Ron Zappolo, Tom Green, and Woody Paige dive into the wildest week of football—starting with the controversial ending between the Broncos and Raiders that has fans screaming fix. They debate whether gambling culture is changing the integrity of the NFL, break down the Broncos’ final four games and their path to the No. 1 seed, and react to the state of the AFC, from Houston’s rise to the collapses of Kansas City and Indianapolis. Then the guys unload on the College Football Playoff: Notre Dame’s fiasco, broken conference title games, useless bowls, and why the entire system needs a commissioner. They close with stories about Muhammad Ali, Howard Cosell, and their earliest sports memories as the holiday season kicks in.
This week on After the Horn, Ron Zappolo, Tom Green, and Woody Paige open with the bizarre finish to Broncos–Raiders and whether Pete Carroll’s late field goal crossed the line in an NFL now consumed by sports betting. They question the league’s integrity, the role of officiating, and how prop bets and gambling culture have completely changed the fan experience. The conversation expands to other examples across the league, from Baltimore–Pittsburgh’s controversial officiating to Kevin Stefanski’s puzzling decision with Shedeur Sanders in Cleveland. The guys analyze the Broncos’ final four games, debating whether Denver needs to run the table to secure the top seed and how matchups with Green Bay, Jacksonville, Kansas City, and the Chargers could shape the AFC playoff picture. They discuss Bo Nix’s growth, the softness of New England’s schedule, and the sudden surge of the Houston Texans as a potential postseason threat. The show then shifts to college football, where Notre Dame’s bowl decision, chaotic playoff selections, and meaningless conference title games highlight what the panel calls a completely broken system. They argue for playoff expansion, eliminating title games, and even appointing a commissioner—names like Nick Saban and Peyton Manning are floated. In the final stretch, the conversation widens into reflections on Howard Cosell, Muhammad Ali, and stories from early careers in sports journalism before closing with personal memories about family, fathers, and how each of them fell in love with sports. It’s a wide-ranging, nostalgic, and fiery episode heading into the holidays.
00;07;12;15 - 00;07;19;27
Tom Green
Hey, everybody. Happy holidays. And who's happier than people who bet on the Broncos? Notre Dame fans.
00;07;19;29 - 00;07;37;26
Ron Zappolo
Like.
00;07;37;29 - 00;07;47;00
Ron Zappolo
Hi, everybody. Welcome to After the Horn. Ron Zappolo. Tom Green, Woody Paige. Merry Christmas to everyone out there. The following start earlier.
00;07;47;00 - 00;07;47;28
Woody Paige
Sort of.
00;07;48;00 - 00;07;48;17
Natasha
Happy holiday.
00;07;48;18 - 00;07;55;04
Ron Zappolo
Yeah yeah I've heard that before. Woody goes like, let's not go there. That's not true.
00;07;55;04 - 00;08;20;20
Woody Paige
I could well, it's so good for the Broncos that the teams are talking about when they come in here to play the Broncos. They have never heard crowds like that. They have kind of taken over from the Chiefs. And yeah, and the Seahawks of having the loudest stadium in the NFL. That's good. We're only like 4 or 5 years away from when there was premature evacuation at every game.
00;08;20;20 - 00;08;24;19
Ron Zappolo
What are we doing here? Should we start over again.
00;08;24;22 - 00;08;30;08
Tom Green
Well they got three out of their final four at home and they you know, did we learn anything by the way they beat the Raiders.
00;08;30;08 - 00;08;30;21
Ron Zappolo
Yeah we did.
00;08;30;21 - 00;08;33;14
Natasha
We learn. Well that that was also a home game. Yeah.
00;08;33;16 - 00;08;44;21
Ron Zappolo
We did learn one thing. What the hell was Pete Carroll doing kicking a field goal. May as play of the game. Let's get right to it because the game is forgettable. Well, we learned nothing. The game didn't matter. It was a scrimmage.
00;08;44;21 - 00;08;46;18
Tom Green
Even the penalty. But the penalty.
00;08;46;23 - 00;08;54;22
Ron Zappolo
The penalty and the kick. I ask both of you, I maybe you guys aren't as cynical as I am. What the hell was up with that.
00;08;54;28 - 00;09;02;04
Tom Green
Was a little grimy, a little grimy at the end there. I mean, all the money changed hands in the matter of, those final seconds I met.
00;09;02;04 - 00;09;06;10
Ron Zappolo
Val Michaels was doing the game. He would have gone ballistic.
00;09;06;12 - 00;09;14;07
Woody Paige
Well, maybe to defend him in this situation that he felt like if the, tiebreakers.
00;09;14;10 - 00;09;17;23
Ron Zappolo
Exploded their two worst team in the NFL.
00;09;17;24 - 00;09;20;19
Woody Paige
Yes, but if it gets down, you know, it's two.
00;09;20;27 - 00;09;21;25
Tom Green
Points for sure.
00;09;21;25 - 00;09;24;29
Woody Paige
Seven is point differential. You never know.
00;09;25;02 - 00;09;39;18
Ron Zappolo
In this era of of sports leagues being in bed with gambling, these are the things. And I can give you another one from Sunday after we're done with this one. But when you do something like that you open up Pandora's box.
00;09;39;19 - 00;09;41;26
Tom Green
Seems like Dave Portnoy might have had the Broncos.
00;09;41;26 - 00;09;44;16
Ron Zappolo
Think they might have had the Broncos minus seven.
00;09;44;16 - 00;09;45;27
Tom Green
Might have. Might are seven and a.
00;09;45;27 - 00;09;53;28
Ron Zappolo
Half, seven and a half. Excuse me. I just think it's a bad look for the NFL. And they really need to think long and hard about.
00;09;53;28 - 00;09;58;29
Tom Green
But they can't. What are they going to do if they say look into it now they're saying there is something there.
00;09;59;06 - 00;10;01;23
Ron Zappolo
Did you find it? What it did was quietly.
00;10;01;23 - 00;10;03;00
Tom Green
Grimy, though. It was.
00;10;03;03 - 00;10;18;07
Ron Zappolo
Ugly. You listen. That's not a good look. I understand college football when you're playing the Little Sisters of the poor, and the number is 30, and the head coach wants to make all the alumni happy and they run it up. This is the NFL.
00;10;18;07 - 00;10;24;15
Tom Green
But in real life, Pete Carroll would have run a play if he wanted to do something. He wouldn't have kicked a field goal. They would have said, let's throw it in the end.
00;10;24;17 - 00;10;36;26
Woody Paige
Let's throw the officials into this. Yeah. Because if you want what's kind of left out of this is they called game delay. Yeah. On the defensive team.
00;10;36;29 - 00;10;37;13
Ron Zappolo
Sure.
00;10;37;13 - 00;10;39;04
Tom Green
In a in a game that's settled.
00;10;39;08 - 00;10;41;11
Ron Zappolo
What what did it make you think.
00;10;41;13 - 00;10;43;02
Tom Green
It made it feel like.
00;10;43;02 - 00;10;45;17
Woody Paige
Football. But even considering the Broncos.
00;10;45;19 - 00;10;46;16
Ron Zappolo
Let me ask you, Sean.
00;10;46;16 - 00;10;48;11
Tom Green
Payton had a hand in that too. Not kicking.
00;10;48;11 - 00;10;59;17
Ron Zappolo
Do you ever think in your career or your career that you ever covered a game, not a World Wrestling Federation event, and the actual game that we went to that was fixed?
00;10;59;21 - 00;11;00;19
Tom Green
No.
00;11;00;22 - 00;11;02;02
Ron Zappolo
No, I say yes.
00;11;02;02 - 00;11;05;26
Tom Green
Well, I guess this the Sacramento Lakers series feel like.
00;11;06;04 - 00;11;18;06
Ron Zappolo
I've seen it throughout the years. And I also know people who played in certain games, people that we all know who are convinced that they played in games that were fixed.
00;11;18;09 - 00;11;31;26
Woody Paige
There was a situation with the we talked before we were on the air about Doug Moe and Doug Moe playing against the Lakers, and he told his team not to play defense. Remember that in a game?
00;11;31;29 - 00;11;33;12
Ron Zappolo
I think it was against Portland.
00;11;33;12 - 00;11;34;13
Tom Green
It was up and Portland was.
00;11;34;13 - 00;11;39;11
Woody Paige
So pissed off about the way in there. He said, don't do anything, don't stop.
00;11;39;13 - 00;11;41;25
Tom Green
And then they guard it and he called a timeout and yelled.
00;11;41;25 - 00;11;50;14
Ron Zappolo
Out for he yelled that. I told the guard anybody. He called a timeout, said, you guys don't listen. I got down and I said, don't just stand there.
00;11;50;16 - 00;11;59;10
Woody Paige
That was one that you could having covered it, I had the wrong city, but having covered that game, you go man the gamblers.
00;11;59;10 - 00;12;00;11
Tom Green
And he got suspended.
00;12;00;11 - 00;12;01;07
Ron Zappolo
He got suspended.
00;12;01;07 - 00;12;02;16
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;12;02;19 - 00;12;04;00
Ron Zappolo
Is anyone going to get it?
00;12;04;00 - 00;12;41;06
Woody Paige
Doug Moe shouldn't have done it. And as much as all three of us love Doug, and he's live in San Antonio, and people stay in contact with him all the time in their own fantasy teams with him. But he was suspended from playing in the NBA not because he, did anything wrong on the court, but he was approached by gamblers and he and Connie Hawkins, who turned out to be a great player and was a great player in college, were banned from the NBA because they didn't report their.
00;12;41;07 - 00;12;41;26
Tom Green
Journeyman.
00;12;41;29 - 00;12;44;05
Woody Paige
Having, a gamblers coming to them.
00;12;44;06 - 00;13;03;05
Tom Green
I think the hard thing is, when you really look at fixing games, that the complicating factor becomes how many people have to be involved to actually fix a game, and that the back judge side judge, whoever decided that flag at the end of the game, because that's that's what permitted Pete Carroll the end of the opportunity to kick the field goal and cover the number.
00;13;03;11 - 00;13;14;12
Tom Green
Now, if you're Pete Carroll and you're the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and people are your fans and they've bet on your team, maybe you know, we can't win this game. But my best way to cover for my.
00;13;14;12 - 00;13;15;00
Ron Zappolo
Fans, let me.
00;13;15;00 - 00;13;16;28
Tom Green
Ask you, he's not supposed to know or care.
00;13;16;28 - 00;13;19;26
Ron Zappolo
About that. Is that okay.
00;13;19;29 - 00;13;25;12
Tom Green
I understand it. No, I don't know that it's okay, but I understand it's Pete Carroll. He's been around that.
00;13;25;15 - 00;13;31;22
Ron Zappolo
You just probably laid out the most plausible explanation for what happened.
00;13;31;22 - 00;13;34;19
Tom Green
There. Yeah, I'll throw a bone to my silver and black fans.
00;13;34;19 - 00;13;40;23
Ron Zappolo
Yeah, I'm going to, you know, but we've won two games all year. These people are here. I'm going to at least give them. Well, this.
00;13;40;23 - 00;14;06;26
Woody Paige
I hadn't thought I hadn't thought about that. But it's a it's a real intriguing aspect of it because I thought it's in the game that you have a guy on the sideline that comes over and says, hey, our running back has needs ten more yards to reach 100 yards. There's somebody that's always there with statistics for the coach and said, yeah, you need to put the guy back in line, throw two more passes.
00;14;07;00 - 00;14;13;11
Woody Paige
But do you think there might have been a guy that said, Pete, do you know what the line is? I would.
00;14;13;11 - 00;14;15;14
Ron Zappolo
I think Pete knew what the line was. I think.
00;14;15;18 - 00;14;16;08
Tom Green
I think a lot and.
00;14;16;09 - 00;14;17;29
Ron Zappolo
Most I think most players.
00;14;18;01 - 00;14;21;03
Woody Paige
He was involved in college in some.
00;14;21;07 - 00;14;21;19
Ron Zappolo
Yes.
00;14;21;22 - 00;14;33;05
Woody Paige
Very shaky situations, involved with the Heisman Trophy winner and others. And I don't think he should be putting himself in a position where he could be questioned about this.
00;14;33;06 - 00;15;02;02
Ron Zappolo
Can I give you another one? I'm watching the Baltimore Pittsburgh game. Oh my son, not one, not two, but with three calls that were more than debatable, which is fine. They all went against the same team and when it's two minutes to go in the game and again, I don't know what the catch is anymore. But when a guy catches the ball in the end zone, one hangs on to it, makes a couple of steps.
00;15;02;02 - 00;15;11;29
Ron Zappolo
The DB, who was beat five minutes ago knocks it out of his hands. The back judge goes touchdown! And a minute later it's incomplete.
00;15;12;02 - 00;15;13;03
Tom Green
It doesn't smell great.
00;15;13;06 - 00;15;15;12
Ron Zappolo
That's not letting the players determine the game.
00;15;15;12 - 00;15;38;01
Tom Green
Here's another thing because we're old enough, gambling used to be a subculture in sports, and now it's of course mainstream. And everybody's got a dime on the game. Not everybody, but so many more people now have a dime on the game. And so when you see stuff like what you talked about with Baltimore, Pittsburgh, or you see what happened at the end of the Broncos Raiders game, I think it has a much broader impact than it used to.
00;15;38;01 - 00;15;47;11
Tom Green
It used to be just the guy Nike on the corner cared for. What happened. And now it's it's Debbie. And Highlands Ranch had something on the game too. And she's going what happened?
00;15;47;12 - 00;15;47;21
Ron Zappolo
Yeah.
00;15;47;29 - 00;16;05;21
Woody Paige
Ron. What? And Tom, what happened was okay, the score final score is not enough. How about if we have the point total, right. Okay. We'll add that. How about if we have a halftime score?
00;16;05;21 - 00;16;09;04
Ron Zappolo
Yeah. How about if we have prop bets.
00;16;09;06 - 00;16;32;07
Woody Paige
Let's let's get plenty. How about in an NBA game if a guy doesn't try ten shots during the course of the game, how could they possibly fix something like that? Well, Mike poor Jr's the brother. Figure that out in a hurry and reached out. I've got a I've got a financial problem guys. I'm to I'm going to take eight shots in this game.
00;16;32;07 - 00;16;50;28
Woody Paige
Not anymore that it's gone beyond the realm of manageable. When I started covering sports 60 years ago, where someone would come to me and say, do you want to bet on a game? I said, no, I don't know what I, I think I know more than most everybody that's gambling.
00;16;50;28 - 00;16;51;23
Tom Green
Right?
00;16;51;26 - 00;17;21;22
Woody Paige
Well, I didn't, because I met a guy in Vegas that was a was ahead of a sports book and he was cheating on the side, ended up in prison. His name was Joey Boston. You appreciate having money? And he came to Denver to see me, and I said, let me take you to a Broncos practice. And I go out there and they go, you're bringing a sports book out of practice?
00;17;21;22 - 00;17;33;09
Woody Paige
Yeah. Now, back then, now they are involved. The we are the official betting. Yeah. They were the casino in in Blackhawk. That's in bed with the Broncos.
00;17;33;10 - 00;17;46;20
Tom Green
Let's talk about the Broncos also. Oh one more quick thing I want to mention I feel bad for Geno Smith. And I never have in my life. But he he kept getting up all year long. He keeps getting up and I it's unfair to ask him to play quarterback.
00;17;46;20 - 00;18;05;15
Ron Zappolo
Until you also feel bad for I feel bad for Daniel Jones, who went out there on a broken bone in a leg and earn the respect of all of his teammates and I, and I don't know enough. I'm not a doctor, but I wonder if doing that contributed to him snapping his leg.
00;18;05;15 - 00;18;08;18
Tom Green
But still, you're doing everything you're saying.
00;18;08;23 - 00;18;20;05
Ron Zappolo
And I watch that. And I don't know, Daniel Jones, but I felt horrible for him. He's a free agent at the end of the year. I don't know what's going to happen to him, but I felt bad.
00;18;20;08 - 00;18;33;07
Woody Paige
I felt sorry for deciding he broke a toe, okay? And he blew his arms pitching up. Yeah, the on the mound and his career was over. Except he had a better career.
00;18;33;10 - 00;18;34;12
Tom Green
As a broadcaster.
00;18;34;12 - 00;18;51;04
Ron Zappolo
So can I ask you one thing about the Broncos? Yeah. Why is it that the Broncos and the Patriots, the who have the two best records in pro football and have both of them played their ass off? Why are they both home underdogs this weekend?
00;18;51;06 - 00;18;57;04
Tom Green
Well, they're they're playing teams that are heavily backed. People like the back Buffalo and the Patriot fan.
00;18;57;05 - 00;19;02;29
Ron Zappolo
Teams that have not played as well or consistently as those two teams have.
00;19;03;01 - 00;19;08;21
Tom Green
They both had big wins the week. Buffalo and green Bay both did register big wins this past weekend.
00;19;08;25 - 00;19;20;11
Ron Zappolo
But I think it says Tom. It says that the the wise guys who are wise guys for a reason are not yet sold on New England in Denver. And we talked about this last week.
00;19;20;11 - 00;19;21;07
Woody Paige
We're not, we're.
00;19;21;07 - 00;19;21;18
Ron Zappolo
Not.
00;19;21;25 - 00;19;28;17
Woody Paige
But I'm not going to let this go on. Do you think people are cheating? Do you think coaches are cheating? Do you want to.
00;19;28;17 - 00;19;29;06
Ron Zappolo
Go back to that.
00;19;29;06 - 00;19;46;15
Woody Paige
Official I, we we've we brought it up to the pinnacle of discussion. I mean is that happening among players. Do you think there are NFL players that are throwing games and saying, I'm not going to make this field goal? Or do you think officials are calling? I mean.
00;19;46;18 - 00;20;04;29
Ron Zappolo
Answer, I don't know. And the answer should be absolutely not. But the answer for me is I don't know. And when things like what happened Sunday happened, all it does is feed into the notion that something is amiss.
00;20;04;29 - 00;20;13;11
Tom Green
Well, it's it was notable, I thought that the official who threw the flag at the Broncos end of the game was Tim Donaghy. He's based.
00;20;13;13 - 00;20;14;00
Ron Zappolo
He's.
00;20;14;03 - 00;20;14;12
Woody Paige
Not.
00;20;14;12 - 00;20;15;03
Tom Green
He's come back.
00;20;15;03 - 00;20;18;18
Ron Zappolo
No people. But what do you what do you think?
00;20;18;20 - 00;20;34;17
Woody Paige
When I started doing this for a living, I didn't think it was possible. It it happened. It happened with the Kentucky, University of Kentucky when they won in 1948 or something like that. The players were cheating.
00;20;34;21 - 00;20;35;15
Tom Green
CCNY.
00;20;35;15 - 00;20;36;11
Ron Zappolo
It's been happening.
00;20;36;11 - 00;20;49;29
Woody Paige
I have to believe that's why I brought this up. Yes, I'm seeing it in the NBA. We're seeing it in bars. We're seeing it with a guy who we all know really well. They grew up in Denver. I'm talking about John.
00;20;50;01 - 00;20;52;10
Ron Zappolo
So why wouldn't we? Why wouldn't it be true in the NFL?
00;20;52;11 - 00;20;58;15
Woody Paige
Joe Billups, of all the people in the world that we know not of all the people in the world, but these are people in sports.
00;20;58;15 - 00;20;59;13
Ron Zappolo
We would that we would.
00;20;59;13 - 00;21;18;11
Woody Paige
Think that he would not. We would not consider that there were issues that he would have in terms of gambling. Yeah, either in basketball or at a poker table. I mean, I played golf with the guy all time. I knew him, he would school my daughter. So I have to say yes. Yeah. I have to say yes.
00;21;18;11 - 00;21;35;04
Ron Zappolo
I'll make your point to we have part time officials in the NFL with, and there's so much money involved in the National Football League. When I see somebody throw a flag like that, it just makes me wonder.
00;21;35;07 - 00;21;37;05
Tom Green
Yeah, well, that's the problem as much.
00;21;37;05 - 00;21;38;07
Ron Zappolo
To get to somebody.
00;21;38;07 - 00;21;41;00
Tom Green
It's not even the truth. It's it's the fact that.
00;21;41;06 - 00;21;41;12
Ron Zappolo
The.
00;21;41;13 - 00;21;43;10
Tom Green
Specter of the possible.
00;21;43;12 - 00;21;48;22
Ron Zappolo
Answer and you say, yes, I say, I'm not sure, but I know we yes.
00;21;48;24 - 00;22;01;10
Woody Paige
I promise you, within the next year we'll see 2 or 3 more gambling situations that develop in your eyes. I mean, how can you have two pitchers for the Cleveland whatever they're called?
00;22;01;10 - 00;22;02;20
Ron Zappolo
North. Sorry. Guardians.
00;22;02;21 - 00;22;06;02
Woody Paige
Guardians, two pitchers.
00;22;06;05 - 00;22;07;03
Ron Zappolo
Throwing. That's a good.
00;22;07;04 - 00;22;09;23
Woody Paige
We're not throwing games. They were throwing pitches.
00;22;09;23 - 00;22;10;16
Tom Green
Individual pitches.
00;22;10;17 - 00;22;27;16
Ron Zappolo
All they've got. One thing that these leagues have to do, you gotta outlaw these prop bets where you're allowed to make bets on a single pitch, or you're allowed to bet on whether Jonty Porter gets two points in a game. All those bets should be thrown out.
00;22;27;16 - 00;22;46;13
Tom Green
Well, that's always been the problem. They always said Vegas wanted a clean game. They always needed a clean game. Otherwise, people aren't going to bet if they think they're putting their money into fixes, then they're not going to bet and that, you know they need their as big a handle as they can get. So it was it was not a good look this weekend in the NFL.
00;22;46;13 - 00;22;53;13
Woody Paige
I have to throw in one. I went in Florida decades ago to highlight.
00;22;53;15 - 00;22;55;14
Tom Green
Oh okay.
00;22;55;16 - 00;23;19;14
Woody Paige
You can bet on. No it was in Mexico. You can bet on highlight as the match is going on. You know after point you can. Yeah. And they had tennis balls with the workers betting workers that would throw it to you. And it was cut open. Yeah. And you could put $5 in it and throw it back to him and go, you know, the next point's going to be down.
00;23;19;14 - 00;23;44;27
Woody Paige
Yeah, something like that. And I went, man, I would never play, never bet on Hialeah my whole life. That is so illegal or what's going on in legal high life. And who if you never saw a highlight, I would see the players actually look up and see what the odds were, right? Yeah. And a guy that could climb a wall.
00;23;44;27 - 00;23;52;04
Woody Paige
If you've ever watch highlight one and do return shot would just let it flow past him and I go.
00;23;52;07 - 00;24;10;16
Tom Green
I was told I worked in Connecticut when they had front tons there, so there was that gambling was going on and they said, you, you know, you it's all fixed. So the only way you can win betting at the front is to follow the players wives to the window, do whatever. I'll have what she's having. That's that's the way to go.
00;24;10;16 - 00;24;15;12
Ron Zappolo
Do you think the NFL is concerned about what the Raiders did at the end of the game?
00;24;15;15 - 00;24;20;27
Tom Green
Well, they have to be I mean, I don't know if I don't know if they are publicly, but I would think that somewhere someone is going.
00;24;20;27 - 00;24;42;17
Ron Zappolo
Well then they I'll tell you what they should do. They should publicly make a statement about it and they should reaffirm that everything is fine and that here's what happened at the end of that game. Yeah, and they should, because if people like us are talking about it and questioning it, the NFL should address it. They shouldn't keep it under the rug.
00;24;42;17 - 00;24;48;17
Ron Zappolo
No, they should say, hey, we talked to Pete Carroll. Here's what he was thinking. We talked to the official. Here's what he was.
00;24;48;18 - 00;24;59;01
Woody Paige
Absolutely right. That's what should be done. Yeah. Whenever there's a situation like that now, you should have and they do have investigators on their staff and say, you know.
00;24;59;07 - 00;24;59;23
Ron Zappolo
Let's find.
00;24;59;23 - 00;25;21;17
Woody Paige
Out. We're having a timeout on this because you mentioned guys in Vegas they want a clean game. Yeah they need it. Don't want it. So you're saying to people and we've seen these operations say, we're not going to take your money for this game because it was sneaky. At the end of the game, we're giving back money.
00;25;21;19 - 00;25;50;21
Woody Paige
It's it's become so prominent in this country when Congress said you could have legal gambling that you can go, we have a friend who was fired because he was betting with a barber, right? Yeah. And with more than one friend. And that's what gambling used to be, is you go to the barbershop or newspapers. If you wanted to make a bet, you go back in the back in the printers.
00;25;50;25 - 00;26;06;19
Woody Paige
Yeah. One of them was always, a bookie. Yeah. And you could go back there and say, how do I get $10 on this game? And I never did it. I don't know why I didn't. You would be sitting here. I'd be, you know, I'd have my own island turnover somewhere in the Caribbean.
00;26;06;20 - 00;26;09;25
Tom Green
I'm thinking to taking up smoking. Yeah, and gambling and gambling.
00;26;10;02 - 00;26;10;11
Ron Zappolo
It's all.
00;26;10;11 - 00;26;30;16
Tom Green
Good. Hey, let's, let's talk about the Broncos final four games. You mentioned the green Bay and Jacksonville coming to town. They go to Casey for a short week, Christmas night, and then they get the Chargers here for winnable games. For loose ball games. This is. And this is where they've they've walked the razor's edge all season long.
00;26;30;18 - 00;26;37;05
Tom Green
You know obviously it it appears at this point that, you know they may have to win them all if they want to be the number one seed.
00;26;37;07 - 00;26;41;12
Woody Paige
And why is that so. Because the other team.
00;26;41;16 - 00;26;50;24
Tom Green
Because New England's playing in the AFC. Still it's they've had a soft schedule there. Stay soft. This is the Broncos hardest four game stretch of the season.
00;26;50;26 - 00;26;57;08
Woody Paige
I think the Patriots are going to go three and one. I think the Broncos are going to go two and two.
00;26;57;09 - 00;26;59;18
Ron Zappolo
And so the Patriots will get the number one seed.
00;26;59;18 - 00;27;02;01
Woody Paige
So they the Broncos have to go in my mind.
00;27;02;02 - 00;27;02;25
Ron Zappolo
Here's the deal. We in.
00;27;02;25 - 00;27;03;04
Woody Paige
One.
00;27;03;09 - 00;27;14;01
Ron Zappolo
Okay. If the Broncos go two and two it depends what two games they lose is. If one of those games is against Jacksonville they can end up behind Jacksonville. Yeah potentially.
00;27;14;03 - 00;27;20;24
Tom Green
Well obviously the the it's the Chiefs game isn't as important. And it's an odd game. It'll they'll be are the.
00;27;20;24 - 00;27;21;21
Ron Zappolo
Chiefs done by the way.
00;27;21;22 - 00;27;28;25
Tom Green
The yeah I think so. But the puzzle pieces have moved. You know they move every week with how they need all this stuff.
00;27;28;27 - 00;27;31;09
Ron Zappolo
That's Andy Reid saying no we're not done.
00;27;31;09 - 00;27;36;17
Tom Green
So this is this is when we have our specials. We ring the bell, we let everyone know and the I'll send bell.
00;27;36;17 - 00;27;39;01
Ron Zappolo
So those little hot dogs are so good.
00;27;39;03 - 00;27;40;25
Tom Green
They're ready now.
00;27;40;27 - 00;27;43;16
Woody Paige
The $100 winner. You go for it.
00;27;43;19 - 00;27;57;19
Tom Green
But but you know, you think of, the Jacksonville and the charger game or probably the two most important games. Green Bay's funny. I think I talked about it a little bit last week on the betting show, because Green Bay's got the bears on either side of it. And they played a terrific game with the bears last week.
00;27;57;24 - 00;28;07;24
Tom Green
Green Bay, they get the bears again next week. And it's not like you can say the Broncos are a trap game. The Broncos are lead in the NFL, but it'd be very interesting to see green Bay doesn't need that game as much.
00;28;07;25 - 00;28;26;27
Ron Zappolo
You make a good point. We saw it last Saturday. Indiana played Ohio State at the perfect time. Yeah, perfect time. And the same thing may play true in Denver because green Bay is playing two huge games back to back sandwiched in between the Denver game.
00;28;26;27 - 00;28;37;23
Tom Green
Yeah. So it'll be interesting to see they're going to have to play their best game of the year, maybe to beat green Bay because they haven't been tested. They've been close games but they haven't played great.
00;28;37;24 - 00;28;52;14
Woody Paige
You take two and two now because there's a possibility of them losing four games. Sure. Yeah I'm not sitting here being anti Broncos but these are for this is now considered the fourth most difficult finishing schedule. Third okay.
00;28;52;15 - 00;28;53;03
Ron Zappolo
Whatever it.
00;28;53;08 - 00;29;13;26
Woody Paige
Is. Third or fourth. Yeah. That they could lose to green Bay. Who's leading the division? You know the Chiefs want to. They're not going to roll over. Yes. And Jacksonville is not laughable. Jacksonville is again we're talking about a division leader. And you get the Chargers who.
00;29;13;27 - 00;29;16;06
Ron Zappolo
May who may still be alive.
00;29;16;08 - 00;29;16;24
Tom Green
When the division.
00;29;16;24 - 00;29;22;11
Woody Paige
Be playing for a wild card or for the division. So this is a difficult.
00;29;22;12 - 00;29;26;18
Tom Green
Having three of those at home though you kind of think two. And two would be the bottom for the Browns.
00;29;26;18 - 00;29;30;16
Woody Paige
I was not impressed with the Broncos Sunday. That was just.
00;29;30;23 - 00;29;35;18
Tom Green
I don't think you saw the full package, though. I think you saw the Broncos play to beat.
00;29;35;24 - 00;29;38;10
Woody Paige
But you're really been impressed by that.
00;29;38;12 - 00;29;48;27
Tom Green
I thought Bo Nix, who was one of the best days I'd seen him as far as making decisions and throwing the football on time, on target. And it was it was easier against the Raiders not.
00;29;48;28 - 00;29;59;22
Woody Paige
To get him. You know, teams talk about we got to get the quarterback out of the pocket. We got forced him out of the pocket. Teams want him to stay in the pocket because he throws his best when he's on the run.
00;29;59;22 - 00;30;04;04
Tom Green
And he can run. And it's seems like he's hesitant to do so.
00;30;04;07 - 00;30;29;21
Ron Zappolo
I'm a little bit with Woody on this. I kind of throw out the Raider game because it's just not you can't make any decisions or any assessment based on playing the team that I think right now is clearly the worst team in the NFL. Yeah Tennessee disarray. Yeah. They're just in disarray. And you just throw that out. These next four games will tell us all we need to know about the Broncos.
00;30;29;21 - 00;30;37;09
Ron Zappolo
And to Woody's point, if they go two and two and they finish 13 and four, I think at the beginning of the season, you would sign up for that?
00;30;37;15 - 00;30;50;23
Tom Green
Oh no doubt. Yeah. Well they got four games left and then then they have a postseason. Notre Dame has no games left. Notre Dame was the story this weekend in college football and.
00;30;50;23 - 00;30;53;27
Woody Paige
Laughing at Notre Dame just laughing at the predicament.
00;30;53;28 - 00;31;03;08
Tom Green
My transition there. That was so but that's the thing Notre Dame is the bigger story that they got stiffed. Or is the bigger story that they just took their ball and went home.
00;31;03;10 - 00;31;32;25
Ron Zappolo
The bigger story is option three, how screwed up college football is. I mean, on so many levels. Let's start with this. Going forward. Let's get a 16 team feel. But more importantly and let's stop it there okay. Stay at 12 then. Not stay at 12. No. But here's what I think they should do in this high tech world in which we live, I don't need 970 year old guys in a room like us saying, who played?
00;31;32;25 - 00;31;59;01
Ron Zappolo
Who would you put? You take all the information, you put it into the computer and they will spew out the 12 best teams, because we now have a situation where we don't have the 12 best teams and we've got two games coming up where one team is a more than a 20 point favorite over the other team. That's not what this was supposed to be.
00;31;59;01 - 00;32;00;27
Tom Green
And coaches are moving and everything.
00;32;00;27 - 00;32;03;15
Ron Zappolo
It's just the whole system is screwed up.
00;32;03;17 - 00;32;27;27
Woody Paige
Well, there's, on several different levels. I need to talk about that. This why I was laughing. Is the computer a few years ago was what you depended on, not me. But that's what the College Football Playoff depended on was the computer. They took it away from it. They they put it in the hands of people that are getting fired at their own school and are making decisions on this.
00;32;27;29 - 00;32;51;03
Woody Paige
The second point I want to make is, oh, if we go from 4 to 12, there'll never be any arguments at all, because you get all that, you don't have any problems at all. Guess what? There are more problems with the trying to pick the teams with 12. You want to put 16? Guess what? Oh, Ron told me today if we go to 16, we won't have any problems.
00;32;51;03 - 00;32;51;25
Ron Zappolo
Oh no.
00;32;51;27 - 00;32;54;18
Woody Paige
You wouldn't have been 18, 19 and 20.
00;32;54;18 - 00;32;56;20
Ron Zappolo
If we go to six, he's fast.
00;32;56;20 - 00;32;57;09
Woody Paige
You left me.
00;32;57;09 - 00;33;00;05
Ron Zappolo
I if we go to 64, they'll be a well.
00;33;00;08 - 00;33;26;29
Woody Paige
So here's here's a so I once said in a column that I thought every NCAA Division one team should get to go to the big dance, right? Anybody said you're an idiot. And I said, we wouldn't have those discussions of all the team was left out. Just let them all play. I actually went to my daughter, who was a mathematician, and figured out, she figured out that it would take like ten more days.
00;33;26;29 - 00;33;38;12
Woody Paige
Yeah, to play the tournament. You could eliminate the college conference playoffs at the end of the year and just take everybody into it.
00;33;38;14 - 00;33;41;01
Tom Green
Well, these student I got a call in the classroom.
00;33;41;02 - 00;33;50;13
Woody Paige
I got the I got a call from a guy who said, I'm the Cydia Indiana. And I said, great. He said, Bob Knight would like to talk to you.
00;33;50;16 - 00;33;51;10
Ron Zappolo
Oh.
00;33;51;12 - 00;34;09;18
Woody Paige
Sure. I remember sitting in I lived in Cheesman Park at him sitting there. Bob Knight would talk to me. I'd met him a couple of times and he said, you know, I hate people in the press. And I said, yes, I'm ready famously. And he said, you are right. He said, you are absolutely right. Just put everybody in there.
00;34;09;18 - 00;34;24;29
Woody Paige
Then you have no question. We don't have any, you know, 70 year old men with computers. Nobody just put everybody in. He said. You can have some, you know, bys and you could figure it out. He said, we figured it out here. It takes a week and a half longer. Two weeks. It.
00;34;24;29 - 00;34;29;16
Ron Zappolo
The problem is college basketball. Umbc can beat. Yeah. Duke.
00;34;29;21 - 00;34;31;04
Tom Green
Right.
00;34;31;07 - 00;34;34;18
Ron Zappolo
Say, yeah, James Madison can't beat Oregon.
00;34;34;25 - 00;34;50;26
Tom Green
So. But it also the broader impact being we also see all of these the Metamucil bowl and the Raisinets bowl and all these things are all seen them all. Well, I mean, their teams, everyone's turning them down now and they don't they don't I don't know players my coaches leaving my it's.
00;34;50;27 - 00;34;52;07
Ron Zappolo
The beginning of the end of the.
00;34;52;07 - 00;34;53;28
Tom Green
Bowls. Yeah. And it's I think.
00;34;53;28 - 00;34;59;24
Woody Paige
Well here's a suggestion for that. Play the bowls at the beginning of the year and you're going to laugh at me.
00;34;59;24 - 00;35;00;24
Ron Zappolo
But, I'll let.
00;35;00;27 - 00;35;23;26
Woody Paige
You go. These cities want to have these bowls. They were in control of college football no longer, but Tucson and Jacksonville, Florida. And yeah, Nashville, Tennessee. Memphis, where I grew up. Let those be the beginning. That's when you can play James Madison. It's a good idea to play really good games. And they they don't count. That could be an exhibition.
00;35;23;26 - 00;35;39;14
Woody Paige
You play a bowl. But what's happened now is Notre Dame said, why should we go to bowl? Hey, we're going to split the money with the SEC. Secondly, our players get kids, you know.
00;35;39;17 - 00;35;42;03
Tom Green
You get any prizes, a scarf.
00;35;42;05 - 00;36;01;25
Woody Paige
That they're they're already being paid $30,000 a week to play football. They know they don't need your your Xbox that you're going to give them or whatever it might be. The bowl games have no reason to live anymore. They there's no reason. The Rose Bowl, the daddy of them all.
00;36;01;27 - 00;36;07;12
Tom Green
Well, they could they could also use the bowls if they did go to like Ron's idea of 32 teams.
00;36;07;14 - 00;36;10;00
Ron Zappolo
All right. Here's, you know, here's here's.
00;36;10;02 - 00;36;10;21
Woody Paige
Here's for.
00;36;10;22 - 00;36;11;07
Ron Zappolo
You what.
00;36;11;07 - 00;36;12;19
Woody Paige
60, 44.
00;36;12;22 - 00;36;30;20
Ron Zappolo
Teams? I'll give you another problem. Okay. You either these conference title games count or they don't count. Now, I know why they played them money. Yeah, but Alabama can get their doors blown off.
00;36;30;21 - 00;36;33;01
Tom Green
Three minus three rushing yards.
00;36;33;04 - 00;36;34;25
Ron Zappolo
And it's all good. It doesn't.
00;36;34;25 - 00;36;35;02
Tom Green
Count.
00;36;35;02 - 00;36;43;06
Ron Zappolo
You're in BYU loses a second game to the same team Texas Tech. That game does count.
00;36;43;06 - 00;36;43;19
Tom Green
Oh no.
00;36;43;19 - 00;36;56;29
Ron Zappolo
Yeah. So let's decide if it's up to me I would get rid of all the conference title games because you shouldn't have teams who sat at home and prospered. Yeah, because somebody played a conference title game and got beat.
00;36;57;00 - 00;36;58;15
Tom Green
Yeah, Miami had a great week.
00;36;58;17 - 00;36;59;01
Woody Paige
So I'd like.
00;36;59;08 - 00;37;00;11
Ron Zappolo
Sort of, a lot of.
00;37;00;11 - 00;37;01;20
Tom Green
Teams without playing.
00;37;01;23 - 00;37;13;04
Woody Paige
I'm watching Indiana and Ohio State. And I said at the end of game two teams, all the fans are rushing to the field because there's still going to be one and two. Yeah. And they're probably going to end up playing against each other.
00;37;13;11 - 00;37;15;28
Ron Zappolo
That was that was a meaningless game.
00;37;16;01 - 00;37;34;17
Woody Paige
It was because one of them was going to be one, and one of them was going to be to, you've won the conference championship. Who gives a shit? They're winning the conference championship. You only want to be in the playoff. You want to have a chance to play again, and that's what's going to happen. They're going to both be I looked at the brackets, say they're not going to play each other till final game.
00;37;34;17 - 00;37;35;02
Ron Zappolo
And they may.
00;37;35;02 - 00;37;48;03
Woody Paige
You could see it again. Yeah. And I told somebody and I'm watching the game with they said and Ohio State will win because it's so difficult when you're that close which they were. You would agree that to beat them again. And I said.
00;37;48;05 - 00;37;50;06
Ron Zappolo
Ohio State will dominate them.
00;37;50;08 - 00;37;51;00
Tom Green
I would think so.
00;37;51;00 - 00;37;53;06
Woody Paige
Yeah I think Ohio State win that.
00;37;53;11 - 00;37;56;09
Tom Green
We'll see what happens on the way there. See if it's if they can get but.
00;37;56;09 - 00;38;05;06
Ron Zappolo
They got problems in college football. And you know what they need to they need a czar or a commissioner, somebody who really cares about the game.
00;38;05;06 - 00;38;05;20
Woody Paige
Who would that.
00;38;05;20 - 00;38;07;07
Ron Zappolo
Be? Well, I'll give you just one.
00;38;07;12 - 00;38;08;03
Woody Paige
Name.
00;38;08;05 - 00;38;12;09
Ron Zappolo
Nick Saban, who's out of it, who I watch on Saturday mornings.
00;38;12;09 - 00;38;14;27
Tom Green
Very good on TV. And he doesn't have to make any big decisions.
00;38;14;27 - 00;38;29;24
Ron Zappolo
Good on television. He has good opinions. I know he cares about the game, and I know he cares about trying to do what's right. They need someone who can give them some direction and put them on the right path, because they're not on the right.
00;38;29;24 - 00;38;32;10
Tom Green
Would you want that? It sounds like an awful job.
00;38;32;10 - 00;38;33;29
Ron Zappolo
Nick Saban might want it, though.
00;38;33;29 - 00;38;38;08
Tom Green
And maybe you and he would also come in with the gravitas, maybe to actually be listening.
00;38;38;08 - 00;38;38;13
Ron Zappolo
To.
00;38;38;20 - 00;38;41;03
Woody Paige
People about this. How about Peyton Manning?
00;38;41;05 - 00;38;48;21
Ron Zappolo
He'd be another one I would consider. I don't know how close to used to college football like Saban, but I would he'd be another one that would be good.
00;38;48;24 - 00;38;50;27
Tom Green
But yeah, it's going to be someone he.
00;38;50;27 - 00;38;56;08
Woody Paige
He's the one who he stepped up immediately after Colorado State just happened.
00;38;56;10 - 00;38;57;04
Ron Zappolo
I know I.
00;38;57;04 - 00;39;00;15
Woody Paige
Had a new coach and he's doing a TikTok about him more and.
00;39;00;15 - 00;39;01;00
Ron Zappolo
More and.
00;39;01;00 - 00;39;02;19
Woody Paige
More. Yes.
00;39;02;22 - 00;39;18;11
Tom Green
I think it's tricky been out because obviously we've seen in the last five years the NCAA doesn't matter anymore. No, the conferences go where they want to go and do what they want to do. And then all of a sudden you have this College Football Playoff committee that I think, you know, got its legs cut out from under it this week.
00;39;18;11 - 00;39;23;12
Tom Green
Like they're there say so. And people believing in them, took a big hit this weekend.
00;39;23;13 - 00;39;34;21
Woody Paige
I've got another name for you though, if you're looking for it. You used to think, well, well, let's get somebody from Congress the way. See, by Barack Obama. Yeah. Would you make him a czar?
00;39;34;22 - 00;39;35;11
Tom Green
Hey, you know who?
00;39;35;11 - 00;39;39;25
Ron Zappolo
I think he's a basketball guy. I think he loves basketball.
00;39;39;25 - 00;39;50;16
Tom Green
I got a guy for you. Guy who? I think it'd be great at this. He's not doing anything right now. Is Philip Rivers. He's now a grandfather. He's sitting at home. He played in the NC State.
00;39;50;19 - 00;39;51;28
Woody Paige
Indy coaching a team, now.
00;39;52;04 - 00;39;54;27
Tom Green
A high school team. I think he's been coaching. Yeah, yeah. Well that's a.
00;39;54;27 - 00;39;55;13
Woody Paige
Team.
00;39;55;13 - 00;40;05;12
Tom Green
Yeah. So Philip Rivers is back in the mix fellas. The Indianapolis Colts had you describe Daniel Jones's dilemma Riley Leonard gets hurt and he wasn't the answer anyway.
00;40;05;13 - 00;40;07;08
Ron Zappolo
No reports on the practice squad.
00;40;07;08 - 00;40;09;02
Tom Green
They're he's hurt too, I think.
00;40;09;03 - 00;40;13;10
Ron Zappolo
But the fact that Philip Rivers is being floated out.
00;40;13;10 - 00;40;14;15
Tom Green
There 44 years.
00;40;14;15 - 00;40;21;11
Ron Zappolo
Old, what does that tell you about the dearth of quarterbacks in the National Football League?
00;40;21;11 - 00;40;25;22
Tom Green
I saw one person say there should be a rule that you're allowed to have Joe Flacco play for.
00;40;25;22 - 00;40;26;13
Ron Zappolo
You for four.
00;40;26;13 - 00;40;30;02
Tom Green
Games. It's like he's like the league's emergency quarterback. Well.
00;40;30;05 - 00;40;36;09
Woody Paige
You know, the truth is I see why they went for Philip Rivers. Mark Sanchez wasn't available.
00;40;36;12 - 00;40;38;12
Tom Green
Especially in Indianapolis.
00;40;38;15 - 00;40;41;08
Ron Zappolo
I mean it's in France. So it's not just when I.
00;40;41;10 - 00;40;44;07
Woody Paige
Think about that that how would that be. That would be now Philip.
00;40;44;07 - 00;40;48;05
Tom Green
At 44, we thought he was going to be on our show, but he was too old for our show.
00;40;48;05 - 00;40;52;11
Ron Zappolo
Yeah. So but you know, we're laughing about Philip Rivers.
00;40;52;11 - 00;41;04;16
Woody Paige
But he had a, he had a hockey team, five, five players. Then he had a baseball team that players. Now he's one away from having football knows the soccer.
00;41;04;16 - 00;41;05;06
Ron Zappolo
Soccer.
00;41;05;09 - 00;41;06;05
Tom Green
Soccer side.
00;41;06;05 - 00;41;10;10
Woody Paige
Yeah. But the I think it's great.
00;41;10;13 - 00;41;10;28
Natasha
It's still working.
00;41;11;01 - 00;41;18;16
Woody Paige
Because we have miss NFL has missed his trash talking which never includes a curse. But I.
00;41;18;16 - 00;41;24;29
Ron Zappolo
Was just going to say that that one of the great stories in sports that you could talk that much trash.
00;41;24;29 - 00;41;25;15
Woody Paige
How could you.
00;41;25;15 - 00;41;27;10
Ron Zappolo
And never say.
00;41;27;12 - 00;41;29;22
Tom Green
I would. I would stumble, I would be lost.
00;41;29;22 - 00;41;51;13
Woody Paige
Like I think we got we got to get him on the show because he talked about that. He did came out of his mouth. Chris Harris junior told me that he was a rookie and he intercepted a pass and Philip Rivers ran over to him. Go back. Don't go where you came from. And he said, I'm from Kansas.
00;41;51;16 - 00;42;04;14
Woody Paige
City. He's trash talk to me. And it's wrong trash talking. But he said he they would trash talk. He would run off the field. And if trash talk the officials he go mad. If when I come back out here I'm going to show you.
00;42;04;21 - 00;42;31;07
Tom Green
So we go we get through November in the National Football League and Indianapolis and Kansas City are kind of in our mix. Indianapolis is playing great football. They look pretty sharp and they have gone down the drain. Kansas City has fallen by the wayside. And now all of a sudden you see this surge at the bottom. And especially as a Bronco follower, you realize someone down there is going to be pretty good playing pretty good when it comes your turn.
00;42;31;07 - 00;42;32;06
Tom Green
You mean up to the field?
00;42;32;07 - 00;42;33;17
Ron Zappolo
Houston Texans Houston.
00;42;33;17 - 00;42;35;13
Tom Green
Texans look like a load right now.
00;42;35;14 - 00;42;37;23
Ron Zappolo
Yeah they look like the best team in the AFC.
00;42;37;23 - 00;43;04;09
Woody Paige
Yeah they really go back a few weeks. Well we were saying you're talking about Broncos fans becoming Chiefs fans to beat the Colts. And I looked at their schedule. The Colts had a forget about the injury problems they've had and everything that I said. There's three games that they're going to lose upcoming and they have the Texans have come out of not nowhere, but they've come out of barely some rough.
00;43;04;09 - 00;43;05;24
Tom Green
Start to their season. They've been good.
00;43;05;28 - 00;43;14;06
Woody Paige
And the Broncos, who beat, don't want to play again. Who do they not want to play? Would you rather play the Patriots or the Texans?
00;43;14;09 - 00;43;15;22
Tom Green
Yeah, the Patriots.
00;43;15;24 - 00;43;22;09
Woody Paige
Yeah I would say that. Who else you said before went on air the Ravens are no good. No.
00;43;22;16 - 00;43;41;29
Tom Green
Well watching watching the Bengals cough up that game in bizarre fashion to the bills. They had it under control. And then burrow suddenly throws a poor pick and a deflected ball for touchdowns. And it's you know but the Bengals were about to maybe make a run in that in that division. And the Steelers and Ravens neither look.
00;43;41;29 - 00;43;52;04
Ron Zappolo
They're both going south. And it's not going to be just for this year. Yeah they're both old. And if Joe Burrow is healthy next year I think the Bengals would win that division going away.
00;43;52;07 - 00;43;56;27
Tom Green
And then you have Schrader also in the Division two door. Had he had a breakout game.
00;43;56;29 - 00;44;08;13
Ron Zappolo
Is now I from what I read going to start the rest of the rest of the way. Let me ask you something. What the hell was Kevin Stefanski thinking taking should dour off the field.
00;44;08;13 - 00;44;09;28
Tom Green
After he take he takes.
00;44;09;28 - 00;44;21;26
Ron Zappolo
You down the field. The game is on the line and you run one of the shittiest two point plays ever attempted in NFL history, with Judkins running around and just.
00;44;21;29 - 00;44;22;19
Tom Green
Forgetting.
00;44;22;20 - 00;44;25;25
Ron Zappolo
It up. It make again. This goes back to our game.
00;44;25;27 - 00;44;26;20
Tom Green
I was going to say.
00;44;26;22 - 00;44;33;28
Ron Zappolo
Makes me wonder what Kevin Stefanski or the Browns really you're thinking about should do.
00;44;34;01 - 00;44;42;11
Tom Green
That could have also been he might have, if he really did want to blow up the chance to win that game. That may have to do with your draft position, because you're not maybe using that.
00;44;42;11 - 00;44;50;04
Ron Zappolo
Title, but it makes it look like to some people's conspiracy theory. Yeah, that they just don't like to have Sanders.
00;44;50;06 - 00;44;58;09
Tom Green
Well, that that doesn't seem more than a conspiracy theory. It seems like it's taking him forever to embrace your delivered again. You know, they have.
00;44;58;09 - 00;45;06;04
Ron Zappolo
A good quarterback there forever. He seems like he's off to a decent start. Why wouldn't you embrace that?
00;45;06;06 - 00;45;34;03
Woody Paige
I would think we are exactly two months away from the Super Bowl. It seems like that seems like a long time. But today, December 9th, I guess it is. Super Bowl is February 8th in Santa Clara, where the Broncos last won a Super Bowl. Who would you say belongs it? I didn't say who will be right. Who belong.
00;45;34;03 - 00;45;34;23
Ron Zappolo
Belongs.
00;45;34;23 - 00;45;41;24
Woody Paige
In the sea. This question is different than who will be there. But who who deserves or belongs to be.
00;45;41;24 - 00;45;53;18
Tom Green
Nobody jumps out. I mean, no, really. I'm sitting here thinking, you know, you become recency bias. You know, green Bay look good okay. Maybe green Bay I don't know about green.
00;45;53;18 - 00;45;58;03
Woody Paige
Bay in Denver. Is it a good one. Yeah that that has a ring to it. That could.
00;45;58;03 - 00;45;58;12
Tom Green
Happen.
00;45;58;12 - 00;46;00;17
Ron Zappolo
But how about the Rams and the Patriots. Yeah the.
00;46;00;17 - 00;46;02;01
Tom Green
Rams.
00;46;02;03 - 00;46;03;04
Woody Paige
Sure they've played.
00;46;03;04 - 00;46;04;11
Ron Zappolo
Before.
00;46;04;13 - 00;46;07;13
Tom Green
But I shrug my shoulders at all of them like yeah okay. Yeah I could see.
00;46;07;16 - 00;46;15;20
Woody Paige
I but the reason why I asked that question is because you usually can say well Belichick and Tom Brady they're going to be.
00;46;15;23 - 00;46;21;17
Ron Zappolo
There is there is none of that. There's none of that. Denver's got as good a chance as anybody in the.
00;46;21;20 - 00;46;26;12
Woody Paige
That's the whole point of it that it is. Two months ago.
00;46;26;14 - 00;46;33;08
Natasha
Yeah I know I just said thank you. I'm happy to finally hear you guys remotely on board with the Broncos.
00;46;33;10 - 00;46;43;17
Ron Zappolo
Well, you know, you have to understand where we come from. We're hardened, bitter, cynical, bitter journalists who enjoy.
00;46;43;19 - 00;46;47;00
Natasha
All I know, and I we're not the South stands.
00;46;47;00 - 00;46;49;20
Ron Zappolo
We're not cheerleaders.
00;46;49;23 - 00;46;54;06
Woody Paige
Well, if you come from the South stands, I really don't have any respect for you.
00;46;54;07 - 00;46;55;28
Ron Zappolo
For those people.
00;46;56;00 - 00;46;56;23
Woody Paige
I said in.
00;46;56;25 - 00;47;05;05
Ron Zappolo
The talk show, you haven't lived until a coach has looked you in the face and told you to get the fuck away from me. Yeah.
00;47;05;07 - 00;47;09;11
Tom Green
It's. Yeah, it's kind of nice, right? Yeah.
00;47;09;14 - 00;47;10;07
Woody Paige
Yeah.
00;47;10;09 - 00;47;13;11
Natasha
Well, you've always earned it. So we did.
00;47;13;13 - 00;47;33;03
Ron Zappolo
That's why we're not. We're not out here shaking the pom poms. I mean, we're looking at it like everybody else does and we're saying, hey, and I don't think I think Bronco fans, for the most part, would agree with us that while they're playing great and their record is what it is, there's room for improvement.
00;47;33;06 - 00;47;44;09
Tom Green
But it is nice. If you did tell a Bronco fan that in on December 9th, you were going to have as good a chance as anyone to win the Super Bowl, people would say, sign me up, I'll take you. Take.
00;47;44;09 - 00;47;47;29
Ron Zappolo
They've got as good a chance as anybody. Can I say one more thing?
00;47;48;01 - 00;47;49;25
Tom Green
Oh, are you grinding your gears? No, I'm not going.
00;47;49;25 - 00;47;55;00
Ron Zappolo
To my gears. Okay, you guys can. What has happened to Jalen Hurts? That was a it.
00;47;55;00 - 00;47;56;13
Tom Green
Was a rough watch last night.
00;47;56;13 - 00;48;09;12
Ron Zappolo
That like I love Jalen Hurts I think he's one of my favorite players in the NFL. And I don't know if it's the bitching of AJ Brown or Sirianni, but he looks like he's just not having fun.
00;48;09;14 - 00;48;15;12
Tom Green
Good things. You said AJ Brown and AJ Brown could probably bitch more if he caught the ball better. He's he had.
00;48;15;12 - 00;48;17;07
Ron Zappolo
A rough couple of the other night.
00;48;17;10 - 00;48;32;15
Tom Green
Yeah. And the other thing I noticed with Jalen Hurts that you see in young quarterbacks that he was doing last night is he'd go back to pass. The pressure would come in his eyes. It come down. He started to avoid the pressure instead of see the field. Once you do that in the NFL.
00;48;32;15 - 00;48;47;10
Ron Zappolo
He did do something. He turned it over twice in one way, which is hard to do. But you know what? That last throw in the overtime that he's going to know everything. He know he's smart, he's played. He's kind of he's a Super Bowl champion. That's not a throw you make.
00;48;47;10 - 00;48;48;14
Tom Green
Not a do or die play.
00;48;48;15 - 00;48;57;13
Ron Zappolo
No no. And now the Chargers made a great play. The corner tipped it. Yeah the guy made a great. Yeah yeah. But that's not a throw that you.
00;48;57;13 - 00;48;57;28
Tom Green
Threw it into.
00;48;57;28 - 00;49;07;07
Ron Zappolo
Jeopardy. You're down there on the 15 yard line. You've got the game. You worst case you're going to kick a field goal. Yeah I don't I don't want to. He's really regressed.
00;49;07;09 - 00;49;08;24
Tom Green
And that's why Philly's not like they.
00;49;08;24 - 00;49;13;01
Ron Zappolo
Were two years ago. Remember they were ten and one and they just fell apart.
00;49;13;06 - 00;49;21;22
Tom Green
That's why they're not on my list of who could be. And they certainly could get up off the deck and get there, but they don't look like a Super Bowl team these last few weeks. I mean.
00;49;21;25 - 00;49;54;09
Ron Zappolo
Can I say one more thing? The brilliance of football. I just want okay. Because I know we're we're open ended here. You know, Monday was the 45 year anniversary of the assassination of John Lennon. Yes. And it one of those moments where we all remember where we were. And it ties into football because unlike the era that we live in now, Howard Cosell told The Nation about this, we're now on the internet and with 900 channels and there were you couldn't have that.
00;49;54;11 - 00;50;00;24
Ron Zappolo
But back then he told the country that John Lennon, had been murdered.
00;50;00;26 - 00;50;04;14
Tom Green
Now it's hard for people to imagine or even remember how news traveled back then.
00;50;04;15 - 00;50;06;15
Ron Zappolo
I mean, I do. I remember exactly.
00;50;06;15 - 00;50;06;28
Tom Green
Patriots.
00;50;06;28 - 00;50;20;19
Ron Zappolo
Day, where I was as Patriots, Dolphins. I was in the channel four newsroom, and I was a huge John Lennon fan, and I was just stunned. And not only that, that it was Cosell. Yeah. Of all people.
00;50;20;19 - 00;50;21;29
Tom Green
Who had interviewed him, I would have.
00;50;21;29 - 00;50;50;24
Ron Zappolo
Interviewed him before on Monday Night Football, and he was witty and engaging and funny, and he was assimilating to the United States. He loved it here. And to think that somebody and he was signing an autograph for that guy earlier in the night, he goes with his wife in the studio and he comes back and he's murdered. It was the precursor of gun violence in this country, and we've never really been able to get a handle on it.
00;50;50;24 - 00;51;00;05
Woody Paige
And Cosell doing it in his own inimitable way, the way he did it. And he says, John Lennon, arguably.
00;51;00;05 - 00;51;03;24
Ron Zappolo
Arguably the most famous to be done right.
00;51;03;26 - 00;51;05;12
Woody Paige
Yeah, we were going to go there.
00;51;05;18 - 00;51;24;25
Tom Green
Well, well, there's a little pressure in the moment. I mean, for one, when somebody tells Cosell theoretically in his ear, this happened, it's like, I want to make sure what you're telling me is exactly true before I blurt this out. And then it's, you got to do it on your feet. And it's, you know, Cosell was always so cocky.
00;51;24;26 - 00;51;25;01
Tom Green
You know.
00;51;25;01 - 00;51;35;18
Ron Zappolo
I met Cosell once in Denver, and he was one of my heroes, and I admired him. And it's it was one of those deals where you should never meet your heroes. Oh. Yeah.
00;51;35;20 - 00;51;37;22
Woody Paige
Not in my case.
00;51;37;24 - 00;51;38;28
Tom Green
Yeah. Woody. Page for me.
00;51;38;28 - 00;51;41;04
Ron Zappolo
Woody page for you. Mickey Cosell.
00;51;41;07 - 00;52;06;07
Woody Paige
Monday night game in San Diego. And he's staying in the same, resort that the Broncos were staying in. And I went up to Cosell and I said, you got time just to talk? He said, no, I don't, I don't really, I don't want to be bothered by these people because a lot of fans here and everything, he said his chair in the way of anybody going to the Super.
00;52;06;07 - 00;52;09;13
Tom Green
Bowl would see me is just don't bother.
00;52;09;13 - 00;52;10;26
Woody Paige
Me. Don't bother. Don't bother.
00;52;10;26 - 00;52;29;25
Ron Zappolo
Me. Yeah, I met him in Denver and I shook his hand and well, I understand that you're one of the, you know, whatever in Denver. It's a horseshit town. When they throw bricks through a TV at my vision. And you ought to be ashamed. And I was like, well, it was good talking to you, too.
00;52;29;26 - 00;52;33;01
Tom Green
That's the background of the bar. Sweetwater's. Right? That's where people used to be.
00;52;33;02 - 00;52;34;14
Ron Zappolo
Yeah. They would throw bricks in.
00;52;34;14 - 00;52;49;19
Woody Paige
You go for people if you don't realize. Yes, he was he was they were throwing they had bought, rubber bricks to throw at the TV set. But and if you ever go to Hampden and Monaco that that's where the bar is because I said.
00;52;49;20 - 00;53;04;15
Ron Zappolo
But the other thing would be people who would watch us now don't realize back then, before the internet, the halftime highlights on Monday, that was the biggest thing. And if your team didn't get on there, yeah, you were pissed off.
00;53;04;15 - 00;53;05;11
Tom Green
And Denver was and.
00;53;05;11 - 00;53;06;28
Ron Zappolo
Denver was often not on.
00;53;06;28 - 00;53;07;09
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;53;07;15 - 00;53;15;28
Woody Paige
Well the and that was likely most likely was because they had to send the films.
00;53;15;28 - 00;53;16;14
Tom Green
Yeah.
00;53;16;16 - 00;53;17;28
Woody Paige
To Bristol or North.
00;53;18;00 - 00;53;19;07
Ron Zappolo
It was it was.
00;53;19;10 - 00;53;21;07
Tom Green
The story films. Yeah. Can you.
00;53;21;07 - 00;53;23;05
Ron Zappolo
Imagine. It was so prehistoric then.
00;53;23;10 - 00;53;29;03
Tom Green
Well it feels like it now, but it was what it was and it was great when it was. Yeah. You know, he was brilliant.
00;53;29;03 - 00;53;38;04
Ron Zappolo
I had a friend of mine who, played pro ball, and he went on Cosell's show a couple of times. I used to listen on the radio.
00;53;38;05 - 00;53;39;24
Tom Green
This is how I do so this.
00;53;39;24 - 00;54;01;20
Ron Zappolo
Is Howard Cosell, speaking of sports. And my friend told me that Cosell had him on his radio show and he'd say, come on in. I gotta do that. And he said, with no script, no nothing, he had to make it 54 seconds. And he did it all the time, right on the money. And then he would tell him, let's go to Sardi's and get a drink.
00;54;01;28 - 00;54;23;28
Ron Zappolo
And, and he he was brilliant. And not only that, he stuck up for Ali when most of the mainstream press way before our. Yeah. It like it's harder to do with him and yeah. And he did a lot of really good things and it's just, you know, it's a shame that when you hang around long enough, you can get bitter and you can get,
00;54;24;00 - 00;54;24;20
Ron Zappolo
I'm not.
00;54;24;20 - 00;54;26;05
Woody Paige
Looking up. No.
00;54;26;08 - 00;54;27;13
Tom Green
You're looking directly.
00;54;27;13 - 00;54;29;16
Ron Zappolo
At. Yeah. He had to looking right or what?
00;54;29;19 - 00;54;32;24
Woody Paige
CoStar had a Saturday afternoon show, while.
00;54;32;26 - 00;54;35;05
Ron Zappolo
He was on the Wide World of Sports all the time.
00;54;35;05 - 00;54;37;12
Woody Paige
But he also, they they gave him a show.
00;54;37;15 - 00;54;38;08
Tom Green
Oh, the Saturday night.
00;54;38;08 - 00;54;38;13
Ron Zappolo
The.
00;54;38;20 - 00;54;39;14
Tom Green
Riot, he.
00;54;39;17 - 00;55;16;21
Woody Paige
Did a variety show, but he also had another Saturday morning show because they called me. The Denver Post decided back in the days of a newspaper war here, and TV wars and even radio wars that I would cover every ballgame. You can't imagine that now we're, you know, every, kind of vegetable and mineral was. And so I was going to go to all in fact, I could do the Orange Bowl one night and get to the Sugar Bowl the next morning or something like that.
00;55;16;21 - 00;55;33;14
Woody Paige
And so Cosell told somebody, he read about this, that they were promoting it, and he said, get that down on the show. My bag had been lost. And I told him, I can't come on the show. I don't have to. And they said, we'll buy you everything. So they bought me a shirt, they bought me a razor, the whole thing.
00;55;33;16 - 00;55;52;26
Woody Paige
And so I'm sitting at a pool in Jackson, the Gator Bowl. I'm at the Gator Bowl, and he comes on and I go, man, it's a big bowl with me being on with Howard Cosell. He goes, why? And I can't do the impression like you do. I just say it. He says, why are you doing this? That was his first question.
00;55;52;28 - 00;55;53;11
Ron Zappolo
It's pretty.
00;55;53;11 - 00;55;55;23
Woody Paige
Good. What kind of idiot are you? You doing.
00;55;55;23 - 00;56;08;19
Ron Zappolo
This? What? You don't leave sports writing because you forgot more than we know. Would you say the Cosell was the greatest overall sportscaster of all time?
00;56;08;21 - 00;56;17;27
Tom Green
Well, probably the most recognizable by voice, by face, by jobs. He had those jobs. I mean, who else was? But who else would you put in there?
00;56;17;27 - 00;56;21;06
Woody Paige
Like Vin Scully would you put? I would put Vin Scully in the.
00;56;21;06 - 00;56;24;06
Ron Zappolo
I put Scully in, too, but he's in a different lane.
00;56;24;11 - 00;56;27;18
Tom Green
Especially back then it was Brooklyn or New York or LA, but.
00;56;27;18 - 00;56;33;27
Ron Zappolo
Otherwise it was strictly a he. He dabbled in television, but he was a play by play guy.
00;56;33;27 - 00;56;36;06
Tom Green
He did the the catch, the Dwight Clark he.
00;56;36;06 - 00;56;44;03
Ron Zappolo
Did, yes. But he did a lot of that stuff. But when I think of Vin Scully, I think of, the Dodgers play by play.
00;56;44;03 - 00;56;47;10
Tom Green
So Brant Musburger, Bob Costas, those guys would all.
00;56;47;12 - 00;56;48;01
Ron Zappolo
Stop.
00;56;48;03 - 00;56;49;00
Woody Paige
Jim Nantz.
00;56;49;05 - 00;56;50;24
Tom Green
Yeah, there'd be others on the list.
00;56;50;24 - 00;56;52;26
Ron Zappolo
But Cosell also Jim McKay.
00;56;52;28 - 00;56;55;17
Tom Green
Jim McKay. Well, and very different, but probably.
00;56;55;17 - 00;56;57;19
Ron Zappolo
Giving people names. They don't even know who they are.
00;56;57;20 - 00;57;00;17
Tom Green
But Cosell also did. But that was what was it was for.
00;57;00;18 - 00;57;03;09
Ron Zappolo
Yeah, exactly. Jim McKay.
00;57;03;11 - 00;57;17;26
Woody Paige
Did I tell you guys about, so I, I'm talking to Alexa. You know, Alexa, what's the temperature going to be like today? And I realized I was talking to tuna fish. And they're both and they're both next to each other in the kitchen.
00;57;17;27 - 00;57;21;22
Ron Zappolo
I would I would vote for, Cosell. Yeah. Overall.
00;57;21;28 - 00;57;25;16
Tom Green
Well, he also helped invent the John he did. So that was different for him.
00;57;25;16 - 00;57;31;24
Woody Paige
Well, his relationship and you mentioned it with my Ali, was unlike anything.
00;57;31;24 - 00;57;37;14
Ron Zappolo
You seem very truculent. Well, I don't know what that is, but if it's good on that, and.
00;57;37;16 - 00;58;11;04
Woody Paige
Muhammad Ali would tell you and I did have a conversation once with him and in a hotel room in Vegas, and he said that he played along with it because Cosell did so much for his career. Sure that he played along with it rather than fighting it, that he could have this bantering, argumentative discussion with Cosell. And they both were enriched by this and their reputations were strengthened by this relationship.
00;58;11;04 - 00;58;26;19
Tom Green
I have a very unique Muhammad Ali story to tell you. I was, a young boy. My brother and I are. Birthdays are a few days apart. My dad would take us over to the guard to go see a Ranger game every year, and he took us to touch Shaw's, the famous restaurant where everybody went all the time.
00;58;26;19 - 00;58;43;05
Tom Green
And so we're sitting there and I'm 9 or 10 years old, and my dad says, you know, there's Muhammad Ali. And I go, wow. And then he goes, you should, you know, go see if I'm autograph for you. Yeah. And I'm like, no. And he goes, yeah, you should. And he kind of egg me on. It's unlike my dad.
00;58;43;05 - 00;59;07;24
Tom Green
So I went over there and he did sign these giant touch sure menus. He had been stripped of his title, but he wrote world heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali. And years later in Denver in I think it was the mid to late 80s, Ali's popularity had waned through Parkinson's and stuff. His his profile had become low, and he was making an appearance at a car dealer on South Broadway, and they sent me out to do a live shot.
00;59;07;27 - 00;59;34;22
Tom Green
And I go out there and there's literally like three salesmen Ali, one of his friends, me and a cameraman. There's no one there. And so as I talked to him, I said, you know, I, I'm sure you hear this all the time, but I met you as a young boy in New York. Touch yours. And he looks at me and through the veil of his Parkinson's, he looks at me and he goes, you were wearing red pants.
00;59;34;24 - 00;59;44;20
Tom Green
And I. If it's not just a line, it's tremendous because I don't know what I was wearing. But if you remember it, it's unbelievable. But I was just.
00;59;44;20 - 00;59;45;26
Ron Zappolo
You just go and.
00;59;45;26 - 00;59;50;21
Tom Green
I go, what a great thing to say. And it was like I could sure, maybe, I.
00;59;50;21 - 00;59;53;09
Woody Paige
Don't know, I think we should start using that when people come.
00;59;53;11 - 00;59;55;03
Ron Zappolo
Back here.
00;59;55;05 - 00;59;56;26
Woody Paige
And I thought that we're in that category.
00;59;56;26 - 01;00;17;29
Ron Zappolo
But we all have these Ali stories. Maury Povich sent me out in 1975 to National Airport in D.C. because Ali was coming into town, and he wanted me to get an interview with him as he got off the plane. And I can remember this like yesterday, I'm nervous as hell. Ali comes off the plane and I approach him and he goes, sure, young fella, I'll do it.
01;00;17;29 - 01;00;36;15
Ron Zappolo
But here's the deal. You're going to have to walk with me through the airport, but I'll be glad to do it. And I'll never forget. For the next ten minutes, I put a microphone in his face. He went in. He hugged every baby. He went to, every shoeshine guy and shadow box them. And he went up the just people and hugged them.
01;00;36;17 - 01;00;45;04
Ron Zappolo
And it was like nothing I had ever seen before. And at one point he says to me, you keep it up, all right. He was just he was amazing.
01;00;45;06 - 01;00;51;20
Woody Paige
So today's trivia question is, who did Muhammad Ali fight in Denver.
01;00;51;23 - 01;00;52;20
Ron Zappolo
While I was there?
01;00;52;23 - 01;00;53;28
Tom Green
There you go. Wow.
01;00;53;28 - 01;01;06;00
Woody Paige
High stadium. I think there are people here that don't know that Muhammad Ali fought in the old Mile High stadium against Lalo, Zito and Ali was doing it as an exhibition, but.
01;01;06;03 - 01;01;07;29
Ron Zappolo
Lyle thought it was real.
01;01;08;01 - 01;01;11;21
Woody Paige
He did. So Muhammad Ali just beat shit up.
01;01;11;24 - 01;01;14;02
Tom Green
Really? You want to fight? Do you really want to fight? What the fuck?
01;01;14;05 - 01;01;30;13
Ron Zappolo
I have to be good at this. Lyle thought he was, and he probably was. Lyle was a Golden Gloves. Yeah. So I was talking about Lyle yesterday with a friend of mine, and Lyle was a good. Yeah, we could talk about. I'm loving the show because we're going all over the place wandering. But Lyle actually thought, you know this because we both covered it.
01;01;30;17 - 01;01;45;03
Ron Zappolo
Lyle thought, oh, I'll get in there and he'll tell you. And I'm like, yes. And faced anybody like me and I'll, we got in there with him and kind of looked over to people like, is this guy serious? He really was. I'm going to hold him up, but if he gives me a hard time, I'll knock the shit out.
01;01;45;03 - 01;01;46;00
Tom Green
I'll take him down.
01;01;46;00 - 01;01;59;11
Ron Zappolo
Yeah. So but God, God rest Lyle soul. He was. Lyle was a wonderful, crazy character who, when I got to Denver, was arguably the most popular.
01;01;59;11 - 01;02;02;07
Tom Green
You talk about unique characters. Yeah. I mean, it's hard not to be.
01;02;02;07 - 01;02;04;23
Ron Zappolo
Was Lyle was an incredible person.
01;02;04;23 - 01;02;37;26
Woody Paige
That's, how I started when I was inducted into. Because of him. Oh, no. No, because Colorado Sports Hall of Fame. But. But there's a true story of a during the exhibition season, the Broncos would allow me to fly on the team plane because they were coming back from Seattle after a game. And I was I was doing a magazine story, sport magazine story on Lala Zito and getting to know him, and they would give the team players box lunches, right?
01;02;37;28 - 01;03;00;24
Woody Paige
Chicken and a sandwich and a couple of beers. On the coming back to me, that makes the story faster. We're drinking beer. We're talking eating fried chicken. He falls asleep. He played most of the exhibition game. And so I'm sitting there and we hit the Rocky Mountains, and there's a great deal of tumbling in the sky.
01;03;00;27 - 01;03;01;17
Tom Green
Right.
01;03;01;19 - 01;03;25;06
Woody Paige
And I throw up and I throw up all levels, you know? And I tell this story at every speech I ever give, and it still sticks with me. And I threw up all over Lalo Zito, who's asleep, and all the other players laugh because they know little how Zito, who's fought Muhammad Ali, he's going to wake up and just beat the shit out of me like you can't believe.
01;03;25;13 - 01;03;43;12
Woody Paige
And so I go back to the bathroom and I come back very quietly, and I'm wiping my vomit off while I was Ito's, t shirt or whatever. Swig. And he wakes up, he looks down and he sees this, and he sees me, and he said, what the hell? I said, do you feel better, al? Like, how are you feeling?
01;03;43;12 - 01;03;54;03
Woody Paige
Better. Well. And the players are laughing there. So he went, well, what happened? What happened? He said, get out of my way. I got to go to the bathroom. He said, you got another shirt? I can wear something like that. He never realized.
01;03;54;03 - 01;03;55;00
Tom Green
He got away with it.
01;03;55;02 - 01;03;55;24
Woody Paige
Yeah. Then I got that.
01;03;55;24 - 01;03;58;17
Natasha
Thing you fellas you threw open your sleeve. Hey.
01;03;58;18 - 01;04;04;14
Tom Green
Two things, orders of business. Because we got to wrap it up here because we do. We're we're open and we're open.
01;04;04;14 - 01;04;05;16
Ron Zappolo
And so while we.
01;04;05;16 - 01;04;06;19
Woody Paige
Just keep going our.
01;04;06;20 - 01;04;06;29
Ron Zappolo
Way.
01;04;06;29 - 01;04;23;17
Tom Green
Reasonable. First read the board, it says, behind Woody, the blackboard says I choose to jingle just some of the way. A little holiday message from our friend little bitty. And, anybody got a gears? Anybody want to grind anything? Really?
01;04;23;17 - 01;04;46;11
Woody Paige
Yeah, I do. Go ahead. I make this short. We have a this is not really a political statement. It's a statement of what's going on in the world that we have, someone who's in the administration, in the federal government who says that we should go back to wearing suits and ties on Earth.
01;04;46;14 - 01;04;50;22
Tom Green
It's because that's the problem with there.
01;04;50;25 - 01;05;16;14
Woody Paige
I don't like people putting their feet up on a shag carpet. So if you get a front seat and people put their feet up, I don't want to smell your feet. I don't want to look at your feet. I don't I think I don't want to see you in clothing that's wrong. But I do remember as young man dressing up to get on the airplanes and going to movie theaters.
01;05;16;14 - 01;05;16;27
Woody Paige
Yes.
01;05;17;01 - 01;05;17;14
Tom Green
Or boy.
01;05;17;16 - 01;05;44;14
Woody Paige
And the two things that I always remember distinctly about that is everybody sit quietly in the movie theater and nobody caused problems on airplanes. So what grinds my gears is I don't agree that we have to go back to wearing suits and ties and, dresses and stuff on planes, but can we have a little bit more civility in movie theaters?
01;05;44;14 - 01;06;09;13
Woody Paige
I stopped going to movie theaters because people were. Talking about people who grew up in another era. I'm not going to pick on a certain group, watched every movie on TV, and they could talk to the TV because you're in your room. But talking to it, saying it. I remember distinctly when the movie jaws came out and they're going, oh, she's going to die in the first scene, because I've seen it five times.
01;06;09;15 - 01;06;24;13
Woody Paige
So making it short. But I think that people should just realize if you're getting on an airplane, it be a little bit civil in terms of what you say to people. Because every day if you look on the internet, somebody's getting into a fight because.
01;06;24;19 - 01;06;46;01
Ron Zappolo
Yeah, yeah, I think you're 100% spot on with this. I get upset to things on the airplane when a guy comes on and flip flops and a wife beater and torn off shorts and takes his foot popped off, it bothers me. The second thing that bothers me on a plane is when a guy takes his cell phone out, when he lands and makes a call and acts like he's by himself, right?
01;06;46;02 - 01;06;57;13
Ron Zappolo
There's 40 people around. You make a great point about the movie theaters. And again, this goes to cell phones. When we went to theaters, there were no cell phones. But now you got a guy talking like this on his cell.
01;06;57;13 - 01;07;07;26
Woody Paige
I'm not going to believe this movie I'm watching. And in the second scene, it's about to come out because I've seen this movie before. It's about they're going to tell you that The Butler did it.
01;07;07;28 - 01;07;14;16
Ron Zappolo
It's it's all true. This thing about this show today is you talking about your dad telling him to telling you to go.
01;07;14;16 - 01;07;20;11
Tom Green
Over, which wasn't like my dad. You guys never knew him, but he was just very low key man. And he just knew that that was.
01;07;20;14 - 01;07;41;18
Ron Zappolo
Yeah, my dad was low key, too. And you reminded me of something. I mean, one of my my. I lost my dad in 2018, and one of my favorite memories is he would travel all week and he would get home and he'd say, I'll make it up to you. And on Sunday afternoon, he would take my brother and I down to the Boston Garden to see wilt go against Russell.
01;07;41;18 - 01;07;56;04
Ron Zappolo
Yeah, he would take us out for a, in his words, a bowl of spaghetti in the North End, and then we go back at 730 and watch the Bruins play the Rangers. And we would fall asleep in the car on the way home. But it was such a wonderful memory.
01;07;56;04 - 01;07;57;04
Tom Green
That.
01;07;57;06 - 01;07;58;29
Ron Zappolo
That was what I think of when I think it's a.
01;07;58;29 - 01;08;00;27
Tom Green
Great feeling this time of year two especially.
01;08;01;00 - 01;08;09;25
Ron Zappolo
Yeah, your your family and your family. Is that when you when I heard that about your dad, I could just see not knowing your dad but say, hey, Tom, you know.
01;08;09;27 - 01;08;10;19
Tom Green
Go back, go.
01;08;10;19 - 01;08;22;07
Woody Paige
Bother. My dad died in his 40s, but he was a gigantic sports fan. He took me to see Tennessee play Ole Miss in Memphis, Tennessee when I was a year and a half.
01;08;22;07 - 01;08;25;27
Ron Zappolo
Oh, he wanted to start you out, right? Yeah, yeah.
01;08;25;29 - 01;08;50;06
Woody Paige
I said to my mother later, I said it was a what was a day like. She said it was snowing. Yeah. And your dad just want to introduce you to college football. Yeah. And so my dad introduced me to stock car racing and to wrestling because those forgive me, college football one is big in the South as was wrestling and professional wrestling and stock car racing.
01;08;50;06 - 01;08;58;03
Woody Paige
Yeah. And so if I had a love growing up, it was of a guy named, Bigfoot Riley.
01;08;58;05 - 01;08;58;08
Tom Green
Who.
01;08;58;09 - 01;09;01;07
Woody Paige
Was a stock car driver, because apparently he had a big.
01;09;01;07 - 01;09;02;02
Tom Green
Foot, big heavy.
01;09;02;08 - 01;09;07;23
Ron Zappolo
It's funny how we all have memories of our fathers that have to do with sports.
01;09;07;26 - 01;09;17;17
Tom Green
Well, and you think our lifelong love affair, all of us with the we've had with sports and people watch this show. The same thing. If you have that kind of passion for sports, you know you might have found it on your own.
01;09;17;21 - 01;09;48;09
Woody Paige
That's why I say that's why this is such a troubling time in society in the United States. But it's a troubling time in sports because of what we talked about today in regard to what college football has become, what gambling has become in terms of its relationship with with sports. And it's it's an uneasy, distasteful air, this metaphor, it's getting worse and worse, as I know.
01;09;48;09 - 01;09;48;24
Ron Zappolo
But I know.
01;09;48;24 - 01;09;58;24
Woody Paige
Where you're going. It is such a terrible time. And you talked about the last week, you know, politics has seeped into sports.
01;09;58;24 - 01;09;59;19
Tom Green
And vice versa.
01;09;59;19 - 01;10;04;17
Woody Paige
Vice versa. Yeah, but sports is not in a good place somewhere.
01;10;04;17 - 01;10;05;19
Tom Green
There's some ten year old.
01;10;05;19 - 01;10;06;29
Woody Paige
Boy sitting here.
01;10;07;06 - 01;10;11;14
Tom Green
Always remember his dad losing 80 bucks on the Broncos this week because of Pete Carroll.
01;10;11;14 - 01;10;13;11
Woody Paige
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. We start the show with.
01;10;13;11 - 01;10;15;10
Ron Zappolo
Yeah you're right. You know how.
01;10;15;10 - 01;10;37;25
Woody Paige
Many people are saying to the young man I, I thought, how could that happen at the end of a NFL game? Yeah. And people don't have belief in the NFL. They certainly don't have belief in what's going on with the NBA. You know what we've seen there? Baseball where you have a relief pitcher throws the ball on purpose.
01;10;37;27 - 01;10;39;00
Ron Zappolo
To win a couple hundred.
01;10;39;02 - 01;10;42;01
Woody Paige
So that somebody can win money.
01;10;42;03 - 01;10;46;18
Ron Zappolo
You know, we all think that I wonder what the the Gen Z.
01;10;46;20 - 01;10;59;05
Natasha
As a Gen Z person, I said I'm from the south stands, me and my dad have season tickets. He does not bet on games, though he did put on the Chiefs game just because of our conversation. I wanted him to win. He bet on the Broncos.
01;10;59;06 - 01;11;00;09
Tom Green
But your love affair. But what.
01;11;00;09 - 01;11;05;24
Ron Zappolo
You. But what do you think of the state with what would he said. What's your reaction to that?
01;11;05;28 - 01;11;27;26
Natasha
Well I, I agree that it can it loses some of its sparkle, but it also does depend on how your family handles it. So in my case, I think that all raise my kids with kind of that same shine and keep away from the sports betting, and that if we still believe in mile-high magic, and then it can be very pure and very beautiful.
01;11;27;27 - 01;11;28;04
Natasha
You know.
01;11;28;07 - 01;11;36;11
Ron Zappolo
It's hard to stay away from the sports betting when every young kid has his phone and has a, yeah, DraftKings or whatever it is.
01;11;36;11 - 01;11;37;04
Tom Green
Fantasy.
01;11;37;04 - 01;11;51;23
Ron Zappolo
Or. Yeah, mean we didn't grow up with that, you know what I mean? Gambling was like something we never I don't one more thing I remember gambling is my father would bet me $0.10 on every New York Giants game. You know, we never talked about gambling. You wisdom.
01;11;51;23 - 01;11;54;09
Tom Green
And with who won or lost, you never like point spread.
01;11;54;09 - 01;12;09;05
Ron Zappolo
No, I mean spreads. You're exactly right. Yeah, yeah, I remember my dad every year taking me, driving me down to Yankee Stadium so that I could see Jim Brown go against Sam. Off course, he wanted me to see Jim Brown, and I don't know.
01;12;09;05 - 01;12;12;06
Tom Green
If and see Yankee Stadium or the Boston Garden or.
01;12;12;08 - 01;12;15;01
Ron Zappolo
Yeah. Yes. And those are all my memories with him.
01;12;15;01 - 01;12;38;05
Tom Green
So let's do this. We've all had nice, fond recollections of our parents. It's all been our dads. But, how we fell in love with sports. And instead of thinking about the grimy gambling, the underside and the and the descent in some ways of sports, let's just remember the good stuff. Because it's holiday season. Let's think about, you know, let's wrap it up on on our, our dads.
01;12;38;05 - 01;12;38;23
Tom Green
And I remember.
01;12;38;23 - 01;12;41;17
Ron Zappolo
How many times our mothers drove us to Little league game.
01;12;41;17 - 01;12;58;29
Woody Paige
Yeah. And my mother taking her to when she moved out here, taking her to Iraq is game. And we're sitting, on the third base side and she says to me, son, you need to be a little bit kinder to the rice.
01;12;59;02 - 01;12;59;23
Tom Green
Have you met me?
01;13;00;03 - 01;13;01;27
Ron Zappolo
Yeah. Mom, you know who I am.
01;13;01;27 - 01;13;03;06
Tom Green
If you read my columns.
01;13;03;11 - 01;13;08;00
Ron Zappolo
You know what else, though? That was a great three guys roll lucky. We had a mom and dad in the house.
01;13;08;00 - 01;13;12;23
Natasha
Yeah, I was going to say shout out to single dads, single moms as well. But in my case, you know, single dad.
01;13;12;26 - 01;13;13;21
Ron Zappolo
I mean, I got kids.
01;13;13;28 - 01;13;16;08
Natasha
Each year and Bronco games and.
01;13;16;11 - 01;13;27;08
Ron Zappolo
Yeah, it's just a different world now where I got a grandkid who grows up in a single family house and it's it's just a different. And they're in the majority now, not the minority.
01;13;27;11 - 01;13;43;14
Tom Green
Well, if you guys want to share any of your stories, we can always reach us, at eight at Gorilla Sportsnet. We'd love to hear from you. We're going to talk more about the NFL and the weekend betting show, but, this has been, a very fun show. Great, great chat, great discussion, as always with, Natasha and I would.
01;13;43;14 - 01;13;48;14
Woody Paige
Just like to say very shortly you have another show on this network and it's called.
01;13;48;17 - 01;13;50;22
Natasha
The other Tom Green Jacket. Yeah.
01;13;50;25 - 01;13;55;17
Woody Paige
Thank you. And we don't do enough, crawl to continue to get,
01;13;55;19 - 01;13;58;04
Ron Zappolo
You've done a great job with that rich Carlos list.
01;13;58;07 - 01;14;05;24
Tom Green
A great guests I've had. I've been fortunate to have a lot of relationships. I've had you on. I'm going to get Woody on soon. I don't know if I can afford Natasha, but we'll see.
01;14;06;00 - 01;14;11;22
Ron Zappolo
But do you? You're doing something well, by the way, when I talked about it, you're doing a good job getting guests, because that's the hardest.
01;14;11;29 - 01;14;20;28
Woody Paige
Thing for me to do. You ask her if it's true that she's letting her fingernails grow until the Broncos win another Super Bowl.
01;14;21;01 - 01;14;22;07
Ron Zappolo
Oh.
01;14;22;10 - 01;14;23;09
Tom Green
Maybe off the air.
01;14;23;10 - 01;14;24;18
Ron Zappolo
That's on that note.
01;14;24;21 - 01;14;26;21
Tom Green
Hey, by the way, my guests, they're real.
01;14;26;24 - 01;14;27;10
Ron Zappolo
Who's your guest?
01;14;27;10 - 01;14;32;19
Tom Green
My guest this week, Kim Christiansen. So that'll be a fun show. Okay.
01;14;32;21 - 01;14;46;03
Ron Zappolo
Again. And we both love her. I don't know, no, that I have worked with a in my 40 some odd years here in Denver with a nicer person than Kim.
01;14;46;07 - 01;14;53;01
Tom Green
I've. I think everyone feels that way. And that's the magic of Kim. And it comes through on TV that it sure does. And that's every.
01;14;53;01 - 01;14;56;05
Ron Zappolo
Time I see Kim. It makes me feel good.
01;14;56;05 - 01;14;58;03
Tom Green
Well, do you want to be part of the studio audience? Maybe I'll.
01;14;58;03 - 01;15;00;13
Ron Zappolo
Just stand on the side with.
01;15;00;16 - 01;15;15;29
Woody Paige
You. I feel sorry for last night, actually, because there were having to do additional news or something. Right. And the two guys are talking about, two young guys talking about the Broncos game last night, and she's sitting there going, yeah.
01;15;16;02 - 01;15;16;21
Ron Zappolo
I bet.
01;15;16;21 - 01;15;17;07
Tom Green
Nicely.
01;15;17;07 - 01;15;19;28
Ron Zappolo
Sitting there going, I've dealt with, but not a very.
01;15;19;28 - 01;15;27;26
Tom Green
Nice way. All right, fellas, we'll see you, on the weekend betting show and we'll see you again back here for another edition of, After the Horn next week. Thanks for joining us.