Transcript

Darnold Flips the Script, Melo vs. LeBron, and Paul vs. Joshua

From Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 1 min · 11,258 words · 234 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "Darnold Flips the Script, Melo vs. LeBron, and Paul vs. Joshua", an episode of Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul published December 19, 2025 (1 h 1 min, about 11,258 words). It mentions 25 people, works and ideas, including Sam Darnold, Scott D. Anthony, LeBron James, Mike Tomlin, Aaron Rogers.

What this episode is about

The discussion centers on key NFL matchups, emphasizing standout performances and coaching strategies. Highlights include a spotlight on the recent Broncos vs. Patriots game, insights into coaches like Sean Payton and Mike Tomlin, and comparisons to collegiate football trends.

Key takeaways

  • Mike Tomlin: the only coach who could lead a circus and still ensure no one leaves with a frown.
  • NFL games aren't just entertainment; they're a saga of narrative shifts, learning, and redefining greatness.
  • LeBron vs. Melo: a rivalry as deep as the ocean... or maybe just a puddle in a parking lot.
  • Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua: like watching a high school debate club - entertaining, but not exactly Nobel Prize material.
  • Fans saying 'we' about their teams: it's not delusion, it’s the universal language of emotional investment!

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Sam Darnold, Matthew Stafford, Mike Tomlin, Aaron Rogers
  2. – 20:00: Sam Darnold, James Harden, Josh Allen, Isaiah Thomas
  3. – 30:00: FanDuel, Tyrese Maxey, Denil Hunter, Will Anderson
  4. – 40:00: Aaron Rogers, LeBron James, Ian Brady, Detroit Pistons
  5. – 50:00: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, Scott D. Anthony, Detroit Pistons
  6. – 1:00:00: Scott D. Anthony, Jake Paul, Anthony Joshua, Kobe Bryant

Notable quotes from "Darnold Flips the Script, Melo vs. LeBron, and Paul vs. Joshua"

  • Turn that place around. I know it's going back to Monday Night Football, but we haven't had a chance to talk about Pittsburgh and Miami because I want to talk Aaron Rogers.
    about Shawn Payton · at
  • And I want to ask you, there's a clip going around about whether LeBron and Melo was a rivalry, and you're the guy to ask about that. I want to get into it. Will you talk about that? Will you talk about that on this.
    about LeBron James · at
  • FanDuel's got it all. Same game parlays, quick bets for jumping in live and your way so you can build the bet that fits your play. Plus, don't miss out on holiday offers and surprises all month.
    about FanDuel · at
  • Turns out to be another way. So, I think about like in this case, I'm talking about Sam Darnold. I think about a guy like James Harden.
    about Sam Darnold · at
  • And by year four, you see what you got, right? Now, now you know. And Aaron Rogers on Monday Night Football reminded me of the type of quarterback he would describe in year three, right? in that progression. It was a terrible weather.
    about Aaron Rogers · at
  • I feel bad for Carmelo, not only because of the Detroit thing, but because Carmelo Anthony was a perfect scoring machine. Like Carmelo Anthony could do in terms of scoring the…
    about Scott D. Anthony · at
  • Pro Jake Paul. Jake Paul takes the sport seriously trained. Seriously. He's a big puncher. And I would say he has developed himself into a solid, if he wasn't famous already, he's a solid like.
    about Jake Paul · at
  • Experience. AJ is an Olympic gold medalist. He's a former heavyweight champ. If Jake Paul makes it to the third round, that's the same thing as winning.
    about Anthony Joshua · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Sam Darnold — Person · Primary referenced player (QB case study) · 8 mentions · first at
    Central to the discussion about narrative shifts in sports—whether a QB is “just a guy” or can become “that guy,” framed around a big game performance.
  • Scott D. Anthony — Person · Referenced star / debate anchor · 7 mentions · first at
    Discussed in depth regarding whether he and LeBron had a true rivalry; also framed as an elite scorer whose context (draft/team/era) shaped perception.
  • LeBron James — Person · Referenced superstar / debate anchor · 5 mentions · first at
    A major comparison point in the episode’s NBA segment—used to evaluate “rivalry” narratives (vs. Carmelo) and broader legacy standards.
  • Mike Tomlin — Person · Referenced coach / leadership exemplar · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as the episode’s main example of elite coaching leadership, consistency, and culture-building ("never had a losing season").
    Mike Tomlin has to offer as a coach, as a fan. any fan can relate and look at it and go, Well, I get why guys would run through a brick wall for that guy.
  • Aaron Rogers — Person · Referenced quarterback (game analysis) · 6 mentions · first at
    Discussed as an example of veteran, mistake-minimizing playoff-style QB play; tied to Steelers/Tomlin framing in the episode.
  • Jake Paul — Person · Referenced combat-sports celebrity (fight segment focus) · 6 mentions · first at
    One half of the boxing discussion; analyzed as a promoter/fighter building events through opponent selection and spectacle.
  • Anthony Joshua — Person · Referenced boxer (fight segment focus) · 5 mentions · first at
    The other half of the boxing segment; positioned as an elite heavyweight whose size/skill makes the proposed matchup extremely dangerous for Jake Paul.
  • Shawn Payton — Person · Referenced coach (team turnaround example) · 1 mention · first at
    Credited with changing Broncos culture and accelerating QB development; used as a “coach check” in Super Bowl contender evaluation.
  • James Harden — Person · Referenced NBA star (performance narrative example) · 4 mentions · first at
    Used as a comparison for how legacies are shaped by postseason performance and “getting it done when it matters most.”
    There's an excuse here. There's an excuse there. James Harden's been on a lot of great team, really good, talented teams. He's a great player. He has failed to win a championship. and I take no pleasure as a member of the.
  • Josh Allen — Person · Referenced quarterback (AFC contender framing) · 3 mentions · first at
    Cited as the key driver of Bills’ AFC outlook; his comeback vs Patriots is used as evidence of narrative/season turning points.
    I'm looking at the AFC and to me it's Texans Bills because of what the way Josh Allen came back on the Patriots, the way he's played this whole season. Really?
  • Matthew Stafford — Person · Referenced quarterback (comparison point) · 3 mentions · first at
    Used as the “proven Super Bowl-winning QB” contrast to Darnold and as an example of delivering under Brady-era pressure.
    Everyone believes in the back of their mind Bradyy's supposed to win. Brady's the goat. Brady Stafford took that ball, drove him right down the field and the Rams won that game…
  • Ian Brady — Person · Referenced benchmark (GOAT / pressure moments) · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as the archetype of late-game pressure and championship expectation; referenced in Stafford’s Super Bowl run and QB discourse.
    With the Bucks and he drives the Bucks down like the Bucks score a touchdown late in the game and it's Tom Brady and of course this is going to happen and usually the other…
  • C. J. Stroud — Person · Referenced quarterback (Texans contender argument) · 2 mentions · first at
    Presented as the Texans’ difference-maker and a QB who maintains composure; supports the claim Texans are a team no one wants in the playoffs.
    He was in the game until the game was over. I always felt like they had a chance. And he's giving me the same feeling in the NFL.
  • Tyrese Maxey — Person · Referenced player (development/work ethic example) · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as a concrete example of elite discipline and “extra credit” work translating into NBA success; discussed with specific draft context.
    For sure, he'll tell you, I cannot lie on our pod. I said, Elton, I'm telling you right now, if this guy gets to you, you better take him cuz he should have been gone, right?
  • Kobe Bryant — Person · Referenced NBA icon (work ethic / analytics debate) · 2 mentions · first at
    Invoked as the archetype of relentless work ethic and as an example of how analytics can underrate certain styles/eras of scoring dominance.
    Style of play. And what I was saying about Kobe is the analytics crowd tends to underrate Kobe Bryant because that kind of iso ball was not as efficient as the way the league went, but it underestimates.
  • Isaiah Thomas — Person · Referenced NBA legend (clutch/championship example) · 2 mentions · first at
    Used to illustrate the difference between great regular-season players and champions whose performance elevates in the biggest moments.
    And Isaiah Thomas, the legend, mission.
  • Denil Hunter — Person · Referenced defensive player (Texans defense example) · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned alongside Will Anderson as emblematic of Texans’ defensive strength and preparation habits.
    He's defense they have, Will Anderson, Denil Hunter, Stingley.
  • Will Anderson — Person · Referenced defensive player (Texans defense example) · 2 mentions · first at
    Named as part of the Texans’ front/defense that makes them a dangerous playoff opponent; used in a point about off-field preparation and leadership.
    He's defense they have, Will Anderson, Denil Hunter, Stingley.
  • Eli Manning — Person · Referenced quarterback (clutch comparison) · 1 mention · first at
    Contrasted with Harden to argue that some athletes elevate in the biggest moments even if they aren’t consistently dominant.
    Difference between someone like that and someone like Eli Manning who was never James Harden normally but when it mattered most he didn't have just one of those games. He had one of those games, right?
  • Tommy Fury — Person · Referenced boxer (Jake Paul career milestone) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as Jake Paul’s notable loss and a step up to a “real boxer” with name recognition, shaping Paul’s matchmaking narrative.
    A reality star, and he's not a necessarily a full-time, but he's like he can box. And he beats Jake. That's Jake's loss.
  • Max Lauro Piano — Person · Mentioned person (likely mis-extracted from brand reference) · 2 mentions · first at
    The transcript references the luxury brand 'Loro Piana' (and 'Lauro Piano' as a mispronunciation). This entity likely represents a mistaken PERSON extraction rather than an actual individual.
    Got the Porsche hat on and everything today huh?

Companies & orgs

  • Texas A&M — Company · Referenced team · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in the context of college football games.
    You could say that about Miami and Texas A&M too.
  • Detroit Pistons — Company · Referenced team · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of basketball discussions and draft choices.
    The moment the Detroit Pistons decided to take Darkco Milich, the opportunity of a rivalry is dead.
  • Cleveland Cavaliers — Company · Referenced team · 2 mentions · first at
    Mentioned in the context of basketball discussions and draft choices.
    You had the Cavs did not the Cavs shouldn't have even gotten as far as they did.

Sponsors

  • FanDuel — Company · Sponsor · 4 mentions · first at
    Primary sponsor of the podcast, mentioned multiple times with promotional language.

Full transcript with timestamps

Rich. Oh, look at you, Max. Got the Porsche hat on and everything today huh? You know what, Max?

Yeah. Your name is Money Max. Now, this is my birthday gift from you. Happy birthday.

This is like really sewn. This is There's no white. You know how they have the white pasty up? No, this is

Listen, when you open the donuts on your birthday and you said, "Oh, it's it's Max. It's Lauro Piano. I knew I had to, you know.

Well, you know what? Got great taste, my brother. Thank you. You, too. These are your kicks. See that?

Nice shoes. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. The RP. I like that. I like that trade-off.

The RPS. So, Thursday night, we have a lot of NFL to get into. I know college football's coming up, but last night's game, Thursday Night Football, arguably the best game of the year. I have some stuff I want you to hear. I want to see what you have to say.

I watched. So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, Broncos and Pats are the two teams that come to mind to me. Like I I see it as like Bills Texans in the AFC because the way the Texans defense has come on, especially in the second half of the year, the front seven, but like Broncos especially and also the Pats and I want to talk about the Broncos for a certain reason.

I like the Broncos. Yeah. Yeah. Shawn Peyton guy. I like Shawn Peyton. Turn that place around. Um, I know it's going back to Monday Night Football, but we haven't had a chance to talk about uh Pittsburgh and Miami because I want to talk Aaron Rogers.

Big Mike Tomlin fan here. Yeah. Yeah, of course. Mike Tomlin, best podium guy all time.

I just love his I just always love Mike Tomlin. We We can get into Tom the fact that he has never had a losing season

and and he's done it without a quarterback. He's done it as a defensive team, as an offensive team, as a running team, as a throwing like he every He just never

I just think I just think all all athletes need what Mike Tomlin has to offer in in some capacity. Some may need like a sippy cup of it and some may need a 40 ounce of it, but you need what Mike Tomlin has to offer as a coach,

as a fan. any fan can relate and look at it and go, "Well, I get why guys would run through a brick wall for that guy." Because you hear him at the podium and you're like, "I'd run through a brick wall for that guy."

He just gets it. You know, he's a nononsense guy. He just gets it. And it's not even all that. It's just like he just gets it. It's hard to explain.

Um, and I want to ask you, there's a clip going around about uh whether LeBron and Melo was a rivalry, and you're the guy to ask about that. I want to get into it. Will you talk about that? Will you talk about that on this show?

Here's the thing. If you ask me a question, yeah, I will talk about it. Yes. Do I care to talk about it?

No. I think it's obvious. But sure, if you want to talk about it, Well, look, I will take your feelings into consideration. We're partners after all. I'm going to ask you about it.

Hey, I committed to the job. So, that's it. Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua. Probably people want to know what I have to say about that because it's a fight.

Well, I want to I want to know. Yes, I definitely want to know your take on that.

Yes. Yes. All right. Let's talk about that. And you and maybe some college football because this is a big weekend.

Big weekend in college football. We have a buy, but yes, big buy. Yeah. Well, you said I'm I'm allowed to be a fan on the show.

No doubt. No doubt. So, in that case, you know what? I apologize for that. I hate it when guys in the media criticize fans or other people in the media for saying we about their teams. Who doesn't think about their teams as in we? I

as a kid as a you know and I so this is a safe place for me to be a fan in those situations.

If the Yankees acquire some big name at any point this month, I'm going to say we got so and so.

Okay, great. Yeah. I just don't want to be penalized for I I retract my previous statement. You ready to do this?

Let's do it. Game over is presented by FanDuel. FanDuel's got it all. Same game parlays, quick bets for jumping in live and your way so you can build the bet that fits your play. Plus, don't miss out on holiday offers and surprises all month long. Download the FanDuel app or head to fanduel.com/gameover to get started. 21 and over and present in select states or 18 and over and present in DC, Kentucky, or Wyoming. gambling problem, call 1800gambler or visit rg-help.com. Call 18887897777 or visit ccpg.org/hat in Connecticut.

A lot of people were saying last night uh was the best game of the year. It might have been. It's hard to argue against it considering the stakes and everything, right? I thought that and the Bills Patriots when Josh Allen came back on them was also because there was a like their significant not just because of what they do in the standings and the seedings and everything, but because of like a larger sense of a narrative shift. And I'll tell you what I mean by that. Um, the greatest moment in sports to me is when you learn something new. Is when you think it's one way, but it turns out to be it's the Marlo line. You want it one way, but it's the other way, but it turns out to be another way. So, I think about like in this case, I'm talking about Sam Darnold. I think about a guy like James Harden.

And people can say, "Well, Harden, they're extenduating circumstances. There's an excuse here. There's an excuse there. James Harden's been on a lot of great team, really good, talented teams. He's a great player. He has failed to win a championship." Um, and I take no pleasure as a member of the media or as a fan pointing that out. But that is the truth. That's how I see that story. James, you need to get it done when it matters most. And he's had a lot of shots. Even Steph Curry. People think that I hate on Steph. No, it's the way I see it. I never saw Steph as the best player on the floor on a championship team until 2022.

But he was in 2022. To me, he changed that script. Even if I people disagree with my interpretation, that's the way I saw that story. I'm watching the game last night and there's Sam Darnold and I picked the Rams the first time because they have Stafford and Seattle has Darnold and otherwise they're comparable teams. I think about Rich I think about like what the Rams did to acquire Jared Goff, right? They spent so much draft capital to move up and grab this dude and it worked. They got to the Super Bowl, but they couldn't get over the top. So, they're like, "Not good enough.

Now, we're going to spend all this draft capital plus Jared Goff, which is all that draft capital to go get Matthew Stafford cuz we're willing to do what it takes to get the guy." And it worked. And they won a Super Bowl. And like the because the days of Trent Diler are over where a good solid quarterback can win you a Super Bowl. It doesn't happen anymore. Really? When you look at the the Super Bowl winners, they're all special,

right? So, I'm watching You don't Do you think so? Yeah. I was I was just thinking back.

Yes. So, thank you for bearing with me through this take. I know it's a long one. So, I think about the Stafford Super Bowl run and Brady was defending champ and with the Bucks and he and he drives the Bucks down like the Bucks score a touchdown late in the game and it's Tom Brady and of course this is going to happen and usually the other team folds under that pressure, right? Because everyone believes in the back of their mind Bradyy's supposed to win. Brady's the goat. Brady Stafford took that ball, drove him right down the field and the Rams won that game and that showed me something and they went on to win the Super Bowl. And so now I'm watching Stafford and Darnold and I'm thinking we know what happens here. And sure enough, Darnold throws some interceptions and Stafford makes some great plays and the Rams are going to win the game. Oh, excuse me. Shahed with the punt return and another explosive play and now,

okay, Darnold, let's see what you got. Like, here it is. It's on a platter for you. Let's see. Let's see what you got. Are you just a guy? Are you a Jag? Maybe a half step above a Jag cuz he's talented. Or can you be that guy? Because it I never thought that he was one of those guys. After last night to me, he just authored the first chapter in in his own story. And Rich, that's what I love about sports is these guys write their own stories. Yes, it was a Seattle defense. It's the coaching. I get that. But Sam Darnold had to come through or they don't win that game. And he did. All right, that's it. Your reaction to Sam to to Sam Darnold and and and the Seahawks last night.

Well, I didn't know you was going to like drive in the school zone on that take, but yeah,

it's fine. School zone all the way. But I would say I agree with you in terms of I look at Seattle the same way I look at the Texans. They are the team you don't want to play in the playoffs. it and the the the difference maker on each in my opinion has solid defenses. CJ Stout on one end, Sam Darnold's play on the other end. If Sam Darnold plays well like he did last night, you don't want to play the Seahawks in the playoffs. And I and I also I'm happy for Sam Darnold. Let me tell you why. Because like you said, I think sometimes we're too quick to write off specific athletes because of whatever the evaluation coming out of college was or what we think he should be and so on so forth. And for Sam Darnold to take a step and go up three, four flights of being just a guy, that was impressive. and the and Mike McDonald his idea of two-point conversion fourth quarter three of them to convert that is

that to me is culture changing or in this case because Pete Carol did an unbelievable job going to the Seahawks to actually change the culture but enhancing that culture um from Mike McDonald and his staff and that's one where you as a form former I wasn't a great football player at all, but I was go back to my athletic days. As someone who was on a football team, you want to be in a locker room celebrating that win with those that's just one of those things. Now, can't get ultimately too high, but that's a that's a real a real season changing win in my opinion.

See, I there there are most of the time when you get a guy and you're like, "Okay, I get it, man. He's he's a guy. He's a guy. He's not bad. He's a guy. Usually that script does not change, especially nowadays where people are less patient with quarterbacks than they used to.

Well, a lot of it has to do with, I would say, your mental. Like, can you stay mentally strong enough

along the roller coaster ride till you get to a place to where now you can start to build equity in that in that confidence um space? And in this case, it looks like Sam Darnold. What do you think about the the idea though? Because I feel like guys like you, meaning on the on on the representation side or the athlete side, right? Because when you represent the athletes, you're seeing a lot of it from that point of view.

Yeah. Feel like the media is quick to come up with these narratives, right? And then they get dug into them, right?

To me, I'm not I'm looking for the story, of course, right? Like you want to know what this what's happening here. And sometimes it has to be, you know, you oversimplify things because you're trying to tell a simple like a story that's accessible even to yourself, right? But like if Darnold doesn't come through, if he throws another pick, if he overthrows a receiver there, I'm coming out today and saying you need a better quarterback than that. It's not that he's not good. He's good, but he's not one of those guys. And nowadays in the NFL, you need one of those guys.

You do, right? You do. And and to me, these guys write their own scripts. Like, you can say whatever you want about circumstances, but if Steph doesn't play the way he did in 22 and they don't win that championship, I'm sitting here going, Steph's never been the best player on the floor during a championship run ever.

I'm not I thought you were hating on Steph a little bit, Max. The first time around. The first time around, but he did it in 22. He was the best player on the And normally the smallest player on the floor. Yeah.

Can't be your best guy, you actually win. And there's very few guys that have done it. Steph is one of them.

He did it. And Isaiah Thomas, the legend, mission. And if Isa, by the way, Isaiah is a great example. If Isaiah doesn't come up big in big spots, we don't talk about him the same way. Like people who want to talk about Stockton, Isaiah, I'm sorry. Isaiah got it done.

Conversation. He got it done. Stockton, excellent defender, great offensive player. Stockton was a great player, but I can't at I'm not even talking about well Isaiah could get you 35 if you needed it. It's kind of different. I'm talking about when they had the opportunity on great teams.

Isaiah won championships and he did it frequently because his play elevated in the biggest moments. That means something to me, right? I need to see that. I'm not making it up like James Harden hasn't done it, right? You could talk about style of play, whatever. But I remember they missed every single shot they took in a game seven.

That was just that was just I mean when you when you take those hit a couple type of shots

Yeah. and you go cold that's just that that was just tough. Well I actually wanted to see James cuz I like James a lot. I wanted to see James get to the finals.

Yeah. Uh but that was just that that was one of those games. But but you know what? if you have a career and at the end there were a couple moments like that and it was just one of those games. That's the difference between someone like that and someone like Eli Manning who was never James Harden normally but when it mattered most he didn't have just one of those games. He had one of those games, right?

Yeah, he did. That's that's to me that is that a real to me that's a real thing. Are you saying that's not a real thing?

No, that's a real thing. Okay, that's what I I wanted to know. Um, I'm looking at at the AFC and to me it's Texans Bills because of what the way Josh Allen came back on the Patriots, the way he's played this whole season. Really?

You mean it's only the Texans Bills? To me, those are the two that's who's going to decide the AFC. But I will say you have to nod to the Patriots even though they lost that game because they're great coach, great quarterback, but the Broncos. And the reason I'm bringing up the Broncos is because the way I look at football, if who has a chance to win a Super Bowl, I'm looking at coach check. You got a coach? Yeah, they got Then I'm looking at quarterback. Then I'm looking at your defense. And really generally, do you control the line of scrimmage? Broncos are check on the coach. To me, it was a question mark at quarterback and a check on the defense.

Line of scrimmage, great defense. Then I I saw um Ryan Clark popped up on my reels and he was talking about or maybe I read it somewhere. He was talking about how Bone Knicks was responsible for Michael Parson's injury. And I'm thinking, huh, why would he say that? And I listen to what he had to say. You know, when you're the spy guy, when you're the guy who has to do everything and you're chasing around a mobile quarterback who can do a lot of things, that puts a lot of physical pressure on you, too. Cutting and stopping and starting. And I thought, let me go back and look at Bo Knicks this last week.

Oh, I did not know it was like that. It was like that, Rich. He was not only mobile and escaping pressure, he was making great decisions. He was looking off the defense, he was throwing darts. I get Ryan's point. Like I see it and to me that's a big check at quarterback. If he can continue that, if that's a real thing, if that's not a mirage, you cannot cannot. The Broncos are real.

How much of Shawn Payeyton do you think is contributing to Bo Nicks's play? A lot. Because he seems like a guy that obviously gets he's gotten better over time. And then I think the that quarterback coach relationship just instills that confidence. If you have the proper rapport, you can go out there and play freely. You have some responsibility, but then you know there's going to be accountability that comes with that.

That's the thing, the accountability. Yeah. Like you knew when Shawn that franchise was a mess. Sean, they hire Shawn Payeyton and the first thing you know is it's not business as usual anymore. All that nonsense is gone. like this is going to get serious. Yes.

Took him a couple years and he got it done. But you need that. And the Broncos actually has always been at least since I since I've been watching football, a organization that you thought was a pretty good organization throughout the NFL and they had winning and they had teams a lot of years, etc. So,

yeah. Yeah. No, look, I think I think when I look at the AFC, I still think for me this this year, I still think it's the Bills, right?

I agree. I think it's I think Josh Allen gets there this year, but the Texans almost seem like the hamburglar of the NFL, of of the AFC, and it's like the Texans are that team that you do not want to play. Did I bring this up on the pod the other day or maybe it was in a conversation with you off the air? They remind me of the Bucks off the Bucks defense the year they beat the Raiders in the Super Bowl where

Oh yeah. Where I don't remember if I said it on the pod or not but like sometimes there are extreme outliers where you watch them at a certain point later in the season you go oh it's like that like whatever happens with the Texans this year I'm going to remember this front. Like I'm gonna think about it when I think what what are some of the best fronts you've seen? If this continues like that, I will say, well, the Texans in 2025 were a lot.

When they're clicking on all cylinders, it's just like and sometimes I was talking about this last night with some young guys. We was talking about a number of things. It was a couple young kids, Seattle fans, etc. And I was explaining to them, sometimes a team just has your number,

right? They just have it. And you have to be able to You talking about in relation to the Bills?

To the Bills? I'm saying cuz they have everyone's number recently. Who? The Texans. Yeah, the

Yeah, but but I'm saying if the if we're saying the Bills are the ones that we think actually get there out the AFC.

Yeah. The only people that they could possibly lose to in my opinion is a team that may just have their number in the Texans. and the Texans. But now now obviously the Bills I have homec court advantage I mean home field advantage sorry and that that Buffalo snow is a whole you gota there's some mental things you have to get through there

but the also have a quarterback who you believe can be special at least I believe

I believe I believe in Stout I believe in Strow Straoud since he was in college I remember thinking even when they would lose a game

I did not believe the game was over if he was in the game until the game was over. I always felt like they had a chance. And he's giving me the same feeling in the NFL.

Yeah. Because even with his rough patch this year, you never seen him get out of his hookup.

Yep. He just didn't. He's defense they have, Will Anderson, Denil Hunter, Stingley. When I look at that and obviously at many more, but when I look at that defense, to me, those guys aren't just talented because, you know, talent is one thing and I've been through this with players and I always say to them, it's so hard to win because it's not about what you do at the facility. It's as much as it is about what you do when you're home. You get to decide what those hours look like. So when you go home as a professional athlete and we've got this team coming up, if you in your mind say to yourself, you know what, we had film, I sat with my coaches after practice, etc. So now when I get home, I'm just going to do whatever I want. We're in trouble because this is not

That's such a good point. This is not an individual sport. If I don't go home and do the extra credit work for my teammates, we are in trouble. And I believe that those guys on the defensive end, the Will Andersons, the Denil Hunters, those guys rally those guys to and really have a group chat and talk about things because that's what the outcome is.

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Optin required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply, including any token expiration and max wager amount. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling problem, call 1800 gambler or visit rg-help.com. Call 188878977777 or visit ccpg.org back in Connecticut. When you were a kid, were you the type of kid who did your homework in school? And I read your book, by the way. Did you do if you got homework, would you do it?

I did my Yeah, absolutely. First of all, here's the thing about me. Yeah. I hated missing school and I never thought it was cool to be a dummy.

Right. Well, me neither. But, and what I mean by that is, yeah, most people aren't dummies. It's

Well, that's debatable, but yeah, but here's what I'll say. Okay, you cannot be as smart as someone else,

but if you put the effort in, yes, people are interesting, they have thoughts, they can devel.

So, so no, I did Yeah, I did my home I did my homework everywhere. When I was a kid, I didn't do my homework till I got older. When I was a kid, I didn't I I didn't I just didn't do it. And as I got older, my late great brother Sam brought this up to me later. He was like, "You know what? To do a kid who does their homework is actually um exercising independence." Independence like you if you have you can think I'm going to make my kids sit there and do your you know you try to structure it. That might work or it might not work.

But how you structure your own free time is a big thing in your life. And what you just said about the players like it's not at the facility, it's at home.

That is a player who has a strong degree of independence actually and the kind of guy you want on your team because

absolutely because his independence is exercised in a way to make himself the best he can be.

I was just talking to some young they was college students. Yeah. And the guy and the young man asked me like to give him a couple gyms and they were talking about school and I said the same thing. I said, you know, you're not going to use what you learn in school pretty much in real life out I don't know the last time I used the MLA format to write anything or the Optus or TI 83, 82, 84, whatever to do a math problem. Right. But I said to them, I said, but the foundational habits

Yeah. getting to school on time, be paying attention in school and listening to a teacher and being coachable

and training yourself how to think also. It does the the the exact information is not important. It's training your brain getting your brain the reps in terms of how to think about stuff.

So that so like and I can tell you most guys don't most are not independent enough to turn their home life into no the job. I can. And now when the superstar guy doesn't get there, that person gets all the blame. But what we're not taking into consideration is what did the teammates do when they were at home because during the course of a game, you come out of a timeout, especially in basketball, the most important thing in basketball is after timeout execution.

Yeah. the coach could the coach could be there's points you you can either leave the points on the board there or you can put them on the board there

and when you're and when you're evaluating talent, right? Most of these guys look at a mock draft and want to go after the top guy because he's that. But you really have to evaluate a lot of different things and one of those is that and these teams are starting to evaluate that even more now.

So a dude like Maxi when you see him coming up you're like that dude is going to do what it takes.

Maxi? Yeah. What? Right. Do you know we trained during co right? Tyrese Maxi during COVID was doing two a days during CO sometimes three a days. He was never late and never complained the for and by the way

and how old was he at this time? He was like 19 years old and the and the and the draft that year was postponed. So normally you have 45 days of pre-draft. We had six months,

right? So for six months, that's discipline, boy, and passion. And I'm calling teams. I'm calling teams and I'm saying, "What you talking to me about a three-point percentage? This guy,

everything's going to come." No, it's It reminds me of what Kobe would say about how he would be the same age as someone else who was almost like they're around the same level, but he would think, "I'm going to get up. I'm going to get to the gym at 5:00 a.m. and I'm going to get two hours extra in before he does. I'm paraphrasing, but he goes, "And then, you know, five years later, that guy can never catch up to me." Philly was going to trade that pick and I called and I I told Elton Brand for sure, he'll tell you, I cannot lie on our on our pod. I said, Elton, I'm telling you right now, if this guy gets to you, you better take him cuz he should have been gone,

right? He should have been gone. Where did he go? What What number did he go? 21.

Oh, right. Damn. But when you think about it, 21. I don't even remember. I think Detroit took Killian Hayes cuz he Oh, he would know this cuz he's are Detroit as far as guards. I forgot who the Knicks took. Uh, was that the draft where they took um French dude? Uh,

not Nicolina. No, it wasn't Nicolina. What draft? No, that was Donovan Mitchell.

Oh, that was the Donovan draft. Yeah. No, but this draft I forgot who the Knicks took,

but the Pelicans took That's how you say his name, Nicolina. I forgot. Cuz the Knicks had two picks cuz they had quick they took quickly later on, but it was somebody they took before that. I can't I don't remember. I'm having a brain freeze. I normally remember this stuff.

But nevertheless, after a couple years, I get the years confused. and the and New Orleans took um the kid from Alabama.

It was a kid from Alabama. New Orleans took and then it just kept going and kept going and

they got a high lottery pick 21. Yeah. Oh yeah. I mean, if you did a reddraft today, if you just did a reddraft, we should do this sometime.

Yeah. Ant still goes one. Yep. And then it's between Tyrese Maxi and Tyrese Hallebertton for two.

Yes, it is. I think they go two and three. Yeah, if you pick Maxi probably goes three in that draft probably cuz Hallebertton's got a little size on him in

Great. I mean, in in that case, I rather be one or three. I don't want to be two in that draft. I want to be one or three if in that reddraft. But yeah,

so that matters. So, there's one more thing on football and then I got a question for you about this LeBron Carmelo stuff that I want to get to because this is from Monday Night Football and if I don't bring it up now, I don't know when I will, but it's been on my mind. Watching Aaron Rogers against Miami on Monday. So, I I um did a radio show, a morning show on ESPN radio with Keshan and Jay Will for a couple years. And Key is an old school like Parcels type football head. And you know, the greatest thing about this job is and working in sports media, if I'm calling a fight, I'm sitting next to, you know, Roy Jones or Andre Ward or Emanuel Stewart, right?

I mean, the education you get is absurd, right? If I do a football, a radio show, there's Key and Jay and Jay Will, right? Like, I'm and you're around Key for two years

and everyone the the the analytics guys could have their opinions about the old school football heads and vice versa. But if you think you're not going to get an education sitting next to a Super Bowl winner, number one draft pick, you know, great player in his prime, all that stuff, who who was like one of Parcel's favorites, you can't help but to get an education in football. And um one of the things he used to stress, and I grew up a Parcell's fan, so it's a Giants fan, right? So to me, that's how football is done.

Hold on, Sean is calling me again. I got to take this. I love these inshow calls. Well, it's my guy when he call.

Yeah, of course. He's not calling for nothing. What's up? You got something? Cuz I'm shooting.

All right, I'll call you right back. Did he say yes? No, you can reveal whether he said yes or not. Plead the fifth. Okay. Where was I? Uh, yeah.

Keep loves that old school parcel's way of doing football, right? and and and that was like that was like music to my ears because that's what I grew up on watching. And one thing he would talk about with a quarterback is nowadays everyone's rushing the quarterback, right? You got to win on your rookie deal. Not even true. I mean, you can take advantage of a rookie deal, but the fact is in the NFL usually it's the veteran quarterback, right? Superstar who wins the Super Bowl,

Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, whoever it is. And so he was saying, year one, when you get a quarterback, you just want them to know how to drive to the stadium. Year two, he's going to get in some into games. He's probably going to start. You want him to not mess it up, right? You throw the ball away. That's a good play. Don't don't turn the ball over. Don't do foolish stuff. Don't take unnecessary hits. By year three, you have to know what you're doing. And by year four, you see what you got, right? Now, now you know. And Aaron Rogers on Monday Night Football reminded me of the type of quarterback he would describe in year three, right? in that progression. It was a terrible weather game. It was he both defenses were playing well.

It looked so cold out. It looked it was it it looked miserable. And Aaron Rogers

and I'm from Cleveland, man. He played perfect like to me, remember when I said Chris Paul played like perfect Larry Brown point guard? To me, that looked like perfect Bill Parcels's developing a a good quarterback football, not making any mistakes really. When called upon to make a play that you needed to make, he had the talent, the ability to do it, right? So, he made two or three gems in that game and otherwise played smart game manager football. And I remember thinking to myself, in a way that makes him more alive to make a real playoff run this year than some of the years when he was the, you know, the best thing anyone had ever seen when he could do much more because and he didn't make a lot of mistakes then either. But it was it reminded me of the kind of football that wins in December, that wins in January, like that wins when it matters most. And it made me think with Tomlin as coach of

the Steelers chances differently. You know, I was watching the um the warm-ups of that game. Yeah. I was like, damn, it's it's cold.

But then I thought about Aaron Rogers and I'm like, oh, this is like Aaron Rogers is like he has like, you know, like swimming trunks cuz

frozen thund he played in Green Bay for all those years. But to your point, at Aaron Rogers age, and obviously he's not able to do the things he used to be able to do, but one thing he can do is deliver that football. And if he gets the protection, he's going to deliver that football. His st with the Jets, he just didn't get the protection. But also, you don't need because he is where he is in age now and he's not what he once was. You're not going to overly rely on that as a team. So, it's complimentary football at a high level. Yes. And and and winning winning playoff style football.

But really, it's Steelers football. Yeah, it is. Traditionally, see, it's traditionally Steelers football. The Steelers has always managed the football game in a way in which they're executing offensively at a high level and then their defense is just not going to let you score. I mean, you're going it's going to be tough. So it's not like you you never saw the Steelers outside of when they had Randle L do a trick play and this and that. That's not

Although Tomlin's been I give him credit because he's had all different kinds ofations of this different things. Yeah.

Always competitive and in different ways through the years. But when they won the

when they were on top Yeah. They play very high level, high execution, hardnose football. And so,

and if you go all the way to Terry Bradshaw, because that's the way the game was played back then. When you needed him to make a play, he would. But it wasn't all about him making the big splash play all the time.

I can't speak on Terry. I can speak on Terry's throwback jersey because I definitely had that, which was fire.

When I was a little kid play, when I was a little little kid, I was a Steelers fan because

they won the Super Bowl every year. When was Terry Bradshaw's last year? Uh, late 70s sometime.

I didn't I wasn't born. Before your time. Before my time. Yeah. Watched the They used to have a morning show, The Great Space Coasters for When I was really mean. Joe Green would show up on it.

Yeah. When I was really little watching football, the TV was like the size of this microphone and the men look like I mean, so you had to get I think that's Yeah. I don't wear glasses.

Yeah, that little black and white TV. I remember my in my mother and father's bedroom, they had a a 13-inch color TV, and that was called the big TV when I was little. Want to go see it on the big TV?

Yeah. Yeah. Technologies come a long way. Now we get to the juicy stuff. Oh god.

There's a clip going around. There's clips going around every There's so many clips.

You know which one I'm talking about with whether or not LeBron and Melo were a rivalry. Do you know what I'm talking about?

I saw it. Yeah, I'm not going to lie. I saw it. What do you think? Was it a rival? Was Was Melo and Braun a rivalry? Yes or no?

I think Brandon Jennings was right. I think Brandon, you know, the thing Brandon Jennings is right about a lot of He's very astute with his basketball knowledge. I got to tell you the truth. I think a lot of these guys like the former athletes doing podcasts nowadays are make a lot of good points that wouldn't have used to get didn't used to get made. And I think the rappers who got podcast too because they're not afraid to tell the truth.

There's also a lot of hating too. Envious hating, you know, side, whatever. In this case, what do you

But in this case, I think Brandon Jennings was right. He was right. And the reason why he was right is because of not anything that has to do with Carmelo or LeBron's basketball play. It's actually what they don't control. And this what people don't understand. The moment the Detroit Pistons decided to take Darkco Milich, the opportunity of a rivalry is dead.

If he would have gone to Detroit because now we see each other four times a year. We're gonna see each other in the playoffs. You're gonna beat me. I'm gonna beat you. That's

actually if he would have gone to Detroit, he would have been whooping on LeBron.

Of course, they had the better team because now you But this is what I'm saying. These guys have to get drafted somewhere. They don't control where they get drafted. If you And in this case, I mean, look, as great as I love Joe D, I'm sure if you ask Joe D, he probably was like, "You know what, man? We had so much I just over was a pressure player in college. He freshman wins the championship.

But the thing about it is the thing joining a great defensive team right now. But you had every piece. You had Chance as the point guard. Rip, he's running around off of these, you know, screens. I mean, you he never stopped like the road runner of the NBA.

Once they added Rasheed Wallace, they had Rasheed, you had Ben Wallace. Yeah. But when you just plug Carmelo

Tan Prince though a lot of defense there and guess what they was embarrassment of riches. Yeah,

they had an embarrassment of riches to the point to where That's our first embarrassment of riches.

They had embarrassment of riches to the point to where if we're really being honest,

they could have brought Carmelo off the bench as a as a young player. Let him develop as a sixman. Oh my god, you're right. And now you're right. When you talk about

tired starters playing what was Melo great at catching and shooting he's Carmelo

Well offensively he was great at everything. But what I'm saying I'm just saying his catch and he can adapt to any type of style offensively. Okay. You want to put a small smaller guy on me? I'm going to post him. When he face up and rip through at that young age he was dunking on he was dunking it. Yeah. So, I agree with Brandon Jennings because of that reason. But here's the thing. These guys don't get to choose. So, then I saw another clip

uh not coming out in the draft. No, but then he faced the moment of truth later where he did get to choose when he was

But that's a Well, we can't we don't I don't want to talk about that. That's a different story.

Rich, it's part of the story because when he looks at the Knicks and says, "I want to go there." If he like the Knicks have the leverage, if they don't throw everyone into that deal, then when he gets to the Knicks, they got more in the cupboard and maybe

maybe who knows. Look, I think that or if he goes joins your guys in Miami, like he made certain choices later. Well, I look again, not from Carmelo perspective, but I but I think as a player, as a as a player in any sport, I think we get caught up in this thing of like, man, I'm I'm going to do it on my own. And by the way, no people will say, "Oh, well, you're just saying that because of LeBron." No, I'm the biggest LeBron critic of all critics. I'm the one that I did not like going to Miami. Mhm.

I was D. Wayade told the story. I didn't speak to him and Chris Bosch at all. I was furious, but I was wrong. And let me tell you why I was wrong. Because you don't get to choose where you're drafted, right? And in most cases, most athletes aren't evaluating all things because they don't have the autonomy. When you become a player that the market is the league, meaning my market is all 30 teams,

everyone wants me. Everyone wants me. That takes a different approach towards everything. Now you have to evaluate things a lot different because I had that opportunity. If you get there and you're not recognizing that opportunity, then that's on you because the mindset is the true luxury. People think, "Oh, luxury is costing a lot of is having things that cost a lot of money." No, it's the way you think. And this is what I know. The luxury is having things cost a lot of money is that same guy who goes to Hermes and buy a throw and uses as a rug.

That's not a rug guy. That's a throw that belongs on the back of your couch. Right. But yet and still you go and and the guy has a throw under a coffee table because it costs a lot of money. But he don't know the difference between a throw and a rug.

That's where you have to put that pride in the hookah pipe and smoke it. So Carmelo put a put an Hermes blanket.

No under his table. No, he did not do that. Why would he? No, he did not do that. We're talking about if you I'm answering your question of if you said do I agree or disagree with Carmelo and LeBron being rivals and I disagree.

They're not they were never they were never rivals. No. And we get and it's not all Carmelo's fault.

No, we get caught up. Detroit passed on Carmelo. He didn't tell Detroit to pass on

and in fact in fact there's added significance because of course Carmelo goes second.

Like of course LeBron goes first. Of course, Carmelo was second. It just so happens the team that was picking second was perfect.

Well, here's the thing. Yeah, Carmelo won a national championship that year. Yeah, I imagine

if Well, Jerry McNamera, if the number one pick isn't the Cleveland Cavaliers, now you got a real issue because

even though I think most people would have still took LeBron, I understand that. But still, he had all the accolades to to be in the conversation. He he was in the conversation and the conversation went like this. LeBron won, Carmemelllo two.

Fair point. Yeah. And that's why the Detroit thing didn't make sense. Exactly. So now

Detroit skips over Carmelo and we get caught up because they were they were if you're ranking the talent in the draft, yes, they were one and two. So we want that to be a rivalry, right? But

there was no ri is Carmelo's. So in the first six, seven years of his career, through no fault fault of his own, he wasn't in the right situation.

They never really met up in the playoffs. After that, he could have made better choices.

That's on him. I had nothing to do with that. But what I'm saying is the rivalry was not there because of that whole thing. Now once either you got to meet in the finals or you have to meet in the playoffs. The other thing too is over time it definitely wasn't a rivalry rivalry because LeBron was skipped over like a lot of things was skipped over and he went all the way here to people that wasn't even his peers. He was being he was being held to a standard of people that wasn't even his peers. One was gone was a ghost in Michael Jordan and the other one was was Kobe, right? And we all wanted that when the Muppets came out the commercial when they wanted to play in in the finals in09. And again, going back to I think I seen somebody say something. I'm like, no. When they when they lost in 2009, that had everything to do with the way they lost in 2008. When the Cavs lost in 2008, they lost to a Celtics team that

had PJ Brown played out of his mind that series right? You had the Cavs did not the Cavs shouldn't have even gotten as far as they did.

But here's what I'm saying. Then you come back 2009 preparing for who? The team you lost to in 2008, right? And you run into a team with one in and four out in terms of

the magic. Turkaloo, Rashard Lewis. Yeah. Nelson, and they had uh um what's my guy name? French kid, uh Michael uh forgot his name,

but and then they had and then they had Dwight Howard. So now for the 09 Magic roster. Yeah. Oh, the Dwight Howard team. Yeah. Yeah. But now you're you're thinking about the run up against this 08 because just because a team got to the Eastern Conference for one team and you run into another and also Dwight Howard was at his absolute peak.

Yes. But it didn't matter because you don't have the personnel. Yeah. So now but I've what I learned from that thing at that moment was and this is what I always talk about. You have to have depth enough depth to fight any style. You have to be able to fight any style in the playoffs. And then you have to have players that are willing to understand especially six to 10, if you're playing a 10-man rotation, probably eightman rotation. But if you have the depth to go 10, okay, great. Or nine, great. that guy, those guys in that 6 to 10 range, they have to be willing to understand this may not be my series and I may not play because I'm going to tell you when the Cavs traded for when they made the trade for Ivon Shumpert

and J.R. Smith, they was not making that trade. The trade was going to be Andre Roberson from the from the Thunder. And I remember talking about this and I always liked J.R. Smith with a LeBron team because I felt like if he just concentrated on being able to catch and shoot, he was I mean, you've seen him in McDonald's game or whatever. We were at Atrium this before with Ronnie Fee who now owns Kith before it was ever a Kith. We was at Atrium and I was there with Randy and I were there and I just happened to run into JR. I never know I was going to see J.R. but I had been having these conversations and it all boiled down to if they felt like, man, you know, you're bringing J.R. along because he had had whatever baggage at the time, etc. And I'm like, "No, athleticism and shooting is what's always needed. Athleticism and shooting." And I left out the store and before I left, and J.R. contested this.

I said to J.R., "See you in Cleveland." I said to J.R., "See you in Cleveland." He's like, "What?" He has no idea what I'm talking about. and I say to him, "See you in Cleveland." And I think it was like a couple weeks later, he get traded. But they didn't want J.R. Smith. J.R. Smith was a throwin to that trade. And the only reason why they they really decided to make the trade was because we knew that we can handle J.R. Smith in terms of LeBron knew we can handle J.R. Smith in the locker room and I known J.R. since he was 17 years old. You get what I'm saying? So,

I mean, the talent that JR had to just even be able to acquire him. Yes. But what I'm saying is at that time he wasn't the talent wasn't

manifesting. Yeah. But it was still like I'm just telling you from where I was sitting. Oh, they got J.R. Smith.

But but but no one else thought that in that but in that front office J.R. Smith was a throwin to that trade because you're looking at the a defensive wing in Aman Shumpert which was great.

Yeah. Who knew that J.R. Smith would wind up being a perimeter defender in addition to that.

Do you remember at first Aman was starting? Yeah. Yeah. Sure. J.R. was coming off the bench when it was under Blat and then Too obviously switched it around. But yeah. No. So I say all that to say, no, it was not a rivalry unfortunately because of where the draft went. Um, but sometimes, you know, when you go one and one and three in a draft, people want to create this thing and it's like

I feel bad for Carmelo, not only because of the Detroit thing, but because Carmelo Anthony was

a perfect scoring machine. Like Carmelo Anthony could do in terms of scoring the ball. I like I don't mean offense, I mean scoring the ball. And as a matter of fact, as a passer was underrated at his very best, I thought. Anyway, was a hell of a ball player

and it's unfortunate because he's one he's he's definitely one person for me that I would have loved to see win for me cuz I like but his this is this is the other thing that went sideways for him to me in terms of the way how it panned out his game was built on a certain kind of NBA

yes it was and then out from under his feet the league changed I think one of this is one of the reasons that the analytics crowd doesn't doesn't fully appreciate

Carmelo could have played in any it didn't matter but I understand but I mean his level had the NBA not been changing the way it did would have been even higher.

Okay. So so so so you said to say what like so I'm saying that so it's two things. One he didn't get drafted in to where he's supposed to get drafted. and it would have changed things. And two, his style of play. And what I was saying about Kobe is

the analytics crowd tends to underrate Kobe Bryant because that kind of iso ball was not as efficient as the way the league went, but it it underestimates like what level was attained in that.

Could you imagine? Could you I'm just thinking about something you're saying like Carmelo attained a level of play that was absurd. Yes,

but he didn't only just have ISO ball. No, of course. What I'm saying is, could you imagine him playing in a Draymond Green row,

right? Like, forget about it. I mean, Shaq even talks about watching Giannis and thinking, why wouldn't anyone let me do some of that stuff? Game changes,

but but when the game changes out from under someone's feet, like in the middle of their prime, it's tough to adapt to that. When you can shoot the ball the way that Carmemelllo Anthony could shoot the ball,

you'll always there is no game changing. Shoot it out. Whether it was George Mikin or Wimby, it don't matter.

So, we have a big sports weekend coming up and real quick, Jake Paul, Anthony Joshua.

No, I want to ask you about that. Yeah, Mr. Bos boxing expert. Yeah. Why would Jake Paul fight Anthony Joshua?

Good question. Jake Paul starts his career as a YouTuber. He's a Disney kid, right? First of all, this dude's got people are like, "Pro or con Jake Paul?" Pro Jake Paul. Jake Paul takes the sport seriously trained. Seriously. He's a big puncher. And I would say he has developed himself into a solid, if he wasn't famous already, he's a solid like eight round cruiserweight puncher, right? But if you're Jake Paul and you got this multi-million dollar business by fighting another YouTuber, how do you keep selecting opponents to capture the public's imagination? You can't just fight another boxer, you're not experienced enough in the beginning, and the type of dude you'd match up with has no name because he's also inexperienced.

You can't make a big event. So, he's a brilliant guy this way. He's like, "Okay, first I'll fight another YouTuber. Now, I'll fight an athlete. Not good enough because he's too much too good for them. He's he's serious. Now I'll fight a a combat sports athlete, but not a striker. I'm not up to that yet. Does that now fight a combat sports athlete who is a striker, but he's old, right? He did that a couple times. Eventually, he works himself up into fighting another boxer, Tommy Fury, Tyson Fury, the heavyweight champ's half brother. And he's also like a reality star, and he's not a necessarily a full-time, but he's like he can box. And he beats Jake. That's Jake's loss.

Now Jake goes back to fighting the the combat sports strikers again. He builds himself back up. Fights in a few actual boxers, fringy kind of boxers and but he but now he has to keep making big events, right? So what does he do? He takes a great fighter who's ancient, Mike Tyson, almost 60 years old, right?

That that that got so many views that was still was Mike Tyson. It's so crazy how how dynamic and how much of a draw Mike Tyson is

still we know Mike Tyson he's not he cannot do anything in the ring that he remotely ever did

ridiculous yeah but still but listen Jake Paul is my Ohio brethren know he's from Ohio right

this is serious you What are you doing this weekend? I mean, I'm sure you got to watch this fight.

Oh, yeah. Tomorrow night. I'm going to uh going to uh actually someone who's on the show with on the uh on the boxing show with me inside the ring is uh hosting my college

hosting a fight party. Yeah. You want to come Friday night? It's a lot of college football on a lot of basketball.

I got to watch it. So So, so to finish the point quickly, Mike Tyson, he's ancient right

now. He's going to fight Javvante Davis who's like a little little guy. Yeah. And when that fight fell apart, he had the guts to say, "Okay, I'll you want me to fight a guy bigger than me?"

Hey, this who's like not I took my hat to the brother, but he but if he gets out of the first round, he wins.

This is a real This is a real guy. Anthony Joshua. Anthony Joshua fought Francis Enanu who was a big time UFC fighter and a striker and a big strong dude and almost decapitated him. And Jake Paul is half a foot shorter than Anthony Joshua. He's outweighed by 20 or 30 pounds. He has very little experience. AJ is an Olympic gold medalist. He's a former heavyweight champ. If Jake Paul makes it to the third round, that's the same thing as winning.

He's going to need again, my Ohio brethren, he's going to need a a really hot bath.

Yeah. Really hot bath. And speaking of hot bath. Yes. Yes. Cuz you know, I've been playing all this golf and my back. But I always wondered this, why is it that when a woman takes a bath, why is the water so much hotter? They need it so much hotter.

No, it's like scorching hot. Or if you get into the shower with your It's like I can't.

But the shower is one thing. No, no, no. It's too hot. But here's what I'm saying. It's too hot. With the shower, you can dance in and out.

With a bath. My mother and I It's like I miss my mother so much. What made you think of this?

But because I've been having to Oh, cuz playing golf, you know, you get sore a lot and you have to take a bath.

Does a Dell draw a bath for you? How does that work? Come on, Max. Well, and you brought it up. I didn't bring it up.

All I'm saying to you is this. When my when I was a kid, my mother used to run the bath water.

Yeah. And it was one of those things where I'm damned if I don't and I'm damned if I do because there's obviously, you know, there's only one bathroom in the house. There's a traffic jam getting into the tub. Right.

Right. You have to get it in and out quick and wash the tub out quick to get the next kid in there. But the water is so hot I can't get in. So now I'm on the clock,

right? What happens if you don't get in? I mean, you catch it from your mom today. If what happened and I did get Yeah, of course. Well, yeah.

Child protective services. Yeah. All of them will show up like the SWAT team, by the way. Same.

But what I'm saying is now I had to decide. And the water was always so hot. Yeah. And then even

it's like the scene where the where whatever is coming to get the who and they get to the cliff and you look at the you look at whoever you jump off the cliff

like it's too this is not a hot tub. This is a bath. This is crazy. So I'm at this inflection point. But yeah, so I've been having to you know because

it's just a whole long story. But so now you can make the bath the way you want.

But now I actually want the water hot and I can't. Yes. It's I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. You brought up Friday night or it's Friday night. Tonight I said I said Friday night before. It's tonight is the fight. Um and it's also is Jake Paul and Anthony Joshua and it's also uh Oklahoma and or Alabama. Oklahoma. It's

going be a really good game. I'm picking Alabama but I think I like all the home teams this year.

Mat Mat is Matier playing? Yeah. Yes. Okay. Well, I'm picking Alabama, but if Oklahoma won, I wouldn't be surprised about that.

You could say that about Miami and Texas A&M too. Texas&M is tough. Miamiy's ah, that's a tough one, too.

I like I just like the home teams. I like like these are close games. Texas&M playing some good ball.

I love I love the You But yeah, Texas&M playing some good ball. I like I like Oklahoma and Texas&M.

It's going to be a good weekend, though. Yeah, for sure. We'll see if we can't get you over to the fight.

What time the fight is tonight? Uh they walk in 8:00 uh local time. Is it going to start on time? You know, sometimes

No, it probably won't. I'm guessing 8:30. 8:30? Yeah. All right. I'll text you.

All right. I'll text you. I'll see you on Monday if not if not if not. No. No. No. No. You know, we're going to see each other this weekend.

All right. We'll see them on or they'll see us on Monday. Monday. Yeah. Perfect. must be 21 and over in present select states for Kansas in affiliation with the Kansas Star Casino or 18 and over and present in DC Kentucky or Wyoming gambling problem call 1800gambler or visit rg-help.com call 1888789777 or visit ccpg.org/hat org/hat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinemma.org or or call 800327-50 for 247 support in Massachusetts or call 18778-NY or text hopey in New York.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Darnold Flips the Script, Melo vs. LeBron, and Paul vs. Joshua"?

Max Kellerman (Host), Rich Paul (Guest).

What is "Darnold Flips the Script, Melo vs. LeBron, and Paul vs. Joshua" about?

The discussion centers on key NFL matchups, emphasizing standout performances and coaching strategies. Highlights include a spotlight on the recent Broncos vs. Patriots game, insights into coaches like Sean Payton and Mike Tomlin, and comparisons to collegiate football trends.

What is mentioned in this Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul episode?

25 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Sam Darnold, Scott D. Anthony, LeBron James, Mike Tomlin, Aaron Rogers, Jake Paul. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Darnold Flips the Script, Melo vs. LeBron, and Paul vs. Joshua"?

The episode runs 1 h 1 min; the transcript is about 11,258 words in 234 timestamped sections.

More from Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.