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The Daily Gazette Company presents the parting Shots Podcast. Now here's your host, Daily Gazette Sports Editor Ken thank you Scott Gizzy, and welcome to the Parting Shots Podcast, available wherever you get your podcast. Subscribe today. Thanks for joining me from the Parting Shots Podcast Studio in Schenectady, New York. We have another great show for you and for one of the rare times on a Thursday we won't have any Union College men's or Women's hockey talk. The men are off this weekend. They just finished up exams on Tuesday. Of course you heard from Josh Halje on the head coach on Wednesday's podcast. And the women played Wednesday night at Vermont. They were off this past weekend, but they were at Vermont on Wednesday night and pulled off a one nothing victory. A Carrie Ann Engelberg goal with just over two minutes left to play. It actually had to go to video review. Her shot hit the back bar. Originally it was called off the crossbar, but about 55 seconds of lap before there was a stoppage in play. Then the referees looked at it and determined that the puck did indeed hit the back bar and the Union getting its first win ever against Vermont. The Garner Chargers were 020 before Wednesday's game, so big victory for them and they'll take on RPI Tuesday morning. Yes. 11am game at Houston Field House on Tuesday. So that should be a nice matchup and the two rivals getting together for the first of three meetings. But we'll have some more Union hockey talk next on next week's podcast. But a lot of great information coming up. Adam Schindler is going to wrap up the area college hockey season.
College football season. I'm sorry and spoiler alert not good. So we'll till wrap up Union and you Albany, even though you Albany still has one game left against Hampton on Saturday, we're going to call it a season for the area college football teams.
We'll talk some NFL Andrew Catalon, our good friend from CBS Sports, former News Channel 13 sports reporter and anchor. He's going to be calling the Giants Buccaneers game from Metlight Stadium on Sunday and we chatted with him about the state of the Giants and just on Monday announcing that quarterback Daniel Jones will no longer be the starter. It's going to be Tommy DeVito. We'll talk to Andrew about that decision and we'll go over to the other side of the MetLife Stadium with Deniz Wozak Jr. The Associated Press of covers of New York jets and the NFL does a great job. We're going to talk about the jets situation and I had arranged this interview late Sunday before anything happened with Joe Douglas, the general manager getting fired on Tuesday. So this is going to be a fun conversation with Dennis. We always enjoy having him on the program. Of course, he's like me, a great music lover. So maybe we'll chat some music as well. And then our buddy Ken Fang from from Awful announcing we're going to go over some of the latest media news, including inside the NBA will still have a life after Turner loses its portion of the NBA package next season. We'll talk about that. And of course Dave Sims being named the Yankees Raider announcer to replace John Sterling. So a lot to talk with Ken about the sports media business. So coming up, Andrew. No, not Andrew, but Adam Schinder. Well, join me. Will wrap up the area college football season for Union and New Albany. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
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[00:04:08] Speaker C: Hi, this is Daily Gazette reporter Chad Arnold. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season and a Prosperous and Healthy 2025.
[00:04:15] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast and yes, we are starting our holiday greetings for the 2024 season and we wish everybody a great holiday season. Of course, Thanksgiving coming up next Thursday. Well, the football season for area colleges Union and UAlbany. Just ours. Just about Overview Albany and it is over for Union.
Tough way to end the season for both teams not going well. And Adam Schinder, I want to play the sound effect the soya. Gwen.
[00:04:46] Speaker D: Pretty much, yeah. You can, you can sum up the way the season ended. The way this is gone, you know, for the last month and a half for you Albany and a lot of the season for Union with. With that noise.
[00:04:57] Speaker B: Well, let's start with Union. They lost the Dutchman Shoes game to RPI on Saturday and they had their chances. Adam three times in the red zone and came away at nothing.
[00:05:10] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean this was a 247 game that is in a lot of ways closer than that indicated. You know, between the 20s these two teams matched each other. RPI had a couple struggles getting on Union side of the field early in the game. They corrected those Union did not three times inside the 15 and they got zero points out of it. Their only score of the game, 67 yard pass. Beautiful pass play for a touchdown. One of the best throws I've seen Patch Flanagan make all season.
But when they, they couldn't run the ball and when the field condensed and they couldn't either get cushion or get receivers behind guys, they were in serious trouble. And nothing sums it up better than, you know, late second quarter, seven seven ball game. RPI has to punt from their own end zone and just kicks it straight up in the air. Lands, goes and caught in the wind. Union gets the ball at the 11 yard line. They go nowhere for a couple plays. They get a penalty, incomplete pass. 35 yard field goal attempt. No good. It's. They struggled inside the red zone all season long and it's what really ended up costing them their, their biggest rivalry.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: How disappointing is that for that to happen? Me, as you said, all that's been going on all season long and why did they never correct it?
[00:06:35] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean the running game struggled all year. And it comes down to they had a very inexperienced offensive line. They moved at a lot of freshmen playing big spots. A lot of us moving around during the, during the season.
Had Matt McCorkle, their left tackle from a year ago, who was one of the better left tackles in all Division three, had he come back for another season as one of the fifth year guys, that really could have helped them. He did not.
And it was just an offensive line that could not get their running game going. They had 2,000 yard backs a year ago, those two guys had less than a thousand yards between them.
[00:07:13] Speaker B: This season, the team ends up three and seven. And John Drock's first year, how would you assess his performance as the coach?
[00:07:22] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean this was such an uneven season. When they looked good, you know, the Rochester game, Buffalo State game, they looked, they looked very, very good. And with the, and they were competitive just about every time out. You know, the results against Ithaca and Hobart didn't really bear that out. They had a tough game against Springfield and then, you know, but you look at it, they should have beaten St. Lawrence. They had two touchdown lead in the fourth quarter, lost that game. And then they, you know, they had a really close loss to Montclair State.
This was a team that was closer to being, you know, 500 or better than their record. Looks like they just offensively were not consistent throughout the entire season. And defensively, just when your offense is putting you in that many tough spots, they could not hold up and keep teams off the board forever.
[00:08:18] Speaker B: Yeah, and they were 3 and 1 at home but 0 and 6 on the road and that obviously that hurts especially I think the St. Lawrence game may have been basically that probably end up killing the season. The way they lost that game, had a big lead and just didn't hold on to it. Lost in overtime.
[00:08:32] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean that was, that game pretty much scuttled any chance of making some noise in the Liberty League from the beginning. After that it's just. Okay, we played a tough heading into that game. It's, we played a tough road schedule. You know, three out of four on the road in the, in the non conference. That was one more road game to end that, that five game stretch to start the season. If they hold on there, all of a sudden they're, they're 2 and 3, they're 1 and O in the Liberty League they're going to be 2 and O with Buffalo State coming in next. And you're looking at a situation where hey, non conference didn't go great but we're getting some momentum. That game, you know, you can't say it definitively but it had to hurt that team's confidence for a little while and it was the game that really defined the season for them. You lose a two touchdown lead like that against a team that ended up really struggling in the back half of the season. St. Lawrence and it was a tough one. You know overall this is a season, it was going to be a building season. They lost a ton from last year, they're going to lose a ton again this year. But you know any football coach, especially at Division 3 where you're, you're not going through, you know, a ridiculous amount of the transfer portal.
This is a coach who had to put in his system with mostly another coaches, guys and they're good players. I mean especially on the defensive end. Union had a bunch of really good players. First team Liberty League selection Ethan Vanderbank, Cole De Silv. I had 120 plus tackles. The fact that he was not a first team all leagues selection kind of baffled me.
But you're trying to put in your offense with guys that you didn't recruit. You know, we'll see what happens. As guys he recruited this past year and guys he had, guys he's recruiting now start to come in.
[00:10:17] Speaker B: So gonna be another transition year the next year. The way you're talking, you don't know.
[00:10:22] Speaker D: I mean really, I really, I think it's, you're going to see closer to the identity of what a John Drock.
[00:10:28] Speaker B: Offense especially Looks like now that actually seven league games. Right. Because there's another team's coming in.
[00:10:34] Speaker D: Yes, Hilbert is coming in as a, I believe football only member of the Liberty League of you know, program that's only, you know, a handful of years into into playing football. Union played them last year, 2023 in one of the most lopsided football games that I've ever seen.
So that this is, it's a, it's likely a very tough schedule again next year. The hope reunion is it will be a home heavy schedule as opposed to a road heavy schedule.
[00:11:01] Speaker B: What will they need recruiting wise going into next season?
[00:11:06] Speaker D: I mean, first thing you need to recruit is offensive line. I mean they struggle on the offensive line and you can, you can never discount what a year of growth is going to do for guys. I believe at least four of the five offensive line starters are scheduled to come back. So at least you'll have continuity. You'll have a, you know, off season, another year of those guys gelling together.
And then I think you just want to recruit speed. I mean, you know, Gil Rivera kind of became the downfield threat late in that season really, you know, had back to back 100 yard games, three long touchdowns in those last two games. And then you want to find guys to complement them. You know, Robbie Tolbert's a really solid possession receiver but he's going to be, he's going to be leaving the, leaving the program after graduating. So yeah, you do that and then you want to see if you can get some, maybe a big play, you know, guy in the running game because you know, Michael Fiori and Jonathan Anderson were both, you know, guys who even, even in 2023 when they were both thousand yard backs were grinded out guys, you know, break tackle and make some plays. If they can get a game breaker back there in the backfield and restore the big play threat to the running game, all of a sudden they're going to really, really become a dangerous. Even the Liberty League after, you know, Hobart, you've got your Hobart, you got your Ithaca. After that it is, it's chaos every year.
[00:12:23] Speaker B: Anything any of the teams from the league can make some noise in the ncaa.
[00:12:27] Speaker D: I mean Hobart I assume is going to be the only team in the, in the tournament. I don't, I hadn't seen the, I did not see the field come up. And Ithaca would have been the only other contender because pretty much those were the only two teams the league finished above five, you know, above well above.500 overall. And Hobart's a really Good team. They're a physical, tough team, balanced. You know, they pretty much swept up all of the Liberty League awards. So they're, they're a dangerous team. You know, the Liberty League doesn't have the best track record in the last few years though. They'll get teams through a round or two, but when you start facing especially those, the, some of those, you know, Mid Atlantic and Midwestern teams, they are really, really tough.
[00:13:13] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, let's move over to UAlbany. They're going to wrap up their season Saturday with a home game against Hampton. And probably typical, the way the season goes, they had a 17 nothing halftime lead at Rhode island and lost 20 17. What happened there?
[00:13:28] Speaker D: Yeah, I mean, they started fantastically with their third different starting quarterback, freshman Van Weber, a kid they're really high on, played very well through 51 times in this game. You know, one of the better freshman performance, a true freshman especially that you'll ever see from a, from a UAlbany quarterback. And then, you know, they turn them all over a couple of times, Rhode island started coming back on them and even then after they'd given up the lead, UAlbany had a chance to tie the game. They got to at the eight yard line, got knocked back a couple of plays, but a very makeable field goal for John Opalco to send it to overtime. Blocked and special team, special teams in big situations have hurt UAlbany a handful of times. I mean, look, the Elon game earlier this year, they give up two kickoff returns for a touchdown. They've had games lost a couple years ago, I believe to Rhode Island, I believe a game that they lost because twice they couldn't get a hold done on field goal attempts. So it's just at some point you just, you just wonder, okay, are we, are we, you know, kind of, kind of, kind of cursed on special teams and they've had, they've had those, those, those issues over and over again. And yeah, that's just a typical of the way the season's gone. When you're, when things aren't going well, things like that happen.
[00:14:46] Speaker B: What do they have to do to get back to where they were last year?
[00:14:49] Speaker D: I mean, UAlbany just seems like it's cyclical as a team that kind of builds. They get the right transfer class in. You know, they've done that before. And then you've hit on a combination of guys. If Van Weber is the quarterback of this team moving forward, which, you know, there's a good chance he gets a shot at that unless they want to, you know, give Miles Burkett another shot next year or, you know, pull in another transfer quarterback from. From elsewhere. It's interesting, but there so many things are so fluid at that level, you know, outside of Villanova being very good. Yeah, the CAA is a complete crapshoot year in, year out. Delaware's, you know, on the way out to. To go and become an FBS team eventually. So the difference between good and bad in that league is not very much. And the difference going from good to bad or bad to good is not very much. It can easily happen in one year.
[00:15:44] Speaker B: Well, we'll finish this up with another Eagles victory last Thursday against Washington. A little struggle early on and Jake Elliott a little missed some easy field goals, missed an extra point. But you have Saquon Barkley in the backfield. Everything's all right when you have Saquon.
[00:16:00] Speaker D: Barkley in the backfield and you have Jalen Carter on your defensive line and Quinon Mitchell in the secondary. You know, you've got some. You've got some guys. And that's really been the remarkable thing. This is a, this has been the, you know, a clearly a tremendous Howie Roseman offseason this year. You know, not just the Saquon signing, but the clearly has hit on his first two draft picks, you know, made some. Made a terrific free agent signing in Zach Bond that became better than anybody could possibly imagine. It's funny because the second most profile free agent signing was Bryce Huff, who's kind of been a big zero and is now going to miss a few weeks with a wrist problem. But they've done that and they reinvented their offense and their defense after the early buy really helped this team. You know, if you're a fan, you kind of hate the early buy because, like, oh, we're just getting started and. But getting to buy off that really terrible performance in Tampa Bay, which you look back on it as a game where AJ AJ Brown, Devontae Smith don't play. It's 147 degrees outside. They walked onto that field expecting to lose. They lost. They changed things during the bye week and they've looked like an entirely different.
[00:17:16] Speaker B: Yeah, they play Sunday night at the LA Rams there and Sofi and Stadium in Inglewood. So that should be a lot of fun watching that Sunday night.
[00:17:22] Speaker D: Absolutely.
[00:17:23] Speaker B: All right. I appreciate all you did during the season and we'll do this again next season.
[00:17:28] Speaker D: Yes, we will.
[00:17:29] Speaker B: All right, that's Adam Schindler. We're going to turn to NFL Talk. We're going to speak with Andrew Catalan of CBS Sports and the former new Channel 13 sports anchor and reporter. He's calling the Giants Buccaneers game Sunday for cbs. So we'll talk to him about the benching of Daniel Jones. You're listening the Parting Shots podcast.
Hey pro football fans, it's time again to match which with other pro football fans and win a prize by playing the Daily Gazette's you pick em football contest. To play, go to dailygazetteprofootball.upickem.net and make your picture for the first game kicks off each week. If you have the most weekly points, you win a $100 Hannaford gift card. Play the Deli Gazette's yous Pick a Football contest today.
[00:18:22] Speaker C: Hi, this is Daily Gazette digital producer Stan Hooty.
[00:18:26] Speaker B: I would like to wish you a happy holiday season and a great 2025.
Welcome back to the podcast. The New York Giants are a mess. They have changed quarterbacks and they'll host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming off their bye week. And the man who will be calling the game for CBS Sports, our good friend Andrew Cow, former News Channel 13 sports anchor and reporter. Andrew, how you doing? It's been a while since we chatted.
[00:18:49] Speaker A: Yeah, Ken, always great talking with you. Happy early Thanksgiving. I know you're happy about your Eagles.
[00:18:55] Speaker B: Yes, I am.
[00:18:56] Speaker A: If we do or do not get into that, congratulations.
[00:18:59] Speaker B: Thank you very much. I thank the Giants for Saquon Barkley every day. Well, we'll talk a little bit about that. But first, before we started coming, before you came on the air, some breaking news. And you called the jets game against the Colts on Sunday on CBS.
The Colts won that game 28:27 with a late touchdown. The jets have fired general manager Joe Douglas. Your thoughts about that?
[00:19:23] Speaker A: Well, it was the last year of his contract, so I think that, you know, if you read the tea leaves, based on the change that the owner made with the head coach, you know, early in the season, you know, it kind of seemed like we were going to be headed for that with the GM as well. So I guess in this sense they get a head start on the move as opposed to waiting till the end of the year. Look, I don't think that anyone is surprised by the move. Maybe the timing of it is a little surprising that he didn't get till the end of the year. But clearly the owner wants to get a jump start on looking at, you know, the next candidate who will come in there. And it can't be a surprise to many. I mean, the team has just had really disappointed in a major way this year. I mean, you know, so many people thought that this was going to be the year that at least they got in the playoffs, ended that playoff drought, but didn't happen. I mean, for a variety of reasons, this team is looking at another long off season and they're going to have to start over again with a new head coach and GM as well.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, I talking with Both Dennis Wozak Jr. And John Warworth, his Associated Press, before the season, they thought this division could be wide open. Even John Morrow said the Bills were in a rebuilding mode and not bad rebuilding mode. You're running with the AFC East.
[00:20:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, you know, you know me. I do the Bills preseason games. And so I'm up there for most of the summer. And, you know, I think that that kind of fueled that talk, really fueled the Bills. They are a team that plays better as the underdog with the chip on their shoulder. And so many people were saying, oh, no, Stefan Diggs, they didn't really go out and get anyone to replace them. And, you know, the defense lost Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. And how are they going to overcompen, you know, compensate for that? You know, this team fuels on stuff like that. And what a performance they put up against the Chiefs this past Sunday. And, you know, I think that their GM, Brandon Bean, has done a wonderful job and Sean McDermott is doing probably his best job as a coach in his time with Buffalo. So, yeah, I'm not surprised that they're up there, but I am surprised that they don't have competition from the jets because I was in that group that thought the jets would be competitive as well.
[00:21:30] Speaker B: Of course, everybody thought Dolphins would be in, TUA got hurt and everything went south for them for a while. So that sort of helped the Bills as well. Do you get a Super bowl ring at the Bills win?
[00:21:40] Speaker A: That's a great question.
I would love one.
I have a feeling I will not.
[00:21:46] Speaker C: Get one, but I would absolutely love.
[00:21:48] Speaker B: Well, let's talk about the game you're calling Sunday on CBS. We'll be seeing on WRGB Channel 6 here in the capital region, 1 o'clock, the Giants taking on Tampa Bay. And Giants coming out of the by and just coming out as you know, of a mess of a season two and eight on the season. And on Monday, they announced that they're benching quarterback Daniel Jones in favor of Tommy DeVito.
Is this the end of Daniel Jones in New York?
[00:22:15] Speaker A: I think. I think it is. I mean, I think that everyone kind of knew the way that his contract was structured that if it wasn't a lights out type of season that they were going to cut bait with him. And it seems like they've decided to do that now. I'd be surprised if he played another game in a Giants uniform. I think that, you know, by making him the third quarterback, that that is kind of what they're telling you. He's not even the backup. That's going to be Drew Lock. So, you know, another tough year for the Giants.
They're going to have to be like the jets and start over again with a new quarterback. And you know, the owner has said he's not going to make any changes in terms of the GM and the coach, you know, this season in season, but you just never know what will happen after the year. So it'll be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out with DeVito. Obviously he's a fan favorite. The Giants aren't going to the playoffs, so maybe there's just a little bit of a spark that he provides. But in terms of Daniel Jones, yeah, I think that his time in New York is done.
[00:23:14] Speaker B: Of course, there's a lot of debate. You know, they end up getting a big contract and the Giants decided not to pay Saquon Barkley. And when, you know, all kidding aside with, you know, thanking the Giants for Saquon Barkley, do you think that move, you know, paying Jones money and not Barkley has come back to bite them?
[00:23:32] Speaker A: Oh, big time. Yeah, big time. I think if they could do it all over again, they would have tagged Jones sign Barkley.
I think that they would probably admit that as well. Look, you know, Saquon is a special talent and he really is a special person. You know, we were with him in Philadelphia a couple weeks ago. As you know, I did the Eagles Jaguars game and you know, he's a guy that you want to build your team around. I mean, he's a guy that you send out in the community and is the face of a franchise. Now they have a Jalen hurts as well, so they don't necessarily need that from Barkley, but he's going to provide that anyway. He's become an instant leader on that team.
We know what he can do on the field, but I think what he brings off the field in the locker room and in the community makes him even more of a rare special player in the NFL. And I think that the Giants sorely miss a guy like that. And you know, Tyrone Tracy has run the ball well for the Giants. This year. But made no mistake, Barclays, one of the best, if not the best running back in the league.
[00:24:29] Speaker B: Well, the Eagles also have a better offensive line than the Giants. I think what has really helped, you know, springboard Barkley's success this year, I mean, if the Giants had any kind of sums of an offensive line, he probably stays there.
[00:24:42] Speaker A: Yeah, no, I think that's a great point. And also he doesn't have to be everything. I mean, the Eagles can beat you in a lot of different ways, whether it's Hertz running or, you know, as you know, A.J. brown and Devonte Smith. And then they. There's a lot of different ways that Philly can beat you. So they don't need him to be Superman. Giants kind of needed him to be Superman behind that wounded offensive line. And it just really hasn't clicked the last few years. And you're seeing him thrive now in Philly.
[00:25:08] Speaker B: Of course, you called that Jaguars Eagles game, as you mentioned.
Can you still contemplate what he did? That leaping jump backwards? I mean, I was, I was out. I was with my son, a sports bar in Latham. When we were watching the game, we jumped out of our seat. That was an incredible move.
[00:25:26] Speaker A: It's unbelievable, Ken. I look back at that play and calling it live, you know, I thought the two spin moves before were super impressive. And then you see him jump up and you're calling the game from the booth and you oh, another great move. But that was one of the first times that when I, then I saw the replay, I was like, holy cow. The live action wasn't as good to me as the replay. The replay was what I, we all marveled at and will for, I think for a long, long time. Yeah, that was an incredible play. He claims he's done it before, but we, Jason McCourty, Tiki Barber and I, we've never seen anything like that in a game at that speed. And there's an unbelievable play by Bar.
[00:26:09] Speaker B: It's almost like he had eyes in the back of his head because he. There was no way he could have seen it. It's just amazing. I mean the reaction you saw, you know, if you saw, you know, memes and you know, posted videos of the Eagles bench has gone unbelievable. They couldn't believe it either. So getting back to the Giants, we. There's an article by Tom Canavan, the Associate Press late last week on the Giants buy and Joe Shane thinks the teams are heading in the right direction. Are they? I mean, it's 2 and 8 heading in the right Direction?
[00:26:39] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think that what Shane was probably trying to get across is that, you know, some of his rookies from the draft class this year have performed well. You know, now you look back at other draft classes and they haven't performed to the expectations, but, you know, Malik Neighbors seems to be the real deal, legit. Tyler Nubin's playing a ton of snaps at safety. Drew Phillips is also good on the cornerback side. Tracy appears to have been a steal late in the draft at running back. So. So I have to imagine that that's what he's pointing to when he sees that he's got a young nucleus that he feels they can build upon. But as we know in this league, it's all about the quarterback. And they didn't get it right with Daniel Jones. And if they're to make the next pick for quarterback, it's a move they have to get right. And, you know, the draft class doesn't appear to be as good as prior years that works against them. So are they going to have to get a Sam Darnold type, a Justin Fields type, or do they go young and try to build around a rookie qb? So there's a lot of decisions to be made in the off season, but I have to assume that when Shane was talking about heading in the right direction, he means that the play of his rookie class, which to his defense has played well this year.
[00:27:52] Speaker B: I mean, is Tommy DeVito the answer? I mean, I know he's, like you said, a fan favorite last year and all the chicken parm stuff and all that stuff, but realistically, is he the savior? I mean, is he the quarterback going forward into next season?
[00:28:06] Speaker A: I'd be surprised if that's the case. I mean, I think that he may be able to provide a spark, as Brian Dable said this year, just to try to get them going, get them a little life. But I can't imagine that he's, you know, he could be on the team next year. He could be the backup quarterback next year. But I would think that after the last several years with Jones, the Giants are going to look for a bigger name or to build around a younger quarterback for next year. But hey, never know if he. If he plays lights out, you know, maybe he becomes their guy. But I got to think that on this day right now, that's not what they're intending for 20, 25.
[00:28:44] Speaker B: Well, here's the issue, though. Do you mean if he sparks them, they start winning games, that affects their draft position? Dude. I mean, that's. It's one of those things you want to, you know, please the fans. But I think the fans, you realize maybe it's better off you just lose the rest of these games and get, get into a position where you have a high draft pick instead of, you know, trying to go mediocre for a couple games below.500 in the season. Doesn't make much sense.
[00:29:06] Speaker A: Well, I think the fan has every right to feel that way. But when you know you can't do that with a team, you would lose the locker room. I mean, there's guys out there who want to win, who are busting their butt, who don't care about the draft pick. I mean, if you ask the 53 guys on that roster, none of them are thinking about the draft position for the Giants next year, nor should they. I mean, they're getting paid to go out there and make a name for themselves and make money for themselves this year. So you can't lose the locker room. You know, tanking doesn't, doesn't work in the NFL. You would have mutiny on your hands. So, you know, I do believe that the fan probably wants them to lose these games, but there's nobody in that organization, in that building that would want that because you can't run a team that way.
[00:29:51] Speaker B: I mean, do you feel, I mean, you mentioned it, but do you feel that Brian Dabel is safe at this point? I mean, can he be blamed for any of this?
[00:30:00] Speaker A: You know, safe might be a strong word, but if you're asking me if I believe in Brian Dable, I'd say yes. Getting to know him from his time in Buffalo and then calling some Giants games the last few years, I mean, I think he has proven track record developing young quarterbacks. Didn't work with Daniel Jones. We know that. And certainly Brian Dable is not innocent in the struggles of this team the last few years. But you know, Ken, I'm kind of in that camp now where starting out with the young, hot coordinator isn't the way the Giants need to go or really the way the jets should go, either next year. I think that both these teams need someone who has coached games before in the NFL. So for the Giants, that could be keeping a Brian Dable, and for the jets that could be someone else who's not a first year head coach. I don't think that's necessarily what that team needs either.
[00:30:51] Speaker B: There's a guy out there, I think he's won a couple Super Bowls. Bill Belichick.
[00:30:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I've heard about him.
[00:30:57] Speaker B: Although he seems to be Enjoying. He seems to be enjoying himself in the media, which to me, he has that dour personality as a coach. But you see him interviewed away from football or even NFL when he's not talking his own team. He seems to be a genuine, enjoyable person. Can enlighten you with things.
[00:31:17] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, I think that what's interesting is that, you know, the times that I had a Patriots game with Belichick as head coach, we do our production meetings and he was fantastic. I mean, he would go on about the history of the league and he would get so in depth about, you know, the way his team practices or a moment in time, you know, historically. So, yes, when he went to the podium, we all saw him with the hoodie on and, you know, kind of mumbling a little bit. But, you know, I think the real coach is what you're kind of seeing on TV now. And I do find it interesting that after all these years, now more people are seeing that side of him. But I'm not shocked to see it just because I've been fortunate enough to have some time with him over the years. But I still think, bottom line, he wants to coach again. He wants Don Shula's record, and I'd be surprised if he wasn't coaching somewhere next year.
[00:32:10] Speaker B: Let me ask you about Tampa Bay, and they're also coming off a bye week.
Do you think the Cleveland Browns still wish they had Baker Mayfield?
[00:32:19] Speaker A: Gotta give Baker a lot of credit. And he's a fun guy to be around. The team loves him. He's all about getting the job done. Team working hard.
And credit to him. I mean, he could have easily, you know, gone the Johnny Manziel route. And he believed in himself. He got other teams to believe in him. And certainly Tampa has put their trust in him by signing him to a contract. So, you know, I think it's a Tampa team that is alive in that division. Atlanta has not been able to kind of, you know, get some separation. Bucks are getting healthy now. You know, they might get Mike Evans back this week. They might get Jamel Dean back defensively. So I think this is a team that if you look at last year, really clawed their way down the stretch, was able to get in and I wouldn't be surprised if they do it again.
[00:33:08] Speaker B: Yeah, well, we watching Sunday at 1:00 on CBS and have a lot of fun. Let me ask you, how's the three man booth working out? That's a lot of guys having fun.
[00:33:17] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, we had one last year with Tiki and Matt Ryan and, you know, these things, you know, take time. I think that each week, you know, you get a little bit better and a little bit better. And I thought that happened last year. And then Matt, credit to him, they wanted him in the studio and he's doing a great job there. So, so we get Jason McCourty, who's just a wonderful person, really getting to love, getting to know him and work with him. And again, you kind of reset with three, right. We kind of go back a little bit with a new guy, but now we're kind of, you know, building back up again to where we got at the end of last season with Matt. So it's been fun to be around them. And, you know, the key for a three man booth is nobody can have an ego. And I don't think any the three of us don't have one. So it doesn't matter who's talking or who's telling what story, we all get along really well. And that, and that is certainly a big help when we, when we go to the air every Sunday.
[00:34:09] Speaker B: All right, Andrew, appreciate it if you said 1:00 Sunday on CBS 6 here in the Capital Region, it's the Giants hosting Tampa Bay. Andrew, always good to catch up with you and have fun on Sunday.
[00:34:20] Speaker A: Thanks, Ken. Appreciate it. Always great chatting with you.
[00:34:22] Speaker B: All right, that's Andrew Catalan. I'll have Dennis Wozak Jr. Associated Press. We'll talk about the jets and the firing of Joe Douglas. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
If you really want to know what's going on in your community, you have to read the Daily Gazette. We don't take a side. We're right down the middle and we're going to get to the truth. Our reporters and photographers are out in.
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[00:35:01] Speaker B: With trust, accuracy and integrity.
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[00:35:18] Speaker A: Hi, this is Daily Gazette sportswriter Mike McAdam. I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season and a Prosperous and Healthy 2025.
[00:35:27] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast. And now we're going to talk about that other football team that occupies MetLife Stadium and is playing just as badly. It's the New York jets. And they made some news earlier with this week with the firing of general manager Joe Douglas. And it looks like just a clown show there with the Jets. And Dennis was Act junior from the Associated Press, who covers the jets and the NFL and probably deserves combat pay for covering the jets, is joining me now and always great to have Dennis on. Dennis, what is going on with the Jets?
[00:36:01] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a good question, Ken. Well, I think some jets fans would say the same old jets. You know, this is, this is something you just see year after year after year and you have to feel for them too. I mean, there's been a struggle for these people who root for this team for so many years. It's been, but it's been, it's been a season that hasn't been quite many others, if any others, that's for sure.
[00:36:27] Speaker B: Yeah, we started with week five with Robert Sala getting fired and then next thing you know.
Yeah, it just, you know, Joe Douglas gets fired and Aaron Rodgers, me, who knows what's going on there and did. First of all, let me ask about Robert Saad. Did he deserve to get fired?
[00:36:48] Speaker C: Well, I think when you look at it just objectively, record wise and all that, yeah, I mean he didn't do what you expected him to do and then that was lead a team into a playoff caliber team. He still believed this team, this team that's 3 and 8 right now, but when he was fired, they were 2 and 3. He still believed that they could be a playoff team. Not only they could, he believed they would be a playoff team. So I think the timing was what was strange because Woody Johnson has never cut ties with a coach in the middle of the season, let alone like after five games when the jets are two and three and yeah, you know, things coming out of London, you know, Woody Johnson was there, you know, as we know, he's the ambassador to the uk. I'm sure there was some embarrassment there. I just think those two guys never really meshed. And an important part of this is that Robert Sala was not hired directly by Woody Johnson. Christopher Johnson, Woody's brother, was the one who was involved in that hiring along with president Jaime Lai and also the GM Joe Douglas. So there was no, I mean, I'm sure there was an emotional connection there, but there wasn't that strong bond where he was the guy he hired. And really at this point he said Woody Johnson, that he needed to make a move because he didn't like the direction the team was going and it needed some sort of spark and he believed that it was the best roster that's been assembled in the history of the franchise and okay, all of this stuff. So. So I mean, with all those things, he felt desperate and needed Something, okay, we're gonna do this and put Jeff Ulbrich in charge on an interim basis and it's going to make things kind of pop off and like jumpstart this team to what it should be. And they're one in five cents. So I think like coming back around to that, Robert Salah deserved to be fired. I don't. I think eventually, yes, but if you were so uncertain about him, why wait five games into this season when it clearly has affected the vibe of the team rather than just cut ties before this season and try to like move forward.
I'm sure Aaron Rodgers would have been very involved in choosing of a coach at that point because he was still very much in the plans. But now, like, all bets are off because you don't know how much longer Aaron Rodgers will even play, you know, so.
Yeah, so I think the timing was what was off with that and also with Joe Douglas too. I mean, it's like it makes a little more sense with Joe Douglas here because now you kind of get the ball rolling in terms of finding the guy who's going to, or woman, whoever the person is to run this organization moving forward. And let's keep in mind, like I mentioned the ambassadorship before he served in that role under Trump his first term. Now Trump is back as president elect and Woody Johnson could end up serving in that role again. And if that happens, he would have to assume responsibilities again to Christopher Johnson. So if he get, if Woody gets to pick the GM and get that ball rolling. So when he does go, he knows who's making the calls, making the decisions. I think that might be in play too.
[00:40:33] Speaker B: Has Aaron Rodgers put in his resume for that?
[00:40:38] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, it's very interesting to see what's kind of gone on. Like, obviously, you know, Roger is not playing up to what you would expect or what he would expect. And when you see a guy who's got that resume, you expect more. I think the big, the most alarming thing with him has been, and I'm writing, I have a line about this in the bi week story for the jets where I just kind of outline what's gone wrong.
He looks tentative when you look at Adam out there. I mean, just covering the game last week, it just, you know, you thought take some shots down the field, you know, and you haven't seen that enough. And he's certainly obviously not a gunslinger. Like when, when Favre was here, you knew that guy's throwing the ball and he's going to throw it deep and he's Going to just put that ball up there. I mean, that's the type of player he was. Aaron Rodgers is more of a cerebral quarterback, but he's got a good arm, but he's not testing downfield. And there's no answer as to why that's happening. Is, is he, is he burned by the fact he had seven interceptions early in the season? Is the game plan just not opening it that way? I mean, you know, he's got devonte Adams, he's got Garrett Wilson, he's got guys who can get down the field and stretch it. That's not happening. And then you hear these reports about Woody Johnson kind of broaching the subject of after four games that, you know, we should, maybe we should sit Rogers and I think there's a lot of interpretation that's kind of been taken with those stories that have been out there.
But Rogers after that, that fourth game against Denver, acknowledged that he was beat up, banged up, he had a sore knee and he said, you know, like, I'm feeling like physically I'm kind of, but you know, I'll get through it.
It.
Logically, I would think if there was a meeting there would be a question, hey, what if this guy, this 40 year old quarterback who's really banged up, coming off an Achilles tendon tear, what if we like see if he sits, would he, should he sit and get healthy? Like, what do, how do we want to go? I believe that now, like, I don't know for a fact what went down. You hearing these stories, but I feel logically that would make sense. Is he okay enough to go out there on the field? That's a good, that's a fine question. And if the owner asked that question, I don't necessarily know that means he wanted him to be benched, but maybe he was asking to consider sitting him until he's healthy. So I think there's a lot of stuff you're going to hear stuff. We're still six games left in the season. You have a fired coach, a fire gm, disgruntled players, disgruntled front office people. There are probably going to be more stories that come out. So I mean, just buckle up.
[00:43:38] Speaker B: Yeah, it's going to be a lot of, going to be interesting to see what happens. I mean, to me, I mean, as you said, you know, Rogers is coming off the torn Achilles. So he basically, you know, played what, four plays last year in that Buffalo game? How would he be so banged up four weeks into a season where he, you know, because basically you rehabbing recovering from the Achilles, you're asking, like, how.
[00:44:01] Speaker C: Could he be so banged up?
[00:44:02] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:44:03] Speaker C: Well, I think. I think early in the season, the protection wasn't great. He was getting bombarded by, you know, pass rushes early on in the season. In those first couple of games against San Francisco and Denver really did a number on him where over the last. Over the first several weeks, he was dealing with a sprained ankle, a sore knee, a sore hamstring. If you look back at some of those games, there were plays where he was in obvious pain. He was grimacing, and you thought, oh, he's hurt. And he ended up not leaving the game and not missing games. And I think that took a toll on him. But the funny thing is, he recently. I can't remember if it was before the Texans game or before the Colts game where he was talking about, hey, I think it was before the Colts game, actually, that, hey, you know, this is the best I felt, you know, and I think that's what it was because they had that break from the Thursday night game where they beat the Texans to the Colts game, and he said, this is the best I've felt in, you know, since the beginning of the season. And that made sense because he's gotten beat up. So.
[00:45:13] Speaker A: So.
[00:45:14] Speaker C: But he didn't play like he was healthy. I mean, you know, it's just.
There's a lot of things going wrong there. But that. That was the cause of those issues. He was getting thrown down, twisted, like, just thrown to the turf. And that was the thing. It's like, man, this guy's coming off that injury from last year, and that same leg is getting beat up. And I think, you know, it's not the Achilles that he said was the problem. It was the ankle and the knee and the hamstring. So that kind of prevented him from being able to kind of roll out and make some of the plays that you're used to seeing from him. He's never been that speedster type, but he was able to make plays with his. With his legs and extend plays, and that was really holding him back. So, again, that leads to the question, like, should he sit a little and maybe just have Tyrod Taylor play until he's healthy over the next two games or one game or whatever?
[00:46:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Where did it go wrong for Joe Douglas?
[00:46:15] Speaker C: That's a complex question, because I think he's got an interesting resume. I think when you look at certain things with him, look at that 2022 draft, and you see that he drafted Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner and Breece hall and Jermaine Johnson. And he's had some other hits. Elijah Vera, Tucker, when he's healthy, some. Some of the other players over the years, Michael Carter, I think he's had some hits and he's had some misses, and some of the misses have been big misses. And look, he basically, you know, gave up on Sam Darnold, traded him to Carolina and they drafted Zach Wilson. And both of those have been misses. I mean, look how Sam Darnold is playing. And that's not to say Darnold would have been this type of quarterback if he had stayed here. Chances are he wouldn't because Darnold has since played in Carolina and San Francisco. And yeah, I think I'm even forgetting a place at this point. But, you know, he's. He's been around and he's had to sit and learn. And I think that was one of the issues with Zach Wilson. He needed to sit and learn instead of immediately being the quarterback and the face of the franchise. And, and, and if you remember Zach Wilson's rookie year, the jets really had no other option as a backup. So it was, you know, trial by fire. Throw him out there, and he was not ready for that. And that hurts. So I think the quarterback issues were big problems for Joe Douglas. I mean, and now Aaron Rodgers, too. You trade for Rogers, you expect, you know, not being 7 and 10 and 3 and 8 and now out of a job. The offensive line was never consistent enough. That was an issue. And he had some big misses in the draft with some players that just never developed into core players other than that group that I mentioned earlier. So. So those are the things, I think. So. It's a very spotty record. He made some trades. Look, he brought Devonte Adams here this year.
He brought some big names in previous years that just didn't work. I mean, Tyron Smith is probable hall of Famer.
He's just not. He's old and he's banged up now. So those are the things where once you get to this point, all the people who have made decisions on, on and off the field, well, they have to pay as far as Woody Johnson's concerned and coach and the GM are out the door.
[00:48:51] Speaker B: Of course, Reddick's holdout didn't help either.
[00:48:54] Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. I mean, that was a bad look, too. And, you know, and I think Woody Johnson was frustrated by that. But, like, there are some, you know, conflicting. Some conflicting information on who was at fault. You know, if the jets had offered for this amount, whether Redick would have accepted And Woody Johnson might have nixed that, and then it turned into the prolonged holdout. So, like I said, you're going to hear all kinds of stuff back and forth from people who are not happy and just kind of sharing how things actually went down. So it's just a mess. And, I mean, I just feel for the jets fans because you had that hope, and even Rogers has talked about you got to hold on to that hope. And I just don't know that you could do that now with so much uncertainty. Once you get past week, you know, 18, and the playoffs are starting, you know, and you're sitting home again watching.
[00:49:52] Speaker B: Other teams play, who are the possible candidates for both those jobs?
[00:49:58] Speaker C: I mean, you've heard a few names being thrown around. I don't really know at this point, like, as far as coach, you hear. You hear some of the familiar names, like, you know, like Ben Johnson, Aaron Glenn, Mike Vrabel. I think the way they have to go with that, I mean, it depends on, really the gm. I mean, you bring somebody who's. Who's been in this before, you know, and right now they have Phil Savage, who was the GM of the Browns a few years ago, and he's serving as the interim right now. Do you stay with him or you go outside?
There are some other candidates. On top of my head. I'm just kind of drawing a blank right now. It's just been. Everything's crazy. But I think you maybe. I think so. You know what, Ken? I think one of the decisions that needs to be made here is who will run football operations for the Jets.
A couple of fans have reached out to me and said, you know, I feel like what this franchise needs is a football czar type, a guy who oversees everything that's going on and really has the power to run things, and where Woody Johnson and ownership don't meddle as much. And I think maybe that's where we're looking at now, you know, that maybe it's time to change things up and maybe go in a different direction. And, I mean, everything hasn't worked that, you know, you had before.
One name is Ray Agnew, who's the Lions assistant gm. Like, maybe you bring him in because of what they've been able to do, and he's seen how to build a team.
You know, there's other people. Kansas City's Mike Berganzi, you know, he's a guy who's seen success. I think you need to do that. I think you need to bring in somebody who knows how to Build a team and has been part of that process. And then you go from there and the coaching that'll play out and we'll see who's. Who's coming. Bill Belichick's not coming.
[00:52:16] Speaker B: That's not for coming back for a second stand, huh?
[00:52:19] Speaker C: No, that's not going to happen.
You know, some of, as you say, some of those other, you know, names I mentioned, those are possibilities and in the big picture scheme here, Ken, the biggest questions, though are who wants to come here? Because they've seen how this has gone. And Joe Douglas really think, if you think back, Robert Salah was a guy that everybody wanted and everybody thought was a great fit and the franchise and the fans celebrated that pick. Same with Joe Douglas. It was like, oh, he came from the Eagles and the Ravens. He's seen it, he knows what to do, he's going to build it. And Douglas was making some nice moves when he was getting draft picks for Jamal Adams, you know, and other guys, like, was like, he was celebrated. And people like, you know, this big guy like walking around like, boy, you know, it's Joe Douglas. And. But you gotta win. And so I think, you know, it just, it's. It's one of those things where, I mean, they made the right moves, but things just didn't turn out the right way. So. So now it's like, okay, what's next? And I think when you, if you're one of those candidates, you look and see what went wrong with some people who were really top candidates for these jobs. And it turned into this, where they were fired mid season, something the jets never did. So that might scare some people off.
[00:53:45] Speaker B: Aaron Rogers, future with the Jets. What's that going to be?
[00:53:48] Speaker C: Yeah, I can't imagine them moving forward with him at this point. He said, you know, I think so, yeah, that he wants to play next year. That, you know, that's not a great endorsement, you know, or just kind of, you know, solidifying his stance on that, I think, because he knows everything's uncertain. He's going to be 41 soon, in a couple of weeks. And, you know, what is this franchise going to do? I mean, like, he has a year remaining on his contract. It's non guaranteed money. He count 23 and a half million against the salary cap next season if they have. But if they cut him or he retires before June 1, it would be a $49 million dead money charge. But if they do it after June 1 of next year, then it would be a $14 million dead money charge. Next year and then a 30, the remaining 35 million in 2026. So you can move on from him and not be too hampered financially next season. I think that dead money hit in 26 will hurt, but I mean the non guaranteed money, you know, I can't imagine that with everything going on because there's going to be a new coach, a new gm, a new system.
His guys will be gone. I mean, devonte Adams might not be here next year. So if you're Rogers, you're like, you know what, I'm out of here too. So, you know, I can see that happening right now, him playing next year. But then again now the jets will be back in another situation where they're trying to find a quarterback. And around and around and around we go. I mean, we've been talking for a few years here. Again, it's like, hey, maybe they found the guy. Hey, maybe they found a guy. Well, maybe this is the guy that finally they got an established guy. Nope, that didn't work either.
[00:55:43] Speaker B: Well, I imagine you're starting to plan your 2025 concert schedule. So that might be the most exciting 20, 20, 24. You probably. Most exciting things. So MetLife. Same with the concert you attended over the summer.
[00:55:54] Speaker C: Yeah, I had fun. I had fun with that. That was, I mean that, that was a good way to break up the monotony of the, of, you know, just of what was going on at training camp, you know, and like I'm glad I had those shows and you know, I love live music as you know and just, you know, one of those things that you just get out there. But, but yeah, let's, let's see that. I mean those are the most exciting things I've seen out there. So let's, let's get some good football going, you know.
[00:56:27] Speaker B: Well, Dennis, as always, I appreciate a few minutes and have a happy Thanksgiving. Have a great holiday season. And once the jets decide who they're going to GM and coach are going to be, we'll, we'll chat then.
[00:56:38] Speaker C: That sounds good, Ken, all the best to you and enjoy the holidays. And yeah, again, I feel for the jets fans. Hang in there.
[00:56:45] Speaker B: Now talk to your bosses at AP and see if you can get a nice raise.
Thanks again. Appreciate it.
[00:56:54] Speaker C: You got it.
[00:56:54] Speaker B: Well, coming up, Ken Fang of Awful Announcing joins Bill Talks in sports media. You're listening to the Parting Shots podcast.
[00:57:20] Speaker E: Explore the benefits of subscribing to the Daily Gazette like our convenient E Edition app, personalized newsletters and unique reader rewards. When you join, start your membership Today offers
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[00:57:39] Speaker D: Hi, this is Tyler A. McNeil with the Daily Gazette. I would like to wish you a happy holiday season and a great 2025.
[00:57:47] Speaker B: Welcome back to the podcast and always I love having my next guest on Talking Sports Media. It's Ken Fang from Awful Announcing. Ken, how things going?
[00:57:55] Speaker E: Good. Ken, how are things with you?
[00:57:57] Speaker B: Not too bad, Ken. Complain it's getting towards Christmas here and another year behind us and get ready for an interesting four years.
[00:58:06] Speaker E: Yes, absolutely.
[00:58:07] Speaker B: We won't talk about that but well, let's get into some of the topics I like to get on. First of all, we had a rare Saturday night news drop that was announced that inside the NBA, the outstanding show on TNT is going to stay around. It's going to be part of ESPN and NBC. I mean how surprising was this news especially coming like 9, 10 o'clock on a Saturday night.
[00:58:32] Speaker E: I know, it was so strange. I mean Joe Flynn of the Wall Street Journal, who's a fantastic reporter, broke this story and interestingly enough, Ken, he's been on top of this whole thing about the NBA and Warner Brothers discovery, the lawsuit that they tried to do to try to get back into the NBA. Well, it was an offshoot of this. But the fact is that the takeaway is that inside the NBA, which we are all feared was going to go away after this season because TNT lost the rights to the to the NBA. Well, they'll continue thanks to a sub licensing deal to espn. TNT will still produce it. It looks like right now as it stands, three fourths of everybody is going over panel is going to be there. Shaquille O'Neal still has to sign a contract but everything goes well. You'll still see Ernie, you'll see Chuck, Charles Barkley, you'll see Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal this time on ESPN and ABC and going all the way to the NBA Finals which really they should have been doing all along. But I think it's a great move and it keeps a beloved show on the air for at least six more seasons.
[00:59:44] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean I just, it's, ESPN has not had any success with their NBA shows. They've had so many different people go in there.
So I mean, what happens to that show now? What are those, some of those people.
[00:59:58] Speaker E: Go, well, it looks like they're going to stay, they're not going to be on the Finals. Although Stephen A. Smith, he still, his contract is still up in the air but he will have a presence on the NBA Finals somehow. But NBA Countdown hosted by Malika Andrews and with Kendrick Perkins and with Michael Wilbon mostly, they'll still be on the air, they'll be on the gate, which won't be on the high profile NBA games, but they'll still have a presence. And I was just expect Ken, is that when the NBA Finals comes around, they'll be the pre pregame show, not the inside the NBA, which will be the pregame show, but they'll be the pregame show to the pre game show to the NBA Finals. So they'll be on before inside the NBA.
[01:00:42] Speaker B: Now the interesting part of this deal is that because it's still being produced by Turner, that crew there will still be part of the NCAA tournament coverage on cbs.
[01:00:53] Speaker E: Yeah. So what's great about that is that Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, they have contracts with TNT Sports to do other programming. Shaquille O'Neal does not. So three of those fourth will still be on the NCAA tournament and still make that tournament enjoyable to watch. So we look forward to seeing them on the NCAA tournament through 2032, which.
[01:01:17] Speaker B: Is when the contract I can understand Shaq not participating in the NCAA tour because he's too busy making commercials.
[01:01:24] Speaker E: Yeah. The only his contract is only for the NBA. So that's why you don't see him on CBS when the NCAA tournament goes around. But I think he likes the having the three weeks off the tournament. He likes having march off and then coming back when it's time to be on with the, with the inside the NBA guys. So I'm sure that Shaq is going to, you know, when he signs the contract with tnt, which is expected, his contract runs out after the season.
I don't expect him to leave. I think he was news in Sports Illustrated. Jimmy Trainer said that he's a little perturbed by the fact that TNT made this announcement without telling him. But I think, you know, once he gets a good contract, money, money pretty much feels a lot of things in television as we know, Ken.
[01:02:09] Speaker B: Yes.
[01:02:09] Speaker E: So I think I expect that track will be part of the inside the NBA crew when it goes to ESPN next season.
[01:02:15] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, on Friday we had the Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight that was streamed by Netflix. And I think with just as many complaints about the streaming situation versus against the Bat David, the boxing match, it seems like Netflix had some issues that I think is going to cause a lot of concern come Christmas Day because Netflix is scheduled to televise a pair of NFL.
[01:02:40] Speaker E: Yeah, that's the thing. Now I'll Say this, I'll have one big caveat. I was watching Netflix through the Apple TV app on Friday. I was watching the whole. I was curious about it, of course. It's a whole curiosity thing. And it was fine for me and also saw it a little bit on my MacBook too. So I think Netflix on Apple was fine. That I know not everybody has an Apple product, so. So people were using it either through the Roku or their smart TVs. And that's where the buffering got into really bad situation. People said they had issues with the speeds. They were having issues trying to watch the fight. And as bad as the boxing was, you want to be able to see a product without having a lot of lagging or buffering. And that's exactly what happened to Netflix. And now you mentioned that Netflix next big event is going to be the NFL. That's going to be on Christmas Day. They've got two games coming up, the Steelers and Chiefs and then the Ravens and Houston. And then to top it all off, Ken, during the halftime of the Ravens Houston game, they're going to have Beyonce.
[01:03:47] Speaker B: Yeah.
[01:03:47] Speaker E: Doing the halftime act. So if. Let's say they have. I don't think they will. I'll be honest with you. I think Netflix used the Tyson fight as a guinea pig for what they will see with the NFL on Christmas Day. So I think that honestly, they will get that. They will get all the kinks out and be ready for that. Because it's one thing to anger NFL fans, and it's one thing to anger, you know, people just coming in, just they say, hey, I just want to see some football on Christmas. But it's another thing to anger the Beehive. You don't want to anger the Beyonce fans. So, you know, this is a whole separate entity here. So you want to make sure that that's going to be stable. And I think the Netflix should be able to get that going because also to coming up in January, WWE Raw will start at January 6th on Netflix. So they've got to get all these kinks out pretty much in a hurry. And I think Netflix will get it done because they know if they don't have this ready for the NFL on Christmas Day, there's going to be a lot of hell to pay.
[01:04:48] Speaker B: Is there enough time, though? Because remember this, this fight was supposed to happen like a few months ago that Tyson took ill and sort of delayed things. So, I mean, is there enough time for them to make the necessary adjustments for the NFL?
[01:05:01] Speaker E: Well, let's hope so. I think they, I think they got to realize they got to get the right servers. If they don't get the right servers and then it's not going to work. I mean, what's interesting is that all the other NFL partners, Amazon, Comcast with Peacock, ESPN with ESPN plus, they've all had NFL games and they really have. They've had relatively little trouble on that. You turn on your game for Thursday Night Football for Amazon is there. I have not had any issues of buffering with it. So Netflix has got to say, hey, Amazon will even borrow your servers, will rent your servers for Christmas night. They have to do something. They've got to get that right. So I have a feeling they will. If they don't. Like I said, there's gonna be a lot of health debate, not just with NFL fans, but the Beehive. And you don't want to get the Beehive angry when you don't want Beyonce fans angry. Because if you get, that's like getting the Swifties angry and that's a whole different animal. So you don't want to get the name.
[01:05:55] Speaker B: Well, let's talk the Yankees have a new radio announcer in veteran Dave Sims. It's basically he was working in Seattle on television out there for many years. It's basically a homecoming for Dave, having worked at WFAN on midday sports talk show with Ed Coleman. He also is a sports writer for New York Daily News. He was also from my hometown of Philadelphia.
He's replacing John Sterling, who retired early into this past season, but it was around for the playoffs and the World Series. What does Dave bring to the Yankees broadcasting?
[01:06:30] Speaker E: Well, first of all, he knows the team well. He's been calling baseball Since, I think 2009 when he joined the Seattle Mariners. He was doing a lot of freelance work for Westwood One and for ESPN calling football and college basketball. But he really found a home calling baseball. He did it really well. He called a few no hitters as well.
I think it's a great match for him. As you said, he lives in New York. He's from the East Coast. His son lives there. His grandchildren are in New York. So I think he's wanted to call home for quite some time.
He'll work with Susan Waldman, who I believe lobbied for him hard as they both used to work for wfan. So I think it's a great move. Dave is a great broadcaster. We've talked many times privately on Twitter and I also talked to him for a podcast that I had a long time ago. But, you know, this is a Guy who has great history. He knows New York, he knows the Yankees, he's done the American League baseball. Baseball. So this is not, this is not foreign territory for him. So I think he's going to do a great job. He's a great broadcaster, as I mentioned, done so much, done so many sports, whether it's the NCAA tournament for Westwood One, doing the Monday Night Football at one time calling it for, for Westwood one two. Yeah.
[01:07:54] Speaker B: He also did Sunday night, Sunday Night Football too.
[01:07:57] Speaker E: He did Sunday Night Football as well. So I think it's just a great match for him just to come over and, and finish his career in New York and do be with a franchise that is in his hometown. So I think it works out quite well for him. And as you mentioned, he was originally a Philly guy. And as you mentioned, I'll go back even farther. Ken, he hosted Sports Night. He was a replacement for Jack Spector for WNBC 66 WNBC in the 1980s. And actually he and Mike Breen was his producer as a matter of fact.
[01:08:32] Speaker B: Wow.
[01:08:32] Speaker E: And Dave was a big NBA guy at the time and Mike Green was a college guy. So it's kind of funny how that kind of juxtaposed out. Mike Green became the NBA guy and Dave was a college basketball game guy after that. But I think it's a great move by the Yankees. It's a, it gives them a brand name and also, you know, when Dave is 71, I don't know how long he's going to be calling the game, but he's in good shape, keeps himself, you know, sorry. And by calling radio with Susan Walman, he'll call all nine innings. I think it's a fantastic move by the Yankees and I think it's, it's going to, I think the fans are going to be well served with Dave.
[01:09:07] Speaker B: And it gives them stability too because they were going through, they had a plethora of announcers going through the season.
And like I said, you know, John Sterling came back for the postseason. So that gets, gets the fans who listen to the radio broadcast some stability knowing there's going to be a familiar voice there.
[01:09:26] Speaker E: Absolutely. And you know, while younger generation may not do day, the older generation does and I think the younger generation will actually fall in love with the spit play by play style. You know, he's, he's had some great calls in Seattle. His hay now I think is going to come over and play well in New York. He's not going to be a necessarily a homer, but he's going to call it right. Right down, right as he sees them. And I think that's what New Yorkers like. They want to have a guy who's not. I mean, yeah, John was a homer the Yankees, when. We all know that. But he's gonna, he's gonna be fair and he'll be. He'll do his hay now. And I think that'll become a very great signature call for fans who will. Who I think will actually fall in love with them.
[01:10:05] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, this past Sunday, CBS did something unusual which we don't see them do during the regular season. They actually had the NFL on CBS pregame sh. On location at Orchard park for that big Chiefs, Bills game on Sunday.
How big was that for them to do? Because, I mean, the only time we ever see them travel is for the AFC Championship game.
[01:10:27] Speaker E: Yeah. And sometimes they don't travel at all for the AFC Championship. We've seen them come from New York, but I think it's a great move. David Burson, who is the new CBS Sports president, who took the chairman, actually, who took over for Sean McMahon, as I think once he put it, wanted to put his stamp on this, Ken. And by bringing the. And not only that, they were helped out, too, because Sunday Night Football games on NBC, which was included the Bengals and the Chargers, that was actually in the 4:00 spot, and that got flexed out. So CBS lucked out by having that game as the long game in the. In the 425 window. And it worked out for them because we saw the viewership was 31 million, which is absolutely a monster number. We don't usually see that number in that slot outside of. We don't see numbers like that at all for that slot. So for them to go out there and have a presence at the, at their 425 game, I would look to see. To see how successfully that was. And of course, you got to have a enthusiastic fan base like that. And it worked out with Bill's Mafia because, you know, one of the viral moments was the NFL crew, including Bill Cower, break tables, jump on tables. And that was a great moment.
And I think that it's not, you know, like Kansas City. That'll work there.
New England right now probably won't work. But you want to go to a place that has an enthusiastic fan base, and it worked out perfectly for the NFL today. I wouldn't be surprised if they do. If they don't do more of that. And Jim Nance said, hey, look, I invite you to come out here more. And I think he Wants to see them more and I think it's a great move because we've seen college game day, we've seen Big Noon kickoff have, get that, get that atmosphere with the fans and it adds a lot more to your show than just being in an antiseptic studio like in New York or Los Angeles as the cases with Fox Sports Sunday. Yeah, Fox Sports NFL Sunday. So I would, I would see the NFL. I would think the NFL is going to do a lot more of that, especially with David Burst on board. We would look for the perfect place and I wouldn't be surprised to see them go to Kansas City or Cincinnati down the line this season.
[01:12:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean it probably won't be an every week thing. I think maybe they would do it on their double header day when they have the 425 game. That'd be. Yeah, that would be good. We know Fox does get out for the Veterans Day every, every year. That's about their only time until the NFC championship game. So yeah, it was fun. I mean it's, it was done. You know, we don't see it and like I said, you said CBS sometimes just stay stuck in the studio. But that was good for them to get out and I think everybody enjoyed it and maybe that's something they will do down the road and maybe if the Fox sees that as successful, maybe they'll, you know, because what they remember when Jack, when Joe Buck was the host that one year the bridge between James Brown and Kurt Menefee, you know, they went to the sites where Joe is calling the game and that really didn't. I don't know how well that worked. But if you do, like I said, 425 games and you go to play, you know, like Philadelphia would be a great place too. If they're not, you know, I know these Eagles fan, they may be a little too crazy, but that's something. I mean as you said, you see college game day and the Fox college big noon kickoff. It's the fans enjoy it. I mean they love it.
You know, especially when, you know, Lee Corso still puts on that the mascots head gear. So people eat that up and there's not a lot of people complained earlier season about Pat McAfee ruining it. But my thing is, I mean he may not be your cup of tea but he caters to that crowd out there and they go along with him and I think he brings something to the table that maybe people didn't really maybe underestimate it.
[01:14:19] Speaker E: Yeah. You know what's interesting is that ESPN did a survey and found that fans actually like Pat McAfee there. And he reaches the generation that is watching that show, the young kids, and they really like him and they respond to him. So I think that having him on the show, I really have a feeling that he's going to succeed Lee Corso in doing the headgear pick down the line or doing the pick that I think they're grooming him to be his successor. But overall, I think Pat McAfee has found something with the, with the field goal kick and, you know, donating it, you know, giving money to the kids who do it and donating money to great causes. So people have responded to that and, you know, yeah, is Pat McAfee might. Am I the target audience for Pat McAfee? No. But cheese does something that audience likes, especially for college game day, and it's working and I expect him to see him on their long term.
[01:15:16] Speaker B: Okay, now you have a new social media spat. Where can we find you?
[01:15:21] Speaker E: Yeah, so I've joined Blue sky, so you can check what's great about that. I was able to get my handle. So it's Fangs Bites at bluesky Social. I've also just started a substack too. So it will be subscription, but right now for the rest of November, all of the columns on Substack will be free. Then there'd be gold subscription in December. There'll be some free columns there, but most of it will be subscription based. But yeah, I've decided to join Bluer Skies. I went to the Blue Skies, so I still be. I'm still on X slash Twitter. I'm just not gonna have a heavier as presence as I am. Most of my stuff is going to be migrating over to, to Blue sky. And I know, Ken, that you're on there as well. So I, I certainly hope that we'll have some great discourse over there and no trolls. And if you're gonna troll me, I'm gonna block you. So anyway, it does. So that's where you can find me. I'm also on threats too, but I don't really coast as much. But Blue sky is where I think I'm going to be doing most of my stuff. And like I said, substack, I just started. So there's a free column up there. It's fangsbikes, Suds. So you can find that there as well. So certainly hope that you'll find me and certainly hope that, you know, I hope to respond with all of you.
[01:16:35] Speaker B: Okay, appreciate it. A few bits as always, and have a great holiday season and we'll chat in 2025.
[01:16:42] Speaker E: Absolutely. Ken. Thanks for very much and I'll talk to you soon and happy holidays everyone.
[01:16:46] Speaker B: Hey, thank you very much. That's Ken Fang. We'll be back. We wrap up the podcast and have the latest winner in the Daily Gazette's you Picking Football Contest test in just a moment.
Speed, Skill. Physicality.
[01:17:18] Speaker A: Home to college hockey's elite teams, coaches and student athletes. ECAC hockey 12 programs competing at the highest level. A league where champions are born and world class professionals are trained. Where history is abundant and a commitment.
[01:17:33] Speaker B: To the cutting edge is unrivaled.
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[01:17:46] Speaker D: Hi, this is Daily Gazette News Editor Andrew Puglis. I hope you and your family have.
[01:17:50] Speaker C: A wonderful holiday season and a Prosperous and Healthy 2025.
[01:17:55] Speaker B: Back to wrap up the podcast. The Week 11 winner in the Daily Gazette's U Pick Em Football contest was John Hauser of troy with a 140 record. John wins a $100 Hannaford gift card. Congratulations. The VIP winners were Matt Margiotta of SG Roofing and me. We both went 12 2. I improved to 115 and 51 and I'm tied first place with Scott Hudson of Emirates. My Gazette colleague Adam Schindler was 11 3. He is 112 and 54.
I'll announce the you pick and football contest winner's name and that winner's name will appear in Thursday's Daily Gazette. To play, go to dailygazette.com and click on the U Pick'em Football banner.
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That wraps up another edition of the Parting Shots podcast. I want to thank Adam Schinder, Andrew catalon, Dennis Wasak Jr. And Ken Fang for being on the show. If you have questions or comments about the podcast, email to me at shots. That's s c h o t t dailygazette.com follow me on X Threads and now Blue sky at Slap Shots.
Views expressed on the Parting Shots podcast are not necessarily those of the Daily Gazette Company. The Parting Shots podcast is a production of the Daily Gazette Company. I'm Daily Gazette sports editor Ken Schatz. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time from the Parting Shots podcast studio in Schenectady, New York. Good day, good sports.
