Takes

It is better to run trick plays as soon as they are ready rather than saving them for later

If you're gonna invest the time and the energy to install it [a trick play] and practice it on the field, then why wait? What could be another four weeks before you get actually get a chance to run it? You might as well capitalize on that opportunity right now.

The running back position is vital to elite offenses as they set the tone and break lulls

The best offenses I've been a part of, the best teams I've been on, that running back position's really been vital in terms of getting the game going when things are going in a lull... get in his hands and he'll pick us back up again.

I don't like the Green Bay Packers

I don't like the Packers. Hate's a strong word. No, I don't. I don't know [Matt LaFleur] like that. No.

You cannot get mad at your partner for what appears in their Instagram algorithm

You can't get mad at technology. Right. Max, what is yours? ... I curate it like if I see if I pass by tits because you gotta click on it that way you get more tits... It's technology. The phones are smarter than we are.

The Rams could have won the Super Bowl last year if a few things had broken differently

I went away from the playoffs being like the Rams were right there. If a couple things break differently, they could have feasibly won the Super Bowl.

The 76ers should shut down Joel Embiid and tank for Cooper Flagg

They stink. Joel Embiid, they should shut him down for the season and they should tank for Cooper Flagg.

The Celtics are officially 'all the way back' as title favorites

The Celtics waxed [the Knicks]... it's back on. All, all the way back on. The last five, they've won each by minimum 13.

Duke is a defensive wagon and a national title favorite

Duke is damn good. They are, they are a spectacular team. They're a wagon defensively... If you force me to take Duke/Auburn or the field today, I would take Duke/Auburn.

Purdue is not a top 10 or top 12 team without Zach Edey

Purdue fans [got on me] for not having them in the top 10... they just lost [to] Indiana. Like they're back to the twenties this week. They're not a top 10 team. They're not a top 12 team. They're just not.

Removing human umpires from baseball takes away 50% of the reason to watch

I do worry as always that when you take away umps, you, you take away like 50% of the conversations guys can have with each other. And that goes for refs and, and everything in sports. If you can't complain about the calls, what are we gonna talk about? It'd basically be like putting a ban on no discussion about the weather.

Baseball is the worst of the four major North American sports

I'm not a ball guy. Slow game. Bottom, bottom of the four major sports for sure. Hockey, football, then to throw the NBA. And then we gotta drop to MLB.

Players today want to be coached hard, but you can only be tough on them collectively, not individually in front of the team

Today you can be tough on the team but you can't be tough on 'em individually in front of the team. If you wanna be tough individually, you call 'em in your office, you go one-on-one and you tell 'em the way you feel... collectively as a team you can get after them and they'll be very receptive.

You cannot win big in college basketball with high school kids anymore

I I don't think you can win and win big with high school kids. Huh? I don't, I really don't believe it. I wish it was true now. Good recruiting. I I think New York is more attractive away from New York than in New York. I agree that as somebody who used to live in New York.

The NCAA 20-hour rule for practice is 'absurd' in the NIL era

The ncaa, I've always said this about them, they are never proactive. They're always reactive. The fact that we have a 20 hour rule right now is, is absurd. Now, we don't spend 20 hours now this part of the season because we don't want to get injured. But in the beginning, in the summertime, they give you five hours a week. That's crazy.

Indiana should immediately hire Chris Beard without interviewing anyone else

If I was the ad at Indiana, I would immediately not even interview anybody else and hire one of the premier coaches in all of college basketball. And that's Chris Beard from Ole Miss. I wouldn't even think about another person. He's perfect for that job. He's a tough, hard-nosed coach. He's a superstar top three coach in my estimation.

Switching from the Iowa punt-first culture to Nick Sirianni's aggressive 4th-down strategy was a massive culture shock

Being used to just playing field position and having our defense keep their offense pinned back... it was a little different for me. Especially those first few weeks when we're around our own 50 yard line and we're just going for it on fourth and three. At Iowa, that'd be a no brainer. Like, punt.

We are currently in the worst three weeks of the sports calendar

I believe that we are in the worst three weeks of the sports calendar. ... It's these two to three weeks where we haven't gotten to March Madness. Because then once we get to March Madness, then it's Masters, then it's NBA and NHL playoffs. ... I think these are the worst two to three weeks of the entire year. Right now.

Business school is a complete racket where you just pay for connections

Business school's a a complete racket by the way. They just, you basically pay so much money to go and meet a bunch of people that then you can use to get jobs. It's not like you're learning anything. You're just meeting people who are also are in business. And then you use those connections. You're paying for connections.

LeBron James ruined the All-Star OGs picture

LeBron is wearing street clothes and he's standing in the middle [of the All-Star OGs picture]. ... It's the definition of stop trying to fit out and start trying to fit in. ... He ruined the picture. He really did.

Superstars win championships in the NBA, not defense

Ultimately superstars win championships. Yeah. Guys like Luka [Doncic], guys like Jalen Brown. ... You want [a defense guy] to be like an old assistant on the bench, but probably not leading your team in the NBA.

Being in a plane crash where no one dies is an awesome experience

Being in a plane crash where no one dies though. Rocks. ... I think it would've been awesome to be like, 'yeah, I was on a plane that flipped and blew up, but I survived.'

The human body has a physical limit and the 100-meter dash world record will eventually plateau

At some point, I've always wondered this about a hundred meter dash, like when is it gonna be the fastest that you'll ever run? Because like the human body can only go so fast.

The era of working from home is over

Working from home's done. I'm gonna say he's right. ... I fundamentally, I understand working from home is awesome for a lot of people, but I do think that you lose... the younger generation is gonna lose out. ... Not working with other people and having the coalescence of ideas... you will lose out.

Alexander Ovechkin is not on the Mount Rushmore of hockey

I don't think that anybody would have him in the Mount Rushmore of hockey. ... Once he passes Gretzky for goals, I would say he's probably yes, gonna be coming in around like sixth or seventh all time. I think still a lot of people put Stevie Y ahead of him.

Connor Hellebuyck is unproven in elimination games

Hellebuyck has been on this incredible run... not so much in playoffs or in big money games. ... In an elimination situation when all the chips are on the table, he is unproven.

Connor Bedard has 'dog in him' and will become one of the greats

I believe that he does have dog in him and it will eventually be unleashed. He's too stubborn not to become one of the greats. ... This kid is very young, he's very determined and he is gonna figure it out with my help.

The NHL's Four Nations tournament completely outclassed the NBA All-Star weekend

The NHL absolutely bodied the NBA in terms of getting it right and what they did, what they've done with the Four Nations Tournament instead of the All-Star game versus everything that's been going on for the NBA All-Star game. It's not even close.

LeBron James sitting out the All-Star game two hours before tip-off was a lame move

LeBron James decide he is not playing in the Allstar game two hours before the All-Star game... dude, just say you're gonna do this five days ago. Don't do it two hours before the All-Star game. And people do wanna see you play and it's probably, you're, you're at the end of your career. It's just kind of a lame move.

The NFL cued the NBA during All-Star week by holding the Super Bowl immediately before it

The NBA cued the NFL during Super Bowl week and the NHL cued the NBA during Allstar week. NHL is king.

Booing national anthems in sports creates healthy bad blood

I'm fine with it. I like the fact that they, that there's some bad blood there. Like for a while. USA Canada, we've been buddy buddy... but to like actually drum up some hate for your opponent, I think is really good. It's awesome.

Kirk Cousins to the Jets would be a lateral move from Aaron Rodgers

Kirk Cousins is just a lateral move... Kirk Cousins fell off a cliff. Yeah, but he started the season off so good. And then he fell off a cliff also.

NFL locker room standards should not be judged by corporate workplace standards

When you try to take the outside world and judge a locker room and how it operates and basically put it into corporate America or a classroom or any type of place where people gather together and there's a little bit more decorum, you're always gonna be shocked by the locker room... you can't judge it that way. That it just never works that way.

The Denver Nuggets are the fourth-best championship contender when healthy

I think Denver's the fourth team when Denver has Aaron Gordon and this version of Jamal Murray. Even with a diminished bench, it's like you can't rule, especially, you know, you look at the depth, the extra days off depth isn't as big of an issue.

The Washington Wizards play hard despite their terrible record

I actually think the Wizards with [Bilal] Coulibaly and Bub [Carrington] and even George [Valinha] a little bit. I guess you could throw [Alex] Sarr in there... they stink but they play really hard. There's like a few guys in that Wizards team that play with a lot of activity.

Shredder and the Ninja Turtles appear in every episode together but never actually kill each other

If you've ever watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Shredder is in every episode. The Ninja Turtles are in like every episode. They never actually kill each other. They just fight.

Using difficulty 'sliders' in games is for people who want to hide that they are playing on easy mode; you have to play on 'hard mode' to truly win

We love using sliders. We just like to change 'em before people can see. We just don't want people to know that we're doing sliders... I wanna play hard mode. Absolutely. You gotta play hard teams. You gotta play hard teams to win.

A Dungeons and Dragons player who shapeshifts into an animal too early cannot be trusted

If you morph into something else already, how can you be trusted? Right. It's not even, especially if it's not even known yet. [I need to] fit in with like the rest of the crowd.

Turtles are annoying, talk down to others, and think they are in on something when they are not

There's something about it, a turtle that they do things in a way that is just really annoying to others. And I felt that annoyance within myself... They're like, talk down to you. Yep. They're also dumb and they think that they are in on something when they're really not.

Luka Doncic is so out of shape that it is physically painful for him to stand up

Luca's smiling on the bench after the first time out. That's probably because he is sitting and it's nice to sit, [because it's] painful for him to stand 'cause he is so out of shape.

Luka Doncic doesn't have the same drive as Shaquille O'Neal

But in defense of us, mark Luca is, he doesn't, he doesn't want it enough. Like a guy like Shaq. Right?

Jalen Hurts is currently the best quarterback in the NFL

Realistically, where do you rank Jalen Hurtz as quarterbacks in the NFL Right now? Right now one.

Dwight Howard isn't actually good at basketball anymore

Stephen A. Smith was making the case for Dwight Howard today coming back... I'm in support of that just because it would be very funny, but I don't think he's very good at basketball. [He's] one of those guys that looks in shape, but he probably doesn't have any of the skills that he once had.

Vanderbilt's constructive court-storming rule is lame

Did you guys see Vanderbilt's actually doing a new rule where they do a minute timeout after the game? So lame. They basically, if Vandy has a big upset at home, they pause everything for a minute... and then the kids are allowed to storm the court. It's Tim Wood's double consent.

MLB's pitch clock and base-size rule changes were a great move

I'm a huge baseball fan and I'm a big fan of the changes that they've [MLB] made. Like, I think the pitch clock, slightly enlarging the bases to make stealing easier... The fact that they're making changes in the most traditional of all sports to keep up with the times [is great].

The 2024 season was my best individual year as a pro

I think I had a great year. I think I had my best year as a pro. I'm excited for, I think there's another level that I can hit.

Most running quarterbacks excel in the preseason because defenses aren't game-planned

A lot of running quarterbacks excel in the preseason I would say. Because you're not game planning the opposing team. Your coaches aren't game planning their defense and you're just running out and running your training camp plays.

I can't live with a dog because they are too in-your-face

Dogs are too much for me. I like being around dogs but I couldn't live with a dog. I think they're just too in your face. Just do your own thing for a little bit.

The MLB salary structure is bad for the sport

In baseball you have no [cap]... some teams are paying like nothing and some teams are paying like $500 million. I don't think that's the way to do it. [And the Ohtani deal] where they'll pay you in like 50 years? Which is insane.

Cash is the only valid Valentine's Day gift

My answer's always cash. No one has ever gotten the gift of cash and been like, 'Ew.' No. Gift card boxes you in; cash is limitless. Cash is king.

Big Cat would have to lose a significant amount of weight to ever dunk

I hope you could too. You would have to lose a lot of weight. I know you're not going, you're don't. I would, don't put a time.