You're listening.

To.

Draftkings Network.

This is the Dan Leviton.

Show with the Stugartz Podcast.

I'm in a great mood. Don't ruin it.

That's Nina Kymes, you just heard. I don't know why it is that she would think that we'd be the ruiner of because we are the creator of great moods. We have a whole lot of people here to enjoy this segment with you, Mena, as we get a lot football smarter and bob around pop culture and the world in general. But let me just start because God-blessed football was obsessed with the Denver Broncos. What is real and true about what has happened with the Denver Broncos and what is real and not true? Because I've got a lot of people telling me Russell Wilson is playing very well, and I also see a lot of turnovers and a lot of sacks there, and I don't know whether he's playing very well or not. So tell me, what's right and what's wrong?

I am so glad you asked me that. I don't know if Mike Ryan planted that... I have a question for you because I'm doing a YouTube video on that exact topic at YouTube slash dot com slash at Muniq Himes. But I will get into it here with you because it is something that I've been fascinated by. The fact that the Broncos started one and five and then ripped off five straight wins, that's only happened five times in NFL history. Week six, they had an infinitesimal chance of making the playoffs, and now they are firmly in the hunt, which is such a great place to be as an NFL team when you get on the in the hunt chart on TV shows. But it does, I think, raise some questions about whether they're actually in the hunt, whether they can keep this up, despite the fact they've played and beaten some pretty good teams. So it's a yes and no thing. So first of all, the things that are good and real, the offense was always fine. Even in those first few games when everybody was crapping all over them, obviously they got their butts kicked by Miami.

They lost to Nathaniel Hackett in that revenge game. Throughout all of this, aside from maybe one or two games, Russell Wilson was playing okay. I wouldn't say he looks like he did during the peak of his NFL career, but he's run a pretty efficient offense. He's basically Alex Smith now in Denver. Like, Sean Payton got him to just check it down and lean on the run game. He has the lowest average depth of target of his entire career. So let Russ cook is over. Let Russ make snacks, you know? And it's working for Denver. It's working. It's working. But the defense is the big thing. That's where I think the fraudulence claims have a little bit of haracity to them because, as you alluded to, they've been very dependent on turnovers. That is a thing that tends to regress. So it's unlikely they're going to be as good as they've been. However, they have also made some changes in personnel. They benched a couple of guys in the secondary, Baron Browning came back. So when you dig into the underlying numbers, you do see some improvements in past defense, particularly limiting explosives. They're just an average defense now instead of a historically bad one.

When talking about Russell Wilson and the offensive production, I'm glad you mentioned the defense because it has a huge hand in how the offense puts up points. In fact, they still struggle. The thing is, they're creating so many turnovers that they're starting all these drives in opposing territory. In fact, during this five-game winning streak, and this comes courtesy of Cleveland Analytics, which is a great website, does great stuff, @clevta on X. Cleveland, interesting. During this five-game win streak, 30% of their drives have started following an opposing turnover. That's 11% higher than the second place 49ers, and the gap between Denver and San Francisco is the same as San Francisco and number 28 overall LA Rams. They only have scored two touchdowns after starting their drives on the average field position of 46 on the opposing territory. They're just getting lucky, and I doubt that this is super sustainable for them, Mena.

What you just said there about how the offense have been put in a good position because of all these turnovers, turnovers tend to regress, Dan, you asked me last week about stats that people tend to overlook when we talk about teams and trends. That is a huge one, not just turnovers, which is... I said this about the Bills when they were losing... Often a lot of football is just explained by turnovers, frankly, but also field position where the offense is to start drives. These are things you should look up when you're trying to figure out how good teams really are, how good different units really are, because as Mike said, it really does tell a story, and you're 1,000 % right about the Broncos. I will add one more thing, however, that I think somewhat explains their success in the Red Zone. Russell Wilson looks mobile again. So I know I just called him a checkdown Charlie and a.

Snack maker. A snack maker and an Alex Smith is what you just called him.

I like snacks more than meals, so I don't want you to take that as negative.

I like them more than you do.

You don't feel like at weddings the snacks are too good, and then by the time they get to the meals, it's a letdown because the past orders are so much better.

Build the whole plane out of the snacks.

The cocktail hour is forever. Here's the problem. Here's the problem. You can't do that because in cooking the meal, it's just too much for too many people. It'll never taste good. But the food that you could do that would taste good, people say, Well, this isn't a wedding meal. They want a steak, they want grilled salmon or whatever. But you can't do that in bulk and have it out in time. That's the problem with wedding meals. I actually support your theory. It should be all au-l'orders there.

It's very important that you support their theory. I also support it. The entire wedding, just au-l'orders.

And martinis. The au-l'orders are easier to make in bulk. Cheap or derves, just pigs in a blanket are awesome, regardless of how much they cost. Whereas a main dish made in bulk is a lot harder to pull off. So that's the Russell Wilson offense in Denver. But he's also been very mobile. And when you watch him, he is actually one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL when he's on the move this year. A lot of those spectacular plays, they haven't been that many, but when they do happen, it tends to happen when he is on the move. He's been very good in the red zone at keeping plays alive. And I think it's like that formula, the snacks up and on the field, running the football, and then the occasional, oh, Russell Wilson is still pretty fast. I think he lost 10 or 15 pounds or something, and he looks like it.

Mena, going back to snacks for just one moment, have you had a full... They make pigs in a blanket by doing full-size hot dogs wrapped in pastry and then cut into little pieces?

Wait, you just take a corn dog and then make.

A pig? No, a normal hot dog, and then you put a cress and roll around it, and then you bake it, and then you cut it into pieces.

So you start with a giant one, and then you.

Make it by-side. Yeah. What is the benefit of that as opposed to just using the little leaners?

As I'm saying it out loud, I don't know the green, but they're delicious.

I love you, Charlotte.

Thanks. It's a girthier pig in a blanket.

To take it back to the Broncos. Isn't making all the orderves when you have actual skilled positions? You have four course meals on the outside.

Can't you hold that against that? You mean, Corleone, Sutton, and Yeah, they.

Have good talent, Judy, Mims. Although I can understand maybe being a little bit more lukewarm on Judy, considering how all the hooplaw he came into the league with, and he hasn't necessarily delivered, but they have great skill positions, allegedly.

They're good. I wouldn't say they're great. Judy is pretty inconsistent. It has been fun to see Corleone Sutton return to form. I don't know. I mean, he was awesome early in his career. I don't know if you remember, like 2019 or so before he had all those injuries. And then I knew that this was sustainable when he posted the Russell Wilson apology form. I don't know if you guys see that or if you're familiar with this concept where fan bases circulate these quarterback apology forms. And the Josh Allen one, which I definitely should have signed, and I don't know if anyone's ever said that to me, I'll sign it now. It's like, I was wrong. He's amazing. Here's the dumb reason I believed I listened to the wrong person or I pay attention to Twitter. And so Sutton posted one for Russell Wilson. And the second he did that, I was like, Oh, this is good. This is a real relation. He has defined the relationship. He loves his quarterback, which you remember, birthday party last year, a lot of questions, how many friends did Russell Wilson really have? It's a pretty good sign when your best friend in the locker room is your number one wide receiver.

Put it on the pole, or maybe they're best friends because he's the number one wide receiver. Put it on the pole at Levitard show. Has there ever been a good wedding main meal? Or have you ever had a good wedding main meal? When you say good outside of the pocket, Nina, who are the best quarterbacks outside of the pocket?

You know, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Dec Prescott's been very good when he's been outside the pocket. Dec Prescott's been good at just about everything this year. So it's an interesting mix, right? It's the guys who create and are just impossible to bring down. Then it's guys who are good at throwing on the run. I think Dec is good at throwing on the run. He's a really good example of that.

Dan's wedding had a really.

Good fit. Oh, it did, actually.

-yeah, because he had the stations. -oh, I love stations.

Carving stations. -if you're going.

To do it. He had to do stations.

-he had an entire dessert room. Yep. Do you guys remember that? I think about that once a month.

I have one of those in my house.

Thanks for the invite, Dave.

Yeah.

Jesus. I didn't even know you did. Mena, your hair is so perfect. It has bounce volume and body, but sticking to the AFC, will the Buffalo Bills make the playoff this year?

I don't know. I think their chances right now are under 50 % or something.

15 % is where it was because of the upcoming schedule.

I looked at the schedule, and I think if they win four of the next five games or something, they're still firmly in the mix. I'm not ruling them out. It's crazy. When you look at teams like the aforementioned Broncos, who are six and five suddenly, the Bills are so clearly a better football team. And they have had bad turnover luck, and things have not gone their way, and they've had just things go wrong in the worst situations. I do feel like there's a knot out. It's not impossible that they win those four games. But it is they have to win them all. They're a better team. It's really frustrating.

Right now. This feels like an entry point to talk about my stealers, Mena, because you were someone who is pretty high on Kenny Pickett in the preseason. And thenI think they did. Yes, a.

Little bit.

Yes.

A lot of caveats. I have a lot of caveats.

Okay, fair. So did I. One of them was Matt Canada. He has now been fired, and their offense for the first time in 58 games had over 400 yards. Do you feel any differently about the Steeler's now at seven and four than you did four weeks ago when they were struggling and yet still winning games that they were being out gained in?

I think that I thought that the offense did look better. It wasn't all... There's always whenever a coordinator coach gets fired, I would never bet against the team or the unit because there's that dead cat bounce. And I had a feeling they were going to have a big day. But some of the things they did were impressive. I think the game has really improved. The offensive line has been good at blocking the run. It felt like the run in the past were finally tied together. Dominique and I talked about this one minute on my podcast.

Did you just say one minute out loud because Jessica just held up one minute for only you to see?

Yeah. I thought she was talking to someone off-screen.

Like, one minute, I'm not. Nina, why are you not better at this? Why can you not multitask? You've been doing television. I want to hear what she.

Had to say about the stealers, Dan. Now they're only there for like, 45 seconds.

Now we're down on 40 seconds.

I know, but I don't understand why that's still happening to you. You're a professional.

I have to say it verbally because otherwise... Well, it's 30 seconds now. I have 30 seconds to explain how the Steeler's offense looked.

Thanks to you. Yeah, but do I have another segment. What do you mean, thanks to me? You are.

Cutting into my time.

But you said one minute out loud when you were the only one being shown a sign that said one minute. You're a professional television person.

Yeah. And now I have 10 seconds to say that Kinnie Pick was finally thrown to the middle field. He was the target of the middle of field, the least of any the NFL. Back in the NFL, prior to last week, he was 9 for 11 for 132 hours this week thrown to the middle of the field. Pratt Fireworth being back played a huge role, and that really helps tie together the run and the pass.

I have one minute.

Don Libertard. All of us who were watching college football elevated everything the weekend was because we missed football in general so very much.

You didn't watch the ending of U-Tep Jacksonville State.

It was awesome.

A jizzy.

Boom. Still gots.

Such a lane for you. Just everything in college football is awesome. Any single thing that happens, she gets deliriously happy about.

Don't you miss.

Viewing sports.

Through.

That.

Prism, though? I'm envious of Lucy.

I wish that I could.

Still be happy. This is.

The Don.

Levator Show.

With the Stugats.

Thanks for not changing the times, though.

I appreciate it.

We.

Did do that.

Too, last time. Well, Chris Cody did shout, rap at you just to distract you because he's not the one holding the signs anymore. But there is something that I did want to do with you here, and I think we might have a better segment. The segment's pretty good the way that it is, Nina, but I think if we make it now, rapid fire analysis for the people who are listening at 1.5 or 2.0 speed, I think we can get even more information out of you because your information is really good. So as a device, I don't know if it'll exhaust you, but I have a lot of questions that I'd like to go through. So go ahead. I'm sorry.

Am I not one-upping Chris Berman?

I think you can do this. What?

This is the real.

Fastest two minutes. Yeah, but I believe we can create the real fastest two minutes in football coverage. But what-.

You got to go the fastest one minute and 45 seconds. I got to like price is right in.

Okay, let's do that. This will be the fastest. Give her a clock over there. We're going to go the fastest one minute and 59 seconds that we can do with Mena. And I have a variety of questions. I don't think I've ever seen a six and six team have a 100 point, point differential in their favor. I don't think the bills are mediocre. I think that's a great football team. Not a good one, Mena. I think it's great, and I'm confused by their six and six.

I think they're very good. Wait, are we doing the fast thing now?

Or are we just trying to talk about it? Whatever you want to do, Mena. I did just tease the fast thing, but if you don't want to do that-I didn't know if.

We're doing it now, we're at the end. It was like... Oh, God, the music. Okay, the Buffalo Bills. Very good offense. Okay, defense. A lot of injuries, having lost Matt, Milano, and Tradevius White. I don't think they're a great football team. As a result of that, I think they have a great quarterback. I think because of that great quarterback, they're always in games is a big reason why they have that point differential. They belong in the playoffs, but obviously the turnover luck has bit.

Them at the worst times. Do the Jacks deserve to be at the top of the conference?

No, the Jacks don't deserve to be at the top of the conference. They deserve to be in the conversation, in the mix, whatever cliché you want to use. They are, I think, better football team than they looked at the beginning of the year. It seems they figured some things on offense, pushing the ball down the field. The offense in one line in particular played well against the Texans. They have a good quarterback and Trevor Lawrence. And his defense, sneaky under-raid, one of the best red defenses in the NFL. However, that said, when I look at the likes of the Chiefs and the Ravens, I don't think they stack up.

With them. Splash. Quicker. Do you believe that there's anything wrong with the Cheaps?

Yeah, the fact, obviously, the wide receiver drops being the thing that stands out the most of defense is very good. However, something very encouraging happened last week with the Kansas City Cheaps against Las Vegas Raiders, which is a receiver not named Travis, Kelsey actually caught the football and made plays with the ball in his hands. That is enormous because Travis, Kelsey, command so much attention. The wide receivers all get one-on-one matchups. All you need is one of those young wide receivers to not suck. Slash. Do this one slow.

Jason, Kelsey, hold on a second. I don't want to do it slow yet. What are you doing, producing the show from back then? I want her to start talking slower. Get him out of here. Go sit in the penalty box. Go sit in the penalty box. Mike is just melting for it. The segment was working fine the way that it was. Jason, Kelsey, told Peter King that he doesn't understand how they're the only team with one loss because he believes the top of football is evenly matched. Do you agree with him?

I think that there's about three teams in either conference that are at the top. I mean, the NFC is extraordinarily top heavy. It's actually a good point by him because the San Francisco Niners, of course, are playing this weekend. Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles. I would put them all on pretty much the same tier. But there is a big jump below that to the next tier in the NFC.

Are the 49ers, are you willing to make the argument they're better than the Eagles?

I think that top to bottom, both sides, yes, they are better. However, I think when you look at the individual matchups, Niner struggles in run defense in particular, the Eagles do match up well with them, which is why I think this game is going to be super close.

Who's better, Calin, Hertz, or Doc Prescott?

Oh, God. I thinkJaylen Hearts is the more successful quarterback. I think that Dec Prescott, his high is... Oh, God, I don't know. You got me. I don't want to do it. They're both really good.

That's the one you're going to sit out? It's too even? It's too close to call? You got to have an opinion.

You got to have a- They're both good at really different things. I think they're really comparable. That alone, by the way, is apparently like a device that they're about the same.

Splash.

Who's your MVP?

Right now, it's Doug Prescott. So I guess I answered...

Oh, Jesus Christ, Nina. What was that? What are the... What are the Superbush 5 and the 5 that are not on the.

End of the year? Jalom Hearts is the guy. He just has winning blaze and the biggest moments, but consistency over the course of the game. He's had bad games and stretches where he's not been as good. But then all the draw at the end of the game and you remember why he got paid all that money and why he's.

So awesome. What can the Browns expect from Joe Flacko?

I think Joe Flacko, do you think he wants to play in the... Because by the end, he looks so disinterested. But if you're coming back, if you're flying to Ohio to be the quarterback, even though you haven't been playing football for a long time, you must really... Even though you made over $100 million, you must really love football, despite the fact that your face never someone who loves football. Competent quarterback plays your answer.

Hasn't he always just looked like that?

Yeah, he has resting, like be face. He could just be a.

Sicko who really wants to torture himself.

I think some guys are like that. Like Jason Peters, 41, coming back to play tackle for the Seattle Seahawks also made over a hundred million dollars. Why do you want to go out there and have nick Boat to ram into your face? It blows my mind.

Do you believe that JuJu has it right when he says it's a good pickup line to tell a woman that she has a booger in her nose? No, I.

Would be so embarrassed and so upset. That's like, well, you have food in your teeth. Leading the witness. It never feels good.

Splash. What are the Baltimore Ravens? Are they the most talented team, physical team in the AFC?

The AFC? I think it depends on which side of the ball. I think that they're the most talented team top to bottom because of how good the defense is. The defense is also very physical, very well coached. And then if you consider both sides of football, I think.

That's fair to say. Splash.

Can you give me some of the favorite numbers that you have uncovered? Because you do deep dives into the analytics. You are fascinated by what the numbers reveal. Give us a deep dive. Oh, you need me to shorten on my question? Your most impressive numbers that you found. I wanted to give her time to think. Splash. Okay.

I want to - But the.

Clock's running.

The problem. Okay. Well, we were talking about Doug Prescott in his MVP case. I had a tonight's game, which is against my beloved Seattle Seahawks who are going to lose, but are going to be losing looking amazing because I got to throw back uniforms on. I was trying to find weaknesses for Doug Prescott. You can play like, okay, what's his QBR against? This look, this look, this look. He is first in just about everything. First against man coverage, first on third down, first outside the pocket. First, it's a very alarming. There's a big game. Does Flash mean stop? Yes.

You just caught on to that.

Wow. Splash. I thought.

It was like a... I thought you were.

Like, Oh, my God. Nobody made it explicit. Sometimes they're just sound effects.

Around here. Who is the guy on McAfee who hypes people? I thought you were being that for me. What?

Oh, you thought we were like, Oh, another great answer, Nina. Give her.

That one. Yeah. I thought it was like- Maybe I should.

Have changed it to-You.

Know, when people do the water emoji?

Yeah.

Like, oh, splash.

That's.

Not- Splash.

I want to ask you about your Washington Huskies, huge game, Pac-12 Championship on Friday. What are the pro prospects for these two starting quarterbacks?

Bo, Nicks, and Mike. Yeah, I feel like it's still a little bit early. I do think there's a pretty big drop off from the first two quarterbacks in the draft to these players, Pennex, Nicks. I think both of them are flawed prospects, frankly, who have some interesting traits. I don't think either of them are going to go super early in the draft. But if you're a team thinking outside, maybe the Pittsburgh Steelers or something, you might be interested. Robodoonzay is the guy that... It was so much better than when I thought Splash meant I was saying good things because it was like amping me up to keep going.

And now just keep going. Just ignore it. Pretend it's still good things.

Nina, did you hear the fart heard around the world on The Golden Bachelor?

I did not. I do watch The Golden Bachelor. Did you hear about his dark past as revealed by Hollywood reporters?

Yes, we did. But before we do that, we have to play this out. We cannot. Never mind.

We will play. Thank you. I mean, you produced the show, too. We don't have enough producers. Get him out of here. Nina, what do you make of Justin Herbert's struggles? Both of you go sit in the.

Penalty box. Am I supposed to answer slow just because you're asking.

The question slow? Is that-No, answer quickly.

I actually can't play because it's off the same pot that Mena's on, so forget that idea.

The fart. We wanted to play the fart for you, but the slow question was about Justin Herbert. What's true about him?

It cut out right before you said what's true about him. So I could choose who I want to talk about, or I could.

Just ask you. Justin Herbert.

Oh, Herbert. Incredible talent, extremely astute processor, very, I think he has all the top and quarterback traits. Very flawed football team, obviously. Splash. Underrated issues with personnel.

Is Staley going to be fired?

Probably. Splash. But it seems like it might not happen mid-season.

Does he deserve to be from anything you've seen?

It feels like I want to say this. I think Staley and Herbert are the ones we constantly talk about because obviously they're both front facing. The Chargers GM, Tom Palesca, I feel like deserves a lot of criticism for how this team is put together. Granted they've had bad injury luck, but there's been some really bad decisions in terms of personnel. Whenever you say stuff about the Chargers, people are like, Oh, you're making excuses for the...

There you go.

No, what's not right about this, this happened on PTI originally, when they put in the bell at the end of segments. Originally, Cornhiser and Wilbon didn't know what to do, and they just stopped talking immediately. Now you've done that to Mena. I wanted to hear- It's not a bad thing. No, I want her to.

Talk- It's.

Trees tag. I want.

Her to talk through it. You were playing the Square Game when they do red light, green light, and I have to stop or you die.

Outside of the bills, who's a team that people think isn't that good that is better than that?

I really like the Houston Texans as a sneaky playoff. I don't know if people think that. I know people like CJ Straud. I don't know if they appreciate some of the improved- Splash.

-cj Straud. Are you as amazed as everyone else is? I don't feel like we've seen many rookie quarterbacks ever do this.

Yes, I've bought all the way in on CJ Straud because he does… There's some stuff where it's like playing within the shanehan-type offense that they run, throwing up in the middle of the field, all of that, setting up guys, get yours if you catch. But he also makes plays outside of the structure of that offense. He's been amazing on third down, amazing on the pressure. He's been-.

David Tepper.

Yeah, obviously, very easy to dunk on as to not being a good owner right now because the firing. Where I get a little tricky with me is when you actually point to the individual firings, they all make sense. The problem, and I've talked about this, is the hiring, some of the decisions made. Another case, by the way, where everyone's so focused on the quarterback and the head coach, the GM has been very, very bad. Splash. -bad.

The Bangles.

Yeah, they're done.

Splash.

Their head coach being 428 and 1 without a borough. That's not that surprising, is it?

Well, I mean, look at who the have been without Burrow. I think you can't really... Especially I was going to say this about the Bangles, too. The offense in particular is so built around Joe Borough being the quarterback. They don't use a lot of trickery. There's no preset motion. It's just Joe Burrow getting the shotgun, read it out, hit these Star-Wide receivers, use your exceptional processing abilities. When you take him out...

You can find her on YouTube. Com/at-mena Kymes for the Mena Kymes show featuring Lenny, Mena. Thank you so much. We'll talk to you next week.

Thank you, Mena. Play her out with the fart.

Don't play me out with the fart.

Splash.

Don't live a tard. David Samson, weirdo. Because he was not the fun substitute teacher who'd wheel out a TV and play a VHS.

Tape or Armageddon in science class.

He was the weird one who would eat an egg salad.

Sandwich while flipping his toenails into the.

Trash can and rambling about Ronald Reagan. Stoogards. The guy kept talking about how his ass was smooth, smoother than a newborn's cheek. He wouldn't stop bragging about his bare buttocks to me.

This is the Don Levator.

Show with.

The.

Stoogards.

It's Thursday Thunder. It's brought to you by DraftKings sportsbook. You can follow our parlay on the DraftKings sportsbook app. Juju, always great when you're in town. Please let the audience know what today's Thursday Thunder is.

The Sheath has been on Sheath. Oh, wow.

You can see how I said sheath out loud. We are going with the Dallas Cowboys minus nine points against the Seattle Trash Hawks tonight because Gino has written back and he hasn't showed up in years.

Chris Cody loves betting those giant favorites.

Love it. Yes, we do love it. And you know who else I love tonight? Michael J. Gallop for 18 yards tonight. He will gallop his ass for at least 18 of the Mother Truckers. You can believe it, John John.

18 yards. One catch, two catches, three catches. All you have is Gallop over 18 yards. Big Mike, Gallop.

His friends call him Big Mike. I'm going to call him Big Mike for 18 yards tonight, Daddy.

That's not that big. It's just 18 yards.

What happened to John John?

Hey, America's team, everything is bigger in Texas, Dano. The next leg, we're the next leg-We're going to go to the W- B-B.

-w-b. If you were paying attention, we're going to go with Virginia Tech Moneyline over L. S. U. Tonight, Daddy. What? Yes, we are. The return of Angel Reese will be spoiled.

You were very hot there. You came very aggressive microphone usage there, JuJu.

Sorry, Daniel.

It was a little strong. It was a little terrifying. What? I don't know. You disagree. It was very strong.

It felt inspiring to me. I'm ready to run through.

A wall. Me, too.

With a sword. Put it on the pole, please, JuJu. Is there very much inspiration, very much difference between the things that inspire you and the things that scare you? Because we experienced all of that very differently. Also experienced differently today, the news that sports illustrated has a new sportsman of the year.

Sportsperson. We call it.

Sportsperson now, Dan. Sportsperson. Excuse me.

Thank you, Jessica. Wait a second. Now, when you say sportsillustrated has a new sportsman of the year- Sportsperson, yes.

-or sportsperson of the year.

Are we saying someone at sportsillustrator? Or did the algorithm decide that this is going to be our.

Sportsperson of the year? Well, considering who it is-.

It is a good- -it's tough to say. It's a good algorithm choice. It was a choice that infuriated, I'm sure, Mike Ryan. The sportsperson of the year is- Dr. Ibeignyama? Deion Sanders. Deion Sanders of the four-win Colorado Buffalo. Four wins. They were over under three and a half wins.

You swallowed the S there.

I thought that Buffalo was one of those that could like owl, it could be plural and singular.

But I'm just saying their name.

Owl? Owl is not plural and singular.

You made their mascot a city.

Are you thinking of Moose?

Moose or Mice? Even better. Moose. I was thinking the wrong thing. Maybe I was just an old person dropping my asses.

Like the Stanford Cardinal thing happening.

It's a tree.

I actually think this is a worthy choice. When you think about where that program was last year. What?

Look at this. I can't believe it. I'm stunned by what- He was zagging when we thought he was going to see. Well, I just can't believe what you just said.

Very rarely does someone step in year one, dominate the national conversation, get the results. I mean, seven and five after a one-win season. Congratulations to David Brawn over at Northwestern for being the rightful sportsperson.

No. See how he did? He set you up, and then he went, Mm. He zigged again. He zagged and everyone.

Thought he was zig. Actually, no, no, no. I'm going to zig again. What? I get it. I get it. I don't. What we saw with coverage around this head coach and Coach Prime, who very clearly has it and has had it his entire life in terms of a conversation starter for that program, it ends the season with four wins, to dominate the sports conversation for almost two months, I do think it's actually a worthy choice. It's not necessarily about accomplishments. I do think part of the conversation here is conversation.

It makes a lot of sense when you think about the fact that I'm pretty sure they need to submit the story for magazine publication a few months in advance now because- They're like, As long.

As he doesn't lose out, this will.

Still hit.

It's like, Shit. But I will say it is... It is perfect for sports illustrated after this whole AI scandal happened that this was sportsperson because I don't know how many people care about who sportsperson is anymore. It used to be a huge thing at the end of the year, but every single joke has just written itself about, So who picked? Did the computer pick Deion Sanders? But as Mike said, I don't know if you were being serious or not. I mean, deserving in terms of the amount of things he's brought to Colorado into the football program, and that's what the story about Pat 40 is about. But also, yeah, every year there's a -.

September and.

October, he dominated.

Yeah. Well, again, I think it's worthy, and I don't put much talk in sportsperson of the year anymore just because SI has long since been a diminished product. But this is as good a nominee as there is in sports when you think about the attention that we've devoted. Look, we've had plenty of conversation in those videos then to do well when it comes to Deion Sanders. There's very clearly something there, and I can't refute it.

I think.

We should talk about who would the funniest sportsperson of the year have been this year.

This one is funny.

Well, it's like, is this? Or would it be just like Tom braided, again? Because that, I think, would be funny.

Something like an actual robot would be. Yeah, right. Connor Staliens. Hes actually might be sportsperson. Connor Staliens is my sportsperson.

Of the year.

Oh, wow.

A legend. Just for the name alone. This is the thing that I'm confused by. I thought sportsperson of the year had to be a person who played the sport.

Not coached it. No, it was a horse once. Just like recently.

I.

Think it.

Was Nyquist. The horse is playing the sport, though. It wasn't the jockey.

But it's not a person. It's a horse.

I'm just saying like...

Sports horse.

Should be the category. You missed the person part, I mean.

The last handful of winners. Steph Curry, Tom braided, LeBron James, Hannah Stewart, Naomi Osaka, Lauren Duvainet Taldif, Patrick Mohones, Megan Rapinoe, the Golden State Warriors has an entire staff title.

That was quite the event.

Let me.

Tell you. Guys, on type.

We were at that one. When you consider the window, it ends slightly before the end of the year. I think, Messi with the World.

Cup win. No, he won in 2022.

Really? Yeah, that.

Doesn't count. When did it end? Because this is a lot sooner. They announced sports person in the year sooner.

Guess what? If you want to do something great and be sports person in the year, don't have your greatest moment happen in December. Last year. How about that? How about that? How about you do it? It needs.

To be.

September and October.

How about you do it earlier? I just got to see the timeline because this one was announced way earlier.

Than that. It should have been Caitlin, Clark and Angel Reese together doing this on the cover.

To each other?

They should be doing to each other face to face. Yes, to each other. Like a boxing poster.

Right.

We're having some time issues here because- What do you mean? Mike Ryan has the wrong year for Messi winning the World Cup, and sports illustrated should have made Dionne Sanders the sportsperson of the month of October.

Here's an idea for a sportsperson. If we're going to do whole teams, the Spanish women's national team. I cannot think of a more deserving group of people who have been through a lot a lot this year, also won the World Cup. And then their coach and the President of their Federation got fired for being terrible people.

That is right. That's always a lot of fun when that happens. Jessica, you were telling me the other day that you were reading a story about something that was truly horrifying, that I just I can't believe how it happened. And I want to know the backstory. Now, I can't help but want to know the backstory of how it happened, which is I've read stories about people eating their food and finding animals or finding disgusting things, but I have not read a story of a person eating a salad and biting into a human finger.

Yes, it happened in Connecticut. A woman was eating a salad and accidentally found a finger in it, like she ate a finger, and then she is suing them now for it. And to me, you're eating a salad and you're like, Oh, my God. What is this? This is disgusting. You think like, Wow, what could it be? Around here, it's just the salad. That's the reaction from people when we just order salad. Everyone today was freaking out about just the fact that we had lettuce in bowls for lunch. And it really- Why are.

You staring.

At me? Hold on.

It really upset me because it's like, we finally get something good for lunch around here and you guys are acting like it's so disgusting. You just got a finger in.

Your salad. -rifled with onions, by the way.

-pickled, though. Pickled onion. -not as strong.

I've been into a cookie the other day, and I felt there was a tooth in it, and I forgot that I had a crown, and I freaked out that there was a tooth in my cookie, flipped out. Then what did you say?

You have something for everything. You had.

The belt.

Thing yesterday. I realized it was my favorite bakery. I was like, Oh, my God, I can't ever go- Is.

That your.

Favorite tooth? Well, also. But I was like, Oh, my God, I can't ever go to this bakery anymore. There was a tooth in it. Then I was like, Oh, my God. It's mine. But then I freaked out because I forgot I had the crown. I was like, My tooth just came apart, and I brought it to the dentist, and they're like, Well, you have a crown, and this is it. And we'll put it back on.

Heavy as the head.

Lucy, why is your mouth hanging open just because of how odd one of the stars of oddball is?

No, that's when I get high and I eat munchies, that's my biggest fear, is that my teeth will fall out into the food I'm eating. So when she.

Said that, that really freaked me out because every... I have that.

Thought maybe once every three months, I get really anxious that my teeth are going to.

Fall out. Lucy, I have dreams and my teeth are falling out. So when it happened, I was like, No, it's happening. And then there was an explanation for it, so it felt better. But when you bite into something and there's something in there, I feel for the woman in Connecticut.

Lucy, when you get high, you think your teeth are going to fall out?

You get paranoid that people are trying to kill you. I get paranoid that my teeth are.

Going to fall out. Not kill me. Just steal my kidney. That one time. That one time. That's a hefty thing. I always think someone's looking in my window.

Really? Yeah. I just.

Think I'm going to forget to breathe.

I'll walk.

Inside and I'm on my couch and I'll.

Just be like.

Look out the window.

It's like, Who's that? Oh, it's just.

My reflection. Okay.

I don't really get high that much because I'm just like this.

I just laugh at my own text. Does that ever happen? I'm like, as I'm typing it out, I'm just like, This is funny.

I usually do a Thursday Thunder with a sword when.

I'm.

High.

Dan? It's fairly stunning that even when high, Mike Ryan's greatest higher is just looking and reading his own voice and being amused by himself at the highest form.

Of high. I got it going on. It's just charming and funny. It's likable.

You just review the things that you've read before or just you start texting.

In a way that- No, as I'm coming up, I'm.

Formulating, and I'm.

Like, This is perfect. The comedic timing. You even be a tag. You sell yourself short, Mike Ryan. You really do.

I mean, you wanted to go there.

No, I want to go a completely different story.

But I.

Like his story better.

Okay, excellent ending to.

The second. That's why I.

Went doing this to tell him to keep going.

Splash.