The Salary Cap Wars, Heroes, Gamblers, and Happy Gilmore’s Downfall! RB Rankings and Corporate Socialists
With Bison on “special assignment” in the wilds of Alaska, the rest of the guys held down the fort for a fiery episode. The show started off with heartfelt and thought-provoking names being brought to the bar before diving headfirst into some of the biggest business stories in sports: a massive media merger that could change how fans watch the NFL, a presidential order aimed at taming the NIL “wild west,” and a looming labor war in baseball. Of course, with draft season upon us, the guys also delivered a can’t-miss deep dive on fantasy football running back strategy.
Let’s break down the highlights from another packed episode.
Toasts at the Bar: Coaches, Phenoms, and Public Courage
This week’s “Who you bringing to the bar?” segment was a powerful mix of celebration and respect:
Milk kicked things off by bringing Florida Gators coach Billy Napier to the bar, declaring this a “put up or shut up” year for his team, which he believes has the best quarterback in the SEC.
Pope toasted Lottie Wode, a female golfer from England who just won her first professional tournament on her very first try, drawing comparisons to the rise of other amateur phenoms.
House offered a multi-level drink to Eagles GM Howie Roseman for fleecing the Titans in the A.J. Brown trade, a move highlighted by the recent release of the player Tennessee took as Brown’s replacement, Treylon Burks. House also extended the toast to A.J. Brown himself, who bravely opened up about the severe depression he faced with the Titans, a story suggesting the trade may have literally saved his life.
Rooster closed the round by bringing Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders to the bar, offering his respect for Sanders’ public courage in sharing his diagnosis and difficult battle with bladder cancer, which has brought much-needed awareness to the condition.
The Disneyfication of the NFL?
The first major topic of discussion was the looming merger between ESPN and the NFL Network, a $2 billion deal that would see the NFL take an equity stake in ESPN while ESPN acquires control of the NFL Network and Red Zone. The hosts were deeply skeptical, seeing it as a bad deal for fans and journalism.
Here are the primary concerns:
The end of investigative journalism: With the NFL as a part-owner, the hosts believe hard-hitting reporting on controversial topics like concussions and domestic violence will disappear from the network. Rooster argued, “You will see immediately the end of any kind of investigative reporting”.
Increased costs for fans: The crew predicts that essential services like NFL Red Zone will be bundled into new, more expensive streaming packages, forcing fans to pay more for content they may have previously had.
Propaganda over programming: The hosts worry that with this deal, ESPN will fully transition from a sports programming network to an entertainment-focused propaganda arm for the NFL, losing what little journalistic integrity it has left.
Taming the NIL “Wild West”
Next, the conversation shifted to college sports and President Trump’s recent executive order regarding Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). While the hosts acknowledged the order had some positive goals, they questioned its ultimate impact. The order aims to ban third-party “pay-for-play” schemes run by booster collectives and, importantly, protect non-revenue sports. It mandates that wealthy schools cannot cut scholarships for sports like wrestling or swimming and that the biggest programs must even increase those scholarships. However, the crew agreed that the order is largely “grandstanding” and lacks the teeth to be enforced without Congress passing a companion bill to make it law.
MLB Heats Up: Hall of Famers and a Labor Standoff
The baseball world provided two hot topics: the latest Hall of Fame class and a brewing war over a salary cap. The hosts celebrated the inductions of Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner. They singled out Ichiro as “maybe one of the most underappreciated players in the history of baseball” , noting that despite starting his MLB career at 27, he still amassed over 3,000 hits. (Bison wasn’t available for comment).
The praise wasn’t unanimous, however. Milk, ever the sabermetrician, pointed out that Ichiro’s WAR and on-base percentage aren’t among the all-time greats, sparking a debate that will surely be revisited when the absent Bison returns. The guys switched gears and turned to conversation about a potential lockout. A story broke about a clubhouse confrontation where Bryce Harper told Commissioner Rob Manfred to “get the f— out of our locker room” over the suggestion of a salary cap. This topic deeply divided the pod, with House passionately arguing against a cap while Milk, seeing the parity in the NFL, advocated for it. Rooster and House quickly labeled Milk a “corporate socialist” looking for a “handout” from big-market teams.
Fantasy Football: Your Guide to Drafting Running Backs
With fantasy drafts just around the corner, the hosts delivered a masterclass on navigating the running back position in 2024. After correcting the record on his Super Bowl appearances (four, NOT three) , Milk defended his strategy of waiting to draft a quarterback.
Here are some of the key running backs discussed:
Top Tier Talent: Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Bijan Robinson are among the elite first-round targets.
Sleepers and Value Picks: The crew is high on James Cook of the Bills, Aaron Jones in Minnesota , and James Conner in Arizona. But the biggest sleeper might be Tampa Bay’s own
Bucky Irving, who Milk believes will “go nuts this year”.
Players to Beware: The hosts warned against drafting the Boise State rookie (Ashton Jeanty) too high , expressed (pretty much) a total loss of faith in Travis Etienne , and considered Alvin Kamara massively overrated at his current ranking.
Punches, Lassos, and a Disappointing Sequel
The episode wrapped up with their signature segments:
Punches: House delivered two punches for gambling-related offenses. The first went to the college football players who shared a playbook with an opponent ahead of their game. The second was a “slap” that could turn into a punch for Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase, who is under investigation for suspicious betting patterns related to his first pitches.
Lasso: A powerful lasso was given to New York City youth baseball coach Yeoman Wilder, a genuine hero who bravely stood between his young players and armed ICE agents, telling the agents they would have to go through him.
Buzzer Beater: In a rare movie review, the hosts gave a collective thumbs down to Happy Gilmore 2, calling it unfunny and predictable. On the flip side, they highly recommended the new golf show, Stick, with Pope calling it the “Ted Lasso of golf”.
Be sure to check in next Monday when the fantasy football preview continues with a deep dive on wide receivers and tight ends.
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