Kirk Herbstreit on College Gameday & Thursday Night Football | SI Media | Episode 510

[Music] welcome everyone to SI media with Jimmy trainer thank you so much for listening let me tell you right off the bat I'm under the weather my voice is not as shot as it was uh the day before but even taping today I'm not in great shape so just bear with the voice and if you hear any coughing or throat clearing I apologize in advance but did not want to cancel this week's show because I have Kirk herb Street who I did not have on at all last year during the college football and NFL seasons and obviously Kirk is a major major player with his presence on college game day ESPN's lead college football analyst and then Thursday night football with Al Michaels on Amazon so bear with the grally voice and the noises so you can hear Kirk her Street Great interview with Kirk about his two jobs about college for state of college football doing both gigs what his schedule's like working with Al Michaels bunch of topics with Kirk and of course salaka joins me for our train of thought segment heavy heavy gambling talk on this segment not pics or anything like that but just talking about gambling in general uh before we get to it if you missed it last week great episode with Chris madog Russo from Serius XM and first take a lot of feedback on that podcast appreciate everyone who reached out a lot of people seem to enjoy it so if you missed it listen to The Mad Dog on the Pod last week make sure you subscribe to SI media with Jimmy Trina and leave a review on Apple all right enough of this voice hopefully you guys can bear with me and enjoy the episode Kirk herb street from ESPN and Amazon Prime followed by salakot and train of thoughts oh right here right now on SI media with Jimmy train all right joining me now very happy to have him I I screwed up last year never had him on during the college and NFL season I figured let's make sure that doesn't happen again so here we are with the college football season so we have on one of the stalwarts of ESPN college game day ESPN's lead college football announcer analyst and of course Thursday Night Football on Amazon with the legendary Al Michaels he is Kirk herbstreet Kirk how's it going good man how are you I'm good I'm good I'm hanging in there I'm ready for football thank God it's finally here no doubt no doubt I'm ready it's that time now game day is going to be in Dublin for Florida State Georgia Tech but you're not doing the game no I'm uh just college game day just col how come you're not doing that game I don't know I don't know they just they're just having me go and and do game day you know um I think Tess I'm not sure is it Tess and Jesse might be doing the game I'm sure what was it MCD and I don't I just I just remember being surprised it wasn't you since you the game thing well the the tough thing is even I'm glad I think it's great the game day is going there would loved to called the game um my problem is the following week is a really uh week one's a pretty good grind I have um college game day for three hours Texas A&M Notre Dame that night right after that game I fly to Las Vegas um so get in you know 3 in the morning East Coast time and then I got a call LSU USC that that night um so that's a that's a lot on the back end so yeah um maybe it had something to do with that I'm not sure yeah yeah but I'm looking forward to going I've never been and I I saw this is the first time gay day is going to be outside of the country which I found shocking when I heard that I would have thought somewhere along the line you guys would have been no this is the first time um you know in 20 I think we were scheduled um to go to to Ireland for Navy in Notre Dame and obviously Co hit and that that eliminated that trip so uh I guess you could say it's been in the works for for a few years but finally we get an opportunity to go over there I wish I had more time I I've got a Thursday night game uh with Amazon uh with the Bengals Colts so doing a lot of preparation for that game yeah and then I I was going to go try to make it a three or four five day kind of thing but uh now I'm leaving on Friday I actually land at 8:00 a.m. uh Saturday so you know you lose the five hours I land at 800 am. Saturday morning and of course the show I think is it I think uh 2 o'clock I think that afternoon local time 9 9:00 am. to 12 uh you know eastern time but yeah I I land at the morning of the show so yeah I was thinking about that when we were when I Was preparing for this I'm like wait you know it's interesting that Kirk's doing this on a Wednesday when game days I when does he fly in Ireland that's not yeah fly South Bend I think everybody's gone you know like you should do they all left Monday or Tuesday uh and they're over there I think a lot of them took their families and they're enjoying enjoying you know once in a-lifetime trip for the show so I wish I could have joined everybody but I've got uh just left a meeting with Al and Kaylee and our production team with Zack Taylor the head coach of the Bengals uh came back here to do this with you and then I got a head back to the the the hotel uh where everybody is to do a film session for uh for a couple hours I appreciate you squeezing me in and I want to we'll get to a bunch of college football topics I want to just start with this this is year three now of you doing the college football which you've always done and and added Prime on Thursdays with Al is it did it take a little while to get used to is the grind is there anything you can do to lessen the grind or it's going to be a grind no matter what what what what lessons have you learned in doing both now that you go into your yeah yeah it's a great question first year because I was first time doing the NFL and because I'm working with Al Michaels and because I always want to do a good job and and my thing has always been kind of over prepar um I I think I I did too much you know I I I took away some of the joy of the job um I was I was kneed deep in film and on the phone with coordinators offensive defensive coordinators it was just Prep Prep Prep so I would get on site and I would go to the the the home team we would go to meetings and and go to practice and I'd leave that I'd go right back this is year one I'd go right back to my hotel and I would be in my hotel just consuming information and the the crew Al and every they would go to dinner and I would be like man I don't have I can't go to dinner you know I'm trying to get a hold of Gus Bradley the defensive coordinator from the Colts and so it was just it was a lot and it took away I got I got through it um but I think it took a lot away away a lot of the this job's very very fun you know and and I was overly prepared and I was not using you know but it it gave me security and feeling good so I guess it's what I needed so last year I pulled back on that still obviously prepared but I would go to dinner I made a point of going to dinner every Wednesday night with Al and Kaylee and our team and uh just try to get to know everybody as people not just you I'm sitting next to Al Michaels a legendary uh play-by-play man one of the greatest to ever do it I got to know Al was Al and met his wife Linda and I got met his kids and his grandkids and I just that's what I like to do that's what I've always done on game day that's kind of who I am and um I think it really affects the chemistry of a show no matter what you're doing or any job or employment that you have I think when you get to know people as people it really can help so yeah so I keep the silos separate Thursday Night Football is one Silo three-hour college game day is its own Silo and then Saturday night with Chris fer is its own Silo and I just try to keep those separate as I prepare throughout the week and try to enjoy it you know so Saturday's a heavy day you have game day and you have and then you do the game this year you probably end up with a lot of 3:30 games with ESPN now having the SEC package might not always have that 8:00 game and then you have the Thursday what day of the week do you get tired well I think I get tired because just real quick I I you know Monday and Tuesday are prep days from my house and like I said I'm on the phone with producers and and NFL teams and the visiting team A lot of times we do the zoom stuff on Tuesday I'm trying to get a hold I'm trying to chase the coordinators down individually I I love to talk to those guys um so it's a lot of just just chasing things down working pretty much from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed that's Monday and Tuesday Wednesday I travel so I go to the home site uh and I'm again you go to the home site you go to their their their uh local facility you go to practice you sit down with the head coach the quarterback defensive player um so that's that's all on on Wednesday uh a lot of times I'm returning calls to the producer Jimmy guo from game day to give him what film I want for let's say it's Michigan Texas or whatever game you know that we're breaking down so I'm trying to prepare for that as well on Wednesday Thursday is is uh onsite um more preparation for the Thursday night game also looking at the Saturday night game as well um I call the game Thursday night soon as the game's over I fly to college game day uh I'm there Friday morning uh you know I do production meetings in the morning tape a couple Sports Center hits I fly back to Cincinnati where my son plays High School football I don't miss a game I go to his game no matter where game day is I fly back go to his game win or lose try to stay there give him a hug after the game fly back to game day do game day the next morning for three hours often I'll fly to another location hopefully this year it's in the same a lot of the same spots but I'm sure it'll be out of 15 weeks 10 same spot five maybe you travel around um and then I call the game Saturday night and then I fly home and I get home at usually two or three in the morning and then the reason I tell you all that is Sunday in the past before I did tnf Sunday was my day to just kind of like be comos and watch some NFL and doze off on the couch and and now if you know I have Cowboys Giants the next week I'm watching whoever Dallas is playing this Sunday and whoever the Giants are playing so Sunday has now been eliminated from a rest day to kind of a um a screening day and a prep day yeah so it's a lot man it's a lot yeah it is and it's never complaining I love it but it's man it's it is a lot uh when you do that from late August into uh into early January tell me about working with Al because I've been very very lucky over the years just because of doing this to get to know Al the real Al not the you know I mean the one you see on TV is pretty is the real Al but there's there's the way from TV Al which is really an all-time character in this business and I know a lot of the people listening to this love Al what has it been like for you to get to know him and work with them the last couple years well think about it my my four play-by-play people that I've worked with in my career I I came up in the late 90s with Mike too I worked with him for about seven or eight years still a great friend of of mine I went from Mike too to Brett musberger I worked with Brent musberger from 06 to 13 that was an incredible experience because you know like like you I mean I grew up watching Brent and I went from from him to Chris fer who I had the game day relationship with uh and I started calling games with him in 14 so now about 10 years of doing that with Chris and really comfortable and just at ease with him and then I and then I I started to work with Al Michaels uh three years ago and so those are my four guys that I've worked with I I consider that incredible badge of honor to be able to work with four the greatest to to to do it and so I've been very spoiled but they're all different you know like their personalities are different their Rhythm and Cadence and so with Allan I um like I said I the first year it was more of just trying to learn it's it's almost like Dancing with the Stars where you're you know you're learning how to dance with a new partner um you know I thought he was done with his thought so I start and it was just a pause and then he would start another thought and a few times I was I was thinking he was done because that's what I was used to with Fowler and so you know just kind of working your way through that and then I get to know him a lot better in year two and man he is an unbelievable guy I am I I I just again just fresh my mind I just left him first time I've seen him since since our last game and it's just like you know seeing a a relative really I mean uh he he is fun I mean you talk about storytelling you know we'll go to dinner tonight we'll go to Jeff Ruby's Steakhouse and we're all just kind of sitting around listening to Al he'll tell stories I'm sure he and uh his family they took a trip over to Paris for the Olympics and went over into Italy and you just sit there he's just one of those guys that just has so many thoughts and so many great stories and he's you know for a guy that's older you know he's he's very very quick with this he knows anything and everything that's going on uh in the internet World he's very dialed into to that space um so he he's been just an absolute treat Beyond being Al Michaels the great do you believe in miracles and all the Olympics and World Series and Super Bowls just a great guy just a great part and uh somebody I you know I've been very very fortunate to work with here these last three years I I'm not sure being dialed into the inter I I mean I tell every single playby play person who comes on like do not go on the internet right you know I thought Al I mean I'll be the friend ADM I'm fully biased but I thought Al took a lot of unfair [ __ ] last year and I thought it was a lot of p on I don't think half the people criticizing him believe what they were saying I think it became a complete Pyon thing which is you know I think I think it was I agree and I think it it started where people I didn't work with him the previous year they did a playoff game and Tony Tony dung it yeah yeah and it was the Jacksonville game and the Chargers and it was and it was almost it it was a he was out of his rhythm with me who he did 17 games with and then he worked with Tony doesn't work a lot with her good friends but he doesn't work a lot with him so um just to take that and then to just kind of run with it um no one ever said that in the 16 or 17 games that he and I worked with they kind of laughed at us being like man these some of these games you know but right there nothing about him you know and I thought last year um you know as a as a when you're doing a game a lot of times your voice and your energy energy is reflective of the the game and and and the stadium and the atmosphere um and so if you're doing a game that's seven to3 in the fourth quarter and you're just jonesing for a first down or a completion what are you supposed to do you know and so you know I I think uh I applaud him in this era of I think a lot of play-by-play guys because I've watched this and studied this my whole life I think we're in an era right now now with with play byplay uh some folks that I think they call games and call plays where they're trying to get on social media you know like they they really want to make a call to try to really go to another level um you know I'm a Reds fan and you know the Reds guys like they if Ellie De La Cruz does something it's just to the to the next level you know which is exciting um but to me I think when it warrants it I what I love about Al is when it warrants it boy he's going to he's going to hit you with it you know so um yeah I'm with you I I thought a lot of that was was kind of I think piling on probably probably the best and you make a great point I mean listen I love Al I love Al but I'll be the first to say that playoff game he did with Tony dunie was not a good broadcast now how you want to parcel out the blame that's a whole story but that had nothing to do with any of his performances last year so I think you really make an excellent point in bringing that up um all right let's go to college let me let me get you take on this because there's no more important voice in college football than you I now I'm here in New York my whole life where college football is not really that big of a thing so that could play into this Theory and question that I have for you I love Saturdays and I love watching college football I love the I love game day I love watching Lee Corso put on that helmet getting the crowd all worked up I sit in front of the TV from noon to midnight and I watch every game and I love it putting that aside I feel like the sport is such a mess right now from these standpoints it has nothing to do with nil cuz I couldn't care less about that I I don't I don't even understand what the playoff situation is with the seating the brackets it's so confusing I feel like the conf I don't know which teams are in which conference there's a conf confence with two teams in it now I don't care about any of that stuff because when I'm watching the games that's the entertainment that's what I care about but I feel like the sport has so many problems right now is that a ridiculous statement would you agree am I being unfair what's your take on the state of college football well I have a lot of friends that live in the east coast and they they don't have the same appreciation probably that I have for college football because into the Mets or the Yankees the Red Sox or the Celtics or whatever it is and um I and I get that and I get if you're because you know I'm a I'm a sports fan like I I love all sports but I'll be honest like I'm a little bit like golf I like I love to watch golf especially tiger was playing in his prime but I'm kind of I watch the majors you know that's kind of where I am grand slams in tennis love Fowler but I'm kind of the Grand Slam guy you know on man I'm dialed in I love it um so I think college football fans there are people out there that kind of hey if Ohio State's playing Michigan or it's a big game I'll kind of tune in otherwise what the hell's going on with that with that sport anyway I get that I would just tell you that in the last two to three years I think there's been more change and more stuff that we guy that follows it and lives it for the last 30 years maybe longer every day of my life there's been more change in the last three years than the previous 150 years right right so I get if you're a French fan like the hell with the rest of all that I just want to give me a good game and I'll tune in um I I don't know if it's it I don't think we're done with the change you know I think I think we're still going to see you know there's Florida state who's in the ACC is threat you know is suing the ACC they're trying to get out of the ACC there's a lot of talk that Florida State and Clemson and others from the ACC potentially could be in other conferences in another year or two and what will that do to the ACC will there still be an ACC we've already saw the Pack 12 which used to be the pack 10 and the pack eight has so much history it's basically been dissolved even though you as you referred to Oregon State Washington State or still technically there you wonder if the Mountain West will eventually become you know the Pack 12 so yeah I I get it it's fair criticism um you kind of poo pooed the nil but I think there are a lot of people who look at the nil me personally if you go by name image and likeness you know like a JJ McCarthy last year at Michigan if he could create a bunch of money or Caleb Williams can create millions of dollars off of his name image and likeness I think a lot of people in college football who traditionalists are like that's kind of the new world we're in yeah that's how I feel but the collect which is for people that don't know that's each university has Al alumni that basically give money to a collective that Collective takes in 10 12 1420 million and then they go to high school football players and bribe them to come pay to come play for their school so if Ohio State or LSU or A&M or Alabama all want this one kid basically whoever the biggest bidder is sometimes gets the player that makes no sense to me right or if there's an All-American at a smaller College let's say Miami Ohio or Bowling Green and he's a great player Alabama or somebody's going to come in and say Hey you had a great year we need a left guard we'll give you this like to me that part of the game is awful um it it you know it's basically allowing alumni to pay for championships it makes no sense to me but a player individually being able to create a brand for himself go for it as far as I'm concerned yeah when I when I when I said that about the nil I meant like it's so dirty I can't even pay attention to it yeah and and and there's no rules the NFL rules with free agency There Are Rules with everything and college football there's really no rules you can go do whatever you want to do now tell me I I I think the I'm sorry I didn't mean to cut you off there um I think everyone's happy with the expanded playoff yeah I think so tell me how you think though that's going to affect regular season games you know Michigan plays Ohio State what used to be on the line not really on the line now am I no I'm with you man I mean when we talked about Ohio State Michigan last year I kind of said on the show I was like this is really the last time that this game has everything on the line winner take all loser go home and now this year if Ohio state has a big year the way everyone's expecting and I think Michigan's going to be a very good team you know they lost a lot let's say Ohio State's 11-0 and Michigan's 10- one when they play you would think boy Michigan better win or they're out but I think Michigan can still lose or Ohio State can lose and they're both going to be in the in the playoff right not only that they no longer have divisions so chances are they might play next week in Indianapolis in a big 10 championship game right right so think about that like forget the playoff what if AIO State Michigan play late November and then a week later later early December so that's a very fair point what about Alabama Auburn what so does it take away from the importance of the regular season I'm a college basketball I used to be a junkie I loved watching didn't have to be could be Kansas it could be Syracuse Georgetown anybody but it's like the regular season means nothing like who cares who wins just and it's interesting because the bowl season ended up meaning nothing with all the players skipping the bowl gam at least now I guess for those playoff games no one's going to skip those so you would think you never know the world we live in today imag one thing nil has done a good job of it has paid these players and given them incentive that instead of like well if you're a first rounder it's obvious but if you're like you get feedback your second third fourth rounder it's like do I want to go and roll the dice and and go into that world or do I want to play at my school where they're going to pay me x amount of dollars so I think that's one good thing about it they are about to do rev share too where percentage of the money that ESPN and fox and NBC all pay in that's always gone to the conferences and the schools they're about to come up with a new way of kind of giving the players their share you know I I listen man I have no idea where this thing goes you know it it feels like the NFL it feels like you need a CBA like a collective bargaining agreement where yeah the the the big conferences negotiate with somebody who represents the players and you go over nil and revshare and whatever to avoid the antitrust laws I I just feel like they need some kind of uh contract where we all understand here the Rules of Engagement and off we go I think we'll eventually probably get there would be my guess but when when that'll be I've no idea with big Wireless providers what you see is never what you get somewhere between the store and your first month's bill the price you thought you were paying magically skyrockets with mmobile you'll never have to worry about gotas ever again when mmobile says $15 a month when you purchase a three-month plan they mean it and how refreshing is that with the fees and taxes that we all get hit within our cell phone bills it adds up and adds up and you don't know what you're paying for but that's not case with mintmobile mt mobile is here to rescue you with premium Wireless PL starting at 15 bucks a month to get this new customer offer and your new 3-month premium Wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month go to m mobile.com ssim media that's mintmobile.com ssim media cut your wireless bill to 15 bucks a month at mintmobile.com ssim media $45 upfront payment required equivalent to $15 a month new customers on first thre Monon plan only speed slower above 40 gigb on Unlimited Plan additional taxes and fees and restrictions apply see mintmobile for details all right let's talk game day here for a little bit it's still beloved and it's gone on for so long why do you think it still means so much to so many college football fans I'm gonna say this is my 29th year doing the show I i' I've you know just like Society changes you know television changes you talk to people who are in this industry quite often we I feel like for for 10 years if not longer we are in the hot take World um again who can who can get on social media who can be viral with a with a crazy take and I can only speak for myself Pat McAfee has brought a lot of energy and a lot of crazy moments to the show um he's one of the greatest teammates I've ever had he prepares his ass off on this show he really to takes almost deferential to the show what it's meant to the sport being in an NFL locker room what it means to NFL players who on Saturday are a lot of times at their facility and he's like it's on in every facility so he sees it through a lens that I don't like he has such respect for Lee Corso and the show so people need to know that when they see him and he's a character and he's fun it doesn't mean he's a wild Loose Cannon he's the opposite of that so he's very respectful of the show um but we don't we we try to make the this is my opinion we try to make our show about the storylines on the field the coaches and the players and who's ranked and what are the big games and we give you some EXO on that and we don't take ourselves too seriously we're very self-deprecating we celebrate it's a Saturday morning and people are tailgating all over the country anymore a lot of people have their Direct TV next to their RV and they're tailgating with game day on like I see them when we right into Athens Georgia Ann Arbor and we're pulling into a meeting they already got their tents set up their Direct TV on and ESPN on they're like Herby what's up you know like so it's a I feel like it's a microcosm of what people in Austin Texas and Tallahassee and Anor all over and we try to just be that you know and again we don't we try not to make it about us we try to make it about the show about the sport and we try to celebrate the sport and I feel like Lee Corso always says we are in the entertainment business and football is our vehicle and I think that's kind of like our team motto and that's that's what we try to do you know every single week no matter where we are Corso's coming back this year correct he is 89 years old yeah yeah yeah um yeah I've it's been interesting to me as an observer because it does look like you really do love McAfee it seems like you guys have really bonded and and as again I don't know you guys personally but it does seem like it's a little bit of an OP I've always thought of you as a little more tame not Outland you know pad is outlandish so it's interesting that you guys have bonded so well together and I think the re it's a great point I think the reason is how I've going back to me and Al trying to get to know Al like I I didn't know Pat right I never met Pat I started going on his podcast before he was on ESPN had a lot of fun with him um then I got to start to go to dinner with him and I I just realized there's so much more to him than wearing a tank top and standing on top of a chair and yelling you know like at the end of the day P McAfee is about celebrating sports like that's that's really what he's about I know there's been some controversial moments with Aaron Rogers and all that stuff right right right but really at the end of the day if you're just sitting there talking to him you know how people sometimes people walk into a room and they they suck energy out of the room yeah there are other people Lee horse is one of these guys they go into a room and they kind of provide energy that's the best way to describe Pat yeah Pat walks into a room and he provides energy to the room and I'm talking undefeated like I've never seen him just kind of walk into a room quiet had a tough day maybe at home you know you know we all do that I do that right right yeah yeah he doesn't he doesn't do that yeah and I'm telling you man the the game day people feed off of his energy he he's completely made me re-evaluate 29 years of my career and you know you get to a points like you know everyone I started with the show except Lee Coro is gone right behind the scenes on the camera behind the camera I mean other than Lee a lot of people are gone and so when I was at like 25 year 26 doing now Amazon doing the Saturday night game I you know do I really I love game day but I do I really want to keep doing it and I love Ree and and Dez and and Coach I love everybody but it's tiring and then man Pat's energy has really changed my view on that like I and then you bring Sab it in it's like man you couldn't pull me off of college game day right now and a lot of that has to do with just the overall Vibe of that of really that whole show we haven't even talked about Nick Sab right that it's funny because my my next question to you was going to be could you ever see yourself leaving game day I really I have it written I don't write questions I don't write questions I just write like bullet point notes and I have leave game day question marks so I don't even have to ask you that question because it and I'll tell you this when two three years ago when Amazon came to me and asked me to do the NFL I wanted to align my contract with Amazon which is a five-year deal with ESPN which I had like a year or two left they they were gracious enough to to kind of redo my deal so I was able to align the game day and the Saturday night game with ESPN ABC with Amazon so that they're they're kind of married now is from a least from a timing standpoint so that'll allow me you know when I get to you know a couple years down the road be able to kind of look at okay do I really want to keep doing all three of these because right now as I sit here I don't I I as much as I work and as much as it's man how do I there's no way I can keep doing this I don't know which one I would eliminate because I so you you have a fiveyear deal with Amazon yeah I think every report out there said three I thought five five years oh okay okay um all right let me switch gears here because now I think signed a three I I had a five yeah yeah let me switch gears here you've mentioned a couple times people saying things to go viral I can't have you on here today and not ask you about a couple of things yeah um I saw last night Ryan Leaf who I to be honest had no idea he had worked at ESPN called you and McAfee overly SE o the most overly sensitive people he's ever met and called you both narcissists what's your reaction to that um I heard about that somebody told me about that and I I'm not trying to dodge this at all be honest with you yeah I covered Ryan I got to know him when he was chasing a Heisman Trophy years ago in 97 and then he went on to the NFL and um had some issues obviously it's pretty well documented off off the field and some scary moments I watched a documentary on him and when he got into TV I I tried to be helpful to him and I and I tried to if he ever asked me questions or he ever wanted to pick my brain about something and from everything he always communicated to me I think he appreciated um in fact he stopped in a rose bow one time uh with his son and was like just thanking me you know for kind of being in his corner and and kind of helping him so that that was and I was happy to do that of course I do that with anybody and everybody so last year when Lee Corso was kind of misunderstood about Washington State Oregon State I can't remember what he said but he said something that was kind of misconstrued that he was just kind of saying basically screw those teams because they were playing each other um and then later that night like at midnight or maybe later um I I saw on social media because I was flying back from whatever game I called that that Ryan had taken a shot at at Corso which of course if there's one way to get me riled up is take a shot at one of my teammates especially an 88y old at the time Lee Corso so I I again I thought we were friends so I just said hey man you know what are you doing here like why you coming at us and Lee like I thought we were always good and then he came back at me even harder and I was like wow maybe there's something going on that I I didn't know about and that was kind of and then he he was vocal a few other times on social media and I I don't know what I did or where where things got sideways and now he's out saying stuff again yeah um I'll be honest in the history of my life I'm 55 I've probably been sideways with somebody once or twice you know it just doesn't happen right very often with me um kind of an introverted quiet dude that just goes about my business and tries to help people right so when someone does that I really don't know how to respond to it so I I don't want to get caught up in a game of lashing back out on him I don't know what he's referring to but uh I honestly do wish him the best and hope he does you know I I don't know what he's doing on TV but he does a good job and I hope hope he keeps doing it yeah all right now you you said you're an introverted guy doesn't get mixed up in it but you were a little animated last week during another podcast yeah with the the whole topic of should um men be in women's sports you responded to a tweet that's a hot button topic everyone gets worked up about it I don't even want to get into that topic but what I found because what I found fascinating was you said you don't give a [ __ ] and you're out of shits to give yeah did you hear from ESPN about those comments no there is this Theory out there because obviously last week Sam Ponder and RG3 will let go people are trying to say ESPN anti-religious or they're anti people speaking out against with the do you ever hear from ESPN on any of those issues does ESPN tell you what to tweet what not to tweet do they let you do your thing get let's go with that not I'm glad you brought that up I've been there this is my this will be my 29th year I could I could say with a th% certainty I've never in my life never had a producer tell me what I need to say or we're the SEC we like the SEC you need to F never in my life and if they did I wouldn't know how to handle early in my career I'd be like wow you're telling me what to do I I didn't know that was part of the job never happened now 29 years later I've never had anybody say to me be careful or you better not say that or never right so I don't know maybe other people that's happened with I've never experienced that my entire career um and and this stuff that happened last week I got kind of caught up when I was talking with Dan I you know I I do I am an introverted guy but when you push my buttons you know you could you can light a fuse and get me to get kind of excited about things I'm I'm passionate about I think the reason I said I don't give a [ __ ] is just I I'm I I get so frustrated with um you know the country and being so divided and and not liking each other not people just not getting along and people lashing out and and um in in the college football Community you know people creating conspiracy theories that aren't true or or people attacking me you know last year I I had to make a pick on who I think is the top four teams I I don't really care who the top four teams are but I watch a lot of football probably more college football it sounds like you watch a lot too but I watch five I have five T TVs up at noon I have five TVs up at 3:30 I call a game at 7:30 at night it within that game I'm calling I've got three more TVs because you know fox or NBC or somebody's got big games on right I'm calling a game I'm watching three more and then after that on my flight home I'm trying to watch the Pack 12 games late at night so I mean I'm watching almost up to 15 games live not go back and record them but live yeah um so at the end of 15 weeks of football I feel like I'm entitled to give any opinion without being accused of of being up to some Shenanigans right I just have an opinion you can disagree with it but I please understand that there's no conspiracy theory there's no agenda just disagree with me it it that's totally fine if I went with what the way people are talking about it I would just pick Ohio state Alabama Michigan Notre Dame like if you're just thinking that we care about ratings just put th put those four teams in every year in the playoffs and that's not what what this is at all so so I get I get tired of being a pinata I get tired of being a punching bag I have to bite my lip because it's hard to defend yourself when people are accusing you of something you didn't do so you just kind of bite your lip and I think that's probably what I was referring to as much as anything is you got to have thick skin and I do but everybody probably you included you get to a point when people misrepresent what what you're doing what you intended to do kind of like man I'm I'm over it that's probably what I was refering I know you got to run I I don't even if you don't want to touch this you don't have to but like you know what happened with Dan rowski this weekend really irritated me because he tweeted protect our daughters this was when we the thought was that there was a transgender fighter in the Olympics then he deleted the Tweet so he tweets that half the people are mad he tweets it then he deletes it half the people are mad he deletes it then the other people think he deleted it because ESPN told him then other people think he deleted it because it came out that it wasn't a transgender boxer she was born a woman and Dan's like one of the nicest guys in the business and he's getting this all this [ __ ] from both sides and it's like you said it perfectly The Divide like there's a guy who got it literally from both sides that's how and Dan I don't know what your relationship Dan's a great guy like nicest guy in the business like like whatever the case is no right no one really knows except for Dan like what what his intentions were why it was up why it was down what all you can go by is Dan is a dad he's a husband he's he loves football he's a great guy he's gonna say things do things like all of us none of us are perfect none of us do everything exactly the way we always intended doesn't mean he's he's up to anything it doesn't mean he's a you know whatever it is that they're trying to paint him to be he's a good person that guy is not the problem yeah Dan orlovski is not the problem that's mean plain and simple and the same thing with so just to be clear so when you tweeted about when you responded to that question about mention no one from ESPN told you no one got and when you went on that podcast said you don't give a [ __ ] no one from ESPN got tou you I didn't hear from anybody and the other thing is I didn't I wasn't referring to the boxer or any of that right right right the question should men be in sport women I just said no you know that's it all right I know you got a run you're already doing prep for bang so you have Bengals Colts week two are you happy with the Amazon schedule I always ask Al that yeah oh my God I mean if you looked at it this year yeah I think we have 11 or 12 uh division Rivals I mean think about how we start off we we got Buffalo at Miami uh we got the Giants and the Cowboys we got Aaron Rogers first home game I mean we got some uh some really good games we had the Bengals uh the Ravens where Joe got hurt last year we got that game again out in Baltimore I think we have Cincinnati in Cleveland in December I mean just that's just off the top of my head we we got games that again you never know with injuries things shake out but as we sit here in August and you look at what you have you're like you know other than maybe two that you're just like ah you never know but the rest of them you're like let's go do it you know so I think we're pretty excited about what we got all right and Amazon Thursday Night Football gets started in week two cuz NBC carries that first game and then of course every single Saturday on ESPN you can see Kirk on the iconic college game the then the the main Saturday game and off top when do you leave for Ireland Friday I'm leaving Friday yeah I got to do this game the Bengals Colts on Thursday night preseason game we have time to at least get the Guinness in or I don't know maybe on the way out on the way out on the way out I mean you can't go to Ireland and not have a GU I've not been to Ireland no yeah I'll I'll report back next time along with you let you know how it goes but I'm gonna be there like 10 hours so I yeah yeah that's quick for yeah well we'll be watching game day as always and uh appreciate you coming on have a safe trip time man enjoy the season all right thanks you too bud good luck to your thank you all right joining me now as he does every week from WFAN radio SNY TV in New York for our train of thoughts segment my buddy salakot Sal has it going good how you doing you sound a little under the weather you all right I had no voice yeah we were supposed to tape yesterday I couldn't tape no voice I had no voice and This Is Not Great by any stretch of the imagination but we'll start on at positive happy news after their first year in the books Sunday Ticket listen to their customers and now you can pick your games for multi view up to four games on one screen it was the one thing that we all said like it wasn't just you or I everybody said the same thing it's the greatest thing ever but they need to just let us control what the grid is going to show let us pick the four games for the multi view that's it I mean this is gonna be now it's perfect so what you can do is also if you have two screens like I have the two TVs on one TV you could put four and on the other TV you could put four others you I didn't even I didn't think about that part of it because my setup is different this year but yeah that's a great part of it too where last year was like oh I have to find a four game mix and then the right three or four game mix to get as many games as possible and I a have to worry about that the ideal situation for me would be a six game mix that would be ideal because by like week five I'm eliminating team like by week five I'm never going to watch a Raider game like they're you know like you just eliminate them but I'll take the four I'll take the four I still think and I'm like you and have watched the multi- games many times I want to have every game on a screen even though I'm not locked in but I will say that at times it's just too much and I don't think the majority of people like that we in the minority most people if they could have a four game mix you know what they do three games and the red zone or have a single TV on the I'm just telling you that's how people are most people probably prefer that I Pro I I did not not probably I did not watch the Red Zone for one second last year I know me neither but I'm just telling you that so many people I and I could I can understand the appeal because it does keep you up on all the other games if you don't have the screens available to watch all the other game I think most people just watch the Red Zone that's what I'm saying yeah without a doubt I have to figure out what I want to do because I'm in a tricky spot where I need to watch the Jets and Giants you know I grew up a falcon fan so I don't mind having them on but you know I I I don't know if the Red Zone would be good for me have three games and then the Red Zone just to like keep an eye on everything or do I go four games and just eliminate three from from you know my VI well where are you at with with your gambling are you going to be betting this season or you're not going to be betting this season I mean probably a little bit definitely not to the animalistic level that I've become accustomed to I'm Gonna Save that clip right there to play throughout the season will you bet over unders no no no over under there no I mean season totals no I'm gonna have a um I'm gonna tell you this all the I'm gonna do a special podcast for wfn with two special guests where we're going to do over unders it ties into our history of watching over unders just to give you a little hint but well I can figure one out if I don't know the other one well that'll be that'll be my my juice in that regard for I don't like betting those because I don't think the odds are good I feel like it's a bad I did it last year Jets and Giants got burnt every time I do it I get burned so many wrong things can happen I'd rather just bet on a week- toe basis I think yeah I mean I'm did you pick them you're over unders yet not yet I know I'm gonna bet the Jets over and I think I'm GNA bet the Broncos over what's the price on the Jets I know it's nine and a half what's the vid I don't know I gotta look all right but then let's say we're talking minus 140 like is that you may think it's worth it I just I don't know I'd rather just bet game to game Bas I usually don't let the juice scare me away from a wager which is smart but I just have a hard time those bets are not as easy I'd rather alter the number and keep the odds even even money or plus money then I would is it smart I mean I don't know if it's smart that's what I'm saying I mean maybe at I find goe I'm saying if you do let's say you do four or five of them or like Mike and fris used to do like you do six you hope to go four and two or you go three and three and you kind of watch but if you do that and you hit you lose the wrong ones with a viig that's minus 150 or 160 now you're losing two to one almost yeah I mean I you know I think what people really should be doing now is given that there are so many sites out there is you should be shopping for the best price yeah see this pisses me off I'm on DraftKings I'm on Futures and it says Champion to make the playoffs conference winner division winner name the finalists number one seed Wild Card seed exact result Champion specials I see nothing here with Team totals and when I said there were no team totals on the site the last time oh wait wait wins is this it wins okay here it is it's under winds all right so the Jets well you could go over 9 and a half and the juice is minus 130 okay that's not going to scare me from making that bet yeah I still don't like it though myself can you alter the the win bet or the win total well that's the problem with DraftKings you can make it eight and a half n and a half 10 and a half you have to do a half right my buddy diesel told me FanDuel you could do any number so I got to check I got to get off at DraftKings and go to FanDuel I think okay I don't know I haven't had picked one yet but right I'll probably I like I'll do three over unders cuz I don't like to do an even number because the worst thing is to tie I'd rather go one and two than two and two I need I need action so I'll bet three of them and I hope to go two in one okay you don't do like weekly you don't do weekly pick thems or you're out of fantasy right you do any of that right no I do like I love a good Underdog pull the one where like you have to pick an underdog to win outright and you get points for and you get points yeah I do like that pool but I wasn't into one like that last year and then uh I will be betting Florida State minus 10 and a half this Saturday against Georgia Tech from Ireland wow that's starting up already this Saturday that will be the first dip into the there's three games on Saturday okay that game's at noon Florida State Georgia Tech so locked in um what else do we got here did you see the trailer for The two-part Soprano's docu series on HBO in a couple of weeks yeah I saw it on your Instagram last night and I could not believe what I was watching H yes please I cannot wait I was like oh crap remember I told you last week I cut cut HBO right right now luckily because I have YouTube TV I just got an offer last night I literally got an email last night saying hey four months free of HBO Max boom sign me up please so can you explain what it is it's like a behind the scenes David Chase yeah I think it's it's going to be really about David Chase creating the series I cannot it's two parts the trailer looked amazing yeah I thought I was I thought so too I I watched the whole thing based on your Instagram I saw it and checked it out I watched it twice actually they look to have some behind the scenes footage of The Sopranos and talking to people who were on the show is is Tony Sero passed away yes ah shoot yeah I you know what I'm 99.9% sure and that makes me nervous so I'm just GNA confirm it but I'm I think he is too which is why I asked and not definitively said it I'm pretty sure he is oh no he's still oh yeah died died in 2022 2022 okay yeah yeah I didn't I don't want to kill the guy yeah that sucks but anyway and yeah um comes September when is that September 7th it was like yeah something like that okay I don't like when things come out during the football season I wish it would have come out now yeah as long as it comes out before you're right once it comes out in the midst of football season things things can get loster right um speaking of the college football season I know you don't care about this but I just have to say this and it's going to sound mean and I don't mean it to be mean because it was more of a revelation and a shock to me so for the last I think two years Chris Collinsworth son jack Collinsworth has called Notre Dame football I know you're not locked into Notre Dame football no but I know about that right and he called the games with Jason Garrett to say it was was a rough broadcast would be an understatement he wasn't good at play byplay it was it's a bad broadcast okay bad so now NBC booted Jack Collinsworth and they put in Dan Hicks who's a very solid play-by-play guy so I NBC released that news on Tuesday and I just tweeted I didn't offer any opinion I just put out the news I can honestly say in all of my years doing this I have never seen an announcer get more hate than Jack Collinsworth it took me every my Twitter feed for 15 straight hours was nothing but people replying to me and ripping this guy to shreds where I I felt bad is is that the same Collinsworth that does the NBC Sunday night not Chris Collinsworth obviously yes he does the pregame the pregame yes okay yeah so and he's still doing that I'm assuming I believe so yes and he's going to still call I think he's calling some college football games for NBC because they have the big 10 and but he's not going to be doing the Notre Dame okay well I I can't speak on it because I can't say that I've heard him do a g but I feel bad like it's really over the top the hate that but but here's the point if he got hired to do that prestigious job without having the proper qualifications and it sounds like based on what you're saying he didn't then then they put him in a spot to fail which is not that's on NBC yes yeah yeah funny this is crazy but I literally just got a tweet from this guy Michael benevento about FanDuel he said on last week's podcast you nailed it with DraftKings versus fandel for betting apps DraftKings has an easier smoother interface to work with but fand still lets you customize your bets much much more I use both depending on odds and what I'm looking to do so keep that in mind why wouldn't why wouldn't at this point everybody have every like if you're betting why do you have to be exclusive to one wouldn't you try them all out and see which bonuses you get or what odds you get I don't like that because I it's too much for me I just I just want one for my own well yeah OCD ways yeah I get you you like to go old school you pick up the phone and call guy but my when I first had a bookie when I was in college my Nick I had a call and say this is Michelob 17 that was my nickname mclo 17 give me the Cowboys for two dimes minus five go to the bar every week to pay up I I had it set like that up until not exactly like that but until last year I missed those days yeah but the the biggest difference when when I had the bookie was that by 7:30 on like during the week let's say for baseball or the NBA you're done like it was over so like you know now in online you bet the 7:30 games then you bet the 10:30 games back then was like you got your bets in and that was it you bet you bet the half you bet live in game all that stuff right there at your fingertips now where it used to not be there the live is just so dangerous so dangerous I've fallen victim to it many times the live is dangerous I'm glad I I have discipline with that I don't really dabble in that too often you know that's a key word there that I lack when it comes to gambling very simple discipline I have none of it [ __ ] anal I I can't help myself I try to stay disciplined I'm proud that I have not placed a wager since the Dolphins ruined me in Kansas City on that Saturday night whatever it was the playoff game and you could I feel the storm Brewing football's here it's coming I feel it and even hearing you talk about it we're thinking about the bets and thinking about the setup I this is going to be the true test for me what's interesting about that is you are disciplined in like when you want to lose weight you're very we've been out teat so many times you're like I'm eating healthy I'm eating healthy I'm not eating junk yeah your work ethic you have a million jobs like you're always working like that's the one area like you're not a big drinker you're not a a drug guy that is your area that seems to be your Achilles heel i' I've always I've always said that is my one Vice you're right never done drugs not a big drinker I've been able and now I've lacked discipline with eating but when I need to and really want to I can be very disciplined as I have been with gambling I I just can't do it even if I say to myself all right put in a hundred bucks whatever it is and play with this put in 500 bucks this your allotment for the season I'll start 25 50 then I start to get antsy and I'm like f it boom all in on one bet and that's it yeah you're someone who should not bet based on that I know you're right I don't I just I haven't been able to figure it out you know that would be a good feature for these websites to have like DraftKings or fandel should have it have it option where like you say my Max bet is going to be $50 do not ever let me bet more than 50 like it could be a setting right but can't you change that like I saw that on fanatic of course you can change it there's one because they signed up and get a significant bonus but yeah you exactly you could change it so like I've actually had that happen with the the last thing that I was dealing with I said no more like this is my Max cut me off and then of course what do you think happens hey just up me one more time or it's it's what what have you tried to quit more gambling or Twitter um I think I've kind of I'm starting to not let Twitter dominate me the way that it has I would say that's fair because I haven't heard you complaining about it that much in recent month I'm just not on there anymore I like I'll read so I don't read the comments at all which has just been healthy for me the one thing about these sites which could be good because I was dealing with a site that I had credit which gets me in trouble on these sites I'm it's no credit like you put in what you have now you could charge it sure but like that's it that's that's different than when you get the credit where you can go nuts and really do damage so exactly one week no I'm sorry I got I jumped the gun I got way too excited [ __ ] all right exactly two weeks exactly two weeks from when this podcast comes out Chiefs minus 2 A2 against the Ravens in Kansas City the total is 4 six and a half do we have a lean yet no uh I mean I'm not touching the over runds I don't do that I'd probably go Baltimore here's my problem my other problem wait you don't ever bet an over under in a game no never I mean it's got to be I don't it's got to be rare it's either got to be forced action or because it's part of a teaser or because it's part of a parlay I'm not an overun guy I've never been good at it I just you're such a weird better yeah I just can't do the over hunds it it doesn't make sense to me over under I just don't get it anyway I hate the first four weeks of the Season we've talked about this and you disagree just because it's football that matters but it's sloppy crappy football that is essentially what preseason used to be it's teams learning what they are and feeling themselves out and figuring it out for four weeks so the bet would just based on what like what I think is gonna happen there's no track record but if it's sloppy then that's a good reason to bet the under 46 and a half but you somehow have this no over under policy which is well shouldn't the Chiefs should shouldn't the Chiefs and and Ravens be scoring a lot of points well you just said that week one teams are come out of the Gat slow they're a little sloppy yeah I just think if there's a Monday night game or a Sunday night game you don't like the side you don't like the line you don't dabble into the total like it's just absurd to me no no because I just never can figure the total out like I I just and I I also don't like rooting for either point to be scored or not points definitely not an under I don't like rooting for an under but one of the best betting days I had last season was at your house it was a Steelers Jaguars under I was rooting for that and I had the jet giant under you must have hated my presence there I was rooting that no you're you're allowed to do whatever you want you you can gamble as you like like that I just for me I can't I can't do that all right before we wrap up I'll leave you with this question JLo Ben Affleck any thoughts what happened they break up divorce it's over again how do you not know this I knew that they were when did this happen recently La well it became official last night I knew it was heading in that direction I mean what are they going to learn it's just not going to work you know how do you not how do did you not see this anywhere you really aren't checking Twitter I guess no I didn't see it but when you said it it made me think because I did see some probably meme or joke about oh Ben and Jen in 30 years or whatever and I didn't put the two and two you know together you locked into the Democratic National Convention and that's why you didn't oh yeah it was really last night it was so I'm a little tired today I was up all night watching that I don't even know what that is let alone where it is here's a good question all you know the two people running for president let me just confirm it is Trump and camela Harris Harris Harris correct do you have any idea who their vice presidential uh what's the selections are uh no I couldn't name them I think I know who the Republic oh something Vance for the Republican JD Vance correct okay uh I have no no shot of the Democrat I'm not gonna tell you I just wanted just wanted to see I have seen as is it accurate that Biden is speaking at these things or no he spoke on Tuesday night okay all right just wanted to but jeni didn't know about JLo and Ben no that's disappointing to me you think a-rod's happy today I personally would probably take some solace in that myself as Petty as it may seem a aod has to be doing a Victory lap I mean they broke up and she ran right to Ben Affleck I mean it was a little much trying to look for that you know comfort and something familiar it's a good thing we're at the end here I think my voice is going again all right do you hear it yeah a little bit you should have heard it yesterday just drink water you'll be fine do you know how much water I've I have done nothing but drink water and tea for two days straight yeah a little tea and honey you'll be all right are you feeling ill I feel fine okay are you coming over this weekend by the way yes okay good is that the 24th is that Saturday or Sunday Saturday Saturday as long as I can watch the Florida state Georgia Tech game that I'm gonna have minus 10 and a half what time is that game noon we may have to do some family Wagers because as you know what time am I coming over that day I don't even know uh we could just I mean you could come noon you could come one whatever you think no no I mean I'll whenever you want me there I would say around around them but if you want to get there for the game we could have you know Eddie Ericson will be there who is also you know maybe maybe want to I don't like to do no I like to just bet my own things I don't like to get involved with other people come on you no fun it's a family bet we're all going to be watching the game together we've long established on this podcast I'm not fun no I'm just telling you this FL I'm in to bed Florida State minus 10 and a half against Georgia Tech you guys want to bet that that's fine but I'm not betting stuff cuz you're betting it I have no interest in all right but but then let me just play you know what if Eddie's like well I love georia Tech in this game then let him bet Georgia Tech what do I care and then we gotta go head-to-head with each other I mean it's you know fine with me you're right you are no fun all right exactly and then SMU minus 25 against Nevada at 8 o'clock at night I got to see what we're going to do on that one all right I don't want to be involved in other people's that's I don't like that someone like I don't want to be responsible someone sent me a message on Instagram I don't know why I respond to this but someone sent me a message on Instagram the other day saying that they were this is the message I got this was Friday hi Jimmy making the drive from North Jersey to The Hamptons need an easy on easy off the liie pizza recommendation before exit 50 preferably what would you say so I'm like I'm not answering this because I don't want to be responsible for giving a bad record then he goes there the pizza is a problem and then I'm the plate then I'm like listen the guy sent me a message on Instagram he must listen to the podcast I want to take care of the podcast listeners I don't want to be a dick so I wrote back and gave him a recommendation and he wrote back said very solid seems their Specialties to grandma P and it was a hit thanks so it worked out what' you give him I gave him Umberto in New Height Park okay but I don't want to be responsible if God forbid this's a shitty slice and then it's on me he asked you delivered he asked it's not your problem you think it's great but what's great for you might not be great for somebody else and that's just like the W just because just because Eddie Ericson likes Georgia Tech doesn't mean I'm gonna bet it no I know but that's the point of the camaraderie we're on a bet together like dogs used to do I don't need camaraderie I can't tell you how many times dog used to in our year during their show with Mike and fris dog would be talking in the talk back to us in the control room oh that's a bad bet that's a bad play right there and Mike one time he got distracted I was like what are you two talking about there and dog on the air got chastised by Mike like when you pay attention to the show you guys worry about your stupid bet I'm sh I'm shocked dog was the one who left after 19 years together well dog was not paying attention he was in the wrong how about dog the other day saying that oh yeah Mike gets Mike's one of those guys who gets mad at losing a bet yeah who doesn't Dog I know well I think dog figures Mike has the money so what's the big deal but again I could lose a $20 bet and I'm liveing it's about the action right and about being right or wrong and what you think dog took great joy in our misery he would love even though he lost he love taking us down with the ship and and that we lose money that we didn't have yeah that's his M he loves that he was on first take all week saying he was rooting against the USA men's basketball team in the gold medal game CU he wants everyone to be miserable I can relate to that all right I'm going to start coughing like a maniac so I got to get off S we'll see you next week I'll see you this weekend but all take it easy all right bye my many many thanks to Kirk KB Street my thanks to salaka my thanks to you for listening and putting up with my voice hopefully I'm at 100% next week if you missed any recent episodes go to the archives check them out Chris mad Doo outstanding podcast episode last week give it a listen if you have not subscribe to SI media with Jimmy trainer leave a review on will'll read reviews next week with s all right that wraps it up we'll see you next week stay safe and take care [Music]