Scott Van Pelt on Favorite ESPN Stories, Calling the Masters, Torpedo Bats and New Nieces | EP 132

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to new heights early and ad-free. Plus, unlock access to exclusive episodes of the show.
Join Wondery Plus and the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify today. Thank you to our partner, the Farmer's Dog.
Hey, you know what time it is? Dog time! It's time for a fresh approach to dog food, and that's exactly where the Farmer's Dog comes in. These guys have created human-grade dog food developed by board-certified nutritionists.

We're talking real meat and veggies, gently cooked to keep all those nutrients intact.

Let's be honest.

Traditional pet food is super processed, and who knows if you're serving the right amount,

right?

True.

The farmer's dog has totally changed the game with their freshly made food.

They handle all the guesswork by portioning your dog's meals based on a specific nutritional

I'm going to go to the next video. right amount, right? True.
The farmer's dog has totally changed the game with their freshly made food. They handle all the guesswork by portioning your dog's meals based on the specific nutritional needs.
Just grab a pre-portion pack, serve, and boom, your dog gets exactly what they need to stay healthy and happy. The best part? They deliver straight to your door and automatically send new food when you're running low.
Plus, they got real people available 24-7 for customer support because sometimes you've got burning dog food questions at 2 a.m. in the morning.

You get 50% off your first box of fresh, healthy food at thefarmersdog.com slash newheights.

Plus, you get free shipping.

Just go to thefarmersdog.com slash newheights to get 50% off.

That's thefarmersdog.com slash newheights. Thank you to our partner, Boris Head.
You know what makes my day? The perfect sandwich. And I mean, perfect sandwich.
I'm not going to lie. We love sandwiches.
We do. We love deli meats.
I like cooked meats. I like meats of all kinds.
But if you want deli meats, Boris Head has got you covered. Now I get why people make such a big deal about it.
Their oven gold turkey. Don't even get me started on their ever roasted chicken.
The craftsmanship that goes into each slice. Oh, chef's kiss.
How would you describe your ultimate sandwich? What's going to make it extra special? Extra special. So if I'm trying to be extra special.
Yes. All right.
So we're

going to deli sandwich. If I'm going to extra special deli sandwich, I'm going to put some boar's head meat on there.
I'm going to put some healthy layers of cheese, potentially Parmesan cheese. I mean, I guess some fresh Parmesan cheese on top.
Put some hot sauce, put some hot sauce on there, lettuce and tomato to make you feel like you're being healthy. Then mayonnaise.
A healthy dose of mayonnaise. And maybe a little bit of mustard, but it depends on what hot sauce you're working with.
Boar's Head has been perfecting their legendary ingredients for over 120 years. From selecting premium ingredients to perfecting traditional methods, Boar's Head embraces true craftsmanship.
Whether it's their Smokemaster uncured ham or literally anything else they make, you're going to get the real deal. Head to your local Boar's Head deli counter to discover the craftsmanship behind every bite.
Boar's Head committed to craft since 1905. Let me call a golf shot real quick.

All right, here we go.

Oh, this is awesome.

To 14.

Oh, that was good.

That's it.

Travis, give us your best to 14 right now.

All right, now here we go.

Now over to 14.

I'm changing the channel if somebody gives me a 14 call like that immediately. That was poor.
That was poor to bad is what that was. Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, to New Heights, a Wondery Show produced by Wavesports and Entertainment and brought to you by HBO's The Last of Us.
Season 2 premieres April 13th on Max. Looking forward to that.
We're your hosts. I'm Travis Kelsey.
My big brother, Jason Kelsey out of Cleveland, Ohio, Cincinnati Bearcat alums. And yeah, subscribe on YouTube, Wondry Plus, wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow the show on all social media at New Heights Show with one S. Jason, tell the people what we got coming up we got another great episode for you guys

we're going to break down everything that's happening in the nfl owners meetings we've also got some huge baseball news huge barrels some we call torpedoes coming out uh we also have a have an incredible conversation with uh my co well with my co-worker and host of monday night countdown Scott Van Pelt. SVP.

Maryland's finest.

SVP coming on the show. You're not going to want to miss that.
He brings it, as always. As always.
He just has so many good stories, and he's such a storyteller. The best.
Pro's pro. All right.
Well, let's start with the baseball news. Let's start with a little...
Oh, yeah, of course.

New news!

New news! New news!

New news brought to you by American Express.

Yeah, there you go.

Shout out to American Express.

And, yeah, the Yankees.

The Yankees have been doing a little research and development

into what can make a baseball bat better,

and they have introduced the torpedo bat to the world. That's right.
First of all, love the name. I mean, that's a great name for anything.
Torpedo bat. That thing sounds lethal.
It sounds like, it sounds like a Nerf bat that we had when we were kids. It does sound like a toy.
It is definitely sounds like something that would be really marketable to children. It sounds something you tell your kids and they're like, I want it.
I would buy it immediately. Well, Kevin Smith at KJS underscore four.
Yes, the Yankees have a literal genius MIT physicist, Lenny. I mean, I don't know any physicist that goes by Lenny.
One person. Sure.
Lenny, on payroll, he invented the torpedo barrel. It brings more wood in mass to where you most often make contact as a hitter.
The idea is to increase the number of barrels and decrease misses. Yeah, we have a nice little picture of this to demonstrate how much bigger that sweet spot and how much further down the bat it has moved.
I'm really intrigued about it.

I mean, obviously they jumped out to some pretty crazy success.

Are all of them?

I don't think all of them are using this bat.

I don't think the main one, Judge, he's not using it.

But the guys that did use it, I think, had a number of home runs this last week, if I'm

not mistaken.

15 home runs, to be exact. Well, I guess it's just Yankees, so which one of the Yankees

are using them? That's what I'm saying. I don't know if I think...
We don't have that information.

Yeah, I don't think we have that. I'm not sure.

They were playing the Brewers, and they were smoking the Brewers. I think that's what happened.

Yeah, which apparently, according to baseball experts, not that hard

to smoke the Brewers. A lot of Brewer hate going on these days.
There is a lot of Brewer hate. It's unfortunate.
I'm intrigued by it, though. I mean, the science adds up.
I mean, Lenny, Dr. Lenny, might be on to something.
We'll see what's in the future for the torpedo bat. Ongoing investigation.
It is a legal bat that does adhere to the parameters of Major League Baseball and

what is determined to be a legal bat. I'm really interested in seeing how this plays out.

Yeah. I would love to see a list of the guys using it versus the guys that aren't,

and maybe like a spreadsheet of how they did last year versus this year.

Jake, we're going to task that with you.

Good luck, Jake.

I feel like you'd be able to figure that information out. Man, could you imagine Barry Bonds with a torpedo bat? I mean, we don't even know if it's good yet or not.
But yeah, I mean, I think the bat Barry used was fine. What's better, regular bat with copious amounts of steroids or no steroids and a torpedo bat.
I'm taking steroids. See, these are the answers.

Lenny, you're an MIT guy.

Dr. Lenny, we want the –

Can you figure this one out for us?

What's a bigger advantage?

Anibal?

I don't even know what a real steroid's name is.

The Tor-P-E-D.

Oh, that.

There you go.

I just missed opening day at the park.

I might have to catch –

I mean, listen, we just had a baby.

Oh, that. There you go.
I just missed opening day at the park. I might have to catch.
I mean, listen, we just had a baby. Yeah.
Are you trying to show the niece? Do you want to show? You want to see your new niece? Yes, I want to see my new niece, Jason. You only sent one picture.
Come on, Kai. You didn't even tell me what name you picked yet.
Ooh.

Look at that.

Oh.

Hey, little muffin.

Look at you.

Is it hanging out with mom?

Tell Kai I said hello.

I'm glad everything went great.

Trav says hi. Hi, Trav.
Do you want something hey kai jason hasn't told me you if you guys picked a name yet are you is this still a nameless baby no she has a name we had to fill out a birth certificate paperwork i think that i thought that's how that worked well you can technically without it, but we wouldn't remember to fill out the fucking paperwork after that, so we have to do it when we know. Is that a beer bat? That's what I'm saying.
That's all we're focused on, too. That's impressive.
Isn't it cool? They might sell them at the bank. And you're impressive, Kai.
Thanks, Trev. You're impressive.
It really wouldn't have been possible without your brother, you know?

Is this Finny?

Yeah, Finn.

Finley and Kelsey.

We're calling her Finn.

Finn Ann.

That's adorable. Jason refused to let me just go Finn.

I'm dead ass.

I love it.

Should we ask Finn a question?

Finn, Finn, come here.

She said sneeze.

All right, go ahead. What do you want to ask? Hey, Finn.
That's so mean. Finn, you just look adorable.
I don't even have anything to say to you. You happy to be out? Huh? How was Kylie's uterus? Too comfy.
That's why we had to evict her. Get this guy out of here.
Oh, man. I'm sorry.
Your father's a weirdo. All right.
We're going next door to recording. All right.
Enjoy. Love you.
Love you too. That was lovely.
Thank you for that. Oh, she said she wanted to stay and see Uncle Trev.
Not going to lie. Listen, babies are awesome, but they don't do a whole lot for like the first six months.

You would know.

You have four of them.

It really doesn't get that exciting until they start smiling and like giving you something.

I mean, it's amazing.

Watching a birth is still one of like the most crazy things that you can ever witness.

And there's a moment right when you see any baby.

I feel like that's just like overwhelming. I feel like that.
It's just overwhelming.

I love it, man.

There's not – She can't really do much.

Right around the six-month mark.

That's when it's like –

Benny right now, Benny's right a little bit over two.

She is a lot of fun.

I mean, she is a spitfire,

doesn't even know when she's being offensive.

It's the best.

I love it. I'll get up there.
All right, I'll see you in like six months six months yeah that'll be good that's that'll be good timing for you let's move on to some uh football news football annual nfl owners meeting are happening in florida right now florida and of course as we always talk about um the the the coach's photo got revamped a little bit.

They did this on like a stage.

Yeah.

They got some lighting.

Was it too hot to go outside?

Everybody taking the photo like this?

Because the sun is just burning their face off.

I don't like this.

They're taking this way too serious now.

That's a lot of coaches.

It's like professional grade.

All right.

Oh, there was a storm.

There we go.

Thank you. burning their face off i don't like this they're taking this way too serious now that's a lot of coaches it's like professional grade all right oh there was a storm there we go i gotta keep reading so it's raining okay that makes a lot of sense good choice guys good choice good choice nice all right so instead of naming all the coaches this year we are going to be tasked with naming the one coach missing? The one coach missing.

All right.

Who is missing from this photo?

I feel like we're playing like, where's Waldo?

All right.

So I guess I'll start.

How do you want to do this?

You want to do conferences?

I think whoever gets it first wins.

That's all I know.

Oh, okay.

Name people as you're seeing them.

It's just dead silence.

God damn it.

We got the NFC East. We got Dayball, Sirianni, Dan Quinn.
AFC West is there. God damn it.
Schottenheimer's there. This is the hardest thing.
Dude, who is this guy? I have no idea who that guy is. Duvall's there.
Is he? Taylor's there. Miko's there.
Gosh, dang it. Todd.
I have raves. I don't know who's in Seattle now.
Who the fuck is this guy? Shanahan's there. Man, every year I feel like there's another guy added that I'm just like, I don't remember.
Who's the Seattle coach now?

McDonald. He's upper left.

It's next to the day ball. I think I might know who it is.

Nope. There he is.

And we're positive there's somebody missing.

There's one coach not there.

Could not make it.

Due to the storm.

Due to the storm. Was that a hint?

No, that was just the weather.

That was just the weather. So this was in Florida.
No, I'm not that clever. Are all the Florida coaches here? Yes.
Atlanta, who's Aaron Glenn coaching for now? Aaron Glenn is coaching the Jets. Who's Atlanta's head coach? You should know this, Jason.
You're so cool. Jason, come on.
To be fair, I don't know anybody in that division. Oh, my gosh.
Raheem Morris. There it is.
Jason, you won. You won.
Oh, my gosh. That was tough.
Maybe the most pointless game we've ever played. Congrats, Jason.
What a big weekend for you for you new baby winner of guest the coach game the nfl competition committee uh met to vote on banning the tush push but uh discussions were tabled that's right it may be uh yeah it may be discussed again in the may meeting that they have uh as a committee and uh could be pushed forward once more to support the more that is gathered. So what are your thoughts, Jason? I get it.
I get why certain teams want to ban it for competitive reasons. I get why some people think that it's potentially unsafe.
I think optically it looks unsafe. It's football, man.
For me personally, I never felt like there's that much more of a risk of injuring somebody on the play. And I don't think there's any statistics to back that up.
So anybody saying that it's going to lead to more injuries is pure conjecture, not rooted in fact. I think the only argument I see for potentially banning it is, is there a competitive advantage? Is it unfair that players can push and should we allow players to push rather than ball carriers or anybody to have to do things on their own? But, you know, I think that that's going to be a hard rule to enforce.
Like, when is that enforced? Like, are gang tackles outlawed? Are, you know, open field? like when Big Creed Humphrey gets behind a running back and he's pushing the pile forward, do we not want that? Because I like that. No, because that's football.
Yeah, I think it's hard to know where do you stop this from occurring. You can't just say like, hey, you can't do the tush push.
That feels like a hard rule. It needs to be a rule that's enforceable throughout football.
Although they do let defensive players push D-Lyman on the tush push, but they don't let that happen on field goal. They did outlaw that because that was leading to an increase of injury.
Man, listen, there are four downs that a team gets to get a first down or get in the end zone. If the tush push is just one play that you run when you have a short-yarded situation, those may come up a handful of times throughout a game.
Yep. And it's like you can't get upset at that one play.
You know what I mean? I understand the whole, if you want to say it's not safe, football isn't a safe game to play. So I know we're trying to make it safer or whatever like it is what it is i think it's a football type of play it's a toughness um play that you need to be in sync with the guys next to you and the guys around you and that's on both sides of the ball i don't think we i don't think we need to be banning this or or like you said how far down the line does it go? Are players on the defense not allowed to hold guys up now to try and have somebody come in and get a strip like that? Yeah.
At what point are we just going to let football be football? Just from like the health aspect is like people see people misusing my quotes like the place sucks to run, but it sucks because of like an exertion, like an energy level. It takes so much to try and get a yard.
It's not a high impact collision. There's not, for the most part, people don't even get rolled up on because you're keeping your feet moving.
It's not going to be a play, in my opinion, where you're going to see this huge increase in chance of risk of injury. It's just not.
So I don't think it's really that dangerous from a health perspective. And I don't, listen, I've done no studies other than anecdotally what I've been through, but typically injuries happen when guys get rolled up on because they're locked out in blocks or there's a high impact collision that occurs.
And neither of those happens on a play like this. It's so tight quarters.
It just ends up being like, you're just pushing against each other. You know, I get it.
I mean, it's a play that some people don't think represents football. I disagree.
I think it represents football really well. Some people think it's more of a rugby play.
But when we have like a guy who played rugby league, Jordan Milata, he's like, it doesn't have anything to do with rugby. It's physicality.
It's intensity. I think it perfectly represents football that I like.
You know, but at this point, I mean, I'm tired of the back and forth with it. If you're going to ban it, just ban it.
It ends up being a topic every single year. Before the tush push was allowed and we started doing it, we just used to do regular quarterback stinks and was still a high rate.
So I don't think it's going to really change the Eagles approach that much. They are going to keep doing this because it is a higher percentage with the

push, but it isn't that much more.

Like the Eagles just generally are good at quarterback sneak.

That's why they execute this play at a high level.

It's because they're good at that first.

If they take this play out,

I still think the Eagles would be really good at quarterback sneaks because

I think Jeff Stoutland coaches it well.

And I think they have good players to execute it.

So I'm kind of over the back and forth of it,

do whatever you're going to do with it.

I think the health thing is kind of a bogus claim that people are using that

I'm kind of over the back and forth of it. Do whatever you're going to do with it.
I think the health thing is kind of a bogus claim that people are using that just want to get it banned. I can see that for sure.
The fairness and competitive fairness to the defensive side, I get the argument. I just don't know where you draw that line at.
One of the quotes I saw was like, I'm most concerned for the center. I was like, yeah, I get it.
I mean, it sucks. It is a grueling play because of the amount of exertion.
It's less of like a grueling play of like being blindsided, like cold cocked. And it's more of a grueling play of like, you got to take a shit and it just won't come out.
And you're just squeezing forever until that thing that's what it's like that's what's grueling about it's like i mean i think everybody's been there that's more of the grueling nature behind it the exertion that i'm talking about i don't think i've ever done that taking a shit but i know i get what saying, though. Jeff Stoutland did it one time, and it was the funniest fucking thing I've ever seen a coach do.
It was so funny. All right.
One of my former teammates, good friends, and the last of the core four remaining with the Philadelphia Eagles, Lane Johnson, had this to say on Twitter. Hate us because they ain't us.
There we go. Talk your shit,'m not player all right that does it for a little tush push and new news new news is brought to you by american express yes yes it is and uh let's move on into some fan mentions of the week some trap fan mentions yeah yeah this is uh this is pretty crazy um yeah there are there are a few people that um that when i look at them it's like damn that's that's my cousin this is one of them right here um from uh sky dog at on on x uh at new high show at me travis when did you start playing baseball well i've been playing for a long long time but the bre Brewers, Bryce Turing, hopefully I'm saying that correctly, Bryce.
Yes, there's got to be some lineage down the line. He's got a little bit of the Jonas Valanciunas look to him, too.
Yeah, there might be some Lithuanian in there. I mean, I see it a little bit, but I don't think it's like that's i think it's more so just the the red beard that he's got that that as it grows out mine gets like more red okay um i'm gonna let you know what it is here's what happened i've never done a 23 in me but i can virtually guarantee there is somebody in a lot of people's like you know gangas khan have you ever heard of this like gangas khan there's like a heard like a 10% chance or something ridiculous that anybody is related to Genghis Khan.
It's something absurd. Like this dude just like was banging women nonstop.
Just being honest. I forget what the kid, Brandon, can we find that stat about people being related to Genghis Khan or having like Genghis Khan's genes? It's absurd when you look into it.
Can we get the Genghis Khan stat? Can we the Genghis Khan step? I have the Genghis Khan. Quit yelling at me.
I'm not yelling at you. You're yelling.
Genghis Khan is estimated to have over 16 million male descendants alive today. That's crazy.
How crazy is that? Approximately one in 200 men globally sharing his Y chromosome. Fuck, that's insane.
0.5% of the global population has Genghis Khan's Y chromosome. I want to see if I'm related to Genghis Khan.
And I believe that goes up if you're of Mongolian descent. Historical accounts suggest he fathered many children, both through his marriages and concubines.

Sons, grandsons continued the trend, further spreading his genetic lineage.

The claim that so many people are related to Genghis Khan is supported by a 2003 genetic study,

which identified a unique Y chromosome haplogroup group, haplogroup, whatever that means,

shared about 8% of men in regions once part of the mongol empire empire these khans are getting after it man yeah so i think that there's somebody there's somebody with one of these y chromosomes in all the the all the basic white bearded guys that we kind of embody i think that that is there's some guy that just had a half red half brown beard and was just running around with an axe up there going through europe well shout out shout out to bryce um and uh finally he had to show some had to show some brewer love today so shout out to bryce um we also got this from the New Heights page of Reddit from Adam Bomb 661. Interesting name, bud.
Dude. This church mural in my neighborhood looks oddly familiar.
Why? Travis. I've never seen Jesus look like this.
What? Like you? I've never seen this. How did they do this? Somebody painted this in your image.
This looks like Travis Kelsey. No, it is not.
If you had long, wavy hair, this would be exactly what this picture would look like. You're hilarious.
I love it. So, you're Jesus Christ? There's no way.
I've never seen Jesus painted like this painted like this though travis would you ever do your hair like this this is a good look this is this like an 80s travis kelsey right here that is that is like that's like me if i was in the bgs well i can tell you almost assuredly someone who has you do you do i i don't want to gloss over that the bgs is such a good fucking good fucking reference. You look just like that one, motherfucker.
It's so good. That's great.
Living an hour in the night of the Broadway. Barry Gibbs.
All right, that does it for fan mentions. Yeah, it does.
Let's see what SVP's talking about, huh? Maybe get this episode back on the rails. You guys are in for a treat.
Let's send it to them. Thanks to our presenting sponsor, HBO's The Last of Us.
HBO's biggest series, The Last of Us, returns with a new season on Max. Heck yeah.
Five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous than the one they left behind. CNN calls The Last of Us exquisite, fully realized and worthy of the hype.
I do enjoy it. Based on the groundbreaking video game, the Emmy Award winning HBO original series, The Last of Us premieres April 13th on Max.
You can listen to the official The Last of Us podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you to our partner, Accelerator.
Oh, yeah. That time of the episode where we get to tell you how to get on the same energy level that we're on.
You know exactly what we're talking about, though, and that's Accelerator Active Energy. That's right.
Trav ain't wrong. I will need a can of Accelerator even more because the baby's here, Drav, we're not going to and that's accelerator active energy that's right trav ain't wrong i will need a can of accelerator even more because the baby's here trav we're not gonna be sleeping too much and uh this is gonna get me through i mean that's a good way to that's a good parenting actually so for parents out there accelerator does make you a better parent to all of you listeners you can go get with jason sipping on right now at hy-vee giant Giant Eagle, HEB, or even Quick Trip.
Go stock up on the clinically proven energy drink that uses 100% natural caffeine and accelerate your metabolism without the sugar crash. And, of course, you can always go get a case from Amazon.com.
Thank you to our partner, the Farmer's Dog. Good dog health starts with good, healthy food.
And that's what the Farmer's Dog is all about. That's right.
The Farmer's Dog is real food made from whole meats and veggies. Their recipes are developed by board-certified nutritionists, approved by vets, and built on decades of research to make dog food that's complete, balanced, and full of healthy benefits.
Let me tell you something about keeping your dog healthy.

It starts with what's going down in their system. If you know what I mean right now, the farmer's dog is the real deal.

The food is highly digestible, which means your dog absorbs more nutrients.

They portion everything perfectly for your dog.

They do all the math based on your dog's age, weight, breed, all of it.

Each pack comes with their names right on the bag bag which is extremely convenient if you have multiple dogs get 50% off your first box of fresh healthy food at the farmers dog.com slash new heights plus you get free shipping just go to the farmers dog.com slash new heights to get 50% off that's the farmers dog.com slash new heights our guest today is from from the University of Maryland. He is also the host of Monday Night Countdown Sports Center and the SVPOD.
He's an eight-time Sports Emmy nominee and the voice of the first two days of the Masters. Please welcome Mr.
Scott Van Pelt. Yeah, baby.
Thank you. Welcome on, big guy.
Thanks for doing this, man. man nice to be here it also is a member of the 2023 class of montgomery county sports hall of fame what's that what's montgomery county sports hall of fame you know we're an area where not a ton of people have made it to the big time as evidenced by the fact that they were like who can we put in like van pelt Pelt? Yeah.
He threw like 75 when he was in high school. We don't have a ton of people from around here that have made it, but what makes it cool is the people that have, that have made it to the league, wherever.
Those folks are a big deal. And it was an honor that they would thought, this is all just a broadcasting piece of it, and it's flattering.
It was not for my sports prowess. Yeah, I mean, I was like the classic high school guy.
I was a good basketball player. I was a good pitcher, but that was the extent of it.
Were you better basketball or better pitcher? I'd say hoops before the age when people started redshirting their children in elementary school. I would have really benefited from one more year.
I'm not kidding. I'm not kidding.
Like in the area where I'm at, like there's like 20 year old high school seniors that have been like held back a few years and then they end up getting scholarships to go play lacrosse at an Ivy League. And you're like, you know, there was a there was a method to the madness.
But I was I was like a 17 year old high school senior. My nickname was Fungo.
I was and by my freshman year in maryland i'm 6 6 205 like i'd have been i'd probably had a chance somewhere just because my i was just physically completely different yeah you know what i mean for sure whatever i was a decent hoop player so i mean at maryland like there were a bunch of people in like the intramural system that were like could have played college somewhere but just you know that's it. I was frustrated.
When I was little, I thought I would be the guy people were talking about. But as it works out, I get to be the person talking about the people.
And that career lasts a hell of a lot longer, thankfully, as we sit here now. Much longer.
Dude, you're one of the best, man. You're one of the best.
One of the icons. I icons i appreciate that speaking of hoops before we get into your heralded career as an analyst we do got to ask a couple days removed from the terrapins exit in march madness yeah how we feeling what was a big bummer they look good they were looking at a chance but florida's really good yeah and then the end coincided with the coach leaving and we talked about about that on the pod just because Kevin Willard went to go to Villanova, which is a great job.
And I think totally get why that job would be appealing. It's just the way it ended, like there's a way to go.
And it got it got really sticky. And so the Maryland folks were really bummed about that.
But the good news, the really good news in our household is my wife is a Gator. And this was the coolest thing on SportsCenter.
We had Coach Golden on in advance of it. And I'm like, look, I got a problem in my house.
If Maryland plays Florida, my kids are just they're really stuck because they love the Gators and they love the Terps. What do I do? And he had this great answer about being a supportive husband and tell him that it's you know you support mom and you're just going to be happy for the gators and and if maryland loses it's fine blah blah blah i'm like that's a bullshit that's wrong that's not true what you just said you're telling me to lie to my kids right it was a great answer it was a great answer but it was wrong and then we had just gone on a trip we come home and the g Gators, they sent a box, fellas.
And I believe that my name, image, and likeness of my children belongs to the Gators because they got more swag from Gainesville than they knew what to do with. And so I believe that the combination of Florida winning that game and the swag that was sent from down in Gainesville to my kiddos, I believe they belong to the Gators.
So we're all good, man. It was a fun run.
The end got real bumpy. That's how the SEC gets you.
That's how they get boxes. So you're telling me Charlie can be bought? Charlie can be bought.
Oh, hell yeah. Bro, he had on a Gator headband.
He's like, Dad, look at this, man. I'm like, you want to go to the closet.
We got plenty of Terps gear, but the Gators represented in a SEC level, Trav. You called it, man.
They do it different down there. They do it different, man.
It just is what it is. That's why they thrive.
Yeah. Shout out to the Terps.
Hopefully you guys can get it back to the old, the Juan Dixon days, man. Back when, back in no two, when the Terps were on top baby my man let's uh let's move this

topic to what really a lot of the fans want to know about on this show and i and i desperately

want to know more but how was it working with jason on live television oh well uh we started

off with a bang uh i believe the first on camera he said uh his tits were out something like that

it was it was either first or second yeah it was that first show it was early just forgot to pack his clothes talked about his tits within the first five minutes it was immediately just set the set the expectation i think in life most of life is managing expectations no listen it was i'm interested in in his perspective because you know when when it was right around now. It was last spring when you had made the official decision that you were going to head into our world on the TV side.
And you were coveted by everybody. And I mean, I've sort of shared this backstory.
I reached out and I was like, look, man, I appreciate your space. I'm not trying to get in it and try to bother you.
But I also wanted to represent that. I knew ESPN was interested in having your brother and in whatever capacity was going to be.
And so I try to be as honest as I could about what I thought our place was. And now he comes in.
And the thing about the business is there's a million things about this is where I'm going to talk about you, Jay, like you're not there.

OK, OK, cool.

There's a million things about your brother that make him perfect for.

They can keep the keep the hands on perfect for TV.

But you still there's a process of learning the mechanics of TV that it's not innate.

He's innately entertaining and engaging and people love him. but learning how to, okay, when's it my turn? And what I would try to tell him is, look, man, your mic's always on.
You don't need me to ask you to go. When you're ready to go, go.
But there's a couple of guys in swag and RC that we have a built-in kind of chemistry. We know how it goes.
And swag can get going on a tangent and, like, you just got to him go and so it's it's a challenge when it's four people that are talking to figure out you know how to get in where you fit in and it was a blast because the things um about you know the stories and what's genuine about him what's authentic about him is all right in front of you and then seeing it get better and better where you're like okay you can tell that that he's more. And by the way, you're more comfortable by the end of the year than you are at the beginning, obviously, and he'll get only more and more comfortable as time goes on.
So I had a blast. We blew out of port.
My guy, Dump, blew his ACL out week two in Philadelphia. MCL, MCL.
ACL's intact. ACL's intact.
Just MCL. We were sure that his knee, ACL, PCL, MCL, all blown out somehow they were intact no we we had we had fun and i mean it's but it's a the tv piece is it's a different kind of grind man you don't gotta get a tour at all to be on but you're on planes and you know you're trying to figure out how to uh to bring entertainment to the masses but again what he's innately great at that you can't learn how to do and so we were we we were thrilled with it all.
I'm curious what your assessment of it was. Man, it was a lot to learn and take in.
I think it's so much different. Obviously, we have this podcast, Trev, but live TV is so much different.
We cut so much of this stuff out and have so much leeway to just say whatever we want. When you're on live TV, you've got to to be concise to the point.
You got to make space for people to talk and have a conversation. And part of it is getting to know everybody.
Like that's a huge part of it. I really feel like after the first year is just like having a knack for, you know, what the other person likes to hear, what gets them revved up, how to like throw things back and forth.
And for me, I just to learn as much i mean i reached out to scott early on we went golfing you're trying to get a lay of the land like you know what what do i expect how do i prepare and i'm still learning all that like i watch more football this year than i've watched legitimately in my 13 years playing yeah that's fine in terms of league wide yeah you know what i what I mean? You're focused on your own team when you're in the building, but you've got to know everything. It's like your team and the team you're playing, and you're getting really hyper-focused on those.
And I still like watching the game and that hyper-focused, game-plan-oriented focus. It's not feasible to do that really in the same way, in the same depth when you're trying to watch all 17 games that happen.
You can't watch the all 22 of every game by the time you get to the Monday because we're not going to break down all of it. But if there's something, because what we try to do is talk ball.
And Trav, you've been kind about that. What's the a show and i think if you can educate and entertain i mean everyone's going to say some version of that but i think that's really the the core of what we're trying to do and i think like what we had jason do is break stuff down like you don't want to limit it to just tackle the tackle but i think you can help people understand why something works why a team's really good at it and i thought that was i thought that you brought a lot of that to the table and the personality as well.
But it's interesting to hear you talk about it because it's probably not unlike learning a teammate, right? For sure. If you've got, you know, a guard to your left that you know is really good at this, but maybe not as good at that, you got to figure out how to help him be good at the thing he's not as good at.
And that's really what the TV piece is about about like just figuring out how to make put everybody my job try to put everybody in the best lane to do what they're great at even better you know what i mean and for sure um it's i don't know it's we we had a blast doing it for sure because it's it's big man money night football i mean it's a it feels like a thing yeah it feels like a thing and you hear that in your ear. And like, I mean, you guys lived it where you were the guys in the arena.
I wasn't, but for me, Monday night football, as you're watching back in the day, Howard Cosell, whatever, there was nothing bigger than that. And like, you hear that music and you're the one sitting there, you're going to talk and you're like, you know, this is an event, man.
It's, it's, it's a blast. I love it, man.
We grew up. It was, it was the pinnacle of football growing up.
It's still right there. We're in the league.
Guys are looking forward to like, man, we're playing on Monday night this week. You better get ready, boys.
Prime time. Everybody's watching, right? Not everybody gets to play on Monday night.
That's true. One of the things I really just, I consider myself really lucky is not only was I with you, Scott, I was with Swag.
I was with Ryan, RC. Everybody was more than willing to help and just like a teammate they were the veterans and i could tell like you know we're in the middle of the desk we're in the middle of the show and ryan's like yeah what do you think about that like he's like all right it's your turn to talk idiot like get going here i'm like all right i got you so it's i don't know it's it's really fun looking back and seeing how everything evolved over the course of the year, how much closer everything got, and looking forward to this next year for sure.
I think it's going to be awesome. For sure.
SVP, how did you get into the Monday night countdown stuff? Was it always – because you were originally just like – I think it was 2001 you started with ESPN doing SportsCenter. Yep.
And how did you gravitate? Like you said, you're a hoops guy. How did they get to the NFL, biggest stage in the NFL? I think the one thing that has happened for me, Trav, throughout my career, and I'm grateful, grateful, grateful, grateful, is I've never been a guy that was playing chess.

I was never planning three or four moves ahead.

I didn't have my eye on anything as much as my eye on right now.

I think I've been really good at that, being present in my present,

appreciative of this moment, try to be as good as I can be at what I do,

and trust that if you do that, then you'll get another shot at, at it tomorrow in some other role. Yeah.
I've told the story before, but it's true. I have a, um, I have a post-it note that's in a little, uh, window box frame that sits on my desk and it says, I will never work at ESPN.
And when I was at the golf channel, which is where I started way back in the day, uh, I had a producer. It's like, no, I mean, you're going to go to ESPN someday.
I said, man, I'll never work at ESPN. And when I was at the golf channel, which is where I started way back in the day, I had a producer that's like, no, I mean, you're going to go to ESPN someday.
I said, man, I'll never work at ESPN. He said, Oh, really? He wrote it down.
I signed it. And he said, I'll bet you a hundred bucks.
I said, fine. I saved it because it was a great reminder, even to this day to me, don't say the thing you won't do.
Right. Because look at me, it's damn near 30 years.
Well, no, it's 25 years of me being at ESPN. And I came there to be one thing.
And then I moved up there and then I started doing SportsCenter. And then I worked with some of the all time greats, you know, the late great Stuart Scott, who, you know, we do the show and he'd say Stuart Scott Van Pelt, which was this really cool thing he did where he made us a team and he made me his equal.
And he was a star who was willing to share his shine with me because he wanted us, like you were just talking about, Jay, to be great together, right? So cool. And I did that.
And then I started to do radio and I was like, holy shit, this is so difficult to do radio. I thought it would be easy.
And I learned how hard that was. And then I took a little bite of the apple with game day.
I spent a year doing college game day. And I guess what I'm saying is that I just kept trying things that were put in front of me.
And then around 10 years ago, they said, we want you to do your own version of SportsCenter, which no one had ever done before. And that was obviously a lot of fun.
It was a huge challenge, but it was fun. But there's nothing at our place that's bigger than the NFL.
And so when they asked me, hey, is this something you would consider doing? I'm like, absolutely. It's the NFL.
There's nothing bigger. We want you to go to the games.
I'm in. And so it wasn't anything that I, I guess this is a long winded answer of saying I didn't pursue it, but the way the path goes, there's things that sometimes pop up or the opportunity arises.
When it did, I was up for it, and I did it for one year. Then last year was when your brother joined.
It's only been a couple of years, but I looked at it like there is nothing bigger than that night. If there's something that has to do with college football down the road, I don't know what it would be, but I mean, I went to the national championship game this year and we did our show from there.
I just think being at the biggest events, covering the biggest events, being in the, in the arena, nothing substitutes the juice you feel when you're there and you feel a connectedness to the fans and the moment. That's my favorite.
And being face to face like you. Like you and I this year, Trav, what game was it? Maybe it was the Saints.
I can't recall. But you came out and you – it might have been a playoff game.
You came out and you were with me afterwards. It might have been Houston.
It all kind of becomes a blur. But when you're face-to-face like with Ryan Day and Will Howard after they win the national championship, the conversations you have, the intimacy of that coach Tomlin said it the other day at the coaches meeting there's no substitute for intimacy that man has a great way of saying just one sentence better than I'm saying all of this I love that being face to face with the people that have just been in those moments so cool man well I met you on the biggest stage back in, I think, 2016, maybe.

It was 14, 15, 16 at the national championship.

I see the man himself, SVP, the guy that drove our –

we talk about this all the time on here.

Those ESPN SportsCenter days growing up with, you know, Stuart Scott, yourself,

Rich Eisen, Steve Le Lee, the whole gang.

It was just so much.

You guys drove our love for sports.

It's so cool to hear, you know.

Dude, I'm telling you, I loved every single sport because,

and it was the only channel that I went to.

Jason, he would go to, he would watch Dragon Ball Z.

I would go straight to ESPN.

Cartoon Network sometimes.

Dad would have Law & Order on.

Every once in a while, we'd have to beg him to turn it off.

But no, I saw you at the National Championship, Ohio State versus Oregon.

And I was in Dallas.

I was kind of in that underground bar area.

And it was when you had just started doing bad beats.

And you came up and you were the nicest guy in the world. I'm shaking because I'm actually meeting the man himself.
And you were just so cool, so calm. And we're talking about how you I opened the the bad beats.
That's a legendary moment, by the way. Belk Bowl is all time, all time.
And that that montage is some of the legendary moments in the gambling history where something went completely sideways. But the Belk Bowl against Duke, and you're right there in the middle of it because you take it to the house, and then it went sideways.
But you're in there. That'll never change.
We may change certain things in that montage. Belk Bowl will never not be in the bad.
I'm honored. I you've done okay since then you're going you're gonna have a gold jacket like your brother someday it's gonna be all right you you've elevated beyond being in the bad beats montage if only i wouldn't have lost the uh the helmet right after he scored that helmet that i immediately after he scores that touchdown scott i'm in the students i'm in the end zone stance.
He runs over and gives me his helmet and tells me, don't give this to anybody. We're partying afterwards at the bar.
I'm letting everybody wear it. I look back.
It's gone. Wait, you go out and get wrecked after the belt bowl, lost your brother's helmet? Yeah, it's a bad story.
It's not a great story. We can laugh about it we can laugh about it now but yeah it was not no it's an incredible story it's made its way back okay the university wasn't allowing me to they told me if i didn't pay all my parking tickets on campus that i couldn't have the i couldn't have the helmet because there was like the bowl game helmet it was like the special helmet the seniors got to keep their bowl game helmet so wait but so the but it made its way back to you it made its way it's did it we found it we do know where it's at somebody somebody we mentioned it on the pod like a year ago or two years ago yeah it had like a sticker like a circle sticker of 18 on it like this has got to be his that's incredible i was just picturing like some guy in Lima, Ohio in his living room

and that helmet just watching games in the dark wearing a belt full helmet that was Travis Kelsey's. He was doing it for a good decade.
We just got it back last year. Oh, that's beautiful.
The universe bends to the Kelsey brothers. All we needed was this show to tell the story.
No, but I remember that day like it was yesterday and meeting your big guy. It was it made me feel like, oh, man, I want to be that cool of a dude doing that to somebody that may have looked up to me at some point in football.
Man, you were just so so down to earth and so like welcoming and stuff, man. It was it was just awesome, man.
So I appreciate that. I appreciate that.
Well, likewise, i've said this quite a bit about like my dad had this line that i recite often treat normal people like superstars treat superstars like normal people and the best man and just a quick story about a guy that was a legend in broadcasting named dick enberg who um called everything uh back in the day he called anything that's big in sports dick enberg called national title hoops, Super Bowls, the whole bit. When I was a little kid, I went to a Maryland basketball game, shocker, and I met Dick Enberg.
And he could not have been kinder and more present and just made me feel like, holy smokes, like this is a guy. But he was asking me questions and he was interested and he was present fast forward a zillion years.
And now we're working together. I believe it was the U S open in Philly and Marion and we're out and we're at dinner and it's a small group.
And I tell him the story about the way, the reason I act to people, the way I act is, is because of how I'll never forget how kind and how present and, and just, you made me feel like a big deal, even though you were the big deal. So cool.
Like I'm telling Dick this story and he gets like, he's teary-eyed and he's like, thank you so much for letting me know that something I did, you know, mattered to you. I was like, are you kidding me? Like, this is a legendary guy.
So I don't know. I think all I'm trying to say is it's real easy to be decent to people.
You know what I mean? And look, you guys operate in a different place. I mean, I've done this a long time.
I'm six, six, bald headed. People recognize me where I go.
But like you guys have to deal with a whole different level of what that is. And I just try to be a mirror, you know, reflect what you get.
And so that's what I'd say to the people is give give something good and you probably get it back. You i'm saying there you go i don't know if that makes sense i don't know i remember that moment we had a blast and we keep on trucking in the lanes we're in and and i'm sure we'll keep trying best to stay happy and present in them as long as we can i sure as hell i am i did want to ask you one question uh before we get out of this monday night uh gig have you ever considered actually calling games i mean we uh we do call the pro bowl we do the pro bowl which in the flag space is among the most uh really prominent flag games trap but i don't know of a bigger one uh there's foam pits people do flips in them it's a it's quite a lot uh no i i never have and i watch people like the bucks and the taricos and the nances and the michaels and the whatever and i and i it's a skill set i i don't have i don't know i i don't want to do it i've never wanted to do it i get to do golf which yeah i was gonna say you do that live but yeah but that's like here let me let me call a golf shot real quick.
All right, here we go. Oh, this is awesome.
To 14. Oh, that was good.
That's it. Like, to 14.
There's very little to say or do. I don't need to set up the down and distance.
I don't need to know, did he catch it? Is he inbounds? Is he out of bounds? That looked like a face mask. Calling golf is stealing money, okay? Stealing money.
But I think you're really underestimating. You're underrating that to 14 call.
Travis, give us your best to 14 right now. What is it? Let me get your to 14.
All right, now here we go now over to 14. i'm changing the channel if somebody gives me a 14

call like that immediately that was poor that was poor to poor to bad is what that was no it's very very very understood think think you know think jim nance hello friends think oh nice guy to 14 let's uh let luxury. Let's keep going over to golf.
We got the Masters coming up. Yeah, baby.
We got the Masters coming up. You and you're supposed to be doing the first two days of it, right? Yep, Thursday, Friday.
It's by far and away my favorite week of the year professionally. It's just so cool.
Have you been? Yes. I got lucky.
I went during the COVID year where there was no stands. There were no grandstands.
So I just got to see how beautiful that course was. Oh, my gosh.
It's impossible to try to convey to people. And it's an impossible place to.
Like every single blade of grass is thought about there.

There you go.

Every plant,

every tree.

It's perfection.

It's amazing.

It is.

It's all these things.

And the week is,

as I say,

it's my favorite week.

It's,

it's,

I've done it for a long time,

which is hard to process.

The first year I went was 1997 when Tiger Woods was,

you know, a kid and he laid waste to every record there was lowest score, youngest winner, biggest margin of victory, the whole bit. And that was when I started.
And now it's all these years later. And, and I'm the guy in the Butler cabin, um, on Thursday and Friday that, that brings this on the air.
So cool, man. Believe me.

That is so cool.

I'm talking earlier about being present, being grateful.

All the stuff I get to do is a blast.

I'll go in tonight and we'll do a show.

We followed the women's tournament.

You talk to Gino R.E.M. after he goes to his 24th Final Four.

He's got confetti in his hair.

That's an amazing thing to get to share with somebody. I what I get to do it's it's all of it's insane the masters is a completely different level of lunacy like when you know that the it comes on the air and it's a picture and it's whatever it is it's the Hogan bridge or it's it's the 13th and it's that that like the iconic shots that you corner that corner right you can close your eyes and see him in corner and you hear that that that sort of melodic piano and you're the voice that says whatever it is that you have to say and the masters begins and you're the one doing it there's no way i can explain the depth of appreciation for the fact that i'm the person sitting in that chair.
It's something I share with my pop. My pop died when I was in college.
And I'm going to tell you a quick one about like, so it'll be Thursday at 3 Eastern. We'll come on the air.
Yeah. You know, you start, you rehearse a little bit.
All right, we're going to show these highlights. Sheffler on 6 and Rory on 10.
Okay. We just make, all right.
I know how we're going to come on the air here. And at some point in the last minute, all right, I'm sitting there and I'm getting ready.
And then there'll be about a 30 second bit where I just sort of get into this Zen sort of place where I'm just, my mind is still, my heart is grateful and I I think of my father and I think pop, I it's like, I don't say it out loud. I just think, let me be calm.
Let me do my job. Well, let me speak slowly and clearly and let me do my job well.
And I think of him and I think, man, if my father were here, they say a young man that loses his dad early in life, the rest of his life trying to make him proud and i know damn sure sitting in that chair that my pop is is proud of his boy and then we come on the air oh yeah and that last little five seconds it's like i swear to god it's like time stops for just a second and i'm like we good here we go here we And then then off you go and you do your job but i give i give myself like that very focused attention to that feeling like what you feel in that moment and it's just gratitude just exploding in your soul uh i don't mean for this to sound over right now man i don't mean for it to sound too goofy or heavy but it's sincere it's sincere and so i'm here and you know jim nance is there and you know jim it's his show i'm just there to sort of welcome people on i i don't do a hell of a lot of heavy lifting but that's that's the gig for the week um that's the main focus of it wednesday's my favorite day i'm doing the par par three, the contest this year, which is a blast. It's like, you know, uh, the kids are caddying for their, for their dad.
And it's just this beautiful day. And it's this minute, the, this par three course is sort of a miniature version of the big course.
It's incredible. The whole thing's incredible, but, um, there's a lot wrapped up into that week, as you can tell from what I'm sort of saying here.
Heck yeah, man. That's awesome.
Getting a lot of knowledge dropped on us right now. I love it.
Yeah. And the Masters, all these majors are so, they're so much more, I feel like, ramped up because of the split.
You get to see these guys coming from all over the world, different leagues. If you're the top of the top, you're in these majors.
So we get to see the guys that were, you know, I mean, don't get me wrong, it's always been like that, but I feel like there's a little bit more excitement when you don't, because you don't get to see, you know, Bryson every single week on the PGA. Right, Rob, you know, Capcom.
There's a lot of big-time guys. I think, Travis, that, I don't know.
I don't know what the time frame is. I think that – they'll sort that out.
I think we'll get back to a little bit. We've been trying to figure it out for, what, two years now, basically? Well, I mean, the whole thing got real sideways where dudes took money and the PGA Tour is like, don't do that.
And then the PGA Tour is like, well, maybe we'll do that too. That's a funny game.
Oh, well, we got to compete. Yeah.
Yeah. That's an interesting trick.

We're,

I mean,

if you imagine being like Rory and you passed on,

God only knows how many hundred millions dollars and then Tiger too,

right?

Didn't Tiger pass on.

Yeah. Right.

I heard numbers.

I don't know what the truth is,

but I,

I'm certain that there were,

that there were nine figures involved.

That much I know,

but,

but the point you make about,

uh,

just not seeing them compete,

uh, that often, that does make the majors feel a about uh just not seeing them compete uh that often that

does make the majors feel a little bit different but honestly like we'll we do the PGA championship

on on ESPN we'll be down at Quail Hollow in Charlotte in May and that's a great field too

but to me the star of of the Masters week is not even the players it's the stage yeah it's it's

the venue and the feelings associated with the venue it's going back there every spring

Thank you. of the master's week is not even the players.
It's the stage. It's the venue and the feelings associated with the venue.
It's going back there every spring.

It's the friendships that get rekindled,

like among,

you know,

patrons and people that work there.

And,

you know,

it's just the whole week is so,

so special.

So you're right that those events have,

have added significance,

but the master's is just feels like what it feels like because of the place more than who's competing in it. A thousand percent.
I think golf in general, it's such a sport that's rooted in history. When you go to a lot of these older venues that have so much history to them, that is there in the back of your mind in itself.
It almost takes you back in time. What the Masters has at the same time is not only does it have that history, but it's every little meticulous thing is just done in a way that, I don't know, makes it feel just ridiculously special to every single person.
And even like the person serving you beer to the person you walk by in the clubhouse or whatever, they all just make every single person feel so special that they're at an unbelievable place. And we're all taking this in together.
And it's just such an awesome place because of that feeling, I feel like. Agreed.
And I've been so lucky going there through the years. The people that you walk past, well, you know, I talk about my friend, Miss Nadine.
She's a security. And years ago, I walked past her in her station by the Par 3 course, and I hear this voice say, you look nice.
And I stop, and I look, and that's Miss Nadine. And so I walk over to Miss Nadine, and she said, let me see that tie.
And I looked at it. I'm like, okay.
And she said, I'm Nadine. I'm Scott.
I walked by the next day. She said, come over here.
Okay. She's like, I don't like that tie.
Like, who asked you? And she's like, okay. So like it became that week, every day I go by.
And by the end of that week, me and Miss Nadine were like this. I get Christmas cards from her.
She gets Christmas cards from me. We see each other and we hug every single day.
I give her a hug. That's my girl, Miss Nadine.
We've been friends for 20 years. This is a place where there's this grill where we're allowed to eat.
This room that, you know, it's the greatest sandwich and fries on a china plate you've ever had in your life okay and years ago is it pimento cheese or what well yes that that is part of the lore of the place for sure but one year i ordered a grilled cheese and bacon with tomato wasn't on the they just made it and if i walk in there now my guy tony will just give me a nod, and they'll just bring it to me. They know I'm not a member at Augusta National.
I'm just some bozo that's been coming for a few years, but these are my friends. That's so awesome, man.
They know what to bring me. You know what I'm saying? Yes.
That's the level of attention to detail and the friendships that uh revisit every year um and my wife may come down this year where and i said i don't care if you see the golf course i just want you to get to hug miss nadine i just you know because she knows my family like again like christmas cards with with each other every year so like those are the people that are part of it and then as you as you say, that the history of the actual golf, every hole, right? Like 13, you remember when Phil hit it off the pine straw past a tree. And, you know, 16, you remember Tiger hits it up and it rolls down the hill.
And Vern, have you ever in your life? And 17, again, Vern, Jack Nicklaus, maybe. Yes, sir.
I mean, every hole has a picture in a moment in time. I mean, I could keep going.
The 10th hole, Bubba in a playoff. Bubba Watson, dude, that is still the most iconic shot I've ever seen in my life.
There you go. I have no idea how that lefty hooked that thing that much.
Bubba can't see a straight shot in his mind. That's right.
He prefers to have an angle on it. Exactly.
It's actually better for him to be in there in a tree and go, all right, if I hook this some bitch 90 yards around a tree, I can, you know what I mean? And so everybody has their shots and their moments. And that to me is what makes, you know, that's what makes it what it is.
That's awesome. So you've been working the event for a long time.
The first time you were at the Masters, were you a patron or were you working it? Oh, no. I went 97.
I was covering it for – I worked for the Golf Channel at the time. And, you know, you'd never – and it's amazing.
It's amazing, Trav, how much it's changed. I mean – and yet it has this incredible ability to evolve and yet stay timeless.
It's impossible. It's a trick you can't pull off, and yet they do, where everything about it every year feels like it's been this way forever, and yet so much of it has changed in terms of the golf course, how they stretched it out, made holes longer, tougher, changed this undulation, that undulation, whatever.
So, I mean, like the snapshot of 97 in my mind, it feels like same place and yet it's it's so very different um but they get they get everything exactly right uh exact every detail is just is perfect and i haven't been to every one since 97 but i mean there's similarities for you guys maybe with with seasons with football right when you're in a sport and you do something every year and then like you,

there's a, there's a pace to the season and then there's your off season.

And then the next thing you know, it's like, all right,

we're back at OTAs and then we're in camp and then the season starts again.

And it's like, it feels like time's not passing in some ways.

And so like I was just at Augusta in my mind, only I wasn't, I mean,

it was a year ago and I'll be back there and it'll be master's week.

And you think to yourself, Oh,

it's probably been three or four years since that. And then you go,

Thank you. in my mind.
Only I wasn't. I mean, it was a year ago and I'll be back there and it'll be master's week.
And you think to yourself, oh, it's probably been three or four years since that. And then you go, oh shit, that was 15 years ago.
You know what I'm saying? Like I, it can't possibly be almost 30 years since I was there with tiger in 97, but we're damn near there. And that's where I, that's where I just look at myself and go, good Lord.
Like how, how lucky to be able to keep doing this? And so it's crazy how, again, how time passes. And yet when you're there, it feels like time hasn't moved.
We're all freaking excited for this year's. And I know you'll kick it off, right, big guy? Jason, man, I know you got a newborn, but I might slide down there for a Sunday finish.
Don't do it without me. I don't know.
I might just'll run now come on now come on now i know some people that know some people if you left your boy at home he he would he would not be pleased with that would he just bring the bring the baby come on travis that baby is surviving off of mom i cannot offer anything anything to that baby. How's that? Let's just workshop this.
Let's workshop this conversation, boys. We're three semi-smart people.
How do we play that? How do we say, hey, listen, we're just going to leave you alone. Just going to mosey down there.
I've tried, and I've failed. Mosey.
I think mosey is the key. I think it's not.
I'm not going. I'm just going to mosey's the key i think it's not i'm not going i'm just gonna mosey on it it's just gonna be a day and then i'll zip right back mosey and zip it's a mosey and zip scenario just go down right back you know just right back yeah i mean you know we know a few pimentos yeah a few eagleness what are the the beers are the eagleness when i forget a little azalea people enjoying az a good little azalea.
People enjoying azalea. There you go, an azalea.
I already tried floating it. I was like, you know, a lot of dads, they got jobs.
They got to work. And they can't.
I just feel like, I'm just going to be one day. And then I'm right back.
And then I don't have anything else. Scott needs help for the par three.
Scott's doing the par three. He can't do it by himself.
That's right. That's right.
You've seen him on him on tv he can barely form a sentence he can barely speak coherently we need him come on it has not gone well it has not gone well so far i'm sweating just thinking about this conversation again yeah sometimes you gotta just know what you can and can't pull off hey by the way, he mentioned just in passing we play golf. Your brother, his practice swing, like the divot pattern, are you familiar with the flank steak-sized divots this man takes out of the earth? Ridiculous.
Why are you doing that on the tee box on a par five, Jason? And we played on a day where it rained really heavily, and so the ground was super sort of – Oh, yeah. It was not firm.
And so those practice swings, you'd look up and be like, there's like a full yard of sod in the air. And that's just a practice swing.
I'm like, well, you're going to have to hit the ball here. We're going to have a trench here where we can bury a squirrel, man.
He's got a nice swing, though. Obviously, a lot of power involved.
Big dude. Big dude.
The linemen, I'll tell you what, he has a better swing for a lot of the old linemen that I've come across. The shoulders and the neck and the torso area, they're meant to be right here.
They're not meant to turn as much. Well, that's what I behind the ball that's important and he's it's hard when you have like that sort of it's all fused together yeah tempo though your tempo is i i mean you can really swing at it drive you can he's got a great i can get i can get it going a little bit i'll be i'm trying to get a little bit more because I get out of whack.
So I'm trying to talk about eliminating variables. Agreed.
And the key for the big guy is to recognize that if you draw a line from the ball back to the top, back to the bottom, for a tall guy, it's a mile long. So I always think Jon Rahm, and it doesn't need to be as abbreviated as Jon Rahm, but you also don't need to wrap that son of a gun around your neck because like the chance to get back to do the john daily really difficult but if you just turn to the point of your shoulders behind it you all you got to do is get back to the bottom and you're going to be you're going to knock it a long way your swing's really good though i appreciate that what's your handicap come on trev i shoot in the i shoot in the probably low to mid 8080s.
If you got it cooking, you're thinking I might maybe, I might could shoot something that started with a 7, right? Yeah. All right.
That's what I thought. You're good.
If you're shooting something that starts with a 7, you're a good golfer. No, you're 99th percentile.
Right? Seriously. Yeah.
I always get a kick out of people that reverse sandbaggers. People that sandbag that say, oh, I'm probably like a 12, and then they shoot 75.
You're like, that's bullshit. Yeah.
But people that say, oh, no, I'm like a nine, and then they go shoot a 100. You're like, a nine what? What would you rather have? Would you rather have the guy sandbagging it or undershooting it? That's a good question.
That's actually a really good question. But the guy that says he's at 14 that goes to some member guest and shoots 75, that's very, very poorly looked upon.
So I think the person that says that they're a 12 that shoots 108, you could live with that. Like, oh, I just had a bad day.
Well, no, you actually, you have a bullshit 12 is what you're talking are a lot of those but don't be don't be the sandbagger don't be a sandbagger that's bad bad look man let's go back to when you started espn how about that i'm happy to do it joined in 2001 how old were you when you first joined at espn well let's do the math i'm i'm i'm 58 so what did that put me what did that put me at 2001? I'm not good at math. That was 20, 35-ish.
Yeah, 35-ish, mid-30s. Nice.
And you were with Golf Channel up until that? I was. I was.
I mean, I told you the story about having the note I wouldn't work at ESPN, but it was kind of – a lot of life is this, right?

Sort of serendipitous.

Like a guy named Jimmy Roberts, who actually is a Maryland guy

and was at ESPN covering golf, left to go to NBC.

And that was in the middle of Tiger Woods just laying waste

to all humanity in the game.

I mean, he was breaking records, winning every major,

and ESPN really kind of needed a guy that had an in with Tiger. Sure.
I was that guy. There we go.
Yeah. I mean, literally my entire career exists because of Tiger Woods.
That is a fact. And maybe I could have found some of this without him, but almost certainly not.
And so I went in 2001 because ESPN really kind of needed a golf guy. And I lived down in Orlando at the time and I stayed in Orlando and I was covering golf and a little bit of this, that, and the other thing.
So that was when it started. That's so cool.
What was your first day at ESPN? Like, do you remember? Oh yeah. Oh yeah.
I remember it vividly because I was, we were in Australia to cover a golf tournament. It was the world match play, and we're in Australia.
This is actually cool. I can picture it as clear as day.
We were going to follow a Syracuse basketball game, and we're just waiting for it to end. And I'm sitting in like this – it's like a tent.
When you're doing you're doing a golf event, um, you know, they build these little, you've seen them. If you go to like a major or whatever, like, uh, uh, it's a TV compound with, you know, you're, you're outdoors, but there's a tent over the top of it.
And I'm sitting there with my guy, Andy North. And when the game ends, there used to be this, like, and you guys are ESPN heads.
Like there was this animation that like it was like sort of a circle and it says ESPN. And there's this, there's this voice that says, this is a presentation of ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports.
And that's like, I told you about the master's moment where I'm waiting to talk. This is 2001 and I've never done it.
And I'm like, Oh shit, I have to talk. And it's me and I'm on ESPN you know what I'm saying it's it got it got as real as it could get and I'm just like don't talk fast don't freak out this is what you do you can do it only I got news for your boys I kind of couldn't do it like that at that point and yeah so I'm in a tent in australia with andy north at the at the world match play and that's the first event i did and then the next it was a two-week thing because we went from there to kapalua to do what used to be the mercedes and i'm doing a two-week junket in australia and hawaii and i'm like bro your boys on espn and i am living right you know what i'm saying yeah no this is a good introduction it's australia it's maui and it's like life is good and this is real real good look at your boy um then that's how that's how it started and then it was actually a really unfortunately sobering moment because i it's i come home and i'm sitting at my house one day it's february and it was the daytona 500 and i get a phone call from espn that says hey scott we were uh we're getting word that dale earnhardt might have died in this crash and i'm like oh that's awful yeah and then they said i'm i'm not processing this right and there's we need you to go there and I'm thinking, oh, that's awful.
And then they said, I'm not processing this, right? And we need you to go there. And I'm thinking, wow.
I mean, I had only done golf, right? And so I had just done these golf events, which was a very familiar space for me. And now all of a sudden, I'm hopping in the car, driving up to Daytona to cover as big a story as there could be in the sports world.
And that's where it was a real reality check of the, like you're in the deep end of the pool, man. And I remember vividly SportsCenter started that night with a report from me at Daytona, given the news that Dale Earnhardt had died.
And it went from like everything's whatever to the reality of what the stage you

were on and,

and the fact that you were covering everything.

And then,

you know,

obviously from there,

there's,

there's far less serious stories,

but you added more to the plate as,

as time went on.

Yeah.

Holy cow.

I mean,

that's a heck of a switch up.

Yeah.

Australia,

Maui.

And now,

Dale Earnhardt is gone.

But from my perspective as,

all right,

Thank you. Yeah, holy cow.
I mean, that's a heck of a switch up. Yeah.
Australia, Maui, and now I'm... Dale Earnhardt is gone.
But from my perspective as, all right, can I do this? It was, you're not going to be asked to cover something more significant than that. And I was able to do it.
And it was just a recognition of, all right, you're in a different place now than at the Golf Channel, where you just go on to the next tour stop. And that was all that we were going to do.
And then, as I say, it was more – you used to do some NBA things like Tracy McGrady and Shaq and people like that were the magic at the time. You'd do some of that.
And it was just around – that summer was when they said, hey, we want you to come up and maybe do some sports center. And I was like, all right, I can do that.
And then I went – Oh, yeah. Then the next thing you know, it's like, hey, we want you to move up here and do it.
And I mean, leaving Orlando where it was 75 and sunny every day for Bristol, that was a different kind of reality check. Like, what am I doing? Sure, sure.
That was a rough adjustment initially. Speaking of an adjustment, like going from the golf channel where you're obviously just doing golf, then all of a sudden you're doing all this stuff.
Was there anybody at ESPN that kind of showed you the ropes and taught you, I don't know, how to now cover everything? I mean, I don't think I had as much of a sort of a guide as much as I just – there's a person, and you would know this name because you know him, and he's the that's now in charge of of all things at ESPN a guy named Mike McQuaid he's a behind the scenes uh guy who's been as instrumental in helping me get where I am as anyone just what he did what he did Jason was he basically just said you know what to do just go do it and and was great with feedback uh don't, you told me something when we played golf that day, you said, I like being coached. And I thought that's great news because not everybody does.
Everyone says they want feedback. You know what feedback they want? They want grab ass.
You're awesome. Attaboy.
They don't want, Hey, that's bullshit that you can't do this. That was bad was bad here's why this sucked but that's what you need and and having a guy like that that was really helpful and just trusting trusted that i would do the work and put in the work and wherever the bumpy spots where i'd figure them out he was great from a behind the scenes standpoint but then you know as i mentioned uh you know stewart scott was awesome and we had this we had this kind of admiration from afar because he he and tiger were boys and i was as well and so we had kind of seen each other from across the aisle and then when i came i had kind of the the endorsement from tiger with stewart and then i was an acc guy from maryland he was a carolina guy and we had that kind of common thing and then he and I just found this rhythm with one another that was really helpful from a sports center standpoint.
But I mean, I've been so lucky with people that I worked with from like, and if I start naming people, I'll leave them off. But like Stuart was big.
Neil Everett was a partner of mine that I worked with a ton. And he's just like, that's my brother forever.
So I've just been so lucky that the people that I've sort of shared the set with and, you know, traveled with and worked with were all great teammates that helped elevate me, that hopefully I helped make them the best version of them. And you kind of ham and egg it.
But, you know, it wasn't like we had to, you know, sit down and here's this and here's that and here's the other. They just kind of trust you to figure stuff out.
And what you don't, they're going to help nudge you back towards the center. Well, I'll tell you what, man.
The ESPN commercials alone made that place seem like the coolest workplace of all time. Outside of the cameos of the superstars that were in the NFL, the NBA and all that.
The cast of SportsC of sports center men and women i mean we talked about them already rich eyes and dan patrick uh the swami chris berman linda cone steve levy stewart sky you like you said we're leaving off way too many but how fun was that to go into work like did you guys actually have cubicles yeah oh yeah Oh yeah so so this was actually like you guys were just hanging out with each other and just talking sports i would assume yeah i mean and creating the show before right and i mean i you know dan and keith made sports center something different they took it to a different place i think Berman's the godfather Bob Lee as well obviously um but then Dan and They took it to a different place, I think. Berman's the godfather, Bob Lee as well, obviously.
But then Dan and Keith took it to a thing where it was different. And then Stuart and Rich were a big time team.
And they had a lot of us that kind of worked together. And you team up with different people at different times.
But then the idea was if you could create people that work together quite a bit, then you create chemistry, which makes a ton of sense, right? Like you become like an O-line, there's this energy. And Hey, I could slide out the tackle if I need to, but if we can get some reps together, we can make this a thing.
And so honestly, I mean, and it's still like that and it's different. I'm down in DC and I'm not in a cubicle and, you know, sitting next to, you know, rich or, uh, Stuart or whomever back in the day, but it's the same idea.
Like I'm going to go in and watch games and then I do a show. It's a joke.
My dad was, my dad worked for a plumbing company. I always say this, he wore boots to work.
You know, I, I wear Ferragamos and a little light dusting of powder on the head. mean that's what i wear to work and i just watch games all night it's absurd and so i think what the what the genius of those ads kind of captured was that like people like this is what it's like like well yeah i'm not actually sitting in lebron's chair in a throne but it's like that and you know the cool thing about like that spot is it's and he was on me recently it's like still a joke that we go back to yeah like i saw when he was on with you about you know the he's about when he this this fuckery won't continue and then now he's 40 and he's like yeah when i'm when i'm 50 like i mean i saw him reference that like the idea that holy smokes like he's still doing this at that age he was a baby when he did that ad with me and so now we can kind of still reference it and you know I got a note from his folks like you know clutch like I was texting back and forth with Rich Paul about I said you know what's cool is like we've both been doing this for 20 some odd years and can still kind of do it I'm not comparing myself as as an anchor to LeBron James, but we're still in that respective place and we can still play at a certain level.
You're still in the biggest spots of TV. That's kind of cool.
Going back to who he was as a 21, two-year-old, maybe at the time when we did, he might've just been 20 when we did that spot because I joked to them I said you know I think when you and I did that ad I might have been around 40 and I that was right around that the age when I realized there was stuff physically I kind of couldn't do and you're 40 and there's nothing like what is it you're doing you know I mean like how are you still this guy he's not human the freaking nature my favorite one other than the lebron one was me and stewart were with arnold palmer and all the the ad is 15 seconds and it's arnold in the cafeteria and arnold palmer makes an arnold palmer a little iced tea a little splash of lemonade no words are said then he walks off and it's me and stewart scott and all we say is that was awesome. And Stuart's like, I know.
And it's a 15 second spot. And that's it.
And so it's like, is this what ESPN was like? Yeah, kind of. We just kind of sit in our cubes, go to the cafeteria.
Again, Arnold's not there making an Arnold Palmer. But that ad was just, I thought was just genius.
Yeah, that's probably my favorite one. So simple.
Yep. So you just talked about LeBron has obviously changed or still in the same space with you.
You've been in the sports world for a long time. How have you seen athletes change? Has interviewing athletes gotten better or worse? That's interesting.
You guys doing this and, you know, you were straddling the back end of your career, Jason Trav, thankfully. Run it back.
I like that. That's great news.
Still in it? Let's do it. There's a clear understanding among athletes that you own your voice and you are in charge of your voice and you have agency over yourselves to share that voice the way you want to.
And I think it's been great for people to learn about athletes in a different way, share your lives as much as you're willing to share, share your lives with the public. And that's tricky, right? You got to pick how much of it, how much of them do you want to know about your new baby? By the way, I had to say congrats and I didn't.
Thank you. God bless you.
That's awesome. But that's a tricky thing.
And it's up to you to decide how much you want to share it with people. Because athletes have a space that they control, not the narrative, but what it is the narrative.
It's their narrative. It's very different.
And you guys joked about it a couple of years ago, Jason, you're still playing for Philly. And I we i thought we're going to talk to you and then you had cramps and they sent somebody else out and i think i said on sports center i thought we were talking to kelsey but i guess he wants to save the content for the podcast and i i was just joking but then you guys you know you guys covered it yeah i've had my backs like how you gonna blow up sv you didn't.
You don't ever do that. Which you didn't.
But I think what I'm saying is I think that it is interesting that if you have something impactful and important that you want to say, you want to say it on your platform the way you want to say it. But I do think what I have with athletes is a trust.
I think people respect that I respect them and know that I'm not trying to, you know, you're not going to get got, like, it's not what that's about. I'm trying to have a genuine conversation and I'm interested in, in the things that are related to the competition.
And I think I'm good at having conversations that can pull out the emotions and the answers that are related to that that are interesting to me and the audience. I still think we can have those conversations even if you have a lane that you want to be the driver of that content.
I get it. So it's different.
But I also think it's made guys and men and women more comfortable in talking about themselves in a way that it's maybe less guarded when you do have the conversations. That make sense? For sure.
There's just there's a tonnage of voices and content out there these days. And so I've done it long enough that I don't I don't meet strangers, if that makes sense.
Even if we haven't talked, I've done it long enough that I'm not saying this to be an ass, but I mean, you probably have some idea who I am and I know who you are. So we're not, even if we've never talked, we're familiar with each other.
And hopefully you're familiar with the way I approach things. Absolutely.
Always a pro's pro. I got to ask you, though, of the four major sports that you typically cover, even though it goes far beyond that, um, which athletes give you the best post game answers? I think hockey guys, there's a, there's, there's a sincerity to hockey guys and I, they fascinate me because I've, I can't skate.
I, these guys will play through like a severed limb. What they're willing to go through is beyond my comprehension like i get you know dude's got to take a shot to be available and your availability is your best ability i appreciate what you guys put through yourselves through rather but hockey guys just totally fascinate me like there's guys whose mouths their teeth it looks look like they ate a fucking grenade and they're still playing like passage.
They brag about it. Right.
How do what are you doing? If that happened to me, I'd be incapacitated for a week and they're like out there for the next shift. So there's a curiosity I have about them.
And I'm not talking about that. I'm like, they're zoo animals.
Like, what are you? But it's a little no they are they are they're zoo animals for sure they're zoo animals they just i i played golf once with uh with uh oshi and carlson a couple of capitals here in town yeah and oshi had literally he had literally just had surgery on like a sports hernia a week before and him and carlson are talking about that moment when you're passing out from the anesthesia about like that last couple of seconds. And they were talking about it with joy in their eyes before they go under for surgery.
And I couldn't get over just how those dudes are wired, man. So hockey guys fascinate me.
Those are the guys I enjoy the most because I have the least understanding of them. There's a whole way they talk, too, that's like mesmerizing.
The verbiage they use, and there's like half of them aren't even Americans, right? They're Canadians or they're from overseas in Russia or whatnot. And there's slang to it.
And everybody's got a Nick.

No one's just Jason or Travis.

It's J-Bo and, you know, everyone's – I'm doing a shitty job of what the Nick is.

No, it's good.

They call Wayne – oh, Wayno.

That's what me and Steve, every time we bring up Wayno.

Like, this is the greatest player that's ever played.

And the Canadian guys talk about skating down the ice side by each. Like, side by each.
Okay, I get it. You're next to each other.
It is. There's a different language in the boys and the room.
The way they talk about the room, that's my favorite thing. It's the locker room.
But the room, the way they talk about it, it's like a sacred place. Oh, yeah.
And you guys know it because you live it. But the hockey guy's room is a whole other level and uh you know last year i talked to paul maurice after they won the the florida panthers won and he gave the greatest answer i asked you know you've spent your life in pursuit of this thing and now you've done it and in what way does that change your life he took this really deep pause and then he gave this He said, I hope it doesn't.
I hope I've lived my life in a way where it won't change me. And then he says, but next year when we go to camp, I'm going to skate the hell out of the boys because I got carte blanche.
It was this surreal, sincere moment, but then right back to the way that he's going to give the boys a hard time. I don't know.
Hockey guys, again, I'm being redundant, but they're mind-boggling. Different greed, man.
No, I'm right with you. I think anybody who's been in an ice rink or a hockey locker room, the culture of hockey, especially in the good spots, is nobody's put on a pedestal.
Everybody is like, the moment you think you're going to be like a pretentious or like prima Donna, you can't survive in that sport, right? Like, it's all about doing stuff for your team. We had the Kachuk brothers on.
Their dad obviously played in the league for a number of years. And his one rule, his two rules were be a good teammate and work hard, right? And that like sums up who these guys are.
Yeah, right. But that's life.
Whoever's listening, the 92 percenters, that's it. Be a good teammate and work hard right that and that's like sums up who these guys are yeah but that's life whoever's listening the 92 percenters that's it be a good teammate and work hard but then i'm just trying to imagine what it is to be a guy and and to understand that there's gonna come a time when you got to go out there in the ice and you skate up to that dude next to you and you just look at the guy and you go you want to go yeah and you gotta say yeah and then down go the gloves and like you want to go i mean it's like an invitation it's like hey you want to go get some lunch and like no do you want me to punch you in the head and that but there's an invite and then you gotta and if you don't accept that invite you know and then even if you can't fight even if you get mopped the boys are gonna give you a stick tap because you know it was your turn to go i again that's that's not it's not a space i'm i'm familiar with it's so happy steve levy never once came up to me and asked me to fight that never never happened there's a there's a weird thing in like a lot of hockey players eyes where i feel like if you punch most people in the face they get pissed like they're gonna look at you they're gonna like there's gonna be a look of anger i feel like if you punch a hockey guy in the face they would smile which i like it's almost like this like weird mentality with some of these sports like hockey.
I think rugby players are similar there.

And there's certainly some football players like this where it's like,

it's almost like you want to get punched in the face.

It's weird.

But I,

I've seen like when,

when D back DBs and wide receivers get at it and you grab the,

you grab the face mask and dudes are swinging.

And then it's more like lunchroom,

like,

like let's separate me and then let's get mad.

We're like, if, but like you punched John Carlson in the head and he would be like, come on. Yes.
You know what I mean? Like, all you did was light that fuse, buddy, and you're not ready. This is what I wanted.
You're not ready for what's coming. You're not ready.
Nobody's pulling us back. Yeah.
You guys are getting me fired up for some playoff hockey here. Hell yeah.
I love it. That time of year is great.
Like post-masters and then it gets back into a great flow of you got, you know, one night you follow the Stanley Cup, the next night you follow, you know, NBA playoffs. And it's just there's a great cadence to this time of the year as we get to the spring.
You ain't lying. Now a moment brought to you by American Express.
What's your favorite type of cuisine, Travis? Cuisine? I'm like an American cuisine kind of guy. Yep, yep, yep.
Okay, are there certain cities that you think the food is better in? New York. Way to be super creative with your answer.
I mean, Jason, you can get anything you want in the world in New York. I mean, it's good.
I'm not going to lie. New York's very good.
I think Philly's got good food, too. Philly's got great food.
You know what's a really good food town, especially for anybody born in the Midwest? Chicago! Chai Town's got great food. It does.
Here's some good news for the foodies out there with Amex Platinum. You get access to global dining access by Resi when you add your Platinum card to your Resi profile.
So you can experience some of the hottest restaurants with access to exclusive reservations and even be notified when hard to get reservations come up there you go that's the powerful backing of american express for full terms and to learn more visit americanexpress.com slash with amex thank you to our partner all state some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking all state first that's right like you Like, you know, to check expiration dates before cooking. Like, you know, to, you know, check if you have your keys before closing the door, like, you know, to check the weather before heading to the beach.
That'd be a good idea. Good idea.
Like, like how you have to check if you have your wallet before heading out to dinner. Sometimes, sometimes you check to make sure you didn't bring it.
It's a vet move. Ah, this one's on you you back next time well checking first is smart so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds of dollars that's right you're in good hands with allstate savings vary subject to terms conditions and availability allstate fire and casualty insurance company and affiliates northbrook illinois thank you into a turbo tax for sponsoring episode.
Hey Trav, do you remember when you told people to do their f***ing taxes? No, but I can see myself saying that. Well, here's a clip.
Why don't we play this for everyone to see? Make sure you do your f***ing taxes. Yeah, and we still mean it because April 15th is coming up fast.
You need to get your taxes done by then. So listen, we all know taxes can be complicated, especially when you're trying to handle them yourself.
But with TurboTax full service, you get an actual expert who gives your taxes their undivided attention while you focus on what matters to you. So while your tax expert crunches numbers, you can be living your best life on a beach somewhere, sipping a drink with one of those tiny umbrellas, all while getting a real-time update on their progress.
And these experts are on it. They'll find every possible deduction and handle every form, every investment, literally everything.
Get a TurboTax Live expert who can file your taxes for you as soon as today and get you the biggest possible refund because that's the reward of doing this the right way. Now, this is taxes brought to you by Intuit TurboTax.
Now, do your taxes. Well, let's keep this cadence in the show going.
We got one last segment for you, big guy. We call this one.
We got to ask. We close every convo out with a little We Gotta Ask, and you don't have to answer, and you can basically either answer the question or tell me and Jason to go fuck off.
First one off the board, what is your greatest personal athletic achievement? I play a par-3 tournament every summer at the beach. It's a little course called...
Bethany? Well, yes, that's i that's where our family's been for sorry i don't know if we want to disclose this yeah yeah everybody in town knows where we're come by and say hi look forward to seeing you it's a it's north of there there's dewey beach and then there's a little town called lewis delaware and lewis delaware has a par three course called the midway par three me and my boys have been playing a tournament there every year forever uh i'm proud to tell you last year your boy won it in a playoff over a guy that actually thank you thank you over over a guy who actually actually played golf at the university of maryland beat him in a playoff with a birdie and then i sent a oh i'm not trying to name drop or whatever this is just actually me making fun of what an idiot i am i sent a picture i sent a picture to scotty scheffler who has won some tournaments i'm like you know what buddy you never won this and it's a picture of me holding up the trophy oh my gosh our buddy runs a bar down there called the starboard it's our guy money and every year, the winner of this tournament gets put up on the video board outside the Starboard. And so seeing my smiling face holding that trophy, that's as good as it's going to get, boys.
It's pretty much down here, hill from there. But I did win in Midway last summer, defending champ.
Actually, you know what? Not defending because no one can take it away from me. I'm the reigning champ.
Reigning champ. Yeah, baby.
Come get july reigning midway dingle champion bad that's it throwing this man all right you tweeted this at the new heights account please elaborate how close did you or mark schlareth come to shitting your pants on air okay so all right let's just say mark slayer shout to stink my guy i taught him how to to tie his tie and and like it should have been a sports commercial i taught him how to get that great dimple in the middle of his tie and he to this day we we love laughing about that but this was uh this was a story show me a man who says't shit his pants. I'll show you a liar.
Has it happened on air? I explained Mark Schlereth is familiar with it. So there was a day where I was having a rough day.
Had a little bubble, a little gurgle in the belly, a little bad tummy. And I'm said to stink, buddy, there's a decent chance that while we're sitting out here i might shit my pants and stink says to me oh it's fine it's fine you just need to put some leaves in the gutter i'm like excuse me you don't know leaves in the gutter i'm like what's leaves in the gutter it's like you just take a big giant ball of toilet paper and you ball it up and you put it in your ass crack and then while you're and then while you're sitting there you know in your boxers you just you got it's basically like a like a diaper of sorts because making a because i wasn't gonna full-on shit my pants it was gonna be just a short kind of a moment just that is this a fart oh it's hot no that wasn't a fart and so i had leaves in the gutter.
And then that night, this gets better. It's a pro move.
He's there to do analysis on, say, the Thursday night game. For argument's sake, it's the Steelers and the Bengals.
I don't remember. But I said, because a lot of what we do are inside jokes.
I said, you know, Stank tonight, the Steelers defense, man, really bottled up that run for the Bengals like leaves in the gutter. And Stank barely can get through the segment because I'm talking about the balled up toilet paper in my butt crack that he's sharing me.
And I'm happy to say I did not need the leaves in the gutter. But fellas, maybe ladies, when in doubt, if you need to go leaves in the gutter there's a pro tip from mark schleriff to me to you and that's the story of how scott van pelt almost shit his pants on tv wow i didn't know that's great i didn't know that we're gonna get into that but that's that's a true story.
There you go. I'm stealing that, too.
I'm saying to everybody, leaves in the gutter. Shout out to Stank.
It happens. And if you've got a little girly belly, you want to make sure.
That would be a real bad problem if it happened without the leaves in the gutter. Yeah, for sure.
What do you watch outside of sports, Scott? This is a bone of contention with Stanford Steve. Nothing.
I have so many shows I know I'm supposed to watch. He's like, you got to watch.
And Steve is a consumer of content. He's up on all the great shows.
And then he says, he's like, bro, White Lotus. And then he shows me the White Lotus scene where Goggins characters talking to the dude about Lady Boys.
And I'm like's so great i'm like this is the show i'm supposed to watch like my man's going through it oh yeah um and yeah that that's a that's a tough on-ramp for a show if like what this is what's this he's like oh it's a resort like what kind of resort is is it so i really i have i have three young kids maybe this is sad but it's true i just really love sports and if i have free time and there's a game on i find myself watching it a because i like it and b because it's my job to kind of be aware of what's going on and so i largely i don't think i've watched anything like immersed in it since breaking bad and that hasn't been on the air in years oh yeah it's been a while i'm really really bad at this because i know what i'm supposed to know and i can kind of passively bullshit my way through a white lotus or a severance conversation like i saw you talking to to um to ban about waffles and all this stuff and i know what it's about but only vaguely and that's always bad it's like if you only speak like a little bit of spanish and people are talking spanish and you're just nodding and you're like biblioteca yeah sabatos that shoes right i i'm that guy that knows like eight words in spanish that's what i that's what i'm able to do when it comes to tv shows and i always say i'm going to do it but i'm not going to lie to anybody anymore i'm probably not going to watch any of this and that's that's my own fault but that's where i'm at well what about tv shows about sports what about like ted lasso i was in that no big deal yeah yeah there we go now that that was actually really cool this is this and you had jason on and he broke the news about that. Yeah.
I was told, Hey, Jason Sudeikis wants to talk to you. I said, what about like, well, he wants, they want, they're going to do this show and he wants to talk to you about it.
I said, well, just tell him I'll just, I'll just do it. Whatever it is.
It's fine. It's a cameo.
No big deal. No, he really wants to talk to you.
Okay. So I ended up on the phone with Sudeikis and we ended up talking for like an hour about life and how we had we held a lot of similar views about gratitude and all the stuff I was kind of talking about.
and what a cool man what a great dude what a fun guy to talk to and he just wanted me it was really

important to him that i understood what this guy was about and then how much they wanted me to be

sort of the guy that set the tone in that very first episode with the sports center thing about this coach that's going to go over. And I'm like, sure, of course.
But what I got out of it was this really, really meaningful conversation with this guy right before this thing became this phenomenon. And so it was really neat because Jason, you mentioned when you brought me on, it was nice.
Like I've been nominated a lot. I've been nominated like eight times for an Emmy.
I've never won one. Well, when they won everything, I'm like, Hey man, I was in an episode.
Do I get a, do I get a trophy? Like, how's this work? You told me how important it was for me to be part of it. Like I was in one, like how far down the line of credits do we go? I was kidding.
I didn't, I didn't really want one. I'm not that thirsty, but anyway, it was, it was, it was, it was cool that he asked me to be a part of that.
And that he had this sincere want for me to understand what it was about. So anyway, no, like I watched, I did watch Ted Lasso.
The wife and I watched that. I think that's the sweet spot for me.
I need something that's about that long that you can kind of watch on demand when you're not refereeing WWE between the boys in the basement. I love it.
Do you have a favorite sport to watch? Whatever is on. Well, I wouldn't say that.
I love college basketball i love the tournament when the stanley cup is on i'm i'm mesmerized by that like playoff hockey overtime is the most tense thing there is because at any moment the game just ends and then when i'm watching that i'm like there's nothing that's cooler than this um but then like look college football you turn it on if it's a big big 10 game a big sec game whatever whatever league i don't care uh but then like when we're at monday night football and it's you know a couple years ago when you know when philly came to to arrowhead like it you knew what that that the stakes for high for a regular season night there was juice that was real that's hard to fab hard to manufacture so i guess what i'm saying is i'm i'm real which way the wind blows. The place that I'm at right now, I love that.
And I love baseball. It's just that it gets by August and we're dragging.
You're just waiting for football to kick at that point. But then when we get to the playoffs, man, playoff baseball is incredibly intense too.
So I'm like you all, man i i grew up with it i love it and whatever

we got tonight i'm i'm excited because something will happen that i don't know is going to happen yes well one last question for you big guy what are your mount rushmore of sports center top 10 plays the all-time greatest plays ever of you of yours put you on the spot that you just Yeah.

For me?

Yeah.

Yes.

Things that happened to me or things I did on sports. of yours.
I have to put you on the spot. For me?

Yes.

Things that happened to me or things I did

on SportsCenter?

Or things I saw, things I called.

There you go.

Bro, your boy's done.

That's a lot.

Just tell us to fuck off.

Just tell us to fuck off.

This is where you just tell us to fuck off.

Fuck off.

Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen. I'm old and feeble.
This brain is mush, and I've done a lot of shows, man. I don't know.
And you've told us already so many fucking golden stories, man. Thank you for your time, brother.
We appreciate you. Hey, listen, continued success in all things, boys.
You guys. you know it.
Yeah. Be grateful for what we get to do.
I know you guys are and do, but I think it's important that people hear that, you know, that Enberg story I told. I just I'm sincere about it.
You know, the going to the Masters, being present, being grateful. I just think that's a great sort of place to stay.
I try my best. I love what you guys have.

I love the bond.

I love you guys sharing your lives with people because they're interested.

It's fun to stop in and say hello.

So keep doing what you guys are doing.

You're the best, brother.

Complete honor to have you on, Scott.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, dude.

You're the best.

Fuck off.

Scott Van Pelt, everyone. That's so good gold man how awesome was that dude i told you man guy's the best it just felt like we were in the living room and he was just speaking the gospel to us like telling us like the stuff that his father said um the how he's still dude just an all-time great dude just an all-timer man can tell a story like nobody else man um and yeah i mean leaves in the gutter forever let's keep it moving let's get to some no dumb questions brought to you by perplexity that That's right.
We've spent most, so much time on

this show looking up answers. We are now sponsored by a search engine.
How about that? Shout out to Perplexity. Discover fast and reliable search with Perplexity today.
From M. No Dumb Questions.
If you could make one of your body parts detachable, which would it be and why? Detachable? It's a very weird question, Em.

I'll wait for you to answer first.

What would I want to be detachable? I don't know. Maybe my ears so I wouldn't have to hear people.
That's what I was thinking too. You can right away just like I'm done.
Nose? Nose? Because I think smells can be. You're going senses.
Yeah. I think smells can be a little more like...

There's some mayonnaise in the area.

You don't want to have to smell that.

I'm not trying to smell that shit.

I'm going senses, though.

I'm going ears or nose.

Ears or nose.

Ears would be nice.

You're trying to get some shut-eye?

Trying to go to sleep?

Just take your ears off?

Yeah.

Sleep tight.

That's real nice.

Then you're never waking up.

You have to get something that shakes the room or something. right i'm just gonna throw it out there i mean if we're being honest it usually just gets in the way jason i mean it's an inconvenient appendage at times i mean listen i'm very happy i have one the ball ball's in chain? I feel like it's a one.
I think it's a one. No, there's two different.
It's a one-stop shop. I think it's all the same appendage.
I don't think that's how it works. No? So you can't.
If you could just take it all off, I mean, it would just. I mean, it would eradicate.
I mean, it just gets in the way sometimes. You know what I mean? Like, if you're running, you got to think there'd be less friction without that in between your legs trying to play sports right no i don't think about it it doesn't bother me at all and then if like you could take i mean if let's just be honest if you can detach it that means you could probably attach an upgraded you know i mean you could go bigger assuming it's like a universal connection point, I could attach another one.
You're a fucking psychopath, man. I was waiting for you to make it make sense, and you never disappoint.
No, there you go. Like, is it like the iPhone charger where they went to all just USB-C? Like, we're going to one standard connection, whatever thingy those are called.
They're hilarious. I thought one of the things is we're asking perplexity these questions.
What question would you like me to ask the machine real quick? I'll do it. I'll do it for you, Jason.
What is? What is? What is? What is the best body part to make detachable? Okay. We'll see where this goes.
What is the best body part to make appendix boring, tonsils boring, gallbladder, arm, hand, legs, head? Head. You can make it.
I mean, head detachable.

That's like, what is that, Futurama, where the heads are detachable?

Mm-hmm.

Get a new body.

Just get a whole new body.

Not a bad idea.

I wouldn't mind that.

Okay.

It's a great answer, perplexity.

You already mentioned you wanted to. Why would I make my dick detachable?

I can't just make my head detachable and put it on somebody with a bigger dick. Brandon, why did you even go to Perplexity? Because he asked me to.
My job is to do what you guys asked me to do. I don't.
This is hilarious. All right.
All right. perplexity wins.
Every time. Can you imagine coat checking your dick? Hilarious.
Coat checking your dick is fucking funny. I'm not going to need this tonight.
Can you hold on to this? What did dad used to say? You'd lose your dick if it

wasn't attached. I think it's what dad used to tell

us. He used to tell me that all the fucking

time. Maybe that's where I thought of this immediately.

You're right, dad. I don't

want it to be detachable because I would definitely

lose that motherfucker. Jason, you of all people,

your dick would be

in the car in a sock.

That's funny as fuck.

My fucking dog would eat it. I'd find it.
Ballou's got it in his mouth. Jason Kelsey.
His dick is lost in a vat of chili. Yeah, you're right.
We don't want that to be detached. You need to keep that attached.
Yeah, I'm not responsible enough to have a detachable dick. Jake, Jake, you're always like, what do I make quote cards? What do I make quote cards? There's your quote card for the week, Jake.
Make that a graphic. Put it out immediately.
Jesus Christ. Let's hit the brackets.
Let's get out of here. God damn it.
All right. That does it for No Dumb Questions brought to you by Perplexity.
Discover fast and reliable search with Perplexity today.

Let's move on to some March Madness Challenge updates.

That's right.

We're all the way to the final four.

Oh, where are we sitting?

Where are we sitting?

First time in a long time.

The men's final four is all one seeds.

It's only happened one time before from our data analysis. Thanks a lot, NIL.
Thanks a lot. You got to love it.
Nice. Auburn, Houston, Duke, and Florida for the men's bracket.
Let's take a quick look at the leaderboard for the New Heights March Madness Challenge and a quest for the Golden Cup. Demetrius Asrat is on top of the leaderboard with Jeremy Wendt.

It's going to come down to the Houston and Duke matchup.

Yeah, that's a good point.

I guess that is it.

They play this round, right?

I think there's a few other things that could go into it too, but yes.

Oh.

Like who else?

If it's 181, whoever wins that game is probably going to, I guess it depends on who their other Final Four team is and then who, yeah.

I don't know how these points work. I think it matters also who wins the other game too and who those two picked.
But Demetrius Jeremy, congratulations on getting it to this point. That's pretty damn good.
Yeah. Somebody's going to win it.
Amy Waldrip is up there. So is Amanda Frias.
Casey Qualls. Nicole Winkle.
There's no L in there. This is still anybody's game.
I mean, these points are close. Everybody's kind of right there.
Everybody's kind of right there. So shout out to all of them for making it this far.
Yeah, a tie for first and a little five-way tie for second. The women's final four is UConn, UCLA south carolina and the university of texas that's uh brandon writing that and me just reading it 92 percenters uh the standings are just two points separate first place and a three-way tie for second um shout out to uh nick sterling adam aune um and uh cody i'm just gonna say cody because that that's a crazy last name.
And Katie Plummer. Shout out to Katie.
Going into the final weekend, here are our New Heights team standings. The men's bracket, Brandon is winning by one point.
Surprise, surprise, Jason is dead last. Yeah, I'm out.
I'm out. And in the women's bracket, though, Jason, you got me by a point right now.
My average height of roster is paying off. You got me by one point.
Although I, yep, I had UConn and South Carolina. Well, we'll see.
I'll tell you what, it's going to be a fun Final Four. I'm pumped.
You've got, obviously, all the one seeds in the men's bracket. The women's bracket is getting real exciting here going into the Final Four.
I'm just pumped, man. There's just something about March Madness that just keeps me glued to the TV.
It's the best. It really is.
You've got to love it. You know it.
Great TV happening. Live sports happening all day.
We're in the tail end of it where it's only at night now, which kind of sucks, but these are the best games too. You know it.
Going to be a great week of basketball, baby. That wraps up another episode of New Heights.
Make sure you're subscribed on YouTube to the New Heights channel and follow New Heights on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes of New Heights early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
Once again, New Heights, a Wondery show produced by Wave Sports and Entertainment and brought to you by HBO's The Last of Us premiering soon here in April. Follow the show on all social media at New Heights Show with 1 s for fun clips throughout the week thanks to the production and crew uh for always uh editing out what we shouldn't say jason there's things we're not supposed to say into the 92 percenters love you guys we'll see you next week follow new heights on the wondery app or wherever you get your podcast you can listen to new heights early and ad free plus enjoy exclusive episodes of the show by joining wondery plus in the wondery app apple podcast or spotify today before you go tell us about yourself by completing a short survey Wondery.com slash survey.
Everyone has that friend who seems kind of perfect. For Patty, that friend was Desiree.
Until one day, I texted her and she was not getting the text. So I went to Instagram.
She has no Instagram anymore. And Facebook, no Facebook anymore.
Desiree was gone. And there was one person who knew the answer.
I am a spiritual person, a magical person, a witch. A gorgeous Brazilian influencer called Cat Torres, but who was hiding a secret.
From Wondery, based on my smash hit podcast from Brazil, comes a new series,

Don't Cross Cat,

about a search that led me to a mystery in a Texas suburb.

I'm calling to check

on the two missing Brazilian girls.

Maybe get some undercover crew there.

The family are freaking out.

They are lost.

I'm Chico Felitti.

You can listen to Don't Cross Cat

on the Wondery app

or wherever you get your podcasts.