02-06-25 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4
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Don't just stay in the game.

I feel like last fall and now into the winter, we're living in a bad reboot of Money Pit.

Which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I nearly split my side laughing at Tom Hanks in that movie. It's a hysterical movie. And so having gone through it now with contractors and the stupid light and now we have to fix the backyard because the contractors ruined our yard and we've been talking to landscapers. Oh, yeah. It's turning into a really poor edition or a poor reboot.

Not so funny when it's your money. Oh, ha ha. That was funny, though. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. Good morning to you. It's Thursday. Thursday, February 6th. We are inching ever closer to the Super Bowl, but the NBA does not care. I'm telling you, it's retaliatory. It's a fun word to say, retaliatory. It's retaliation by the NBA. You want to encroach on our territory on Christmas Day and throw your games up on Netflix?

and break the internet and set records for streaming. You actually stage games on a Wednesday, Christmas day. You can't let us have Christmas to ourselves. It's always been our holiday. Well, guess what? We're going to hijack your Super Bowl week with our trade deadline. See how you like them apples.

I honestly think the NBA is probably giggling a little bit over the fact that this is all happening as we're heading up to Super Bowl week. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. Of course, just between you and me and the fence post, we all know there's way too much pregame coverage and way too much chatter leading up to the Super Bowl. I'll be honest. I've said this before. I get to the point where by Friday morning when I'm off the air here, I

I go radio silent and really go dark for the next 48 hours. No football, really no sports. Just can we please kick off the game? Now, we know, according to Fox Sports and its family of networks, they have planned 67,

Not 60, not 65, not 70, 67. That goes against my anal retentive brain. Why 67 hours of pregame coverage? Logically speaking. Ryan. Ryan's going to mansplain to me. I'm just teasing. Because 72 hours is three days, right? Yep. So I'm assuming they leave five hours for the actual game. So in the 30s.

basically two days and whatever it is. I can't take it. Extra hours. I can't take it. It's too much. It makes me want to stick a fork in my eye. How much will you and your family watch or if you're watching with friends, although you are working Sunday night, so. Yeah, I'm actually staying home watching the game for like without friends in a while. But I'm going to watch probably like 30 minutes. Of the pregame? Yeah.

We work here. We hear everything already. All of it. So it's just you don't learn anything new. It's so much. It's so much. You're right. There isn't really a whole lot new now. But I did see this and I'm dropping it in every hour because I had no idea. The Chiefs are the only team Saquon Barkley has not faced in his seven-year career. How about that?

We actually did learn something new, but mostly it was NBA headlines and Miles Garrett, who explained himself on the Rich Eisen show that was carried here Wednesday on the infinity sports network. So we'll hear from him coming up, but in honor of the pregame coverage and the

the extensive time that's been devoted to it. We actually highlighted one hour, one hour with a couple of guests from New Orleans. And I want you to hear from them. We'll just use a few minutes, but here's the reason why. Bill Belichick has been largely a mystery for decades.

If you sat in press conferences, which I did when I worked in local radio in New England, every now and then he'd answer a question and he'd start describing a play or a particular tactic in football and he would kind of lose himself and he would forget all about that gruff persona that he tried to portray. I say it like this, Bill Belichick thinks we're on a need-to-know basis and we don't need to know. So that's how he's been for most of his NFL career. And now...

And now he's in media. And this is like a different person. Are you? And what have you done with Bill Belichick? We're getting to see the private Bill, the Bill that his family and friends and clearly his girlfriend have seen for years, but that we really didn't have much access to.

I don't know when he disappears again. I don't know when he turns back into Dr. Jekyll as opposed to Mr. Hyde. But I am here for it. I love the stories. I really enjoy hearing him break down football plays. But also he's funny. And he's got a fun sense of humor. And at times he's no nonsense when he sees plays that he doesn't like or calls that he doesn't like on a game. He'll just flat out say it. That was the wrong call. That call was ridiculous.

So he really doesn't pull punches. And yet, as he's made his way through this year of media, there are so many relationships and people that respect him that have come out of the woodwork to either work with him or invite him to be part of it. We've seen him smile more in the last nine months than the entire time he was coaching the Patriots. Seriously. And I do love the new kind of post-playing career relationship with Tom Brady as well. So all of that to say...

It's Bill Belichick who's on the Madden Cruiser for this special Bayou with Bill. It's, yeah, it's cool. It's the iconic Madden Cruiser and noon Eastern time on Sunday, Saturday,

got it for his own Bayou adventure. And we had a chance to talk to the two producers, two of the three, Michael Strahan's the third, but really neat to kind of get a bit of a peek and a preview of what's to come. And to hear what they say about Bill was actually kind of funny. So we'll bring that back in our next segment, just a few minutes of it, because I want to make sure you all don't miss it. But if you haven't seen the trailer, it looks really cool. New Orleans has a

lot of layers to it. The culture, the food, the history. Yes, the football and it means a lot to Belichick to be back in New Orleans, but also the Madden Cruiser. Could you imagine renting that like on Airbnb? You know, sometimes they have campers or trailers or these unique experiences. They should put it up on Airbnb. Make a mint for someone to spend a week in the Madden Cruiser. Wow. It's part of the Hall of Fame now too. So it's pretty special.

Too much money, logically to me. $50,000? Yes, we work in radio, so I would think yes. I'd assume like $50,000 for a week. For a week? I would say a weekend. But also, the family and the Hall of Fame doesn't need to do that, right? They don't need to use it to make money. What we've heard is that it's really a relic.

But anyway, I'm not going to tell you anymore because these producers paint a really cool picture of this special coming up with Bill and the Bayou and the Madden Cruiser. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence. We've got a poll up. How much of the pregame coverage will you watch?

The options that Ryan came up with crack me up. So less than one hour right now is actually leading the way. Less than one hour, one to three hours. I said that only because I do want to watch this Madden special, Madden Belichick special. Right now, I think one vote each for three to 66 hours. It's quite a range. I mean, we've given you everything from three to 66 hours and it still has just one vote. Yeah.

I hope Fox doesn't see this poll. And out there going to watch all 67 hours of pregame coverage. Come on. Not even Fox network execs are going to watch all 67 hours of pregame coverage. That's over the top. It's kind of obscene if you really want to know, but I think the idea is they're going to present as much as they can. Something for everyone. Plus here's the real Intel on it.

They're charging millions of dollars for commercial time. So, of course, they're going to expand it to really to cover an entire weekend. Their blanket Super Bowl weekend because that's how they can make money on ads. There. I blew the top off the secret. It's not because they love you, football fans, and they want you to have whatever it is that you need to get ready for your Super Bowl Sunday. No, no.

It's because the more programming, the more ad inventory, the more ad inventory, the more money they can charge. I'm telling you, that's it. I just ruined my entire morning. It did. Ryan had a visceral reaction to that. Not quite us finding out Luca got traded to LA, but pretty close. Hey, did you hear? LeBron James actually thought the same way we did. The whole thing was a joke.

I mean, yeah, you guys seen the report. I was out with my family at dinner and got the news. And the first time I heard it, I thought it was for sure fake. I thought it was a hoax. People messing around, whatever. But then when AD called me, AD FaceTimed him. I talked to him for quite a while. And, uh...

Even when I got off the phone with him, it still didn't seem real. And it still pretty much didn't seem real until I saw Luca today. And then I saw the clip of AD at the Dallas shoot around. So LeBron, and I believe him. I know people think he orchestrated this. That's kind of a hot take conspiracy on social. No way. And also just thinking about him and Anthony Davis FaceTiming and both of them being shocked. Imagine what that conversation was like.

I mean, seriously, it had to be sobering. I think they enjoy playing together, but also, what do you say? Like, oh, man, are you kidding me? Did you trade me? What did I do wrong? What did you have to do with this? Oh, no. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. I don't think the Jimmy Butler trade is bigger, but this thought did cross my mind.

Anybody else have the same worry or concern that Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler might also come to blows? The two of them are such alpha males. And Butler, he turned himself into public enemy number one in Miami. He has acted like a punk trying to get his way out of town. I don't think that's who he normally is. I love his basketball. We're both coffee lovers.

about Jimmy Butler. He's been this unique, not just personality, but unique player. Really belying his size, what people would say about his talent. He's just so tenacious. He makes a difference. He's a leader. Until the last month, he's been suspended three times by the Miami Heat. Hasn't played, really, because he...

Didn't show up for team planes, walked off the court when he found out he wasn't starting as if you should be starting when you are disrespectful to your coach and your teammates, please. Anyway, here's what happened. What unfolded on Wednesday evening, Kevin Durant did not want to go back to golden state.

Yeah, I think he'd rather play for every other organization in the NBA. He's working on that. Rather than go back to Golden State, that chapter has been closed. And can you imagine the vitriol? Anyway, he nixed it. So KD didn't want to go back to play with the Warriors again. Instead, they had to pivot. So now there's this big elaborate web, three teams, multiple players. But the big thing is Jimmy Butler in a Warriors uniform. Stop it.

Like seriously, just weird. Draymond Green is not going to give up any real estate. He's the alpha. And I know Steph Curry's the best player on the team, but Steph is fairly laid back. He's pretty chill. Draymond's the opposite of chill. And so is Jimmy Butler. Do you think it's going to be like, you know, when you get out to some of those,

or National Geographic series where you've got two lions or two alpha bison and they fight it out to determine whose territory that it belongs to. I think that might happen. Maybe they'll team up and put their combined hatred and alpha mentality to the other team.

And they'll become like known for getting 30 technicals a game. I like your optimism. Well, I guess if they can just manage. So one guy suspended for too many technicals and the other one plays and then they each can control the power scheme that way. Oh my gosh. I will say Butler's commitment to defense is something that's notable about him. And as, as far as the warriors go, I know Draymond just got back on the court, but they need to beef up that defense. It needs more teeth. It's not had some teeth the last couple of years.

Anyway, partying, not such sweet sorrow for the Miami Heat. And I don't know, but Eric's bolster just sounds relieved to have the whole thing over with. The way I look at it is that, you know, every team you're going to be dealing with something, you know, during the course of a long two game season, you can make excuses, you can get distracted, you

You can do a lot of different things to take your mind off on the task at hand. I really commend our group for staying the course and coming in every day trying to get better. You know, we're trying to figure things out and I think we're getting a little bit more better role clarity.

Different guys are continuing to get better. Our young guys make strides. It's not going to be every single game. Some games it's different guys step up and other guys don't play great. That's part of the deal. I'm enjoying seeing the leadership from Tyler and Bam. They're really helping guide this group through everything that's been going on. But

You know, I enjoy the spirit of this group, and you develop some grit when you go through all this kind of stuff.

Big fan of Eric Spolstra. I can imagine it feels like a massive weight has fallen off the shoulders of the collective heat organization, including Pat Riley, because this has been hanging over their heads. They initially did not want to trade Jimmy Butler, of course, but he made himself persona non grata. Now on the other end, here's how it unfolded for the Warriors. They were in Salt Lake City, again, working on a trade to bring in KD. That's what they wanted. KD nixed that. And so they pivoted and it's Jimmy Butler.

but they have to give up Andrew Wiggins, who's their second leading scorer. He was out on the court warming up pregame. He walks back toward the locker room. He gets greeted by a couple of different people, security guard and assistant coach, Steph Curry,

Finds out the news. A couple of guys meet him inside the locker room. I think shaking hands. What do you say? Again, like, oh man, that sucks kind of a thing. And then they closed the doors. They had a closed door meeting pregame in Salt Lake City so that Steve Kerr could address the team and they could say their piece. And yeah, pretty drastic. And for that reason, Steve Kerr is looking for some changes to the trade deadline. He'd like to see it pushed back to maybe the all-star break so that you don't have this type of thing happen

But I think the bigger deal is it's kind of tough to say goodbye to Andrew Wiggins and the role he's played for them since he got there. Wiggs just had a baby boy last week. Girls in school. You know, Wiggs is one of my favorite players I've ever coached. Just a beautiful soul. Just a wonderful human being. And, you know, we don't hang that banner in 22 without him.

Yeah, it's part of the business. And I know that these guys, they're prepared for it, braced for it. But you hear De'Aaron Fox say, my wife didn't want to move to Texas. Actually, let's bring that part back. He played his first game with the San Antonio Spurs last night. And to hear him talk about just the logistics and the family aspect is

Kind of drives home the fact that these guys, Luca had just bought a house in Dallas. Jerks. How do they let him buy a house and then pull the rug out from underneath him? But these are people at the very basic level and moving and changing and going to a whole new place where you don't have friends and you're starting all over again. Even if you have a lot of money, that can be hard on families. So yeah, I mostly bring back this cut because I like how De'Aaron Fox started it.

Aw. Aw.

I appreciate that. And he's excited, it sounds like. But you also want to make sure your family is on board and that they're happy too. That's your number one concern. He had a chance to play alongside Wembyn Yama last night. Had a sweet game, 13 assists. And you could see they're pretty psyched about what this element can mean for the Spurs. They've kind of been in no man's land for a few years now. And obviously that's how they got Victor Wembyn Yama number one overall.

At ALawRadio, still to come, Miles Garrett explains his decision to ask out of Cleveland. And then our Facebook page.

as well as Twix. You can vote how many hours of pregame coverage are you watching. Just hear me out. Wait until you get a little bit of the behind the scenes with these two producers who collaborated on the Madden Cruiser special with Bill Belichick. You might add that to your DVR. Good morning to you. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. You are listening to the After Hours podcast. After Hours.

After Hours tackles the Big Bowl in the Big Easy all week long on the Infinity Sports Network. We're having a good time connecting with people that we don't normally have access to or don't even normally talk

I would say normally. We wouldn't even know to reach out to some of these people. But during Super Bowl week, they reach out to us because they've got different ideas or different products they want to share about or maybe projects they've been working on. And that was the case with...

Constance Schwartz Marini and Fred Anthony Smith, who are partners with Smack Entertainment. It's an agency as well as a production firm, and they work together with athletes and put out different types of...

like Coach Prime, Evolution of a Black Quarterback, that type of thing. They also work with Michael Strahan on this Madden Cruiser special that airs at noon Eastern time on Fox. It is one hour of pregame coverage. I will be watching. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It's a Bayou adventure with Bill Belichick. And so as I was talking to Constance and Anthony, I was asking them what they want people to know about this special before it airs.

One of the big things and one of the key takeaways that I hope people take away from this is the fact that the history of Louisiana and the history of football in many ways is intertwined. And Bill Belichick's love affair with the city of New Orleans is something that goes back years. It goes back even further than we originally knew when we first started filming, all the way back to when

when he was in college and first fell in love with the city. So really hearing from him and seeing how he interacted not only with the city but with the people of the city was really special. You know, he won his very first Super Bowl here. It's something that means a lot to him and that he shares throughout the doc. So we really want people to take away from this that football in Louisiana or

are intertwined, that there's a love affair between both. People are going to have a good time watching this and just learning a little bit about football and Louisiana and the culture of Louisiana and why it means so much to the history of the Super Bowl. Like Anthony said, it's been so much fun seeing and hearing a lot of the untold stories, but the

The coolest thing for me is seeing John Madden's bus still in its original form with a telephone, with the VCR, with the same brown rug. Like we're so, so thankful to the Madden family, Mike Madden and Sandy Montag for, you know, allowing us this gift for Bill to take us on a journey through such a special place in sports, especially Super Bowls. It was just remarkable. It's like time stands still.

How would you describe the inside of the iconic Madden Cruiser? I would describe it as taking a trip back into time. It's like you're going back in time. When you get in there, it is pretty much the same as it was when Coach Madden was riding around with it all these many years ago. The landline telephone, it's the VHS player, all of that. So it's really going back into time. It's

It's cool to see it still chugging along. It's cool to see the way people react to it as it's pulling up, whether it's pulling up the flag football game, which was a part of the show, where the kids are running around and circling around and just excited to see the bus pulling up. But as it was making its way through the city, seeing the reaction of the people of New Orleans as it was making its way through the city is really cool also.

What about Bill Belichick? Maybe the curtain has been pulled back a little bit on this guy that for so many years as the coach of the Patriots, the Super Bowl winner, he was a mystery. But after a year of media, we're getting to see a different side of him that's fairly personable. What was it like to work with him?

The stories. I mean, the stories, the surprises. You just couldn't believe it. And there's a great scene where Strahan jumps on the bus, and he and Coach are cruising through town, and just one story after another. And when Coach goes to the Voodoo Museum, and I don't want to give too many secrets away, but he tells a story that, I mean, I didn't know, and I've been around this game for over 30 years. That's the fun part. It's discovery.

How did this come together? It was really a fun project coming together because we partnered, obviously,

obviously with Fox Sports, but then we reached out to NFL Films, and they were the ones that told us that Mike Madden wanted to work with Coach. And then we also ended up working with Ever Wonder and Beezy Entertainment. So it's truly like a force of three groups coming together, the best in business and bringing great partners on board. Like, you know, Toyota is our presenting sponsor, and Booking.com has a really fun segment where –

a fan is going to get to ride the bus, which is pretty cool because the public doesn't get to do that. So the magic of TV, it'll look like we've been here for a month, but I don't want to give our secrets away. And then listen, our finale is Trahan, it's Tom Brady and Aaron Andrews. So we really...

And I'd like to say lucky, but, you know, obviously everybody's got to do good work. But to just have Ed Reed and Tyron Matthew and Ty Law, like Archie Manning, I mean, the list goes on and on. Roxy Diaz, like we really made sure, you know, Roxy's from New Orleans as well. So we just wanted to pay tribute to this amazing, amazing city that always is resilient and comes back and knows how to host a good time.

I don't have to tell you guys the logistics of trying to bring people together at one time, especially the types of people that you've mentioned, Hall of Famers, lots of busy schedules. What were the logistics like of getting everybody together in one place to be able to put this on video?

Military precision. It wasn't easy. But look, it was easy. Everybody would do it. But now, look, it wasn't easy, but it was worth it. It was definitely worth it to hear the voices, hear the stories of the people that are a part of this, whether it's Tyron Matthew, whether it's Ed Reed, who's from the area, whether it was Ty Law, Archie Manning.

And as Constance mentioned, Tom Brady, Aaron Andrews, and Michael Strahan, the stories that they told were really, truly amazing. And they left you laughing, but also some of them were heartfelt as well. Hearing a story that Tom Brady tells about the morning after with Coach Belichick.

It left us laughing, but it was also very, very heartfelt as well. What people will take away from this, Louisiana is being celebrated. Louisiana is a great state. New Orleans is a great city to host a Super Bowl. And it's a love affair. It's a love letter to football, but it's also a love letter to the city of New Orleans and people of New Orleans. And the fact that the Super Bowl is finally back here in New Orleans after so many years.

The state's history and culture, food, entertainment, that rich football tradition. The last time it was there, I remember watching a blackout with the rest of the world. That's been a topic of conversation for sure. Nice. Well, also, though, history going back 20 years now to Hurricane Katrina, a storm that forever altered the city of New Orleans and its people. What did you learn looking back at that event?

First of all, when we first started talking about putting this show together, one of the things that we absolutely knew we had to do was find a way to honor the legacy of that tragedy, especially with the 20-year anniversary coming up actually this year. We knew that was going to be important. And celebrating the resiliency of the people of New Orleans, celebrating the fact that the Saints meant so much to the rebuild of

of the city. That was something that we knew we wanted to do. Roxy Diaz, who's a New Orleans native, was amazing just taking Michael and Coach Belichick and Kurt Menefee through that tragedy and through those harrowing days, but also sharing the story of resiliency and the fact that so many people in New Orleans were so thrilled when the Superdome was finally reopened that I

iconic Steve Gleason play that was made in that game against the Falcons on Monday Night Football. She walks them through that and the fact that 20 years later,

The city is stronger. The city has completely rebuilt itself. The Superdome has undergone renovations, and the city and the people are stronger. And that's something that we wanted to celebrate and honor through the telling of the story of Katrina, but also through the telling of this particular documentary and the fact that the people of New Orleans are so resilient. And it's such a great history of football history.

and the city as well. Right. Really can't tell the story of the NFL or of New Orleans without reflecting back on the impacts of Hurricane Katrina. Man, it's hard to believe it's been 20 years. We're spending a few minutes with Constance Schwartz-Marini and Fred Anthony Smith of Smack Entertainment, executive producers for this big special on Fox on Super Bowl Sunday, the Madden Cruiser, a Bayou Adventure with Bill Belichick and Fox.

friends it's after hours with amy lawrence now that you've seen it how excited are you to share it with people we are we are thrilled it's going to be amazing uh people are going to love it it it's seeing seeing some of the games all-time great telling stories about their time in the city playing the game but as as we've mentioned celebrating the people and the tradition of new orleans

Good stuff. I'm really excited to see it. There's a trailer out if you haven't caught that yet. But the Madden Cruiser and Bill Belichick and then this cast and crew of friends and lots of different people telling their stories and interacting. I can imagine it was quite the feat to get any of them together in the same place at the same time with their schedule. So looking forward to that.

Also on our Facebook page, a couple minutes to go here as we head up toward the top of the hour, 855-212-4227. Here's our latest sports update. With the Wealthfront Cash account, you can earn 4% annual percentage yield from partner banks on your cash until you're ready to invest.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast.

And now they go hurry up from the Browns 37. Burrow to throw. Here comes Garrett. It is Miles Garrett. Welcome to the 100 Club. He takes down Joe Burrow. 100 career sacks for the future Hall of Famer. Off the field, on the money, and after hours, it's time to talk football with Amy Lawrence.

on Brown's radio. We heard directly from Miles Garrett on Radio Row. On Wednesday, he was a guest on the Rich Eisen Show, which airs right here middays on the Infinity Sports Network. Why now did he request the trade out of Cleveland? Just looking at

Kind of the trajectory of the team, talking to some of the higher-ups. And I have a lot of respect for them, but I just don't think we're aligned on where the team is going in the near future. And I feel like the window for us as athletes is only so broad. And it only continues to close as years go by with...

anything be able to happen on that field from day to day. And I want to be able to go out there and compete at the highest levels day in and day out and playing for champions, like I said. He obviously wants to win a title. I think that's fairly clear. And he goes on to say he wants to be remembered as a winner. He's complimentary of Cleveland fans and certainly has given players

to this point, the best of who he is to the Browns. As I said earlier in the week, it just sucks that the decisions that were made in the front office has led to the point where this has become another domino that drops. And we went through and we counted the number of starting quarterbacks during his eight years. He was drafted in, what did we say, 2017, right? He was the number one overall pick in 2017 when he was 22. Now he's getting closer to 30.

He's defensive player of the year just a couple seasons ago. First team, all pro, three, four times in his career. He's one of the, if not the best, defensive player in the league. I can understand why the Browns don't want to let go of him. At the same time, they have no one to blame but themselves. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence.

We counted 14 quarterbacks and four different head coaches. Does that include interims? Was it Greg Williams? Greg Williams, who did not get the gig, but took over when they fired Hugh, right? Was that when they fired Hugh? And then what about the Freddie Kitchens? The Freddie Kitchens era, if you will. Very short-lived. I kind of feel like...

Four head coaches is fewer than I expected. But the quarterbacks, the number of quarterbacks, and obviously they play on different sides of the ball, but we talk about it all the time here on the show. Constant change equals constant losing in sports. And that is where the Browns have found themselves other than those few years with Baker Mayfield when there was more stability at the position.

It stinks. I hate this for Browns fans. I kind of hate it for Miles Garrett too, but you don't have to look far to know where to point fingers. 855-212-4227. Oh, one more here. Miles actually said he reached out to LeBron James to ask for wisdom. What a transition, you know, looked like for him. You know, what was his thought process going into it before, you know, he left Cleveland and, you know, just making sure I made a logical decision, taking my time and,

And, you know, just trying to take away the pressure of doing something like that. On the Rich Eisen Show, Miles Garrett. We heard from a D.C. caller in our first hour. Reese

well, he was in Maryland, but he's a commanders fan. Reese in Maryland. He was breaking the news that in fact, the commanders have orchestrated a trade for Miles Garrett and even had the numbers, the contract extension, all of that down. He said he and his ex-wife, they had the same idea and then, wow, the commanders pulled it off. So,

So if in fact that happens today, someday soon, just know that Reese in Maryland and his ex-wife were the ones that concocted this idea. Now, Miles...

was asked about, this is an SI interview, correct? Miles Garrett was asked about potentially joining forces with what is the IT team right now, the Commanders, and this was his response. I thought about the squads that could use a guy like me. I think the Commanders is definitely amongst one of them. They need a pass rusher. I think that's something that they dearly miss down there in the playoffs and some of the big games. And I feel like I can fill that role, but know that at

That's a role that multiple teams need. I feel like not only a pass rusher, but I think I'm the best defensive player in the game. I feel like that's invaluable in itself.

Good cut. Good cut there from Sports Illustrated. And you hear Miles say, yeah, there's a bunch of teams that could use it. But the commanders, pass rush, could get a beef up. And I feel like I'm one of the best in the game. Hey, speaking of best in the game, what a pivot. What a segue right there. Today is when we find out about the Hall of Fame inductees for 2025.

I don't know. He might be the most controversial member of the finalists, the group of finalists. I don't know if Eli Manning's a first ballot Hall of Famer, but brace yourselves because he is going to be a Hall of Famer. I could make a case for Eli without any doubt, but people get so upset about him getting into the Hall of Fame. Not sure why. Will you be more or less upset if Phillip Rivers also gets into the Hall of Fame and doesn't have a Super Bowl ring?

He needs to get in. He's top 10 all counting stats. Yeah, he absolutely is. And Eli is as well. Plus he's got great longevity and two Super Bowl rings in which he was instrumental in helping the Giants win those. People get very upset about Eli Manning. Just I'm saying, brace yourselves. There are some surefire shoe-ins that you just are, you know, you just know we're going to be in. So we'll have the Hall of Fame announcement. And aren't the NFL

honors tonight as well? Yes. Okay. Now, as for us, we've got conversations. This is kind of interesting. Set up with Vernon Davis, one of the great tight ends of the recent generation of the NFL. And he is hosting the longest tailgate on Saturday in partnership with Smirnoff. So he's in New Orleans getting ready to party. I wonder if he's going to watch all 67 hours of pregame coverage tonight.

I just got this post from our friend Nohemi. I'll watch less than an hour, but if the Cowboys were playing all 67 hours, maybe that's the thing. If it's your team, you're ready to consume all of it. Vernon Davis, this Johnny Damon. I was as surprised as you were. I haven't heard that name in a long time, but he's also in New Orleans.

Former World Series champion with the Red Sox and the Yankees, but he's retired now. He's got a brand new sports drink. It's called A-Game, and there's a story behind it. So we'll talk to both those guys from New Orleans coming up a little bit later on this Thursday.

Let's see, Brandon's in Chicago. Just a couple of minutes, Brandon. Welcome to After Hours. Hi, I called in before and offered to get some infrared images from the satellite as far as your light problem. Thank you. And you show up, you get your, what's his name, Jim?

Joe, Joe. Sorry. With one of those huge checks, you get a person with a camera and some balloons. It doesn't matter what you write on the check. You could write on neighborly illuminators on there, and they will open the door and ask questions later, I promise. So go to the neighbor with a gigantic cardboard check and see how quickly they open up the door, right? Well, she may need a minute to put her wig on, but she will open that door, I promise.

Okay, Brandon, go. You got like 60 seconds. I was thinking, how about possibly taking

taking the season off with the Pro Bowl? Do you take away a preseason game? And I mean, the starters only play a series or so anyway. And I don't know, it's just a horrible idea I have. Okay, gotcha, Brandon. Thank you so much for your phone call. Meaning take away another preseason game to expand the regular season to 18 games, which is part of the proposal. Yes, we'd be down to two preseason games. I think he also said get rid of the Pro Bowl.

Or stage it in the beginning of the season? Early? I don't know. Early. It's like a preseason Pro Bowl thing. Right. They'll never change that because the thing is...

Guys don't want to play in it if they have to in any way risk another potential injury. And so they've tried a bazillion ways to fix their Pro Bowl problem. They've changed the format now. It's not actually a game now. It's flag football and trivia. They've done so much to it, but it's the same as every other league runs into with their all-star games. They just don't hold the same interest, especially when the guys that are playing in the biggest game of the year aren't available or guys big out.

because of injuries. So yes, we've got the NFL honors, the Pro Bowl announcement, not Pro Bowl, that doesn't matter. The Hall of Fame announcements coming up later on today. Thanks again for your response to my new blog post, 12 lessons learned in 12 years of after hours. Here's the question. How in the world did I survive 12 years of working overnight? It is a lot. I don't know what's

More challenging, 12 years of After Hours or 67 hours of Super Bowl pregame coverage. But you can take our poll. It's now up on Facebook as well. So at ALawRadio and then After Hours with Amy Lawrence, we will wrap up the work week tonight. Big happenings plus a big show announcement as well. We'll talk to you then. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on the Infinity Sports Network. Boom!