The Aggro Lions, the Sleeper-ish Hawks, Million-Dollar Picks, and Jesse Ventura on His Surprise WWE Return AI transcript and summary - episode of podcast The Bill Simmons Podcast

Go to PodExtra AI's episode page (The Aggro Lions, the Sleeper-ish Hawks, Million-Dollar Picks, and Jesse Ventura on His Surprise WWE Return) to play and view complete AI-processed content: summary, mindmap, topics, takeaways, transcript, keywords and highlights.

Go to PodExtra AI's podcast page (The Bill Simmons Podcast) to view the AI-processed content of all episodes of this podcast.

The Bill Simmons Podcast episodes list: view full AI transcripts and summaries of this podcast on the blog

Episode: The Aggro Lions, the Sleeper-ish Hawks, Million-Dollar Picks, and Jesse Ventura on His Surprise WWE Return

Author: The Ringer
Duration: 02:24:03

Episode Shownotes

The Ringer's Bill Simmons is joined by Joe House to discuss the Lions surviving the Packers on 'TNF,' talk through the NFL weekend slate, and make the Million-Dollar Picks for Week 14 (2:35), before looking at the updated NBA win totals, "make the playoffs" bets, likely trade teams, and more

(44:44). Then, Bill talks with Jesse "The Body" Ventura about his return to WWE broadcasting, his rocky exit from pro wrestling, filming 'Predator' and 'Running Man,' his political career as a mayor and later governor of Minnesota, and much more (1:11:36). Host: Bill Simmons Guests: Joe House and Jesse Ventura Producer: Kyle Crichton The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summary

In this episode of 'The Bill Simmons Podcast', Bill Simmons and Joe House analyze the recent NFL weekend, focusing on the Lions' impressive victory over the Packers and the implications for playoff positioning. They discuss betting strategies for Week 14, review NBA team performances, especially the Atlanta Hawks, and feature an interview with Jesse Ventura about his unexpected return to WWE, reflecting on his wrestling career and political experiences. The conversation highlights key moments in the NFL and NBA, strategic betting insights, and Ventura’s personal journey in the realms of wrestling and politics.

Go to PodExtra AI's episode page (The Aggro Lions, the Sleeper-ish Hawks, Million-Dollar Picks, and Jesse Ventura on His Surprise WWE Return) to play and view complete AI-processed content: summary, mindmap, topics, takeaways, transcript, keywords and highlights.

Full Transcript

00:00:01 Speaker_07
Coming up, Lions Packers, football, basketball, and Jesse the Body Ventura, all next. This episode is brought to you by Uber Reserve. You know what's a game changer for travel? Booking my ride in advance to the airport with Uber Reserve.

00:00:14 Speaker_07
Uber Reserve makes it easy to plan my whole trip. I just did this. Booking rides up to 90 days in advance to help squeeze the most out of traveling, especially if you're doing odd hours, rush hours, like early in the morning. You gotta do it.

00:00:28 Speaker_07
Plus with Uber Reserve, you'll get an assigned driver, you get upfront pricing, and you get extra wait time included. So go ahead, plan like a pro. Reserve your Uber ride up to 90 days in advance. See app for details.

00:00:43 Speaker_02
This episode is brought to you by Old El Paso. Does game day hosting feel like an extreme sport? Not anymore. With Old El Paso, feeding your hungry crowd is oh so easy.

00:00:53 Speaker_02
Old El Paso's crunchy stand-in stuffed shells, bold seasonings, and squeezable sauces are fumble-free, flavor-packed, and perfect for cheering on your team. Football season is taco season with Old El Paso. Level up your next tailgater watch party.

00:01:07 Speaker_02
Shop game day essentials at oldelpaso.com.

00:01:12 Speaker_07
We're also brought to you by the Ringer Podcast Network, where the season finale of Truthless just dropped. It's a storytelling pod about the lies people tell, hosted by Brian Phillips. You can binge all the episodes. Go check that out.

00:01:23 Speaker_07
You can check out the live show I did with Brian Russillo in Denver on Wednesday night, which is now available on my YouTube channel, the Bill Simmons channel. And we had a great time. I love Denver. Thanks for having us. Got to see you. Great times.

00:01:38 Speaker_07
Really fun podcast too. New Rewatchable is coming out Monday night. It's a movie from the 90s. I'll tell you what it is on Sunday. Kind of a controversial movie. A little controversial.

00:01:47 Speaker_07
Anyway, FanDuel is still gonna do 30 on 30 score bets even though the NBA Cup is now over. We're gonna keep it going. The 30 on 30 profit boost token. You can boost any 30 point score you want. I tweet out my picks on Fridays. I've been red hot.

00:02:05 Speaker_07
I hit my long shot picks two weeks in a row. I post like five guys that I like and I think I went three for five, two for five. I hit a 12 to one. I had a plus 700. but you can be sure to claim the PBD and place your 30 on 30 bet for Friday.

00:02:19 Speaker_07
Look for it on the FanDuel Sportsbook app. On this podcast, Joe House and I are gonna react to a fantastic Lions-Packers game. We're gonna do million dollar picks.

00:02:28 Speaker_07
We're gonna do some NBA future stuff because I was trapped on a plane in Denver, frantically making future bets on FanDuel, and there were some that really jumped out at me, so we're gonna talk about NBA as well.

00:02:37 Speaker_07
And then, Jesse, the body of Ventura, is gonna come on for the first time ever to talk about his comeback Yeah, his comeback to WWE, plus we had to talk Predator. We had to talk Running Man. We had to talk about a whole bunch of stuff. Really fun.

00:02:55 Speaker_07
He did a lot of the talking, I'm just going to tell you now. I had a great time. So that's the pod. Let's bring in our friends. Not from Yacht Rock, which is still available, by the way. on Max, we did really well.

00:03:08 Speaker_07
It was like in the top four on Max for like five, six days in a row. Got some great feedback too. Everybody really seems like they liked it. So check out Yeah Rock on Max. Not our friends from Yeah Rock, our friends from Pearl Jam. All right.

00:03:41 Speaker_07
We're taping this right after the Lions Packers game is eight thirty seven Pacific time. We were hoping that would be a really good game. It seemed like it was going to be a really good game. And then it was a really good game.

00:03:53 Speaker_07
And even better Packers plus three and a half covered by adjusted Packers plus four and a half with with love 200 plus passing yards that covered one of my first million dollar pick already Detroit at the ball. Thirty six minutes house.

00:04:08 Speaker_07
They had 280 yards passing. They outgained the Packers by over 100 yards and felt like they dominated the game. And yet, I kind of feel like the Packers blew it.

00:04:21 Speaker_07
they had the ball first down after that long completion over the middle and they were inside the 20. And then they, all of a sudden they just kind of, and they're settling for a field goal. And I really feel like they had it.

00:04:35 Speaker_03
Well, it was, it was first in goal and there was to me a very suspicious pass interference, offensive pass interference call that pushed them way back. Yeah, it didn't. I mean,

00:04:47 Speaker_03
The number of times that occurs in a football game, and it goes uncalled, and they were inside of, it happened like virtually at the line of scrimmage, so.

00:04:56 Speaker_07
So are you, wait a second, are you giving me, you think that we are headed toward a Lions-Bills conspiracy Super Bowl? The two losers, somebody has to win? Oh, I. Is this, Goodell has now ordered that in?

00:05:08 Speaker_03
Not only, I love that, and you know who especially loves it is Cousin Sal, because I think that was his prediction for. I think it was. The Super Bowl matchup for this season. I like, look, I, I'm not gonna, um, you know, say bad things about it.

00:05:23 Speaker_03
Detroit is an a side team. Now Detroit gets a side calls.

00:05:27 Speaker_07
Well, explain that. Cause that's a Raheem phrase that you guys don't bring your gambling show for my audience. They might not know what that is, but it's Raheem's best thing. Yeah. It's like his best theory. I love it. But explain the A-side.

00:05:39 Speaker_03
I'll try and do it. It's when you've achieved a certain status when you have. And the best example of it in the NFL is the Chiefs, where every week it feels like every call that might go their way does go their way.

00:05:52 Speaker_03
Every ball that bounces seems to find the hands of the team that is the A-side team. I think it's basically that concept.

00:06:00 Speaker_07
Yeah, it's like the, it's a Monday night game. Somebody's getting three and a half in their home and you could just tell in the first quarter the calls are going their way and it's like, oh, they're the A-side today. It's a good one.

00:06:12 Speaker_07
LeBron's been the A-side in the NBA for like 15 years. kind of warriors had a few a side runs on their end too, but it's, it's a good theory.

00:06:22 Speaker_07
Um, but yeah, I felt like considering that love had 31 yards at halftime, they seem completely blindsided by how good the, the lions defense looked in that, that first drive when they were just flying in and hounding them.

00:06:35 Speaker_07
And then they found something with the run game. Then they started taking shots deep and it felt like by the time we're in the fourth quarter, it actually felt like the Packers were a slightly better team.

00:06:44 Speaker_07
and then they just couldn't hold the Lions off. They got that big fourth down stop, and if I'm the Packers, I'm feeling good. I can play with that team.

00:06:55 Speaker_07
I can go in there in the playoffs in January, and I can hang with that team, and I'm not losing sleep. You're gonna be the wild card anyway.

00:07:04 Speaker_03
The entirety of that fourth quarter felt to me like whichever team has the ball last is gonna win the football game, a testament to, you know, the, the matchup. But I just want to be clear.

00:07:14 Speaker_03
I know that I said the A-side thing about that dubious pass interference call. There was a holding call on Detroit in that last drive. That was also ticky tack felt a little makeupy and to Detroit's credit, they overcame that went right down the field.

00:07:30 Speaker_03
You know, crazy Dan Campbell, goes for it on a fourth down that, you know, had shared golf falling over because he gets his foot stepped on by alignment. They still get the yards. They still, you know, are able to just clinch the game that way.

00:07:47 Speaker_07
But that's the way it goes when you, when your things are running in your favor on the nine text threads I was on during this game, most people thought Campbell was a lunatic. I actually liked it, and it goes to what you said a minute ago.

00:08:00 Speaker_07
It started to feel like a whoever had the ball last game, and he was gonna kick a field goal there. Love gets the ball on his own 30 with 43 seconds left, and I feel like they would have been able to go down the field and get in a field goal range.

00:08:14 Speaker_07
So, you know, it's fourth and inches. They didn't get it earlier. To me, a lot of these times, I like when the Lions go for it. There's other situations where I hate it, like the Jaguars.

00:08:26 Speaker_07
you know, when you can't really block and you have Trevor Lawrence and you know, I, I just, I'm not confident you're getting it on fourth and two or fourth and four. There's a bunch of teams like that with them.

00:08:37 Speaker_07
I like when they, the play that they didn't get it, that gives like pitch out play. I didn't like the play. I liked that they went for it, but just, you have this huge offensive line, just run behind it and push forward.

00:08:48 Speaker_07
And it seems like teams always get into trouble when they try to get tricky. you know, and they try to out trick themselves a bunch of times in this game, which is why the Packers were able to hang around.

00:08:57 Speaker_03
The thing that you said in our text thread, I think early in the second half, it did indeed feel like the lions could get 10 to 15 yards passing the football anytime they wanted it. And they ran really sharp plays in the red zone.

00:09:13 Speaker_03
Both times, fourth down, those touchdowns that they got were really sharp play calls. Ben Johnson in his bag. Yeah.

00:09:21 Speaker_07
The golf was 32 for 41 for two 83. He'd won bad pass. He stared the guy down through a pick, but they ran the ball. Montgomery and Gibbs were 29 for 94. I think what they were only 3.6 for Montgomery, 2.9 for Gibbs.

00:09:36 Speaker_07
But I think the reason they're trying to run the ball, I think they're trying to shorten the game.

00:09:40 Speaker_03
I agree.

00:09:41 Speaker_07
They didn't trust the defense.

00:09:42 Speaker_03
Totally agree. Yes.

00:09:44 Speaker_07
And, uh, so it just felt like, I like when the Lions play with pace because they have so many weapons, but I guess they feel like they can't do that anymore because it's such a patchwork defense.

00:09:54 Speaker_07
But you know, a lot of people, a lot of people writing online, people on pods have been making the same point that this whole conference feels like it's shifting toward Philly a little bit.

00:10:06 Speaker_07
You know, like I heard Lombardi today talking about he really feels like Philly, they have the second best odds to win the NFC, you know, Philly's in a great spot, whether they're the one seed or the two seed, the way their defense is playing.

00:10:18 Speaker_07
Um, I, to me, the NFC feels way more wide open than it did a couple of weeks ago. And it's because of the Detroit injuries, their defense isn't the same. Right?

00:10:26 Speaker_06
Yeah.

00:10:27 Speaker_07
I mean, wide open means what?

00:10:30 Speaker_03
Three teams. Okay.

00:10:32 Speaker_07
Fair enough. Yeah. But I thought there was a point about four weeks ago when it just seemed like Detroit was almost like, I'd bet anything they're gonna make the Super Bowl. This just seems like the dominant NFC team. I just love the way they're playing.

00:10:47 Speaker_07
Even after the Hutchinson injury, it still felt pretty great. So I'm fanned all right now. They have the conference stuff. Detroit's plus 140, Philly's plus 250, and the Packers are eight to one. Vikings are plus 950.

00:11:03 Speaker_07
and we're gonna talk about them later at Million Dollar Picks, but there's some pretty interesting defensive stats with them that are not encouraging. Other than that, I don't see anyone else.

00:11:11 Speaker_07
So it's those three in the NFC, but I feel like the Packers, I think they could go into Detroit and hang. Philly would be a little tougher, because of the Philly defense. And we need to know when J.R. Alexander comes back is the other thing.

00:11:23 Speaker_03
That's right. That's going to be huge for Green Bay. The Philly thing, the Philly advantage that they have is their own ability to just, you know, shrink the clock and run the ball, especially in the second half of these games now. Yeah, they're good.

00:11:41 Speaker_07
It's interesting, Detroit has probably been on TV the most this year. other than maybe KC, right? It's those two, but I feel like Detroit, I feel like I've seen almost all of their games.

00:11:54 Speaker_03
Sadly, we've seen way too much of the mother-effing Jets. I mean, the Jets, shoot them straight into the sun.

00:12:00 Speaker_07
But that's my point. Usually, like the NBA's in this situation now. They have just a shitload of Laker games left. They barely have any Cleveland games. They barely have any Oklahoma City games. And a lot of times, like the most televised teams,

00:12:14 Speaker_07
it turns out to be disappointing. I love watching Detroit.

00:12:18 Speaker_05
I really get it.

00:12:18 Speaker_07
And I have, I have fantasy guys from them in different leagues and I'm sure that's part of it. I have the one seed bet with them.

00:12:25 Speaker_07
I have their over all kinds of stuff, but I just think they're really entertaining offensively, like about as entertaining of an offense as we've seen in a while.

00:12:33 Speaker_07
And then the big thing that they added that they just didn't have in the first two months was, uh, this Tim Patrick who I always thought was good on the Broncos. He got hurt.

00:12:44 Speaker_07
And he was healthy in pre-season and I guess, I guess Payton just like the other receivers, let him go. And he's the third receiver that the Lions have kind of been dying for.

00:12:55 Speaker_07
Like he had a couple of really big catches today, but I think they just have playmakers everywhere. And I always feel like that Packers didn't get that thing, tie game. Four minutes left and it's like fuck you guys probably lost.

00:13:09 Speaker_07
I don't think you're stopping the Lions I think they're gonna get in a field goal range and win the game like didn't you have that feeling?

00:13:14 Speaker_07
Yeah, of course Yes, the only thing that put it into doubt at all was crazy Dan Campbell going for it on that Well, I wonder I Mean I wonder like the pie chart of that decision-making Where they didn't get it before and I do think there's like a

00:13:34 Speaker_07
attitude piece to when he's known for three years right now. No, it's like if I go for it here, we get it. I kind of win our swagger back. If I kick the field goal combined with us not getting it before our swaggers and like a tiny bit of a question.

00:13:48 Speaker_07
And I, you know, he's just aggro. That's who he is.

00:13:51 Speaker_03
Yeah, it's true. And, and I do wonder, it can't be part of the affirmative calculation when he's sitting there making the decision. But there is got to be something in terms of the identity, like this is who we are. This is what we do.

00:14:05 Speaker_03
We don't waver from it. We can't waver from our identity. This is who we plow ahead. We plow ahead. And it did have the desired outcome, which was not giving the Green Bay Packers the football back. The nerds didn't like it.

00:14:18 Speaker_07
It was like, I think, four percent probability was better if they just kicked it for winning the game, which I was surprised by. But I liked it. I thought they were going to get it. I always judge the stuff by...

00:14:30 Speaker_07
Do I think they're going to get it if I'm like, I was, you know, obviously root for the Packers with the plus points and, um, hoping that the Lions would kick the field goal and really worried that not only were they going to get it, but they were going to be the thing where they like break through and get the touchdown.

00:14:45 Speaker_07
And I don't know, it's just the whole thing made me nervous. So is that, are the lines still the best team to you? Sure.

00:14:52 Speaker_03
Yes. Yes. I mean, We're going to see Kansas city this coming week. And I feel like we were gonna, we're, we're due for a Kansas city statement game. And it might be this weekend. It might be this weekend.

00:15:07 Speaker_07
Well, that's nice to move into million dollar picks. Cause we had Casey down as, as one of the possibilities, Casey, the lines finally adjusted

00:15:18 Speaker_07
to back up what we've been watching week after week where they haven't been covering any of these games and they've been pulling wins out of their ass. And every week the Lions have been three to eight points too high for them.

00:15:31 Speaker_07
And FanDuel and everybody else who makes Lions finally had enough of it and they made them three and a half point favorites at home against the Chargers on a Sunday night that don't have J.K. Dobbins, that

00:15:45 Speaker_07
McCocky's hurt and like, we'll see tomorrow on Friday. Usually if the guy doesn't practice on Friday, it's usually a bad sign for playing. He's been like their big play guy every third game. The only play guy. Yeah.

00:15:58 Speaker_07
And I would have thought the line would be maybe six and a half. I was going to say six. All the oddsmakers are like, nope, we've had it with the Chiefs. Well, you know why?

00:16:07 Speaker_03
The Chiefs are on a six game against the spread, losing streak. Right. Incredible for a team with their winning percentage. If you look at the history, there's some great numbers out there. Action Network team was doing it.

00:16:21 Speaker_03
Some incredible numbers about a team with their winning percentage being on an 0-6 against the spread streak.

00:16:28 Speaker_07
Yeah, and even if you look at their last five, their last six wins. Beat the Niners by 10, that turns out to be a congratulations. Vegas by seven, Tampa by six, Denver by two, Carolina by three, Vegas by two.

00:16:44 Speaker_07
They beat Vegas twice by nine points combined. And I think the odds makers have just had it. And they're like, you know what?

00:16:52 Speaker_07
So to me, it's a huge gambling opportunity because I don't love the hook, but it does allow us to use their money line and start combining it with stuff. But the big thing for me with the matchup is just, A, not sure about the Chargers at all.

00:17:09 Speaker_07
Their best wins, I like them, I've enjoyed betting on them, I have them make the playoffs. They're better than a good-bad team, I'm not sure they're a good team. Their best two wins were Denver by seven and Atlanta by four.

00:17:23 Speaker_07
Denver's the only team with a winning record they've beaten. KC's defense, third against the run. Chargers don't have Dobbins. Their run game was non-existent last week. Chiefs at home.

00:17:35 Speaker_07
Chiefs kind of need to make some sort of statement at some point before we get to January, and this just feels like the week.

00:17:44 Speaker_03
I agree. I mean, this is, you know, the, the weakness for Kansas city has been their past defense since the cornerback Jalen Watson got hurt. That was against San Francisco. We've seen a lot of teams get into that secondary, that Kansas city secondary.

00:18:02 Speaker_03
but the chargers are so one dimensional now. And look all credit to coach Harbaugh, amazing turnaround. And they did exactly what they needed to do against stupid Atlanta, which was just hang around, just be on the football field and win it for them.

00:18:22 Speaker_03
serve you up on a, on a Thanksgiving platter. Here you go, guys. We've got some nice leftovers for you. How would you like to win this game? And Herbert and the chargers accepted openly. But that's not the chiefs. That's not the chiefs at home.

00:18:38 Speaker_03
That's not the chiefs only laying a little number like this, Patrick, my homes. with laying under six like this, very good numbers. It's like in the 60-some percent range. And they got extra rest, right?

00:18:51 Speaker_03
They're coming off of that Friday all the way back around to a nice Sunday. This could be a cheap smash spot, but it could be a cheap smash spot.

00:19:01 Speaker_07
So do you like the minus 3.5 or are you liking the money line with somebody else? Because there's a money line situation that I really like. I like it all.

00:19:08 Speaker_03
I'll just tell you, I like it all. I'm not afraid of any of it.

00:19:11 Speaker_07
Okay. The hook scares me just because the settling for field goal things. They do have Pacheco back.

00:19:18 Speaker_03
Tell me how the Chargers score 20 points.

00:19:22 Speaker_07
I know. Tell me how. I know. I'm with you. Let's take a break and we'll talk about the rest of the games. Sometimes in basketball, 30 points could be worth more than 30 points.

00:19:36 Speaker_07
And now you can get a 30% profit boost for the ringer with FanDuel's 30 on 30 during Friday's NBA action.

00:19:42 Speaker_07
Yeah, the ringer teaming up with America's number one sports book to give you a 30% profit boost when you either pick a player to score more than 30 points or bet on our new exclusive 30 on 30 special markets like any game to have both teams score 30 plus points in the first quarter.

00:19:57 Speaker_07
I thought it'd be fun. I talked Fando into it. I've been tweeting out my picks on Friday. I usually pick five guys, like two relatively close to even guys, and then three longer shots. I've been doing really well in the picks.

00:20:10 Speaker_07
Last week, I think I went three for five, and I hit the long shot for the second straight week. So check out my picks on Friday.

00:20:16 Speaker_07
Look for 30 on 30 in the FanDuel Sportsbook app or head to fanduel.com slash BS for your chance to score a bigger payout this Friday. Don't miss your chance to find out how much more 30 can be worth with FanDuel's 30 on 30.

00:20:28 Speaker_07
Must be 21 plus in president select states or 18 plus in president DC. Opt-in required. Bonus issued as not withdrawal but profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including any token expiration and max wager amount. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com.

00:20:40 Speaker_07
Give him a problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com. This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. It's nice to see all the different family traditions people do this time of year. You know what's become one of my new favorite traditions?

00:20:53 Speaker_07
My daughter comes home from college. We haven't seen her in L.A. where I live since the beginning of August, so when she comes home, it feels like the Conquering Hero is back. I love it.

00:21:05 Speaker_07
However you plan to spend your time during the holiday season, I hope you guys are happy, but also, You should be feeling that way all year round. So make sure you bring yourself some comfort that'll never go away, and try therapy.

00:21:16 Speaker_07
Therapy teaches us so many different skills and coping techniques, like positive coping skills, how to relax, and it can help everyone, not just people who've experienced a major trauma. If you wanna try it out for yourself, check out BetterHelp.

00:21:30 Speaker_07
It's an easy, convenient way to get started, especially since everything is online. All you have to do is fill out a short questionnaire and then you'll be matched with a licensed therapist. It's that easy. Find comfort this December with BetterHelp.

00:21:43 Speaker_07
Visit BetterHelp.com slash Bill Simmons today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash Bill Simmons.

00:21:54 Speaker_07
So Haas, on the Ringer Gambling Show today, you were talking about a parlay, and I was listening to it and I already had it written down, and I texted it to the thread, the Sunday pregame thread, before I heard you actually toss out the parlay, and it was basically the Torna Killies parlay.

00:22:12 Speaker_07
It was take Minnesota against Atlanta, and take Miami against the Jets. Short cousins short Rogers. This is it's like I think plus 109 something like that I mean both of those guys left legs are shorter.

00:22:27 Speaker_03
So it makes sense, right?

00:22:30 Speaker_07
And I like the symmetry of it and I and I was like, I would love to do that I would love to bet against Kirk cousins again and and obviously Miami at home I actually think Miami is a little undervalued now because The Packers Thursday night game throw everyone off the scent

00:22:46 Speaker_07
But it was cold, cold weather Thursday night. What the fuck do you think was going to happen? They'd actually played well the weeks before that. So let's be fair.

00:22:53 Speaker_03
The, the, the Dolphins offense was up to the challenge, right? The Dolphins defense would have no part of tackling in that.

00:23:00 Speaker_07
They didn't want to be there. They did not. And then Atlanta's nine and 19 and our last 28 against the spread worth mentioning. Atlanta's not good. They're six and six. They really could be three and nine, two and 10 a couple plays.

00:23:16 Speaker_07
And I was like, I'm gonna do, this sounds great. And then I started looking at the Minnesota defensive stats, which I mailed to you. And they're a little alarming. And there's something I don't trust about this game.

00:23:27 Speaker_07
My shit detector's going off because it's really like the make or break game of the season for Atlanta. They're at an impasse with Cousins here. It's Cousins going back to Minnesota.

00:23:40 Speaker_07
But I look at Minnesota, they give them a 29 to Green Bay, 31 to Detroit, 27 to Chicago, 30 to the Rams. Last week, Arizona had 406 yards and 25 first downs in them, and really kind of choked the game away. They had the game.

00:23:52 Speaker_07
They're up 19 and six, they're in control. And I just don't trust Minnesota. And make the counter with, just try to do your Kirk Cousins counter, and let's talk this out.

00:24:04 Speaker_03
Yeah. So what we've seen from him in virtually every game, except for the games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where virtually all of the yardage, all of the positive EPA for the Atlanta offense was generated from the enormous success

00:24:22 Speaker_03
that the Falcons offense had against Tampa in, in two games over the last three games, Kirk cousins has this many I'm holding out, but giant zero touchdown passes. And they were not against great, uh, defenses.

00:24:37 Speaker_03
They were, it was against the saints was one of those games. I mean, I'll go back and well, the chargers have a good defense. they had, but it was a short week and a travel week for the chargers.

00:24:48 Speaker_03
And the Falcons had no problem moving the football up and down the field. They just got to the red zone and puked all over themselves. And Kirk cousins, especially, you know, short arming and short legging and not moving and playing out of pistol.

00:25:03 Speaker_03
And the guy that is the offensive coordinator for Atlanta, not covering himself in glory, because we keep having this conversation about the Falcons, not putting Kirk cousins in a tenable position, a tenable situation.

00:25:17 Speaker_03
They have two incredible running backs. It doesn't matter. They try and set up play action. It doesn't matter. Cousins single-handedly is a taking wins away from this team. And it's only going in one direction with him physically.

00:25:34 Speaker_03
One of the guys in our threads shared that next gen stat. Now I don't know how long next gen has been around. Is it two years? Is it 20 years? Is that yes. No quarterback.

00:25:45 Speaker_03
No, there are no quarterbacks since next gen has been measuring the velocity of passes. That's had 20, at least 20 attempts and has not reached 37 miles an hour. And Kirk cousins came along on Sunday and said, hold by beer, mother effers.

00:26:02 Speaker_03
I'm right here. And you could see it. I mean they kept saying, we watched that game.

00:26:08 Speaker_07
He had no push out of his feet at all. No push. Would you want next gen stats to measure your P's since like you were a teenager to now? Miles per hour? Can we have next gen stats in bathrooms?

00:26:19 Speaker_03
Lord no.

00:26:20 Speaker_07
Oh my P is down to...

00:26:22 Speaker_03
34 miles an hour. I don't want, I don't want anybody measuring my bathroom before.

00:26:28 Speaker_07
Any sort of streams? No. Well, you compared cousins to Joe Biden on the ringer.

00:26:34 Speaker_03
What did you say? Well, only in the sense that like you, when you reach this point physically, it only goes in one direction. That was the point I was trying to make. Like the case that people were trying to make over the summer.

00:26:46 Speaker_03
Oh, the Joe Biden, he can over... Behind the scenes he's as sharp as a tack. There was no overcoming the thing because the thing was he's old and you can't, it only goes in one direction. Every day that goes by you're one day older.

00:26:59 Speaker_03
That's where Cousins is right now. It's not that he's in a rough patch. It's not that he's working things out. He's not, you know, he doesn't have the yips. He's not physically able. He's literally physically unable to perform.

00:27:12 Speaker_03
And that's why going up against a Brian Flores blitz heavy defense.

00:27:16 Speaker_07
I know, but the defense hasn't been that good, though.

00:27:19 Speaker_03
It's the blitz. I get it. The blitz. It's not the secondary that I'm interested in. It's the blitz.

00:27:24 Speaker_07
So I think I'm this. I see the case. I feel like I got so lucky last week, a million dollar picks with the chargers in that game where they just couldn't do anything and just single-handedly delivered the game to them.

00:27:37 Speaker_03
He did that.

00:27:37 Speaker_07
I almost feel like I, I don't even want to play with house by them.

00:27:41 Speaker_03
Fine. Fine.

00:27:42 Speaker_07
There's, there's another game I like with the, I like to me that the parlay is Miami and Kansas city. and great dolphins home against the jets sauce gardener. We're taping this on a Thursday night. It's got a bad hamstring.

00:27:57 Speaker_07
So he's either going to be playing hurt or not playing either. Either scenario awful for the jets with the speed of the, of dolphins. Breeze hall is questionable for the 100 straight week. The jets are awful. They're one in five on Sundays.

00:28:10 Speaker_07
They're one in six on the road. Uh, they, Oh no, they're one in either one in eight on Sundays, one in six on the road. They have three starters out on their offensive line, their left tackle and their entire right side.

00:28:25 Speaker_07
Miami's defense, sneaky goods, ninth against the run. I think it's the pass improving, improving. And you look at their, their two losses, right to a bunch of games there, but the games they've lost with two, they lost the Buffalo twice.

00:28:37 Speaker_07
They lost the green Bay. They lost to Arizona.

00:28:40 Speaker_03
I don't think they're bad. Well you know who likes playing against the Jets? Who I'm ready to get in bed with? two of these nuts. Yeah. Who are these nuts love playing against the jets. He's three and Oh, or straight up or whatever.

00:28:54 Speaker_03
The numbers are very good. And on top of that, their home and their offense is so much more comfortable. They're all of the precision stuff. The DJ is spinning his home Miami sound. Yeah. He loves it. He loves spinning those Miami records.

00:29:11 Speaker_03
He loves the Miami sound. Oh, I think he's, I think he's breaking out some 45s for this game.

00:29:16 Speaker_07
Shout out to Lombardi. I think the DJ went into the attic and pulled some rare selections from the early 90s.

00:29:26 Speaker_03
No, no, I would ask you some Yacht Rock. I mean he really looked like it. Maybe he got inspired by the Yacht Rock doc. Maybe he went and grabbed some doobies. Doesn't it look like he could be in the doc? I mean a missed opportunity.

00:29:39 Speaker_07
Yeah. The jets line, I just don't see any, they seem like they're, if they're not the worst coach team in the league, they're one of the three or four worst coach teams in the league. They make penalties every week.

00:29:50 Speaker_07
Rogers clearly just can't wait for the season to be over at this point. It's just a disaster.

00:29:57 Speaker_03
So it seems like a great, it's a great, it's a great, uh, parlay leg. It's a great teaser leg. However you want to put Miami. Well, Miami, Miami Moneyline, Casey Moneyline is plus one or nine.

00:30:08 Speaker_07
Great. Great. I'm in. So we'll mark that one down the next one. You knew this was coming. If you listen to this podcast, nothing I love more. than a team that has fired their coach, who the players are rebelling against then playing the next week.

00:30:26 Speaker_07
I, it's not a hundred percent, but it feels like it's at least 80. We just hit this with the saints, which we did not do. You talk me out of it. The fucking clogger came in, won a game outright. You talk me out of it. I've forgiven you.

00:30:39 Speaker_07
But, um, but this, this bears diners. Well, it didn't happen for the Jets.

00:30:46 Speaker_03
The Jets lost their first game.

00:30:48 Speaker_07
No, but they, remember that game though? They kind of should have won and then they Jetsed it up, but they didn't play better and then they kind of fucked it up. Yeah, The Brick. Yeah, The Brick. Oh, Brick. Yeah. I've watched a few of these Bears games.

00:31:03 Speaker_07
Yeah. And they've had some lows, right? They've had some games where they just look awful. Um, but, oh, I get your point. They've also had some pretty good moments and stretches and halves.

00:31:15 Speaker_07
And, um, and I think they figured out something with Caleb the last couple of weeks with just having them get rid of the ball faster. defense can create some pressure. I don't know. I just think, I think they could win this game.

00:31:28 Speaker_07
It feels like a three point game to me that the bigger thing is this is a, this is a zag against a Niners team that feels like the season is going in the wrong direction. Not just like not make the playoffs, but like

00:31:42 Speaker_07
just kind of edging toward, Hey, are we sure Kyle Shanahan should be the coach next year? Oh, can we do that? Yeah. That in the Niners fans worlds, there's a lot of Kyle Shanahan consternation right now.

00:31:56 Speaker_03
I mean, they literally got what, uh, two thirds of, of a legit game out of McCaffrey over 13 games. I'm not saying it's rational.

00:32:09 Speaker_03
I'm just saying I mean, you know, he's literally the most important player in the league like he's in the Conversation for you know offensive player of the league every year that he's healthy. I Don't know that guy out of the mix.

00:32:23 Speaker_07
It seems like it but and they lose IU Yeah defenses in the same. No, we we see this in football every year. I with at least one team and sometimes two. The pedigree team that either just has way too many injuries or gets old. And we just sit there.

00:32:40 Speaker_07
I went against the Niners in that Packers game. I've had success going against them, betting against them, because I just don't think they're good. And even this game. I mean, that wasn't really going out on a limb with Brandon Allen.

00:32:56 Speaker_07
I know, but the lines didn't really reflect even that.

00:33:00 Speaker_03
Okay.

00:33:00 Speaker_07
And then it was like, I don't know. I just thought the way they were being measured. They're a past tense team to me is my point. Fine, fine, fine. They're not a present tense team. They're not an arrow pointing up team.

00:33:12 Speaker_07
I think the Bears can beat them this week and I love the new coach bump.

00:33:16 Speaker_03
The only thing that I'm concerned with is like, when's the last time the bears won a game on the road, right? It's been, it's been, that was one of the Abra flus hallmarks. Like, Oh, go find him on the road and load up against, against the bears.

00:33:32 Speaker_03
Cause they just don't

00:33:33 Speaker_07
The thing that worried me looking at the stats was just the bears run. The offense has been bad. I think they're like 27th. He gets the run.

00:33:40 Speaker_03
Yeah.

00:33:40 Speaker_07
The Niners are obviously a good running team, but they're, they're down there.

00:33:44 Speaker_03
Yeah. Their third stringer, right? Yeah. Fantasy darling this week. And Trent Williams has hurt my play. It might not. Right. Um, yeah, that was a, for, for that Buffalo game. As soon as Williams was out, it was like, Oh, I can't have enough Buffalo.

00:33:58 Speaker_03
Put all the both Buffalo on my plate. That was my Thanksgiving dessert.

00:34:03 Speaker_07
So bears plus three and a half or bears in a tease or bears adjusted or bears money line. What hardens your nipples out of those?

00:34:18 Speaker_03
Uh, well, it depends on what color Caleb's fingernails are, but starting from there, um, I, I'd like the bears like in a tease. That's the only thing that makes me feel comfortable.

00:34:30 Speaker_03
I don't because the Niners, you know, had two diabolical situations in that green Bay and Buffalo back to back. And I'm worried that there's like, The basic operating function, again, let's see if Trent Williams is playing.

00:34:44 Speaker_03
That'll be a determining factor, but out of all of the options you're giving me, the Bears with a teased leg is my favorite. All right, so what if I gave you the Bears plus eight and a half?

00:34:57 Speaker_07
Okay. in the Steelers money line against Jamison, the Browns, which is minus one 10 on FanDuel. That's a good one. And that's our bet. Love that one. Yes. So Steelers game Cleveland has the,

00:35:14 Speaker_07
really tough, exciting game in Denver in altitude on Monday night, playing six days later against Pittsburgh.

00:35:21 Speaker_07
And the Denver game, so my buddy Gus Ramsey, huge Denver fan, and he was telling me the D-back that was out was gonna have a dramatic effect on the game because the guy that was going in for him could not cover anybody.

00:35:33 Speaker_07
And he's like, I'm a little nervous about Jameis in this game because we have this guy that I think, and guess what, that guy gave up like 200 yards.

00:35:43 Speaker_07
So I think that's made people think the Browns are a little more explosive than maybe they actually are. So you sent me some Brown stats. The Browns have lost 20 consecutive regular season games at Pittsburgh.

00:35:54 Speaker_07
Their last win was October 2003 with Tim Couch. I had been living in LA for less than a year when that happened. And then in Mike Tomlin's career with the Steelers,

00:36:06 Speaker_07
no opposing QB has gone to no against the spread against him in the same season straight up against him straight up against him.

00:36:14 Speaker_06
Yeah.

00:36:15 Speaker_07
Straight up straight up. So Jameis beat him, beat them in that fluky stupid Thursday snow game, right? Which had all the makings of a stay away. And then it turned out it was. And I continue to think the Steelers team's a little undervalued.

00:36:30 Speaker_07
I actually think this line should be higher than six and a half, but I'm delighted that the money line is only minus 310. And I feel like this is a gift from the gods and we have to put it in somewhere.

00:36:39 Speaker_03
Yeah, I like that a lot. I like the money line just fine over history in these division games when Pittsburgh has been favored around six in that neighborhood. It doesn't, you know, the underdog division opponent tends to cover.

00:36:57 Speaker_03
Um, and that's been, you know, sort of the Tomlin thing. You, you grab Tomlin and the Steelers when they are underdogs and you fade them against the spread when they're faves. But this is a situation where we're just looking for the Steelers to win.

00:37:11 Speaker_03
I don't want to mess around with the points. I mean, the, the, the, the ceiling and the floor with Jamis are, it's like, you know, Mount Everest, uh, you know, the, the, the variants there.

00:37:23 Speaker_03
Let's just go ahead and pick the Steelers to win, have that be a leg, and then we can move on with our lives.

00:37:30 Speaker_07
So Steelers, you could tease them with the over of 37 and a half, which I wanted to discuss quickly, even though it's December, a little colder.

00:37:38 Speaker_07
But the fact that the Browns will not be able to run the ball at all, and Nick Chubb, I love Nick Chubb, but it really feels like maybe he should have sat this year out.

00:37:48 Speaker_07
but they're not gonna be able to run the ball, which means they're gonna throw it a lot, which means the ball's gonna be in play all over the place. Raheem had an incredible stat today.

00:37:57 Speaker_07
on the, uh, on the gambling show that Jameis actually broke the passing yards record. If you include the 190, whatever interception yards that he had with his own yards, he was like 600 yards receiving.

00:38:11 Speaker_03
Yeah.

00:38:12 Speaker_07
Nearly 680 combined receiving yards. But Raheem said that every interception is like, has a five point impact on the spread. Yeah. Jameis is good for probably two interceptions in this game.

00:38:24 Speaker_07
I don't know, it just seems like 37 and a half, lowering that with the Steelers, like as a tease. That's another way to go. And then that we're not relying on the bears. We like the Steelers that much.

00:38:35 Speaker_03
Yeah. I mean, it's a danger zone when you start messing with the points in these AFC North games, especially in December. We recognize the risk.

00:38:44 Speaker_03
But if the weather doesn't look like it has a high chance of precipitation, it looks like it's just going to be 40 degrees. cloudy ish. The wind doesn't look insane.

00:38:56 Speaker_03
So those are still, because we, we, we think that with Arthur Smith, you know, it's a miracle. They get rid of that bum Matt Canada.

00:39:04 Speaker_03
And all of a sudden they have four games where, but with both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, all of a sudden Pittsburgh can, can get gained 400 yards on offense. Again, it's a, it's a goddamn magic act.

00:39:18 Speaker_03
Kudos to Arthur Smith for, you know, getting his bag, cooking up some offense. It's fun to watch. And is Art, did Arthur Smith or did he revitalize Russell Wilson's career? Because there's a whole case of their cooking.

00:39:34 Speaker_07
Maybe you could look at Arthur Smith and just be like, who is the quarterback that he had to work with? Everybody he had as a quarterback in the Falcons is not a starting quarterback in the NFL.

00:39:43 Speaker_07
I mean, Ritter played a couple of weeks because three guys got hurt. But, you know, maybe he was a good coach just in a bad situation. I don't know what to think, but he's completely reinvigorated Pittsburgh.

00:39:54 Speaker_07
There's another snare I'm just going to throw you. Since it seems like we like the Pittsburgh Moneyline, the KC Moneyline, and Miami Moneyline the most. You put those three together, that's plus 177 on FanDuel.

00:40:07 Speaker_03
So I wouldn't do a full allocation like you like to do. I wouldn't do a full 200,000 on that one. But I mean, that's worth 100 grand. That's worth 50 grand. It's nearly, you know, one and three quarters to one. We'd like that. Minnesota, yes or no?

00:40:26 Speaker_03
I mean, I'm all in on it. It's a smash for me. I love Minnesota. I think they're going to kick the living crap out of Atlanta. There's all kinds of numbers that about Kirk indoors. He stinks indoors.

00:40:38 Speaker_03
She's been, he had all those years in Minnesota, but he's not, he hasn't been good. I mean, there's a lot of, of angles if you want to fade Atlanta, but the biggest one is he's he it's, it's one legged cousins.

00:40:53 Speaker_07
I really do like the symmetry of the cousins with Roger's tea parlay. Fade the frauds. So would you put Steelers with Minnesota or the Bears?

00:41:07 Speaker_07
Uh, definitely Minnesota because I, I mean, so you know what, I'm going to put Steelers of Minnesota and then if Minnesota blows it, it's my fault. I, I just get to blame you and call you a motherfucker and send you nasty texts. You can do that.

00:41:20 Speaker_07
Send you that, uh, that picture where you click it. You think it's a news link, but it's that guy sitting on the toilet with the huge dong.

00:41:27 Speaker_03
I do that to you.

00:41:28 Speaker_07
The P stream sent me some P stream from next day.

00:41:30 Speaker_03
Yeah.

00:41:32 Speaker_07
So it is Steelers bikes. We're already up 200 K this week. So yeah. Um, and I'm going to just do the bears plus three and a half against the hunters. Cause I think they can, you're allowed when that one. All right. It's your money. All right, let's do it.

00:41:46 Speaker_07
Million dollar picks week 14. We're already up $200,000 thanks to the Packers covering four and a half and Jordan love throwing for 200 plus yards. won $870,000 last week house. It's a good one. Good for the season. We are now $1.413 million.

00:42:05 Speaker_07
Go back and fucking fact check it because that's the number baby. Uh, here we go. Million dollar picks the rest of them cause we're already up 200 K Miami dolphins going against Aaron Rogers. So we can see on Netflix on December 17th in Enigma,

00:42:23 Speaker_07
Which I'll be watching as I pour salt in my eyes. I was going to say, which I won't be watching. I'm going to watch it as I drip Tabasco sauce like it's contact lens solution into my eyeballs.

00:42:37 Speaker_03
Well, Tabasco always makes me think of Gill Bang. But if we're going to watch it. I'm like Gill Bang myself. If we're going to watch, then I'm thinking I'm going to get NextGen to watch. I'll be watching with my P-Stream.

00:42:49 Speaker_03
By A&B Moneyline against the Jets.

00:42:52 Speaker_07
with the Kansas city chiefs money line against the chargers. We cannot figure out how the chargers are going to score even 14 points in this game, especially if, uh, if Bakaki doesn't play. Right.

00:43:04 Speaker_07
So Miami Casey money line that is plus one Oh nine house. We're having a good run right now. I'm going to get a little freaky. Let me hear it. We're putting 250 K on that bang, bang.

00:43:14 Speaker_05
Yeah.

00:43:15 Speaker_07
Speaking of speaking of Gil bang, Gil, we're Gil banging that up to 250 K. Bears plus three and a half in San Francisco, new coach theory.

00:43:25 Speaker_07
The Iberflues thing was so bad that there were reports of he started to speak to the team after the game and Jalen Johnson, their star cornerback, just interrupted him and started screaming at him that he doesn't understand why the coach, he keeps, blah, blah, blah.

00:43:38 Speaker_07
It sounded awful.

00:43:40 Speaker_03
I feel bad. Listen, I think he's like a decent enough dude. He'll be a good defensive coordinator. He will be, he will be. He just had no business being in that job. Like the whole world knew it. We were making the jokes in the effing summer

00:43:55 Speaker_03
About the Bears, you have this prized possession, the number one draft pick. Don't F it up. And they put this dunce in charge and he runs it right to the ground and they wasted a year of this kid's career and his development.

00:44:07 Speaker_03
Now, here's the redemption story.

00:44:09 Speaker_07
They could have gotten Mike Vrabel.

00:44:10 Speaker_03
They could have gotten Jim Harbaugh maybe. They were real guys to get. They couldn't talk to Belichick. They couldn't talk to him. They couldn't have a conversation with the man. Same thing with Salah and the Jets. But here's the redemption story.

00:44:21 Speaker_07
Over and over again you see these teams hold on to the coach for the extra year when we already know the jig is up.

00:44:27 Speaker_03
Doofy doofus. What's the redemption story? Thomas Brown, your guy, the new head coach. This week, this is when it starts. We've seen the Greensprouts shooting up of Caleb, you know, getting rid of the ball quickly. That offense gets cooking a little.

00:44:43 Speaker_03
Team likes him. DJ Moore is alive for fantasy football playoff time.

00:44:48 Speaker_07
I know. Yeah, so Bears plus three and a half, new coach theory. It's almost a blind for me at this point. You talked me out of it with the Clogger and the Saints. I resented you for it. We're doing it here. And also a chance to short the Niners.

00:45:03 Speaker_07
Because to really have a season from hell, you gotta keep losing in December. Like they haven't clinched season for us that you still have to have a couple more losses. So we're gonna do that.

00:45:14 Speaker_07
And then last but not least, we love the Steelers at home against the Browns. It's just like Jameis coming off Monday night. He's not beating Tomlin twice in the same season. Steelers need the game.

00:45:27 Speaker_07
It's not like it's like, oh man, we got caught by surprise, we relaxed. They need every game. They're trying to win their division and get either the two seed or the three seed.

00:45:38 Speaker_07
So we're throwing the Steelers in with the Vikings, which you insisted on because they're going against Kirk Cousins.

00:45:45 Speaker_07
basically died last week and turned into a chalk outline that resembled John Jastrzemski watching the Miami Dolphins playoff game in my house. Well, I think he died like a month ago, but we finally caught on.

00:45:55 Speaker_07
We finally realized, yeah, I'm just on the record as saying my shit detector was going off with this game. It seems too easy. The Minnesota defense, I think it's a little overrated, but you talked me into it.

00:46:06 Speaker_07
Steelers, Vikings, it's minus one 19 on FanDuel. Just that has to win. and we take it, we're putting 200K on that, we're putting 200K on the bears, plus three and a half as well. And then, you know what else? Just for fun, just for shits and giggles.

00:46:23 Speaker_07
Let's hear it. Little 50K extra, plus 177, Steelers, Miami, KC, all to win. Little extra. I mean, we do like it. A little sprinkling. Who Fs us? Let's play who Fs us on that one. Not KC. Miami always worries me.

00:46:41 Speaker_03
I agree. That is the answer.

00:46:43 Speaker_07
The disc jockey. That's true. Tua taking a hit. Who knows. One last hurrah. Anyway, those are the million dollar picks for week 14. We're going to take one more break and then House and I are going to talk NBA really quick.

00:46:59 Speaker_07
This episode is brought to you by SimpliSafe. When it comes to the safety of me and my family, there's only one home security system I trust, and that's SimpliSafe. I love having it in my home. Helps protect every inch of it inside and out.

00:47:10 Speaker_07
And if you want to try it for yourself right now, perfect time to get it. There's an amazing Black Friday sale going on for my listeners. I am talking 50% off here, everybody. Also, reasons to have SimpliSafe. Holiday season's coming.

00:47:24 Speaker_07
Talk about this every year on the BS pod. Guess what happens during holiday season? People start kind of casing your house a little bit on Wednesdays before Thanksgiving. Are they home? Did they go away? Oh wait, there's no cars in the driveway anymore.

00:47:37 Speaker_07
I'm moving in. Christmas, packages. Maybe they're gonna try to steal those. Well, they won't if you have SimpliSafe because you're gonna be guarded against the porch pilots. SimpliSafe helps to stop crime before it happens.

00:47:49 Speaker_07
Professional monitoring agents that can see, speak to, and deter intruders. And if someone's lurking around or acting suspiciously, they can and will take action. So check out SimpliSafe today.

00:48:00 Speaker_07
Keep your home, your family, and your peace of mind protected. And remember. A massive Black Friday sale is being extended by SimpliSafe.

00:48:07 Speaker_07
For my listeners, this week only, you can take off 50% off any new system with a select professional monitoring plan. It's your last chance to claim the best offer of the year, so don't wait. Head to simplisafe.com slash BS to claim your discount.

00:48:20 Speaker_07
Make sure your home is safe this season. Once again, simplisafe.com slash BS, SimpliSafe with two I's, simplisafe.com slash BS. There's no safe like SimpliSafe. This episode is brought to you by NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV.

00:48:36 Speaker_07
There's a lot to be thankful for this season. For one, I am thankful you can get NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV right now for only $209. That's exactly what you need as we head right into the playoffs. You can invite your friends over.

00:48:50 Speaker_07
Maybe you have a multi, you could have four different games, one for you, One each for the three other friends you invite. You can change the games around. As soon as a game, the outcome becomes pretty certain, dump that game, put in another one.

00:49:05 Speaker_07
I've become the multi-view master. The moment one of the games is losing steam, I'm ready to move right in and move it for another one. Build. Your own multi-view, one of my favorite words. Thank yourself this holiday season.

00:49:18 Speaker_07
Get NFL Sunday ticket for the rest of the NFL regular season for just $209. Sign up now at youtube.com slash BS. Terms and embargoes apply. Device and content restrictions apply. No cancellations. House, quick basketball stuff.

00:49:32 Speaker_07
I was in Denver for a couple days with Priscilla. We did a great live show, super fun. Gambling is legal in Denver. I could actually get FanDuel in Denver and I could make some fun bets, which I did.

00:49:49 Speaker_07
including Jordan Love, 200 plus yards with the package four and a half. But there were some future bets and it got me looking at some of the over under stuff and to make the playoff stuff.

00:50:04 Speaker_07
What do you think the Atlanta Hawks regular season win total is right now on FanDuel? The Hawks are 12 and 11, they've won five straight. 43. I didn't look, I haven't looked at it.

00:50:15 Speaker_03
It's 38 and a half house. Wow. Yeah. Yes. They have a bunch of high quality wins over the last 10 days. And we loaded way the F up on them getting to like 41 or 42 games. And I have been I felt very validated.

00:50:36 Speaker_03
You know who's playing really effing good and was a key component of the handicap for why Atlanta could be capable of turning the page? DeAndre Hunter. Can that dude please stay on the floor? Keep DeAndre Hunter healthy.

00:50:50 Speaker_03
Make sure he's getting his vitamins, getting his sleep because he, you know, the Dyson Daniels thing cannot be under understated or underrated. The addition of like a proper defense player. I'll stop.

00:51:01 Speaker_07
I love Atlanta. I did Ringer 100, I had Dyson Daniels ahead of DeJounte Murray in the Ringer 100. And he was like 10 to 15 spots ahead.

00:51:11 Speaker_03
So Atlanta won that trade by getting rid of DeJounte Murray. Atlanta won that trade if it was a straight up.

00:51:16 Speaker_07
They also got Larry Nance and two first round picks.

00:51:19 Speaker_03
Yeah.

00:51:20 Speaker_07
Yeah, so the Atlanta thing, I was just startled by, so of course I had to bet it. And then I was like, well, I might as well throw some other over-unders in there. Might as well. So I did two different bets.

00:51:33 Speaker_07
What do you think Oklahoma City's over under was heading into tonight? Oh, they won tonight.

00:51:39 Speaker_03
I haven't looked. They won tonight. I think it made them 17 and five. Let me guess. I'm going to say 58.

00:51:47 Speaker_07
So it's 57 and a half.

00:51:49 Speaker_03
I threw that in.

00:51:50 Speaker_07
Okay. Okay. I did pretty good. And what do you think the Houston Rockets were playing as we tape? What do you think their over-under was? Amazing.

00:51:57 Speaker_03
Did we all three of us lock the Houston Rockets over? No, you guys did. I didn't. I bet the Rockets are now 46 and a half.

00:52:09 Speaker_07
Well, there were 42 and a half when we did it. You and Rosso locked it. It was now 50 and a half on Facebook. Holy moly. I know. And guess what else? I bet it anyway. So I did Atlanta, OKC, and Houston plus 581 for the overs on that. Bang. Bang.

00:52:29 Speaker_07
Then the other one I did, I did those three. What do you think Dallas's over-under was? They won tonight. And by the way, Dallas has been sneaky contendery for the last two weeks. They have rounded into shape.

00:52:42 Speaker_03
They were one of my locks in the preseason and their number was like in the 49 and a half. They weren't even a 50. I bet they're 50 now. I bet they're 50 now. You did not have them as a lock, but you did have them.

00:52:53 Speaker_03
But we, yeah, they were, uh, I think they were 49 and a half in the preseason.

00:52:59 Speaker_07
Yeah, they're 50 and a half and they're 51 and a half now. So I put that in there. Fine. And then I had to the Lakers. What do you think the Lakers are right now?

00:53:12 Speaker_03
It's got to be close to what the preseason was. Are they like 43, 44 and a half. Okay.

00:53:17 Speaker_07
So the gay, a game and a half before the year, they're 42 and a half. Oh, okay. So 44 and a half, that was the number. That's great. Those five together, Atlanta over, okay.

00:53:27 Speaker_07
See over Houston, over Lakers under Dallas over was, uh, over 22 to one on Fandral.

00:53:37 Speaker_03
You need to tweet that out. I happily put $100 on that. You need to tweet that out. I was so happy.

00:53:41 Speaker_07
Go get it. So the Lakers would have to go 45 and 37 to beat that, and they cannot guard anybody. Nope. Nope. Other than your Wizards. So here's another one. I didn't bet this because I couldn't decide whether it was a good line or not.

00:53:56 Speaker_07
What do you think the Wizards over under was heading into the game today, which they got killed in?

00:54:01 Speaker_03
Oh, amazing. 14 and a half. That's what it was. Hey, hey, I didn't even look. I swear I didn't look.

00:54:10 Speaker_07
Well, you didn't look at any of these. No, I didn't. You don't have to keep telling us. We believe you. 14 and a half. And my initial instinct was that's way too high.

00:54:21 Speaker_07
And then I was like, man, if you win less than 14 and a half games, that's becoming one of the more unsuccessful seasons in the history of the league. In the history of the league. I stayed away.

00:54:29 Speaker_07
The Celtics were like 62 and a half, which I was surprised by. So here's the other thing I did. They have a make the playoff bets. And I was frantically doing this on the plane before the plane took off.

00:54:43 Speaker_07
I'm just gonna ask you if these teams will make the playoffs and you can tell me yes or no. Dallas Mavericks? Yes. Houston Rockets? Yes. Denver Nuggets? Yes. Ooh, you paused the same way I did, but yes. So Denver's number was minus 400 to make the playoffs.

00:55:01 Speaker_03
Yep.

00:55:02 Speaker_07
Minnesota Timberwolves?

00:55:05 Speaker_03
Yeah, yes, yes, yes, yes.

00:55:08 Speaker_07
Phoenix Suns?

00:55:09 Speaker_03
Yes.

00:55:10 Speaker_07
Okay. So I thought those five would make it as well. Memphis Grizzlies.

00:55:16 Speaker_03
Awesome story. I honestly think they are going to make the playoffs. Yes.

00:55:21 Speaker_07
So my thinking was those were the six teams other than OKC. So OKC and those six in the West. And I don't know who's getting the eighth spot. You could tell me it's Golden State. You know, like what you can tell me. I know it's not dead.

00:55:38 Speaker_07
Those six with Atlanta. What do you think Atlanta's playoff odds were? Atlanta to make the playoffs. Like decent. They're going to make, I think they're going to make the playoffs. Yeah. Plus one Oh six.

00:55:47 Speaker_06
Yeah.

00:55:48 Speaker_07
So all of those together was over six to one. Okay. And I was trying to figure out who fucks that up. Dallas, Houston, Denver, Minnesota, Phoenix, Atlanta, or Memphis. Like the odds would say Atlanta.

00:56:01 Speaker_06
Yes.

00:56:01 Speaker_07
And yet if you watch Atlanta, I don't know how they're not going to be a seven or an eight seed. in the East. They can play defense. They try hard every night now. I think the coach likes the team.

00:56:12 Speaker_07
They trade, they're getting a better version of him than they've had before.

00:56:15 Speaker_03
They kind of got all their injuries. I'm I'll knock on wood for them. Cause you know, we're rooting for them. We're invested in them. We feel like they owe us because we did this last season.

00:56:26 Speaker_07
They were the, they were the fuck job team for it. We would have had like a legendary year last year with the over-unders and they completely fucked us.

00:56:32 Speaker_03
Yeah. But I, I want to knock on wood and say they got most of their injury stuff out of the way at the beginning of the season, hopefully. Cause look, The two wins that the Washington Wizards have, back-to-back wins against the Atlanta Hawks. Amazing.

00:56:49 Speaker_07
Only two wins. And if Atlanta wins those, they're like 14-9 right now. Right. But I was looking at the game yesterday. It's like kind of the perfect box score where Capella has 17 rebounds. Daniel has six assists, three steals.

00:57:06 Speaker_07
Risa Shea hits a couple threes. Trae Young's terrible. He's six for 19. And Jalen Johnson has a 23, 13, and five. And they beat Milwaukee by 15 points when Trae doesn't even play well. To me, that means they're a playoff team.

00:57:20 Speaker_03
And on top of that, you know, when I clicked into that game and saw early on that the Hawks were off a little bit, up by a little bit, I was like, oh, is Giannis not playing? Oh, Giannis was playing.

00:57:30 Speaker_03
because Milwaukee is like the poor man's Denver this year to me. They're only competitive if they're super duper star is having an extra terrestrial performance. Another triple double, by the way, for for the Joker tonight with 20 effing rebounds.

00:57:49 Speaker_03
But they're not competitive at all in the game. Cleveland just dog walks them the whole the whole game.

00:57:54 Speaker_07
You know, I I almost bet that when I was in Denver, And I just don't like betting. I just don't like betting against Jokic. It's why you took the Denver over in the preseason.

00:58:05 Speaker_07
But it was one of those things where it's like, this seems like a horrible matchup for them. Cleveland's just like way better as an all-around team. Murray, I watched some of that game. I had that on the small TV as I was watching the football game.

00:58:17 Speaker_07
Murray just isn't going by guys anymore. And I noticed it in person. Priscilla and I talked about it on our Denver pod, but he's getting like, he has the guy on his side. but he's not getting the half step over them.

00:58:32 Speaker_07
The guy's just next to him and he can't ever really get to where he wants to go. And I think it's a massive, massive, massive concern. I'm very worried about them, House. I understand.

00:58:43 Speaker_07
Yeah, so Atlanta in the playoffs, if you're just looking standings-wise, you figure Cleveland, Boston, Orlando, New York, and Milwaukee are locks to make the playoffs. I think those are the only five. Atlanta's the six seed right now. Miami's seven.

00:58:58 Speaker_07
Brooklyn's going to start making trades soon because they don't want to be good. Chicago's kind of frisky and might not.

00:59:06 Speaker_03
You know, there's a feel good story. They had a big win tonight. The play in Bulls. They can't wait to be in the 910 game. And Indiana has lost four in a row.

00:59:16 Speaker_07
They're 9 and 14. And they might have the worst body language of any Eastern Conference team. They're the one. What happened? What happened to the Pacers? I've asked around a little and I've also watched them. And I think Siakam's a really good player.

00:59:34 Speaker_07
And I'm not sure he fits in with how they played last year when we liked watching them so much. Those first two months when Hal Burton was great and they're flying up and down.

00:59:44 Speaker_07
Then this year you put Siakam in there, you bring Mathurin back, who I think is a little alpha-y. And they just seem like more of a normal basketball team than the team that we watched last year that was balls to the wall.

00:59:56 Speaker_07
And they don't seem that happy to me. So, um, to me, their East coast, Minnesota, where the roster shifted and Minnesota in a more obvious way, but they don't have the same kind of thing that made them special last year for Indiana. It was that pace.

01:00:15 Speaker_07
And I don't see the same pace this year.

01:00:17 Speaker_03
Do you? No, I haven't sat down and done any deep looks at the Pacers. I just keep looking at the outcomes of games and the box scores and trying to make sense out of why they're not competitive in these games. They're like getting blasted.

01:00:34 Speaker_07
And you know, it's the classic year after syndrome too, right?

01:00:38 Speaker_03
Is Halliburton, is there some kind of hangover from the Olympics? He didn't play in the Olympics, so it shouldn't have affected him. Well, how about this?

01:00:50 Speaker_07
How many points a game do you think they averaged this year? Last year, remember, they were in like the 120s. They were like 123, some crazy number. Like 108, 109, I don't know. I don't have it in front of me. Last year, they were 123.3.

01:01:03 Speaker_07
Yeah, what are they now? This year, they're 113.4. Okay. They've lost 10 points a game.

01:01:13 Speaker_03
Yeah.

01:01:14 Speaker_07
And yet, they have Matherin and they have Siakam for a full season. That doesn't make sense, but it does make sense if you watch them. They're not, they don't play with the same pace.

01:01:22 Speaker_07
And I, to me, they're the most, I think the most likely trade team in either conference right now is Indiana. Makes a ton of sense. Cause they have a lot of like Chicago they want, but.

01:01:33 Speaker_07
If you watch Chicago, they actually seem like they like playing with each other and they have like a specific identity. Indiana doesn't know what they are right now.

01:01:40 Speaker_03
That, that is the issue, right? Like they, their identity, they have to outscore teams cause they don't, they still don't defend. I mean, I haven't gotten sat down and look at the advanced numbers.

01:01:50 Speaker_07
They're almost five for the season. They're giving up one 18.2 and their score in one 13.4. So this is, but this brings me to my Atlanta point. I just think Atlanta took their spot.

01:02:01 Speaker_07
And I don't really see a path for Indiana unless there's some trade that they have coming, but they just signed Siakam, a huge deal. If you look at their, Miles Turner's gonna be a free agent at the end of the year.

01:02:10 Speaker_07
If you look at their assets, they have Walker, the kid they took in the lottery two years ago that hasn't really had an impact for them. If you look at their assets, I don't know, they already traded a couple of picks for Siakam.

01:02:23 Speaker_03
I mean, on the other hand, they made the Final Four last year. Matherin's good. I think they have some good guys. But I think he's the trade piece. Yeah. Which one? Nembhard or Matherin? I think Matherin is the trade piece. Okay. He's good.

01:02:37 Speaker_03
I mean, that should fetch something.

01:02:41 Speaker_07
One of the things that hurt with them is, how many games does Neesmith miss now? Yeah, he's only played six, and I think that's one of the reasons their defense has gone backwards. But anyway, the likely trade teams for me, Indiana, no question.

01:02:56 Speaker_07
I'll be really interested to see what happens with Minnesota and Randall and whether there's even a market for him. I went through all the teams, like anyone interested in Julius Randall for 33, and 36 whatever he makes it gets really hard.

01:03:12 Speaker_07
It's hard to find takers You end up like staring at like the Charlotte type of teams, but all those teams are trying to tank now.

01:03:18 Speaker_03
Yeah, it doesn't make sense I'm I'm surprised. Why aren't we talking about the Pelicans the Pelicans isn't everybody available on the Pelicans? Oh

01:03:28 Speaker_07
I guess, but who, Ingram's an expiring. What are you getting for him? They just signed McCollum. He's making over 30 a year. Like, is that, are people looking for all offense guards who can't guard anybody making 30 plus a year?

01:03:42 Speaker_03
Probably not.

01:03:43 Speaker_07
I like McCollum, but. Is the right thing to do for them to just suck and get the very best? I think that's, well, they beat Phoenix tonight. I had that game. I don't know what they were thinking. Damn it. Yeah, they broke their win streak.

01:03:55 Speaker_07
The Zion thing is the most interesting. story and sport. I mean, New Orleans is in a weird spot because they don't really have anybody covering the team. They're kind of this anonymous NBA team. They're playing in a super small market.

01:04:09 Speaker_07
They don't even have like, I don't even know who, if there was stuff going on in New Orleans, I don't even really know how we'd find out. I don't know when Zion's coming back. They showed him on the bench today.

01:04:19 Speaker_07
He was wearing like one of those jogging suits where it was hard to tell if he'd put on 50 pounds or not. They just signed Trey Murphy, they can't trade him. Hawkins, I would say, has some trade assets. So yeah, you're right, New Orleans is in there.

01:04:32 Speaker_07
But to me, Indiana, that's the one I'm watching short term. Because I think they have pieces, there's moves, and I want to see if they do something.

01:04:43 Speaker_07
And then the other one who I saw in person, Russo and I didn't really talk about it in the Denver show, but Golden State. No, they didn't have Draymond. Draymond solves a lot of second ball handler stuff with them, creating shots for people.

01:04:57 Speaker_07
Without him, Curry's really their only shot creator. They felt like a three-for-one team for me as I was watching them. They desperately need, they have all these guys who are all fine, and none of them can create a shot.

01:05:10 Speaker_07
So when Denver just took out Curry in the last five minutes, Yoko just calling out every worrier's play. They just didn't have that second guy who's like, I got this. Let me, let me get a couple of buckets.

01:05:21 Speaker_07
Even somebody like Matherin would be a huge help for them. So, um, I, I left the game thinking I actually wouldn't be opposed to them trading for Zach Levine. Okay.

01:05:34 Speaker_07
And I don't know what this, how the apron, I don't, I don't even know how trades work anymore and whether it's even conceivable and doesn't have to match exactly, but that's the type of guy they need. And Curry being 36,

01:05:49 Speaker_07
I just don't think you can waste the window anymore. Otherwise, just say, you know what, we are who we are and that's it.

01:05:54 Speaker_03
But I felt that way the last two years. I felt that way with this team. They just can't get them help. They just keep saying, we're going to, you know, we're going to roll the ball back out there with the guys that we got. And they just got worse.

01:06:08 Speaker_03
I mean, really, they never recovered from Draymond punching Jordan pool in the face. A sentiment I kind of understand now. But, you know, the, the, it's been two seasons, two full seasons, and we got excited at the beginning of this season.

01:06:21 Speaker_07
They won in 22.

01:06:22 Speaker_03
So I don't, you're right.

01:06:24 Speaker_07
Don't shed tears for the Warriors, but no, I'm not saying it right. But I think the burden that they have on Curry now at the age that he's at is unrealistic. And I think they know it.

01:06:33 Speaker_07
And I was watching last night, I was watching how hard he has to run around and get open and do all the Curry stuff that he's been doing forever. But now he's doing it as a 36 year old. And I don't know, basketball's really hard to play.

01:06:45 Speaker_07
Did you see that? There was that thing that came out about people running during basketball games and the amount of miles you run during a year.

01:06:56 Speaker_07
Somebody tried to do a study on it to try to figure out and basically took all the three point shots and the pace of the game and figured out some formula to compare it to like the 80s, the 90s.

01:07:08 Speaker_07
And it's just like there's way more running and sprinting now is basically the theory of it. And it backed up what I've thought, as I go to the games, it just feels like it's harder to play.

01:07:19 Speaker_07
It just feels like you're constantly on the move, sprinting, doing rush outs, flying around, and I don't know. I just think it's unrealistic. It's much more impactful mileage now.

01:07:31 Speaker_07
Yeah, because my biggest regret of our over-unders was the Phoenix one, because I think we gave KD's health too much credit because he played so many games last year. And he's a guy who's been in the league since the 2007 draft. And he's hurt again.

01:07:48 Speaker_07
He's been hurt twice already this year. And for what we were laying for that bet, which was, what was the over? It was like 48 and a half, something like that? Yeah, it was in the high 40s. Might have been 47 and a half, though. Yeah, 47 and a half.

01:08:01 Speaker_07
And all three of us did a lot. I don't regret it. I don't regret it. Not yet. I'll regret it if he can't play. Yeah, right now they're 12 and nine. We're gonna be sweating that one out. We are gonna be sweating that one.

01:08:14 Speaker_07
Cause it's like one more injury and they look pretty ordinary when he's out there. Anyway, so, and then Lakers, I don't, Lakers will do some sort of panic trade. I just don't know what it is.

01:08:22 Speaker_07
I think if they're actually trying to be competitive this year, they know that you can't play LeBron, who's by metrics, like one of the five worst defensive players in the league now. with Reeves, with Connect, and with D'Lo.

01:08:36 Speaker_07
You can't have those four guys on the basketball court at the same time, unless you're trying to play a game that's like 145 to 143. So my guess is Reeves would be the trade guy. Ooh, wow. Right? Because his contract, and he put it with something else.

01:08:50 Speaker_03
It's an amazing contract. Yeah. They still have that first round pick in 29, which is like super valuable. Would you trade Reeves? Yes, definitely.

01:09:04 Speaker_03
I'm trying to see what his new... You have to have the right guy, but I mean, he's like 15 million bucks a year. Yeah, he is... Great, great price.

01:09:13 Speaker_07
It's a great contract. Russell's 18.6 expiring. So already that gets you over 30. Rui with 17 gets you to like the high 40s, right?

01:09:28 Speaker_07
So now you could, if you really wanted to make a run at an expensive guy, you could, but I'm sure, I'm sure Damien, Ange is just waiting. He's just waiting for them to panic. Ainge. Why? What's Ainge got? Because Ainge has all those pieces.

01:09:45 Speaker_07
He's got, he's got John Collins at 26.5. He's got Sexton at 18.3. Jordan Clarkson at 14. And he's got most importantly Kessler at three. The Lakers are not taking any of those dudes. Wow. Sexton and Kessler. Sexton's the only one.

01:10:03 Speaker_07
Sexton and Kessler would help them. They would, they would genuinely help them.

01:10:06 Speaker_03
But

01:10:07 Speaker_07
And they have Lake guys to offer Utah. That's like the best currency you could have.

01:10:12 Speaker_03
The Lakers, they're like dangling Austin Reeves. They're like, hey Utah, look. The guy that I would think that the Lakers would like have circled, Jimmy Butler. That's who I would think that, you know, they would be going in that direction, right?

01:10:26 Speaker_03
They're not, and we're not going for Walker fucking Kessler. We're gonna go get a big, super duper, big dong star that's a tough guy, and he's already on the banana boat, and that's it. He's our dude. Something like Jimmy Butler.

01:10:43 Speaker_03
I like the way you're thinking, House.

01:10:44 Speaker_07
Let me look at this for a second. So that would be Reeves. That would have to be basically Reeves, Russell, and Rui. Bye-bye. And by the way, all those guys would be like, Miami?

01:10:59 Speaker_03
Yes, we're in.

01:11:03 Speaker_07
Kyle, turn the TikTok camera on. Here's what I actually think the Lakers should do. I would trade Davis and cash in on him.

01:11:12 Speaker_03
What's he worth? Wow. Wow. Embiid. Embiid for Davis, straight up. Honestly, what would Davis be worth? Everything, like everything.

01:11:24 Speaker_07
Like who can come up with enough? Let's say he was in play for the Rockets. Would they have to think about that? Of course they'd have to think about that.

01:11:34 Speaker_03
Yeah, of course they would. Of course. What kind of question is that? Yes. Yes. Yes. A million yeses. I just don't think. The Lakers are not trading Anthony Davis.

01:11:45 Speaker_07
If the goal is to win a title over the next four years. The goal is to win the title this year or next. They have. No chance. I agree. Zero chance. No chance. None of winning the title. No chance. Zero. There is no way. There's a guy. They need a guy.

01:12:10 Speaker_07
They need a time machine.

01:12:12 Speaker_03
They do need a time machine. Yes.

01:12:14 Speaker_07
Look, it's amazing that LeBron is still playing and that he can score 29 points in a game in his 22nd year in the league. They're not winning a title with him. They're not winning a title with the team they have and they can't play defense.

01:12:25 Speaker_07
And they know it.

01:12:26 Speaker_03
No argument.

01:12:27 Speaker_07
They were 31 as healthy as he's ever been.

01:12:30 Speaker_03
They dedicated themselves. They became a three point shooting team, except for they can't shoot threes. I'm going to hold on to that clip that I sent you. That's going to be my part of my where, where, where LeBron misses the entire rim.

01:12:45 Speaker_03
He misses, he misses so badly that the announcers like wide left. Oh my wide left.

01:12:56 Speaker_07
Um, yeah, that would be Indiana is my number one trade team now. Anyway. Okay. That's it. That's my little basketball report for you. Who would you bet right now for the finals if you had to make a bet? Uh, Oklahoma city and Boston. It's funny.

01:13:14 Speaker_07
I don't think that's changed. And yet, I continue to think Cleveland's really, really good. They are really good. And I have Celtics fans in my life who aren't really focused on it enough yet.

01:13:27 Speaker_07
One of the things about them, Mitchell is about as unafraid of the Celtics as any guy in the league. Like, he really has so much confidence against them. They have size, and there's still that Acoro spot that I think

01:13:43 Speaker_03
I don't know if they're going to try to upgrade that or whether they just like the chemistry so much, but yeah, I, I also would just counsel in favor of like, don't be dismissive of the Knicks.

01:13:54 Speaker_03
If the Knicks arrived, the playoffs healthy, those guys, it's their alpha. They are not, they, they think that they, they think that Boston is beta and they think that they're alpha and that's going to be a hell of a fist fight.

01:14:06 Speaker_03
I'm just telling you, I'll welcome that one. Okay. I'm just telling you, they think it'll be a fistfight and it might be a good one.

01:14:13 Speaker_07
The Knicks aren't the team. It's Cleveland's the team. Now the Knicks, if Robinson can come back and actually be healthy. Yes. I said they're healthy. I figure there's a buyout guy for them.

01:14:26 Speaker_07
that we don't know who it is in February or beginning of March, but there's some guy they're gonna get who is excited to play with the Knicks, who has a relationship with Wes and Leon.

01:14:35 Speaker_07
And there's some sort of DiVincenzo replacement type swing that will be on their team that I don't know who it is yet.

01:14:42 Speaker_03
Is it, it can't be DiVincenzo? No, because he has traded. He would like to come back.

01:14:48 Speaker_07
Minnesota will be able to trade him. Yes. I don't think they'll be able to trade Randall, but anyway. All right, House, the Washington commanders. Yes. What's your enthusiasm level right now?

01:15:00 Speaker_03
Super high. I tried. I, I, I did a whole emotional hedge, a whole thing. I made my best bet Tennessee last week. It was worth it. It was worth it. I don't, I mean, that's a, that's a good investment by me. Washington kicked their ass. I love it.

01:15:15 Speaker_03
I'm gonna go to... I'm not even gonna say it out loud. I'm cautiously optimistic for the fortunes of my Washington football team. That's the way I'll say it.

01:15:24 Speaker_07
Who do you think gets benched first? Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rodgers, or John Jastrzemski from the Sunday Ringer pregame show? Who's gonna get the hook?

01:15:34 Speaker_03
Not J.J. J.J. is a starter for life.

01:15:37 Speaker_07
I saw an unnamed vet in the ringer locker room said J.J. was hosting for his first starting job this week.

01:15:44 Speaker_03
I won't tolerate it. No J.J. slander on any. I'm just kidding.

01:15:48 Speaker_07
I mean, he did start he did start a podcast part today. He was saying, like, guys, Don't think I'm crazy. Anytime he starts a sentence with don't think I'm crazy. I'm like, Oh no, here you guys take a terrible quarterback.

01:16:02 Speaker_04
I enjoy it.

01:16:03 Speaker_07
I always enjoy it.

01:16:04 Speaker_04
Yeah.

01:16:04 Speaker_07
Now I'm JJ. You can turn it around. We all have faith. Uh, Joe house. Great to see you. I'll see you on the ringer Sunday pregame show Sunday, 11 a.m. Uh, on YouTube TV and Fandle TV. Great to see you. Great to see you.

01:16:22 Speaker_07
This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. It's football season and Uber Eats is dropping undefeated deals on all your game day favorites. This week's score, buy one, get one free six piece boneless wings from Buffalo Wild Wings now on Uber Eats.

01:16:36 Speaker_07
And if you're craving even more, we've got you covered with game day and deals on pizza, burgers, tacos, and more. All season long. Uber Eats, official on-demand food delivery partner of the NFL. Order now for game day, terms, taxes, and fees apply.

01:16:51 Speaker_07
See app for details. This episode is brought to you by Bank of America. Money decisions don't have to be either or. With Bank of America, they can be yes and, as in yes to grabbing the latest merch and building up your budget for next season's tickets.

01:17:08 Speaker_07
Our digital tools help you create the future you want and help you keep enjoying today too. Do more with the bank that asks, what would you like the power to do? Explore tips and more at bankofamerica.com slash yes end.

01:17:23 Speaker_07
All right, somebody I've never had on the podcast before, Jesse, I know him as the body, Ventura, but he is gonna be returning to NBC, WWE Saturday Night's main event, returning to broadcast television, Saturday, December 14th, 8 p.m. ET, live.

01:17:40 Speaker_07
And Jesse, you're gonna be part of the announcing crew, you're gonna do a match or two, and not only are you a Hall of Famer, you are one of the great broadcasters of all time, so I'm so happy to have you on TV again.

01:17:52 Speaker_01
Well, thanks, Bill. It's great to be here. And the ironic thing is that we're holding this event in the very building that we held the very first one. Way back in the 80s.

01:18:08 Speaker_07
So which building is it? I don't even know.

01:18:11 Speaker_01
I don't know, Nassau Coliseum, wherever. The one out in Long Island. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's where we held it back then. And so they're going to hold this very first one of the new NBC Saturday night's main event.

01:18:27 Speaker_01
And what's exciting about it, and I got the word on this, it's going, the whole show is going to be a throwback. What does that mean? Well, that means it's going to look like it did before. Really? Yeah. The graphics, everything. Yes.

01:18:47 Speaker_01
The wrestlers are not coming down that ramp. They're not coming with all the lights and spectacular. They're coming in through the crowd. Wow. Like the old days. That's why they brought me back.

01:19:02 Speaker_07
Amazing.

01:19:02 Speaker_01
Wow. You should be back anyway. We're going back in the time capsule. Only it's going to be four times a year.

01:19:10 Speaker_07
Unbelievable. So what was of all the Friday night main event, Saturday night main event, and I know it's almost 40 years ago, but what, what, what was the most memorable one for you? Cause you were there.

01:19:21 Speaker_01
I'll get to them, but I need to make a more of an introduction here. Yeah. Hell has frozen over. Why? Because I never dreamed I would be back in the WWE now, WWF, until hell froze over. I had a friend, Glenn Fry, of the Eagles.

01:19:40 Speaker_01
And I remember when the Eagles broke up, they thought, oh, it's over. We'll never hear another Eagles song. The differences are too much. They'll never be able to bend fences. And lo and behold, Glenn got together with Don Henley and away they go.

01:19:59 Speaker_01
They came back and they cut that phenomenal album when hell freezes over. And I kind of feel that way, that hell has frozen over for me because I never believed in my wildest dreams I would be back doing wrestling again.

01:20:16 Speaker_07
Well, in the Eagles' case, hell froze over because they made a shitload of money on that concert tour. I think that's one of the reasons, right? That was one of the first great nostalgia tours ever. So what's the case for you? Why did hell freeze over?

01:20:29 Speaker_01
Well, because for me, it's a full circle of my career. I can't go back in the United States Navy, where I spent my first six years. After I graduated from high school, I was in the Navy, United States Navy for six years.

01:20:47 Speaker_01
I can't do that because there's age limits. My friend Rudy Bosch stayed as long as you could. He had 44 years in when they threw Rudy out. But anyway, that aside, but this this is ironic because it means my career has gone full circle. Right.

01:21:05 Speaker_01
Because and here's the part that I don't understand. They couldn't control me before. Why do they believe they can now? Oh, I like this.

01:21:17 Speaker_07
Is that really why, is that what happened with you? They felt like they couldn't control you. Like when you talk about fences being mended.

01:21:22 Speaker_01
I was thrown out. I was uncontrollable. Jesse, the body Ventura. Number one, I tried to unionize. Right. Number two, I wouldn't allow them to market me without negotiating it. That's what ultimately got me thrown out of the WWF, WWE. Then I went to WCW.

01:21:45 Speaker_01
Here's the behind the scenes story. I went to WCW. They went into turmoil. The guy who hired me got fired. They brought in Bill Watts, who was an old school relic, who didn't understand the business had changed.

01:22:03 Speaker_01
It had gone to television now, not to putting seats in the stands. The money was now going to be in TV. He didn't get that. So he comes in, and then he gets fired, and I busted my butt behind the scenes to get Eric Bischoff into the position.

01:22:25 Speaker_01
And here's where it got interesting. Eric Bischoff then got the head job at WCW. And then behind my back, he went out and got Hogan because Hogan was leaving the WWF or getting booted or whatever was happening with his career.

01:22:42 Speaker_01
They gave Hogan total artistic control. He came in, got me immediately fired because he took over my look. He put the shades on, he put the do-rag on, and he became a villain. He couldn't have Jesse Ventura be there and become Jesse Ventura.

01:23:04 Speaker_01
So he got me fired and in essence, my wrestling career was over. I had worked for the two major, I wasn't going into one of these little outlaw ones in your own hometown. That wasn't about to happen. I looked to other things. What did I do?

01:23:20 Speaker_01
I went to the dirtiest business on the planet, got myself elected mayor. and went on and got myself defeated the Democrats and Republicans at the same time and got myself elected governor of Minnesota and dig this, I only raised $300,000 to do it.

01:23:41 Speaker_01
You wanna know who could have been president if he wanted to be? You're talking to him.

01:23:47 Speaker_07
Well, you beat a legacy kid too in Minnesota. You upended both parties and beat Humphrey's son.

01:23:53 Speaker_01
Oh, I beat Hubert Humphrey's son, I beat Senator Norm Coleman. Well, on the Democratic side at that time, we called it my three sons. You had the sons of Hubert Humphrey, Orval Freeman, and Mondale. So it was my three sons on the Democratic side.

01:24:12 Speaker_01
Like the old TV show.

01:24:13 Speaker_07
The legacy kids always have trouble in politics and sports. I want to go back to Hogan though. Cause, okay.

01:24:19 Speaker_07
And there's been a lot written and a lot discussed, but you know, you haven't seen it yet, but we did the six episode documentary on Vince McMahon for Netflix.

01:24:27 Speaker_07
And we had a big section in there about when you tried to unionize in 86 before WrestleMania two, that we ended up in the final cut. We only had six plus hours.

01:24:36 Speaker_07
We ended up, we, it's in there, but we cut it down a little from one of the cuts we had like eight, nine minutes. Cause it was so interesting.

01:24:43 Speaker_07
And what really happened was Hogan shanked you and Hogan admitted to it, to us on camera that yeah, he went and ran to Vince and told him what you were trying to do.

01:24:52 Speaker_07
And you were basically trying to upend WrestleMania to get it so that they, they would have health benefits, all kinds of stuff.

01:24:59 Speaker_01
It was okay. Here's the, here's the story. Yeah. It was, I knew this was the perfect time. And then, of course, we had to get with the Charlotte guys and have them walk out also. If we could have got us and Charlotte, it was perfect timing.

01:25:17 Speaker_01
All the publicity was out there. He couldn't change nothing.

01:25:22 Speaker_07
There wasn't time for it.

01:25:27 Speaker_01
It's two weeks before the show. All we had to do was as in mass walk out, go to the media and say, we refuse to wrestle unless federal negotiators for union are brought in. It's federal law. He couldn't stop it. It's federal law.

01:25:46 Speaker_01
And we refuse to perform until we're allowed to unionize or collective bargain and bring these people in. And I made that passion speech. And when I was done, I went home and the next day Vince calls me immediately.

01:26:06 Speaker_01
Well, I found out he apparently called all the wrestlers and threatened them all and all of this stuff, I guess. I didn't know about that, but he called me and I stood up to him. I said, Vince, I said, this isn't just to fight you.

01:26:21 Speaker_01
I said, this is about the fact right now, and this was mid 80s. I said, right now I'm paying $5,000 a year for health insurance for me and my family. I said, if we- Out of your own pocket. out of my pocket.

01:26:36 Speaker_01
If we had a union, there's strength in numbers. Maybe I'd only have to pay 2000 a year instead of five. I said, Vince, I've seen hundreds of guys give 20 years of their life to this business.

01:26:51 Speaker_01
And in the end, they ain't got a pot to piss in a window to throw it out of. I said, we're wrestlers. We're not financial planners.

01:27:00 Speaker_01
And I said, if we had a union, maybe a guy could retire on 500 bucks a month and get something for the 20, 30 years you give to this business. I said, it isn't just about fighting you. I said, sure.

01:27:16 Speaker_01
And we'd like working conditions to where if you go on the road three days in a row, you're then given so many days off.

01:27:24 Speaker_07
Well, hold on, wait a second. You got to give context on this because in the seventies and eighties, you guys are on the road for 300, 310 days a year. You're wrestling everywhere. You're in all the territories.

01:27:35 Speaker_01
I'll tell you how bad it was when I got injured with pulmonary emboli blood clots in the lungs. That was caused by flying. Really? Yes, they've determined it today that you're very more susceptible. That's why you need to exercise on planes.

01:27:54 Speaker_01
So and they don't say nothing now because the airline people are well aware of it. I get up on every plane and do toe raises for 10 minutes. The flight attendant won't say a word to you. They know exactly what you're doing.

01:28:10 Speaker_01
But the point is, here's how bad it was. The month that I had the pulmonary emboli, blood clots, do you know how many days that month I flew? 28 days.

01:28:22 Speaker_07
Oh my God, really? Yes. And you were one of the headliners at that point, like you were going against Hogan. You were one of their best guys.

01:28:29 Speaker_01
You're talking 30 days in a month and 28 of them on, I was on an airplane. Let's get back to, that's what I wanted the union for. I wanted the union and, and for Hogan to then make a statement. Well, I didn't want to get paid like everybody else.

01:28:47 Speaker_01
He makes it sound like unionizing is socialism and communism. Does Pat Mahomes make the same money as everybody else in the NFL? Of course not. He makes way more and they have a union. Does LeBron James make more than everybody in the NBA?

01:29:08 Speaker_01
Yes, of course he does. And they have a union. Hogan would have still made more. That's a lame excuse. You want to know how bad it was? It came out in my court case, my court case against Vince. We have the numbers from WrestleMania three, right?

01:29:29 Speaker_01
The big one Pontiac silver dome Hogan against Andre and then the greatest match that I ever saw. Ricky steamboat against macho. The greatest match I'd ever broadcast or ever seen, that match. But that aside. We got the numbers in my court case.

01:29:50 Speaker_01
Hulk Hogan made more that night than all of the rest of us combined, including Andre.

01:29:56 Speaker_07
Wow. I mean, he, he did probably was the biggest reason they sold out the Soberdome.

01:30:01 Speaker_01
Now, you know, I don't know why he didn't, you want to know why he'd lay his life down to stop a union?

01:30:09 Speaker_07
Well, he denied it forever and ever, right? He always said he never did it. And now he admits that he did it.

01:30:13 Speaker_01
Of course he did. And here's why. And here's why. If you come from the business during my era of the old territory days, the worst thing you can be accused of being is an office stooge.

01:30:28 Speaker_01
That's somebody who rides around with the boys, pretends he's one of them, but all the while he's listening to the gossip and he's reporting it back to the promoters, taking care of himself and being quote an office stooge.

01:30:45 Speaker_01
That in my day of wrestling was the worst thing you could ever be. Well, it's interesting. That's what Hogan was.

01:30:53 Speaker_07
your relationship with him, you didn't know for a few years, right? It didn't come out to the steroid trial that he had in 94 that he had been actually going back and telling Vince.

01:31:02 Speaker_01
It didn't come out until my trial that I had. Uh, and it only came out because I told my attorney the story. And when you depose someone, you can ask anything. in a, in a, in a deposition.

01:31:16 Speaker_01
So I told my attorney the story and I, my attorney was a great, they beat Vince. And my attorney, I said, if you can find out who ratted me, I would really love to know who was the rat in the dressing room that ratted me out.

01:31:33 Speaker_01
And so during the deposition, I can't say anything. I'm sitting there and my attorney asked Vince, he said, Mr. McMahon, he said, uh, has there ever been a union in wrestling? And Vince said, no.

01:31:46 Speaker_01
And my attorney said, um, has anyone ever tried to form a union in wrestling? And Vince thought a moment and he said, yeah, he said, uh, I think Jesse Ventura might've spouted his mouth.

01:31:59 Speaker_01
I remember he used the term spouted his mouth off about it one time, a number of years ago. And my attorney said, Oh, really? He said, did you hear Mr. Ventura talk about unionizing? And Vince went, no.

01:32:15 Speaker_01
And my attorney said, well, then how were you aware of it? With no hesitation, Vince went, Hulk Hogan told me. I almost fell out of my chair. Now I had to sit there. I can't show no emotion. I can't, you know, it's a deposition. I can't talk.

01:32:34 Speaker_01
I can't nothing. I can only sit there and confer with my attorney. It was as rough as getting hit in the face with a hard left jab. Because Hulk Hogan had, I thought, been my friend.

01:32:50 Speaker_07
Who did you think did it then? Before you found out it was Hogan, who did you think was the one that told Vince? I had no idea.

01:32:58 Speaker_01
That's why I wanted to find out. I wanted to know who was the rat in the dressing room. Because I made sure there was nobody from the office. when I made the speech, because I made sure of it. Pat Patterson wasn't there. Strongbow wasn't in there.

01:33:18 Speaker_01
None of the agents were there.

01:33:20 Speaker_07
So you knew, because you started wrestling almost 50 years ago, and you were in, I think, the Portland territory, where you wrestled against one of my favorites, Snuka, back when he really had the hops.

01:33:32 Speaker_07
You were in Minnesota, that's when you teamed up with Adrian Adonis. AWA, but then you ended up in the WWF back then, early 80s, right around when Hogan was in there as a bad guy. So you must have known him forever.

01:33:46 Speaker_01
No, no, Hogan came into the AWA when I was there.

01:33:50 Speaker_07
Oh yeah, right, right. So that was even like the 79, 80 range.

01:33:53 Speaker_01
And then Verne, Verne wouldn't give him the title and Verne wouldn't let him market himself. And so Hogan made the smart move. He jumped right away to Vince who let him do all that.

01:34:06 Speaker_01
And, you know, financially, I don't begrudge Hogan that I did the same thing too.

01:34:12 Speaker_04
Yeah.

01:34:13 Speaker_01
You know, but, uh, uh, him ratting us, that was low. But anyway, uh, you know, that was the nature of the business. Everyone's out for themselves. You know, it's always been that nature of the business. That's how the business survived was backstabbing.

01:34:36 Speaker_07
You know, we had a couple of what-if scenarios when Vince took over, and we played it up a little in the documentary, but not as much as I think we could have, because one of the guys he wanted was Dusty Rhodes, because he knew he had to get rid of Bob Backlund.

01:34:49 Speaker_07
He knew he needed a more charismatic champ. And then the other one was Hogan. And at that point, Hogan was in the AWA, as you said, but Verne Gagné wouldn't give him the title.

01:34:59 Speaker_07
coming off Rocky III when they were on ESPN and there's this whole alternate universe where Verne Gagnon just says, I should just build AWA around this guy and Hogan never leaves and becomes like this ESPN star.

01:35:12 Speaker_07
And I don't know, what happens to wrestling if that happens? I don't know.

01:35:16 Speaker_01
Who the heck would know? It's a good sliding doors though, right? Then it would have been a hell of a lot more challenging for Vince to go across the country like he did. Right. Because Vince needed Hogan. just as Hogan needed him. They needed each other.

01:35:32 Speaker_04
Yeah.

01:35:32 Speaker_01
You know, that was a mutual deal. And don't begrudge either one of them. You know, what, what they accomplished was remarkable. And I was happy to be part of it.

01:35:42 Speaker_07
Yeah. I mean, it worked out perfectly for all sides.

01:35:45 Speaker_01
And it worked out and it worked out great for me because, you know, unfortunately my career ended right before I was due to wrestle Hogan the night before. I was due to wrestle Hogan in LA, my first match with him in the WWF.

01:36:01 Speaker_01
And I'm seven days critical in San Diego hospital. So bad. My wife had to fly out to San Diego. I didn't know if I'd ever wrestle again. And ironically, you know, who came to my rescue? And she don't even know it. I bet today.

01:36:20 Speaker_01
I bet if you asked her, she wouldn't even truly know it. Cindy Lauper. Really? Yeah.

01:36:30 Speaker_07
How did she come to your rescue?

01:36:32 Speaker_01
Well, Cindy Lauper did me a favor that ended up creating my entire broadcasting career, which was, I went home. I went home facing the end of my wrestling career. What do I do now?

01:36:48 Speaker_01
Am I going to go down to General Mills and sign on as a VP and put down past experience pro wrestler? You're not going to get no job.

01:37:00 Speaker_04
Yeah.

01:37:01 Speaker_01
And like all, like all pro athletes in its own weird way, nobody ever thinks about it till it's over. And then when it's over, you got to face it. And I had to face it prematurely. I was, I did come back in the ring.

01:37:18 Speaker_01
but I never came back to the extent of what I was doing. And I, and a friend of mine said, here's the Lauper story. A friend of mine said, you should be a broadcaster. You can talk. So I went down to channel 11, Tom Rither.

01:37:34 Speaker_01
He just passed away a few months ago, my friend, Tom Rither. And I told Tom my situation. He was a head of sports down there. So he introduced me to the head guy of the station. And he gave me a producer cameraman who was Emmy award winning.

01:37:51 Speaker_01
And he said, okay, he said, go out and do something for me. Right. Right. Yeah. So Cindy, it was right during the Cindy Lauper rock and wrestling crap, you know, when Cindy was all involved with Wendy Richter and it was going big and all that.

01:38:09 Speaker_01
And Cindy was doing a concert here in Minneapolis. So I, I called up David Wolf for manager. And I said, could I come down and interview Cindy before the show? He said, of course. And so I came down with my guy.

01:38:25 Speaker_01
We, we got together with Cindy and it was during that punk era. So we decided to have Cindy dye my hair. So Cindy Lauper dyed my hair like six different colors because that was in then.

01:38:40 Speaker_01
And that night at her concert, she brought me out in front of the crowd. to show the crowd what we had did that afternoon. And Vince got a hold of that tape.

01:38:52 Speaker_01
And it was like two days later, he calls me and he says, Jesse, do you think you could do color commentating? And I said, I know I could. And he said, I got an idea. I said, what is it? He said, there's never been a villain on the mic before.

01:39:09 Speaker_01
You're going to be the first one.

01:39:13 Speaker_07
Honestly, one of the great ideas, and I wish we had them in actual sports. It would be really fun if we had football, NBA. We had somebody who was the heel announcer. I know they would never do it, but super fun.

01:39:25 Speaker_01
Well, like I said, and that's so, Cindy, I bet don't even know. that the piece she did with me spurred McMahon to have the light bulb. And I give Vince credit. He's P.T. Barnum of the generation, man.

01:39:42 Speaker_01
The light bulb went out in Vince's head and he thought, there's never been a villain on the mic. Let's put a villain on the mic. And then I was fortunate because who did they put me on with but Gorilla Monsoon. Right.

01:39:55 Speaker_07
One of the great teams.

01:39:57 Speaker_01
Oh, I mean, Gino was a dream. So to work with, you know, you, you couldn't have asked for a easier, better tandem. I don't think Gino and I ever had a misunderstanding ever. I can't, I can't think of one.

01:40:19 Speaker_07
Can we go back to your wrestling for a second? How did you ever hit your peak? Do you feel like there was more there? Do you hit your ceiling when we were at your best?

01:40:27 Speaker_01
Well, I think I was at my best right before I was going to go against Hogan.

01:40:31 Speaker_07
Right. So how old are you at that point?

01:40:33 Speaker_01
You're like late thirties, earlier thirties. Right. Yeah. But I'm right at the, I'm right. I'm right where I ought to be for it. Right. And you could have been experienced. You could have been one of the big heels.

01:40:47 Speaker_01
I'm as big as I'm ever going to be and right there. And all of a sudden I'm flat on my back and in, in critical condition in San Diego, California, not knowing if I'm going to live or die.

01:41:02 Speaker_07
And yet, weirdly, physically, it was probably better for you long-term.

01:41:06 Speaker_01
Well, I always view it as, and I tell people this when I give speeches and stuff, I always tell people, remember, out of adversity, great things can happen. When you think adversity struck you and that everything has gone to shit,

01:41:27 Speaker_01
It's amazing how, look what I fell into then. I got more famous being on the mic than I probably ever would have been in the ring.

01:41:37 Speaker_07
I mean, the thing you tapped into, which was so funny, wrestling was all about provoking reaction, either a happy reaction or an angry reaction, right?

01:41:45 Speaker_07
The more heat you can get, whether you're wrestling, a manager, whatever, that's where you want to be.

01:41:51 Speaker_01
They couldn't control me then. What makes them think they can now? Well, you were the first announcer that made people mad. Exactly. Do they have any idea the power I have now?

01:42:01 Speaker_01
Do they have any idea the guy that's going to be on that mic sat down face to face with Fidel Castro? Do they have any idea that the guy on that mic had a dinner in his honor at Tiananmen Square in China? Wow. And I did all this after wrestling.

01:42:29 Speaker_07
What was your relationship with like, with, uh, with Vince the last 25 years? Cause you, you came back, you, you got inducted into the hall of fame, but other than that, you weren't really around.

01:42:39 Speaker_01
I had no relationship with him. Really? Nothing.

01:42:43 Speaker_07
So what was your reaction watching the last five years as it all kind of fell apart?

01:42:47 Speaker_01
Well, when I got inducted into the Hall of Fame, they asked me what I felt my biggest contribution was to pro wrestling.

01:42:58 Speaker_01
And I think I shocked everyone, and I know I irritated Vince and Linda, but I said, I believe my biggest contribution to wrestling was the fact that I was the first wrestler in history who made Vince McMahon deal with a manager or an agent.

01:43:17 Speaker_00
Is that true? Yes. Hogan never did.

01:43:23 Speaker_01
Hogan dealt with Vince. It's him and Vince. Hogan had a Hollywood agent.

01:43:28 Speaker_04
Yeah.

01:43:29 Speaker_01
I was the first one, and that resulted because of Predator. Right, which he didn't want you to do. He told me I couldn't do it, so I quit. And I went and did predator.

01:43:43 Speaker_01
And while I was doing predator, Arnold said, uh, in September, I'm going to do the running man. There's a part you're perfect for, would you like to do it? And I said, hell yeah. And so I negotiated running man first.

01:43:56 Speaker_01
Then I went back to Vince and you know why that was that gives you F you money in your pocket, right? Where if he doesn't do what I, what I'm satisfied with, I'd tell him, flake off, I'm doing The Running Man in the fall. I'm okay.

01:44:14 Speaker_01
I got another major movie with Arnold that's gonna come up in the fall.

01:44:18 Speaker_07
But the thing is, all that stuff was fantastic for the WWF at the time. Sure it was. To have their announcer be in these high-profile movies with one of the biggest movie stars we had.

01:44:27 Speaker_01
That ain't what it's about with him. With people like him and power people with money like that, it's control. It ain't got nothing to do with doing deals and doing the right thing and promoting the correct way. It's all about control.

01:44:47 Speaker_01
I was the horse that got out of the corral. I wouldn't let him market me. That's the final straw. I was going to do my own video game. And Vince said, you can't do it. I said, I own my rights. I'm registered with the government.

01:45:05 Speaker_01
Jesse, the body Ventura, I own the copyright with the government. How can you tell me I can't do it? And that was the final straw. That's when he fired me. And then I think he because I never did get the video game.

01:45:21 Speaker_01
So I think some hanky-pank went on there too. I have no evidence.

01:45:28 Speaker_07
When you sued him, it was because he, you felt like you were given the wrong impression of a contract you signed that signed away your rights to be basically in all the home video.

01:45:38 Speaker_01
I never signed the contract.

01:45:40 Speaker_07
Oh, that's what it was. Okay. I never had a contract. So when you sued them, what were you suing them for? And the important point is that you won.

01:45:48 Speaker_01
Well, I sued them over videotape royalties.

01:45:55 Speaker_01
And not that he had to pay me, but all the time that I was working for Vince, I would ask him, Vince, how come everything I do in Hollywood, when they replay it, I get royalties and everything I do for you, I get nothing. I said, how does that work?

01:46:14 Speaker_01
It was just he and I, I'd be there with him alone. I say, tell me how that works. How come I get royalties in Hollywood and I don't with you? And he'd give me these phony excuses of why.

01:46:29 Speaker_01
So what I did every time I, or at that time, my agent was Barry Bloom. Every time I or Barry would negotiate with the WWF, we would bring up videotape royalties. And every time we were told the same thing, I don't pay videotape royalties.

01:46:53 Speaker_01
Well, we won in court on what's called quantum merit. And what that means, Vince didn't have to pay royalties. There's no law that says he does.

01:47:03 Speaker_04
Yeah.

01:47:04 Speaker_01
But here's how I beat him. When you sit down to negotiate, you expect the other side to be telling you the truth. We were constantly lied to by being told he didn't pay royalties.

01:47:20 Speaker_01
Well, when we sued and got into discovery, we found out Hulk Hogan was getting royalties. Mr. T was getting royalties. Cyndi Lauper was getting royalties. Everybody from mainstream Hollywood, we're all getting royalties. It was us wrestlers who weren't.

01:47:45 Speaker_01
Well, he lied during those negotiations and said, I don't pay royalties. That's called quantum merit. That's where he broke the law. He has to tell the truth during negotiations. You expect that. He can't lie. And the truth was, yes, he paid royalties.

01:48:06 Speaker_01
And when I got on the stand, my attorney asked me, Jesse Ventura, had you known other people were receiving royalties, would you have agreed to work for what you did? I said, absolutely not.

01:48:22 Speaker_01
I said, if I found out other people were getting royalties, I would have demanded them too. And the jury found for me.

01:48:33 Speaker_07
Vince didn't probably like that, I'm guessing.

01:48:37 Speaker_01
Oh, he hated it. He took it all the way to the Supreme Court for cripes sake. Wow. And then he calls me on the phone and screams into my ear when it's all over, that's my money. And I very calmly said to him, Vince, I said, The jury said it was my money.

01:48:57 Speaker_01
The federal judge said it was my money. The United States Court of Appeals said it was my money. And the Supreme Court says it's my money. I said, Vince, I think you're a minority opinion. And that's that. And that was the end of it.

01:49:14 Speaker_07
So 10 years after you left, give or take a year. Yeah. He became a heel. He became heel owner after Brent Hart, Brent Hart punched him and that led the Montreal Screwjob.

01:49:24 Speaker_07
And it leads to this whole character arc where he's the owner of WWF at that point, but is also bleeding in and it's hard to tell what's real, what's not real. Did you ever figure that out when you worked with him?

01:49:37 Speaker_07
What was real and what wasn't real with that guy?

01:49:39 Speaker_01
Well, I'll tell you this, Vince was successful because as bad as he was, all the other promoters were worse.

01:49:53 Speaker_04
Yeah.

01:49:53 Speaker_01
No, I'm serious. No, I believe you. I'm laughing because you're right. Vince was like the savior. Yeah. I knew when I went to Vince that final time, I was going to quit the business. This was it. I'm going to do this last hurrah with Vince.

01:50:12 Speaker_01
If it fails, I'm done. If it succeeds, we'll take it to wherever it goes. And fortunately, we succeeded. I knew I was going to do it well before I did it, because there's another story behind that, but I won't go into it today.

01:50:32 Speaker_01
It's a long one, but Vince actually did me a great favor.

01:50:39 Speaker_00
along the way, and that's why I had loyalty to him, and I'll just leave it at that.

01:50:47 Speaker_07
A favor in the early 80s, mid 80s, or late 80s?

01:50:50 Speaker_01
Early 80s to mid 80s, when the jump happened. Right. Well, I'll tell you the final straw of why I jumped from the AWA to Vince. Want to hear that?

01:51:02 Speaker_04
Yeah.

01:51:04 Speaker_01
Uh, I was with Saito then Mr. Torture. Yeah. And we were of course the, the, uh, far East West connection. And, uh, me and torch were wrestling tag team then in the AWA and Vince was just starting to make his big move and they ran lacrosse Wisconsin.

01:51:25 Speaker_01
And we went down there and we did an angle for a cage match. Right. And so three weeks later, we came, we got the payoff. It was okay.

01:51:35 Speaker_01
Three weeks later, we came back to lacrosse me and say, you know, for the cage match and Vernon, Greg were on their yearly Aspen vacation. Yeah. Where they go up to Aspen and ski and have fun.

01:51:52 Speaker_01
That's what they were doing then when we had the rematch and lacrosse and it was in the cage and the house jumped, I think 20 to $25,000 right in business. And I got my paycheck and I got less money. And this was at a time when Hogan had just jumped.

01:52:18 Speaker_01
And I got paid, the house went up and I got paid less and Ganya's were on their vacation. Well, I knew who was paying for the vacation. We were. And so, uh, I came up to Wally Carbo and I said, Wally, what the hell is this?

01:52:36 Speaker_01
I said, the house jumps 25,000 bucks and I get less money. I said, well, the next time I hope nobody's there. I'll get more money. I said, what kind of bullshit is this?

01:52:47 Speaker_04
Right.

01:52:48 Speaker_01
and this is at a time he should have been taking care of his wrestlers, not cheating them. So that was that. And that's what happened, and that was the final straw for me. I said, I'm jumping defense.

01:53:06 Speaker_07
Best guy you ever wrestled against, most impressed you were by another wrestler, who was it?

01:53:13 Speaker_01
Say that again?

01:53:15 Speaker_07
All right, you wrestled a bunch of guys from 75 to 86. Who is the best one? Who is the best in ring guy you wrestled?

01:53:23 Speaker_01
I don't know who the best was, but the guy I liked to wrestle and work with the most was Tito Santana. Really? Why? Because Tito and I go back to the AWA and we were on the same wavelength.

01:53:42 Speaker_01
He, he understood my style and he adapted completely to me and he had total confidence than it was when it was his time. I would always give it to him. And I never had a bad match ever with Tito Santana.

01:54:00 Speaker_01
I would say right with him would be Jimmy Snuka, you know,

01:54:06 Speaker_07
My first favorite.

01:54:07 Speaker_01
Jimmy Snuka, Tito Santana.

01:54:11 Speaker_07
Was Snuka doing the stuff in Portland? Was he doing the jump off the top rope, all that stuff, even in the mid-70s?

01:54:17 Speaker_01
He was doing everything, and everyone was saying, Jimmy, why are you wasting it here? get to New York, right?

01:54:24 Speaker_07
You need a bigger audience.

01:54:25 Speaker_01
There had to have been 10 to 15 people that told Jimmy snooker to get to New York. And I, and I was one of them because I wanted him there. Cause I knew I wouldn't be far behind.

01:54:43 Speaker_01
And if I, and if he wasn't a villain out there, I knew I'd get to work with him.

01:54:47 Speaker_07
Right. What was the most memorable main event that you did a broadcast for? Cause I have a couple in my head.

01:54:54 Speaker_01
What's the most memorable match I ever did was Macho and Steamboat. That's the greatest match in WrestleMania 3.

01:55:01 Speaker_07
What about the Twin Hebiners? You did that one, right? Probably. I think so. When Hogan lost the title because the twin referee came out?

01:55:10 Speaker_01
Oh yeah, I vaguely remember it now. That was a good one. Yeah, the Hebner brothers. That was a good one. See, you're reminding me of this stuff. I don't have memory of a lot of it.

01:55:22 Speaker_07
Yeah, you're in the grind.

01:55:23 Speaker_01
And I'll tell you why. When Hogan got me bumped out of WCW, That was it. I stopped watching. I didn't pay attention. I vaguely only remember the rock against stone cold. I know that was huge, but I wasn't watching it. It had nothing to do with me.

01:55:50 Speaker_01
And I moved on, put it this way, I moved on with my life. You moved on, moved forward. I wasn't gonna let wrestling define me.

01:56:01 Speaker_07
So, Running Man versus Predator, what movie gets mentioned more to you over the last 35 years? Predator more, okay. Predator. Predator. What is the number one thing that you get asked about it? It's my film.

01:56:20 Speaker_01
No, certain films have lines that define them. And if you go to Predator, my line is the defining line of the movie. I ain't got time to bleed. Just as in Terminator, Arnold's, I'll be back.

01:56:42 Speaker_07
So have you told Arnold this? Hey, just FYI, I had the best line in Predator.

01:56:46 Speaker_01
No. Why would I do that? That's all up to, that's all, there's no one that can say it was or wasn't. That's all up to the discretion of anybody.

01:56:58 Speaker_01
I'm just saying, 20th Century Fox printed it on a t-shirt, and you know, I feel great because every film usually has one line that defines it. And I had a supporting role.

01:57:15 Speaker_01
In fact, the biggest complaint that I receive on Predator is that I died too soon. Well, that's my biggest complaint. But see, then I have to inform you, it had to be that way.

01:57:29 Speaker_04
Why?

01:57:30 Speaker_01
Why? You could have made it 15 more minutes. No, no, it had to be that way. You know why? Why? I was the toughest guy. And you noticed, I was the only one that had a funeral. Right? Yeah. Okay. And here's the biggest thing.

01:57:54 Speaker_01
When I died is when the platoon went to shit.

01:58:01 Speaker_07
The stakes got higher.

01:58:03 Speaker_01
Blaine was dead. Blaine doesn't die. Blaine doesn't die. This guy is the closest thing to Superman. He's been through all these wars, all these incursions, walked out of every one of them. How can Blaine be dead? What could kill Blaine?

01:58:24 Speaker_01
That's why I had to die. Remember when Sonny Landham turns and says, we're all gonna die. Because why? Blaine was dead.

01:58:34 Speaker_07
And you were there for the Van Damme stuff, Van Damme. the Van Damme playing the Predator for like a couple of minutes, right? And then he got fired.

01:58:43 Speaker_01
Yeah. I was there when John came down. So, so when he became a star later, were you like that guy? No, not at all. John had, Jean-Claude had talent. Jean-Claude, uh, he was living out of his trunk at the time.

01:58:58 Speaker_01
when I met him and that was the first job he ever got. And I think he didn't understand that he thought he was going to be running through the jungle and all the girls were going to see his handsome pretty face.

01:59:12 Speaker_01
And I don't, and I think when he got down there, he realized nobody was going to see his pretty face, right? He was going to be inside of some type of suit and they hired him because they thought he'd be agile with his karate stuff. Well, he wasn't.

01:59:29 Speaker_01
Not in that suit. No, and they fired him and they got Kevin Peter Hall, a seven foot one black man. And Kevin filled out the suit a lot better. How much? I don't know, I never saw the Predator, ever. What do you mean? Until a screening in Chicago.

01:59:52 Speaker_01
And what's good about that, I'm not supposed to see it. It's invisible, isn't it?

01:59:58 Speaker_07
Well, when you watch it now, the special effects we didn't have in the 80s was tough.

02:00:03 Speaker_01
It was invisible. That's why I couldn't see it in the first place. I only saw it for the first time at a screening in Chicago. We had to pretend it was killing us. We couldn't see it. I never saw what it was going to look like. You were just acting. Yes.

02:00:23 Speaker_01
I never saw the Predator till they created it long after we were done shooting.

02:00:31 Speaker_07
How much input did you have over Captain Freedom's workout video in Running Man?

02:00:37 Speaker_00
In Running Man?

02:00:39 Speaker_01
You had a whole workout video of that. Complete freedom. Like my name. Do you want to hear the backstory?

02:00:46 Speaker_04
Yeah.

02:00:46 Speaker_01
Oh, it's a great one. Running Man, so I'm the retired stalker who now has his physical fitness show on TV, right? That's what I do now, as well as color commentate the Running Man game.

02:01:03 Speaker_01
And so I have my workout thing in the day, so what occurred was this. When they needed to do that, she wasn't famous yet for singing. That was due to happen in like a year or two.

02:01:19 Speaker_01
But they sent me over to this nice little beautiful young woman by the name of Paula Abdul. And they sent me over to her dance studio, because Paula's one of the, at the time, one of the top choreographers in Hollywood.

02:01:38 Speaker_01
And I'll never forget, she knew what she had to do. I knew basically what I was there for, and I remember Paula Abdul, she got famous singing a couple years later, but she came up to me that day and it was hilarious.

02:01:53 Speaker_01
I'm 260 pounds, this hulking big monster, and she's this bitsy little tiny girl, athletic as hell, can do all this, got these skinny girls that can do all this dancing in Hollywood. And she looks at me and she goes, looks at me and smiles.

02:02:13 Speaker_01
And she says, what can you do? What was the answer? And I looked at her and at the time at home, I had started taking aerobics. And I had done aerobics, I challenged myself.

02:02:32 Speaker_01
I had gotten up to level three an hour and a half with David Gray, the Crystal Light National Aerobics Champion. He was my instructor in Minneapolis, the Crystal Light National Aerobics Champion.

02:02:50 Speaker_01
So I looked at Paula Abdul, I said, well, I said, for the last few months, I'm getting ready for this. I've been doing aerobics. She looked at me, a big smile. She says, great. She goes, you do aerobics, we'll dance around you. I went, okay.

02:03:12 Speaker_01
And that's what we did. I went out and went through aerobic routines and Paula choreographed all the girls to dance around my routines and make it work. And there you have Captain Freedom's workout.

02:03:31 Speaker_07
So you worked with Hogan and Schwarzenegger during this mid-80s testosterone, very patriotic time in America. Den Stallone. So when did you work with Stallone? Demoman. That was, yeah, that was nineties though. I was thinking more eighties.

02:03:49 Speaker_01
Well, okay. That was nineties. And they also cut their fight scene completely.

02:03:54 Speaker_07
Well, I was going to say I, cause you couldn't have worked with Stallone in the eighties cause you were so much bigger than him. I don't know how they would have done that.

02:04:01 Speaker_01
I was bigger than him in the nineties. I don't, I forgot. I don't have to lead him to Mike.

02:04:08 Speaker_07
No, but I mean it is funny cause that era of, A lot of muscles. Predator's the peak of it, because Predator just has entire bicep scenes, which is close up of oiled biceps, just where we were in 1987.

02:04:22 Speaker_01
Well, the great thing about Arnold is he's not insecure. Yeah. When you've won Mr. Olympia seven times, come on. That's the best built man in the world. And he won it seven times. Arnold doesn't have insecurities.

02:04:44 Speaker_01
Arnold doesn't care that I'm two or three inches taller than him. That doesn't bother him.

02:04:50 Speaker_07
Yeah. You playing pranks on the set with them. There's good YouTube stuff about you playing pranks with that, trying to convince people you had bigger biceps than him, all that stuff.

02:04:59 Speaker_01
Oh, I think that really got blown out of proportion. I, uh, we, we did, we did more, um, I don't know. The thing about doing a Schwarzenegger film is you're going to have fun.

02:05:12 Speaker_04
Yeah.

02:05:13 Speaker_01
That's the fun part about it. Arnold never takes himself too seriously only when he has to. You know, I was also in the trailer with him sitting right there when these guys came up to him. We weren't even finished doing Predator.

02:05:31 Speaker_04
Yeah.

02:05:31 Speaker_01
And these guys were approaching him about the sequel, Predator 2. Which they did without him. Wait, I won't say the money because it's no one's business.

02:05:44 Speaker_01
But I sat right there and they offered Arnold, and this was 1985, 86, they offered him so much money to do Predator 2, and he turned them down flat.

02:05:59 Speaker_01
When they left, I looked at him and I said, Arnold, it's just him and I. I said, how in the hell do you turn down? And I said the figure. Arnold looked at me and smiled. You know what he said to me? Jesse, the time is not right. And it was right. Yeah.

02:06:20 Speaker_01
The Predator sequel was a bomb. People know, look at what he did on Terminator, he made them wait seven years. He made the public want the sequel.

02:06:35 Speaker_07
Smart. I mean, he, he constructed his career the best.

02:06:38 Speaker_01
If you come out with a sequel, if you come out with a sequel immediately after the film, everybody knows it's just a money rip off.

02:06:48 Speaker_07
That's true.

02:06:49 Speaker_01
They're capitalizing on the, Arnold wouldn't fall victim to that. The money he turned down, you would have been astounded. And he turned them, I won't say it cause it's no one's business.

02:07:01 Speaker_01
But in fact, I said, hey, bring Blaine's twin brother, he'll do it for half. I said, you can resurrect me, I'll do it for half. Blaine has a brother. Oh my God, there he is. Blaine's twin brother, there he is, he'll do it for half.

02:07:17 Speaker_07
He's fighting in Korea. When Arnold ran in California, did he talk to you about it? Because you had already been through it in Minnesota.

02:07:27 Speaker_01
No, Arnold and I never discussed politics once. during my campaign or during his, he lives in California, I live in Minnesota. Why am I gonna campaign for him in California? What the hell's he gonna say in Minnesota?

02:07:42 Speaker_07
Well, I don't think he had to campaign, but he could ask you for advice about being a non-politician who's a celebrity trying to run for stuff.

02:07:50 Speaker_01
He didn't need it and neither did I. We both won, didn't we? So we must've did it right, didn't we?

02:07:58 Speaker_07
And then Trump does it in 2016.

02:08:01 Speaker_01
And steal some of your playbook. He took all of it. He's still riding it and they won't admit it. They won't and he took all of it. Took my playbook every, I didn't raise money, I held rallies. You know how much money I raised to become governor?

02:08:18 Speaker_07
Wasn't it like less than a million bucks? 300,000. Yeah.

02:08:23 Speaker_01
That's all I raised. If I ran for, I'll tell you what, I, I could have beat either one. I could have won the presidency if I had, if Mark Cuban would have backed me financially, like a, who do you call it? Back Trump.

02:08:36 Speaker_01
I had to beat both of them if I don't want to do what year 2016 right now. And Trump knows that you want to know why he knows it. He's in the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. He knows damn well I'm the greatest talker there's ever been in wrestling.

02:08:53 Speaker_01
He knows damn well he couldn't hold a candle to me. If I had a debate with him, the best thing he could do would be sit in a chair, keep his mouth shut, and let me talk.

02:09:04 Speaker_07
Yeah, physically he wouldn't be able to tiptoe you.

02:09:06 Speaker_01
Oh, not a bit. Donald Trump knows deep in his heart that Jesse Ventura's never lost an election. I would have been the biggest threat he'd ever had out there because I'd have beat him. And you know why else I'd have beat him? I ain't a criminal.

02:09:27 Speaker_07
He wrote a book in 2000, and he was talking about how you got elected governor of Minnesota. And he said, it's because he talks straight. Non-politicians like Ventura are the wave of the future. He wrote that in 2000. He wasn't wrong on that one.

02:09:42 Speaker_01
Yeah, yes, he was, though, in a way, because he didn't talk straight. Well, I'm just saying non-politicians. He took it beyond that. He took it to wrestling, lied about everything.

02:09:51 Speaker_07
Wow. And he also learned some stuff from Vince, too.

02:09:55 Speaker_01
Well, no, no. And I mean, lied about everything. He just say whatever he wanted to say. I'll be interested now and I'll leave it at this. Let's watch in the next four years how much of that stuff gets implemented.

02:10:10 Speaker_07
You liked him in 2015 when he was running, you were for it.

02:10:13 Speaker_01
No, I wasn't necessarily. I don't support Democrats or Republicans. He joined the Republican party and he even did worse. He joined the ultra conservative evangelical right. Pretty hard for an agnostic atheist to support that.

02:10:35 Speaker_07
Why didn't you run again after 03?

02:10:39 Speaker_01
Multiple reasons, personal, more to do in life. I could have won easily. I remember when I had the highest approval ratings in Minnesota history at 73%, 72%. And I remember right before reelection was due to happen, I had fallen to 49%.

02:11:05 Speaker_01
and the media immediately challenged me and said, oh my God, for the first time you're under 50%. I looked at the media and I said, are you guys really that stupid? I said, you must consider something. It's a three person race.

02:11:25 Speaker_01
If I'm at 49%, that means I'm up 12. I won with 37. Right. So if I'm now at 49, I'm up 12. It's a landslide. People forget in a three person race, the dynamics change.

02:11:44 Speaker_07
You were not a huge fan of the media when you were when you were governor.

02:11:48 Speaker_01
Only mainly because they attacked my children. They couldn't attack nothing else. So they had to go after my son. They had to go after my kids.

02:11:57 Speaker_07
Well, that sounded like that was a big reason why you didn't want to do it again.

02:12:01 Speaker_00
One of the reasons the other was money. You know how much I was being governor for? Let's get it on the board.

02:12:10 Speaker_01
All right. When I was governor, I got paid 120,000 a year. You know how much the football coach at the University of Minnesota makes? Four to five million a year. So I guess coaching football has more responsibility than being governor.

02:12:31 Speaker_01
I can only assume that by how our society pays. The governor makes, now he makes 150, but at my time it was 120, and the football coach makes 4 million, 5 million. Okay, out of the 120,000, I had to pay taxes, right?

02:12:47 Speaker_01
Out of the 120,000, I also had to pay for my car that drove me around. They deduct the mileage to and from the Capitol. They only let you have it during the workday. So I said to them, okay, I'll drive my private car to the Capitol.

02:13:12 Speaker_01
Then I'll take the governor's car so I don't get charged money. Oh, public safety come in said you can't do that. Why? We need you in the governor's car because it's got the weapons and the safety and the radios. So it's a catch 22.

02:13:28 Speaker_01
They stick, make you use the car and then charge you for it. It comes out of your paycheck. It don't end there. You know what else I had to pay for every meal that me and my family ate that the governor's residence is deducted out of my pay.

02:13:46 Speaker_07
So you were like writing books when you were in office, you were doing a bunch of different things to try to make more money.

02:13:52 Speaker_01
Well, I was, I was being governor of Minnesota in the end, I'd say for 40 grand a year.

02:14:00 Speaker_06
Yeah. There you go.

02:14:05 Speaker_00
And I'm in charge of a $16 billion budget. Huh.

02:14:14 Speaker_01
What do you think I'd be making if I was the CEO in the private sector of a $16 billion company, if I was the CEO, 120 a year?

02:14:25 Speaker_07
Well, it sounds like you should have been the football coach.

02:14:28 Speaker_01
Yeah, it pays a lot better. I might even win more. But anyway, no, that was a reason I didn't run again, being honest, the money. Oh, I guess I could have made more money if I wanted to become corrupt.

02:14:46 Speaker_01
You know, if I'd have wanted to sell my soul to rock and roll and take some payola, I suppose there was money to be made. Jesse was just too naive and Jesse's just too honest. I don't do that. That's called public service. I did 14 years of it.

02:15:05 Speaker_01
Six in the Navy, four as a governor and four as a mayor.

02:15:10 Speaker_07
Looking back, what was the most fair criticism of you as a politician?

02:15:15 Speaker_00
Probably that I speak first before I think.

02:15:19 Speaker_01
That I'll react and say something that I'll, then they'll, I'll have to make amends for it because you're in the political arena. That's what's wonderful now about coming back to wrestling. Yeah. You don't have to worry about that. Right.

02:15:35 Speaker_01
Handcuffs are off. I can say anything I want about anyone. It sounds like you're excited about this. I am. I'm very excited about it. I mean, well, I don't discuss finances, but it's acceptable. and I'll be doing four a year.

02:16:00 Speaker_07
Yeah. Well, the bigger thing is that you're, you're back, which always felt stupid that you weren't back.

02:16:07 Speaker_01
I'm back. And, and, and, and for me, it's, it's, it's concluding a career that probably never should have finished. Right. And maybe now there'll be closure. Yeah. Jesse can broadcast till he dies and then they can have my WWE funeral.

02:16:26 Speaker_07
Well, I said, you don't know. You said you don't like looking back, but when I think of the eighties as wrestling blows up, I mean, you're, you're right at the center of all of it. Hogan's lead in the way.

02:16:38 Speaker_07
And there's probably like five, six, seven, eight other guys right behind or help them push it up. And you were one of those people. Sure. And I, especially like the TV stuff was so good.

02:16:49 Speaker_01
Wrestling changed them from becoming, uh, a live spectator sport drawing the money. The big money then became television. Like it is in all sports. I remember when I broadcast football for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

02:17:11 Speaker_01
I did two years of Buccaneer football down in Tampa. And I remember that Hugh Culverhouse paid off, he was the owner of the Bucs, He paid all his bills, including all the players, everything with his TV contract.

02:17:32 Speaker_01
So that people in the seats, that was all his profit. All the people that sold out Tampa Stadium every week to see the Bucs play, that was pure huge money. Because the TV contract paid for all the rest.

02:17:53 Speaker_07
So as we head into 2025, you're in closure with WWE. You're gonna be back on TV a little bit. T, before we go, how are you feeling about politics in the mid-2020s? Because you never really liked the two-party system and you're a huge critic of it.

02:18:08 Speaker_07
That was really one of your pieces of your platform. Where are we now as we head into the mid-2020s?

02:18:13 Speaker_01
We're still part of the two-party dictatorship. I like to steal that term from my friend Ralph Nader. Ralph used that, the two-party dictatorship, because that's what it is. It's a two-party dictatorship.

02:18:27 Speaker_01
The only problem out here, you want to know where I'm at? It's simple. It's real simple. I took an oath over 50 years ago, and I took this oath before I married my wife. And this summer, my wife and I are going to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.

02:18:51 Speaker_01
Well, I'd like to proudly say, name me any other couple in wrestling who can now say they're going to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Well, but I took this oath before I took an oath to her and I honor my oath.

02:19:14 Speaker_01
obviously to her for 50 years now. And the oath I took before that was the oath to the Constitution of the United States of America. I took an oath to that Constitution.

02:19:30 Speaker_01
And unfortunately, January 6th, in my opinion, and I don't give a shit what anyone else says, I watched it, Our Constitution was attacked and violated. And there was an attempted coup d'etat.

02:19:51 Speaker_01
And the people that did it, in my opinion, committed treason. And they should have been convicted for their treasonous activity of overrunning our Capitol and carrying a Confederate flag. through my capital of the United States of America.

02:20:13 Speaker_01
They carried a Confederate flag, the Republicans, and they have not apologized for it, not one of them. And they still today have not apologized for it. And what did they do? They didn't get convicted for it.

02:20:31 Speaker_01
So they rallied up and they now have taken the power and the control. So as far as I'm concerned, this country doesn't have a constitution anymore because the people in charge don't care about a constitution.

02:20:48 Speaker_01
They violated it already and they'll violate it again as soon as they need to.

02:20:56 Speaker_07
It's a tough way to end the convo, but I guess we're going to end it there. Well, I'm not saying you're wrong.

02:21:02 Speaker_01
Please correct me if I'm wrong. I didn't say you're wrong. No, I'm just saying that. And people may say, I've sure got a narrow end. Yeah, I do. Because I took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America, and I failed.

02:21:19 Speaker_01
And I don't like to fail. And let's remember something. I believe it was Ben Franklin said to us, we've given you a republic if you can keep it. Well, I believe we lost it this year.

02:21:34 Speaker_07
Jesse Ventura, it was great to finally have you on the pod. Congrats on returning to the WWE. December 14th, Saturday night's main event. You're back.

02:21:47 Speaker_01
Well, what you got today is just a sample. I can't wait.

02:21:51 Speaker_07
Great to see you. I'm glad you're doing well. Take care. All right, that's it for the podcast. Thanks to Jesse Ventura. Thanks to Joe House. Thanks to Steve Cerruti and Kyle Creighton. Thanks to everybody who came to the live show in Denver.

02:22:04 Speaker_07
I will be back on Sunday. You can join me and the Cuz on Sunday night on my YouTube feed, the Bill Simmons channel. Maybe I'll make an appearance on the Ringer Sunday pregame show on YouTube TV as well. Who knows? Depends what kind of mood I'm in.

02:22:19 Speaker_07
Enjoy the weekend. I will see you on Sunday night.

02:22:25 Speaker_08
I don't have a few lips with him On the wayside, on the roadside

02:22:46 Speaker_07
Must be 21 plus and president select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and president DC. Gambling problem, call 100 Gambler or visit rg-help.com. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org.

02:23:04 Speaker_07
or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here, visit gamblinghelplinema.org or call 800-327-5050 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.