Hour 1: Irish Goodbyes

0:00Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video. It was an assassination style killing, and everybody saw it. A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to burden of proof Luigi Mangioni, wherever you get your podcasts. This is Matt and Marin on ESPN Radio. And that darn six four from Kentucky. Matt Jones. You were a grown man and you didn't know who Stephen King was? Dude, I'm so silly. What do I care about the money that's being said? Wait a minute, what does that have to do with anything? You got me a million! We already got this. Marin Metcalf. When you said Kenny Pickett, I got excited. Did you know what would get a royal wedding with millions of people talking about it right now? Let's move on to the third string quarterback from the Browns,

1:03who's going to be the second string quarterback for the Raiders. This is what America wants to hear about. Matt and Marin on ESPN Radio and on the ESPN app. Matt Marin here on ESPN Radio presented by Progressive Insurance, 888 say ESPN. We are available. Wherever you get your podcast, I learned yesterday you can like talk into a smart speaker and they'll pop up as well. Marin Metcalf is back in Minneapolis. He left me here in Bristol. But got out this morning pretty early, good to see you, Marin. I guess the flight worked in your home. How about technology, man? How fortunate are we that I was just in Connecticut and now I'm back here. They've had technology for a while. Actually, the ability to fly long distances. Yeah, we don't appreciate it though. I mean, it's just a fascinating when you think about it. In some ways, that's true. You know, human beings have existed for however many years, who knows.

2:05And it's impossible to find out. And yet, we can only been able to do this in the last 80. So that's pretty exciting. Now, it is nice to have all of you here today. I did something yesterday that they'd say not to do, but I did. I went on Reddit, Marin. Have you ever been on Reddit? Have you ever been to that app? I've heard of it. Yeah, I don't like watching. Okay, so I decided to do something. James, I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I put in Matt and Marin into Reddit. Okay. Just to see how the show was being played out, right? A lot of really nice comments. There are people who've posted in threads that are like, I like Matt and Marin. Hey, this is a show everyone ought to check out. That's good. But then someone posted on one of the threads, they started on the ES. You know, there's an ESPN subreddit. I've learned that's what you call it. Marin, there's a subreddit. And all of it said, Matt and Marin, the title of the subreddit was Matt and Marin is an embarrassment.

3:05And I was like, oh, that's not very nice. Strong word and embarrassment. And I went and I clicked on it and it said ESPN is hired Beavis and Butthead. That's what they said. Well, no, ESPN is hired Beavis and Butthead. They didn't say which one was Beavis and which one was Butthead, but they said that. And I was, I was kind of like, well, that's not very nice. Then I kept scrolling and I noticed that on four different threads over the course of a month, James, he had written that we were Beavis and Butthead. Same guy on four different threads with examples from the shows, which means he's listening. So I just want to say to this person who's written about us a lot on Reddit. Thank you for calling us Beavis and Butthead, but also they say when you get hate, that also is a good sign because people are paying attention, Marin. And thanks to the many people who've been out there taking up force to the Beavis and Butthead guy. I mean, that guy should call. I guess I would talk to him.

4:05Definitely one. That's conversation. I mean, ESPN, I could look up, maybe I look up during the break what his Reddit handle is, but we'd love for him to call. And then maybe that will lead to some people taking some people, a lot of people did take up for us and said they thought it was a breath of fresh air on the ESPN radio. Yeah, I don't want haters though. I want Likers. You know what I mean? That's what I'm going to have. I'm going to have a guard. That's part of it. That's part of success. I'm going to have haters. I want Likers and lovers. That's who I'm after on Matt and Margin. Give me the lovers and the Likers. That's a name of a Myron's fantasy team. The Likers and the lovers. We are presented by progressive insurance. It's easy to bundle your home and car insurance at progressive.com. It's time to go off the top. What are we thinking about? Trying to think, but nothing happens. Nothing happens. Time to find out. This is off the top. What I saw the top for. With Matt and Margin. Last night at the double tree in Bristol, Connecticut, the whole ESPN radio crew.

5:05You had goliques. You had steels. You had all of these people right there together. And we watched the Seahawks and the Patriots in a game that the first half was relatively boring. But in the second half, brought a lot of storylines. Drake May, who I said yesterday. I wasn't as convinced on as other people. Myron Swore. He was a top five quarterback. He looked like a bottom five quarterback in the fourth quarter through three straight interceptions on three consecutive drives while they were leading or tied at the end of the game. First quarterback to do that since Cordell Stewart in 2001. And an absolutely awful pass to end the game where he throws it up in the in zone. Seahawks end up winning. I want to talk about the Seahawks because there's a lot of storylines going forward with them. But first of all, on the game, an absolutely terrible loss by the Patriots in a game that was very winnable. And really it has to come down to Drake May, doesn't it?

6:05It's on him. It's completely on his shoulders. And I think he knows that it wasn't as that interception. It was the three interceptions in the fourth quarter, undertook AJ Brown on the flea flicker, almost through another interception early in the game. He wasn't good in the big plays. And I think that's where you have to be good as a quarterback. You're trying to put your team on a playoff path and you're playing Drew Locke and the Seahawks. Sam Donner is out. So it was it wasn't a disaster. It was something worse than that for Drake May. And I don't know if Seattle just has this number. I don't know what was going on mentally. But I think a lot of people I doubted him after last night and I understand why. What I was amazed about with Drake May is it was all of the things that were he struggled with. He struggled with in the Super Bowl. They seem to not be an issue until that fourth quarter. And you started to see him not get his feet set. You started to see him seem to get frustrated under pressure. And at times during the game, I thought he looked really confident.

7:05He wasn't able to get a lot going. Obviously AJ Brown got hurt early. That would that limited his options. He had Romeo dobs drop two passes with three targets. None of which were close for him. But I still felt like he looked confident and then all of a sudden in the fourth quarter, the Drake May from the Super Bowl last year hit. And I guess, Mairen, you have to ask yourself, what is the real Drake May? Or I mean, there are Patriots fans who say, look, this is a Seahawks only problem. I'm not sure if I believe that. I think it's a when you play a good defense problem. But if you were a Patriots fan, would you say, hey, this has been an unfortunate two game stretch and Drake May's fine? Or would you be worried? I'd be worried because you're going to have to be the team like the Seahawks. If you plan to get to the Super Bowl, if you plan to compete for a championship, I thought they tried to hide him in the game. Like if you watched the way that they're playing, it was a lot of short routes. It was a lot of quick throws for Drake May. It was almost like they were trying to save him from himself from some of those big throws.

8:08And then when all of a sudden in the second half, you had to make those throw. That's what the mistakes happen. He did that. I agree with you on the short passes, but the strength of Drake May is the deep ball. Didn't do it at all. And you had a Seattle secondary that had two of the starters out. And another one get hurt during the game. So you would think that would be something they would pick on. And they just did not. You know, maybe it was because early on, he did have a couple of those quick hitters. Obviously the past AJ Brown was great before the injury. But it just he didn't look like the same guy. So is he still a top 10 quarterback in your mind? Yeah, I'm not going to erase that because of last night. I mean, last night wasn't good. I mean, that flea flicker to AJ Brown was under thrown. Almost had another pig and then the 300 steps in the fourth quarter. The flea flicker. I mean, that passes wide open if he gets if he throws it. I mean, if he has to, he has the air under it. He is wide open. He completely under throws it. He has to make that throw. He has to be more accurate. This is a guy coming into year three. He has to be better.

9:09And you're playing a team that doesn't have their Super Bowl winning quarterback. I'm going to put some of this on my label. I do think early on, you can't beat that conservative on the road. What I hate is when the team goes into a place like that. And everything is okay. Little play here. Little play there. Let's stop doing anything that's too high risk. And I think if you're going to beat the defending Super Bowl champs, you've got to take some of those shots. I think if Drake may take some of those shots early in the game, I think he feels more at ease later in the game. Matt, we don't see those plays until it's down the stretch of a game because the first half was so conservative. And I think once it was time for him to air it out, that's when you saw the street through nine passes. Ten yards or more downfield. He only completed three and he had three interceptions. That's not good. And that's supposed to be the strength, right? That is supposed to be his strength. It was bad. Is there an update on AJ Brown? I have not seen one today. Everybody's been talking on the Sam Darnold injury. I have not seen a significant update on AJ Brown.

10:11What is it? It's I think they suspected it's a high ankle sprain. And then he'll. So that lingers, but he'd be back. He'll be back. He might miss. He might. He might miss. I think they played the Steelers and we too. So not many. But like should be. He should be good with. I will that's relatively good news because I think without him, I mean poor Romeo dogs. I mean, yeah, I mean, I can't you hate that for a player, Miron, because the whole world is watching that one game. I mean, if that happens on Sunday at one p.m. Not everybody sees it. But when you're on the Wednesday night, primetime game, Miron and everybody sees that, that'll stick with him throughout the year. Yeah, it will. I mean, they brought him here as a veteran receiver. They brought him here to help Drake main. But I don't feel bad. I mean, that's what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to be a veteran receiver to help out the young quarterback. He couldn't do it. And I think to me, it's not just Drake, may. It's a guy who is dropping passes. So they were all kind of discombobulated throughout that game.

11:13I thought they were really conservative. You don't be the team like Seattle on the road. Trying to be conservative. Just just trying to hope that maybe Drew Locke comes in and they fall apart. I think that's how the patrons are playing after Sam Donald got hurt. And that's never going to work against a team like that with that. As cousin Sal says, Drake, maybe. And that was definitely a Drake, maybe game. You say that? Yeah, he calls people. I love it. I love it. A lot of people stole that. Well, cousin Sal had it way before everybody else. He's been doing that since year one on the Bill Simmons podcast. Let's flip sides to the Seahawks. They actually won the game. It's funny because it could be a completely different world from the rest of the day. Really different world for the Seahawks if they lost the game. There's a world in which it comes down to the end. They kick the field goal goal over time. Seahawks lose. And then you go, wait a minute, you're all in one and Sam Darnell will be out. We still don't know specifically the extent of the hip injury, but it's not fracture. John Schneider was on Pat McAfee earlier said he would miss a little time, but it was the best news possible for him.

12:17And they felt good with Drew Locke. Drew Locke. I thought actually played really well. I think it was 18 to 27 when he ended up getting in the game, made good throws. They didn't ask him to do too much. You had a good running game from the rookie price. I think the Seahawks got to take a deep breath, feel good. And when Darnell went down in their minds, they were probably flashing out for the year. That's not going to be the case. So the Seahawks, they sort of walked the edge of kind of having an apocalyptic season. And now I think there were still right back on track. Yeah, I mean, I think this is the benefit of having a quality backup quarterback. I think it's also the benefit of having a guy who's probably top 15-ish and not top 10. Because now there's not that much of a drop off, I think with Drew Locke. I'm not saying he's on Sam Darnell's level, but it's not this wide gap between Lamar and his back up. Josh Shionlin and his back up. So we can kind of do a lot of the same stuff. The run game's going to be good. Jackson Smith, Jigba is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. You saw that with some of his electric playmaker and Seattle's at home.

13:19And so they used that to that advantage. They were right there. I mean, they had all of the things that you would need if you're the painter's to beat that team in a very vulnerable state. And they couldn't do it. So I think if you're a Seattle, you got all the confidence in the world that you can take on whatever comes this season. You were down playing Sam Darnell yesterday very arrogantly. You know, I had the Darnell family was very upset at you. And one of the things you said, well, I mean, I just, I communicate with them sort of intrinsically. And one of the things you said is, you know what, the C.O.X. defense in the running game is so good that you could win with a lot of quarterbacks is Drew Locke, one of those quarterbacks. Clearly. I mean, that's what I think. I mean, they can get to the level they want to get. It's not that I think, San Donald is the great quarterback again. I'm here in Minnesota. I mean, I'm not saying I discovered San Donald, but I was talking about him when no one else knew when he was here in Minnesota winning games. And then I just say, hey, God, what? I got stopped. You were talking about Sam Darnell, when no one else knew, are you trying to say early?

14:23You're trying to say you were the first person to predict Sam Darnell's rise. I was early. Remember, I was at those games. You know, I was on the sidelines for a bunch of those games. I don't remember, though, you coming in and going, Sam Darnell's going to go to a Super Bowl next year. I saw things. I saw things and I tried to convey that. It's funny. I saw I saw hope and optimism and probably I saw these things early on. So I watched him win 14 games here in Minnesota and then he goes on to play in Seattle and win a Super Bowl. It's not a doubt thing at all. My point is this is actually good for Seattle. And it says a lot about this system. And it says a lot about having a quality backup. Now you know this, Matt. Everybody thinks the backups are all the same. No, they're not. And they're not. No, I mean, five or six guys who you could slide in as a starter and feel comfortable. Jewelock maybe one of those. Now he's probably one of the top 10 eight to 10 backups in the league. I mean, that's I'm just off the top of my head.

15:25Yeah. You know, I need to see all of them. But I actually think he's probably one you feel good about. I'd like to go back though. Do you have any proof of these comments about Sam Darnell? Because I was on radio with you. I don't remember you ever as a matter of fact, I tend to remember you kind of always downplaying him and sort of at times even calling for JJ McCarthy. I remember specifically doing a break of one of our shows after his second game during a break. During a break. Hey, I just say conveniently, Carter. Not recorded. It was during the break, which we don't record those. Carter, you remember that? When my friend said that, I was like, this is a ridiculous claim. So I was trying to think like where I could go and try and find it. But when you go, I was in a break where there's no way I earned during a break. During a break, I remember specifically after his second game in Minnesota, I said, during a break. Watch out now. But you didn't say that. Did you ever think about saying it on the air?

16:26I said in the break, watch out now. Something's coming. I said that. I think it. And I'm telling you. People heard it. The world heard it. 888 say ESP it. Do you believe Miren said it during a break or on air? Are you trying to look me in the eye and tell me you did not call for them to play JJ McCarthy that year in Minnesota? I'm telling you that I saw it. I was talking about. I was talking about question. You didn't answer that question. I was, I was saying, Sam Donald was the guy. I wanted them to sign Sam Donald. I thought I was the mistake to turn it over to JJ McCarthy. Don't remember that. Let me give a couple things here besides just mocking you. One of the things that you did say yesterday that I agreed with is that the Seahawks rushing attack and defense is amazingly special. Let me give you a couple of stats from last night. Jerry and Price, the new, the rookie running back, had 52 yards on 10 attempts. You know, that's not world beating. But Remondory Stevenson for the Patriots who are supposedly have an elite rushing attack,

17:3018 carries 51 yards. So he had twice as many carries essentially got the same yards. The Seahawks did much better against another good defense. But this is the thing that's most impressive to me. There are two guys starting for Seattle secondary last night who both in the last two years came from practice squads and the games they had. This Joby came from the Packers practice squad two years ago brought into Seattle. They ended up resigning him over the off season. He had nine tackles last night and then me and my a Pritchett. He had only had 26 tackles in his career was on the practice squad. Most of the last two seasons for Seattle comes in and has seven tackles. He literally has 25% of his tackles for his entire career last night. These are guys coming in from practice squads that the ability the Seahawks have to create players out of guys that other teams discard or pass over in the draft.

18:32It really is an amazing thing. And it's part of why I think Mike McDonald's the best coach in the league right now. And he also looks really smart for not paying Kenneth Walker the third after the Super Bowl. I mean, a lot of teams would have paid the Super Bowl MVP. Well, that's what it said. That might show itself later in the year. Maybe not though, but because price looks good. Yep. That's why you don't pay Kenneth Walker. You let him go, as opposed to saying here's $10 plus million a year because you're confident you can replace him. So I think the Seahawks look pretty smart right now. A-ded 8, say ESPN. I'm still waiting for anyone to write the text machine 772 7745254. So far, I'm seeing no proof of you saying that Sam Dardold was really good early in his minutes. I believe I called him the one at some point during a break. Oh, but during a break. Yeah. I'm going to break. Okay. Now the golicks apparently are mad at me. I don't like that. And we need to deal with it. But first, the weight is over and football is here and so is draft Kings. Now live in 50 states, one app, every sport nationwide.

19:33And for new draft Kings customers sign up for the code MMM. It's Matt Miron. It's been five bucks to get $200 in rewards within 21 days. That includes all markets. That's code MMM. Matt Miron. And partnership with draft Kings. The crown is yours. Gambling problem called 1-800-Gamber. 1-800-MyReset. Connecticut called 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Kansas, bed text passed through may apply in Illinois. 21 and over. Void in Canada. Bed with draft Kings sportsbook to get bonus bets that expire in seven days or trade with draft Kings predictions to get predictions dollars that expire in one year. A vent contract trading involves risk of loss. Predictions offer void in New York. None with drawable rewards issued as $50 click to claims every seven days for 21 days. A DKNG.co slash offer limited time offer nationwide based on sportsbook predictions and free-to-play sports contest availability varies by state. Matt Miron. The podcast. This is Matt Miron on ESPN Radio.

20:36He played very well in the playoffs. He wasn't a wet fish. He played very well. I don't know what that was. I made a wet fish. All fish. All fish. A dry fish is dead. I think that this is the NCAA trying to cover it. The barn is already, or not the barn is out of the horse. Not dwell on the analogy. So you got too many of them. That's a problem in the south. You just grow up with them. And you got this whole count. I need to say the car was before the horse. But really what I meant to say was the cow is out of the barn. Matt Miron on ESPN Radio and on the ESPN app. I have a lot of sayings. They don't always come out in the right order. But I think people knew what I meant. It's Matt Miron, 888 say ESPN. No one called during the break and said they heard you say that about, about Sam Darnel. As a matter of fact, so one person looked on chat GBT. Now I may have tied chat GBT for the record. Like I don't use it. I will read other people's chat GBT's,

21:37but I won't do it because I'm not contributing to that. I'm not contributing to the downfall of human society. However, one person looked in chat GBT says there is no public record of ESPN sports journalist, Miron Metcalf Claymean, Sam Darnel, was a good quarterback early in his career. So do you believe chat GBT? No. Okay. I don't believe the right one. Our producer, Cardi, found a clip, which this is some amazing producing from October, 2024. I've not heard this, but this is from Matt Meyer in October, 2024. Are you set? Go ahead. Well, it's actually October 24th. That was a Thursday night Vikings Rams. Sam Darnel took a sack late. That was a safety they lost by 10. And this was Miron Metcalf on Game Night. Okay. Good quarterbacks down eight with a few minutes to play. Less than two minutes to play. They don't put themselves in that situation. You have to throw it away. An eighth grade coach is going to tell you, if you're in your own in zone. And we're down by eight.

22:37And the seconds are ticking off the clock. And they're coming for you. You have to get rid of the ball. You cannot take the safety under any circumstances. Right. And Sam Darnel held onto that ball too long. We just happened to last couple of games. And guess what? If anyone said there's a certain ceiling on Sam Darnel, he's not good enough to lead them to the playoffs. Look at these last couple of games. There's a lot of evidence there that Sam Darnel gave us everything he had in the first five games. And has been exposed in these last couple of games. The two losses to the lines and ramps. Explanation. Is that? It could be AI. It's possible. I don't know. I don't know the sourcing of that. Like I don't know the sourcing was ESPN radio's archives from game night in October 2024. Yeah, I didn't. I don't have my hands on that. You know, this just being delivered to me. So you think our producers may have made that up? No, I just think you... Listen, if you're trying to figure out exactly how I feel, you can't take a sound bite and say that is the totality.

23:39But I should believe that you said it on him during the break in a show. We say things all the time during the break. I mean, that's where the good stuff happens. That's where the real analysis happens. I know I have no memory of that. I think I'm going to say point Matt Jones on that one. Now, last night, we watched the game at the double tree in break. Double tree in Bristol at the sports bar at the double tree in Bristol, which as we learned is known for its case, it is. We were there and we watched the game. And at one point towards the end of the first half, I got a phone call. I went and took the phone call and left the group, which included the goliques and many other ESPN personalities. And I did not come back. Some people may know that that term is occasionally called an Irish goodbye. Do we know why it's called an Irish goodbye? Does anyone know the answer? As an Irish person. I'm 25 years in Irish. It's just they're just so like pride. Well, well, I'll just get up and leave. 25%?

24:3925%. I'm mostly Italian, but Irish is like you just get up and leave. Like that's just a personality. Okay. All right. So it's called an Irish goodbye. Apparently he's 25% Irish. So he's a little more Irish to be the authority of that. So he's allowed to say so they I was accused of giving an Irish goodbye. The goliques specifically. And you have to understand you're talking to a guy who grew up watching Mike go. So hanging out with Mike goliques is kind of a cool thing. Like last night watching a football game with Mike goliq and his son's fun. Like I'm pretty excited about it. And then this morning I got this on their show. I came back at one point and I see Matt Jones leaving on the phone. Right. I want to take a call. There's a call. He's got a call. Maybe he's got to hit somewhere. I was sitting by him. He said I got it. I got to have to take a call. I'll be I'll be right back. I'll be right back. I'll be right. Ported distinction. Yes. Yes. A very important distinction because spoiler alert that Jones did not come right back. Irish goodbye.

25:39Irish goodbye. And so here's the interesting plot twist now and the thing that we've got to try and do some detective work on is. Now why do you have to say goodbye? Wow. All right. That was bubble. Well, and listen. And the Irish goodbye has to move dead overall. Pro or con Irish goodbye. I really don't have a problem with it. I guess depends on the company you're with. Sure. This is our first time hanging out with me. That's what I mean. A lot depends on the group you're with. Yeah. So Matt pulls the Irish goodbye and we come in here this morning and we've got this written down in the chamber. Like we have to bring this up. We have to address this. Yep. ESPN radio family business. So of course we'll talk about it in public with everyone. Yes, we will. And Matt comes walking into the control. And he says I did not Irish goodbye last night. He was really, really sensitive about it. He was adamant that he did not Irish goodbye us last night. I saw Matt before the show and he came in and he tried to do the whole explanation. I wasn't going to Irish goodbye. Myron texts me and said he was leaving. I thought everybody was leaving.

26:39I listened to his two minute jumbled explanation. I said, whatever we're going to rip you. Yep. That hurt. Okay. I mean, that hurt. That's like, I mean, you're tough. You know, you grow up watching somebody and then he rips you for the, for saying Irish goodbye. I have to say that hurt me. And while I like the goleics, I know I don't like being accused of Irish goodbye. And even if it is by one of my radio heroes. Yeah, that must hurt because goleics senior. I mean, it is the goat in our business. And we had a chance to hang with them. And you did do, but like, I can understand why they're saying that. I've been in a lot of situations with you. You do just leave. Like, you don't say, oh, hey, everybody, I see all of them out. You just one day you're there. Once I go you're there the next second you're not. What? It's kind of your way. I told a really good story. I think everybody had laughed about how it's Carolina Hurricanes announced. I'll tell it on the star on the show one day.

27:40I told everybody was laughing. And there was a part of me. It was like, now's a good time to exit. Is that what you want? You want to go out of a good, though? No, it was like, yeah, because it was like, you know, if you spend some time with me, I might make a political comment. That could make somebody mad. You know what I mean? Or I might just sort of get on people's nerves. And so I was like, this is a good time to leave. Everybody seems happy. But apparently that did that. Apparently that wasn't what to do. And so I was a little hurt. You do just disappear. I've been in many situations where you're just gone. All of a sudden, you just kind of start walking away. Now the thing that I really didn't like about it was what is the guy's name who tried to do an impression of me? That's a baba. Baba. First of all, I didn't know there were people still named Baba. I thought that Baba's the best. I thought you get Baba's good. What? Sure, Baba's wonderful. But he did two impressions of me during this segment where he says that this is what I sound like.

28:40Now why do you have to say goodbye? Wow, all right. That was Baba. That's one. Now why can't I just take a call? Wow, Baba. He lost his voice. He lost control. Now why? I do not go. Now why? No, I don't do that. It's like. Now why would you cry? It's not like Richard Pryor doing Seinfeld a little bit. Okay, just call it real quick. Just the first one. Close your eyes for a second, Maheron, and be honest. Is this how I say? Now why do you have to say goodbye? Wow, all right. That was Baba. No, he's doing like that. That's one of those characters from the Andy Griffins show. I think he's doing it like that. That's what we do. It does sound like you. I don't think that was a great impression. But I also understand why they were being critical. Well, I will say that it's not how I sound. At least I don't think. People have accused me of sounding like Duffin Schmerz on this show. Yeah, that's a little unfair. But I will say when Maheron says something crazy, like I've been saying Sam Darnel's good,

29:45I might go, what? Like I did. Yeah, I mean. There's a place you go. No, there's a place you go. Like, well, all of a sudden, if you get excited, you go. You go to a place in the mountains that most of us have never been to. I have been to somewhere else. I have been to some of those mountain places. But since we're talking about ESPN family and specifically the folks here who work here, I do want to take a second to note and salute on the passing of former ESPN NHL commentator Barry Melrose. If you are like me and you grew up watching ESPN for me in Kentucky where hockey was not a huge sport, Barry Melrose was hockey to me. Like turning on the TV and seeing Barry Melrose on ESPN, that was hockey. The hair, the suit, the mullet, like just the, he was funny for me in a sport that I wasn't familiar with,

30:47Barry Melrose was the entire sport. And then as I got older and I met people who knew him, they all talked about how gracious, how much funny was to be around. He is literally, I'm in Bristol right now. He is literally one of the more beloved people in this building. Being in this building today, you have seen the sadness around the building. There are people like James our producer who are wearing a t-shirt with Barry Melrose's face on it today. Steve Levy wrote a really great tribute to him online. I never met Barry but I loved watching him on television. I do think it's worth sort of sharing with the audience what you saw on TV. And the way folks like Steve Levy and John Butchegross and Scott Vempelt, you saw the affection that was real. Not every time you see someone on television with interaction like that, is it real? It was real with him. And with his passing, he is one of the major sort of pillars of ESPN history.

31:48And we are all very sad here in Bristol today, Myron, passed away at the age of 70. You know, I'm wearing this Minnesota Wild Hat in his honor. He was an ambassador, not just for ESPN and hockey just for the entire sport. I think Barry Melrose brought a lot of viewers into the sport. He made you care about it because you saw his passion for it. And he was the authority when Barry Melrose told me to watch Sydney Crosby. He could be the next legend. I watched him when he said the same thing about a vet. Can I believe them? And that was the voice we lost over the entire sport. It is, you know, there are people who over the course of the development of this place will forever be ingrained and sort of connected to the sport they they covered. Dick Vitow's at for college basketball Lee Corso is at for college football at ESPN. Barry Melrose is hockey. And so our prayers go out to his family and his friends and everyone rest in peace. Barry Melrose at the age of 70.

32:49Matt and Myron, the podcast. Matt, Myron here on ESPN radio. The text machine is 772745254. I'm going to show the folks watching at home. I got, you know, I've been at Bristol all week. This is the first time I've really after eight years felt like I worked at ESPN because I've gotten to be on campus. I went to the, they have for if you've never visited ESPN, they have a store where they sell like ESPN merchandise. I bought this ESPN hat and I just, I felt a little dorky because like I don't know, does Scott Van Pelt come to the store and buy an ESPN hat? They probably give him one. But I went, bought it. Look at that. So, you know, nice. That's a corporate cookie. That was my corporate moment is I bought a hat. The text machine, one person writes, can we get Myron a webcam that was made after 2005? I feel like I'm watching a barber shop bootleg mixtape on the right side of my TV.

33:49Well, it's because he got bootleg internet because I'm watching it online and it looks fine. And it's not bootleg equipment. This is ESPN. This is the best of the best. And I got the fastest internet available, Matt. People always got something to say, how come? What's the text machine number? I want you to put out a call for people just to say nice stuff. Every day I come here, fair enough, if people have something to say, the text machine, let me say so. Some people think I say it fast. 7-7-2-7-7-4-5254. If you have something nice to say about Myron, I'm going to have to read it. I mean, there are other comments I could read. Fantastic Thursday. Let's change the vibe. Matt, I've listened to every one of your shows for the last four years with you in Myron. He's never said one word about Sam Darnold. And while I like Myron, I think he tends to exaggerate. You know, this is fantastic Thursday. Well, we're going to say nice things from here on out. So we're going to get rid of the negative. All right. We'll see if we're going to bring in the positive.

34:51If people say nice things, I'm glad to say them. Now, earlier today, for people who don't know, I host a local show in Kentucky. And I had on the Kentucky football coach. It's called Kentucky Sports Radio, Will Stein. And normally that's not going to be something that would be on ESPN. Kentucky football has not been something that was nationally relevant for most of my life. But I just had him on. It was supposed to be like a quick hitter. Like he's going to come on and he's going to say, hey, we play Alabama Saturday. Come on, fans. Get ready. And Will Stein, of course, this is his second game as a coach at Kentucky. And I love Will Stein. I think we're going to beat Alabama Saturday. We'll talk more about that tomorrow. But in the course, of course, the conversation, he said something that's already made national news. And then I kind of love. Let's play it. I want him in there. 45 to 30 minutes before. And is he standing up, screaming obscenities that are at our opponent making a feel very unwanted in the program field? And creating an environment of excellence for Kentucky football.

35:53I mean, that's what it's about. I mean, you want to see a great product in the field. I want to see insane fans in the stands as well. Now, can we get the rich people that sit in those low seats? A lot of them like to be back there in the bar. This is why I'm not trying to ruin the liquor sales, but they need to get the drink and come back to their seat. Don't they will? Sometimes those seats are behind you guys can be empty because everybody's in the bar. Sneak a flask in. Sneak a flask in the game. Do whatever you got to do. Right? Give them it. Did your drinks ready? Sit in your chair. All right. And start cheering. And then what you're doing with the drink? Go back in as fast as you can and come right back out. There you go. So Will Stein says to Kentucky fans. Sneak a flask in. Yeah. And scream obscenities. I think that's kind of awesome for people out there who don't have a, you know, a dog in the hunt and don't care. Should they love Will Stein? That's kind of cool for a coach, isn't it? I mean, listen, if you're a first year coach and you're trying to get everybody excited, yeah, that's the way you do it.

36:53Come out. Be loud. You know, even shouting, I guess, where words he wants. Sneak a flask and all that's fun. You just don't want to do week seven stuff in week two. I think that's the danger. You can easily become a meme in this generation. And that's the thing. It's cool right now, but will it be cool on Saturday? So I think you got to be a little more conservative early on in your first. So who's against the idea of sneaking a flask in? I mean, is there anything better for sports? And I'm not even a drinker. But is there anything better in sports than sneaking stuff into games? Like that's what it's all about. What kind of stuff? Well, I was sneaking into games. Don't encourage that. No, I mean, but I'll encourage if people are drinkers, sneak the alcohol in. What's wrong with that? Right? No, it's illegal, but it's not illegal. You're not a lawyer. It's not illegal. It's against the rules of the facility, but that doesn't make it illegal. We should encourage people to sneak their homemade moonshine in rather than to buy the corporate beer.

37:56See, Mr. Corporate Marn here. Make sure you buy the officially sanctioned mill or light from the contention stands. No, you bring in your apple pie moonshine from the back and then you take it in. Okay, 1933. Yeah, let's do that. I think I think Will Stuyd has the energy and demeanor of a coach that you want if you're at Kentucky. Granny's school, right? I love it. My problem is I've seen guys like this who come in a little too hot and then they got a dialet back over the course of the season. That's why I think you started a little less hot and then you dial it up once you get a couple of wins under your belt. I just don't think you want to do it too early because then you can become a meme. But this and then you go from cool guy to remember what that guy was talking about on week two. That's the problem. But this is the thing. This is Kentucky football. What? Let me ask to you and feel free of James and Cardi to jump in. I'm a Kentucky football fan. So I can tell you our best moments. But for those of you that are not Kentucky football give me a Kentucky football moment.

38:58You probably can't even name one. Can you name me Alabama a few years ago? They beat Alabama in 1997. The LSU in my life. The LSU play right that the hell Mary the quarterback was in 1997 Tim couch. Tim couch. That was the quarterback. Okay. Can you give another one? There was a hell Mary against LSU right? But we lost that game. They hit a hell Mary against us. That was after they had already poured the Gatorade on the coach. You remember and then that we lost that game. But give me a positive Kentucky football moment. I'm a lot of them. I don't mind. I had a big first ball is Lynn Bowden. He was a ride receiver that we played at quarterback. But there was no game that was my point is we don't have a lot. You just had a first round pick and we'll love us. Yeah, we'll have a good time. It was a second round pick. I'm close enough. It's mostly the first round. And so far it hasn't gone great for Will. Yeah. The best moment is in 2007 LSU was number one and we beat them at home. I told you it was the LSU moment. And it was and they went on and won the national championship that year.

39:58And we were their only team that beat them. That's our best moment. I don't disagree with the energy that will sign or any first year head coach has. This is what you want. I think he's got a great job of relating to fans. This is why you bring him in. Right. You bring in a guy because you want him. But this is Alabama. Okay. So Alabama's coming. We got a chance to get Kaelin to bore fired. Okay. I mean, if he loses to us. That was that sounded a little bit like now. Why didn't you did it? You did it. You just did it. You just did it. You just did it. You just did it. You get going. Now what? See, did you just did it? You just. Okay. Maybe I do help it a little bit like that impression. You can't help it. But I'm just saying you play Alabama. We could get their coach fired if we were to win, Miron. This is the biggest thing. It'd be like one of the biggest wins in the history of the program. You got to get excited. So bring your flask in. I don't know if you can get out of this. Yeal of synodies. I'm for it, Miron. Go Will Stun. This Disney employee is not telling people to sneak flask in. I'm just letting y'all know. Disney does not care whether you bring your sodas.

41:00You think Disney does your care with concession stands. Corporate cookie. You shirts legally and then go cheer for your favorite team. That's what I would write. You are the most disappointing fan. You need to be encouraging people. I say bring the flask in and tear the roof off of, we don't have a roof. But get loud either way. Matt and Miron hour two is coming up next. Matt and Miron, the podcast.