When it’s time to go back to Pittsburgh

Nestor Aparicio joins Dennis Koulatsos to discuss Lamar Jackson, Snoop Huntley and needing to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

game, lamar, year, nestor, quarterback, pittsburgh, ball, lamar jackson, ravens, offense, steelers, point, field, thinking, people, falcons, tickets, running, week, play

00:02

Welcome back. My next guest is a spry looking Nestor J Aparicio. You’re here 15 7am wn St. Nestor welcome in

00:09

I shave once a week just like like I did when I was 16 Looking good man.

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00:14

You look like you’re 35 years old today which is a good thing right not

00:19

everybody’s got to be younger in Pittsburgh week everybody’s got to work a little harder you know teams eight four going up to the Burgh quarterback This is a mess right like I’ve been talking about this all week with in regard to drafting a quarterback that runs in the linebackers, right like nobody liked those questions that I asked. And I’m thinking to myself, this is this is the real seriousness of it. It isn’t that he might get hurt he will get hurt. And then how many December’s how many January’s? Are you going to have some semblance of 90%? If not 100%? Because nobody’s healthy in the NFL this time of year just ask anybody. But But I’ll tell you what Joe burrow looks healthy right now because he’s not getting hit. Josh Allen if he wasn’t running in the linebackers would be healthier right now. Tom Brady. Tell me the last time Tom Brady was injured in December.

01:09

You know, what about a loss for words? They’re never that’s what

01:11

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allows him to to excel in January. Yeah, right. Literally.

01:17

You know what saw the game the other night against the saints. two touchdowns in the last five minutes and 27 seconds which I was at the stadium Sunday, Nestor. Seven minutes to go. A lot of people left the game. This is this is a different crowd nowadays at m&t Bank Stadium but when the offense was on the field for the final drive, they were cheering for the offense. They kept putting up on the on the Jumbotron quiet you know the the offense is working. This is a different crowd coming to m&t Bank Stadium these days Nestor. And well, we’ll get we’ll talk about of course, LaMotta injuries and whatnot. But the whole vibe with the stadium has changed.

01:54

Well, people like me are gone, my wife’s gone. She’s not screaming on third down anymore. And she screamed every third down for 19 years. So like, I don’t I those people that are gone, I can’t speak for them. I can only I never wanted to leave. So I want to make that really clear. I you know, there was never a point where I thought we’re not going to buy our tickets. I thought it was more like a civic obligation a community thing where even when my wife would leave at halftime, it would be soaking wet out there just wouldn’t be a good time or moving out to the county, which I did this year. I mean, when it was eight blocks away, we went all the time. But I’m also seeing ticket prices, right? Like when tickets are 15 and $20.02 hours before the game who would buy and it’s kind of like buying an Oracle season ticket like unless you really want an autograph for the orange carpet or you care that much about where your parking is. Or you’re a little older and you know, moving slower and getting near the stadium. Whatever. I’m thinking, you got to baseball, my dad I mean, in the 70s we went to baseball games when the weather was good, right? The pitching was right that happy days to Laverne and Shirley weren’t on TV that night, you know, the night when you had something else to do. And the Ravens have absolutely become a I can go to the game whenever I want to go to the game, right like and even a playoff game if they have a playoff game here. All right. So it might be 50 bucks more 25 bucks more than you want to spend. But over the course of the season, my wife and I are season books for $3,400. I mean, I saved a week in the Caribbean, you know a vacation for the for the seven or eight days, you would go to ravens game for that $300 a day. I can go have a vacation anywhere, right? So that and I’m seeing every game, I’m not seeing it as well. By the way, I’ll never make the case that you can see the game better on TV because you really can’t see it again. No, it’s a different game.

03:41

But Nestor on Christmas Eve this year, you can wake up here in Baltimore. And if you want to go see the Ravens on the Falcons, you can probably wake up that Saturday morning and get a ticket for 1620 bucks 50% of the stadium will be empty and sit virtually anywhere you want to sit.

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04:01

Do you really think that few people will be there? I mean, especially at that price point. I mean, we are you got that

04:07

we had that price point against the Broncos and the Broncos were I don’t know are they a better team than the Falcons. But my point is, it’s the same it’s going to be the same same whether they beat the Steelers or not. The same fans are going to show up on the 24th that showed up last Sunday so that

04:26

withering amount of people who are the same people go to every gap. Yeah. Went to every game was 92% of the fan base for 15 or 20 years. Same exact people every week. Now it’s I don’t know who’s that the guy I really don’t know who’s it. I have

04:43

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an associate of mine who’s got four little kids and nice nice young man. He said, Hey, I’m thinking about buying Raven Seaton ticket should have by the PSLs had absolutely not. Now he’s all he’s, first of all, he’s a very busy person. He’s going to go to two or three games a year and I told him, I showed him the ticket prices. I said here, you can pick whatever you want. Pick, go to club level ball out, you’re going to save a lot of money. If you don’t purchase the PSL and you don’t purchase that the season tickets, there’s no there’s really no no good reason to make that type of investment that’s these days to go see football at m&t Bank Stadium. And that’s those are facts. Well, let’s

05:15

start with the basic premises. And this is a sports premise. If we win, you’ll come. Right. Like that’s been the Orioles story ever since everybody left 20 years ago, which is the arrogance of Yeah, you’ll be calling me for playoff tickets and all star game tickets and you’ll need me you’ll you’ll need the team. And I’m thinking to the baseball team threw me out 16 years ago, and I’ve needed them for nothing.

05:38

You’re the customer? You’re the paying customer to vote right.

05:42

I didn’t get the Orioles a lot of money back in the day. I mean, I’ll be honest, I was never seen oriels and it’s not that I didn’t. I had any hard on about it. It’s just that and I didn’t live downtown then. You know, I’m talking about in the 90s. I went to games I was immediate member I did afternoon drive every day, I would leave my studio I would. I my studio was downtown for a number of those years. And I would go to games now. Would I buy a ticket from time to time for my mother on calron night or what I mean, I bought some tickets, and I had access to buy tickets back then. But I was never a guy that wanted to spend 25 bucks on a box seat. I was more like I grew up in the bleachers just kept me in the stadium. They’re always

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06:22

you’re still a potential customers. My point my point is you don’t fire your customers. If you’re an organization, if a customer chooses to walk away, it’s one thing, but you don’t fire your customers. You just don’t do that. You don’t tell any thought

06:33

about that firing customers. I’m going to I’m taking notes here, Dennis, you always make me smarter when I’m about

06:38

like iron sharpens iron. But my point is you just don’t find your customer base you because that reeks of arrogance. And you know what things come back around. It’s quite as karma or the universe making things right or the truth on twisting at some point. It comes back to you when you’re not humble about what you have. If you’re on top, eventually going to be at the bottom if you’re at the bottom eventually going to rise back to the top. And it’s how you treat people in those cycles to define who you really are.

07:06

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Well, this is an interesting cycle for them, right they’re waiting for they’re gonna pay for the backup quarterback again. They’re lying about how long Lamar is out, you know, so people are asking me how long is Lamar and whatever hardball says I don’t believe because you lied last year

07:19

last year. The week is week to week, week to week then the season’s over with at it Guess what? They they shut them down for the season right? obvious and apparent. So like you I’m not buying anything that comes out of there. I’m not buying at all whether it’s Ronnie Stanley’s ankle, whether it’s Lamar Jackson’s injury, you name it. I don’t believe it until I see it.

07:37

There’s a paranoia that comes with the hardball administration that I don’t want to say it’s taken me 15 years. I mean, I knew John was paranoid 3009 that take me long, right? But the paranoia that goes into this and how the business operates and how the stadium’s empty and it’s like everything else in that organization that you know, chats, the old touches, that the obvious is never to be spoken about. So that when I talk about empty seats, Moeller looks around and doesn’t see them. I mean, it’s unbelievable. Like, I’ve sat there and said, Don, there’s a lot. I don’t see you. I didn’t see him. Make it myself. You’re a perfect PR guy. Because like, if you’re not seeing the truth, if you’re not seeing the lies, if you’re not seeing the fact that there are coddling Lamar Jackson last week with the you know, the vulgar tweets of vulgar tweet, I should say, at some point. And I would think that John’s get nervous to write 15 years in this because he doesn’t know when dad, he’s going to come down with a gun. And now he’s gonna go hire Willie Taggart, right? Like Tiger is gonna be the offensive coordinator. Right? What do you think of that? You know, like,

08:42

I read a lot of things about nepotism and whatnot, a lot. It’s true that we hired, hire people that we know, we also have an obligation to look to find the best candidate for any position. And to me, when I have an opening I look for within, but I also look for the best candidate and sometimes your best candidate, somebody you’ve never worked with before comes in with a fresh set of ideas. It’s going to challenge you, it’s going to push it that’s also going to maximize the talents of your quarterback if you’re going to go if you’re going to stay all in with Lamar Jackson. So yeah, it’s there’s a lot to unpack there with the Harbaugh’s for sure.

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09:14

Well, and the safety of everybody in regard to eight and three, don’t make the playoffs. eight and four, at Pittsburgh at Cleveland, Atlanta, they better not lose Atlanta on Christmas Eve I mean, every hurdle, everybody’s Christmas ham and eggnog, right. And then and then after that, Pittsburgh’s coming in here, and then after that, they gotta go to Cincinnati and played the best team that they have left on their schedule, right. So I look at it and say, what’s gonna get him into playoffs? What are the dolphins doing? What are the bills doing? You know, it tiebreakers? I mean, look, I’m talking to Pittsburgh people, Charlie Bachus convincing me that the Steelers are still in the playoff race because of the games they have left. And because they’re playing better and because they’re at home this week, and if they can trip up the Ravens this week and they win 1413 Don’t matter they’re playing a backup quarterback. The Steelers think they’re gonna win this game. Mike Tomlin thinks they’re gonna win this game next week Cleveland, right they have to Shaun Watson did games in Cleveland. They are looking to wreck the Ravens season and get after this backup quarterback and beat the Ravens so if the Ravens wake up eight and six with the Falcons coming on Christmas Eve two weeks from tomorrow, right? Like if that happens at eight six, we are teetering. What was the Jason Cole like? What am I my my dancing on the edge of chaos. That was that was Jason Cole’s line. My buddy Jason Cole who who has tarball he was dancing on the edge of chaos by firing cam Cameron 10 years ago this week, Cam camera got fired by the way.

10:51

Yeah, well, here’s what people don’t factor into that team that you’re supposed to beat whether it’s the Jaguars, the Panthers, the Broncos, these teams have nothing to lose. We saw that with the Jaguars, right? They went for two point conversion. They made it they went wonderful, right? They don’t make it not a big deal. Right? They still

11:12

are nine and three and 12 and oh man like leads and all these games. They’re even good enough to win.

11:20

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My point is when he faced it now Falcons if if I’m Arthur Smith or head coach, I’m onside kick and I’m doing flea flickers triple reverses My point is I have nothing to lose I’m playing I’m playing loose right the pressures gonna be on a Baltimore Ravens the win the victory against the Atlanta Falcons Nestor. It’s not a given. Even if the ravens are undefeated anytime you play a team lesser than you, especially late in the season when they have nothing to lose. They can do whatever and you got to be prepared for whatever. And right now at this point, will they have nine victories? Yes, they will. The question is will they be able to win one or two more games dividual games that are going to be absolute dogfights and you know what the Steelers they’re playing butterball. They’ve won what three straight? You got two rookie quarterbacks still. It’s going to be a slobberknocker of a contest as it always is. But there’s nothing guaranteed about this Baltimore Ravens squad, as you mentioned, eight, eight and eight and three last year missed the playoffs eight for this year. And they have I think at this point a 5050 chance to miss the playoffs again.

12:25

Do you have any vibe when Snoop Huntley? I mean, he did talk to me about him and I’m like, I don’t think he throws the ball particularly well. He doesn’t throw the ball better than Lamar. We’re not in love with Albemarle.

12:35

I disagree with that. i We saw it last year. He has a stronger arm the Lamar and people said Well, the short range, long range range. He doesn’t know it’s not true. He has a very strong arm. He’s a great kid. We saw the freshness in him when he replaced Lamar. He’s healthier. He was what 27 out of 32 very accurate. I think he has a chance to disperse the ball more so the Lamar we see them or force the ball to Andrews when he’s triple covered. I think with Huntley Yeah, he has a connection with Isaiah likely for sure. And also for him, it’s redemption Nestor. He went one to three last year, because the defense was was a seed, right? Everybody was hurt this year. The defense is stout. It’s outstanding. Maybe they get Marcus Williams back, right. That’s going to be a big difference maker in the back end. I do think with complimentary football with a week’s worth of practice as a starter. He has a lot to prove. And you know what he goes up to Pittsburgh beats the Steelers. He beats the Falcons all of a sudden you never know what’s going to happen. But Lamar should have taken the money a long time ago. I think that’s the biggest lesson here for everyone involved.

13:41

Yeah, okay. Lamar. Should I take it? I mean, let it Raskin said that earlier. The minute he got hurt Leonard texted me he’s like insurance insurance. You know, does he have insurance? Because watching him walk as an eight and three quarterbacks walk off that field down those steps back up the I mean, I felt sorry for the kid. I really did. I felt like man, you know,

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14:02

the second he went down clutching his knee that’s when I felt sorry for him and you look at the Cardinals right? They gave Kyler Murray big contract I think right now they’re regretting it. You look at the Denver Broncos they gave Russell Wilson a huge contract at this one to think that regretting it right so so to me, it’s a cautionary tale he’s Lamar Jackson isn’t signed what’s going to happen in the offseason? This is very very fascinating stuff. The first up until the Giants game master I think he was making money right? But since the Giants game he’s been losing money

14:33

since the passing the Giants game right, because that’s the last game Right?

14:36

Exactly. So these things can go in a number of ways. But Bruce Laird said the other day that in the NFL, the big injuries that’s not what you get what gets you it’s the it’s the it’s the smaller injury, the nagging injuries, so we saw him have a quad last week, the week before it was a hip. We saw him limping on the field, right? He’s taken a lot of punishment for 25 year quarterback mess.

14:56

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He’s taken a lot of punishment in week 12 Every year and This was why the cautionary tale was on draft night. You’re gonna do something no one’s ever gonna do your Eric the caster you’re gonna Zig everyone else’s zagging. We’re gonna have a different offense. We’re gonna make him play left handed every week until every December comes and your quarterbacks taking 200 hits every year. And only one of them hurts the Pinky Winky toe which ended John Hopkins career like anything here in this game when you’re taking on contract as a quarterback 200 times a year. I I’ve never thought it was a great idea. And I thought maybe one year they will navigate this and thread the needle and keep them healthy and be able to sit them out this time of year right there Lebanon one right now when he’s a little thing up and you got a three game lead the division, you tell it take off to Christmas going to Ma’am, you know, go eat, make some cookies. You know, that’s not where the team is. That’s not where the team ever is. And I am worried, not just if they sigh Forget the money. I don’t care about Steve Bashaud his money he’s got more of it than he needs. So given Lamar Jackson 50 million, 60 million 100 million guarantee three. I don’t care about any of that I care about who’s going to be on the field December 10. Next year, and the year after that. And the year after that when the Morris 26 When he 728 29 When he’s run the ball 1200 times 1500 times 1800 times. And it doesn’t add up. It doesn’t make any sense to me that you would have a quarterback that runs in the linebackers. I mean, there’s a reason nobody else does it because the odds are your quarterback won’t be standing up at Christmas time when you really need it. Right.

16:37

Right. And there’s two more pieces to this to this complex puzzle. And so the first piece is if you’re game planning against the Baltimore Ravens today, who on offense scares you? There’s no AJ Brown, there’s no stuff on digs, right you have Mark Andrews, which is great, but you can you can double cover Mark Andrews all day long. But there’s nobody on that offense that scares you that you have to GamePlan for

16:58

Mark Andrews also isn’t going to the house. He’s not been moved to change and

17:04

they have no one that you have to GamePlan for no one that scares you. The second piece is the Greg Roman conducted conundrum want to say? The guy was screamed at a curse that was with his car. After the game. We saw that on social media. There’s a Stanford tie in there and just interested in him. So is it the chicken or the egg? It has has? Has Greg Roman maximized Lamar Jackson’s talents and we’ve seen the ceiling? Or has Greg Roman minimize his talents and putting them more Jackson in the box? That’s something that we don’t know Nestor?

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Well, here’s something I know. And you know, this will speak to how the offense operates. I’ve seen all sorts of quarterbacks standard olasky. I think it’s some other people showing their the patterns and saying that they’re their high school patterns, right? Like,

17:50

that’s correct. Well,

17:52

maybe this is about Lamar running the offense. Maybe this is about Lamar still checking his arm, walking up to the line of scrimmage getting plays in late. Rome. It’s like it’s on me. Jon’s like it’s on me. Maybe it’s on them. I don’t know, we’ll find that the if the if the offense is operating more efficiently. What’s new personally, it would say to me that this is this is a Lamar issue, not Roman issue. Now, I will say this on Greg Roman, whoever called the play for prochaine to throw the pass and I know horrible talk about that Monday as well. I would think that hardball was in on that this was not a surprise. We’re like hardball won with Dan Roman and said we I think it was Hey, Greg, we get in the situation. Let’s have crochet throw the football. And then you seem to appreciate if it’s not there.

18:38

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If it’s quadruple coverage down the field, don’t do it right. And

18:44

you get one chance to throw one football one time in your life. You’re thinking I’m gonna throw

18:49

the ball, right? Look, Joe Montana and his prime would have never been able to squeeze that ball in there. The defensive backs were like you want this and I got it, you take it go ahead. They were having an argument about who was going to pick off that ball in the endzone. That duck was up there for a very long time. And to me, it reeks of panic, right? Instead of driving down or getting at least a field goal, make it a nine to six game right? So that way, had taken the points there, maybe they would have scored a touchdown, then we’re gonna have to score a touchdown at the end of that game versus a field goal, which they blew it when Russell Wilson inexplicably took off and ran with a ball. Instead of throwing it for 1015 yards down the field.

19:22

I’m figuring like by the fourth quarter was shot, he’s got at least a bottle of wine and maybe on to the second bottle. And he’s sitting up saying the same thing. I’m sitting up here centric and an iced tea watching the game on the big screen thinking who’s coaching this outfit? Play Who? Who? Who agreed at the 30 yard line with the greatest kicker on Earth. I mean, three games. Six, don’t take points off the board. And I’m thinking to myself, and I’m thinking What does shotty make of this? Whose idea was this? Oh my God.

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Now had they lost heavy loss that play would have been talked more, a lot more than you’re not talking about Right now it would have been the story why they did was awful. Nevermind the loss but I’ll tell you what,

20:05

imagine a decision that I’ve seen this year. That’s such an egregiously obvious decision to not call that play in that circumstance with the backup quarterback in the game.

20:14

The the offense ran a lot better the last three quarters in the first quarter under Lamar Jackson that much I can attest to Denver has a top three defense they’re tough team to move the ball against all season long their offense was a mess. But that defense so I thought the offense look crisper with with Huntley who came off the bench cold hadn’t played all year. So I’m curious and excited to see what happens in Pittsburgh, I’m sure the Steelers affiliates the same exact way. They feel they got a shot at the playoffs. Ravens. This is a huge game. It really is never mind a Falcons game. This is a big, big game, you talk about a game that determines the outcome of your season. Man, oh, man, nine and four is a lot better than eight and five.

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You make me want to get in the car and go to Pittsburgh on Sunday. Let’s go buddy.

20:58

I hope I hope the nation sees you there for a number of reasons.

21:02

Well, well, time will tell you never know. You never know. Right?

21:05

Maybe set the farmer right. It’s a good thing. It’s a bad thing. Maybe we’ll save a lot of

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21:10

time to say and I said this to somebody I said I got friends everywhere. I got friends in Pittsburgh.

21:15

I have friends in low places you know in Essex good like maybe you never know who you’re gonna run into

21:20

a river. You got friends to Middle River.

21:23

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Dundalk, you know, the east side now got the West Side covered. So it’s a it’s a lot of fun, but no shortage of storylines in the NFL for sure.

21:30

Yeah, see this kid play Pittsburgh that Charlie Beck said he’s gonna be the quarterback for a couple years here, you know that they’re not that they’re seeing strides in him. One strike would be having ravens pelt on your wall.

21:41

He has four interceptions. I’m sorry, four touchdowns versus eight interceptions. This game will be one bite by the defense. Whoever turns the ball over. This is going to be a defensive battle. I don’t see either team running the ball well at all. So it’s going to come down to two turnovers. It really is. Well, then I like the Ravens in the game. And I like I like our chances. We have the kicker. We have the defense row Quan Smith is a monster. The Steelers will not run the ball against the ravens and I don’t know haven’t heard an injury for that Marcus Williams. It’d be huge if we can get him back.

22:14

Well, and I think Ronnie Stanley, you’ll be back out on the field. Even without Lamar the notion that for Snoop running the ball better, Ronnie but but are we getting Ronnie Stanley 80% 90% Well,

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I’d rather have my 50% versus what they had after Sunday. I mean, they would turnstile and three sacks in the first quarter. Not many quarterbacks are gonna withstand that kind of punishment.

22:36

Well that kid shouldn’t be able to let you’re not you’re doing a disservice to put him on 100%

22:40

He’s a right tackle at best right he’s Orlando Brown Jr.

22:44

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to point out it took he’s a right tackle as a project he might hit right tackle and Orlando

22:49

Brown Jr. He’s had the most hurt from his position 39 In the NFL this year so that’s not working out too well for him. Although we do wish him the best. We knew that he’s the right tackle we knew that we knew that we knew that he didn’t have the feet so you know who else knew that Eric Koston knew that in you that you want to go let’s see what I can get for you let’s let’s you know I’d hate to lose your kid but let’s let’s see what happens right so the

23:10

cost has been brilliant about that part of it in regard to Hollywood brown you don’t want to be here we’ll do y’all will go get a senator.

23:16

I’m upset that all the time. The problem though is you know, they let Hollywood go. They didn’t replace him. They should have replaced them with another wide receiver a top wide receiver Well Your

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23:24

point is what scares the Steelers nobody’s taking the top off the defense and I’m not sure on the good

23:29

Sean Sean Saxons. Come on. Okay, if you gotta get the ball to him, if he can, if he can get on the field. First of all if he’d have to pull a hammy doing warm ups is always

23:39

amazing. He’s 35 and still the fastest guy in the field right like it’s kind of crazy.

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It is it is super crazy and the three fastest touchdowns this year were by by Bateman. Jackson and do overnights it’s amazing that the Ravens have that kind of speed but it doesn’t

23:55

start with Mark Messina wants about was it fast twitch or slow twitch muscles that it can’t be It can’t be you know you’re born with it

24:03

right like literally born with it. Exactly right. Nestor I appreciate your time thoughts and expertise as always you stay well keep doing great things.

24:10

Can’t believe we didn’t talk to World Cup man. I got you know, Argentina is in here. Brazil’s in here. I mean, this is gonna be Hey, the soccer tournament this weekend is gonna be unbelievable. Tuesday and Wednesday, so we don’t have a lot of sod. I miss soccer on Wednesday and Thursday. My wife’s like no games. I want to get do and I’m thinking and somebody’s got four more years to the World Cup of like no, it’s only three and a half because it’ll be here any day any day now. So that is have a great weekend man. We’ll be reporting in after the Pittsburgh game with you on Sunday night

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24:39

man stay well there it goes. Nice referees here here in 1570 Am wn st we’ll take a break. Come back on the flip side