Preseason Is Coming To A Close

It's time for Make the Call, a weekly discussion on the top Wisconsin sports stories of the week.

You can listen to the show anytime on the free Civic Media app.

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Now, it's time for Make the Call, the Civic Media Sports Produce.

It is Make the Call on the Civic Media Radio Network.

I'm Jimmy Cusco.

Thank you for joining us.

It is another big week in sports.

We are really on the eve of football season with college football kicking off this week.

High school football in its second week packers preseason wrapping up.

in Friday night football against the Cardinals.

So we are right there at the start of the NFL season around the corner, college football, everything else happening.

Welcome aboard.

We got a lot to talk about today and I can't do it without the co-hosts of the program.

First of all, in Madison at Outquarters, the band producing the show and making it run on all four wheels is Parker Vertical Olson.

What's up Parker?

I was told I only had three wheels, but if you're giving me a fourth, that's good.

That means we're more stable, Jimmy.

That's more wheels to get oil for the squeakiness, right?

That's what we got here.

We go now to the Northwoods upper management, checking out on the show, making sure that Parker and I stay in line.

It is Gray Gunderson.

What's up, Gray?

If there's going to be three wheels, can it specifically be in a big wheel configuration?

I want to be the larger one in the front.

Oh.

I

like this guy.

Very

important.

Very important.

Well, he is management, so he does get first dibs, I guess.

So I guess that would make me the rear left wheel in the Power Wheel configuration of the show.

Again, I'm Jimmy Kuska.

I'm over in the Driftless area, Western Wisconsin.

So we've got all parts of the state covered.

Going to talk a lot of Packers, obviously, in the show.

They played in their preseason finale Friday night against the Cardinals.

Going to talk a little Brewers later on in the program.

And of course, our very own Mike Clemens will join us near the end of the show with a sports week in review.

Also do a rundown of week two of high school football since there's only a couple of weekend games this week We have a lot of games to talk about when we get to that part near the end of the program But right now it is our final summer edition of the program and that is also our final top eight at eight that we do That is the top eight sports or not sports stories at

eight o'clock in the morning on a Saturday when the show first airs and we will do it for the final time this summer before retiring it for more football coverage and guests as we go throughout the fall and winter.

We'll start at number eight and this one is sports adjacent and I have to ask this as someone who goes to a lot of sporting events if you could ban one noisemaker from all sporting events forever it is a straight up ban you go to jail there's no trial there's no judge

What would it be?

Is it one word?

Is it two words?

Is it four words?

I don't know, but it's Vuvuzela.

That is the whole answer right there.

I actually looked it up and prepped for this.

The threshold for physical pain to your ears is roughly 120 decibels.

Guess what number of Vuvuzela just happens to crest with ease?

It's a plastic bugle.

It shouldn't be that easy to make my ears bleed, Jimmy.

I'm just laughing because I have a box of them here in my office at

home.

Oh, yours is no one-up.

Yeah, I love these things.

They're so awesome.

They make noise and they annoy people.

It's perfect

for me.

I will admit, if I was part of the crowd and I was told to stop Vuvuzela-ing, it would make me Vuvuzela harder.

I have that defiance in me.

But sitting here without one, I'm the stick in the mud.

I'll admit it.

I'll embrace it.

Stop it.

South Africa, knock it off.

All right, Parker, how about you?

That was also my answer.

I was not aware of the cresting exactly when your ears start to bleed, but it doesn't surprise me.

I remember using a

voicemail, I ordered these, and the voicemail, let me know that the box had arrived, was just the dude blowing the booboozella into the phone for 45 seconds.

I would ban cowbells personally.

Cowbells are really annoying.

It's just the inconsistency and just the high pitch, like it drowns out everything else you try to do.

So for me, it is the cowbell.

And I apologize to, you know, to the people like Christopher Walken, like I do not need more cowbells.

I want to say about cowbells.

I want to ban a person with cowbells.

A lot of people with cowbells like Mississippi State does is cool.

A person with a

cowbell is annoying.

I agree.

And it ruins the live stream experience too because it cuts through the crowd mics pretty heavily too.

All right, we're going to get off of it.

We're going to stop yelling at clouds as angry old men.

Let's move on to number seven at the top eight at eight.

We got to ask you important questions here.

It's aesthetic time.

The Packers new alternate uniforms.

Yay or nay.

Yay, I'm emphatically yes.

And I'm a little bit surprised by the major reaction because it seems like it's actually the Packers fan base who's got the most negativity towards this, which I understand.

You know, we're the ones who feel like it's more personal.

The one thing I'm not sure of is the font on the numbers being based on currency.

Like I get the whole community owned team.

That said, I actually like the visual of it.

I just not a huge fan of the reason behind it.

But for me, it's a good blend of homage to the past with the little nods and the

the modernized versions of that interlocking logo.

And I like the modernizations they've done, as far as why I like it.

I don't think there's an answer to that.

There's no accounting for taste.

I simply find it enjoyable, and I was surprised by the level of vitriol.

The one thing I will say, I understand the argument that the historic rivalry with the bears should involve some more historically accurate uniforms.

I get that, but they didn't deviate far enough for me to say boo on this one.

I generally saw those and thought, oh, neat.

And the faded green color, I thought, yeah, you're not going to have the vibrant forest green all the time.

I don't know.

It fit me.

I was a little confused by the reaction.

Parker, where are you at?

I am kind of in the middle here.

I am very much in the camp of like, they're fine.

They don't do a lot for me.

But honestly, every time I look at them, I think that they're better.

Like, they're really growing on me.

And to address the historical thingy against the Bears, it does bother me that they're not going to wear their actual uniforms against the Bears in that one game.

I can't remember which one.

It's got to be the home game in Lambo.

So that bothers me a little.

However, there is precedent already.

The Packers have worn a white helmet in green jerseys and white pants in the past.

So it's not that outlandish, it's kinda there.

My number one kudos here is that they figured out how to get a white helmet right.

Now change the other one, please.

Put some yellow on the other one.

It looks so silly with just the green.

All right.

I'm going counter to you guys.

The Packers have a tremendously great regular uniform.

Anytime they don't wear it, I feel like it's a missed opportunity.

And it seems like they don't wear their best uniform, their regular uniform in their prime time or rivalry games.

Like I am just done with the weird yellows, the weird color rush.

I'm just done with it.

Just wear your normal uniforms.

They look great.

Why are we messing with it?

But again, I'm old man yelling a cloud on this, so I'll accept that.

Number six in our top eight at eight.

I think we've asked this question earlier this summer, but with the season starting next week, I feel like it's fair to bring it up again now that we've seen the full training camp.

What would you consider a successful outcome or a successful season for Badgers football this fall?

I'm gonna stick with if they make it to a bowl game.

I don't care if they win it or not.

If they make it to a bowl game, that's a really, really good sign, and I'm gonna call that a success.

Couple of things that I'm really looking for, and I actually ran into our friend Jay Kokorowski earlier this week over at Camp Randall.

If we see a good defense and then a good old line with good running back, that is my signs that the badges are back.

If you've got a...

at least better than average defense, that is a massive success to me because that means we're regrowing and same thing old line wise and running backs.

Great.

What about you?

Are those kind of the staples that you look at when you're trying to evaluate success on a team?

Yes.

And I do wish that Bowl eligibility wasn't necessarily tied so strictly to the number of wins, but I admit there's not really another way you could do it well.

And I know it's not just number of wins, who they're against matters and such.

But for me, if you have to put a number on it, that six-win number is pretty reasonable.

It's hard to argue that it's a middling record in the 12-game season.

But for me, I think what's most important are the things that appear outside the win column.

Like you mentioned,

Reliable offensive line play which we will be indicating with a lack of a quarterback season-ending injury, please please please But like also the retention of key players after the season wraps is gonna be a big deal because that transfer portals more attractive than it's ever been before Continuity of leadership would be a pretty good deal, but that's more a reaction than a sign that things are good That's that's that's a sign that the leadership things things are good.

So for me, it's about some intangibles some off the

off the wind column stats, if you will.

Basically, let's keep Colton in there all year long.

I would call that a resounding success.

Jimmy, where are you at on this one?

I think winning solves all the problems we have with all this, right?

I mean, both eligibility, six wins.

I feel like it's still a disappointment.

I think eight wins, honestly, is kind of your baseline.

Like, we have eight.

OK, well, then, you know, they haven't gone completely the wrong direction.

But, you know, they win more than eight games.

And all of a sudden, you're like, oh, it just took time for Luke Fickle to put everything in place and get it going.

I do think that this is a crossroads, though, because after this year, I think there's less apprehension about a buyout if Fickle can't perform this year.

And that big changes could come with the new athletics.

director and just the state of where things are in the football program.

We'll say this, they have done a much better job on the high school front in the state, not only in recruiting, but in communication.

The assistant coaches are getting out, they're at clinics, they're talking to high school coaches in the state again, they didn't do that for a little bit, and not to the level they are now anyway.

I think that they've made a more considerate effort to kind of put that fence up around Wisconsin, try to keep more kids here instead of seeing them go to Notre Dame in Minnesota.

I think that's a big step in the positive direction for them.

Let's move to number five in the top eight at eight.

And I acknowledge that this will take a bit of a turn here.

Normally, we're pretty lighthearted and have some fun on the program.

But I do think that there are a couple of big stories this week that are worth talking about here, just broader discussion and sports as a whole here on the Civic Media Radio Network.

And I got to ask this, because this week we had a study.

come out talking about cte and nfl players where you know the study sampled just people who submitted for study but you know quarter of the players that were part of this had cte after their playing career was done in that five-year span um and then you know of course just a week ago

the tragic loss of a high school senior in a high school football game here in Wisconsin after a collision on the field and who passed away.

And, you know, this week that, you know, we had, at our game, we had the moment of silence for him and another student who passed away in a farming accident closer here to where I'm at in Southwestern Wisconsin.

But back to the point on the field CTE high school player passing away, you know, this football have a viability problem long term.

And I asked this because the rule changes that have been made, you know, in changing the kickoff,

in all the technology of everything with helmets and everything like that.

It just feels like every year we get closer and closer to where people will just accept.

We put flags on people and just call it football.

And I'm just curious what you guys think because I think this is a big discussion that goes probably beyond what our show normally deals with.

But I do see these two big stories this week and in these events.

And I'm just curious what you guys' thoughts are on whether you think football can be viable in its current form long term.

We've seen, as you mentioned, Jimmy, we've seen the advancement in technology and we've seen the new rules that are in efforts to make the game safer.

Obviously, the game is never going to be safe in totality if you look at it in the way it is right now.

I think that we're going to continue to see...

new rules, new penalties being put into play, specifically regarding head injuries or trying to prevent head injuries.

I don't think the viability of the game is necessarily an option.

I don't think there isn't necessarily an issue.

I don't think that they're ever going to get to a point where they go opting in to just flag football.

But obviously they need to make this game safer.

Everything that you hear about football

is that it's a gladiator sport, right?

Jimmy, I think you mentioned to us earlier before we went on that there are folks in your area that are referring to football as a blood sport.

It's kind of hard to go against that, but if you can make every effort of making it safe, then you need to, right?

I think that's a great point, Parker.

And I think what really needs to be highlighted at some point here is that the balance between popularity and danger

is an incredibly tight tightrope to walk and whether the average fan would say so uh... i think that there's a lot of appeal to the risk

but only when there's safety to be had to.

I imagine skydivers and bungee jumpers.

It's when you brush right up against danger, but you come away safely that you feel this thrill.

And I think football might depend on that in ways that we haven't really examined, because those are scary questions for the people with the money to be asking.

It's, hey, should we be doing what we're doing?

When you've got an organization, an institution,

a money generator this size it doesn't usually ask itself if it should stop doing the basic fundamental pieces of of what makes it go you know a car doesn't ask itself hey should we empty the tank and just call it here but i'd like that you highlight that flag football

I think it's right there.

I put a tinfoil hat on about two years ago when the NFL started investing in flag football in its various forms, and I thought, hey, I can imagine a political future where this is no longer acceptable to the powers that be.

I think we're quite a long time from that, and it would take a lot of public massaging to swing public opinion that way.

But it's not impossible for me to imagine a situation where, yeah, we're not letting kids do this anymore.

And it would start with the kids.

You transition kids to flag football.

You'll let that marinate for five or 10 years, maybe even 20.

And all of a sudden, you see kids having a lot of fun and talking about, hey, can we play flag football in college?

Is there a professional?

You know, all you need is to instill flag football in the youth, I think, like anything, and they'll grow up with it and want more of it.

So I don't think it's completely impossible.

We see that future, but we're talking, what, 30, 40, 50 years?

There is a certain thirst for the action.

I won't call it blood thirst, but I'm I'm admittedly when you see that big hit it.

Oh, I still do that.

You know, I grew up on jacked up.

That was one of the best segments on the show.

But now I look back and think, oh, we we did that.

And yeah, maybe I say maybe we will have to see on this when it feels like anything's possible.

Jimmy, what do you see here?

Well, I'm gonna start with one thought if you want to see how things have changed generationally in just 25 years just Google and watch the YouTube video the Madden 2001 intro seriously just watch it like 90% of those plays are not completely illegal and banned from the game But to my point I'm gonna start this this response to this by saying that what happened in almost center Lincoln with Adam Massman is completely tragic like this is

This goes beyond anything in sports, it's life.

And we treat so much in life and death, and high school football shouldn't be that, but there are inherent risks in playing in a contact sport, any contact sport.

But I will say this, that when it comes to football, a lot of the issues seems to be formed from repetitive contact rather than the one big hit.

And there are a couple of ways to go about this.

The first way, obviously, is teaching proper technique.

from a very young age.

So, you know, when we teach tackling, I run a youth program where I live.

I'm an assistant coach for high school.

You know, we teach tackling.

They call it the sea hawk tackling style.

Your head is out of it.

You know, you don't want to injure anybody.

You know, drop tackle is different than a hawk tackle, but you, you know, you take your head away from the play and you don't get it involved in the tackle.

So a lot of tackling that you learn about, you know,

you know, 70, 60, 70s, 80s that your high school coaches in the 90s and 2000s are teaching you is, you know, get your head right in front of the player moving and then just rock them, right?

Well, now, you know, it's more about wrapping, squeezing the legs and and going down that way and taking your head out of the contact.

So I think teaching proper tackling form, whatever that is for your program is is big.

The other thing too is that there are

tackle leagues that start as early as like first grade.

And I just feel like it is wholly unnecessary for elementary school aged kids to be playing tackle football.

And I get it.

There's going to be varying levels of people tolerating this.

But the big issue in football is repetitive context.

If you're having head to head contact, whether it's a lineman running back, going up and hitting linebacker, and you have this happening at a very young age when skulls are still developing, they're not all bone yet.

first and second grade.

It doesn't actually really form until you're in middle school.

I feel like there are ways to address this at a younger age where you can still teach form, still teach football, still teach the things that help kids get better at the sport.

But you also make it safe and fun as well.

And there are ways to do it at a younger level.

When it comes to wholesale changes of the sport in general, that's the part where

you know, if you're going to eliminate certain aspects of it, you know, the full on full scale collision and kick up and kick return, you know, why is the NFL the first to ban it?

Why won't this start at the youth levels and work its way up?

That's the part to me that I, you know, there's there's a certain science to all this.

There's there's there's a lot of attention being paid to it now, obviously.

But I do believe that there are safe ways to go about football at any level.

And and I believe that this conversation probably needs to be had

maybe beyond just us three as sports fans, but talking to actual medical professionals and people who study this for a living.

I will say this, high school football on itself, the technology has changed a lot in even 10 years, where the helmets are a lot safer.

There's a lot of mandated rest periods.

There are limitations on how much contact you can have in practices, and it's very closely monitored.

School officials are mandated reporters.

So if I go out and say, we're going to tackle for two hours this week, that's completely wrong.

You're not allowed to do that.

in high school football anymore.

You don't get to do two hours of full contact.

So there are measures.

There is legislation.

There are things that are happening.

But I do believe this is a great conversation to have with maybe someone that's on a level above us.

And I don't think that there is a viability concern in terms of football going away anytime soon.

But I do see it, especially at the youth levels, being challenged a bit in light of everything that's happened.

Let's move to number four.

It's another heavy subject.

in a way, and we'll do this relatively quickly, but I just have to ask you guys at number four, the big story this week for the Packers was Josh Jacobs being charged with two misdemeanors in the incident he had in the offseason.

And I'm just wondering if you think this will have any impact on the, and then this is in context.

the least important of the story, but if it has any impact on the team this year or the roster or what they do going forward.

Jimmy, I appreciate you highlighting the fact that justice is really the most important outcome that we can hope for on this, whatever that may mean.

I believe in the American justice system.

I appreciate the statement from Jacobs' lawyers that he's going to respect the process that the DA is going through.

That said,

what the NFL may do often differs.

You know, if you see a lot of people see that these are misdemeanor charges and they hear that word and they think unserious, but I'd like to point out that one of those is a battery charge.

And that's, you know, that's harm to another person that he's being accused of.

And so again, I hope that whatever justice is, that's, that's where we get.

But yes, it will affect the Packers.

Hopefully not much.

I expect Marsh on Lloyd to have a heavy load.

And I expect either a young Packers running back or somebody who's not on the team yet to contribute greatly this

season.

We're at Talk More about the Packers.

They played the Cardinals on Friday night.

We'll do that coming up here in just a bit.

When we come back, we'll talk a little brewers.

We're doing pretty well.

And we'll do that next year on Make the Call, part of the Civic Media radio network.

Welcome back to Make the Call on Civic Media.

Welcome back to Make the Call on the Civic Media Radio Network.

We're up to number three in our top eight at eight.

And the question is this.

So Pat Murphy this week had a couple of big decisions with the roster of some young players, and it seems to have paid off for him a bit.

I'm curious, Parker, what do you think of the management style this week of benching guys, giving them days off to try to restart them and get them going here?

It seems like it's worked out for

it.

I mean, as far as the

I think he went 0 for 4, probably 0 for 5, I remember right, I'm not positive.

He got benched, I believe it was for the Wednesday game and then for the Thursday game he came back and he hit two homers and I think he had another base hit as well.

That seemed to work.

Turns out sometimes you find yourself in a little bit of a funk and you just need to take a second step back, reset.

I think that was a very good call by Murphy.

As for the Cooper Pratt situation, I honestly don't know that he deserved to get pulled out of that game.

And then the insta- what really the cat was forgetting and pulled out of the game was he didn't run immediately on a pop-up that he couldn't find that ended up dropping and he probably could have got to a second.

I'm not sure he deserved to get pulled there, but you know what, I'm gonna give you this.

Murphy's management style is working, it seems like, because the next day Pratt was busting it like crazy to get down the line.

And you can see it in the

clubhouse the brewers jake bowers sell free like they both had conversations with cooper pratt right away but like hey this is why he did this this is what it means this is what you need to do

I believe Christian Yelich said later on that you can't really do that everywhere.

So the fact that that kind of management style works tells me that the Brewers are not only invested and ready, but they're really gritty and it works for Murphy.

And I think the accountability certainly helps, especially when it's coming from the players and not necessarily the guy in charge.

And Yelich, by the way, for all the crap he's taken about batting average and home runs and all that stuff, the fact that he's having, you know, after midnight batting sessions with Bryce Terrang and helping out any way you can, I think it's huge.

And that kind of leaves me in the number two.

in the top 88 and you know we've seen this before the Brewers have a good regular season postseason things don't go their way i'm just curious if you think things seem a little different this year at the Brewers uh as they currently have what a seven i think seven game lead in the in the division right now

i believe right now as we're talking it is seven games yeah um i mean we've always seen the Brewers have the

And by always, I mean during this Pat Murphy era, I'll say.

We've always seen there that they have been able to find the best in young players, but right now, there's young players who aren't really young anymore.

Kind of young.

Jackson Churio, he's my age I think, but he might be a year younger, but he's been in the bigs for a couple of years.

So like, he's seasoned.

I think that they've got enough guys who are young but seasoned that they've still got that grit and they're able to do something.

It seems like the starting rotation is as good as they've been.

Maybe better.

This might, might.

be something better than previous years, Jimmy.

I'm not totally bought in though.

I'm a little bought in only in that the top of the rotation is so good.

I mean, Mizorowski, no, you know, no more than three earned runs through his first, what 20 something starts of the year.

You know, he's right after the all time greats on that.

I give a legit ace leading the way.

And, you know, in the postseason, you don't need to go five deep in your rotation.

So if you're able to pitch Mizorowski two, three times in a series, I feel pretty good about that.

We are going to step aside.

We're going to talk some Packers football coming back.

They played Friday night against Arizona, their final preseason game.

We'll do that coming up next.

Mike Clemmons joins us later in the show with a sports week in review.

It is make the call in the Civic Media Radio Network.

Welcome back to Make the Call on Civic Media.

Welcome back.

It is Make the Call, Civic Media Radio Network, Jimmy along with Parker and Gray.

And now in our number one in our top eight at eight, we take a look at the Packers preseason game on Friday night.

And they squeaked one out in a low scoring affair, 42 to 38 in this one.

And they wrap up the preseason with the win, but not that anybody cares about the actual victory or any of that.

We are worried about who's making the roster, what things look good, what things did not.

And guys, I'm gonna just lead with this.

They gave up 492 yards in this game.

Yikes.

What was going

on in this one, guys?

Personally, I'm hoping it's another case of like we talked about last week where all the backups are in at the same time, which that's not something that's ever going to happen and on a realistic scenario.

But even with that being the case, you can't deny the extreme issues, especially with the run defense.

I mean, that first series was just tough to watch.

And I thought, OK, recalibrate after this and do better.

But the do better part never exactly came.

And they just kept letting the

I kept letting Arizona stay in the game for reasons that they just shouldn't.

Thankfully, it does look like we might have some clarity on some roster spots, at least in my opinion.

Specifically, a couple wide receivers showed out.

Still looks like the depth positions of running back might be a little bit murky, though.

I didn't necessarily see enough from anybody to jump off the page.

But, Jimmy, I know you're gonna be happy.

Special teams being a highlight.

It's a good weekend.

Let's go!

It's a good weekend.

The pre-season doesn't matter unless special teams are good.

Is that the only qualifier?

No, no, not at all.

But it's what I'm choosing to take away from this because honestly watching them put up that much yardage was terrifying and I need to cling to something.

But yeah, Special Teams was great.

I hope Jonathan Ford's doing all right.

He looked like he might earn a spot.

The big question to me remains, did Kyle McCord earn a spot?

And he showed out, he got a win, but he also is staring down his receivers all game.

And if I can notice that, so can an NFL cornerback way sooner.

So I don't know if they'll keep him, but as far as a third string quarterback go,

I don't know.

I think he passes the sniff test Parker.

What was your what was your knee jerk reaction here?

Yeah, I think you're kind of nail on the head there about McCord I mean you gotta remember this is backups against backups.

This isn't exactly Our backups against the ones so you can't really get away with what he was staring guys down like you would if somebody were if two guys were to get hurt more likely than not and for him to get into a game so

Don't feel as comfortable with him as you probably want to if he ends up getting a little bit of playing time in the regular season.

I don't know necessarily that they'll pick him up.

He'll be on practice squad at the absolute worst, right?

But I don't.

I don't know if you ever go for three.

I'm, Jimmy, as a coach, I'm interested in kind of what your philosophy is on building a roster.

How many guys do you need at what positions?

The NFL is weird because you can have the other weird emergency quarterback rule now.

So like, you know, they, they do have that.

Um, you know, if you threw, you know, over 60% completion percentage, you get four touchdowns.

You know, I mean, those, those are good, good stats, I guess, you know,

But I guess I more look at it the fact that he wasn't turned the ball over.

I mean, yeah, that's what you want.

My quarterback doesn't turn the ball over.

That's ultimately what you need in a backup quarterback spot.

You can't cost yourself the game.

You got to stay in it.

You got to manage the game.

And that's I feel like that if they get him to that point where he can run the full playbook, I mean, this is all base plays.

This is not they're not running a full game plan in these three season games.

They got to see who can execute the basics.

And the fact that they weren't

turn over the ball.

The defense got a couple of interceptions.

There are some positives in that that they're able to basically play a base setup, get a couple takeaways, quarterback and turn the ball over.

You look at those as positives.

As far as an NFL roster construction though, like I said, the back of quarterback rule is different now.

specifically in that, you know, you can have that emergency QB and it's not costing you an active roster slot anymore.

I thought that was one of the best rule changes they've had with regards to roster management and that you have some flexibility where you're essentially not burning three spots on a 53 or 48 man active roster just on quarterbacks.

You always need

more than one backup, especially in the NFL, where, you know, you never know at a moment's notice, because if you go from one to two, well, now you need a three to back up the two.

So did he do went up?

I'm not sure.

I, you know, based on what they've got on their roster and based on, you know, the way that they've gone about things, they typically do have a third guy that kind of hangs around.

And it's telling that they got an extended look at him in this preseason game.

I think that there's a interesting conversation to be had.

Okay.

connect back to extra door a couple of segments ago when we were talking about Josh Jacobs.

Gray, I don't know about you, but I've seen a pretty fair amount of good from the running backs that are deeper down the roster than Josh Jacobs is.

We don't know, obviously, what's going to happen with Josh Jacobs.

Is he going to be on the team?

Is he going to serve a suspension?

Who knows?

And I know that we've kind of had this conversation already, but

possibly there's a chance that the Packers go, you know what, we might need an extra running back because you know what, we don't really know what we've got and we might not have Josh Jacobs, so do we keep...

the third quarterback do we put him on the practice squad and have another running back great evening thoughts on that possibly

you know i i i've been looking at the running back position and i wish honestly we saw from running backs what we saw from wide receivers in that game against arizona because there was there was some clear stratification if you will you could really get a sense for who's doing better than whom uh... with some surprises though i'd like to i'd like to call out specifically kishan johnson

Coming out of nowhere with two tutties on that one, but that said, it was J. Michael Sturtevant with over 100 yards in a touchdown.

It was Will Shepard with a punt return touchdown and a receiving touchdown.

It was Isaiah Nair with a dropped probably touchdown, which wouldn't be the only reason he doesn't make the team, but I know people are going to talk about it if he doesn't.

But that said, you're asking about running backs.

And like I said, I just didn't see enough to really have something jump out.

except for the, you know, where

I think there still has to be something that separates them, so it's not gonna be something we see in pre-season games, in my opinion.

It'll be something they saw in practice, and it might come down to something simple, like who's shown a better tendency as a receiving threat, for example.

I was a big fan of Damien Martinez, above the others, going into that Arizona game, maybe with Strong right there behind him, but after that Arizona game, it's like, okay, it's gonna come down to something I can't spot, because I can't spot a difference.

It was a

two to one pass to run game and play calling tonight or Friday night, I should say.

And that to me, they were really looking at the pass game.

And if you're talking about maybe a separation point at running back, how well were they picking up the Blitz?

Were they able to be an asset and protect in the quarterback?

I mean, that's a big seal to have if you're going to make a roster as a third or fourth running back or beyond special teams.

Can you make a block?

Can you make a tackle on special teams?

Those are the things we're looking at in a preseason game.

And I realize people are sitting there, listening on the radios on the civic media.

and they're like, oh, they're talking about fourth string running backs and backup long snappers and all this.

But that's what preseason is, guys.

We're looking at here.

We're breaking down the backup long snapper right here.

No, I really do think, though, that.

If you look up and down the roster, Will Shepherd is really interesting to me.

As someone that's versatile in special teams, getting the scores he had, that's an asset.

That's a weapon.

Do you have somebody that can play?

It doesn't matter who you're playing against.

If you can make plays in the open field, if you can handle special teams, that's how you find roles in the NFL.

Absolutely.

And you know, I think it's worth calling something out specifically at that receiver position that we don't know for certain the number of receivers that they're even going to want to put on the roster.

Let's look real quick.

You've got Matthew Golden, who was taken as a first round pick last year, but then you've got your more established Jaden Reed Christian Watson.

And who am I leaving out of that list?

Who am I forgetting here?

Why can't I think of Jaden Reed Christian Watson?

Matthew Golden, I suppose those are actually the top three locked in and then you've got Savion Williams, Sky Moore just came over from the 49ers.

It felt like I was missing somebody there, but we're already at five right there.

So if you add a Will Shepard and a J. Michael Sturdivant, you've got seven receivers, which isn't even itself a guarantee.

So they might even really just be kind of looking to backfill one spot and use that seventh receiver spot for somebody a bit more valuable, like keeping McCord on the roster or not because he's an emergency quarterback and you can use that rule.

But again,

Again, it might come down to a non-field type of piece of info like, hey, is one of these guys willing to hang out on the practice squad rather than taking a little bit more money to be on an active roster elsewhere?

That's a tough decision for a rookie to make, but we've seen crazier things.

And if you can get somebody with some promise to spend a year on the practice squad, you can free your roster spot in doing so.

They might still see some game action because you can elevate players from the squad.

And that might free players up.

I mean, there are other positions that they might want to add another player at.

like the offensive line, for example, with the kind of...

not turmoil, but turnover that we've seen there and veteran players like Aaron Banks getting some negative attention and some injuries.

So don't be surprised if there's only one receiver who shone really well against Arizona and even the week before.

Ah, Jimmy points out Bo Melton, who I forgot there.

Oh, man, Jimmy, you just a major

buddy.

You can't forget special

team.

You just and Melton has been a demon in the preseason.

He's been a favorite receiver of McCord for two of the three games and that might be

a little bit of strongman from the pre-season kind of situation, but very clearly he's super highly thought of, if only as a special teams player in the regular season.

So that might be the big question.

How many receivers do they even take?

What do you guys think?

Parker, do you think they take two receivers who showed hard, but with Bo Melton?

Jimmy, you totally just threw me off a cliff there.

I forgot.

I'm here for Bo.

I'm sorry.

I

think I mentioned this earlier.

I think before our first game of the preseason here, I said, I think something to the effect of when you play two positions, you play no positions in regards to Bo Melton.

Yeah.

And now he's back to being a wide receiver again, because it was fun to have him as a cornerback for not really last year, but, you know, whatever.

I think he'll probably be a wire seeker.

I think that, I mean, you hit the nail on the head.

You've got Matthew Golden, Jane Reed, and Christian Watson.

That's your main three, obviously 100%.

Bo Melton might be your fourth.

Frankly, I don't love that, but he might be your fourth.

I'm gonna say there's six wide receivers on there with what?

Probably two guys.

I don't know.

But here's the other thing.

Tucker Kraft is so good.

Maybe you don't need that many receivers.

And Luke Musgrave is so good, too.

Maybe you don't need that many receivers.

They just signed Johnnie Smith.

So they've added to that position as well.

So I think there's a lot to be written inside.

I think the roster cut down that happens after this weekend is going to be absolutely fascinating on the back end of the roster.

I feel like the starting lineups are pretty well set, though.

And I feel like the practice feel pretty good going into the year with what they got in their top slots here.

Guys, we are going to cut away because we are going to take a break.

We have Mike Clemens with the Sports Week in Review, and I'll give you a quick rundown of all the high school sports in the area.

But thanks as always for your insights this week, guys.

And we'll talk again right here next week.

Thanks, Jimmy.

Thanks, Jimmy.

This is Make the Call part of the Civic Media Radio Network.

Welcome back to Make the Call

on

It's time now to take a look at high school football scores from the week on WPFP in Park Falls.

It was Shawamigan all over Cornell 58 to 30 in a replacement game after Cornell's game against Alma Center Lincoln was canceled when Alma Center Lincoln's Adam Massman passed away after a hit in a game last week.

Our condolences are with the Massman family and the Alma Center Lincoln community.

Also in Park Falls, Phillips defeated Three Lakes 56 to 26 on WCQM.

In Wisconsin Rapids, it was superior defeating Wisconsin Rapids, Lincoln 35 to 15 on WFHR.

Also on WFHR this week, assumption defeated Thorpe 61 to 14.

In Richland Center,

The host Hornets fell to Potosi Caspill 35 to nothing.

In Ripon, it was two Rivers defeating Ripon 28 to 20 on WRPN.

And on WRPQ in Baraboo, Portage defeated Baraboo 34 to 28.

Defending state champions, eight player, McDonald defeated Spooner 40 to 22.

They are one and one on the year.

Kenosha St.

Joseph, the reigning D7 champ, lost to Cedar Grove, Belgium 21 to six.

Darlington defeated Lena Winslow of Illinois 35 to 19.

Darlington now 2-0 on the year.

Lena Winslow was a state champion in Illinois last season.

Mayville lost to Lake Country Lutheran 17-14.

Winnicon he stays undefeated, shutting out Amro 42-0.

Grafton beat Slinger 36-24.

It was West to Pier staying undefeated, beating Appleton North 35-7.

Arrowhead also 35-7 winners over Nina.

Arrowhead undefeated at 2-0.

Some top 10 matchups this week, including Hamilton defeating Racine Case 52-32.

Gilman shut out Athle

50 to nothing.

Montdoby in a high scoring affair over Osceola 56 to 43.

Notre Dame defeating Kokona 35 to 28.

It was Milwaukee over Baldwin Woodville 31 to 14 and Port Washington down to Monthorne Barnabilt 36 to 14.

The high school sports community this week lost a legend.

Navi Kelleher, the former Madison coach, broadcaster, official and my partner in crime for two years on the radio, passed away at the age of 92.

My best wishes to Navi's family and friends, and it was great to work with you, man.

Thanks for putting up with me all those years.

It's time now for a sports weekend review with Mike Clemens.

A winning season continues.

Hi, I'm Mike Clemens with the Wisconsin Sports Weekend Review.

Baseball, the Brewers at home this weekend against the Texas Rangers.

Milwaukee kicked off the weekend with an 8-2 victory over the Rangers Friday night.

At 84 wins and 51 losses, the Brewers with an eight-game lead over the Chicago Cubs in the Central Division and still the best record in the major leagues.

On Monday, the Brewers begin a crucial four-game series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the first pitch at the friendly confines.

Monday night at 640.

The last week and the Brewers and Braves moved their series from Milwaukee to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and historic Bowman Field to play in the Little League Baseball Classic.

Little League players from all around the world got to meet their favorite players, the crew losing to Atlanta 4-2, but they won the weekend series.

Then it was on to New York in a series against the Mets and a controversial decision by manager Pat Murphy.

Rookie shortstop Cooper Pratt hit a pop-up.

To shallow right field, three Mets players missed catching it.

Pratt stopped running, though, at first base.

A frustrated Murphy explained why Pratt was immediately pulled from the game when David Hamilton came in as a pinch runner at first.

Young

player, we asked him to get a bunt down and he pulled back on a strike.

That happens, maybe.

Later, the next at bat, he popped the ball up to right field and didn't run.

He can't have a guy not understanding that.

And I felt like after the first at bat, when he didn't, you know, attempt

that it's time to let him know that and it's not laziness.

I know who this kid is.

He's a great kid.

It's not laziness, but

you got to have your head in the game.

Now, the Brewers ended up winning that series in New York, two games to one.

Jacob Mizorowski, despite slipping on a soggy wet mound due to rain in New York, refused to come out after five complete innings pitched.

Pat Murphy.

That's right.

Well, that's what makes me special.

He wanted that.

Focus on helping this team.

He knew what it was.

I gave him the opposite.

I said, hey man, you okay?

We're at the top of the or whatever because I

want it.

Mizorowski was asked entering his six month as the team's ace if he was starting to wear out.

No, I feel I feel just as sharp as I did.

You know, opening the bodies tired.

Everyone's tired.

So, you know, like I said before, it's August going to September.

It's part of it.

In college sports, an interesting decision made by universities after a former college football player had been in camp with the Cleveland Browns.

But when he sensed he was going to be cut, he opted to go back to college football and signed up as a paid player with LSU.

The Big Ten and SEC conferences quickly decided to change their rules.

Once you leave college to sign with a professional team, you no longer can compete in any NCAA sport again.

The measure passed in both conferences.

NFL, the Packers holding a joint practice

practice session with the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday before their preseason game Friday night.

Michael Fleur, the younger brother of Matt, is the new head coach of the Cardinals and said with temperatures around 113 degrees in Phoenix, it was good to get his team for a week away in the north.

It happened to be against his older brother's team in Green Bay.

If we could have gone to Seattle to go against them, they'd be great.

Well, they're in our division, so we're not going to Seattle.

There's no team in Canada yet, and you'd rather not go all the way out to Buffalo just from a travel standpoint.

So you think about kind of that next closest team to get you out of the heat.

It really is Green Bay.

I asked Matt LaFleur if Green Bay gets calls from teams in Houston, New Orleans or Miami to escape to Wisconsin during the preseason.

A lot of this stuff goes on.

as soon as the season ends, quite frankly, the coaches start talking about getting together with other teams.

And then, you know, as far as how the NFL puts out the schedule, then there's some after that as well.

The Packers won their game over the Cardinals Friday night in a thriller, 42 to 38.

Thanks to an interception, then winning touchdown drive in the final two minutes.

backup quarterback Kyle McCord was asked if he proved that he belongs on a team somewhere in the league.

Yeah, I feel like I definitely did.

You know, that's what we saw tonight.

I think just, you know, being down two possessions late in the game, being able to come back and make the most out of those drives is huge.

And every single game in the NFL comes down to, you know, those type of situations.

The situational football this preseason has been really good.

The NFL roster reduction deadline is five o'clock Sunday and a setback for the pack when they learn running back.

Josh Jacobs was being charged with a

of misdemeanors, battery and property damage related to his arrest Memorial Day weekend for alleged domestic violence.

Packer GM Brian Gudekins was asked if he thinks they have enough depth at running back to carry on if and when Jacobs is suspended by the league.

I feel really good about the guys we've got in that room.

And you know, you're always usually going to keep three or four running backs.

And I think we have enough to do that.

But again, it comes down to choices and trying to figure that out.

And the one thing I think particularly at that position is, you know, elevating a guy from the practice club is, I won't say it's easy to do, but it's something we've done in the past and not something we're just away from.

That's the Packers GM, Brian Gudekis with the Wisconsin Sports Week in Review.

I'm Mike Clemens.

You're listening to Civic Media.

You can tune into any of our live shows on any radio station across the state with the Civic Media app.

Find us in your phone's app store and listen anytime, anywhere.

It's time for Make the Call, a weekly discussion on the top Wisconsin sports stories of the week.

You can listen to the show anytime on the free Civic Media app.

Download it now on your device's app store or at civicmedia.us slash app.

Now, it's time for Make the Call, the Civic Media Sports Produce.

It is Make the Call on the Civic Media Radio Network.

I'm Jimmy Cusco.

Thank you for joining us.

It is another big week in sports.

We are really on the eve of football season with college football kicking off this week.

High school football in its second week packers preseason wrapping up.

in Friday night football against the Cardinals.

So we are right there at the start of the NFL season around the corner, college football, everything else happening.

Welcome aboard.

We got a lot to talk about today and I can't do it without the co-hosts of the program.

First of all, in Madison at Outquarters, the band producing the show and making it run on all four wheels is Parker Vertical Olson.

What's up Parker?

I was told I only had three wheels, but if you're giving me a fourth, that's good.

That means we're more stable, Jimmy.

That's more wheels to get oil for the squeakiness, right?

That's what that's what we got here.

We go now to the Northwoods, upper management, checking out on the show, making sure that Parker and I stay in line.

It is Gray Gunderson.

What's up, Gray?

If there's going to be three wheels, can it specifically be in a big wheel configuration?

I want to be the larger one in the front.

Oh.

I like this guy.

Very important.

Very important.

Well, he is management, so he doesn't get first dibs, I guess.

So I guess that would make me the rear left wheel in the Power Wheel configuration of the show.

Again, I'm Jimmy Kuska.

I'm over in the Driftless area, Western Wisconsin.

So we've got all parts of the state covered.

Going to talk a lot of Packers, obviously, in the show.

They played in their preseason finale Friday night against the Cardinals.

Going to talk a little Brewers later on in the program.

And of course, our very own Mike Clemens will join us near the end of the show with a sports week in review.

I'll also do a rundown of week two of high school football, since there's only a couple of weekend games this week.

We have a lot of games to talk about when we get to that part near the end of the program.

But right now, it is our final summer edition of the program, and that is also our final top eight at eight that we do.

That is the top eight sports or not sports stories at.

eight o'clock in the morning on a Saturday when the show first airs and we will do it for the final time this summer before retiring it for more football coverage and guests as we go throughout the fall and winter.

We'll start at number eight and this one is sports adjacent and I have to ask this as someone who goes to a lot of sporting events if you could ban one noisemaker from all sporting events forever it is a straight up ban you go to jail there's no trial there's no judge

What would it be?

Is it one word?

Is it two words?

Is it four words?

I don't know, but it's Vuvuzela.

That is the whole answer right there.

I actually looked it up and prepped for this.

The threshold for physical pain to your ears is roughly 120 decibels.

Guess what number of Vuvuzela just happens to crest with ease?

It's a plastic bugle.

It shouldn't be that easy to make my ears bleed, Jimmy.

I'm just laughing because I have a box of them here in my office at

home.

Oh, yours is no one out.

Yeah, I love these things.

They're so awesome.

They make noise and they annoy people.

It's perfect.

I will admit, if I was part of the crowd and I was told to stop Vuvuzela-ing, it would make me Vuvuzela harder.

I have that defiance in me.

But sitting here without one, I'm the stick in the mud.

I'll admit it.

I'll embrace it.

Stop it.

South Africa, knock it off.

All right, Parker, how about you?

That was also my answer.

I was not aware of the cresting exactly when your ears start to bleed, but it doesn't surprise me.

I remember reading a

voicemail, I ordered these, and the voicemail, let me know that the box had arrived, was just the dude blowing the booboozella into the phone for 45 seconds.

I would ban cowbells personally.

Cowbells are really annoying.

It's just the inconsistency and just the high pitch.

Like it drowns out everything else you try to do.

So for me, it is the cowbell.

And I apologize to, you know, to the people like Christopher Walken, like I do not need more cowbell.

I want to say about cowbells.

I want to ban a person with cowbells.

A lot of people with cowbells like Mississippi State does is cool.

A person with a cowbell

is annoying.

clouds as angry old men.

Let's move on to number seven at the top eight at eight.

We got to ask you important questions here.

It's aesthetic time.

The Packers' new alternate uniforms.

Yay or nay?

Yay.

I'm emphatically yes.

And I'm a little bit surprised by the major reaction because it seems like it's actually the Packers fan base who's got the most negativity towards this, which I understand.

You know, we're the ones who feel like it's more personal.

The one thing I'm not sure of is the font on the numbers being based on currency.

Like I get the whole

community owned team.

That said, I actually like the visual of it.

I just not a huge fan of the reason behind it.

But for me, it's a good blend of homage to the past with the little nods and the modernized versions of that interlocking logo.

And I like the modernizations they've done as far as why I like it.

I don't think there's an answer to that.

There's no accounting for taste.

I simply find it enjoyable, and I was surprised by the level of vitriol.

The one thing I will say, I understand the argument that the historic rivalry with the bears should involve some more historically accurate uniforms.

I get that, but they didn't deviate far enough for me to say boo on this one.

I generally saw those and thought, oh, neat.

And the faded green color, I thought, yeah, you're not gonna have the vibrant forest green all the time.

I don't know.

It fit me.

I was a little confused by the reaction.

Parker, where are you at?

I am...

kind of in the middle here.

I am very much in the camp of like, they're fine, they don't do a lot for me, but honestly, every time I look at them, I think that they're better.

Like, they're really growing on me.

And to address the historical thing against the Bears, it does bother me that they're not going to wear their actual uniforms against the Bears in that one game.

I can't remember which one.

It's got to be the home game in Lambo.

So that bothers me a little.

However, there is precedent already.

The Packers have worn a white helmet in Green Jersey.

white pants in the past so it's not that outlandish it's kind of there.

My number one kudos here is that they figured out how to get a white helmet right now change the other one please put some yellow on the other one it looks so silly with just the green.

All right I'm going counter to you guys the Packers have a tremendously great regular uniform anytime they don't wear it I feel like it's a missed opportunity and it seems like they don't wear their best uniform their regular uniform

in their prime time or rivalry games.

I am just done with the weird yellows, the weird color rush.

I'm just done with it.

Just wear your normal uniforms.

They look great.

Why are we messing with it?

But again, I'm old man yelling a cloud on this, so I'll accept that.

Number six in our top eight at eight.

I think we've asked this question earlier this summer, but with the season starting next week, I feel like it's fair to bring it up again now that we've seen the full training camp.

What would you consider a successful outcome or a successful season for Badgers football this fall?

I'm going to stick with if they make it to a bowl game.

I don't care if they win it or not.

If they make it to a bowl game, that's a really, really good sign.

I'm going to call that a success.

A couple of things that I'm really looking for, and I actually ran into our friend Jay Kokorowski earlier this week over at Camp Randall.

If we see a good defense and then a good old line with good running back, that is my signs that the badges are back.

at least better than average defense.

That is a massive success to me because that means we're regrowing and same thing old line wise and running backs.

Great.

What about you?

Are those kind of the staples that you look at when you're trying to evaluate success on a team?

Yes.

And I do wish that bowl eligibility wasn't necessarily tied so strictly to the number of wins.

But I admit, there's not really another way you could do it well.

And I know it's not just number of wins, who they're against matters and such.

But for me, if you have to put a number on it, that six win number is pretty reasonable.

It's hard to argue that it's a middling record in the 12 game season.

But for me, I think what's most important are the things that appear outside the win column.

Like you mentioned,

reliable offensive line play which we will be indicating with a lack of a quarterback season ending injury please please please but like also the retention of key players after the season wraps is going to be a big deal because that transfer portal is more attractive than it's ever been before continuity of leadership would be a pretty good deal but that's more a reaction than a sign that things are good that's that's that's a sign that the leadership things things are good so for me it's about some intangibles some off the

off the wind column stats, if you will.

Basically, let's keep Colton in there all year long.

I would call that a resounding success.

Jimmy, where are you at on this

one?

I think winning solves all the problems we have with all this, right?

I mean, both eligibility, six wins.

I feel like it's still a disappointment.

I think eight wins, honestly, is kind of your baseline.

Okay, well, then, you know, they haven't gone completely the wrong direction, but, you know, they win more than eight games.

And all of a sudden, you're like, oh, it just took time for Luke Vickle to put everything in place and get it going.

I do think that this is a crossroads, though, because after this year, I think there's less apprehension about a buyout if Vickle can't perform this year.

And that big changes could come with the new athletic

director and just the state of where things are in the football program.

We'll say this, they have done a much better job on the high school front in the state, not only in recruiting but in communication.

The assistant coaches are getting out, they're at clinics, they're talking to high school coaches in the state again, they didn't do that for a little bit and not to the level they are now anyway.

I think that they've made a more considerate effort to kind of put that fence up around Wisconsin, try to keep more kids here instead of seeing them go to Notre Dame in Minnesota.

I think that's a big step in the positive direction for them.

Let's move to number five in the top eight at eight.

And I acknowledge that this will take a bit of a turn here.

Normally we're pretty light-hearted and have some fun on the program.

But I do think that there are a couple of big stories this week that are worth talking about here, just broader discussion and sports as a whole here on the Civic Media Radio Network.

And I got to ask this, because this week we had a study.

come out talking about CTE and NFL players where you know in the study sampled just people who submitted for study but you know quarter of the players that were part of this had CTE after their playing career was done in that five-year span um and then you know of course just a week ago

the tragic loss of a high school senior in a high school football game here in Wisconsin after a collision on the field and who passed away.

And this week, at our game, we had the moment of silence for him and another student who passed away in a farming accident closer here to where I'm at in southwestern Wisconsin.

But back to the point on the field, CTE.

high school player passing away, you know, the football have a viability problem long term.

And I asked this because the rule changes that have been made, you know, in changing the kickoff in all the technology of, you know, everything with helmets and everything like that.

It just feels like every year we get closer and closer to where people will just accept.

We put flags on people and just call it football.

And I'm just curious what you guys think because I think

This is a big discussion that goes probably beyond what our show normally deals with, but I do see these two big stories this week and in these events.

And I'm just curious what your guys' thoughts are on whether you think football can be viable in its current form long term.

We've seen, as you mentioned, Jimmy, we've seen the advancement in technology and we've seen the new rules that are in efforts to make the game safer.

Obviously, the game is never going to be safe.

in totality if you look at it in the way it is right now.

I think that we're going to continue to see new rules, new penalties being put into play, specifically regarding head injuries or trying to prevent head injuries.

I don't think the viability of the game is necessarily an option.

I don't think there isn't necessarily an issue.

I don't think that they're ever going to get to a point where they go opting into just flag football.

Obviously, they need to make this game safer.

Everything that you hear about football.

is that it's a gladiator sport, right?

Jimmy, I think you mentioned to us earlier before we went on that there are folks in your area that are referring to football as a blood sport.

It's kind of hard to go against that, but if you can make every effort of making it safe, then you need to, right?

I think that's a great point, Parker.

And I think what really needs to be highlighted at some point here is that the balance between popularity and danger

is an incredibly tight, tight rope to walk.

And whether the average fan would say so, I think that there's a lot of appeal to the risk.

but only when there's safety to be had to.

I imagine skydivers and bungee jumpers.

It's when you brush right up against danger, but you come away safely that you feel this thrill.

And I think football might depend on that in ways that we haven't really examined, because those are scary questions for the people with the money to be asking.

It's, hey, should we be doing what we're doing?

When you've got an organization, an institution,

a money generator this size it doesn't usually ask itself if it should stop doing the basic fundamental pieces of of what makes it go you know a car doesn't ask itself hey should we empty the tank and just call it here but i'd like that you highlight that flag football is

I think it's right there.

I put a tinfoil hat on about two years ago when the NFL started investing in flag football in its various forms, and I thought, hey, I can imagine a political future where this is no longer acceptable to the powers that be.

I think we're quite a long time from that, and it would take a lot of public massaging to swing public opinion that way.

But it's not impossible for me to imagine a situation where, yeah, we're not letting kids do this anymore.

And it would start with the kids.

You transition kids to flag football.

You'll let that marinate for five or 10 years, maybe even 20.

And all of a sudden, you see kids having a lot of fun and talking about, hey, can we play flag football in college?

Is there a professional?

You know, all you need is to instill flag football in the youth, I think, like anything, and they'll grow up with it and want more of it.

So I don't think it's completely impossible.

We see that future, but we're talking, what, 30, 40, 50?

years, there is a certain thirst for the action.

I won't call it blood thirst, but I'm admittedly, when you see that big hit, I still do that.

I grew up on jacked up.

That was one of the best segments on the show.

But now I look back and think, ooh, we did that.

And yeah, maybe.

I say maybe.

We'll have to see on this when it feels like anything's possible.

Jimmy, what do you see here?

Well, I'm gonna start with one thought if you want to see how things have changed generationally in just 25 years just Google and watch the YouTube video the madden 2001 intro Seriously, just watch it like 90% of those plays are not completely illegal and banned from the game But to my point I'm gonna start this this response to this by saying that what happened in almost center Lincoln with Adam Asman is completely tragic like this is

this goes beyond anything in sports, it's life.

And we treat so much in life and death, and high school football shouldn't be that, but there are inherent risks in playing in a contact sport, any contact sport.

But I will say this, that when it comes to football, a lot of the issues seems to be formed from repetitive contact.

rather than the one big hit.

And there are a couple of ways to go about this.

The first way, obviously, is teaching proper technique from a very young age.

So when we teach tackling, I run a youth program where I live.

I'm an assistant coach for high school.

We teach tackling.

They call it the sea hawk tackling style.

Your head is out of it.

You don't want to injure anybody.

Drop tackle is different than a hawk tackle.

But you take your head away from the play, and you don't get it involved in the tackle.

So a lot of tackling that you learn about.

you know, 70, 60, 70s, 80s that your high school coaches in the 90s and 2000s were teaching you is, you know, get your head right in front of the player moving and then just rock them, right?

Well, now, you know, it's more about wrapping, squeezing the legs and and going down that way and taking your head out of the contact.

So I think teaching proper tackling form, whatever that is for your program is is big.

The other thing too is that there are

tackle leagues that start as early as like first grade.

And I just feel like it is wholly unnecessary for elementary school age kids to be playing tackle football.

And I get it.

There's going to be varying levels of people tolerating this.

But the big issue in football is repetitive contacts.

If you're having head-to-head contact, whether it's a lineman running back, going up and hitting a linebacker, and you have this happening at a very young age when skulls are still developing, they're not all bone yet.

first and second grade.

It doesn't actually really form until you're in middle school.

I feel like there are ways to address this at a younger age where you can still teach form, still teach football, still teach the things that help kids get better at the sport.

But you also make it safe and fun as well.

And there are ways to do it at a younger level.

When it comes to wholesale changes of the sport in general, that's the part where

you know, if you're going to eliminate certain aspects of it, you know, the full on full scale collision and kick off and kick return, you know, why is the NFL the first to ban it?

Why won't this start at the youth levels and work its way up?

That's the part to me that I, you know, there's there's a certain science to all this.

There's there's there's a lot of attention being paid to it now, obviously.

But I do believe that there are safe ways to go about football at any level.

And and I believe that this conversation probably needs to be had.

maybe beyond just us three as sports fans, but talking to actual medical professionals and people who study this for a living.

I will say this, high school football on itself, the technology has changed a lot in even 10 years, where the helmets are a lot safer.

There's a lot of mandated rest periods.

There are limitations on how much contact you can have in practices, and it's very closely monitored.

School officials are mandated reporters.