The Killer B's: Joel Blank & Jeremy Branham
10/10 Hour 3 - Who's More Important: Joe Mixon or Christian Harris?
(upbeat music) ♪ Don't sweat technique ♪ ♪ You found the killer beat ♪ ♪ Live for the Veritex Community Bank Studios ♪ ♪ Here's Joel Blank and Jeremy Branham ♪ - The hilarious, standup comedian, writer, author, actor, and podcaster, Tom Segura's coming to Houston for his come together tour. Caller number three, right now, to 713-782-3776, wins a pair of tickets to join Segura for all the laughs. It's energy arena on Saturday, April 5th, a ticket to go on sale this Friday at LiveNation.com. It's gonna be funny, it's gonna be a great time. Get your tickets now at LiveNation.com. So, Costas or Al Michaels, we're gonna have the pleasure of listening to Al Michaels today. I have no idea Bob Costas is doing that entire series, the Yankee series. I might have the, I've actually watched some baseball in the division series. I didn't think I was going to, but the Padres and the Dodgers pulled me right in. They pulled me right in. - Pissed me right off last night. - I didn't watch a pitch of that game, 'cause it got out of hand early, never turned it on, 'cause I was watching the end of Yankee's Royals. - That's what took me off of that. - Didn't watch a pitch of them. - I was watching both of them. - Oh, really? - And I was like, well, I'm really looking forward to kind of the drama continuing and what goes down with the Padres Dodgers. And then, like you said, it got out of hand early, and I'm like, well, screw that. It's just Rockets, and then I saw the end of the Yankee game. - I'll probably score board watch today and then have the NFL game up and go. - Yeah, I'll let you. - Just have a little, I'll Michael's up. So Michael's are Costas. Where do you stand on this, Michael's? Your favorite team, I guess it could be whatever sport. You want Michael's or Costas calling the game? - I think to me at this point, I think that there's more comprehension still with Bob Costas. I think Michael's, it's not only passed and ran him over, and I just think he's completely behind. Whereas Costas, he's still following everything that happens. He just lacks emotion and lacks the kind of competitive fire calling a game that you would expect from a national TV, no matter if you're not shooting for either team, you're just cheering for the action. But I would lean, I can't stand either one of them right now, but I would lean Costas over around Michael's. - It bothers me like how poetic Costas will get. - It's so forced. - Yeah, he gets too poetic for me. The grammar's too fine. The words are sometimes, I don't know what they are. A lot of times, so I actually lean out Michael's. I rather have, yes, Al Michaels isn't going to show the enthusiasm. Michaels isn't certainly not what he used to be, but if I had to pick my poison and pick between two evils, I'd rather have Al Michaels than Bob Costas. - You know, it's funny is when you think about Costas, remember when he was in his heyday and doing the NBA games, where they always let him do like the introduction and then the final say where he did the long diet tribe of either what was going to happen or what happened. - It's, his broadcasts are like a diet tribe of everything he pre-scripted for the entire game. - Yeah, it wasn't, it has sold me this today on Twitter. It wasn't Costas doing the finals because Marv Albert got in trouble. - He got the, I think, well, he did games throughout the year for NBC with Snapper Jones and Bill Walton. - And then he was like their main studio guy. - Yeah, and then Marv was their one in trouble. They just kind of like in a different circumstance, obviously, but kind of like they were grooming Toreko to take over for Al on Sunday night. But yeah, I think that Bob got the full time, big time job from a basketball perspective 'cause he was already a high ranked talent for them. - I think he did more play-by-play than in this was giving a great credit for. Like he did it, he did it coming up through college in Missouri, he did play-by-play for the Bulls on WGN for a season. And then like you said, he was on the B team for the NBA, so I think he did more play-by-play than. - He and Snapper Jones used to do ABA games together. - ABA? - ABA. He called ABA St. Louis spirits games with Steve Stapper Jones. That's how they got to know each other. - Wasn't that defunct, like in the early '70s? - Oh, he's very long as the tooth down. - '72, he looks pretty good for '72. - Yeah. - Credit Bob Costas for looking good at the age of '72. - He's one of those. - He doesn't look as good as you at the age of '72, but he looks good at the age of '72. - He's one of those dudes though that like, he's got that prima-donna attitude a lot. Like when the last time he was doing, he was doing like he said, the studio for Sunday night football, Packers, Texans. And we were down on the field pregame. And like two people were trying to use their phone to take a picture and he just lit them up going, "Can't you see I'm working here? Don't you dare stop." And it's like, "Okay, Bob." - 50/30 says Costas just sucks. Plus he's a lizard person. I didn't know Costas was a lizard. I didn't know that. Michael is at least somewhat nostalgic. I agree with that. A143 says easily Costas 8693. Al because the perfect grammar gets old really fast. I agree with that. A weakest, forget about it. I've ever heard going back to the Costas call it yesterday. Costas can only do golf. See, I don't even think he can do golf anymore. I think he's just like studio nowadays. - But remember now he used to do baseball, basketball, Olympics. He was there everything go to announcer for NBC for a long time. I don't know that he ever did. Did he ever do play by play for football? - I don't think that he did. I think he just did NBA and Major League Baseball. - Okay. - Yeah. Now I'm talking about now. I don't wanna hear him on my ass. - Oh no, I don't wanna hear him on my ass. I don't wanna hear him in the studio because now you know that he's gonna give you a war and peace reaction to whatever happened. - Something poetic. Al Mike was by a landslide. At least he's not corny like Bob Costas. Costas is super corny. Like all these big words to me come across really corny. Even whenever the Jordan 90, like the 96 when he pushed off on Russell, was it 96? I think it was 96. Whenever he pushed off on Russell, he's like, could that be the final shot in the great career of the illustrious Michael Jordan? Every single time he's up the floor. Like he would wipe his face with his towel. Could that be the last time Michael Jordan wipes his face with a towel on an NBA court? - He's like the new mad dog too in the fact that every reference or your guy with Tim Kirkson, every reference he makes is from like Sandy Kofax and Babe Ruth and like the old old old school references. He's never referencing like the last time this was done was in 2014. - No, you're right. A 7560, I want a Kit Rock type of commentator at the Astros. I don't really know what that means. - At the Astros? - What does a Kit Rock type of commentator mean? Like just. - Does that mean McAfee trying to call baseball with like cuss words and like just say whatever you feel? - Maybe. I don't really know what that means. This texture says Al Michaels football, costas, baseball, and basketball. - I don't think Al's ever gonna do baseball or basketball. - No, give me Al Michaels with the hockey puck though. - Oh, I believe in miracles. - I was gonna say of the two, who's got the signature call for their career? - Oh, Al Michaels. - Al Michaels easily, do you believe in miracles? - Costas signature call has to be Jordan over Russell. - Has to. - I don't even remember it though. And I remember, you will always line up Al Michaels with do you believe in miracles? Yes. - Oh, for sure. For sure. Al Michaels is bigger. But costas called the Jordan over Byron Russell. - But I don't remember how he called it. So therefore, I think Al has the bigger signature moment. - I think he said, is that the last shot? Michael Jordan? - Probably. - I think he did. - I think he did. Keith says pink eye Bob Costas. I remember he did get the pink eye on the studio one time. I think Jake Asman when it was like rubbing it for him. A 0315 neither would rather have Joe Buck calling games. Okay, you didn't understand the assignment. Costas sounds like the guy a yuppie in a 90s movie would be talking sports with and talking down to the main character. He really does. Like I do get the sense that Costas whenever he's calling a game is talking down to me. - Oh, I agree. - I feel like he is like lecturing me as he calls a baseball game. If Alex P Keaton was real life and got real old and still was trying to do something and he was calling sports, that's the kind of talking down kind of elitist calls that Bob Costas makes. - Yeah. Now I know how DC's me. Cass got that punchable Lego hair face. He really does. Honeyglaze Branham says Costas is a nerd. Yeah, I detect no lies. - What? - I think that he yells at Michael's. - I wouldn't call Michael's a nerd. Or I think how Michael's is more of a degenerate than anything else. - Yeah. - 'Cause he like he always talks about-- - That was the way Michael's a nerd. - Must burger and how Michael's were like the first two broadcasters that openly talked about the spread and the total. - Is that right? - Yeah. - Oh yeah, they would make the subtle references. Like they must be, the fans here must be over the moon about that score. - I didn't know that Michaels did that too. - But Michaels was a little more subtle. Michaels would be like if there was a touchdown that took it over, he'd be like, half the country's like rejoicing right now. Like in a very subtle way. And you would have to really know what's going on. For us to catch it. - Yeah, 'cause Van Pelt's the guy that's really taken it and run with it now too. Even before they got into this deep with spreads and things, Van Pelt would always kind of make reference. But yeah, I didn't know that Al did that. - Yeah, he was, yeah, he was kind of cutting edge on that. Him and him and Must burger. I always just liked Al Michaels more whenever they were in their heyday. So maybe that's why I go Michaels over Costas 'cause I've always, I used to like Michaels way more than I like Costas. So like I'm hanging on to Al Michaels more than I care to hang on to Bob Costas. Plus I think that the other part of this is that it's still football. Like I'm going to watch a football game no matter who's calling it. I might not watch a baseball game depending on who's calling it. - If the Astros aren't playing too. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree. I was a huge fan of Al Michaels but it's just it's now passed him by. But I, you know, it's kind of like, when you're talking about the elitist with Costas, I've heard the same about Al Michaels. I've heard where Al Michaels is at like a party at a house and he's like in the den. And you walk in and people have celebrities and otherwise have walked in to say hi to him. And he said, someone has to tell him if Al doesn't give you permission to come in, you have to wait and people are like for Al Michaels? - That's crazy. At least he hides it. - I get that impression from him. - Yeah, he hides it. - He must hide it. - Yeah, I like that he hides it. One, three, one, seven Michaels and Musburger would be great reading bedtime stories to you. They really would. They have unbelievable voices. - They wouldn't script any of the words either. - No, they wouldn't. Three, four, one, three. Rest in peace, Hubie. He's not dead just as announcing career. I thought he still called to me as being radio. - He's still doing his. - I thought he was just being radio. - I thought he was just being radio. - I think he's like the C team for ABC ESPN. I thought he was off a TV and doing only radio now. - Is he close to 90? - I think so. - I think he's over 90. - That's crazy. - Hubie is really good. - He is still, he's right. - Yeah, I'm a big Hubie guy. He hasn't lost much at all. All right, seven, one, three, seven, eight, zero ESPN. Who do you want back first? Mixing her Harris. We kind of got a little spoiler on that today. And then what do you need to see Sunday from the Texans to make you feel better about the team? Seven, one, three, seven, eight, zero, three, seven, seven, six. It is the bees on ESPN 97 five and ESPN 92 five. ESPN 97 five. - Please identify. (upbeat music) - Coming to you live from the Veritex Community Bank Studios, it's the killer bees. - On ESPN 97 five and 92 five. - Here's Joel Blanket, Jeremy Branham. - It is the bees, it is ESPN 97 five, ESPN 95. We're gonna be out tomorrow. We're going to be out on location. Gonna be so much fun. Brian's gonna be out there joining us too. Can you believe that? - Shocker, right? - High times, good vibes, drinks will be flowing. - Great weather, indoor, outdoor, garage doors open so the breeze will flow in. So many TVs, drift bar, and the heights come out. Hang out with us. Brian's gonna be buying beer. - That's very optimistic of you. - Brian's gonna be buying the beer tomorrow. - Not unless I owe you one. - Brian will be buying the beer. - Then there's a company charge card somewhere. - So come out, see the bees, and make sure that you get Brian's attention. 'Cause we're gonna be out tomorrow, drift bar and the heights. Looking forward to it. The weather's gonna be fantastic. I imagine the weather will be fantastic. There, we hope to see you all out there, drift bar tomorrow. Killer G's gonna be out there? - Yes, they will. - Killer G's out there at noon. We'll be there three to six. Come say hello, Brian, if he's feeling optimistic, if he's feeling, maybe if he's buzzed, he'll buy a beer or two. Don't hold your breath, it seems like. Just looking at his face, when hold your breath. All right, blankers. - Yes. - Who do you want back first on the Texans? - This is kind of a lemonade the idea that Nixon did return to practice today. But who do you want back first? Joe Mixon or Christian Harris? Who would you in a perfect world have back first? - I think in a perfect world, you'd like to see what the offense can be with Joe Mixon. I think that we've seen from the running backs, they've been okay. But you saw such a great step up in the running game when Nixon played against Indy that you felt like this was gonna take the running game to a different level. And then the offense was gonna go to another level. And we know that a lot of people have been critical of a lot of things with this team. And offensively, now you're gonna be without Nico. Of the two guys, Toe Toe has really stepped up, or I didn't think he was capable of doing the things that he's done so far. And the defense has been the calling card of this team so far to this point in the season. So of the two guys, not that I need to see either guy against New England, but between the two guys, I would prefer to see Mixon back because of the fact that we saw it was an ankle. We know that he can get by with that. There's no structural damage. We don't know what the hell's going on with Christian Harris's calf either. And for the long haul, you're gonna really need a healthy Christian Harris. It seems to me that if you could get Mixon back and see what he can do and get that running game going, it could actually add layers to your offense, catching up to your defense. - Yeah, for me, it's Mixon. I would take Mixon over Harris in terms of the return. And the way that I look at this, it might be a different answer than at the start of the year, but it's who are they replacing? Christian Harris replacing Henry Toe Toe. Well, Henry Harris is better than Toe Toe. I'm not saying that at all, but I don't think that the gap is as large as one, we thought at the beginning of the season, but then it's certainly not as large as Joe Mixon over, Daray or Camacres. I think that Mixon's return over those two guys is far greater of an impact than the return you would have of Harris over Henry Toe Toe. Obviously, I won both of them back, but in terms of like which one I'd rather have back first, it's Mixon for me because he is greater than who is behind him than Harris is greater than who is behind him or who he's replacing. And then you, I think you can also throw in the caveat at Nico Collins. Like you're gonna be out without your best offensive player, Sam's CJ Shroud for at least the next four games. So what is one way to kind of compensate for not having your best skill player by adding to the running game, by bringing back another skill position player and another team. So for me, it's an easier answer with Joe Mixon. - Yeah, I think it's twofold in the fact that not only does he give you a dynamic weapon that you've seen, you could utilize and really have success with Nico out, but it's also the best way to kind of do the things you need to do to bide your time while Nico's out is literally bide your time by running the running game, eating up clock and limiting the other team's ability to get multiple, as many possessions while you methodically push the ball down the field. - I don't like the idea of like turning this offense into three yards in a cloud of us though. Like this offense to me should still be dynamic and electric and like CJ Shroud is top three and passing in the NFL. The Texans have the number one passing attack in the NFL. So, and I still think that you had the pieces to have a really good passing attack. So, I don't want it to be like methodical, you know, eat up the clock. I still think that this offense should be good enough to move the ball field and score a lot of points. - Yeah, no, I think from my perspective in saying that, it's the fact that we know that this team has been more pass heavy and pass dominant simply because of the fact the running game has been less than. But if you lose Nico Collins, but you add the running game back in where the guy's talented is Mixon, now CJ doesn't have to be making as many big plays and because the defense has to respect and honor the running game more, maybe bigger plays open up for the other guys that are talented. - Yeah, what are you thinking on this, Brian? - The way I kind of look at it is, what can you do better without? Like what can you survive more if you're missing them? And I think from what we've seen from the defense, I mean, the defense is still wrecking the Bears game plan. They're still wrecking Josh Allen and cause them to only complete nine passes. They're playing as an upper echelon defense even without Christian Harris. So I don't really see it now, could they get better? Do with Christian Harris coming back to play and playing at the level he was last year, unlock a different level for them? Sure, but they're already good enough at right now without him, whereas on the offensive side, especially now without Nico Collins, I think the same can't be said with Joe Mixon. We've seen Daray struggle, he averaged under three yards per carry in their last game. Joe Mixon to me provides them more of a boost than Christian Harris would. So for me, it's an easy answer for Joe Mixon. - To no one say in Harris, huh? - Any textures out there, 713-780-3776? The return, like I know that we're kind of eliminating the return conversation here. Like which one do we want back first? So it's kind of like, hey, snap a finger, that guy's back. The Harris return bothers me. Like the timeline of the hair, and this is, I'm separating the conversation now that's really doesn't pertain to this conversation. I don't think you're getting Harris back for at least another month. Like I think it's mid November before we talk about Christian Harris. Returning, returning to play at a game. - I think you're probably right. And I think part of that that dials into all this is the fact that they know that with the injury he's dealt with, it's already flared up once when they thought he was ready to come back. And you can't have it linger for the rest of the season. So at this point now that he's already missed the games that he's missed, and because of the fact that your defense is still having success, no matter if he's in the lineup or not, you want to play for the long haul and say we know how tough the schedule's gonna get and it's gonna continue to get for the rest of the season. When we bring him back this time, we don't want to take any chances. Like to your Dusty Baker philosophy, if he's gonna be ready in week six or week seven, give him till week eight, just so the fact that when you do get him back, he doesn't immediately or quickly go back to the injured list. - Yeah. 713780 ESPN, HRMP, Listener Line, 7137803776. This whole segment is basically war for Texans players. Okay, he's saying wins above replacement, not actual like war. - I guess that kind of made that argument. - They're going to swarm the New England Patriots. I mean, if you are going to war with one team in the NFL, it seems like the Patriots do have some history with it. Like their mascots kind of, you know, like back for the old days, like in the colonies and stuff like that. Like I don't think I'd want them in a war. - Yeah, I got those four guys in the back of the end zone that looked like they got beat to hell. - Yeah, it is kind of a war conversation though. I probably agree with that. What do you need to see Sunday from the Texans to make you feel better about the Texans? - Yeah, I think that a lot of, when you look at this and a lot of people are still so critical of where the Texans are and how they're playing, I think it's not the fact that you're just supposed to beat the lowly Patriots. I think how you go about your business. I think you want to make sure that the offensive line woes are behind you. I want to see an offensive line that has more continuity that keeps the penalties down. That's able to run the football no matter who it is that they're blocking for. And I think that's going to be key. Everybody's going to be watching the wide receivers to make sure that they can fill in for Nico Collins. The bigger thing to me is can you run the football at all? Can the guys that you're relying on, whether Pierce gets carries or not? Can you get into a situation where you can run the football effectively and consistently so that at least someone steps up and shows you, even when mixing's back, I got another guy in the running game. We know what Dari can do in the passing game with blocking and receiving, but I need a guy that can tote the rock that can be able to fill in, especially 'cause we said even when you get mixing back, you don't want to be in the workhorse on every single play, you know, every single series, you'd like to give him a series off here and there and have a guy that could still sustain the running game. And just CJ still continuing to be CJ. I think those are the keys, the fact that everybody's worried about, well, how many points do they get a score? Are they going to do this? Are they going to win by more than the spread? I just need to see progress that they're continuing to progress in areas that they have struggled and getting guys back is going to help, but that because we know that start after the Patriots game, you know, you've got to stretch now where it starts to heat up a little bit with divisional opponents and the Packers and the Jets and things where you want to see progress. - I really just want to see an easy win. Like they haven't had an easy win all year. This is a game where you should have an easy win. Like don't be the team that loses to Zach Wilson, Bryce Young, Desmond Ritter. Like if you're going to be a team that's in the upper echelon of the AFC and we've categorized the Texans in the upper echelon of the AFC after they beat an upper echelon team, like the Buffalo Bills. But all of that goodwill and like the perception of being in that upper echelon, it's gone like that if you lose to a rookie quarterback making his first ever starter. Like that's why, you know, even last year was a great first year under D'Amico, rookie year under Stroud, but I never really, I never took them seriously as an AFC contender because you're losing games to Zach Wilson, Bryce Young and Desmond Ritter. I think that there are more improved team. I think there are more talented teams. You're two of CJ Stroud. So if they are taking that next step and I'm not even saying that next step means they're in the conference championship or it means they're in the Super Bowl. I just mean, I think higher of them this year than I did last year. 'Cause there were times I didn't take them that seriously last year. Yes, a playoff team, yes, a champion in the AFC South, but I never expected them to be past the divisional round. I do hold, I do hold them to that standard this year. I do think that they can get past the divisional round. I do think that they're better than last year. But if you lose to a rookie quarterback on a bad football team, you revert right back to where I had them last year. - So does that mean a Minnesota, like how Minnesota handled you? - Not even that, just one by two possessions. Like it's the NFL, it's on the road. I don't need you to win by 30. Like that's not really realistic in the NFL, especially on the road. Win by two possessions, like take an early lead, have a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, take a 14-point lead at halftime and just hold the two possession lead the entire game. Two possession lead. - That's fair. I just think that you're supposed to dominate this team. - I mean, you're favored by six and a half seven. - But regardless, I just want to see the continuity all over the football field that I think people are lacking. 'Cause if you lose this game, you're right. If you lose this game to this quarterback making his first start ever in a team that's less than, now there's going to be a whole lot more behind all these people that have doubts and worries about this team. It's, we've been kind of scoffing at the people that are really highly critical this Texans team and writing them off, they're foreign one. But if you're foreign two and that second loss comes, one, you got absolutely blasted by a team like Minnesota where you were supposed to be at least on their level and no one expected them to be on that level. But then if your second loss comes at a team that's supposed to be significantly less than you and they beat you with a quarterback in his first ever start, now there's a whole lot of absolute substance behind the fact that you doubt what this team can do. - But then if you go out and win the rest of your games, no one remembers. Like that matters more in terms of perception and talking heads than it actually matters in real life. Like the Chiefs won the Super Bowl last year, they lost to the Raiders and the Broncos. Like we don't really remember that. Now you can say divisional rivals, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I don't think the Broncos last year, the Raiders last year or as bad as the Patriots are currently. But if you lost to New England and then you win the rest of your games and you rattle, like you run through the playoffs and win the Super Bowl, like it doesn't really matter. I think it matters more in terms of the perception and how we talk of them and then perceive them. - Yeah, because I think that if they don't win the Super Bowl but they still make the playoffs and do things. Look, Texans did all that last year and we still remember the games you just rattled off. We remembered losing to the Jets, the Falcons and the Panthers and going, what the hell was that and how did that happen? So I think that- - I think it could be lesser than the Super Bowl though. Like if you go to the AFC Championship, you're like, oh my goodness, they lost to the Patriots last year. Like you would be celebrating kind of depending on how it all ended, context matters here, but you'd be looking at the deepest run in franchise history. - Yeah, but at the same time, if that, if you look at the reasons why they lost the game and maybe they don't have home field advantage in that game and you say, yeah, you lost to the Patriots when you should have beaten the Patriots at a certain time do you still remember the game? - Yeah, but in terms of like style points, that to me doesn't matter a ton. Like yes, you want to see them play better, but how they play stylistically against New England, does that matter four weeks down the road? - I want to see progress. That's what I want to see. I mean, I don't even care if they win by two scores. I want to see progress. I hope that they win by at least a touchdown, but I really want to see the fact that your defensive line actually gets home a few more times and really gets back to being the defensive line we thought that they were supposed to be, no matter how good the overall defense has been. Offensive line has been a huge issue for this team, both with penalties and performance. I want to see a team that can control the offensive line, that can run the game and give CJ the time that he doesn't have to constantly move in or around and out of the pocket to do what they need to do. And then from there, look, everything else is cake for me. - I think it's probably a better way to say it than score. You show that you're taking those necessary steps to improve your football team. 9202, if Mills is not in at the end of the game with a big lead, I will not be satisfied. He wants blowout, he wants blood, he wants Patriot blood, a 6-5-1-7. I want to see a game that is over in the third quarter. That's fair, you know? Get a blowout win, a win by 10 points is good enough for me. We're winning, let them keep playing. The more we criticize the wins and how much you win by, we missed the point. They won, take it and improve. Yeah, that's more to the tangible what is real versus the perception and the belief of the team going forward. And then only Texas game I attended in person was Marc Sanchez's first ever start as a rookie, thought Mario Williams was going to dominate, Texas lost badly. Could be similar scenario if they take May lightly. Yeah, their track record with these type of games isn't great, but this is supposed to be another team that's on another level than most of the teams that we've seen in franchise history, you would expect different results. And that's where it gets a little dicey because I think that if you have another team to the texture that said, just get the dub. Sure, if you get another dub, it's great. But if you get another dub and you got to do it on the last possession by being behind and constructing another game-winning drive from CJ Stroud, there's going to be a whole hell of a lot more doubt and criticism no matter what it took to get the dub. I 100% agree, but how tangible is that to an NFL team over the season? No, I'm saying from a reaction stamp. Yeah, for reaction, it's going to be people losing their bleep in mind. Yeah, no doubt. 713-780-ESPN. Bucky's, we all like Bucky's. What's your favorite thing to get at Bucky's? 713-780-3776. But why you might not have faith in society? Bucky's checks in third in the national ranking of gas station convenience stores. Third, what's your favorite thing at Bucky's? 713-780-3776. And then the other two gas station convenience stores that are ahead of Bucky's nationally. I'll tell you what they are next. It is the B's on ESPN 97.5 and ESPN 92.5. (upbeat music) ♪ This is ESPN 97.5 ♪ (upbeat music) Now back to the Killer B's. ♪ On ESPN 97.5 and 92.5 ♪ Live from the Veritex Community Bank Studios, here's Joel Blanken, Jeremy Branham. So two gas station convenience stores rank higher nationally than Bucky's, which I think is a crime. But first, what's your favorite thing at Bucky's? 713-780-3776. The bathroom. You agreed? Yeah, I mean, I know people talk about what the beaver nuggets and all the other things. The best thing is, is that, sometimes you can, as you know, driving all over the state too, you can get some pretty shady restroom facilities. I thought you were gonna use another S-H-Y. (laughing) Yeah, no. I wasn't worried there for-- More than that. Probably don't get credit for it, but yeah. Well, actually, if you'd said it though, you'd been right. Yeah. 'Cause sometimes, not only that, but in the, where Bucky's is, you go through stretches of 50 miles, 30 miles sometimes, of where there's nowhere to go at all. Yeah, it's not an house like the old-- Those things like the old-- It sure does feel like it when you go inside it. See, it's almost like the Oasis in the desert. 5-7-9-8 is the best thing at Bucky's is the bathroom. Can't beat a clean stall with a full-sized door. Worst thing at Bucky's is the traffic. That's true. The traffic there is really bad. Especially when you're trying to fill up your gas tank, you'll sit there forever. No one goes there anymore, it's too crowded. Or, they're multitasking, so they start their gas, and then they go inside, and then they spend an extra 10 minutes getting their snack. I'm okay with starting your gas and going inside. I think that's a good multitasking move. What I don't like is that you pump your gas, you finish, and then you go inside without moving your vehicle. That's the one that really annoys me. If you want to start the gas and go in-- Okay, that's slightly annoying. No, if you're trying to wait-- But it's not as bad, it's not as long away. Like we said, it's pretty congested. Sure, but if you start the gas and go in immediately, it's not as long away than filling your tank, putting the gas pump up, leaving your vehicle there, and then going inside. It saves you about two minutes. Well, what's the shortest amount of time you've ever spent in a Bucky's? 10 minutes? I mean, yeah, I don't know. I make some quick Bucky runs. I mean, they're three, five minutes tops. I still don't have to use the restroom. I do agree with moving the car. I do agree with moving the car. But the lesser of the two moves is starting it going in versus finishing not moving your car, and then going in. If you were to get food at Bucky's, though, what's your play? I usually go fountain drink, depending on the time of day. I do like the chopped beef brisket sandwich. Oh, yeah. It's not bad. It's great. I can't remember if it's the rhino or the hippo. The difference is the bacon and the sausage. I don't remember. I like the one with the sausage. I think it's the rhino. The rhino breakfast taco is pretty solid too. I don't do beaver nuggets. Yeah, they're pretty good. I don't do the beaver nuggets, but I do the beaver nugget trail mix where you get a little, you get a few beaver nuggets mixed in with like some of the, you know, crackers, pretzels, nuts, that sort of thing. Yeah, I don't know that I've gotten, I've gotten always fountain drink, but I don't know. Wait, hold on. You've never gotten food from Bucky's? No. Wow. Oh, nope. No, my daughters will get stuff. But I just, I'll grab like a fountain drink and use the restroom. Man, yeah, the chopped beef sandwiches are great. They're all their barbecue sandwiches because they have some sliced ones that are really good as well. The collachis are elite. They're, I mean, stuff this package, they have that huge wall they have of candy and like the chocolate covered nuts. All that stuff is great. There's, you could hardly go wrong with Bucky's. The one that it seems like is most divisive when it comes up is the sausage on a stick wrapped in the tortilla. Never had it. Really, see, I tend to like it, but people complain about the quality of their tortilla and don't seem to, it seems split. It seems 50/50, but I've always enjoyed that one. It's an overkill. Like you either have sausage on a stick or you have sausage in a tortilla. I mean, it's a convenience factor for me, especially if you're getting in the car and driving, having the stick helps. I set myself right up for a lot of jokes. Yeah, there's a lot of stuff up there. And I'm not even going to look at the text line. Do you want to take a guess at the two stores, convenience gas stores, gas station convenience stores, that were ranked nationally ahead of Bucky's? Wawa. There's one. Quick trip. That's the second one. Quick trip big in the Midwest. Wawa was one. Quick trip is two. I've been in both, been in both of them. The hell's a Wawa? It's a Pennsylvania Northeast. Oh, it's East, a Bucky Street. Yeah, and it's moved down to Florida. So there's a lot of them in Florida too. Because Florida has a lot of stuff that the Northeasterners have because they retire in Florida. So you see a lot of like the-- Sure. What is the beef place, the Italian beef, hot dog place? Partillos. Oh. They have partillos all over Florida. They have Dunkin' Donuts, which were-- I mean, that's more national now, but Dunkin' Donuts started Northeast, Northeast, and then moved to Florida. Wawa, I don't think that either one of these places does anything better than Bucky's. Many times, I've been to Wawa. Wawa will do some sandwich stuff at the counter. Not nearly as good as Bucky's food. Their bathrooms are awful. They're smaller than Bucky's. I don't think they do one single thing better than Bucky's. The only thing that they do that's unique that Bucky's does not is that they bottle their own iced tea. You know? That's it. That's all they do that's extra. It's scarce. Wawa should not be ahead of Bucky's. Quick trip. I do like quick trips. I probably like quick trips more than Wawa's. But their bathrooms aren't as clean as Bucky's. They're not nearly as big. They don't have the food selection that Bucky's has. There's no way that either one of these two places is better than Bucky's. It's a quick trip on steroids. I think quick trip does it good. I think Bucky's does it better. Their attention to detail and just everything. Not just the bathrooms, but like where everything is, how you can find it, the ease of getting in and out. I think they take it a notch up from a quick trip. I've never been to a Wawa. Yeah, it's not great. It's really not great. How's the food at Wawa? It's Wawa and quick trip are pretty similar. They're pretty, they're not good. It's like a club sandwich. Yeah, quick trip be the does very good. There'd be the does like sub, sub types, deli sandwiches or hot dogs. They don't-- Yeah, they don't have that refrigerator with the cold club sandwiches that are grossed. They'll make it in front of you. Oh, OK, well, that's a little bit better there. So it is like fresher. It's not like packaged sandwich stuff. And you could do like some wraps and some chicken salad and stuff like that or salads. But it's not nearly as complicated as Bucky's. The hot barbecue sandwiches at Bucky's are a week. Yeah. I think that's where Bucky's, like I said, takes to the next level. In fact, you can get chopped beef sandwiches. You can get like really substantial sandwiches that are right there and fresh as opposed to just cold cuts. 978-8. I'm not going to read the name of that gas station convenience store, although it is a real life gas station convenience store. The one that I saw was in Iowa, is where I saw that place, said 978-8. But I will not mention it. Can you buy katana at Wawa or quick trip? No point goes to Bucky's. You can also buy like crawfish, boils, equipment. You could buy anything there. You could buy like deer shears and Bucky's. You could buy house decorations, t-shirts, coolers, chews. I mean, anything you can books, kids, toys. Yeah, that's cool. Seriously, like you can't literally anything. This makes me worry about society, that Bucky's ranks lower than Wawa in quick trip. It's, to me, it's embarrassed. It looks like there's a CBS Sports. No, it should have been. It was Channel 11 CBS. But I think they pulled-- it wasn't their story. They just brought it from somewhere. It feels like this would be made by a list of people who haven't been-- either haven't been to Bucky's at all and just putting it on the list because they've heard their reputation, or it's someone who went to Bucky's a long time ago before it had been built up, even to the level that it is now. Because some of the Bucky's-- I know there was one in Pearland as far back as 10 years ago that was just the size of a regular gas station. There's a couple of those. Maybe they went to one of those Bucky's like, really? This is it, so-- One in Richmond isn't even close to the one in Baytown. Like size wise, they bought another gas station and expanded it a little bit. It's not nearly some of the powerhouse big time Bucky's that you see on I-10. Yeah, a study from the American Customer Satisfaction Index ranks Bucky's third behind Wawa at one and quick trip at two. I think what's in play here is people don't like Texas and they associate Bucky's with Texas. So you get a lot of these East Coasters. Like, oh, I love me some wall wall Bucky's from Texas. I'm not putting that very high on my list. I think that's what's in play here. You know what this is? This is East Coast Bias. You know what this is? This is East Coast Bias. Something you just said, Jeremy, told me this list is fried. Say it one more time, who this list is by, or what it's from? It is from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Who has gone to Bucky's and not been satisfied? No one. Exactly. So how can it not be number one? The fact that this is based on customer satisfaction is Bucky's is that one is absurd. I can fill up the tank. I can empty the tank. I can get great fountain drink. I can get great lunch, breakfast, and supper. I can't do that at Wawa and quick trip comfortably. No, yeah, you fill the tank empty the tank and can sit down and take some notes and be very clean and doing so. The only possible bad thing you could say about Bucky's is how long it takes to get in and out. The traffic can get-- The traffic can get crazy. There are certain points of the day where I will not go to a Bucky's because it's too traffic. And I'm not trying to waste 30 minutes as I'm trying to get somewhere. Brandon T, we have a quick trip being built in the Orange area right now. I had never heard of it. I mean, it's nothing special. Quick trip is actually the logo sponsor for the Kansas City Royals. Oh, yes, I am. Oh, that's right. Yeah, yeah. 3,000. Yes, that is the name of the convenience store that I will not read. A410 ever had a Florida man hype up a sandwich from Publix. It was Subway-level man. I have been in Publix a few times. And their food's not very good. They're crab legs, though, on another level. It's your aim to slow them. It does. It gets a little discount there, too. All right, what's your car wreck of the day? 713-780-3776. What's your car wreck of the day? It is the bees on ESPN 97.5 and ESPN 95. Guys, where we go to the break of word for my bookie.agee. Look at two baseball games tonight. You got football on the horizon all weekend, college, and pro ball, and you want to put some money down on some games you might be watching, or you might have some extra interest in. You need to go to my bookie.agee. 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And now they have a loyalty rewards program with tiers. It's called My Bookie Plus. Once you enter in and sign up, you're gonna be in the My Bookie Plus program. The more you bet and wager on my bookie.agee, the more the tiers you will climb. And with each increase in a tier, the better the promotions, the better the opportunities, the better the rewards. You get the idea, and the fact is, you can start it all right now today by doing what I always tell you to do. Just go to My Bookie.agee, where I always tell you you can bet anything, anytime, anywhere with the only place I tell you to do it. My Bookie.agee and use our promo code, bet 975. (dramatic music) - ESPN, 975. (buzzer) (buzzer) (screaming) - You all right? - I'm ready. He's broken. The ball's coming through. (screaming) - Come on, you prick. (buzzer) - This is the car wreck of the day. - Glenn Davis has probably got some talent after the six o'clock hour. We've had a slum it up with Bookertiti these last couple of days. Good, that's soccer matters, we'll be back. I guess Bookerti is coming up at eight o'clock today though. - Don't forget Mondays. I don't think you want to throw those people on the skin. - I said last couple of days. - Two, that's Tuesday, Wednesday. I didn't say a few days, Blankers. I said couple. - Just looking at them. - It's Tuesday, Wednesday. I appreciate you having my back. I did kind of forget about that. - Can't wait for your hell in a cell match Bookertiti. - Okay, what's he gonna, you can't climb the, can't climb up the side. - I don't know, can you? - Can you climb the side? - I think people on, at least one of the people on Monday might be able to hurt Jeremy Boy. - Burger team, he's just, doesn't have it anymore. Just doesn't have it anymore. - I appreciate your future booking here. You're trying to sell this match. - Whatever, whatever can get paid. Can sell some tickets? Get it's a light up a marquee. The soccer matter's coming up at six o'clock. Lynn Davis, you'll want to stick around for that. Let's get through the car wreck of the day. What is yours, seven, one, three, seven, eight, zero, three, seven, seven, six. What is your car wreck of the day, Blankers? - Tom Pelser, I'll put this out this morning. The Seahawks' full back was the lead blocker on a running play and just absolutely steamrolled the defender and got fined $45,000. - Thought it was the right decision. - You did? - The letter of the law. - Oh, stop. - It is. - It is, like I might not like the way that it's being officiated these days or what leads to the fine, but the letter of the law says you cannot lead with the crown of the helmet. He very clearly leads with the crown of the helmet. - Man, their shoulder along with the, if you want to say the helmets involved, their shoulder that he leads with first, but you're going to find a full back who's not making the kind of, but you're going to find a $45,000 for one play like that? - I'm sure it's a percentage of his salary and it's-- - I don't see any shoulder. - Like this is-- - I'm watching it. I'm going to put it back. - I'll put it right there. Look at that. - And he ducked his head crown of the helmet right into somebody else's helmet. It's the letter of the law. It's a letter of the law crown of the helmet. - I think it's brutal. - It's going to get called every time. That's why Niko Collins got called for this the other day. Like this is going to happen every single time. - And yes, they're going to over-police it because they're trying to get concussion and CTE and head injuries out of the game. You don't think that's why they're doing it? - I understand why they're trying to clean it up. That is a egregious amount of money, a ridiculous amount of money. - That's a great helmet to help me. - And I don't see it the way you-- - I know, I think it's not arguable. - I think it is arguable. And I think he starts-- - I'm showing it to you. Look at that. - I'm looking at how my computer-- - He's the crown of his helmets in his ear hole. - You can freeze it right there when his head starts going down. But if you look at it, he's just doing his job as a blocker and he starts with his shoulder. - Let's post this. - I already did. You can do it too. I'm curious. - How do we want to phrase this? Is this leading with the crown of the helmet or not? - Crown of the helmet or not? What's your car wreck of the day, Brian? - My car wreck of the day, I think I did this a few weeks ago as well, ventures with Mad Dog Russo and some of the-- Usually it's the pronunciations of names so I think the last one I did was him butchering Jackson Smith and Jigwa, who's in 30-0 on Thursday night football tonight. This time he was trying to take shots at the Jets and some of their drafting, but also giving them credit for the hits they've made, but he put a player on the Jets. I don't think was drafted by them. - So that's where Douglas hired, the coach would now get fired and he brought in the quarterback who stinks. So Douglas has to take some of the hits here. I know he's done a good job overall at the draft. I get that. Nobody's gonna argue, you know, he's got two big-time players there that are hit picks. Wilson and Minchu and there's others. But I know Reese Hall and there's others. - Who's he talking about? - But the bottom line is those two you cannot screw up on, especially the quarterback and the Jets screw it up on the quarterback. - He's talking about Sauce Gardener. - Yeah, exactly, it took Jeremy, you went through the process every one day, we're like, who in the world? Oh, Gardener Minchu, Sauce Gardener, yeah. Classic Mad Dog, trying to keep the Jets credit for drafting Gardener Minchu when he's talking about Sauce Gardener. - I mean, you know, those players are exactly the same. - He made it worse, saying Gardener Minchu instead of Sauce Gardener doesn't help out the Jets, you know. - Right, he just said Minchu. - That's funny. - You're right, it makes it worse. It's the only said Minchu. Like that shouldn't have been the clue you're talking about the wrong person. - Oh, I mean, sometimes, you know, sometimes you just kind of lose your train of thought. You get distracted by other things and yeah, that happens. But yeah, that's definitely car wreck worthy. He said Gardener Minchu instead of Sauce Gardener. - I want to nominate pitching a pitcher on short rest in the playoffs. You can't do this. We've learned time and time again, unless you're Kevin Brown or Madison Bumgarner, you should not be pitching a pitcher on short rest in the playoffs. Dylan C's got six teams on short rest. - He screwed up my viewing pleasure for the evening. - What are we doing? Stop throwing guys on short rest. It's almost never works. 95% of the time it works, never. - We're about zero percent of the time for Verlander. - Yeah. - Yeah. - We'll do it. - We'll do it rest tonight. - I don't think so. - What's up? - I don't think they would throw 'em on short rest. Not, I mean, especially with his elbow stuff. - This is our problem. - Yeah, Honeyway's Brandon Karwick of the day, Brian, Michael McDonald for saying Bucky's barbecue sandwiches elite. He probably loves Lance's dry brisket. - It's really good. - Elite those. - Okay, it's elite for a gas station. - Sure. - I mix their levels fine. It's really good. - It's really good. What a elite for a gas station. All right, what's winning this? - Not mine. - No, not yours. - Mad dog? - I'm good with mad dog. - All right, mad dog, you get the win. Congratulations, mad dog, Russo. It doesn't for us. Thanks to Brian, the hard work. He's blank on Branham. Talk to you tomorrow, Houston. Live from drift parts. Glen Davis soccer matters right now.