behind I mean, can you imagine falling in his grandfather's footsteps.
I mean, the same name at the same team. I wonder if he were the same number. Is his number retired? I'm sure that would help be a debate, Yeah, I mean it would it be, wouldn't they just asked, I don't think that would be a debate.
Let my grandson wear it, Let them let him wear them on number. It would be a man.
It would be pretty cla It would be pretty sweet though, if they tanked for Arch Manning and then Archie Manning orchestrated another Eli Manning to get out of San Diego situation and said, hey, listen, like I played there, but this place sucks. No, no, we're not doing this, and then tries to get Dell deltwere at LEAs what number was.
Anywhere?
It feels like an upgrade at this point. Was arch Manning number eight?
He was eight.
It's not retired, but it's kind of unofficially retired. It's kind of understood you don't wear number eight. Any kind of has to though, So I think that would be kind of hard if he ended up in New Orleans and got the number. What number is he in college?
Sixteen like his uncle?
Okay was it wasn't Peyton sixteen?
Yeah?
In college?
It was was his sixteen college? Yeah, Okay, that would be interesting. That's a whole lot of pressure though.
On the subject of t J. Watt that we mentioned, because he was also a no show at camp.
That's a big deal. Man, It could turn into a big deal if they don't if they don't want to address this the right way.
I mean, he's making half of what Miles Garrett is getting this upcoming year.
Well, I mean there's a couple of players in that category and they both have something in common t J. Watt and Trey Hendrickson, and they have in common.
They're both at rushers. What else, oh I thought they were? They were going down the discrimination rode like, No, they've both had a ton of sacks the past couple of years. You know, you could make the case they've both been up there for whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I didn't say anything. I mean, my goodness, you guys asked the question. I answered you people.
I love making it about race when you come they're both edge rushers who played phenomenal the past couple of years and are looking for extensions, Like, yeah, they've got that in common.
I mean, my gosh, I'm not sure what you guys are talking about. Anyway, we knew exactly what you were talking t J.
Watt is getting paid very similar transjicks and like half of what Miles Garrett is now getting paid. And that's that's like all these guys are looking at saying, well, that's what he's getting. Maybe I'm not getting or surpassing Miles Garrett. Even though all players think they're the best, they should, they don't feel like they should be taking a fifty percent haircut for the same production or better production sometimes so you can understand why they're frustrated. And this is when fans get upset about it. You got to understand, this is the only leverage you have as a player. The only thing you can really do is not show up and force the team to have to talk about you and force the team have to look at your roster and look at this team without you. That's the only thing you can really do as a player, to flex or exercise your leverage after you have outperformed your contract.
That I think we'd agree TJ. Watt.
Trey Hendrickson also falls in this category. They've outperformed their contracts, so it's never easy to figure out how to get the done. But you'd have to think too. With Rogers out there lingering TJ. Watt, you've you know, maybe they can get both two things done at once whenever it happens, But it's a lot of cap considerations to take into account.
I would assume they have to get it done. That's a lot.
I mean, it's one thing to have pressure on you over a player that has done nothing for your organization. You know, you wait for Aaron Rodgers. I think it's I don't know, I think it's maybe it's better after he signs, but man, it just feels like a bad move to feel like or for it to have the optics of you being held hostage by Aaron Rodgers until he decides he's ready to come play for the team. Maybe it plays out differently, I don't know.
But with TJ.
Watt, come on, man, like he's beloved by the city. He's he's earned that. That's not like he's he's like an overrated, overblown guy that you know, is like the hype of it all. Like dude is truly a catalyst for the team. When he's in there, they win. When he's out, they don't. And if you were to do something that poisoned the relationship with TJ. Watt or some way somehow it didn't work out with TJ Watt, it goes back to the conversation I continue to have about the pressure cooker that is being created in Pittsburgh.
You could take some of that pressure off by signing TJ. Watt. So I almost feel like they have to sign TJ.
Watt.
I don't believe they're in a scenario where you can't get a deal done.
Oh TJ. It's just your price tags too high. I just can't see how Pittsburgh. The only way they could survive the way this offseason, and for what it's worth, maybe the last two off seasons have gone for them. The only way they can survive is by winning. And how much of that went do they have to do?
I don't know. Is winning good enough?
Like is having a winning season making it to the playoffs that has now become status quo?
Is that good enough?
I would say with some of these mishaps, if there was a mishap of not having TJ. Watt on your team, if there was a mishap of all this discussion around Aaron Rodgers and Aaron Rodgers didn't end up coming in or didn't play well when he came in, are these big enough issues for there to be a problem if you just have a winning season. I think that that's what this kind of is is kind of developing into in terms of a storyline.
Who's what's interesting about these Steelers is they have six months in the sixth most cap space in the NFL, So they've got some cap space to work with and extending out TJ.
Watt. Even though we've talked about this before in our show.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are reluctant to give a ton of money up front in regards to a signing bonus. That's just something that they don't like doing. They might make an exception here for TJ. Wat it would make some sense. One of the things that I do love about how they do business. It's very rare you see a ton of dead cat dead you know, money on the cap, and this this year is one of those instances where there's not that much dead money on their cap and that always helps when you're looking at like, hey, what do these teams have a good amount of cap space? Or you look at their rollover cap, right, moneys that weren't spent last year that rollover this year. They didn't have a ton from last year to this year, but it's it's the top half of the league, and so that helps in creating additional cap space to extend out TJ. Watt to sign Aaron Rodgers. So there's there's all those things that play a factor. But you know, I sit there and look at it and say, it's not gonna be easy to figure out a way of getting it done. But these are two things you desperately need if you want to compete, And I'm sure if Mike Tomlin has any say, what's so he's pounding the pavement. I'm making this happen. I can't imagine he wants to go into the season with Mason Rudolph as their starting quarterback.
And not have a team that's anchored on one edge.
By TJ.
Watt, be sure to catch live editions of Two Pros and a Cup of Joe with Brady Quinn, LeVar Errington and Jonas Knox weekdays at six am Eastern, three am Pacific.
Like we do every single Wednesday. At this time. It's about tradition, a man who would like to be celebrating another tradition for years to come, but we will celebrate him here on this show. He is the old pe on social media, he is Petros Papadakis, the coast of the Petros and Money Show, which you can hear on the Blowtorch Am five to seven e LA Sports Fox College Football Analyst and our good buddy here Pee, what's happening?
Good morning? Oh, good morning? Hello? All right? Hello hey everybody, loo, Hey, what's up?
So?
I wanted to do well?
I wanted to start off, because I know we're going to get into the you know, the rivalry, which.
I haven't even talked about it, and you know since the last week.
Okay, well been so long. I did want to ask you about your thoughts on the growth and development of Luka Doncic, who apparently has lost a ton of weight. Uh, some people have taken notice to him in the off season. And does this make you more optimistic about what the Lakers next year could look like if Luca can figure out how to be in better shape for the upcoming season. Oh god, such growth.
The Laker News yesterday was Lebron making his Taco Tuesday sound when his son graduated high school.
What was that sound like that?
Yeah?
Yea yeah, yeah yah yeah yeah yeah yeah yea yea, yea yeah, yea yeah, yeah yeah yah yeah yeah yeah, yea yeah, yeah, yea yeah yeah yah yeah yah yeah yeah yeah.
It's a little higher, it's a little high.
Yeah.
But it's five in the morning, and I'm you know, I just got up and I ruined. My voice was smoking years ago.
I used to have a higher.
I used to be able to sing the just my Imagination part Real High from the Temptations but I can't.
Even because of my voice.
But yes, it was the Sierra Canyon, Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth graduation. Sierra Canyon where Lebron sends all his kids and they have a great basketball and football program among other things. They're K through twelve, so so kindergarten through senior in high school one thousand, one hundred and like fifty kids, so not a lot.
And Lebron was.
There and they announced his son, the four star recruit going to Arizona, who average of half a point a game in high school.
And that's so he does other things, guys, he should the screens.
He rebounds. But they waited like they announced the kid, and everybody's like, you know, you heard a few horns and like applause, and then he waited for a lull so everybody would know it was Taco Tuesday, and he did that and then everybody, all the Sierra Canyon parents were like and then only then did they announce the next kid, which was Joan. Yeah they did.
Then they were the next kid's name was jonas Epstein.
All right, oh wow, he not the greatest last name. But you know what, appreciate the.
Love man, you know, there's a whole campaign about not not exercising that type of hate.
Bro Okay, well, I'm be careful, man. We literally will go darker right now with the.
Name of the name Epstein. Now associated with the name Epstein is not.
Okay, that's that's that's fair. Hey, I do want to ask, Oh boy, I do want to ask.
Though, Lebron, it sounds like he's gonna pick up or sign his option with the Lakers for twenty six.
You had to be excited about that when you saw that news, right, Yeah.
Just another couple of years getting nailed by the king. You know, you ever see that movie Sleeping with the Enemy with Julia Roberts.
Yeah, it's been a long time.
Oh it's pretty good.
Sleeping with the Enemy where her husband's like the worst guy ever and she fakes her own death to get away from him.
But he finds her.
Because instead of throwing the wedding ring away, she threw it down the sink, and he went into the sink and found the ring.
He knew she was still alive and she didn't drown.
He finds her and before she uh, before she kills him, she has him at gunpoint.
She calls the cops and says, I just shot an intruder. He's like what and then blah blah blah blah.
That's what it feels like, getting nailed by the king for another couple of years. But at least we'll have something to talk about. And what about the Japanese guys? Yeah, you guys there on the Dodgers pretty good.
How do you feel about the Dodgers right now? Man, They're they're looking pretty good.
Huh. I guess they have something felt them. Well.
They they have some injury issues as far as their their pitching goes.
They have guy that don't go very long in the games.
They're starting pitching, but that's uh, but that's kind of rectified itself. They've had a couple of long stamping stammina performances. You know that good Royal honey type performance from from dust Oh yeah, Dustin Man, I think went five innings last night, which is the equivalent of pitching like eighteen innings now and uh and the guy before that, Yamamoto, had a great out at the other day. Yamamoto might win the cy young He's he's really pitching great. He's got a devastating splitter that people.
Don't know what to do with. And there's a new Yamamoto song. I'm not asking you to find it right now, though you probably could. There's a new Yamamoto song that has gone viral.
It's like Yo she nobo yama moto ma maer and it just goes on all right, it's a it's a it's it's from Reddit, and that is now going viral because you know, I mean, it's kind of hard. You know, you can be the greatest, uh, you could be John Taylor, one of the greatest wide receivers around, but when Jerry Rice is on the other side of the field for the forty nine ers, it's kind of hard to get some attention. And it's a little bit like that for Yamamoto with Otani, I mean Otawni I think just hit his twentieth home run last night.
He's on Pace there it is man yo sin no man Denimo she Yeah, man yo sin no right, denimino ben.
You see, Oh my god, is that like his walk up music?
I wish it was.
That's kind of hard if it is.
No, his walk up last that's his walk up is more like a techno vibe.
But man, that's almost like Godzilla, like like dang, that's kind of dope if Yeah, Look.
Japanese culture is very exciting.
You know, They've got a lot going on and uh and they have a they have a great Korean guy too that they called up Hey Song Kim who's an exciting Korean player who runs really well and inject some excitement and it's really likable guy.
He's not Japanese, but he's Korean.
M hm.
So uh, Petros, now that we uh, let's get into it here.
Where does the like, I don't know what, what's there really to say?
Well, I wanted to ask you this because you know this time I don't want to.
Go back and forth with Colin Cowherd.
I feel listen and that's not I'm more looking at it from big picture because you are one to voice your frustration when it comes to USC and where the program is at as opposed to the program you grew up with, the program that you were part of, that you played with, that your family was a part of.
They were terrible when I played there.
Yeah, but there was still an element of pride and tradition attached to the program. So when you see the stuff that's gone on with then unwilling to potentially want to continue the rivalry with Notre Dame for various reasons. Where does this rank among most frustrated you've been with your alma mater in comparison to some of the other instances and other issues that have popped up over the previous years.
Well, I mean, I'm a radio TV guy, but let's just say, I know where a lot of bodies are buried. So there's some other things that we never talk about. But at the same time, I mean, you know, lack of institutional control and stuff like that. But no, I mean, there's there's arrogant Lane Kiffin. There's drunken, out of control Steve Sarkisian. There's clueless and corrupt Pat Hayden and Lynn Swan. There's the Varsity Blues.
I remember Pat Hayden. He was called the Notre Dame Games back in the decade.
He used to be a Notre Dame announcer, former USC football hero, and then he exposed himself and had to go underground after being the US athletic director who really basically helped Foster in the Varsity Blue scandal.
I mean, there's a lot of meat on the bone. Is what I'm trying to say.
I mean Mike bone Let alone, a guy that had to remove And of course there's off sports stuff at USC, with the terrible cover up with the doctor that was molesting people for years and years, and just a lot of bad stuff that's happened at USC because USC is a very very very wealthy, very connected, private university and it seemed like in the twenty first century they really lost their way. This on the other hand, I mean as an institution we're talking about, and it's a gigantic institution. USC is not like Sierra Canyon that has one thousand, one hundred kids. It's it's a massive university. It's like thirty five thousand people graduate and undergrad.
Maybe more so. It's uh, it's a big place and there's a lot going on.
So I don't want to catastrophize this controversy or whatever.
But nothing I think has been more definitive about who's in charge of SC, what's wrong with SC.
A sign of the times at SC that SC is no longer relevant, has a football program year in and year out, that USC has lost there, that USC is impotent, it's a program now now that the now that the ocean has turned to yoga and I've.
Lost my spoon. One of my favorite sayings.
They they they have totally, they have totally lost their identity if they're considering this, or how they're considering it, and the way they're considering it, and who they're allowing to make their decisions. So overall, I think for me, it's a really frustrating thing. I can't say it's the most frustrated I've ever been, because there's really been terrible things that have happened that have been illegal, you know, stuff that's not defensible. This, on the other hand, is a head coach who quite literally would be fired. He would have been fired if his buyout, or would be fired and still probably will be fired if his buyout was not so gigantic. And the fact that they are letting that guy try to manipulate or say something or dictate one hundred plus year old rivalry that, as I've said on the show many times, transcends World Wars, transcends the the transfer portal, transport transcends the nil, transcends conference realignment, any of that stuff. We still have usc Notre Dame. And the fact that Lincoln Riley, who probably should not even be there. He shouldn't He shouldn't be the coach there right now, based on his performance, what the place is. It's just the buyout is so big that guy gets to pull the plug on this rivalry. That guy gets to say that USC players don't get to take the field at Notre Dame or play Notre Dame at home in November. It's not it's not right. It's it's it's it's so far from being right that I can't believe anybody would argue for it. And all these people talking about modern football and things change and this is what we need and all that, and my I mean, USC's not competing. It's not like USC is going to play in the playoffs if they just didn't have that pesky Notre Dame game on their schedule. I mean, they can't beat Minnesota, they can't beat Maryland. And I got to be honest with you, if Notre Dame's on your schedule, win or lose, it's going to help you a lot more when you're in the Big Ten with the new expanded playoff rules than it does scheduling Georgia State or Missouri State. Who's on the schedule here in twenty twenty five, all of that, all of that, it's just so sad and disappointing that these very wealthy country club set type people who have never looked through a face mask at USC, never done anything there, never had any real connection with the place, want to take the opportunity to play at the cradle of college football in one of the most in the most iconic program in the history of the sport, in their stadium every other year. You're going to take that away from a whole generation or even consider taking that away from a whole generation of USC football players because your coach is scared to compete. It's the saddest and most it's it's really the most egregious thing I've ever heard anybody ever consider.
When it comes. I'd rather have a drunk coach, honestly.
I mean, it's it's it's it's truly, it's truly an insult to anybody who ever played the sport at USC that this would be considered. And the fact that USC says anything about it.
I know, Brady, I'm sorry. I'll be done in a second.
You're good, You're good.
The fact that USC says anything about it other than yes, we'd love to play the rivalry for the next thousand years. The fact that anybody other than Jen Cohen, the USC Athletic director, has made any kind of statement about this, the head coach who should be fired, or some weird assistant athletic director open freaking mouth about it. The only person I want to hear from is the USC Athletic director or the president of the school. And that person needs to say we are going to play this for the rest of our lives and for everybody else's lives forward, and that is that.
We don't want to hear anything else about. Why is it even being.
Discussed because Lincoln Riley, who's not good enough to be the head coach there anymore anyway, If you really think they're they're they're they're good and have a chance to compete. Because Lincoln Riley is too soft to to commit to a rivalry that everybody else that's ever coached there has committed to. It's an absolute travesty and it makes me sick to my stomach to even discuss it.
Thank you.
It is interesting when you bring up the history and when you initially saw some of your statements, petros I was thinking about just looking back on how this rivalry has sustained through World Wars when you take into account what it took for the teams to get across the country train they want to train, like, like, I hear this argument by a lot of USC people, in particular on social media, who try to defend the fact that well Notre Dame's not Well, they've.
Never been at a conference, so this existed.
Well, and again that's why you have That's like, why should they be I mean, honestly, it's like saying, well, you have this seven hundred room mansion, why don't you move into this crappy apartment building and Marina del Rey with the rest of us, I mean.
Why why they don't they have their own deal with it? Right?
Well, and then, and by the way, it's always been that way. So it's kind of odd that now you try to use that as justification because of the same.
Thing they use is justification as an It makes me it's laughable.
I'm just about the train ride.
The train ride back in the day, right, like they're going for days across the country back and forth to play one another, and nowadays they're like, well, we fly six thousand more miles a year. It's like, all right, let's just look back at history here and look at how this rivalry was played out.
Teams strut and again I'm not trying to say that.
You know, we've come a long way since then, but it's sustained through that, right. It lasted through snowstorms, through whatever else they had to endure to get to one another to play.
So it has a bit odd.
I do want you to play Devil's advocate though, because one of the things is I think it's on us to say, Okay, we'll see, did make a decision that was for their best interest right to get paid handsomely through the TV METEA write steal and conference still have.
The feeling about it that they had to do that, I mean, and it's because the pack ten for sure, twelve was so for sure.
So sure, So let's just look at it from Devil's advocate, because there has been been an agreement and and look, I'll say this, I spoke to Gen Cohen last week. So what I do know is that what's being floated or out about this twenty year agreement whatever else, there's not a lot of truth of that. There's been and you know, an idea to extend for another year. And there's the thought that Southern cow would like to play at week zero week one at the beginning of the season.
That's a travesty.
But and look, I'm not going to disagree with you, but everyone feels like I'm biased because I'm an undername guy. But what I'm saying is Notre Dame hasn't signed an extension or signed the agreement either, And then you know, so you could you could make that case, I guess, make your case if.
You can for Southern col And why this robbery should need.
To change based on the landscape of college football where a lot of things have changed.
I don't understand. I just don't understand why. Why.
The only reason it wants anybody wants it to change or has said anything about it, is because Lincoln Riley is too soft to play it. And there's a reason they play in November. There's a reason they play in October. What was last year, twenty twenty four and they played at sc right, Yeah, so they played at Notre Dame.
Yeah.
So in the even years, they play at Notre Dame in October. Because Howard Jones's wife used to want to watch the leaves change the USC head coach and Newton Rockney's wife had family in Los Angeles, so every other year they would spend Thanksgiving week that week late November at USC or in Los Angeles with the palm trees in Hollywood and all that. It is not snowing in October in South Bend. It is not a snow game. They don't have to walk uphill in the snow both ways. Yes, sometimes it rains and it gets a little muddy, but it's not mundy anymore because Brian Kelly changed a feeling.
That was a travesty as well.
I don't look, I don't understand, other than the fact that Lincoln Riley doesn't want to play this, why anybody would ever even consider even moving it. If playing the first game of the year is different than playing later in the year USC Notre Dame does nothing but help everybody and us. He's not competing for the playoff anyway, and if they were playing Notre Dame would help them. This is a coach that understands very little about the university.
That he's at.
It's a coach that understands very little about how to make that university successful year in and year out. He's very stubborn. He doesn't want to embrace their traditions. And I'll say it again, if he wasn't so overpaid, he'd be fired at this point without a doubt. So why should anybody, I mean, why should anybody allow that guy to say anything about anything or any of his ilk, or anybody that listens to what he says at some stupid nil meeting and goes on the internet and regurgitates it to fight with a guy like Brady Quinn. There is no argument to end rivalry. There is no argument, in my opinion, to change the date of the rivalry. The only thing anybody should do is say, yes, we love this rivalry and it will continue forever. And despite the changes in college football, the more things change, the more some remain the same. This is who we are, This is our identity as a university. We're such a big deal in college football that we play an intersectional rivalry every single year against the team that is the cradle of the sport, Notre Dame. If you're too if you're if somehow you're too important or advanced or elite or West Coast to continue that rivalry, then let's just scrap the football program and play flag and.
Try to get into the Olympics.
Petrows, I know we're up against it, But who would embrace that idea and like those beliefs of what you just said? Just or me? If there were a coach that in your mind that would fit that mold, who would that be?
Anybody else? Anybody you know, Matt Campbell, Barry Odom, any other coach in the world of college football. Yeah, and maybe you get have five drinks in them and say, God, it's tough to play Notre Dame every year? Okay, great, whatever, You're still the coach at USC. Like you get paid ninety million dollars on your stupid ass contract that you should have never gotten because.
You play against Notre Dame.
You know, that's the thing about USC, And I don't care that they're in the Big Ten now and it's some they act like it's some giant gauntlet of death.
You shouldn't have done it.
Then, you know, if that, if that prevents you from playing Notre Dame, then you're too soft to be in the Big Ten.
I'm so sorry that's true. That's you know, I mean, I think you'd agree.
Pete Carroll during that era, which I look at as that was the greatest, you know, group of teams in USC's history. But he would have never turned this down. He would have never.
No, no, and and and you know, I don't I could talk about I'll put it this way.
I would put that SC team up against any in history of college football.
Okay, Uh you know I don't. There's the way. I mean O. J.
Simpson and people like that, and John McKay in the seventies a different game, I understand to tell what I'm saying, but I mean, yeah, there are great football teams. I covered them as closely as anybody in the world. I used to travel with them. But uh, you look, I mean just as scheduling. We can argue about who was good and who was bad and all that, but scheduling wise, I mean they played Arkansas, they played Virginia, they played Kansas at Kansas State, they played at Auburn. I mean when I played at USC, we played at Florida State. We played everybody we possibly could. I don't understand the I mean, they were never afraid of a challenge. It was it was a way to boost the programs visibility in the BCS era, or any era. But I mean, I take your point, Brady. I mean, those were absolutely dominant football teams in a dominant era of USC, and they played anybody they possibly could. You could say, well, yeah, but they were in the Pac Ten at the time. Well okay, they would go anywhere and play anybody. They went to Nebraska, Nebraska came here. They I mean, they played everybody you could possibly think of.
That.
I mean when they played Auburn and three Auburn was the number one team in the country and they played at Jordan Hare. So yes, when USC is great generationally throughout the years, and Pete Carroll of course the most recent in everybody's memory, they have never, ever, ever, ever shied away from anybody on a schedule. And this is just it's just not This doesn't feel like USC football at all. And if they if they try to do this, seriously, just shake start and then just start wearing alternate uniforms, start wearing white shoes. Let's schedule half the games. It's so far, you know, seriously, let's just scrap the whole thing.
I was gonna say, is a stub Up Center still open?
Yeah, let's go play at the Dignity Health sports. Yeah. Yeah, let's wear our jockstraps on the outside of our pants.
Get them on X at the old pe Hughes. Petros Papadegas the co host of the Petros and Money Show, which you can hear on the Blowtorch AM five to seventy LA Sports Fox college football analyst and a Wednesday tradition here on the show, Petros, we appreciate it. We'll do it again next week.
I hate everybody there.
He is there, he is other lizard. We said hello, Petros.
Lizards doing good good better some hornworms last night, Real Juicy
