Welcome to the Dead Zone

This is the Sports Porch Black and Gold with your hosts, the Technical Director, the Grand Schwabini, and Hockey Jesus. Come on, Pittsburgh. Let's show a little Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates love. The Sports Porch Black and Gold starts now.

Hockey Jesus: Hey, welcome to the Sports Porch.

Hockey Jesus: As you can tell, tonight, we are without our technical director. What are we going to do, boys? What are we going to do?

The Grand Schwalbini: So far, so good. No issues.

The Grand Schwalbini: It's like we don't really even need a technical director, do we? Yeah, TD's feeling a little under the weather, so we're giving him the night off. And we brought in the counselor. Scott, welcome to the porch.

The Counselor: Good evening, gents. Good evening.

Hockey Jesus: Scott is a very good friend of mine. We've grown up together with the stories we could tell, not just about sports. How about it, Scotty?

The Counselor: Yeah, not just about the sports and stick shifters and all sorts of, anyway. We'll keep it clean, guys.

Hockey Jesus: We'll keep it clean. Tonight we're going to do a little postseason analysis on our Steelers. That's the first thing we're going to get into. And then after that, since Scotty's a huge hockey fan like myself, we're definitely going to get into a little bit of analysis about the Four Nations faceoff. Schwaber, you've been watching the Four Nations stuff?

The Grand Schwalbini: I did watch the USA Canada game. Oh, yeah. Classic.

Hockey Jesus: We'll get into that for sure. Hopefully, hopefully everybody's out there at least catching a little bit of this, because it's really, really, really an incredible tournament going on.

Hockey Jesus: And I don't know, I don't really have much on the bucko front. But, you know, if you guys feel like jumping in on the buckas, we'll throw that in before we get to what we're watching. Sound good, boys? Sounds good.

The Counselor: Nobody had to have surgery today. They reported and I guess it was, you know, veterans on the field. So I guess as long as nobody had to have surgery today, we're good.

Hockey Jesus: Well, I guess as long as nobody's pushing any sleds down there in Bradenton, I think we'll be all right. What do you think? I think they probably got a better physical director than the Steelers. Maybe one advantage that the Pirates have over the Steelers, but we'll get to that a little bit later. So, well, boys, I text you out what I wanna be talking about tonight. And first thing is, of course, the technical director's texting me and telling me how terrible I sound. So, okay, we'll work on that.

The Counselor: I thought he was napping.

Hockey Jesus: Oh, you know, he can't stop himself. He can't decide if he's tired or wants to technical direct from afar. Anyway, we'll work on the technical stuff, but before I fix my microphone so that the technical director is happy, Let's talk about Steeler Gamballs for last year. I want your guys' take on your offensive, defensive, and if you want to get into the special teams. I think we all know who our special teams guys are going to be, maybe. But let's start with the offense. Since you're our guest tonight, Scott, let's go with you. Who would be your game ball you would give to for the 2024 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers?

The Counselor: Well, no question. Stevie, you knew this. I'm going with alignment and Zach Frazier all the way. I think he gave up one sack. So we will call him one sack Zach as opposed to our tackles who gave up the most sacks of any tackle pair in in the NFL. So hands down Zach Frazier. As you know, I've never really recovered from the Steelers not drafting Creed Humphrey and taking some tight end that they signed to an extension who occasionally catches more than two passes. But whatever, they finally found their center.

Hockey Jesus: Of course you're going to go with, um, with the center. I'm surprised you didn't go with, uh, with, uh, one of the tackles, to be honest with you. Why, why, why do you decide to go with the center?

The Counselor: Well, I just I think Frazier just showed out and and again, you know. The from what the stats tell you, if you look at pro football reference or pro football focus, I think he gave up one sack. You know, I think I think Dan Moore gave up. I don't know 9 or something like that. And you know the other guy, whether he's a bust or not, we don't know. But you know, I think he gave up even more than that so. Um, you know, hands down there. I just, and, you know, pushing the pile on the run to, um, you know, I think that, that the history of centers for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I think you, you know, you need to have an anchor there, even though, you know, all the scouts would tell you that position's been devalued a little bit, I think to get him in the second round still was, was a great pick.

Hockey Jesus: Okay, so I believe Mark is not going to go with the center position.

The Grand Schwalbini: Believe it or not, I actually did have Zach Frazier as my number one.

Hockey Jesus: Oh, all right. Well, I'm glad I asked you guys to pick more than one. So who was your number two?

The Grand Schwalbini: I did. Now, I don't foresee my number two being on either of your top threes, but I kept it on the line and I went with Isaac Sayamala. Um, I just, I just think that he's just, I just think he's a really solid lineman, a solid guard. Um, I think that he, um, you know, when he was with Philadelphia, he, you know, played right next to Jason Kelsey and, uh, formed like a really good tandem. And I felt like he formed a really good tandem with, with Zach. Um, And, you know, if you think about it, like, um, like very rarely, can you recall when say a model makes a bad play?

Hockey Jesus: That's true.

The Grand Schwalbini: Maybe once in a blue moon, he's offsides barely ever gets a holding call, you know? And a lot of the times when you see a good run play. You know, he might be pulling out there and getting a good block downfield. So, you know, I just think he's a really solid player to me. He's kind of like maybe like a notch below a pro bowl level, but I think he's not too far off of that level. So I gave it to Isaac for my number two guy.

Hockey Jesus: All right. Two guys, you both, you guys go with the offense. I, uh, I'm kind of surprised by that, to be honest with you. I didn't, uh, didn't expect it. Well, maybe I guess I expect the offensive guy from, uh, from Scotty, but I'm actually going on the offense. I'm actually going on the defensive side and I'm only, I'm only picking this guy because I was so hard on this signing at the beginning of the year. I think Cam Hayward had it.

The Grand Schwalbini: You're not, you're not giving us an offensive player of the year.

The Counselor: Um, is this your overall player of the year?

Hockey Jesus: I, you're right. I jumped, I jumped to defense. Um, okay, I'll go back to, I'll go back to offense and you guys aren't going to like where I'm going to go, but I'm going to, I'm going to go with the Russell Wilson and here's why I'm going to go with Russell Wilson. I'm going with Russell Wilson because he came into this offense not knowing anything about it. Okay. And, and I think, you know, getting off to the start, he did, you know, missing the first six games and then rattling off those games in a row after that. I think you got it. I think you got to give him a, I think you got to give him a game ball just for doing that. Now, was he, was he, um, did he take us to the promise land? No. Did he perform in some pretty incredible situations? And did he finally bring some offense back to the Steelers? Remember, the Steelers only threw like 20 touchdown passes the previous two years. So I think that alone, bringing some of the offense back to the Steelers. I'm gonna give it to Russell Wilson. Now, do I think that they should re-sign him? That's a different conversation, okay? But I just do believe that Russell Wilson needs to get some love. What do you guys think about that, Russell Wilson?

The Grand Schwalbini: Well, Amy Mayschwab says, groan for Steve's Russell Wilson.

The Counselor: Yeah, I think the real issue, Steve, is based on Jerry Dulac's reporting. And we know Dulac is the most plugged in of all the reporters for the Steelers in Pittsburgh. Based on Dulac's reporting, there's a big question of the freedom that Wilson had to play in those five losses. And to me, it's inexplicable how you come off that Cincinnati win and you don't beat Cincinnati the same way. I mean, I don't want to revisit that. I know you guys talked about it.

Hockey Jesus: Well, no, no, let's revisit that because I don't think I think that's actually that's actually fuel for my fire because yeah, I don't because if if if you if you if you believe the reports that after after the Cincinnati game there was there was some infighting between the quarterback and the offensive coordinator and the offensive coordinator wasn't very happy with the way Russell Wilson just kind of chucked it and scored a lot of points. He wanted to play within the system. And as you can see, the next time they play Cincinnati, that didn't work out too well. So I actually think that's fuel for Russell Wilson being maybe more important than Arthur Smith.

The Grand Schwalbini: I actually think on the offensive side of the ball, what I found kind of troubling about the exercise was that you typically think about the skill positions when you think about who's the best player, wide receiver, running back, a quarterback, a tight end. And I really couldn't come up with a skill position player that I thought was worthy. I mean, now I would say that Pickens is the one who's got talent to be that guy. Right. But as we know, he didn't maximize his talent last year. Far from it.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah. And let's face it, he's just a receiver, so he can't really drive the offense unless he's throwing the ball.

The Counselor: Yeah, I don't I. I, I think you to your point Steve I think the bottom line is with what he had. I don't think he played that badly. I mean, and I and I really, I really struggle with the Cincinnati to Cincinnati game comparison. you know, it's one thing to lose to that, you know, that run. I mean, I mean, the NFL shame on Roger Goodell, like, like the NFL scheduling the Steelers those three games in 11 days. There's nobody in the league that this year had to run a gauntlet and a schedule like that. And well, I mean, what are, what are.

Hockey Jesus: What are my other choices? You guys took two of the best offensive linemen, right? Who am I gonna take, Friar Booth? Am I gonna take Najee? I mean, I think somebody said in the notes, I think, let me show it here. Marvin said that Warren, Warren, what does he say? Warren got run over in a game.

The Grand Schwalbini: No, I think he's saying that he didn't like my guard pick.

Hockey Jesus: Oh, okay. Because, uh, because Warren got run over. I don't know. I think, I think the guard picks. Okay. But I mean, that's, that's because we're not repeating, uh, picks here. I think, right. I think it, I think Russell Wilson's probably who, who else would you have taken in that third spot out of curiosity? There's nobody else to pay. I mean, I agree with you, Mark. I think Pickens is definitely the talent for sure. But, uh, all right, let's uh, let's, let's see, uh, any other, by the way, Marvin likes your, uh, Marvin likes your center pick. So Marvin, Marvin's in on the center position.

The Grand Schwalbini: We'll let you start with a defense since you already announced since I already announced cam.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah. I mean, you can't go wrong on the defensive position, the defensive position. I I'm going with cam. I lambasted the Steelers for, for, uh, extending him and the post season. And I still think maybe for the terms of the contract, it might not be very good. And that's pretty much what I was going for when, when I was, when I was doing the, uh, the crush on that. Honestly, he had one of his best seasons last year. I know he faded towards the end, but you could tell whenever the the other whenever the opposition could run the ball, it was because Cam wasn't in there. And when he was in there, he was absolutely stuffing and run. And he actually got after the quarterback up the middle pretty good last year, I thought. So for that reason, Cam Hayward is definitely my getting my ball for defensive player of the year for the Steelers.

The Grand Schwalbini: I'll tell you what I was looking at some of the stats trying to think about who I would select. Cam Hayward had 11 past offenses. I mean, that's that's amazing. I mean, patting down 11 balls. I mean, usually when somebody is pretty good at it, it's like five for the year.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, 11 is a lot.

The Counselor: He had three in one game, man. Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah, he had a great year. Really good year. How about you, Mark? Where are you going? Well, You know, so I had Cam Hayward as my number two. And you guys might be surprised by by the guy that I put in the one slot because it's not the obvious one.

Hockey Jesus: I hope it wasn't Minka.

The Grand Schwalbini: Oh, no. I am not a fan of his mediocrity. I chose Deshaun Elliott. Interesting. I agree with that. I thought he had a really good season. You know, he had he had 108 tackles last year. 73 of them were solo. Which is hard, which is hard to do. Yes, he had five tackles for a loss. He had an interception. He had six passes defended. He forced two fumbles and recovered three. So I think he was kind of all over the place and I'll tell you what in in, you know, in that gauntlet. I believe he missed like two games in that gauntlet, or maybe three. Yeah, he did.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, he did.

The Grand Schwalbini: He was really missed in the Philadelphia game.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, absolutely. He did miss the first two of those.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah, he was sorely missed. I think he had a really big impact on that defense, and without him in there kind of shoring up the back end, I think the team really, really suffered as a result. So, you know, he's kind of like a combination for me of sort of you know, rising star, kind of unexpected, you know, you know, excellent, you know, maybe, maybe toward heading towards a future Pro Bowl. I was just really impressed with him this year.

Hockey Jesus: Scott, do you know if he signed for next year, Elliott?

The Counselor: Yeah, he signed two years. For me, Mark, the piece that you didn't mention, he makes two and a half million a year. He signed a 5 million two-year deal. When you look at the fact that he's making an eighth of what Minka is, it's pretty ridiculous. I was really, really surprised at his ability to come down. I mean, I don't really remember him watching him that much. I think he played mostly for Miami. I don't know that he's ever gonna be a Pro Bowl or I think he's 28 or 29 at this point, but. you know, definitely serviceable, you know, to come downhill and to sort of fill that void and run support. Which really surprises me, as effective as he was, that they didn't allow Minka to roam a little bit more. I'm not sure what's going on with that, but I'm not ready to say Minka's mediocre, but I just, I, I don't know that they're deploying him effectively and you know, he's not making the plays that he did when he was a young guy.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I agree. I think he's, he's on the backside of his career for sure. But, uh, I also agree with Mark. I think he's, he had a great year and I, I think that's an excellent pick, uh, knowing that I took, and I'm surprised you had him ranked one, but I can see why after, uh, after you said that. Let me just show some of these here. Uh, Chris Chata wants to talk about Trevor Lawrence. We'll get Chris. We'll get to, uh, we'll get to Trevor Lawrence here in a second. We're going to give our game balls out first. Then we're going to talk about, uh, what some of the things the Steelers need to do in the post season. Uh, Marvin actually said that, yeah, he would give, uh, he would have give Jalen Warren a game ball. He, he liked his play this year. And, uh, Marvin also likes your pick for Deshaun Elliott. All right, Scotty, what do you got?

The Counselor: Yeah, I'm just I think Peyton Wilson's a guy that blade definitely punched above his weight. That interception he made that high pointed that ball. That was a ridiculous big time play. And you know, I think I think he got close to 50% of the snaps. You know, interestingly enough, the knock on him is the injury history, right? You know, so he he was. He was a guy that I think was. One of those that they say first round talent, potentially, but dropped all the way down. And because of that injury history, I thought he played great. He was good in pass support and in some ways, I mean, he was out shining, his running mate that was out there with him who signed for Biggest deal in team history. And so, I think Landon Roberts saw his snaps lower than what it was the first year, obviously. Well, Roberts was playing after we had three linebackers go down too, but Peyton Wilson I thought was solid and hopefully he can stay healthy.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, he's gonna be a tough guy going forward. I think you're right. His size and the way he plays with all that speed and especially being up the middle, I think it opens him up to injuries. You're gonna say something, Mark?

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah, I think we still have to give a honorable mention to TJ Watt. Now, I think that the, to me, T.J. Watt's season did not end well. It seemed like he didn't really show up as much in those last games, although I felt he played the run pretty well in those last few games. My guess, I mean, I just have to believe that he was playing hurt. Or he got tired.

Hockey Jesus: Either way, I agree with you.

The Grand Schwalbini: It's something like that, because think about it. I mean, if you really basically say he didn't have much production in the last, what, four or five games of the season? I mean, he still had 11 and a half sacks, four pass defense, six forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. I mean, so he's, he's causing more mayhem than anybody on the team still. And we felt he had a bad year.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I agree with that. I actually, my honorable mention would go to Beanie Bishop. I think beans had a had a pretty good year for being an undersized. I don't know if he's a linebacker or whatever he is playing at dime position. I thought I thought he had a pretty good year for you know somebody who came out of nowhere and really wasn't expected to do anything. I thought he was a little bit of a surprise. You got any honorable mentions on the D side, Scotty?

The Counselor: Yeah, I like Bishops play and you know that slot corner has been, you know, pretty. I mean, pretty weak really since Mike Hilton left the team and similar profile to Hilton. He's undersized, as you said, also undrafted like Hilton. So maybe he can develop into something and the guy has a knack for the ball. I remember Mark saying Beanie Bishop will not have another interception. I specifically remember that one. He only had one more, didn't he? Yeah, it's all good, but not a lot, and certainly some disappointments there too, obviously. Porter had a challenging year, I think, was good at times, was okay at times, and other times questionable. Benton didn't take the jump that was expected of him too. And I know there's a lot of talk about whether Benton is really big enough to man the middle. And he was getting pushed around a little bit at times, so.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I agree with that. And I think as far as disappointments go, I think, you know, you got to put make up there pretty high. And also, you know, them bringing back cam Sutton, he was an absolute bust. He was, he was absolutely useless. Um, you know, and they, they held them on for that whole suspension to hoping he would come back and play well and, and, He was just garbage. So I think, uh, those, I think those are the things that kept them from being an elite defense. The fact that JP jr. Didn't take the next step up and TJ watt didn't have this typical, you know, 15, 16 sack year and, and kind of fell at the end. I agree. I think Marvin put it, uh, put it this way. They were tired from playing so many games at 11, 11 days, three games. We all looked at that, uh, on the schedule and we knew that was going to be the rough spot, but an elite, an elite team knows how to get through that by winning at least one of those three. I mean, even two, if you're really good, like Kansas City and Baltimore did, they played about the same time frame and they won all three and we lost all three. So I think that was the big difference.

The Counselor: I think another big point for the D2, you guys, I'm sure heard Julian Edelman's comments that were, you know, sort of picked up in the Twittersphere in a big way about the Steelers being predictable and This discussion about not, you know, not having TJ and Highsmith flip sides or move TJ around. I mean, I'd like to see TJ used a little bit more like Micah Parsons. I mean, put him right over the center sometimes. I mean, you know, send him up the A-gap once in a while. I, I just, you know, I don't, I don't understand. And, um, you know, and, and Amy, Amy, Amy just. Highlighted the position coaches. I mean, I'll just say what I've said for years, which is where the hell's Mike Tomlin's coaching tree. I mean, the answer is he doesn't have one, but, um, but in reality, in reality, I think, I think we need to ask the question of whether the offense and the defense are too predictable because more and more former players are saying that.

Hockey Jesus: Well, see, that's why Amy's our number one fan, because she knows exactly what she's talking about. We all agree with those comments. All right, that only leaves the special teams, boys. So there's little to choose from here. So choose wisely.

The Grand Schwalbini: I actually think that there is plenty to choose from.

Hockey Jesus: Oh, well, good. Then you can go last. We'll let Scott go last.

The Counselor: Yeah, I just, I love Skronic, I'm a big fan, I think.

The Grand Schwalbini: Not even in my top three.

The Counselor: I think, you know, from a gunner standpoint, I mean, the hilarious thing is, I think the first game he played the following week at his press conference, you know, Tomlin referred to him as that other gunner. Didn't even remember his name, but he was just a force. I think he forced two fumbles. You know, he was always downfield and And the guy's serviceable. I think when Pickens was out, there was a game that he caught a pretty meaningful third down. It was third and long, I think third and nine. They hit him for 22 yards across the middle. He actually made a nice play on the ball. So I like Skranek a lot. And he was interviewed, and they asked him, and the DVE guys were talking about this on the morning show, they asked him what position he played. And he said, I'm a football player. don't you play wide receiver? Well, I asked coach if I could play defense too. I'm a football player.

Hockey Jesus: He wants to be in the next day on Saturday. I mean, anyway, no, that's good. That actually didn't, I didn't think about it. Well, I'm going to go with the obvious. I'm going to go with boss clearly, you know, kicking as many field goals as he did. He was a instrumental in, uh, you know, keeping the offense on the scoreboard whenever they couldn't score touchdowns. did he set the record for field goals in a year? I think he did last year.

Hockey Jesus: Oh, he missed it by one.

Hockey Jesus: So yeah, I know he was on pace for a while there and then they had to go start scoring touchdowns or not scoring at all. So that probably derailed him a little bit. But clearly, I mean, now that Justin Tucker looks like he's probably gonna end up in a penitentiary somewhere, he's probably going to be the number one kicker moving forward.

The Counselor: So- We know if Boz has a line of massage therapists he's been to. Let's hope not.

Hockey Jesus: I didn't see him at the one I was at this afternoon. I mean, I don't think so.

The Grand Schwalbini: If I'm an NFL player, I'm not getting any massages.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I think there's this idea of a private massage. I think maybe they need to pay up and at least get it done at home. Come on, boys. And it's ridiculous. Do these guys think they're not going to get like called out for this. It's just ridiculous. Unbelievable. But that's good. Any time the Baltimore ons are in in the in the news in a in a negative way. I'm happy to highlight it here on the porch. All right, Scott. Mark, you got the last one since you got three or four. Heck, give give them all to us.

The Grand Schwalbini: Well, I think the obvious one is Miles Killebrew, right? Yeah. Oh yeah.

Hockey Jesus: Miles definitely.

The Grand Schwalbini: He was on my list for sure. Since he's in the Pro Bowl. But the one that I put, I put Miles at number three. The one I put at number two, you guys may disagree with this, but I've got one of the Schwab favorites, CA3. Do you know who CA3 is?

Hockey Jesus: Yes, I do know.

The Grand Schwalbini: Calvin Austin III. Look, here's the bottom line. I think that every time a team goes to punt the ball to CA3, there's a chance he could take it to the house. And he got a touchdown last year. No, look, granted, I understand it was just one, one touchdown, a nice 73-yarder. But he did average 10.3 yards per punt return, which is pretty solid. And really, this is really his first, let's say, full season being the full-time punt returner. I look for good things to continue with CA3 being kind of like a nice little third receiver and special teamer. I think he's always got a chance to break one. And, you know, you don't have to worry about having like one of your very best players back there either.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I was actually that's actually that's an excellent one. I wasn't thinking of the return team, but they were very good early, early on in the season, even midway through. I was actually thinking about the punter. I can't remember his name, but I know he's he was he was pretty good for us this year. Well, he was much better than the previous wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait Did they pick him up, Waitman?

The Counselor: Like third play of the game, yeah.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, right, so.

The Grand Schwalbini: Scott, are you not a CA3 fan?

The Counselor: No, I love the kid. He's from Memphis. I used to spend a shit ton of time in Memphis, and I love him. He's undersized, he's fast as hell, he's a track star. I think, I mean, what you see is what you get. He's frickin' Speedy Gonzalez out there. And he doesn't shy away from getting hit either. No, no, how many touchdowns did he catch this year? Three maybe? A couple of those he went down, I think two of those he went down the deep middle. And I think maybe a sign of our previous conversation about who we could really say legitimately could claim like an MVP or type on the offense. Remember Russell Wilson had to throw to him on a Hail Mary pass, he was triple teamed. And it's like, hey, if you're thrown to the guy who's 5'7", that's the last play of the game. I mean, that kind of says, maybe that leads into the conversation about what the Steelers should draft or go after in free agency, Steve.

Hockey Jesus: You're reading my mind. But before we get there, I just want to thank you for joining us here on the porch tonight. We're all over the whole entire world. That's right. We're worldwide now. You can find us on YouTube. You can find us on Instagram. We're on Facebook. We're really not on LinkedIn much anymore, but we're expanding our TikToks. We hope you're loving those shorts out there. So we just want to thank you. And if you like what you're hearing, if you already haven't, Hit that, smash that subscribe button down at the bottom. We love the fact that you're here tonight. If you got anything to say, just throw them in the comments. We're happy to comment on them with you. But for now, let's do it. Let's move on. Let's double team this. Let's go at it together. The next two topics are, what positions should the Steelers target in the draft? And who do you think they should go after in the free agency? I'm just going to combine it all together. I don't want to do this separate. I just want to, I want to hear, I want to hear your thoughts on targeting in the draft and maybe who they should get after in free agency. What do you think, Scott?

The Counselor: So the Steelers need two wide receivers, two defensive linemen and a cornerback. So everything that I've read, and I try not to pay too much attention to the mock drafts, but I do like looking at rankings and tiers. And supposedly, unlike last year's draft, this draft is supposed to be loaded with defensive linemen. So presumably, you might want to go after a wide receiver in free agency and maybe pick the wide receiver in the first round. Because unlike last year, this is not As I read it, I'm not a scout, obviously, a deep class for the wide receiver. So I think you have to think about what you can get on the market. We have a date that's coming up pretty closely here before the new league year. A lot of these guys have contracts that are tied to bonuses. Even some of the receivers, I think Debo is one that have been you know, link to the Steelers in some way. I think Cooper Cup might also be a bonus coming up in March, just before the league year, so. You know, to me, you have to get a D lineman in this class. If it's not at the top of the class, it has to be the second pick. And I think you need a corner too, although I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna, you know, I'm not gonna jack on, on Corey Trice for what he did against or what he didn't do against Jamar Chase because it's Jamar Chase. So, you know, I think Corey Trice, you know, has real potential, but to me, We saw Porter, I mean, maybe Porter's not good enough that he can be that elite, elite guy that you don't need somebody who's really, really good. I mean, you can't obviously invest at every position, which brings us back to whether Minka can be justified making 20 million next season, I don't know.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I agree. I think those are, those are all good positions. So you covered both free agency in the draft. Well done. How about you, Mark?

The Grand Schwalbini: Well, okay. So what I got here is, uh, for the draft, what I would do if I were the Steelers is with the first pick, uh, in the first round, I would take either If the wide receiver that I like is available, I take the wide receiver. If the wide receiver, you know, if my number one option that I'm zeroing in on isn't there, I might take the best defensive tackle that's available. Because I do think you really, you need to plan for after cam.

The Counselor: I think you need a plan for with cam. Yeah.

The Grand Schwalbini: With cam.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah.

The Grand Schwalbini: I think both of them playing together.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, for sure.

The Grand Schwalbini: Right. Um, and I also think I'd like to see them draft a running back, uh, in the second round. Um, you can get a lot of real, you can get a lot of really good running backs in the second round. I think I wouldn't say first round. Cause I think that's, um, you know, unless it's a, you know, sure fire, no doubt about it. Um, you know, like a sake one Barclay or, or, or like a Jimmy or Gibbs or somebody like that. Outside of that, you can get really good running backs in the second round. I mean, I believe the Eagles got Shady McCoy in the second round. I mean, Alvin Kamara was a third round back. I mean, there's a lot of good running backs out there and I don't think you need to spend a first round pick on one. I wouldn't bring Najee back.

The Counselor: Yeah, Mark, I think you should listen to the Freakonomics podcast from last week. They, they went through economically why the value of the running back is so low now. And just because it's a past league, it just doesn't make sense. And the fact that attrition rates on running backs are, you know, most of them don't meet, you know, their 27th birthday in the league. So I just, uh, Yeah, if the Steelers take a running back in the first or second round, that's not gentee. I think, you know, he's the one, the one, you know, generational talent.

The Grand Schwalbini: He's going to get, he's going to go early.

The Counselor: He's going to go in the first round. Exactly. Exactly.

The Grand Schwalbini: Take him in the first round.

The Counselor: They reached with nausea. And, you know, as, as I texted Steve, uh, Mark, I don't know, two, three weeks ago, you can't miss, you know, three out of five years on your number one pick in the NFL. And that's what the Steelers have done in the last five years, right? They've missed in a big way on three of the five number ones for the last five years. So I just I might I might burn my seat license and give my tickets back to the Steelers if they take a running back in the first or second round.

Hockey Jesus: But you'll miss it. You'll miss the chance to go to Ireland.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah, see, see, I kind of look at the second round is that that's the right place to take one. You know, that's the way I see it. I sort of look at it like this. Like, I feel like, you know, now obviously you can get a great player in any round, right? But, you know, whoever you're picking in the first round should be hopefully a star player, right?

Hockey Jesus: A starter.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah. Second round should be somebody that, you know, if it's a good pick, you look back later and you say, how did we get them in the second round? Yeah, no, as if they should have been a first rounder.

The Counselor: Yeah, second round guys should be a 10 year starter. Yeah, but when you get to the first rounder should be borderline if not, if not all pro.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah, but when you get to the third round, that's where you start getting dicey. So that's why I'm saying I want them to pick up running back in the second round. Because I don't want them picking just like, you know, the 13th best running back they think that's out there. I want them picking like, you know, the sixth or seventh best running back that's out there who might be better than that ranking. You know, that's kind of the way I'm looking at it. But anyway, I digress. As far as the free agency, I would go, I think they need to get like a solid swing tackle. uh, in, in free agency, offensive line, offensive tackle.

Hockey Jesus: Interesting.

The Grand Schwalbini: Because, um, you know, look, I think we all hope that, uh, Broderick Jones, um, uh, you know, lives up to his billing and hopefully they move them to the left side and all that. Well, you got Fitanu coming back next year too. Sure. You got Fitanu coming back. Um, so. You know, like, but look, I, I, I sort of feel like we need a backup plan. You know, you got Fitanu was injured. You know, project Jones hasn't lived up to it. So we need a good backup plan. So we need one of those guys, like, I'm sure that there is a guy who, for example, wasn't a starter last year, but he came in and he played either right or left tackle. And he was, and he was incredible for the rest of the year. You know, you, you can get somebody like that, like at a fairly reasonable price who could fill in and be a good starter for you. If things go South and at one of those positions.

The Counselor: Well, the Eagles have a seventh rounder play and tackle.

The Grand Schwalbini: Well, that is true. But I mean, look, that that's a really fortunate result.

Hockey Jesus: Well, it helps when you have a have a have an offensive line coach who can who can it's coaching. Yeah, it is that out.

The Counselor: I mean, the Steelers got that out of Calvin Beecham not that long ago. And, you know, I think that's when Mike Munchak was the was the offensive line coach.

The Grand Schwalbini: Was Villanueva was like that as well, right?

The Counselor: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

The Grand Schwalbini: He was a late pick. Yeah. Yep. Yep. You know, I also think they could use another tight end. I'm not I mean, like, you know, the Washington guy, OK, he's a monster. He can sort of catch the ball. He can block. I don't know. I mean, I need somebody else other than Friar Muth, because I feel like a Friar Muth is hurt.

Hockey Jesus: I mean, look, you're lucky the technical director's not here right now.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah. But, you know, ideally, ideally, it would be nice if they actually found somebody who becomes better than Friar Mooth, you know? Yeah. And I also think, you know, just like the obviously you're looking for. Um, you know, a linebacker probably in free agency, um, looking for a corner either in free agency or in the draft, you know, maybe like fourth round in the draft, something like that. Um, so the, the reality is they've got a lot of holes to fill.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah. And guys, you missed the number one, which is my, my, my first thing that I like to talk about. And it seems like everybody else here wants to talk about it too. Rumors about trading for Trevor Lawrence is out there. Are we going to sign Justin Fields? Where's Russ? Is Russ coming back? What's going on? We don't have a signed quarterback right now, boys. That's a problem. That's a problem. And you know, I've been thinking about this a little bit. Um, and I've been thinking about teams that do well in the off season. They already have their offensive coordinator together. They already know who the starting quarterback is going to be. They've already started planning for next year. The Steelers can't do any of that without a quarterback. they got to figure out this quarterback position. And I'm actually not going to, I'm not going to, first of all, I'm not going to address the Trevor Lawrence stuff because it was debunked today. I saw, I saw an interview with Trevor Lawrence who said, yeah, uh, I, I, I think, uh, my, uh, my agent called up, um, what's his name? The, uh, the sports illustrated guy and, uh, just kind of threw it out there, you know, basically saying nobody called. Nobody called for Trevor Lawrence. It's such crap. It's, it's basically, you know, just, just Jack Jacksonville, just crushing that right away saying we're not trading Trevor Lawrence. That was never, that was never going to happen. First of all, second of all, the Steelers do absolutely make a need to make a decision about what's going on with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, because I don't, I don't see them for, I agree with you. I don't, I don't think this quarterback, uh, field is worth going after. I don't think it's worth trading up to go get somebody. I don't know what they're going to do, but they're going to have to do something. And for me, I think you just need to, as much as this maybe pains me a little bit, I think you just need to sign Justin fields, get this offense going with, with whatever he's going to be, whether he's going to be good or not. I don't care. but they've got a better chance of it working better if they can get him and Arthur Smith in a room tomorrow and say, you're our guy. Let's create an offense for you. That's going to work for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And I just don't, I get the sense that the Steelers aren't interested in doing that because either they want to save some money or they're not sure of the terms they want to give. But it's, that's to me the number one position that they have to address. And I think that's probably, I'm saying they should just address it by keeping who they have here. I agree with you guys. I love the idea of drafting a wide receiver in the first round that golden from Texas. He's the number one, he's the number one wide receiver on the board and Pretty much they they do have him dropping the Steelers Some of the time I would love to get him. I think he's a great talent Honestly, I would rather than wait to get the The Smith guy from Ohio State because I think he's gonna be a Justin Jefferson type talent But hey go after him next year tank and get him next year because he's probably gonna be out for the draft next year if he's even gonna play for Ohio State who knows with the nil or where that guy's gonna play next year. But I think they go get a good wide receiver. We haven't even talked about whether they should re-sign Pickens. I say we keep that for next week. Next week, let's talk about who maybe they should keep and maybe who they should pitch. And I agree with you. I think that defensive line is another place where they've got to score a home run. I'm hoping they can do that in the second round. And I'm not against getting another cornerback, although I think J.P. Jr. is going to have a better year next year. That's just me hoping and wishing, not necessarily knowing for sure. So, and you're right about the running back position, but I think they can get a, I actually think they can get a running back in the free agency. I think there's somebody out there who will fit right in with Jalen Warren and they won't have to pay too much. And I agree. I think at this point, you just don't resign nausea because they probably sign up for too much money at this point. Just get somebody out there for, I don't know, maybe three years at 2 million a year or something like that. and, uh, pop them back there with Jalen Warren. That would be what I do. Any, uh, final thoughts on the Steelers before we move on?

The Counselor: Yeah, I, I, I just say, I would just reiterate, you know, you gotta go for value to your point on the running back. You look around the league. There are a lot of serviceable running backs that are third or fourth rounders in today's NFL or the draft. I just, I think if they don't, if they don't go some combination of D line and wide receiver and one, two, and then, you know, look for a corner, maybe even trade up because, you know, corner corner again is a premium position that you're going to overpay on free agency. And we already have a bloated overpaid defense. You know, we just, we can't put any more money into the defense, you know?

Hockey Jesus: I agree. I agree. Any final thoughts there?

The Grand Schwalbini: Um, no, I, I, I agree with you though, that I do think the biggest problem right now is they do not know who the quarterback is.

Hockey Jesus: Ooh, man, that's brutal.

The Grand Schwalbini: That's a, that's, that's a big problem.

Hockey Jesus: There's nobody, nobody's, you don't have a signed quarterback in the NFL. The most, the number one position, the position that means the most in the Steelers are just kind of ignoring it right now.

The Counselor: Hey, Mr. Rooney says he doesn't need to change a thing.

The Grand Schwalbini: I agree with you that probably the best bet with what is looking realistic right now is probably Justin Fields.

Hockey Jesus: I mean

The Counselor: the colleges you know

Hockey Jesus: Well, I just go back to the comments that Tomlin made that he wants, he sees the future of the running back position or the quarterback position as somebody who can run and pass. That is not Aaron Rodgers. So I don't think they're going to go after him.

The Counselor: Sean Elliott tweeted, he needs to keep his ass in the retirement home. Did he?

The Grand Schwalbini: I mean, seriously, he tweeted to, you know, I have to tell you, like, it's interesting though, like, Do you realize like he actually had decent numbers last year? He had like 28 jumps and 11 interceptions and it's like we acted like he was.

The Counselor: Except for wins and losses, Mark.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah.

The Grand Schwalbini: Well, the rest of the team did kind of stink.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah. Well, you know, he's packaging himself with the Devante Adams. So right now. Yeah. No, no.

The Grand Schwalbini: Would you would you take him if Devante Adams came with him? No, no, I wouldn't take him. Because basically what you're saying then is you think he would do nothing more than what what Russell Wilson did this year.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I think he set you back another two years. It doesn't make sense for him to learn the offense. I think you'll be a headache in the locker room, and I think Mike Lawrence says it right. Aaron Rodgers is a has been, and I think he needs to. He needs to hit the retirement wagon so he can make his way to the Hall of Fame.

The Counselor: He's one in five in NFC championship games.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, doesn't it but he's wanna know in Super Bowls and he beat us so that hurts Hey, we would be we would be we would be remiss if we didn't mention that the our Our downtown that down the turnpike team the Philadelphia Eagles had a parade you got any thoughts on the parade Did you want to mention the only thing I want to mention is why the hell are they throwing? beer cans at Jeffrey Lurie. Somebody please, somebody please explain that to me.

The Grand Schwalbini: It was Howie Roseman that got hit in the head.

Hockey Jesus: Oh, Roseman, that's right.

The Grand Schwalbini: That's right.

Hockey Jesus: That's right. And he said something like, I bleed for Philadelphia or something like that.

The Grand Schwalbini: I bleed for this city.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, that's what he said.

The Grand Schwalbini: I bleed for this city. Right, right. Any other thoughts other than that? No, not really.

The Counselor: That kind of says it all, doesn't it?

The Grand Schwalbini: The parades are, you know, the parade was fun. Um, you know, to be honest, there, there's, there's never going to be a better parade than the first parade because Jason Kelsey gave like the ultimate speech at the first parade. And after, after that speech, it's like, nobody really comes close. Um, but, uh, yeah, it was, uh, it was a heck of a year. I mean, uh, probably the most enjoyable playoff run I can remember as an Eagles fan.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I mean, you can't beat a Super Bowl win like that, where basically, you know that there's nothing, nothing went wrong in the game and you were never at doubt for losing it. That's just, that's fantastic when that happens.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah, it was great. You know, what's kind of funny is so now that the Eagles won, they're playing a lot of, you know, previous Eagles, you know, games. And I was, I watched like the fourth quarter of the Foals Super Bowl when they took down Brady. And I mean, I'm looking at that team and I'm comparing it to this team and I'm like, how in the world did they win? Yeah, they're throwing the ball to like Torrey Holt and like Nelson Aguilar. with a backup quarterback. I'm like, how in the world did this happen? Yeah. This was a miracle.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah. I look back to that 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins team when they beat Detroit Red Wings and they had no business beating that team yet they did.

The Grand Schwalbini: Was that the one they were down three to one in that one? Yep. They came back. Yeah. Right. Right. And you're like, there's no way they're going to win.

The Counselor: Three out of four and Murray got smoked in game five, too.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah. Yeah Yeah, and they came they but after that they they put the pedal to the metal. So yeah, it happens That's the way sports is. Hey, thanks for listening to sports porch. We got a couple more segments left here I'm bypassing this baseball stuff unless you guys absolutely have something that you want to talk about. I'm just not ready to talk buckos You guys got anything, Scott? I know you got your hat on. Is there anything?

The Counselor: I just have to say it's the most ridiculously underwhelming off-season for a ridiculously underwhelming owner that's just absolutely pathetic and not even worth, he's not even worth the time of day to own this franchise and the history that it has. It's absolutely sad.

The Grand Schwalbini: Right. They're trying to convince us that Tommy Phan is an exciting sign.

The Counselor: I mean, come on. I mean, why didn't they just- Adam Frazier's back, right? Why didn't they just keep Dela Cruz? I mean, Dela Cruz, I mean, he stunk after the trade deadline, but he has more upside than Tommy Phan does. He's 10 years younger. It's just, this is a joke.

The Grand Schwalbini: I did look through the available free agents, just in case you wanted to know, Rowdy Tellez is still out there.

Hockey Jesus: Didn't they sign another first man?

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah, they did.

The Counselor: I think they did.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah.

The Counselor: Yeah. Oh my goodness. That was my joke about surgery today that they reported because Horwitz, who they signed from Cleveland, had to have wrist surgeries, not even going to be available to start the season. And God only knows, it's a chronic wrist issue. Come on, man.

Hockey Jesus: Hey, Chris Chada says he wants to bring back Rowdy. So we got one Rowdy fan still out there.

The Grand Schwalbini: I mean, Rowdy actually hit the ball the second half of the season.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I mean, he started off terrible and then he did. He did do it. Hey, Mike's ready to talk about some USA hockey. How about it? Let's jump right to the Four Nations.

The Grand Schwalbini: up one nothing in the first period.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, did you see who scored? Crider scored 40 seconds in, and he's filling in for Auston Matthews. That's the only reason he's playing.

The Counselor: Yeah, and Crider shouldn't even be on the team, quite frankly. I mean, how Crider's on the team and Brian Rust isn't is a shame.

Hockey Jesus: Well, because, you know why? Because Torz is there. Torz wanted Krider, so he got him. I think it was like, you get a guy, I get a guy. You get a guy, I get a guy. So I think that's how the picking went.

The Grand Schwalbini: Hey guys, Canada beat Finland in regulation. Does that mean that they've qualified for the final? It does. to a

Hockey Jesus: They started to shit bricks, but Sid got the empty net soon after that. He, did you see he ran, he ran over Mikkel Gramland at the, at the, uh, at center ice, took the puck and put it right in the net. It was, it was classic said, I love it. I do I love this tournament, and I'll tell you why. One, it's so much fun to watch the best talent play against the best talent now I know, I know rushes not out there I wish they were out there too but the You know, I always get this wrong, but the IIHF has, you know, basically banned rush Russian teams from being able to play on the international stage. And the NHL is basically saying, OK, we'll comply with that. And so that's why that's not happening. But I think it's been great hockey. What do you say, Scott?

The Counselor: Yeah, this is I mean, honestly, it's been the best hockey. I mean, I don't know since You know, I mean, it's been incredible. The speed of it and best on best, you know, for anybody out there that subscribes or ever reads The Athletic, The Athletic had a really good piece about the various reasons why we haven't had best on best in the last 10 years. But the quality of the hockey's been ridiculous. It's been fast, it's been crisp. Um, you know, the, the passing and the offensive play and the skill aside, aside from the horse shit that happened, um, you know, that happened at the beginning of USA Canada. I mean, God, I can't wait until we get to the Olympics because it won't happen in the Olympics because they'll get tossed out of the game. Right. Uh, that, that was just absolute stupid.

Hockey Jesus: Well, you know what that was. Come on. They're given the Canadian fans exactly what they want. They wanted to show they love to see the fighting. It got the crowd into the game. And then soon after that, McDavid comes right down the middle, skating 23 miles per hour, and he roofs that backhander. That was actually, that was very, that was an excellent goal.

The Counselor: That was just some incredible talent. I thought what was better was when, you know, Charlie McAvoy almost sent McDavid into the third row.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, well, how did you like that hit he had on Sid? I didn't like wasn't liking that too much.

The Counselor: I thought it was beautiful. I wish you would have hit him three more times while he was down on the ice.

Hockey Jesus: Oh, by the way, McAvoy's out for the game because he's not feeling too good after all that hitting, I guess. Either that or Sully gave him the Sully gave him the night off because he wanted to spend time with his daughter.

null: Yeah.

Hockey Jesus: Did you know that, Mark? to a

The Grand Schwalbini: What do you think? I mean, there's not going to be any hitting, right? And you were like, no, no, they're going to they're going to go at it pretty hard.

Hockey Jesus: I didn't expect that, though. Nobody expected three fights in nine seconds.

The Grand Schwalbini: Well, you know, you know, it's the other thing too. I mean, and not to get political here, but I think that there, that's an aspect of this, you know, the whole Canadian tariff thing, and they're now booing the American national anthem.

The Counselor: It's enormous. It's a enormous part of it, you know? So they're like, they're hating America. You know, they're, they're booing the anthem. I mean, if they, if they want to boo the guy in the white house, like go ahead, do that. If you boo the anthem, you're booing everybody. I mean, it's just, Canada needs to be careful not to, not to step on the golden goose because the reason why they can have a 20,000 seat arena and bell center is because of how hockey has grown in America. You know what I mean? I mean, the bottom line guys is, do you guys realize that the GDP of New York city is more than Canada? the GDP of New York City. Okay. Set aside the fact that Texas, California, I mean, you know, New York state, they all have GDP. I mean, seriously, like I'm not, I think the 51st state thing is just stupid, but like his reaction is stupid as well. You know, and it should be Greenland, the game, the game and you know, Canada, Canada couldn't keep teams there. I mean, just look at, you know, look at Quebec, look at Winnipeg.

SPEAKER_02: Yeah.

The Counselor: I mean, and, you know, they, I mean, you know, these old time traditionalists, the same people that are cheering the fighting, you know, they want them to keep, continue dominating international hockey. And the fact of the matter is now, you know, the biggest U.S. star is from the Sunbelt. I mean, I mean, like, did we think that was conceivable 20 or 30 years ago, Steve, that like,

Hockey Jesus: No, somebody coming out, somebody coming out of Arizona.

The Counselor: Yeah, exactly. Like the game has grown and they should be excited about it.

Hockey Jesus: Well, I mean, even, even guys coming from Pittsburgh, JT Miller and Vinny Trocek. I mean, you know, Pittsburgh guys playing hockey. I mean, of course, that's a that's that's because, you know, we've had such great, such great mentors here in Lemieux and Crosby over the past 30 years. And that's really increased, you know, the sport here in Pittsburgh. But yeah, it's you're absolutely right. I mean, I saw something where it was like, you know, clearly in the big six era, it was all Canadians. There were like two there were like two USA players. And then in 67, when the next six came, it started to grow a little bit, but literally it was still only like 350 to like 40 or something like that. It wasn't until about the 2000s where it started to come up where I think now it's somewhere in the neighborhood of like 230 NHL players from the USA and it's like 320 or 340 from Canada. So Yeah, it's, it's, it's the balance is definitely, um, it's not equalizing because let's face it, Canada still runs the NHL. Everybody in the upper, upper echelons of the management are mostly Canadians. And I'm okay with that because, you know, the game did begin in Canada. Maybe we're, we're, we're pilfering a little bit, but I also agree with you that the fighting is ridiculous. I hated to see that. I understand why they did it, but it's not necessary for the game. It's it's it's it's only a sideshow now, and you only do it for a source of entertainment or to get the crowd into the game. But even that only lasts a few minutes. I mean, it doesn't doesn't last much longer than that.

The Counselor: Yeah, I think for me, you know, especially having lived in Minnesota for as long as I did, you know, the game, even when I moved to Minnesota, it was still about the three M's Minnesota, Massachusetts and Michigan. And now, you know, now there's so much more out there. It's ridiculous. You see kids coming from all over the country. The one other thing that's real important to knock down is, you know, for the whining about they didn't have Kale McCarr in the game. I mean, give me a break. You know, the United States didn't have Quinn Hughes. You know, Miro Haskinen, who's a top five defenseman in the NHL, was out of the game.

Hockey Jesus: Couldn't play for the Finns the whole tournament.

The Counselor: Yeah, exactly. So, you know, that's part of it. So I don't want to hear this Cal McCarr nonsense.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, and it was an illness too. It wasn't like he was hurt. I mean, he was just sick. I mean, what are you going to do about that? That happens all the time. It's not like he was injured or he got hurt. I mean, yeah, I, I agree with you, but Hey, McCarroll be playing Thursday night against the USA.

Hockey Jesus: We'll see what happens.

The Counselor: Right. And in terms of, in terms of value to his team, I would actually argue that Miro Haskin is a much bigger deal because the, to your point, the fence. The Finns only have 50 guys in the NHL.

SPEAKER_02: Right.

The Counselor: And so, you know, next year we're going to we're going to see the Olympics and then they're going to have in two years the World Cup of Hockey. So I think the good news there, Steve and Mark, is that they'll have the best players from those countries, because the one thing that sucks about this tournament is it is limited to NHLers. Right. My guess is the Finns would be a lot more competitive if they could bring guys over from, you know, from Europe. I agree with you playing in North America.

Hockey Jesus: I agree with you because the Finns in, in, in Sweden too, they, they, they play a game where they play better as a group. And if you've got a group that can play together, as opposed to maybe having great talent, we we've seen it before. Like it, it yields great hockey. And sometimes those teams can beat the better talented teams because they play such a great structured game. They know where everybody is on the ice. They got good passing and you know, they can get a past the goalie, honestly, when it comes down to it.

The Counselor: And I'll also look forward to seeing the Americans chase the Europeans around on Olympic ice too, because I think it'll be a lot different for the Americans and Canadians playing on a bigger sheet.

Hockey Jesus: That is a big advantage for teams that have some speed. Well, you and I were watching the other night when we were watching Michigan play in Minnesota. You can tell the ice is just so much bigger on that bigger sheet of ice and you just can't run into people because it's you're gonna be out of position if you miss and it's gonna cause a two-on-one the other way or or Worse, so yeah, I agree. So who do you like? Who do you like in the Thursday game? You got USA Canada the rematch winner takes all mark. What do you think? I

The Grand Schwalbini: Well, I mean, look, the bottom line is it's a coin flip, right? I mean, you basically have two all-star teams playing against each other. Granted, the Canadian all-star team is a little better. But in any hockey game, in any one game winner takes all, the flow of the game can dictate everything. I mean, if you look at the last game, it was the USA having a lead. They were able to play a really good defensive game with the lead and then put in an empty netter to finish it off.

SPEAKER_00: Right.

The Grand Schwalbini: Now, if they're playing from behind that, they're not going to be able to do that. Right. So it'll be interesting. I mean, I'll say playing in Boston, let's give it to USA.

Hockey Jesus: How about you, Scotty? Who do you?

The Counselor: Yeah, I just, you know, for me, you know, and this I'm not breaking ground saying this. I mean, you know, Jordan Bennington is not Connor Hellebuyck. True. And how how and how in the hell, sorry, pun intended, that Hellebuyck wasn't one of the three stars the other night is just freaking beyond. I know. I know. That was crazy. He was ridiculously good. Yeah. You know, he hasn't lived up to his potential in big games. So, you know, that's a factor. I mean, if he, if he gives up a soft one and God forbid two softies early, you know, they could be in trouble. But, you know, the other issue is that, that the U S is so much deeper. And I'll just point to Dylan Larkin playing on the third line or on the fourth line. I mean, Dylan Larkin was lights out in that game. He was a fricking pest when he was out there. They couldn't keep up with him. And so, you know, I mean, the Canadians may have a better top line, uh, you know, if, if especially they, they load up McDavid with McKinnon, but they're not nearly as deep. Our third and fourth line is light years better than their third and fourth line.

Hockey Jesus: Right. I agree with you. I think it would come down the goaltending though. And, uh, I like, I like hell a buck much better. And honestly, you know what, if hell a buck gets shelled early, they can bring an Ottinger. I think, come on. I mean, either of those guys, I think if either of those goalies were on Canada's team, I would take Canada. But, uh, I just don't like Bennington. I don't, I don't like, I don't think he's a good goalie, but he could steal a game, but he hasn't this year and he's not played well, uh, for St. Louis. So I'm going to give the advantage to Canada when it comes to scoring, but I'm going to give the advantage to our wall stopper. And I think it's going to be a three, two, four, three final. I think it's going to be close. I think it's going to be a, I think it's going to be a really good game. I actually hope it goes to overtime. But that's the way I feel about it.

The Counselor: I hope the U.S. wins 7-1, and I hope Sidney Crosby gets checked into the second row. Oh man. Why are you saying this? I don't like that at all. Because he's a Canadian. Yeah, but it doesn't matter. I get it. I understand where you're going. You don't want him to get hurt. I don't want him to get hurt. No. I mean, he's already hurt. He's actually already hurt.

Hockey Jesus: If there's a year for him to get hurt, it would be this year. But we'll talk about the penguins at a later date. I wouldn't actually mind that this year. They're not going anywhere. And we all know that about the pengs. All right, well, Mark, guess what?

SPEAKER_00: It is that time.

Hockey Jesus: And I need you to tell our fans exactly what we are watching means.

The Grand Schwalbini: Well, what we are watching means this is our way of giving back to you, our audience, our viewers, our listeners. We're here to help you. We're here to help you get through those difficult decisions of what to watch, right? There's so many things you can choose from. There's Netflix, there's Apple TV Plus, there's Hulu, there's Max, there's Freebie, there's Tubi, there's Ubi, there's Bubi, there's Ubi, right? There's the Big Ten Network. The Big Ten Network. Sure, the Big Ten Network, that's a big one. So there's so much out there. And you know what? Instead of just sitting there and, you know, flipping through and watching trailer after trailer and then just deciding, nah, not this one, nah, not this one. And then before you know it, you spend 45 minutes and it's time to go to bed. What we're going to do is we're going to tell you if something we watch is worth watching or if something worth watched is not worth your time. All you have to do is listen to us. No more surfing. No more surfing indeed.

Hockey Jesus: And I have, I'm going to start this one out. Scotty didn't bring us one. So, you know, if you got something you want to, you want to bring up later, I don't have a, I don't have a graphic for it, but Scott, if there's something you want to bring up after me, just let me know and I'll bring you in. But here's what I watched just the other day. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.

The Grand Schwalbini: Is that a movie? It is a movie.

Hockey Jesus: Are you familiar with the Planet of the Apes?

The Grand Schwalbini: I am. I've come across it once or twice in my 54 years.

Hockey Jesus: Have you seen the movies, The Planet of the Apes?

The Grand Schwalbini: I've seen some of them. I will tell you, I don't rush out and go see them, but the few times that I have, and I did see one, like I've definitely seen one within the last five years, and it was surprisingly very, very good.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, the one that was recent that I liked was Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

The Grand Schwalbini: I think that's the one I saw.

Hockey Jesus: I thought that was really well done. And honestly, the movie that I love the most is just the first Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston. I think that is just a great movie. And I think the trilogy, the original trilogy is really, really well done. Is that people eating people? People eating people. No, no, no. That's, that's Soylent Green. This is, this is apes take over the world. Come on, Scott. You know, with Statue of Liberty sticking out of the sand, you know, you remember. This is not that movie. This movie was absolutely horrible. I do not recommend it. I wanted to watch it. Here's why I wanted to watch it because I'm like, you know, this is this is one that I haven't watched yet. And I've seen most of the other ones. I just want to see what this is about. Not only was it terrible, it was two hours and 20 minutes of terrible. Oh, my God. And I had to sit through the whole thing.

The Counselor: This is why I don't watch movies.

Hockey Jesus: And you know what? I was hoping like, okay, this is going to get better. But literally the first, I want to say the first hour, maybe the first hour and 15 minutes is just the apes. There's no humans involved. And, you know, they're talking and it's, you know, computer graphics stuff. But it was still so terrible. The dialogue was horrible. It wasn't like they were acting. And it's apes, right? It was so terrible. I do not recommend this, so if you like the trilogy, I think this is one of those where it doesn't really further the story, because this story takes place after the apes have been in charge on the earth for a long time, and I guess there are other apes that are battling them, and they don't even know humans still exist, and then they find this colony, and it's just It's just horrible. It's just absolutely horrible. The way they find everybody is just cliche. And of course, the humans are still the terrible people at the end. And everybody kind of goes their own way. And no, there's no resolve to anything. So I would say two thumbs down to the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. If you like the series, do not watch this movie.

The Grand Schwalbini: All right, Mark. And viewers, you're welcome.

Hockey Jesus: You're welcome. I just saved you two hours and 24 minutes of your life. Yeah, that's right. Before I get the mark, Scott, is there something you would like to talk about or are you are you?

The Counselor: Yeah, I'll just I'll just stick with hockey. And I mentioned the Big Ten Network. All joking aside, any anybody who likes hockey, even if you've never watched a college game, you can get the Big Ten Network. Steve and I were texting and watching Michigan University of Minnesota game. That was fantastic. And It was really cool for me because my son has some former teammates and former guys that he played against playing on both of those teams. It's hockey tournament time. Frozen four? Well, this is leading up to the conference before you get to the NCAA. The tournaments actually the the the tournaments leading up to the NCAA tournament. There's probably more passion in the rivals, so you have the Big 10 and then the NCHA is the other one that's really good with some Minnesota teams and teams from around the country and. To to the comments earlier about how hockey is grown in the US, you know you see some teams like Arizona State, you know, has a really good team this year, which is just.

Hockey Jesus: You know, so something incredible about the Ohio State, I guess, is playing really well, too, which is Ohio State's really good also.

The Counselor: Yeah.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, I concur. I didn't I don't watch very many college hockey games. And Scott said, turn it on. The hockey is actually very good and definitely was an excellent game to watch that big 10 game. OK, Mark, you're up. Here is the show. Mark Schwab is watching.

The Grand Schwalbini: Night Agent season two. My wife's watching this. Yeah. So I so I completed season two and it was good. I will say this. I think season one was better. Uh, season two, where can we find Night Agent? Oh, it's on Netflix.

Hockey Jesus: Netflix. Okay.

The Grand Schwalbini: All right. Yeah. I mean, look, it's, it's two seasons. Each season, I believe is 10 episodes. Uh, and you know, they're like, maybe like 45, 50 minutes. So you can get through it fairly quickly. Um, first season.

The Counselor: What's the most you watch in one night, Mark? Or one sitting? Maybe two, maybe two.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah. Um, I would say the first season was beginning to end completely great. Oh, wow. The second season, I was unsure in the beginning. Like, episodes one, two, and three, I was kind of like, I don't know. It seems like we're just, you know, we're getting, we're chasing things. And what's this really even about? Then once you got to about the fourth episode, like episodes four through 10 were then again really good. So I would say if you like, you know, the spy game, espionage game. I do. I like that. You know, the you know, basically it's you know, it's like a off the books, you know, agency, so to speak, you know, where it's called them knocks in the government, Mark.

The Counselor: Is that what they call them? Oh, yeah. You're a non non-official cover. Oh, OK. Oh, OK.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah, not like it. Yeah. So it's fun. It's fun. Now, it's not it's nothing that is like exceptional. It's not it's not anything like where, you know, you're going to say, boy, there was a lot of like serious intelligence, you know, put into this. And yeah, people are going to win awards, but it's just plain fun. Is it a different plot line every season, or is it kind of… Yeah, each season was a different… Season 1 and Season 2 were different plot lines, yes.

Hockey Jesus: But I should go back and watch Season 1 before I watch Season 2?

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah, you have to watch Season 1 before 2.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah, there's a lot of carry over.

The Grand Schwalbini: Yeah. Yeah. Well, because you basically you get to know the the two main characters are the same in episode in season one and season two. So it's like you can't really just like start out not knowing who these people are. Got it.

Hockey Jesus: Yeah. Well, there it is. Mark Schwab. Two thumbs up. Two thumbs up. The second season of, what did they call you? Night Agent. And you can find that on Netflix. And guess what that means? We made it to the end.

The Grand Schwalbini: Thank you for joining us on the porch. I heard a little biscuit in there a second ago.

Hockey Jesus: I did. I hit the wrong button. You made me hungry. I'm not the technical director. What can I say? But hey, we made it to the end. Thanks for joining us on another week. Hey, we'll be back next week. Maybe the technical director will join us. Maybe he won't.

The Grand Schwalbini: Maybe the technical director will get out of bed.

Hockey Jesus: I don't know. Maybe he will or maybe he won't, but hey. He's fighting the depression. We'll see you next week. Any final words, boys? A little Jablonsk? Jablonsk. Scott, thanks for joining us, buddy.

The Counselor: Let's go USA. All right. Thanks for watching, Chris.

Hockey Jesus: Everybody have a good week. We'll see you next week. See you.