The Morning Shift on 92.9 The Game
Braves look to reset on offense as All-Star break nears
Now, with the MLB app, you can get baseball your way. Pick your favorite team, your favorite players, and get customized highlights, stories, and breaking news right on your home feed. Follow the action with Game Tip, where 3D replays add another dimension. Plus, notifications can keep you connected to every pinch, every hit, every game, the MLB app. Baseball your way. Download it now for free from the App Store or Google Play. Blackout and other restrictions apply in Major League Baseball tray parts used with permission. This hour brought to you by Mark Spain Real Estate. Go to markspain.com to get a guaranteed offering your home today and start packing. It is time for the Wake Up Call 404-726-0929. You can tell us who needs a Wake Up Call. Maybe it's Michael for trying to project his musical taste on myself and Bostradomas over here. Actually, why? I just call it a stray. Maybe. He went away. He probably deserved it. He probably deserved it. Alkins position groups. We've got to talk about Josh Kendall's article on the athletic, ranking the position groups from the least concerned to what he's most concerned with. And these guys gave their thoughts on that as well. I had a Wednesday question. I was kind of was probably going to be a little bit too deep. You want to celebrate my victory? Whatever. But here's what it is. I was going to say, who finishes with more points on the season next year? The combination of Zachary Rizochet and Bogey Bogdanovich or Lebron and his son. Rizochet and Bogey or Lebron and his son. And I was going to say which one. I was like, you know what though? Y'all be over there trying to Google, trying to see point totals. What do you expect in a Rizay? I was like, whatever. We'll just push it to the back burner. But that was one of the questions. I also had, who's going to have a better second half or not? Anna Lopez or Matt Olson? Matt Olson. Maybe. I mean, I think it would be important in Matt Olson had a better second half. Honestly, it'd be great. I do have to give myself a wake-up call because a friend of the show Denzel, he did tell me when we were discussing which braids we're going to have a great season. He said to pick Jesse Chavez. And I don't know if I did or not then. I don't, I think I may have, but he's basically been blowing me up telling me he better get his shout out. So that's your shout out. He said, there's your shout out. Hey, you should listen. Denzel picked a bad morning to do it since he gave him a home run less. Tater. All right. Let's do it. And more I hear by Denzel, I'll like him more, but then again, I understand more. Friend of the Tiff, friend of the Tiff. We're going to the lines. He's on the Euro trip, by the way. Let's go to, let's go to Tinker. Good morning, Tinker. What's going on? What's up, buddy? Good morning. Hey, man. Oh, Squiz got me fired up for the holidays after the Mike's given the questions. Is that for every question Mike gave? Squiz had the greatest answer after every single one. And that was the total beer. That's right. That's right. All right. What's up. I'm going to have plenty of it later. But my wake-up call is any red-blooded American out there that hasn't seen these two videos. And if you haven't, give yourself a chance to watch them. And that's Michael Winslow playing the national anthem, dressed as Jimmy Hendricks. And the second one is Red Skeletons. In the video, he defines each word in the pledge of allegiance. And I tell you, by the time he's done, your hairs on your arm are stand up. And at the end of the video, he gives, it's kind of weird what he says at the end, but you got to check that out when he gets a chance. All right. We're going to go and win. Thanks again. Red Skeleton Pledge of Allegiance right now. I guess is what I need to do. Do you know Michael Winslow is, right? He's the guy from Police Academy. There's all the voices. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And he is. He's actually, I mean, it's not just voices. It sounds, it's noises. He's amazing. He can even throw his voice, right? He is amazing. He's an amazing talent. Red Skeleton is an old, old school, old school comedian. He also would do paintings and stuff. So yeah, that's a, that's a throwback. I'm thinking I'm googling as we speak, man. You have busy fingers. Good call. Let's go to David in coming. Good morning. What's up? Good morning, y'all. How are y'all doing? I can't complain, buddy. All right. Well, first, I want to give the chat out to Mike's mafia. So, you know, over over holding it down. My man. So my shout or my wake up call is going to be to select a few Atlanta drivers around here. So my wake up call is that please, if you want to drive in miles under the speed limit, get in the right lane. Don't be taking up the leveling. Please. I mean, I'm not advocating for speeding. I don't think that I don't long enough to know that people have been suggesting to most people, but please move over to the right lane. I will agree with this because there have been some mornings that I have watched someone going slow merge all the way over just to get to the left side. So then continue to go slow. Yes. Make it make sense. I think David, I don't think David was advocating for speeding. I think he was advocating for safe driving, which is not safe driving when you go under go the speed limit in the lane that most people want to speed in. Also, when we're when we got in TIFF, you know how you go through customers, you go through the baggage carousel, and you get your bags. And then they have the sniffing dogs that smell and they had that police officers there. One cop decided because people don't know how to kind of take a line and go into it's from three to four wide and go into single file. And the cop decides to go just treat it like you merge it on the highway. And I looked over to him and I said zipper technique. I looked there and I said, uh, I said, well, you really picked the wrong city to use the, uh, merge technique. He's an Atlanta cop because yeah, probably right on that one. I'm like, yeah, yeah. Two things here. I did uncover a new driving pet peeve of mine the other day. I had a guy. I'm coming just going 45 or 50 down the Roswell road, right? Somebody pulls out in front of me, doesn't even check up at the stop sign. They're pulling out just pulls out in front of me. But even worse than that, like, don't pull out in front of me. But don't pull out in front of me if you're going to go 10 miles and out on a speed limit. Like dude, like, okay, you're going to be a daredevil at the stop sign, but you're going to be driving to Miss Daisy as soon as you get on the straightaway. Like, I have an absolute massive issue with that. Also, I had that same conversation, uh, David with Bo last night. I was like, if you're going to go 10 miles an hour slower than everybody on the simulator, please step off to the right of the racetrack. We're racing on last night. Well, my car was damaged when I hit the wall. I mean, I'm sorry, which was in the middle of the track. My car then became damaged because I had to hit the wall avoiding. I wasn't parked. I was a person. Also, if you're already in the fast lane and you were going fast and someone wants to go astronomically faster than what you are going, do not ride that person's butt because they are already speeding. Give them time to get out of your way. There's like a there's a polite way to do things. If you want to go 100, it's not my job to get out of your way fast enough for you to blow past me. That's not it. I completely agree. Trash move to what happened. I was in reverse. I missed the pitch. You know what? Well, it's got a squid billion. Uh, good morning. Morning, everybody morning. Elder squid, sir. Hey, Mike, you pipe. What? I don't do anything. What are you talking about? Hold on, sir. How are we doing today? Doing well, doing well. Uh, two quick things. First of all, wake up call for Aaron Rogers. Look, I, I would be fine with him doing this going to Egypt during camp and all that if he was still with the Packers, like, because he, he knew the core offense. The core offense to him. It's like Rodman going to Las Vegas for four days before game. Jordan knew he would show up. Like that, that was known and it was fine. But the NFL is still, what have you done for me lately, Lee? And he hasn't done anything for the Jets yet. And the core reference of the Jets doesn't know him yet. He doesn't know the core offense yet. So I, I still have a problem with it because he's on a new team for, you know, he played four games. So he needs the reps. And I, and I assume that he just assumed, I don't think he went to any of his teammates. Like, hey, you called me going and leaving. Like he just did it because he knew that he could get away with it. Second thing, I'll credit where credit is due. Tiffany, good win. I would have given you the win because, you know, we're good people in the nation. We're impartial. So you got the win today. I do have a problem with, this is not one problem with which one Wednesday, if, if, oh, and Tiffany agree, like that kind of, that point kind of goes to the first person. The second person is just going to be like, yeah, ditto, but I can't really get the point for a reason. That's the same. And it's just kind of a flaw in the game itself. I appreciate you listening. I appreciate you congratulating me on my victory. I do slightly disagree, though, with the agreement point. And so my take on that is it's about who sells it better. Yeah. That's it. It's a, it's a debate for anybody's ever seen a debate team. They have those all over high schools in Georgia. You can agree, but you have to have the reasoning behind it. Yeah. But I'm at home today. Oh, that's what I'm going to call. Well, I mean, I can't hammer home when Tiffany tells me how great I am. What am I supposed to say? Yeah. Honestly, but that was like her checkmate moment. I mean, I mean, she was like, checkmate, I'm about to get you right here. I agree. I'm great. Thank you. I mean, what do I say? I didn't go that far. You kind of did. This week did. That's kind of been a thing. I'll be honest. You've been better. I don't know what it is. Hold on. You know what? You know what? You know what? You know what it proves to me? Is it Tiffany miss being when she got stuck with you for a week? I actually agree with you. I actually agree with you. That's not true. Listen, it was like she, it was like she wanted to say when she saw you, she was like, I want to hug him so bad. I missed him so much. But you know what I mean? I'll keep it. You know, look, she definitely. Oh, I know. I know that parts a lot because of the way he the words he's saying, but I'm sure you get once you get through like maybe like Tuesday morning, you're like, dang, I need squid that. What do you think like you always think though the worst, you know? I don't really have, but I'm. When it comes. I'm the most positive. When it comes to who's missing the show and stuff. That's why that's why I'm the most positive. Your second most positive. Mike, I will give you that. No, that's you are definitely not the most positive. Somebody got these people off. Mike is a, oh, we gotta get away. What am I living in? Mike is the most positive. I was just making a point where it comes to people missing the show and stuff. Please don't. Mike would be like, oh, you guys probably had a better time without me. Like we never come back and say that, do we? No, well, maybe once I did, but. I don't. You look quite like glad, like the witches stinged on the witches dead. She's not here. Brave giants will give you our thoughts on tonight's matchup. Stay with us here on the running shift on sports radio, 92-98. [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] Now with the MLB app, you can get baseball your way. Pick your favorite team, your favorite players, and get customized highlights, stories, and breaking news right on your home feed. Follow the action with Game Tip, where 3D replays add another dimension. Plus notifications can keep you connected to every pinch, every hit, every game, the MLB app. Baseball, your way. Download it now for free from the App Store or Google Play. Blackout and other research and supply major league baseball trademarks used with permission. [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] [BLANK_AUDIO] Back here on the morning shift. Before we hit the Braves in just a second, I was just out there in the bullpen talking to Rusty Mansell. Hey, what was this? It's the Dell. Homer has it. Speaking of Rich Paul, yeah. [LAUGH] I was just talking to Rusty, we were talking about watching Sports Center 15, 20 years ago, and it was so nostalgic for me. I was telling him, I used to have a plasma television, right, you had to have the screen savers. Well, I had Sports Center on so often, whatever 20 years ago, probably at the end of college. The ESPN bottom line was burned into my plasma TV. Even when I changed it, you could still see ESPN's bottom line. But I was just like, he's bringing up such a good point, man. Those 20 years ago watching Sports Center just ran all night and had the best personalities and it was so good. Like I'm watching Chris McHenry do Wimbledon, she was my favorite, and so I used to know what time of day it was by who was anchoring Sports Center. You just go all the way back to the Dan Patrick Stewart Scott era where you knew you were birming on from time to time. It was just nostalgic to have that conversation with Rusty out there. It just makes you think of just how much the landscape has changed completely. Rusty brought that up. He goes, you know, now, then it got to an era where you had to turn it to ESPN too to catch that kind of all night Sports Center thing. And now it's, you know, it's kind of hit or miss because of the way that media has changed and evolved. Yeah, they put on game replays these days at like 4 a.m. and you can't get, you lose out on Sports Center for a couple hours on the main ESPN. Even on the app, you have to search to find it. Yeah, but then you'll get Sports Center LA will be like, that's what was on for me this morning. And I don't blame it because listen, you consume video of news differently. You know, it's just, it's always popping up. You got push notifications and 20 second clips and whatever it is kind of in your palm. So they also got to pivot at some point, but, you know, they're, I mean, I don't want to, they've been kind of all these deals they're making for these TV contracts with, you know, the ACC, the SEC, the big 10. Then you look at base, NBA, Major League Baseball, you know, the NFL and they're, they're taking money away from, you know, what they used to be. And they just become, it's kind of like what happened with MTV, you know, MTV like no longer ever. I don't, when was the last time a music video played on MTV? You can tell you last time I watched MTV. I just don't even know if I have MTV. You see, I wonder if we're going to either, it's kind of a basic thing, but with most packages. But I wonder if you're going to get the point where you don't get like sport, like with sports center ever go away. I don't think it will, but I mean ESPN news used to be 24 hour news. Did they even play news on ESPN anymore? I mean, you can watch football, you know, college football on ESPN news. You know what else in the static I was thinking about this the other day. I know that you probably watched a show RPM tonight that was on ESPN two and it had the two night. Oh man, and then you just have baseball tonight. Dude, I can't even talk about it. Baseball tonight still around. It just is only on like Sundays, I think. Man, I just, the, the, the Sunday night baseball telecast used to have a Joe Morgan. Um, and John, I can't remember John's name, but he's the world's guy. But man, that was a good time. He was a giant. He was a giant. He was a point of the television. Let's stick with baseball then, because the Braves are back at it in game two with the Giants tonight. They dropped game one, five to three yesterday. Yeah, let's, I want to open back up that conversation. You know, some of that I almost threw in which one Wednesday about who's going to have the better second half. Is it Ronaldo Lopez or Matt Olson? Um, it just, because you, I think we're not a Lopez. Well, we need to find a, are you talking about impactful to the wins and losses of the team? Well, Matt Olson's an everyday player and, um, is, is much as we need Ronaldo Lopez to continue to do what he's doing. If Matt Olson can get some hits last night and they win the game, you know, Ronaldo Lopez, if Ronaldo Lopez gives me five innings with three iron runs, five to six innings with three. Give me a quality start or even close to it, which is six and innings and three iron runs. Then I think this team is in a good spot. The problem is I'm saying that based on this offense producing more than it has and it just hasn't been very good. And now it's, it's an entire situation and it was, it comes to the conversation we talked about earlier. This isn't the, I don't want people to say, well, this is a historic office. No, it's not. It's not. It's not. I said earlier and I said it was expected to be coming into the season. I think that's the exact verb. This was expected to be a historic. Coming off of last year. Yeah. But this is not even close to the offense that was on the field last year. No, no, it's not at this current point. And when you have Jared Kalnick, Zach Short, and this is not an outcome. Kalnick because I think he's been phenomenal, especially last month. Everything he's been asked. But Adam Duvall and Forrest Wall in the lineup, and they don't take Kalnick out. That's not fair. But that was the final lineup. But when you had Duvall Wall and Zach Short. Sean Murphy has been okay. He hit a home run last night, but he still isn't warmed up. He's trying to hit him. He's nowhere near the play. He wasn't the first half of last season. That is not the offense that we were sold. That to me has become the biggest move that needs to be made. I know Michael Harris will, will be back at some point. But I need another corner out folder because I don't know right now if I can. I can't depend on Adam Duvall to play every day and produce. He's just not doing it. You know, he. What are they picking up? Two weeks before opening day and sign him back or maybe through it. But he was, yeah, but he was, he was, to his defense, he was only brought in here to Platoon. Yeah. With Jared Kalnick, who at the time we were told couldn't hit left hand pitching. Well, listen, there's a reason, let's, let's not have a revision. It's history. There's a reason they signed Adam Duvall. There's a bad spring training. Exactly. But I also think when, I don't think it was an overreactionary move. I don't think you can never have enough hitters. I mean, it's been pretty, pretty, and clear. You know, you never have enough depth in a 162 game season. But the fact of the matter is, is he's not an everyday player and right now Adam Duvall's being asked to do that and he's not that guy right now. Are you more on board with my notion that you balked that two weeks ago that the Braves need to start playing more small ball? You've got to start finding a way to manufacture runs. And you've seen it, where you force walls bunting now and doing all the other things that you still are not moving runners over and getting runners in. Jared Kalnick's at bat yesterday. We're running on second third as a prime example. You hit a, get a ball to the outfield and you've got to run on the board. And yet we strike out and then you get a fly ball to the next hitter and you're, you're out of luck. I never said they shouldn't. I said they're not built to and they're not primarily when you're healthy. You're not built. And you're, when forest wall is forced into play, because, uh, Laurie, I know I don't know, is, is out with his back issue and Orlando has his tooth, then, then yeah, it's okay. Cause forest wall is a speed guy. He's built to play small ball, but when you have Michael Harris, Kalnick, Duvall, um, Mr. tooth, all these guys, when they're healthy, like they're, they're not built that way. I was like, Roman, my dog just went through this. It is extremely painful. You know what I mean? Look, I completely feel for our Sia, uh, I do too. The bottom line is it's not like he was some kind of offensive juggernaut before he had the tooth issue. No, but last year he had pop in his bat and that's my problem with it. Look, I get what you're coming from and you're saying this is not the line that we respected. It's not like the guys you're talking about were great when they were playing. I mean, Michael Harris wasn't doing much. Oh, Michael, Michael Harris was, when Michael Harris pulled his hammy, he was on the best run. He had all season. He was playing good. He was starting to fill the, the lead off spot. But the best part about Michael Harris's injury is now, you know, you don't have to ask him to do something that he doesn't do as well. He does something else comes right back and slots in at six or whatever you want to move him down. Yeah. I mean, I think he, I think he should be around eight or nine honestly, because I think he'd add some depth to this lineup and now you know, County is comfortable. I think, I think that's the, the bright spot in a bad situation. And also when you spread the lineup out, I think it helps you, I think it helps the lineup more than it hurts it. I want to give you guys some breaking news before we go to break. This coming from Adrian Rogenowski, ESPN free agent, LeBron James has agreed to a two year, 104 million maximum deal to return to the Lakers. The deal includes player option and a no trade clause. I am shocked. I am absolutely shocked. I just cannot believe that that LeBron decided to go back with the Lakers because at no point did he ever, did he ever factor the fact that his son was drafted by them, that he would do this and no point when he opted out, did he ever think he'll be back to the Lakers? We're going to opt out. All of a sudden he, you know, he's a free agent. Oh, you might want to give, you might want to give Bronnie guaranteed money. You might want to do that. LeBron is going to make 52 million over the next two years in average. He was supposed to make what 51.8 or so before he opted out. I just, I, I cannot believe this, this is, this is, this is, this is, this is, this is our Rogenowski by Mark Spain real estate, go to markspain.com and I'm going to guarantee to offer in your home today and start packing life of squid and else I'm a preview of Lady United. But what you got for us? Yeah. Yeah. The best version ever of hard knocks debuted last night. Oh, wow. I, I love. The off-season version of hard knocks. We'll talk about it next in the life of squid. On the morning shift on sports radio, 99 the game and the RSC app, that's right. Okay. Bye. Bye. for now. for now. in the life of squid. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I love the fact that it is not working. I don't even know what the identity of this team really is right now, other than Brooks Lennon's kind of the leader and the guy that gets the most minutes. I mean, it's kind of what it is right now. Yeah, I mean, yeah, Brooks Lennon is a great player. I mean, talk about an unsung hero of this team. He comes out every single match and he just gives you the exact same performance, every single match. But look, I mean, identity of this team, I mean, this is still a strong possession-based team. It's a team that wants to get after you and score goals. They still create a lot of opportunities. And I don't think that's necessarily going to change too much, even in the absence of Tia Goamado and Jorosa Yakamakis. But I mean, it's interesting to your point, Mike. This team came in here having scored 66 goals in 2023. They're a top three team in terms of attacking play last year. This year, they're kind of an inverse too. Like, you know, the defending has been very strong despite the fact that you've had five or six different center-back pairings, you know? And this team is still very, very talented at just about every single position on the pitch. I mean, that's a credit to Garth Lagerway. It's a credit to the team he's been able to put together. It's not all about one or two guys. Obviously, Ilana won't be favored tonight on the road as most times they're not. But what are your expectations against New England? Oh, to go get a win. I mean, at least go get a road result. I mean, you've had, this could be the fifth consecutive match under Rob Valentino that you go out and get a result. They're 2-0-2 under Valentino. And this is a New England team that had won four straight matches. After having a dreadful first half of the season, they were at -17 goal differential still at this point. So, I mean, this is a team that you can beat, but they were a little banged up last week when they lost 5-1 to one of the best teams in MLS and Columbus Crew. I mean, this is a pretty talented team. Carlos Heale is one of the top central attacking midfielders in the league. So you've got to take him out of this match. And ultimately, I think you can go up and get a result. So what time tonight? Real quick. 6.30 pregame, 7.45 first kick. All right. Let's hit it. What was this to me? Let's hit it day-day. Well, that was my cool look back. Into the mind of squid billing. Hey, you might even talk sports. This is the life of squid on the morning shift. Brought to you by the W sauce and status truck and trailer repair, driven by excellence building successful partnerships. [MUSIC PLAYING] That's right. Well, the W sauce, I think I have a hot sauce out now. You can use it on, you know, maybe you decide you don't want ribs and you want wings. Instead, use hot sauce on that. Maybe you wake up tomorrow, you want a buddy-marry mix. So you go over to the W sauce.com, you get a key west style. My friend, Anthony, status truck and trailer repair. Big truck, small truck, medium-sized truck. You want a fifth wheel? They got you covered. They do fifth wheels, Michael. So we're going to-- Did you miss this, too? Is this what you missed? Is this what you missed last week? I mean, I feel like you might be like-- Said you missed tomorrow. I'm just kidding. Are you in your feelings about this? Yeah, he's all upset because he's realized that he's-- I'm just a lame guy over here that can't hold it together. Everybody's, you know. We see you guys are interchangeable each week. You know, you never know what mood I'm going to be in and who I'm going to like more. And so-- There's a reason why I have a shirt and you go. All right. Because you made a shirt. Last night. Last night. I'm sorry. This is-- No one came to you and said, "We need these shirts." It wasn't in demand. I mean, look. Oh, really? Well, they are in demand because they're-- No, sir. We have sold four. I saw that. No, we have sold more than that. They're flying off the shelves. Can't keep them. Nobody as hot as no fear any time now. What? All right. Right up there next to Billabong. Last night. Billabong is a huge market. All right. So you might want to check yourself there. You're buying her Marshall's TJ Maxx. You know when you go in there? Well, you're not there yet, but that'd be nice. I do love me some deals, but I'm just saying. That's where you're-- The inaugural episode-- End up. --of Hard Knocks off season with the New York Giants premiere last night. I loved it. I think this-- Look. As cool as Hard Knocks was when it first came out about the behind the scenes, it's stale. It's boring. It's all kind of-- And I'm not saying this isn't done with complete control for the team of what they allow out there. But we don't get to see these conversations. All right? The access we had last night is things that most people never even hear a front office person say. Yeah, Tiffany's had private conversations that she'll never get into because that's how you get not back in those circles for those privacy. I've had them. You've had them. You've been in them as a player with different ways. But we don't ever see that happening. And I thought it was so cool last night. Joe Sean, New York Giants GM, who was basically the star of this last night. Everything focused around his time. He talked about how he got the job is coming up with the Panthers as a scout. It was obviously with Brandon Bean up in Buffalo. And they take a moment with him. They talk about how he got there. But one of the main focuses was Saquon Barkley. And what are they going to do? And do they re-sign him? And they're going through the running backs and they're breaking down these guys and what they bring, right? Like what this guy will bring to the table. And what that guy will bring to the table. And at one point, John Morrow was in there, the owner, and he was going through. But one of the best things that I heard was they're having a discussion. And one of the guys in Joe Sean's office was like, well, what's the identity of our offense if we don't have and re-sign Saquon Barkley? And this quote was so good. Sean goes, well, we have to upgrade the offensive line. You're paying the guy 40 million. And it's not to hand the ball off to a $12 million running back. I mean, just absolutely nailed it. If you didn't know that this was what? That's a crazy quote. Well, that's the guy he just signed to three more years. He's got three more years with him. And he talked constantly about we got to have some security. One of the other really cool things was what did we tell you guys all offseason? Said a lot of these deals are made at events like the combine, the senior ball. And no one believes this, right? I told you guys that I guarantee you that the Falcons knew what Kirk Cousins wanted because of the way people have indirect conversations that are absolutely direct. And this right here happened between Sean, the Giants GM and Dan Morgan, who's now the GM of the Panthers about one Brian Burns. You want to give us any of the COVID ones for friends? No? I mean, yes, but... They want something. They're heading in the right direction. So if you can't make it out, Morgan goes, "Yeah, I'll take two ones for Brian Burns." And he's like, "Yeah." And he goes, "All right, one and something else." And literally that was the start of the conversation. There you go. And where does Brian Burns end up? New York. New York? I just stay out. I think the access for us guys, if you really want to see how some of this stuff works, it is showing you without telling you everything. They also had it where the new defensive coordinator came in. And he's talking with the staff, the scouts, the GMs, all that about what works and what players and type of players he wants in his defense. I mean, the access is pretty cool. You sold me. I'm going to check it out tonight. Done. Done deal. All right, stick with us. We're going to find out what's coming up on the Steakhouse that's next on the Morning Shift on Sports Radio Night. It's not the game. We got a life of squid on deck, but first Atlanta United on the road taking on New England. And you could hear that right here in 1999. The game pregame starts at 6.30 kick off at 7.30. Our Mike Conti and Jason Longshore, both on the call and on that note. We bring in our Garrett Chapman with us, our resident L.A. United expert. That's what we're calling you now. I'll take that. You know, I don't want to hear that. You will get highly offended by that. Yeah. I'll model expected to be on the move. The deal expected to be finalized from the go to Brazilian team. And so I put a photo. And what would life be like now? So I do. Without them. It's going to be interesting. I mean, I want to see what the team really does look like without him. I mean, we've seen it a few times and it's been kind of a mixed bag. Jay Fortune. I mean, he's played pretty well in his absence at times. And then other times it's been, I mean, not so great. I mean, the beautiful thing about Siagro Amada. And we talked about this on the full-time report on Saturday night. He really is probably one of the best players to come through. It landed United. I mean, that includes Joseph Martinez. That includes Miguel Amaron. That includes, I mean, all the best players that this club has seen. And Tiagro Amada is right up there with the very best of them. And Mike Conti said he's the most talented player in this club's history. And like, whenever you lose somebody like that, it's going to hurt for a little while. I mean, it's going to be tough. But ultimately, like, this match tonight is against a beatable leader. It is against a beatable opponent. The real litmus test is going to be on Saturday against Real Salt Lake. To your point, Gee, I look at this team right now. And it's just interesting because you're coming in the year with Almana and Yakimakis and Panatos, the head coach. And this is a team that's really kind of had to remake its image. I'm not sure. I mean, what's the image of this team? Are they counter-strikeers? Are they a quick attack? Are they, you know, are they, are they? I don't even know what the identity of this team really is right now, other than Brooks Lennon's kind of the leader and the guy that gets the most minutes. I mean, it's kind of what it is right now. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Brooks Lennon is a great player. I mean, talk about an unsung hero of this team. He comes out every single match and he just gives you the exact same performance, every single match. But look, I mean, identity of this team, I mean, this is still a strong possession-based team. It's a team that wants to get after you and score goals. They still create a lot of opportunities. And I don't think that's necessarily going to change too much, even in the absence of Tiago Amato and Jorgos Yakimakis. But I mean, it's interesting, to your point, Mike, this team came in here having scored 66 goals in 2023. They're a top three team in terms of attacking play last year. This year, they're kind of an inverse too. Like, you know, the defending has been very strong despite the fact that you've had five or six different center-back pairings, you know? And this team is still very, very talented at just about every single position on the pitch. And I mean, that's a credit to Garth Lagerway. It's a credit to the team he's been able to put together. It's not all about one or two guys. Obviously, Ilana won't be favored tonight on the road as most times they're not. But what are your expectations against New England? Oh, to go get a win, I mean, at least go get a road result. I mean, you've had, this could be the fifth consecutive match under Rob Valentino that you go out and get a result. They're 2-0-2 under Valentino. And this is a New England team that had won four straight matches. Four straight matches after having a dreadful first half of the season. They were at -17 goal differential still at this point. So I mean, this is a team that you can beat, but they were a little banged up last week when they lost 5-1 to one of the best teams in MLS and Columbus Crew. I mean, this is a pretty talented team. Carlos Heale is one of the top central attacking midfielders in the league. So you got to take him out of this match. And ultimately, I think you can go up and get a result. So what time tonight? 6.30 pregame, 7.45 first kick. All right, let's hit it. No one listens to me. Let's hit it day-day. Well, that was my career. Look back. Into the mind of squid billing. Hey, he might even talk sports. This is the life of squid on the morning shift. Brought to you by the W sauce and status truck and trailer repair driven by excellence building successful partnerships. [MUSIC PLAYING] That's right. Well, W sauce. I got a hot sauce out now. You can use it on, you know, maybe you decide you don't want ribs. You need more wings. Instead, use hot sauce on that. Maybe you wake up tomorrow. You want a buddy, merry mix. So you go over to the W sauce.com. You get a key west style. My friend Anthony, status truck and trailer repair. Big truck, small truck. Medium size truck. You want a fifth wheel? They got you covered. They do fifth wheels, Michael. I'm like, did you miss this too? Is this what you missed? Is this what you missed last week? I feel like you might be on the front lane. You missed him right after this trip. Are you in your feelings about this? Yeah. He's all upset. Yeah. He does. He's realized that he's-- Just the same guy over here that can't hold it together. Everybody, you know. You guys are interchangeable each week. You know, you never know what mood I'm going to be in and who I'm going to like more. There's a reason why I have a shirt and you don't. All right. Why? Because you made a shirt. Last night. Last night. I'm sorry. This is what came to you and said, we need these shirts. It wasn't in demand. I mean, look. Oh, really? Well, they are in demand because they're-- No, sure. You have sold four. I saw that. No, we have sold more than that. They're flying off the shelves. Can't keep them. Nobody is hot as no fear any time now. What? All right. Right up there next to Billabong. Last night, Billabong is a huge market. All right. So you might want to check yourself there. You're buying her Marshall's TJ Maxx. Are you going there? Well, you're not there yet, but that'd be nice. I do love me some deals, but I'm just saying. That's where you're-- The inaugural episode-- End up. --of hard knocks off season with the New York Giants premier last night. I loved it. I think this-- Look. As cool as hard knocks was when it first came out about the behind the scenes, it's stale. It's boring. It's all kind of-- And I'm not saying this isn't done with complete control for the team of what they allow out there. But we don't get to see these conversations. All right? The access we had last night is things that most people never even hear a front office person say. Yeah, Tiffany's had private conversations that she'll never get into because that's how you get not back in those circles for those privacy. I've had them. You've had them. You've been in them as a player with different ways. But we don't ever see that happening. And I thought it was so cool last night. Joe Sean, New York Giants GM, who was basically the star of this last night. Everything focused around his time. He talked about how he got the job is coming up with the Panthers as a scout. You know, it was obviously with Brandon Bean up in Buffalo. And, you know, they take a moment with him and talk about his, like, how he got there. But one of the main focuses was Saquon Barkley. And what are they going to do? And do they re-sign him? And they're going through the running backs and they're breaking down these guys and what they bring, right? Like, what this guy will bring to the table? And what that guy will bring to the table? And at one point, John Morrow was in there, the owner, and he was going through. But one of the best things that I heard was they're having a discussion. And one of the guys that in Joe Sean's office was like, well, what's the identity of our offense if we don't have and re-sign Saquon Barkley? And this quote was so good. Sean goes, well, we have to upgrade the offensive line. You're paying the guy 40 million and it's not to hand the ball off to a $12 million running back. I mean, just absolutely nailed it. If you didn't know that this was what? No, that's a crazy quote. Well, that's the guy he just signed to three more years. He's got three more years with him. And he talked constantly about we got to have some security. One of the other really cool things was what did we tell you guys all offseason? Said a lot of these deals are made at events like the combine, the senior ball. And no one believes this, right? I told you guys that I guarantee you that the Falcons knew what Kirk Cousins wanted because of the way people have indirect conversations that are absolutely direct. And this right here happened between Sean, the Giants GM and Dan Morgan, who's now the GM of the Panthers about one Brian Burns. You want to give us any of the ones for his friends? No. I mean, yes, but they want something. They're heading in the right direction. So if you can't make it out, Morgan goes, "I'll take two ones for Brian Burns." And he's like, "Yeah." And he goes, "I want something else." And literally that was the start of the conversation. And where does Brian Burns end up? New York. I just stay out. I think the access for us guys, if you really want to see how some of this stuff works, it is showing you without telling you everything. They also had it where the new defensive coordinator came in. And he's talking with the staff, the scouts, the GMs, all that about what works and what players and type of players he wants in his defense. I mean, the access is pretty cool. You sold me. I'm going to check it out tonight. Done. Done deal. All right. Stick with us. We're going to find out what's coming up on the Steakhouse that's next on the Morning Shift on Sports Radio night tonight at the game. Trying to figure out what to eat for dinner yet again? With nor sides and bullion as you're not so secret ingredient, you can skip the drive-through and do dinner at home. Nor taste combos provide a menu of delicious, affordable, and well-balanced meals that you can prepare in 30 minutes or less. Visit nor.com to get quick and easy recipe ideas for your home-cooked weeknight dinners. It's not fast food, but it's so good. Now with the MLB app, you can get baseball your way. Pick your favorite team, your favorite players, and get customized highlights, stories, and breaking news right on your home feed. Follow the action with Game Tip, where 3D replays add another dimension. Plus, notifications can keep you connected to every pinch, every hit, every game. The MLB app. Baseball, your way.