12-31-24 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: HOUR TWO
39:59 Share

Oh, it's such a clutch off-season pickup, Dave. I know, right? I was worried we'd bring back the same team. Oh, no, I meant those blackout motorized shades. MVP of the room. Blinds.com made it crazy affordable to replace our old blinds. Hard to install? No, it's easy. Even you could do it. Nice. I installed these and then got some for my mom, too. You fly across the country to do the install? Nope. Blinds.com can do it all. All she had to do was pick what she wanted.

She talked to a design consultant for free and scheduled a professional measure and install. Look at you, a Hall of Fame son. Oh, I just picked the winning team. They're the number one online retailer of custom window coverings in the world. Oh, Blinds.com is the GOAT. The GOAT.

Shop Blinds.com right now and get up to 40% off select styles, plus a free professional measure and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Save up to 40% at Blinds.com. Blinds.com. Rules and restrictions may apply.

Ah, can't you see it? The world powered by solar and renewable energy. Here at Graybar, with years of renewables experience, we live in that world. Get in touch to see for yourself. We are now ready to depart. Book your visit at graybar.com. Yep, Graybar does that.

The National Sales Event is on at your Toyota dealer, making now the perfect time to get a great deal on a dependable new SUV, like an Adventure Ready RAV4. Available with all-wheel drive, your new RAV4 is built for performance on any terrain, from the road to the trails.

And with plenty of passenger and cargo space, plus available tech like wireless charging, you and your entire crew can stay connected. Or check out a stylish and comfortable Highlander with three spacious rows of seating for up to eight passengers. And with available features like the panoramic moonroof,

You can sit back and enjoy the wide open views with your whole family. Plus, both RAV4s and Highlanders are available in hybrid models. So no matter your style, you can drive efficiently and save on gas. So visit your local Toyota dealer and check out amazing national sales event deals on RAVs, Highlanders, and more when you visit buyatoyota.com. Toyota, let's go places. Hard to believe just three hours left in the 2024 edition of After Hours. But man, we have crammed a lot.

into this year. Uh, I don't know if we'll call it a milestone year or I wasn't celebrating a milestone birthday like LeBron James, but we had a lot of fun and we're navigating it. Another crazy NFL season, which will wrap up next weekend, which is why we work. Plus we've got the college football playoffs on the horizon with the quarterfinals coming up in the next few hours. So glad to celebrate with you. Happy new year's Eve, Eve, and,

to those of you who celebrate. You can find me online at ALawRadio, also on our Facebook page, a spot there to share some cool experiences, maybe the coolest place you traveled in 2024. And thank you so much for all of your support and encouragement over the course of the year. Really,

It would be no fun at all without your interaction and without knowing how much you appreciate the radio show. Always blown away by that whenever there's an opportunity for you to wish us a happy holiday, a merry Christmas or happy birthday, happy anniversary, whatever it is. Now it's a new dog, a new family edition, and you guys are all in, which means a lot to me because I know you care about me more than just me.

a radio host or as a radio host. So it's after hours with Amy Lawrence, our phone number, 855-212-4227. Love to work in some phone calls in these next three hours since I'm taking off New Year's Eve, but you all are going to have to wait because our friend Michael Duarte of NBCLA is jumping on as our final guest of 2024. What do you think about that, Mike?

I am so excited to be joining you on the, I guess, the ultimate, the final show before 2025. So it is very exciting, and I think it's a fitting way to end the 2024 year based on the 2024 year just you and I have had in sports and with each other. So I'm very excited to join you. And I know you're fresh off an L.A. media party. What was that like?

It was open bar for the first few hours, so I'm glad that I had some time to recover before jumping on with you. But it was a nice way to ring in the air. I mean, you know this more than anyone, Amy, especially when we get together during Super Bowl weekend. It just seems like the entire media landscape is...

all collides uh... wherever the super bowl location is on radio row whatever convention center in whatever united states city we happen to be at uh... so l_a_ media is is big obviously the second largest market outside of new york where you are

But it's actually really small when you get into it. It's the same people you see at stadiums and arenas and fields throughout the year. So to kind of, you know, give each other hugs and toasts and cheers and say goodbye to that following year that we just all spent together covering all these sports and getting ready to bring in the new year, it's very exciting to do that. And that's what this was all about tonight.

Wow. What a cool concept. I don't think I have ever heard of something like that in another media market. So that's awesome where you guys all compete during the course of a year for different stories, different highlights, different scoops. And yet you come together and can toast to a job well done. So that's pretty cool. When you think about this year that was in sports, what will you remember about it? What will you take away?

Well, it's funny because I saw your question for the best place you traveled to or the best experience for 2024. And so I'm going to answer your question by also answering that question, which you essentially asked your audience out there. So for all your listeners out there, Michael Duarte here in L.A., the answer to the best place I traveled, the best experience I had for 2024 was being in New York City with Mello in studio with you.

to not only get the chance to spend some time with you in your element, which I love, in your comfort space, doing what you do best, doing what you're most talented at, doing what God's gifted you to do, but being able to let you see Mello and experience Mello and just how, I guess...

friendly, calm, cool, collected, cute, adorable, insert adjective here, mellow is, and to get to the experience, that was my favorite. Now, I would be reminiscent to also add the fact that we were there because the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium last

to win the world series no more asterisk no more cove it's no more bubble no more talk to the mickey mouse championship uh... that was also a good part of it because the team i've been covering for the last decade they've never wanted a full one hundred fifty two games even until this year so to be able to culminate all of that with you would with mellow of course my baby my child but then have you bring a new addition to your family to cut it get to experience that love as well for you especially with

the hard year you've been through with Penny and everything. That to me was my favorite trip, my favorite experience. Followed secondly, to Mello and I going to Machu Picchu earlier in the year. What? If you've never been there, to be able to go with Mello is just... I shouldn't be saying this on air because the people who run Machu Picchu Park told me not to let anyone know that Mello got in there. But that part aside...

To go to Machu Picchu with the history there, it's a magical place. I can't tell you the energy there. The vibe is just totally different. So getting to experience that with Mello is a close second to being in New York City with you to watch the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series at Yankee Stadium. Oh, I love that. Michael Duarte, NBC LA, sharing some of his 2024 memories. Yes, we adore Mello, which means I need to ask how she's doing as we wrap 2024.

So she was right next to me. I don't know where she just went. She was just sitting next to me. She's doing amazing. We just got back from San Diego where I'll say me and Mello trying to keep up with a two-year-old. My niece is two years old. Her name is Piper Rose. We had to keep up with her all Christmas break. And then my sister went to go work at the Rose Parade. I don't know if you guys know in Los Angeles we have the Rose Parade every year on New Year's Day. So her company, the San Diego Zoo, has a float this year.

And so she went to go volunteer to work on that float for two days. And you have to be 12 or older to work on the float. So I had to babysit a two-year-old for the last two days with Mello. We are exhausted. We are spent. Like we cannot keep up with a two-year-old. I don't know how these two-year-olds do it. They're like Energizer bunnies. They don't stop. So yeah, Mello and I are a little exhausted from that over the last two days, but otherwise we're really good and we're excited for 2025 and

what adventures and fun times and memories and experiences that will bring.

Agreed. That's the neat thing about a new year. But it's also fun to stop and look back, which we're doing with Michael Duarte in L.A. And Mello, if you missed it, first of all, she was awesome. Second of all, there are a ton of pictures out there on our social media and her facial expressions. She knew exactly what was happening and that she was the star of the show, which is why it was so much fun to have her. And yes, Michael is... I was just looking back at our text chain yesterday

and realizing that I had sent you photos of multiple dogs over the past couple months that we, one that we even fostered, a couple different dogs that we were trying. Flower turns out to be from a Texas kill shelter, and so we're honored to give her a home. And boy, she's already got a ton of personality. So maybe, just maybe, Mello and Flower will have a chance to meet at some point in

But yeah, dog's a definite theme from 24. And also getting older, right? Because you talk about chasing a two-year-old around. It's not easy. That definitely comes into play the older you get. And that is a perfect segue to LeBron James celebrating his 40th birthday. Michael, when you think about LeBron and the personality that he is, I know he didn't start his career in LA, very much ingrained there now, though. Over a few years of

covering him. What's that like?

It's been very interesting, Amy. You know, I was fortunate enough and blessed, and when you get to the end of a year like this, and it's right before the new year, you do kind of reflect back on things. And I am so grateful for the job I have, the life I live, and part of that was getting to cover Kobe Bryant at the tail end of his career and seeing kind of what true greatness is like, especially at the end of the year where Kobe went out of his career

mamba mentality. I'm going to just be honest, he was a little bit of a jerk early in his career with the media, but to become more of the elder statesman, the storyteller, where he was able to kind of sit and let media in and talk to them and share some of his experiences and stories. And I got to be at that part of it, and I got to have some deep heart-to-heart conversations with Kobe. So get to experience that and

and then transition to LeBron James, who arguably is maybe more in the GOAT conversation to Michael Jordan than Kobe Bryant was, to get to see him now at the tail end of his career. And it's a little different. I mean, LeBron and I have a good relationship. We have good conversations, especially when it comes to wine.

but to get to watch him now play with his son, right? Which nobody in NBA history has ever done. Not only that first game a few months ago, when they opened the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves and they checked in at the same time in the second quarter to watch that and then watch all of the other players in the league. I know a lot of people want to hate on the nepotism here, but any athlete who has its child, who has a son and look,

As someone who doesn't have a child, a human child, as you understand, Amy, to be able to go through the last week or so with my two-year-old niece, in fact, the last 48 hours, I have so much more respect for anyone who's had a child and gone through these terrible twos and through the infancy phases, just how much work and effort and care and caution and time and patience it takes. I have a newfound respect for that. So anyone who's had a son or a child who's an athlete,

who would tell you they would not relish the opportunity to get to play the sport and take the court or the field with their son in this case, it would be lying to you if they said that's not something they would love to do and think about. So the fact that LeBron James is now able to do that here at age 40, even when Bronny doesn't check into a game, they're there, they're celebrating, they have their handshake together, they go through practices together, they go to work together. Those things just to me would just be so special. And so to see LeBron in this year,

get to see that. It's like seeing a different side of him, right? I can tell in talking to him, he knows the end is near. I'm talking about the end of his career. He knows it's on the horizon. He's not as obsessed with having to win championships or do whatever it takes to get there. I'm sure he would love to end his career that way and love to win another title. I think he's doing a little bit more of...

what we call proverbially smelling the roses as he goes soaking it all in taking it all in whether it's this year and next year uh... the ended night for for lebron james and he definitely taking it into the other experience it from him and be in the l_a_ market uh... from

a guy who traded away all the young guys to get Anthony Davis to go win a championship in the bubble, which they did, to see that quest, that competition, to try to get back to the mountaintop, the pinnacle of the NBA, and that's to win a title, to now see him at this year try to soak it all in and spend time and be able to spend time doing what he does best with his son has just been kind of exciting and special to see and witness live.

So Jack is back in our control room and we've got a LeBron cut from earlier on Monday. We want to play for the audience, but also for you, Mike, because he was asked about his future and how much longer he might be in the NBA now that he's reached the ripe old age of 40. I don't know. I really have to give myself an opportunity to kind of look at it in retrospect. He's been living in the moment and

Very grateful for the opportunity to still play the game that I love and my career. And, you know, still be able to commit to this franchise, come up to my teammates and go out there and just play the game that I love and play. So, you know, it's still been very fun to go out there. You know, even at this point in my career. A bit of what you were talking about, living in the moment, smelling the roses. Now, he did go on to say he could play for five to seven more years. Not that he will, but that he could play.

I'm sure he gets asked the question at least once a day, if not more than that. I don't know. What do you think as a guy who covers him?

Yeah, LeBron James is all about legacy. He wants to leave the biggest impact on the NBA. He wants to leave it to the next generation. I heard what he had to say today, and yes, I've noticed that before you and I even talked about it. I've noticed that he's been relishing the moment, living in the moment, trying to enjoy everything here as we head into this final year. He didn't want to miss any games, but he realized

You know, at his age, to be able to carry it on 40 minutes a game, 82 games in a season, it's just not realistic to be able to play at your best. And so being able to take days in between or a day here or a day there, he was able to get a week earlier off when the NBA Cup was going on, which the Lakers weren't –

fortunate enough to advance to like they were last year where they won it. To be able to give that extra time to keep his body fresh and be able to play at his best, which is really hard to do at this league, especially at an elite level as LeBron is still able to do in year 21 at the age of 40 is just absolutely remarkable. But yes, I think his point is physically, he's

He's playing at such a high level that if he wanted to play another four, five, six, seven years, he could. And he could just absolutely stun everybody as far as what he's able to do at that age. But the biggest question for him is why, right? What is the motivation to put your body through that, to put your body through the recovery, the rehab that you have to do, everything that you have to do to play at your best?

And he has every single record in the NBA. When he's all said and done, he might literally be at the top of every single record list. He just recently passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for minutes played for field goals. I mean, there's no record that he doesn't currently have or isn't going to have

So that is just why I could see maybe if there's a possibility that he could play with Bryce also and become the only player in NBA history to play with not only one son, but two sons. Now, not saying Bryce would end up on the Lakers either, but that's maybe something that he might want to be interested in doing to see if he can stick around to play with Bryce as well. Just being the father that he is much.

proud he has for his son. Bryce isn't too far behind. I think maybe two more years he'd have to do that. I'm just not sure, right? So right now for LeBron, it's being able to enjoy this moment, playing with Bronny, seeing if they can win a championship. Obviously, it's made a major trade, trading away D'Angelo Russell and Maxwell Lewis to bring in Dorian Finney-Smith from Brooklyn. I think that's a precursor to maybe some more moves. The Lakers, I think, are currently in seventh right now in a tie. They're just like

two games in the win column out of four. So, you know, they're there in the hunt. I don't know if they're as good as the Boston Celtics, who's everyone's favorite to repeat this year, but if they're in the championship conversation and they consider themselves a championship contender, then he's there to chase titles. But outside of that, I don't know what else LeBron has to prove or has to play for. So it's just going to be looking for that motivation to him, his own motivation to want to continue to play and take the court. And that's when he doesn't have that

motivation anymore, the mental side of things, not the physical, I think that's when he decided to hang it up. Because I think from that quote you just played, that clip, he's saying physically he could go five, six, seven more years, but mentally how long is he going to be able to do it or even more so have the motivation to do it?

Interesting, because we heard something similar from, say, a top...

Plus, the first Fed decision of the year. Get ahead of the game. Listen to CNBC on the Odyssey app.

Tom Brady, or even from an Aaron Rodgers. Now, I think people would dispute that, but he talked about how he could play until he's 60, right, with his arm. It's just about whether or not the rest of him can keep that up. And Tom Brady talks, too, about when he was still in shape, he could still go out there and sling it. You'll hear that from a lot of different athletes who are at the top of their games, and yet it's the...

not just the desire, but the ability to go through the mental grind of a season that takes pretty much everything you've got. I mean, we as media cover the NFL and it's the six month process. Well, it's really a year long sport now, but it's all consuming. Can't imagine being a player, an athlete, a coach, anything,

And you put so much more time and energy into it, not to mention the physical exertion. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence, Michael Duarte of NBCLA. Fresh off the LA Media Party to join us for a couple of minutes, our final guest of 2024. We're going to pivot. I know that Matthew Stafford is not 40 years old, but he is one of the elder statesmen in the NFL at his position. He'll be 37 or older.

on Super Bowl Sunday. I didn't realize that until a little while ago. But yeah, he'll turn 37. No, no, it's Super Bowl weekend. Excuse me. Super Bowl weekend. He'll turn 37. And so he's one of those guys that kind of represents a different generation in the NFL. And yet you can see the production that he has with younger weapons on his offense. And here they are as NFC West winners again this season. But

What stands out about their accomplishment in getting back to the top of the division, Michael? A lot stands out, Amy. First of all, the Rams have been hotter than a Dura Flame over the last 11 or 12 weeks. Winners of five straight, nine of 11. What does stand out to me is

They are the only team, I believe, in NFL history to be below 500 during their bye week in the last two seasons and then go on to make the playoffs. This year, as you mentioned, winning the division the first time since 2021 when they did go on to win the Super Bowl. So to go from that 1-4 start...

And I think they had something like a 4% chance to make the playoffs after starting the season one and four to winning the NFC West in a division that had the Superbowl

and if the representative in the forty niners uh... and improved the octane improved cardinal team is really remarkable at the testament not just a matthew stafford and the durability that he's been able to show throughout the course of his career playing hurt getting knocked down over the time but also the sean mcveigh because you could be briefly when they have to that one in four star cooper cup was hurt to connect to a was hurt half of the offensive line was hurt their starting safety was hurt you could be

a situation where you just kind of throw in the towel and try to get through. And if you look at teams like the New York Giants, the New York Jets, the Dallas Cowboys even, you can see how easy it is to give up when you're faced with adversity like that. And it's just so daunting and hard to come back. But there was a meeting a few weeks ago, I'm trying to remember, where...

when exactly it was, after which week. But I think it was right before this five-game winning streak, to be honest with you, probably after they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles at home on Sunday Night Football at SoFi Stadium. And Sean McVay had a meeting with his entire team at the facility, and he put up a sign that said, I think it was like 38 days. And it was like, this is how much time we have left in the season. 38 days.

And he challenged every single player, all 55 men on that roster, and said, can you give me every single thing you've got for the next 38 days? Because that's all that matters. That's all the time we have left together.

And they rose to that challenge, especially you can see from watching it on the defensive end of the ball where they're a very, very young team. They are much improved on that side of the ball. And that, to me, if you go all the way down to this last win against the Arizona Cardinals when they had back-to-back interceptions and with less than three minutes left to win that game, it just shows that

The defense has matured along the way over the course, holding the 49ers on Thursday night football to six points, holding the Jets to nine points and the Cardinals to nine points. Outside of that 42-point allowance to Buffalo in a game they won, I might add, the defense has played absolutely spectacular here over this recent run. And so I really think that they...

They've grown and matured over the years. I think their confidence is super high heading into the postseason. And so I think it was that challenge by Sean McVay to tell everybody, give me everything you got for the next 38, 39 days and see what we can do. And they've won off five straight since then.

And now we're looking at a situation where they're going to be hosting, unlike last season where they snuck in as a wild card, they're going to be hosting a first-round playoff game. Whether that is Detroit, Minnesota, Washington, or Green Bay, they're going to be hosting. And if it's a rematch with Detroit, I don't know. I like that matchup maybe with the Rams this time, especially how beat up Detroit is with some of the injuries they have. If it's Washington...

I wasn't convinced by that overtime victory. Congratulations to Washington and Jaden Daniels, who I think is the rookie of the year this year. But I think the Rams might be able to beat Washington at home. Now, if it's Green Bay or Minnesota, I'm not as sure, but...

Regardless, you hold your fate in your hands, and everybody has to come into this whole chant at SoFi Stadium. Whose house? Rams' house. So whatever team comes in, Amy, they're coming into the Rams' house for a first-round playoff game. And I wouldn't bet against this team the way they're playing, the way Sean McVay has coached this year, and to your point, at 37 years old, Matthew Stafford, who, you know, the last two seasons, Amy, everyone's been saying it's time for the Rams to trade Matthew Stafford and move on. Stop it. He keeps proving all the doubters wrong.

And what we've seen this year is when you give him his full complement of weapons, when you give him a capable running back in Kyron Williams that can eat up yards and set up the pass, when you have a healthy Cooper Cup, a healthy Puka Nakua, a Demarcus Robinson, they just got Tyler Higbee back.

who's been a helpful weapon for Matthew Stafford as well. When you do that and you give him an offensive line that can actually keep him upright, then Matthew Stafford is showing you what he can do in this last stretch of 11 games since the bye week where they've won 9-0 of 11. And I wouldn't bet against the guy, especially because you said he's one of those older guys in this league, and he's still been able to do it at a high level.

Well, and I love the fact that we've got some older guys still at that position, but others too, where they've seen and experienced pretty much everything there is. And that applies to Matthew Stafford because he is a Super Bowl champion. He understands as he shares that perspective with the locker room. This is what we need from you. This is all we've got left.

if you put it in perspective like that, it maybe becomes easier to navigate when you're mentally and physically worn down. What a great story. Thanks so much for sharing that perspective. I don't think it's any surprise as people listen to us, Mike, that we could easily do four hours and we did that a

A couple of times over the course of the fall, which was no problem whatsoever. All right. So we'll do it again early in 2025. But thank you for being not just our final guest of 24, but one of our favorites and bringing our first ever canine guest into studio with Sweet Mellow.

Absolutely. And hopefully you will get to bring in your new member of the family in the studio here in 2025 soon. I'm looking forward to that show. And hopefully we'll all get to see each other soon, whether it's, I don't know, at the Super Bowl or beyond. I'm looking forward to that. So have a great show and a happy new year to you and your family and your new addition. Thank you so much, Michael. Happy new year to you and Mello. Don't forget our girl Mello. You too. Bye bye.

Good stuff with Michael. Again, no surprise that we could go on and on and we had so much fun. And if you did miss those photos, maybe I'll go back and see if I can find one and retweet it. Mello was such a great guest. She sat in a chair right next to me for the course of nearly four hours. I did get her down off a chair, wants to take her to our break room and she was getting some water. But man, I'm not sure I've ever met a dog so well behaved. She was awesome. And it was so much fun. And Mello,

No one from management was ever the wiser, though we did have a pass to get her into the building. But nobody ever said a word. I think Boomer Esiason was the only one who asked me whose dog was that in studio. And so now we've got a dog behind me, not quite a studio, but the after hours super secret pillow fort.

Every now and then I look back and she's got her eyes open and Flower is watching me and wondering, what the heck are we doing at this hour? I know she yawned a lot on Monday because she was awake for most of last night's show. And now, poor thing, she's going to be exhausted again. But she's awesome already. I've got a major indication that she has decided I'm her person. I'll have to share that with you. Plus...

We'll get to this at the back of the hour. If you haven't heard Doug Christie's introduction to Sacramento Kings fans, and I use my air quotations with introduction because Kings fans know him well, but not in his new capacity. So we'll throw in a bunch of different stuff as we wrap up our final show of 24. Tiger Woods also celebrating a birthday Monday. He turned 49 this

Think about the most recent few decades of sports or a couple decades even covering sports for me. There's never not been a LeBron or a Tiger Woods, which kind of blows me away as they're both into their 40s now. Glad to have you with us. Love your stories from 24. Keep them coming at ALawRadio and on our Facebook page. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

Good to have you with us. Final show of 2024 for me. Of course, there will be other hosts who will do shows between now and the actual last hours of 24. And a lot of times I work New Year's Eve just because...

when you leave the building on the morning of the first in New York City and our headquarters are in lower Manhattan, there is no traffic in New York as in none. Plus it's generally a good time of the year for both college and pro football.

So I've worked a lot of New Year's Eve. I'm not a big go out on New Year's Eve person. Although when you do go out, you got to be careful about people who might be driving under the influence. And so navigating the traffic on the way into the studio was always an okay trade off for what was a ghost town in New York in the morning.

but not in New York this time. And because I'm here with my mom, I thought it'd be fun. I haven't celebrated a New Year's Eve with my mom since I was a kid. And so this is going to be a lot of fun. I don't think we have any major plans for a New Year's Eve other than

We're going to do now for those of you who are Italian, you know, this tradition or if you've heard about it, the seven fishes on Christmas Eve. Okay, so it's a Christmas Eve tradition. But because my husband and I were at my mother-in-law's for his big family Christmas on the 24th this year, we didn't end up doing that Italian seven fishes dinner. Okay.

I don't think we're going to have seven for New Year's Eve, but I think we have three or four that we're going to be doing. So we kind of moved that dinner and that tradition to New Year's Eve. And then, of course, there's a ton of college football, the college football quarterfinals, the playoff quarterfinals on Wednesday, New Year's Day. So I will work on New Year's night, the night of the first, which will be my first show of 25, obviously, obviously, Captain Obvious.

And so get to talk about the college football playoff. And then actually on Thursday afternoon, we'll start our drive back to the Northeast. So had to navigate because we need a couple of days to be able to get home with two dogs and Princess Leia, who has been in the shop actually here in Texas.

That's a whole other story. But thankfully, we were able to get here and do all the driving back and forth from Temple to Houston before she died. First, her battery died. We got that jump started, but then had to get a new battery. And then there was this really loud whirring. Oh, my gosh. Almost like she was a twin engine Cessna. And it turned out to be some wheel bearings that had to be replaced. So we're thankful that that didn't happen on our drive down here or pre-Christmas.

because that would have been a lot more to handle and a lot tougher with the different family obligations we have. But she's fixed. We'll pick her up on Tuesday, or my husband will, and drive her back from Temple, and we should be good to go for our drive home.

Hearing from a lot of you as we wrap up our After Hours 2024. Again, there's one more show and I don't know who is working on New Year's Eve. I'm sorry, I don't know. I don't generally pay any attention to that when I'm not working. But I know it's good to connect with you these next couple hours. And of course on social media, at Amy After Hours, also on our Facebook page. We have an ongoing poll going.

for the NFL MVP, who is your choice for that? And we've also got a ton of your cool experiences and...

Maybe your favorite moments of 2024 that you're sharing with us now on both our social media sites. But I got to share this with you because we started this way back in September. Survivor Islands. Remember, we had an archipelago. I think four islands this year for everybody who participated in our NFL Survivor Pool.

I was out in week number one because I picked the Bengals against the Patriots. That'll teach me. I'll never do that again. Jack, do you do survivor pools for the NFL? I do not. I know people that do. I do not participate in any of them. Well, next year you're going to do it for after hours. You're going to need to. It's a requirement of working on the show.

Sounds good. So we had thousands of people who were in the pool with us, well, trying to stay out of the shark-infested waters and stay on the island. But a ton of us were wiped out in the first couple weeks, which is pretty standard. That's the NFL. We had two people, two, who were still standing going into this last weekend of football. Patrick in Florida...

who reached out to us on Facebook and Twitter, actually, to let us know that he was still alive. And Lauren, who was the other participant that was still alive. So Patrick kept us updated. Apparently, Lauren lost in week 17. And Pat in Florida was the last sole survivor, which is awesome.

So congratulations to you, Pat. You win the title of sole survivor this 2024 NFL season. But here's the exchange on our Facebook page. Oh, no. This went off the rails quickly. He says, let's see. Well, he needed Miami to win over the weekend, which happened. And when Miami won, he put on our Facebook page gluten free cookies for me.

rut row right into a brick wall. I do not have any recipes for gluten-free cookies. I've never made gluten-free cookies.

So I posted that and said to him, I don't know how to make them. And he said, no worries. My, my wife will love them, but I, I need to try to figure it out. So if any of you have any recommendations for gluten-free cookies, since he's the one that did the heavy lifting, he's the one that earned the title of soul survivor. I'm going to try to make gluten-free cookies. The problem is I don't know how good they're going to taste because

But I guess it'll be a new experience in 2025. So congratulations to Pat in Florida. You win our survivor pool this year. And true to form, I promised that I would bake cookies and send them to you. So we'll connect with you and we'll get that done early in the new year.

All right, 855-212-4227. Jack, by the way, tells me that it's Dave Smith who's hosting our New Year's Eve show, which will be the last one for After Hours in 24. Hearing from a lot of you on Twix and Facebook,

We're ringing in New Year's Eve.

I will not be with you on New Year's Eve this year. I was a year ago. In fact, my husband reminded me because I was trying to think this is crazy, right? It was only 12 months ago. This week, I was trying to think what did we do for New Year's Eve 2023? And he said we were in studio.

That's right. We had just moved back. Well, moved him, I should say, from Houston, Houston area to New Jersey. All of our stuff was in piles and boxes everywhere. The house was mass chaos. But we had returned from Texas with two vehicles, two dogs, a trailer. We had unpacked everything. And then I had to turn around and get into work on New Year's Eve, which was, if I remember correctly, it was a Monday, Tuesday.

No, no, it would have been a Sunday night. Yeah, Sunday night. So we kicked off a new year on Sunday night. And he was with me for the first time in studio and got to see what it was like. He's not a night owl. We're the opposite in that respect. And so it was a little tough for him because he was up all night in studio, but it was neat. So that was how we rang in the new year. We will not be doing that this year.

We're still in Texas at the After Hours super secret home base. He's still visiting his mom. I'm hanging out with my mom. We've got some fun meal plans for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. I think he's going to grill steaks on New Year's Day as a gift for my mom and her husband. But otherwise, pretty

Pretty boring. Some college football. That'll be fun on New Year's Day. But just enjoying last couple days of vacation, quote unquote. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on our Facebook page. A lot of you weighing in about the coolest places you've traveled this year or the coolest experiences of 2024. So I want to share a few of those and also online at Amy After Hours. All right. So I told you about the...

gluten-free cookies. That'll be a new experience for me in 2025. My husband and I have actually made initial plans for a beach vacation a week away in South Carolina in May. So that'll be cool as well. Mostly we wanted to be calmer.

a little less frenetic and chaotic than 2024, which is our first week of marriage, our first year of marriage. People tell me that the first year is the hardest, which, okay, glad to hear it because it had a lot of challenges. So reading some of your experiences, those make me smile. Terry on Facebook, best place for me, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, white sand beaches and crystal blue water. That's awesome. Um,

Let's see. Mike says London in the UK, my layover between Baltimore and Stuttgart, Germany. He says I got to ride the Elizabeth line, the tube, got to see Buckingham Palace, Westminster Palace, Elizabeth Tower with Big Ben and got to go to a pub. Oh, that's awesome. I've not been to London. I've been to other places in the UK, but not London. So, Mike, thanks for sharing that with us. Cam says Maui was amazing.

Cool. We also very much enjoyed New York City around the holidays last year, but I guess it's different when you work there. Oh, yeah, it's very different when you're in New York five nights a week versus once a year or once a lifetime. We had some family members visiting us from Texas over Thanksgiving week and we

brother-in-law and sister-in-law. They'd never been to New York. It had been a dream of hers. She's Colombian to visit New York City. And she was overwhelmed. They took more pictures than I think we took at our wedding. But she loved it. And it was really neat to be able to share that experience with her. Let's see. Cameron on Facebook said,

Finally getting to see a Major League Baseball game in person was something I'll never forget. Dodgers versus Reds in Cincinnati. His favorite experience of 2024. That's super cool. Richard says, went to this place called Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest. The most

isolated city quote unquote in the world definitely one of my favorite places now oh this is awesome and richard shared a photo with us on our facebook page you can go and check out this thread after hours with amy lawrence let's see rich my experience i was the dj for the animal refuge center casino event at a big hotel in estero florida awesome sounds like

a worthy cause. Patty drove from Illinois to New Mexico, then up to Ontario, down to Florida, back to Illinois. Lots of fun, but lots of driving. Patty, that sounds great. I love road trips. Much prefer road trips to flying, though, of course, not always practical. Sinclair, I hiked across the Grand Canyon in a day at the beginning of October, my fourth time in

I do it because it's a magical place. That's amazing. I've never done the rim to rim. We would like to go and do some hiking in some of the cool national parks in the West.

And mountain time zone, Pacific time zone. Hoping to do that sometime in the next couple of years. Let's see. Carlos on Facebook traveled up the Massachusetts coast to Rockport and Gloucester. Really beautiful place. Also went west to Utah, drove to Idaho. The beauty out there is amazing. Love those mountain views. Awesome. Jane on Facebook watching my twin 13 year old baby.

grandchildren play hockey on the same team, a boy and a girl. She's the only girl on the team and they check. That's awesome. Really cool. Let's see.

Craig, have been following you for years. This year my daughter got married just after you and your husband. So I've been following that. It was the best part of our year in 24. Oh, congratulations, Craig, to your daughter, new son-in-law too. That's awesome. Douglas shares a photo of San Diego. Always a great place to go. I've been to San Diego once. People say it's the best weather in the United States.

I prefer winter, actually. I'm wearing shorts right now in Texas, and I got a couple of bug bites in winter. No, that's the whole point of living in the Northeast, where the cold kills all the bugs. Let's see.

This is a radius. I think I said that right. Made it to Cali for the first time. Went to Disneyland. A lot of Chiefs fans the day we went. Only to realize later there was a small parade for the champions of the Super Bowl. Got to see Mahomes. Wasn't close enough to thank him for my first ever fantasy football championship.

That's awesome. All right, keep those coming. Coolest place you traveled or visited or your coolest experience of the last 12 months. This is my final show of 24, so a couple more hours to go. Always good to hear from you at ALawRadio as well. 855-212-4227. With Flower Power, who's sleeping and snoring, from the After Hours super secret home base. You're listening to After Hours with Amy Lawrence on the Infinity Sports Network.