Okay, guys, the week Side Podcast. It's back on connor Or and alongside me digitally virtually is Jenny Rerentis, And uh we're gonna talk about some football today because at this point in time, early in the week here, UM, this is uh, you know, July twenty two that we're recording this. UM, here's what we know. Training camp is still on pace technically to begin on time. UM. And uh, we we've heard a lot coming from the NFL, the NFL p A about the protocols, so uh we'll get into we'll get right into that and then we'll get to uh some topics and some other news. But here's what we know as of right now. UM, players are going to get tested every day for two straight weeks UM at reportedly a cost of seventy five million dollars to the NFL. UM if you're if positive tests fall under five percent, will move to every other day after the two weeks. UM. As it stands right now, there are no preseason games. The first five to six days of camp will be testing in physicals. Six to twelve will be strength conditioning and walk throughs. Fourteen to eighteen increased non contact activity with helmets. And Dave twenty plus pads and normal on field practice protocols. So sort of a truncated version of everything that a team would try to go through UM in its O t A s and training camp, mandatory minicamp, all that stuff, UM in this preseason time. Uh, what do you make of all this? Jenny's is this sound of feasible to you? Well, I think it's a lot of progress forward from where things were a few days ago. You know, the NFL p A had a conference call with reporters last Friday, and J. C. Treader, who's the president, was saying that he was worried about the ramp up period. Right They they've been pushing to extend the s ramp up period. They looked back at when players were coming back from the lockout, there was a spike in injuries of something like Kelly's went up two times hamstrings. Those were the numbers they were citing. So they wanted an extended time of strength and conditioning and then they're nonpadded then padded, which is is what this is. I don't know if it's a little bit more truncated, I think than the players have been pushing for. But obviously in a negotiation, you end up at a certain spot. But it was clear from that conversation that there would be no space for preseason games, and I think the league realized that and they worked out a solution here, which I think is positive because the players were saying, we don't have testing protocols and we also don't have easing in period, and they did get those done with training camp on the horizon here, So it was a late push to kind of get to a better place. Obviously, there's a lot of other things to work out, some of the economics, some of the continued protocols and what happens in season if there are outbreaks and with rosters, but this is at least a good step forward and give a lot of credit to the players for holding firm. They know that for a season to be played, the NFL needs them, and they fought for their safety collectively, the biggest stars around the league use their voices, and that's how the power of the players should be, right, I mean you you, they are the stars. They're the ones who make the game. They should be fighting for the things that they need to play safely, and it was great to see that they did and they got some of the results they were pushing for in the wake of George Floyd's murder. Uh, the players you know, coalition that came together and use their voice and got actionable change right away was impressive. This wall, you know, a less serious matter, still shows that, you know, the end fell is realizing. I think, um, how united of affront the players have been putting up. And it's impressive. I mean, you know, in the past, we've seen the players get steamrolled, you know, um for some really important things and when it comes to whatever it is, health and safety, I mean, you know, anything that's important to players. UM. But now it seems like, you know, like you said, they're finally realizing their collective strength or you know, they're finally all getting on the same page. I mean, so many times before, um, the messages that there wasn't there just wasn't a united front. And it seems like there's a there's an energy there that hasn't been there in the past with the players. Yeah. And I think when we saw the back and forth over the c b A and whether to vote yes or no, and obviously there was a divide over the players and it narrowly passed as a yest and people we're looking back on that and saying, well, thank goodness they passed the c B A because the pandemic hit and it was better to have a labor deal locked in, and that is absolutely true. But what I will say at that time was, you know, sometimes when you're presented and bargaining has been done, you're voting yes or no, you don't have a lot of room necessarily, And I think an engagement throughout the process to get to that point, or pushing back when the NFL came to the table and said our starting point is a seventeen game season, which is something that the players have long opposed. I think earlier we're when those conversations needed to happen. But I still think, and as I thought then, that an engagement from the players and powerful players using their platforms and the influence that they have, can be helpful in labor disputes. And while it was good that they passed the c B A, it didn't have all the things that I think for important to some players, which is why the vote was so close. And so I think we have seen this kind of natural outgrowth. As you said, Connor, you know, I think sometimes when you're pushed to the point of being completely and totally fed up, which the players were seeing the NFL's initial response to George Floyd and feeling like there was a continued lack of support for the black community, there was lack of anti racist actions that really galvanize it. And I'm really interested to see. I mean, obviously there is a CBA locked in, so that's not going to be part of the fight in the months and years to come, but there's always things to bargain over, especially as working conditions are going to be as in flux as they are coming out of the pandemic. And I am really interested to see what this renewed force that the players have together, what kinds of gains can be made from it. Yeah. Um, And you know, I was thinking about this this morning actually and was talking to a few people about this, and I think what is interesting to me is that we've seen now NHL testing numbers very low, NBA testing numbers extremely low. I think it was like two out of three or something like that was the uh, you know, the last one that I saw from the NHL. I think on Twitter, Um, these guys can be you know, and as they have been in in in this amid this whole pandemic an example to the rest of society. And yeah, it's a small sample size and you're in this protective bubble and you're making a million dollars, and you know, there are definitely some differences economically with the rest of the country. But it's like, let's let's take this as an opportunity to show people that if you wear your masks and you follow these protocols, like you can contain it in these small, high profile bubbles that are extremely visible and extremely important to large groups of the population. You know, I think that there's a real opportunity there to show people like, hey, you know, these guys are doing the exact same thing that you should be doing. And it's not about taking away your freedoms. It's not about doing any of this. It's just about being safe and smart um and and following you know, the science here. And I think that, you know, that is one encouraging thing that I think can come of this that every he looks and says, Okay, well, you know, this is how we get football, This is how we get baseball, this is how we get basketball. And uh and maybe by following these protocols UM and fighting for for a more safe environment. They're making a small kind of change on a more public scale. Yeah, we've definitely seen those efforts from the Players Association. Demorris Smith on this media call Friday said something along those same lines, you know where a mask it saves saves lives. And Andrew Whitworth the Rams told from the Rams told the story of how I think nine members of his family UM were came down with COVID nineteen because one relative had gone out to lunch with somebody and then it spread through their family. And I believe he said his father in law was hospitalized and UM was was fine, but UM clearly had a big impact on the family. And it was a clear example of how one action that you think might be okay can actually infect a large number of people. UM. So I think you're you're seeing that when you're hearing those important stories, and this is a continued opportunity, you know. UM. Obviously pro sports leagues are investing a lot of money that schools and other organizations don't have to invest, and they have certain luxuries and privileges UM, and there is a lot of resources and attention being paid in to resuming sports, and we've talked a lot about how we have mixed feelings about that. But to your points, they're forging ahead with this plan and so at least need to make part of it the idea that it's only working because certain protocols are being followed. Yeah, I mean, I'm never going to feel easy about the fact that, yeah, they can get daily COVID testing because they have seventy five million dollars to spend on daily COVID testing, you know, Um, whereas you know, how many people in our own lives have we heard of that? You know, one of my friends just flew out to, um, you know, a job outside of New York and um, you it took sixteen days to get his COVID test results back. So in that time, how many times could you have contracted coronavirus? You know? And how many opportunities would you have had to get it? You know, it seems like that is the average waiting period for um, for the lay person, whereas these guys are getting something far more instantaneous or at least, you know, a much better version of that. So you know that the privatization of that is disappointing. And upsetting. But you know, here's to hoping that at least it increases the awareness and the seriousness with which people should take it, because I just I still don't think we're there. And if we can at least arrive to that point, um, maybe we can see some real actionable change if the rest of the country gets behind this and says, hey, yeah, we I would like to be tested safely and securely and frequently. You know, yeah, no, absolutely, and that's exactly what you're seeing. You know, I've heard a lot like here in New York of people have gotten tested in the lag time is something like two weeks. And as you said, that doesn't help a lot because you could have picked it up in the time between you got tested and when you've got the results. If you want to get faster results, there are ways to do that, but you have to pay a lot of money. Um. And they're you know, private doctors that will do it in process, process the tests and if you shell out a lot of money. Um, someone sent me the other day like they were looking into what it would cost. Okay, if someone came to your home, did the test, and you got the results in twelve forty eight hours, and it was just, you know, it could be as much as like a thousand dollars to try to get a result in twelve hours. Just kind of crazy to think about a lot of these barriers. And how of course there's always better access and faster access to people who have money, so those inequities are always going to be unsettling. Yeah. Um, all right, what do you say? We um hop into the topics we have. We do have some news this week, um, our first topic. Washington's football team has made two significant hires in recent days, one Terry Bateman to oversee the name change and rebranding process, and to Julie Donaldson to lead the team's radio broadcast after Larry Michael was let go in the wake of that Washington Post investigation. One appears to be um, you know, kind of a long time Dan Snyder ally, um, someone who's worked with the team in the past and various capacities. Um. Whereas Donaldson it seems like at least an inspiring choice. She grows she joins a small, um but hopefully growing club of female play by play announcers at the NFL level. UM, And I'm wondering if there's anything we can take away from these moves. And I will say this, Um, Beth Mowens, who does the Raiders games, UM, I was lucky enough to be at her Hall of Fame induction for UM Syracuse University and the New House School, and uh, you know, I can't say enough the amount of work, UM that goes into this. I mean, breaking into play by play is a gargantuan task for anybody, but especially UM, you know, females that have been underrepresented across the board and play by play for a long time. So regardless, I mean, you know, I think, no matter how it happened, this is a good thing because, like Beth, I'm sure that Julie will kill it and do a great job and show people that like this idea that we've had of this booth in our minds that has to exist, UM is not true, you know, and and that there are definitely a ton of different voices you can contribute to to that. Yeah, I think it's a good step in the wake of everything that's happened. I mean bringing in a person who's from outside the organization, UM, hiring a female announcer or just a woman in any kind of position where they have authority in the organization is important. Um, I guess the question would be, you know, making sure that that person is empowered to have input on decisions and you know, really be um given authority on certain aspects of the organization being brought into conversations. And one thing I keep hearing specifically as it pertains to the name change, and I think it speaks more broadly to some of the issues at Washington, is that Dan Snyder likes to keep a tight circle. So you know, I think when you bring in outside people, that's a good first step, But then I think it's just as important to make sure that those people are empowered, that their insights and opinions are listened to, and that they're given authority to weigh in uh within the organization. It's I would not personally sign up to be the person who leads the branding. UM. If you know that that seems like a dicey proposition. I mean, you know, if had he handed that to a committee that was made up of you know, UM, Native American tribal leaders of you know, people who are actually steeped in in this, I think that would be encouraging. But um, you know, if you're appointed by a guy who hasn't spoken out about any of these things yet. I would be nervous about just you know, putting my name to that, you know, and you know, because who's are they going to stand by you during the fallout? You know, and you know, if people don't like nickname, if people don't like the branding, if people don't like anything. I mean, you know, it seems like a scary proposition, but um, it is interesting. I mean, I think, um, Julie's hires certainly inspiring, and you know, hopefully that um, we might see some of that um from more of that from Snyder in the future, just because we talked about on the episode earlier this week. It makes for a better environment, it makes for um, you know, a happier place to go to work, and I think that any fan of the team should be rooting for that, you know, um, because it does make your team better. So um yeah, that's uh, that's my two cents. I hope they distance entirely from Native American imagery. I mean, that was the that leaked out, But um, you know, many Native Americans that I've spoke with don't seem to want there to be any affiliation Um, because they don't trust them to do it for the right reasons are in the right way. I mean, how could you blame them given the team's interaction supposed interactions with Native American communities. Um, although it seems as the Warriors is a prime contender, and UM, if they do go that direction, it will be very interesting to see what legwork they have claimed to have done if they choose that name. Yeah, definitely, UM, alright, Topic number two. Michael Bennett retired after eleven seasons on Tuesday, citing a desire to reimagine his purpose and help athletes find their voice when it comes to the social justice movement. The defensive end finishes his career with three Bolt Pro Bowls, a Super Bowl, and sixty nine point five Stacks Hall of Famer. Do you think Jenny or a potential Hall of Fame candidate? Interesting? That's a good question. I feel like I have, UM, sometimes I have a little bit of a hard time putting into context the criteria that qualifies someone for the Hall of Fame. Yeah, that's true. I think it's interesting that. Um. You know, Michael Bennett's definitely always and one of the more thoughtful players in the league. I think it's um. You know, it's it's nice to see a retirement announcement that you know, talks about reimagining your purpose, that talks about accepting this part of your life. I mean, it's such a difficult time for players, especially players who have built their lives and identities around a long career in football. And I think, um, you know, having someone with sort of a mindful approach to that, um is good. I mean, it's it's healthy and you know to say like, hey, I want to support my family like they supported me. I want to help players. I want to you know, do all this stuff. I mean, it shows people, I think that there is a life after the game, and a healthy life after the game. And here's hoping that you know, he's he's actually found that. You always root for that. I think when it comes to any player who's retiring from the NFL. Yeah, and you know, I thought his comments to The New Yorker he touched on a lot of issues. It wasn't a traditional retirement announcement where you basically relive all of the things that you've done in your career. He talked about a lot of important issues about the whiteness of the decision makers in the NFL. UM he talked about he had a quote and they're saying, not everyone can be Colin Kaepernick or Maya Moore, you know, not everyone's in a position to sacrifice their career, and that there are a lot of different ways for players who maybe aren't in that position to make contributions. Um, And so I thought those were, I mean, just a lot of really thoughtful comments. Obviously he's long been a thoughtful voice in the NFL, so it makes sense that his retirement announced it would come the same way. But um, you know, I think framing it in the sense of you have a lot of work to do and uh not this like you know, Um, it's both a positive and a difficult thing, right. I mean, I think there was a very good framing of it. You obviously, it's one part of your life that is ending, but there's a lot more work to do, and he laid the foundation for that work while he was playing. I think a serially kind of drated player too, just in terms of like the sack production. Um, those numbers can get goose depending on what scheme you're in, and you know what your defensive coordinators or your coaches are trying to do. But just sort of one of those like foundational defensive players, like a guy who was really important to like several really good teams over the years, you know, and played like a vital role in UM and several really good defenses, not to mention you know, Seattle's sort of best defenses, I guess over the last few, you know, a few years. Yeah. Absolutely, he definitely played a prominent role in shaping how defense was played through the last decade. Yeah, for sure. Um, all right, we got topic number three. Front Office Sports reported this week that NFL is moving closer to allowing players to wear helmet decals honoring the names of people who lost their lives due to systemic racism or police brutality. Is this a sign that the league is coming around to the wishes of its players, or is it sort of an avenue to control the activism and say, okay, well, you know you're we can We'll give you the helmet. You know, we can give you a decal on the back of the helmet, whereas we've seen in the NBA, players will be able to wear names on the back of their jerseys, which one of our listeners, Um, suggested, Um, you know, maybe there's a couple of different ways that you could do this. But you know, is this a good thing or is this like, hey, we're going to give you a small little piece of real estate to do this that a lot of people probably won't notice. Yeah. I've been thinking a lot of over the past few weeks about the listener who wrote in with that suggestion was really ahead of the curve. And the NFL should have listened to the listeners whose name is escaping me right now. We should have looked it up before the show. But I call him mini oracle. Yes, they should have listened to the mini oracle back when they suggested that. But um, I mean, a decal is something. It feels a little bit thin to me. Um, just feels like everything else just kind of gets uh, you know, push through this end of fell um branding mechanism that tamps down the real meaning and makes things more bland and palatable to a wire audience, similar to like how Met Life Stadium just turned out to be gray. It's like the NFL is just a big um. I don't know. I have several kitchen tools in mind for this analogy. So let's see which one you think works best. Garlic press um, citrus juicer um, you know, cheese greater, um, But I guess cheese graating though you you still get all of the cheese, you know, um, maybe a citrus press, right, because then you only get the parts that are like the least upsetting to people, right, just just the juice, you know, Okay, yeah, no peeling involved, no seeds, no pulp, you know. Yeah, but then it makes it seem like it's like that's the best part of it, which is not necessarily true, right, I don't know, but yeah, the more processed part. I see your point. Yeah, yeah, yeah, um, it's just yeah, I don't know, Uh, it feels like more could be done. Yeah, I'm hoping that we can see And you know, we saw baseball the San Francisco Giants, um, Oakland A's and there are players who are kneeling um during the national anthem more than a small handful um. So I think that's a sign of of things to come, you know, certainly things that we will see more of during this football season. And so I regardless of how the NFL I think tries to contain this, I think that the players strength is such at this point that you know they're going to be able to find a way to get their message out, so you know, yeah, you know, And we've just seen a lot of coordinated social media efforts, obviously the video response to the NFL's initial response to George, the George Floyd death, um, and the push over this weekend to have safer protocols. I mean, we've seen a lot of coordinated social media pushes from players around the league. Um. So, I think that's a powerful tool in itself. But um but I think the importance of something on jerseys, you know, beyond a helmet decal that's easy to miss, is just like the wider audience sees it. You you you know, in order to watch your favorite players, you have to accept the things that they're trying to teach you or talk to you about. And I think that's what's important. Definitely. All Right, what do we have for number four? Newly resigned Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones told reporters that he sees five Super Bowl championships in the team's near future, which would mean one roughly every other year of Patrick Mahomes' new extension. Has this news Connor made you adjust your initial guests of zero m maybe I'll go to to max. Zero to two is a sizeable jump. It is a sizeable jump. Um. But I feel like, um, like the NFL is so cyclical. And I was asked about this on a radio show earlier this week, like, Who's going to be able to beat these guys? Somebody? Because somebody will figure it out, like it always happens. You know, if you put thirty two groups of people together and you make it their job or else, they're gonna be fired to figure out how to beat somebody. Else. Most of the time, somebody does it, you know, and they and the league changes and you know, desirable personnel and everything shifts in one direction and and and I mean that's how we got the Chiefs in the first place. And so I just think that, you know, Patrick Mahomes is a transcendent talent UM, but so is Aaron Rodgers, and so is I don't know, um, Brett Farven, John Elway and Cam Newton and all these players. And that doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to win, you know, eleven million Super Bowls in a row. Yeah. I want to say first that boy Mitch's pole about how many championships the Chiefs win really has more legs than we initially thought when it was posted. I mean, we need to re up this poll. I think we've talked about it every week on the podcast, and now Chris Jones has given us another reason. But yes, I agree with you Connor. I think that we tend to just underestimate how quickly things change in the NFL. Look at the Chiefs last year. They seemingly had everything in place. I mean, obviously Mahomes had a midseason injury but had enough time to be in full form for the playoffs, and that team was well put together. They had all of these pieces that they were just trying to hold onto and retain this offseason, and they still almost lost the Texans, right, I mean, so, um, you know, the Super Bowl was kind of a nail buyer down to the last you know, until the last couple of minutes till the fourth quarter, so you know, uh, nothing is It's like it's just we see a team that is so dominant, and we see a talent like Mahomes that's so dominant, it's easy to forget all the things that have to go right. And I think also because of the Patriots. We accept the fact that you could win six rings um with and forget about the fact that that is so hard to do. I'm gonna be so it's gonna be so much fun to cover Cam Newton super Bowl, Patriots super Bowl this year. Gosh, I'm so excited about that. I cannot wait. Everybody always says when we get to the super Bowl, you know, a bunch of winers and complainers. A lot of these sports writers are Jenny, and they always say, gosh, I can't believe we have to cover another Patriots super Bowl. I liked covering Patriots super Bowls. I enjoyed, you know. I started covering the NFL in two thousand and ten. The first Super Bowl that I was lucky enough to attend was two thousand and eleven the following year with the Giants and the Patriots, and most of the ones that I've covered have been a version of a Patriots Super Bowl UM since then. And I I always like a good Patriots super Bowl. I think it's good. It's it's it's a familiar, and it feels it just it makes you feel okay. Count me in the camp that doesn't mind it either. We've said this before, but like covering a team, a dynasty like this, you're seeing it live, so it becomes more special every time they're in the super Bowl or win, and so I think that is something to be you know, in real time to be appreciating. Also, they're so used to going to the Super Bowl that they don't tighten up like other teams do that week. They're very loose. And you know, there's always a lot made of the fact that Belichick is loose super Bowl weekend. Part of that is because he's been there so often. And I was the pool reporter for their Super Bowl practices in Atlanta, and I was a really enjoyable experience. Everyone was super professional, super loose. Uh you know, Brady was tossing like a little a little throwing game after practice with Brian Hoyer, and Belichick was standing there watching. Belichick's granddaughter was running around. I mean, just like a lot of color and you really felt like, yeah, this is just like a team that's you know, uh, enjoying being there because they're not so panicked about being there. And I think that is what the um the last you know, the routine and ness which they've gone to the Super Bowl has created for the team. It's such a weird thing, you know. I think it's well diction. The dictionary is taking all submissions. Now did you see they made irregardless of word and I was very opposed to. Yeah, So I mean, you know, what is becoming what has become of the English language anyway, we're just able to butcher it and it doesn't matter anymore. Like you know, the other day, I was typing website and I still type capital W E B, space lowercase S I T E because that was a p style for years and years and now it's like, well, people don't like it, so we're going to change it. That's ridiculous, just like more than an over and like all these things that I had to learn and failed. You know, my first journalism professor at Syracuse one typo is an F regardless one AP style error in your story was n F you failed, and so you would have to comb through that and go over and over and over and over and over again. And uh, you know, now everyone's just like, yeah, I like to say, you're regardless, and it was funny to me. So we're just gonna make it a word. It's ridiculous. So what you're doing is fine. That seems more like a word to me than you're regardless. Great. Great. I interrupted your other points, so sorry about that. That's okay. Um. You know my other point would be I think it's interesting that Belichick is so good at and maybe it's because he's been there so many times, um at sort of devouring the moment and being in the moment, and maybe that would be cool if there was a Chief's dynasty where we would get um, you know, Andy Reid was good during that Super Bowl week. I think he was really good. That's good, right, my criticism about other teams tightening, yes, yeah, But if if the Chief's dynasty were to emerge, I think that that would be a gift to football fans because I think he, like Belichick, would treat the Super Bowl week in the way that I think, um a lot of people liked, which is too is to open the door, you know, you know what I mean, and to let people in and to give them a glimpse of that of how this is happening. And I think he gets that. I think he's really good at that. Um. You know, I can even remember my first Super Bowl and thinking like I'm there's a good chance, like I'm never gonna be here again, typical week side pod pessimism. I was like, I'll screw something up with the sidebar, which was on West Welker dropping a pass in that game. I remember and like just the aggression that I put towards remembering every moment of that. Um. You know, Madonna was at halftime, and I remember, like even just like getting a little choked up because I was like, you know, maybe this will be the only time I get to see it, and you're trying to remember everything about Madonna. I'm not a Madonna fan. I didn't grow up listening to Madonna. But at the same time, but are you a big Madonna fan? I mean growing up, but like, uh, my sister and I had this thing where we have have a can next to me, so I'm gonna see if I can do it, you know in early like a prayer, there's that. Yeah, we should try to blow over the can to make the noise. I don't know what that registered. We would try to make the sound to the intro to like a prayer, like at our own sound effects. Big Madonna fans, we are of the same generation, but I feel like the very slight negligible age difference between the two of us is significant in the Madonna thing in particular because I feel like she was a megastar for your childhood and then I was like, like even like two years later, like that changed drastically. And that's true, that's true. But um, but yes, I think your points are good ones, and I and I do agree. I think if there is a team that would be able to be continued to be loose and you know, unfazed by this pressure or of the Super Bowl, Andy Reid is who you'd want as a head coach and Patrick Mahomes is who you want as a quarterback. So I do think they have the potential to have that same Patriots mindset of business, like we're here to do a job, but also appreciate it a little bit. Um. So yes, So so okay, you know, maybe i've well, maybe we're coming around to the same point here. I think, yeah, maybe producer Shelby can sneak in a little. I guess my favorite Madonna's song would be like a prayer. You know, maybe it's the most iconic one, but there's a good borderline holiday. You know, she had a good um comeback sort of like when during the really the peak of the music video era. Um, so like Ray of Light was a good Yeah, I mean they were, they were okay, they just weren't the original, but it was you know, she was around still yeah, definitely. Um all right. Our last news topic, Sean McVeagh said that the post Todd Gurley running back situation will work self out. Um, they have twenty nine three round pick Darryl Henderson, round pick Cam Akers and longtime Girly backup Malcolm Brown. Um, I'm actually kind of excited about this. I think that McVeigh with different tools at the running back position, no pressure. I think that came with Girly in that giant contract. I think it might allow him to actually be a little bit more creative and versatile with his personnel. I think this could be better for the Rams offense than it was in the past. I wholeheartedly agree. I think that having different options that can maybe feel different roles, you know, to go with it. Appliances in the kitchen, you know, maybe you've got a couple of different lemon devices that work, one that juices, one that makes the little spiral peals, and then you know another another greater type. So, um, I'm not sure, and you come out with some really great lemonade and other lemon items. This is really devolving Connor, but you know, you've got the kitchen appliances on my mind. But I think this is the way to go with running backs. You know, obviously they had a talent that they really liked and they tried to make it work. But obviously he had some injury issues which contributed to that. And so I think now you kind of have a couple of different players that can together make the same production, and you're less dependent on one player his health, his status, etcetera. Yeah. Meanwhile, some teams that you know are paying fifteen sixteen million dollars for running back a year, and we'll see what we see how that works out for them. I think there's going to be a certainly a renaissance of the Rams and McVeigh I think in general. I mean, yeah, you know, I was I did a radio spot with a Cardinals area station and they were talking about, you know, just how set the division seems into me. You know, the Rams coming back and just smoking everybody this year would not surprise me in the least, like for them to go twelve and four and take the division and everyone be like, oh yeah, we forgot that McVeigh was a was a good coach and he had good personnel. Like that seems totally plausible to me. I would also pick them to win the division right now. I opted against in our football preview issue. UM I did the a f C and so I had to then pick the standings. UM I requested not to do the NFC. I've just I've had enough NFC. You know, I'm just very tired of the NFC. But if I if I did, um, I might Okay, I was unaware of the stamps. This is new information. It goes just you know, I'm just tired of the NFC. You know, it's just, you know, there's just too much going on and there in the Buccaneers and you know, everybody talks about the you know, the Saints and like everything that's going on. You know, um, you know, there's just there's too much going on. Near the a f C is where the actions have UM, I mean, I would tend to agree. This is also a call back to a good friend of mine, Mark Sessler, who, Um, we were on NFL Network one time and we did a segment on what's one thing that you would get rid of for the upcoming season, and Mark just disbanded the NFC. That was his desire, was just to completely disband the NFC, so that that was just a nice call back to him. But yeah, I don't know. I think the Rams are gonna be fine. They're gonna be great. Um, we'll see a little bit of Shaan McVan hard knocks too, so that'll be exciting. I remember when I was covering the Giants, and I don't remember what context this came up, but Tom Coughlin was talking about how there were a lot of good teams in the NFC East or maybe the NFC overall, and there was some reference to like party in the NFC, and it was around the same time that Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus came out, and I just remember every time I hear that song, I just think of Party in the NFC. Um. I really would like to go back and find the quote. Um, it was probably some ill advised tweet about it likening it to the Miley Cyrus lyrics. But I also may have been less on Twitter at that time, So God's pretty much on Twitter right now. I would say, but I'm I'm uh less and less on Twitter. Um, thank you to the fans that do send us the d m s. That's pretty much all I check at this point. Um. You know, I think they need to make a Twitter that makes you feel better after you use it. You know. It used to be an antidote. Yep. I always felt bad for you though, And I we first started working together on the beat because like you, UM would just be like firing off all these like newsy nuggets and I was like just trying to find my way, and I would just tweet a bunch of nonsense. And you know, you know, it's just a big volume nonsense tweeter at the beginning of my career, you know. And uh, I don't know, I just feel like that was not the way to go. Oh, Connor, I was a nonsense tweeter. Two. It was probably some like minor transaction with a hashtag and wag J so it would go to our like feed on the NJ dot com site or something like that. I'm not so ahead of the technological hashtags really meant something different back in the day. But um, alright, oracle time, I don't know, this is this is a big one. UM. And so this comes from uh we did you know put to rest our, you know, football preview issue, which is I'm very excited about UM and UM I had speaking of the a f C UM a little bit of a heat seeker prediction here. UM, I have the Steelers and the Browns finishing with the exact same record, but with a tie breaker, UM pushing the Steelers into the playoffs over the Browns. But three teams in the a f C North with a winning record this year this year? What do you think about that? Wow? Okay, well I think that's possible. I mean I feel like that division often has these kind of like um, you know log jams, right, a lot of teams in the mix. So that's interesting. Yeah. I'm like, you know what I have a really bad habit of doing is getting like super high on a new head coach that UM and then just totally talking myself into it. And Kevin Stefanski is is like, is that person for me right now? And you know, as a Browns fan, I've been doing this for I'm not a Browns fan anymore, but as a Browns fan from my childhood, I've been doing a version of this for I don't know, twenty years, you know, Butch Davis is going to fix this. Um, oh God, Butch Davis, Romeo Cornell, Mike Petton, Mike Patton, Chris Palmer. Um. Yeah, so I don't know, maybe misguided, but I don't know. I think we're gonna have a fun little log jam in the f you know. I think the a f C North is going to be a fierce division again, like when the Steelers, Bengals and Ravens were all good at the same time. Yeah, okay, alright, like that prediction. Um, all right, my friend is consensus is Um. We've talked before about kind of how there's no good owners or the ownership model in sports is screwed up, and the nws L has an amazing ownership model. There's an expansion franchise they're going to start play, I believe in two in Los Angeles, Angel City something. Um. I think I think they're still coming up with the name and the branding. But it's this fantastic ownership group with lots of people in it. There's fourteen former U S women's national team members, Natalie Portman, Serena Williams, and Alexas o'hanni and Jr. And their daughter Olympia. UM. So it was just kind of this awesome consortium approach, UM. And I think this is the kind of thing that would make sports better if you had ownership models that include former players and that include leading voices and people that really want to build something that matters not just for what happens on the field, but more broadly. UM. And you know, I I just really love this model. There's obvious barriers in the NFL. I think any ownership groups someone has to own at least thirty percent of the team, and given the value of NFL franchises, that limits the pool of people that can become club owners. And I think that gets us in this position where we are, and that there's this vast disconnect by the people who owned the teams and the people who are playing and often the general public. And so I don't know if there could be some kind of change to the ownership model, Connor, but this consortium is something to get excited about and love it, and it was primarily women owned, and I just think it was a really neat step and maybe something that could grow in professional sports. I totally agree that, you know, I thought that was really cool first step. And you know, NFL should start paying attention. I mean I think that eventually, UM. Some of the spring football leagues that UM tried to UM exist and failed, one of their big pushes was to go to a sort of a celebrity focused ownership model, but you know, also making sure that that was a diverse celebrity focused ownership model. I think that is, like you said, the best way to at least breathe new life into this, you know, UM, and to stop getting what we have now, which is akin to just the country club where nobody is allowed in, you know. And so I think that this is great, you know. And Angel City FC is what I think it's being called, which is a pretty awesome name as well, so very cool, you know, for teams that are interested in rebranding, I e. Washington, UM, you know, there are lots of directions to go that just be real about what's going on. You know. Swampy c C. Now that is the winner. And then your mascot. Yes, oh my gosh, this is the best belief. We just figured it out. This is my favorite moment of the week side podcast. Connor is these revelations we come to sometimes you know what happens maybe once or twice a year. But the first one was cracking the NFL schedule. When we realize that the plan was really to have its start in week five, that's when the Giants played the Cowboys. And now we have Compic, Swamp City f See and Swamp Monsters as the mascot. It makes me think of like the entrance to the stadium would be like did you ever go to Rainforest Cafe when you're a little kid? I love Rainforest Cafe. This is a fantastic idea, like, yeah, we could be branding consultants based on this conversation alone. We could send this in as our tape, our resume tape, or a lot of talent on this pod. Just a lot of brain power and a lot of talent, you know. That's that's I've always thought that so mostly on the other end of the microphone, but you know, this is a really fantastic development. All right, Well, for those people who stuck till the end, you got the big reveal of the show, um and come back next week maybe we'll have another revelation that's worthwhile. So the mm QP week Side Podcast is me Jenny Brentis and Connor Or. We're produced by Shelby Royston. SIS. Executive producer of podcasts is Scott Brody. Ben Eagles, Director of Editorial Projects and product Mark Mravik is a meritus executive director of the mm QB. Keep up with our entire lineup of podcasts five days a week by subscribing to the mm QB NFL podcast for free on Apple Podcasts, and while you're there, please do us a favor and leave a rating and review. It really does help other people find the show, which is also available on Spotify Radio dot Com, Stitcher, s i dot com, and wherever else you listen to podcasts,