Marcelo Mayer and the Red Sox Opening Day Lineup // Email of the Day // The Final Word - 2/24 (Hour 4)

We have a show to do today. The whole new acronym thing drives me effing Ben. Can we call him by his name? Shelter and Ben on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Let's go. Again, I think we're going to try to do what's best. It doesn't necessarily mean that we have to spend because Drake's on a rookie contract. We're going to, again, make decisions, you know, both for the short and long term that we see as best moving forward. But Elliot Wolfe is there as the Patriots' chief decision maker on paper, and he is speaking for the team. So it's a little aggravating. Again, I'm not putting it all on him, but it's a little aggravating, Matt, to have to have heard for decades how the rookie quarterback contracts the cheat code and allows you to do so many things, and we can't spend because of, even though Brady's taking less, he's still making big-time quarterback money, and we don't have that, you know, all that freedom that Kansas City had with Patrick Mahome as a rookie contract and Josh Allen with the rookie contract. Then you get to your MVP caliber quarterback with a rookie contract. You say, well, it's not really all about spending. Just because we have a rookie quarterback doesn't mean we need to spend. And I feel like a little bit of a bait and switch to you a little bit. Definitely not a little bit, a lot. So that is, I can understand if Patriots fans are a little bit aggravated by that one. Like I said, 617-779-0985. kind of on this topic is going to set up teabagging with Maz, or it's actually called Maz's Tea, excuse me. It's time for Teeing It Up with Maz, brought to you by Bigelow Tea, official hot tea of the Boston Red Sox. Bigelow, grab a mug and tea proudly. Jake in Boston, why don't you lead us into that, please? Well, let me begin on this. So John Henry bought Linda Petuzzi on Boston Globe, didn't print a paper today for the first time in 153 years due to 18 inches, only 18 inches of snow. Meanwhile, down in Providence, they got three feet, and the Providence Journal went to the press. So I guess as a Red Sox fan, I guess I'm happy that John Henry is being a cheap you-know-what about something else other than his baseball team, which prints money every single summer. If we're going to go down this road, Sam Kennedy should just close up shop, announce we're doing Bark at the Park, sell a bunch of tickets for a bunch of humans and dogs, and just forget about being a Major League Baseball team. Let's tee it up with Maz, your thoughts on this, because I have one. Well, first of all, it's Pazooty, not Patoozie, but that's neither here nor there. And so, look, I mean, I don't know how many people read the printed paper relative to the digital one anymore anyway. This is not, you know, this was not anything that was particularly on my mind. In fact, is it true? Oh, yeah, no, it's true. It is kind of wild. They printed it through two world wars and a depression, a little bit of snow. Eh, shut it down, boys. I know, really, unbelievable. Again, I read it online, so I wasn't aware that it wasn't printed today. until I just heard that. That's ridiculous. She's done an excellent job with the Globe. She has. She and he. In fact, I give them more credit for their Globe ownership than almost the Red Sox ownership, which I think has fallen off. I don't know if you've noticed the state of newspapers in America, in the world today, and they've kept that paper going. It's fully staffed. They had something like 20 people at the Super Bowl. Or something? Now listen, I complain about the nature of beat writing today, which I think has fallen off dramatically. And I think the Globe beat writers, other than Washburn, I don't know who really gets after the teams there or does the job the way that I want it done. I don't know if any of them do over there. I can sort of quibble with that. But her job with the paper, Maz, I think she's done an excellent job with the Globe. I would agree. It's still a fully staffed, viable newspaper, daily newspaper, where they employ dozens if not hundreds of journalists like that. I do not criticize Pizzuti or Henry for their stewardship of the globe. They've done a good job there. And they're still covering sports unlike the Washington Post. Thank you. Or like the New York Times or the Washington Post who farmed out their sports department. And I do read the paper when I get it. I still get the Boston Herald. The Boston Herald, our dearly departed Boston Herald, Maz, feels like a freaking coupon book that you get at the grocery store. Yeah, that's right. A supermarket shopper. Tiny. And the staffing has never been low and all of that. So, Jake, I think you're barking up the wrong tree there on the printed edition of the Boston Globe today. I would say that. We'll take a break here. More your calls. 617-779-0985 right after these words. As men get older, our bodies change. We all know that. And often we just accept the changes as the way it is. But some of those changes, such as bad sleep patterns, low sex drive, brain fog, no energy, and reduced gains in the gym, could be due to low testosterone. And that is something you can change. This is Dale for Northeast Men's Health. And even if you're in your 30s, if you're experiencing some or all of the symptoms I just noted, you very well may need low testosterone treatment. With our treatment protocols, if you're like most men, you'll be amazed at the change. You'll have more energy, improve mental clarity, your sleep will be better, so will your workouts, and you'll likely find your sex drive increases too. So give us a call today and make a change for the good. Your initial visit is just $99 and includes blood work and a medical consult. And if you start treatment the day of your appointment, your visit is free. Call 617-793-5000. That's 617-793-5000. Or go to northeastmenshealth.com. That's northeastmenshealth.com. We have five offices across the Northeast to serve you. Northeast Men's Health, a prometric restorative health practice. Now, more of Felger and Mad. Now on the Sports Hub. When Marcelo, like I said yesterday or two days ago, we'll give him the baton, but he has to run. If he wants to be the start of the second baseman in Cincinnati, there's a lot of work to do. It's not a given that he's second baseman or third baseman for this team. There's a lot of things that he needs to show us this spring, and we expect him to do that because he's that talented. But at the same time, there's a lot of guys here that can do the job. for him to show you guys? What's important for him? There's a lot. I mean, baseball related. He wasn't great offensively last year. He'll be the first one to tell you that. Defensively, he was excellent. Base running-wise, he's really good. But offensively, there's more. We know that. But he has to show us that he can handle this. How much of that is hitting left-handed pitching? I think it's hitting all. It's not only lefties. It's just be consistent out there. And he'll be the first one to tell you. And if he doesn't, he's lying to you guys. So I know he has a lot of confidence in his ability. He'll tell you that, you know, he can hit at this level. But last year in the small sample size, he was okay. He wasn't great. You know, I think he was doing an outstanding job towards the end. We need to control the zone, not chase so many pitches. So we will see some trends, you know, and if we feel comfortable with him, he'll be the guy. By historical standards, Maz, like for guys our age, that's hardly dogging a player. Right. You know, that's hardly Bill Parcells saying about Terry Glenn, she's okay. She'll be all right. It's hardly that. So I just want to qualify this because by modern day standards, by the current standards that modern professional athletes are subjected to by their coaches and managers, that is Alex Cora busting Marcelo Myers' balls, wouldn't you say? Yes, it's like a borderline rip job. By today's standards, that's a rip job. Yes, and the one that gets me is, first of all, it's a series of questions. And every question is sort of like, yeah, Buttoncourt is like, no. And he's not doing that either. That's not working well. He's a little better at this, isn't he? No, not really. The exchange he has with McAdam is the best one because McAdam says, would you say that his problems are mostly against left-handed pitching? No. He pretty much sucks against everyone. Everything he said, yeah. I know, and I'm dramatizing. But basically what he said, like, nah, he sucks against righties too. Like, it just hasn't been good. He clearly has it in for this kid, at least on some level, and it might be a plan to try to get him to focus. And, Mike, the more I think about this, there's something about the kid they don't like, and they don't think he takes the baseball seriously enough. Really? Well, I mean, what other conclusion can I come to? Is that, no, it's not just the lefties. And he's got to understand it's about the little things. So the other thing is I heard Milliken say that apparently the kid plays a lot of video games. Oh, no. So they apparently think they have Kyler Murray playing second base or something like that. But I think that that's what it is. They don't feel like he, dare I say, respects his talent enough or understands what it takes to be really good. And this is part of what – and they might be right. I'm not telling you they're wrong. but the answers he gave on Meyer, man, we'll give him the baton, but he's got to run with it. He's got to be, in other words, is he taking it seriously or not? That is sort of how I interpret what Cora said. And that exchange with McAdam, like, Jimmy, can we play it again? I'm sorry to put you on the spot like this. It's just, think about it. It's so good. McAdam basically trying to say well yeah I mean he got to learn It the lefty thing Right He got to learn how to hit lefties Uh that not what Cora said Listen to the answer How much of that is hitting left pitching I think it's hitting at all. It's not only lefties, you know. It's just be consistent out there. And he'll be the first one to tell you. We can stop. I mean, no, it's not the lefties thing. No, it's everything. It's about being consistent, which tells me that they think he is still sort of immature or something, that they look at it and say, no, no, no, this kid just is not. He's not focused enough or not taking it seriously enough. It is. There's no reason. I understand what you're saying. He had injuries in the minors. But given where they are, he should be the second baseman. It's obvious. He should be. And even if they don't think he can hit lefties, he should be part of the platoon. And I forget the name of the guy they just come from. Kiner Falafo. No, no, no. The other one. The guy from Montessario. Montessario. You know, he should at a minimum be part of a platoon with him. But it sounds like they want to squeeze him out entirely. Like, no, no, no, he's got to earn it. And part of me is happy to see that that can happen in the major leagues again or still happen in the major leagues where someone's got to earn the position. This kid's the number four pick in the draft. He was drafted five years ago. Five years ago. and they are looking for an excuse to send him back. Well, and again, as I said earlier, it's hard not to be cynical about it. It could be a contract situation, service time, arbitration rights, all that deal. Roman Anthony has not signed a long-term team-friendly deal like Roman Anthony. Did I say that? Marcelo Meyer has not signed that long-term team-friendly deal like Roman Anthony or Christian Campbell have. And so does he get treated differently? Certainly Christian Campbell got treated differently last year when he signed that deal. So you hate that's not it. But certainly something's at play. They are not, again, by modern standards, they are being exacting with Marcelo Meyer. Either that or they just generally don't like him or believe in him, or Cora doesn't. You know, another funny cut that you played, he was asked about his middle infield. Cora was his middle infield depth. And just the tone of him talking about these other guys, these other really fringe sort of considerations. I mean, again, Mayer is, yeah, we'll give him the baton, but he's got to run with it. and he knows he's got to be better. The fielding was okay, but the hitting just wasn't where he thought we all wanted it to be, and if he says otherwise, he's lying to you. Well, it's just a left-handed thing, right, Alex? No, no, it's everything. It's everything. So the tone and the way he talked about Marcelo Meyer versus the way he talks about these scrubs is different. Go ahead, Jimmy. Anybody we've asked you before that stood out that you weren't thinking of or maybe weren't thinking of the one? No, I mean, like Sean said, it's a different camp. It is a different camp. Like, it's not that we're 100% sure who's going to Cincinnati, but it's close, right? It's just a matter of how we're going to do it. You see the physicality of Romero. He's strong, stronger than last year. From my end, I want to see him at second base and see how he plays out. Monasterio, great athlete. I had a chance to spend time with Izzy yesterday. We had dinner. He just out, I mean, like JT and Ref and those guys. as far as like the game, you know, so getting to know them, that's the most important thing. But if we're going to go player by player, Romero's physicality, he did an amazing job in the offseason, and Munster is a guy that in the trade, yeah, you see him from afar or whatever, but then you see him here, it's like, oh, shoot, you know, he can move, he's versatile, he can hit lefties, he got some pop. Now we have to work with him. I truly believe that there's more from the three guys, so it should be fun. He seemed a little more excited about those three scrubs than he did about his number four overall pick. Wouldn't you say, Maz? Definitely. And all three are direct competition for Marcelo Meyer in second base. The whole thing was like a billboard. Physicality. He did a tremendous job in the offseason. Shoot. You get up close to him. You look at him from a distance. You get up close to him. Shoot. You can see him move. And Izzy, we had dinner the other night. Tremendous guy. Great guy. Yeah, in fact, we didn't invite Marcelo. It's totally different. No, it is completely. the whole thing is sort of an in-your-face to Marcelo Meyer, as if to say, ah, look at these other guys. And Romero was a former first-round pick. He was picked the year after Meyer was and sort of has been hidden in the minor leagues and has never gotten the hype of some of those other guys, meaning like Teal, Roman Anthony. You know, Teal was obviously traded for Crochet, but didn't get the hype of any of those guys. And now Cora's saying, oh, no, look at him. He came in. He looks great. He's basically throwing it all in Meyer's face. So they are clearly into this kid, and they're letting him hear it for sure all spring. Robert in Southie has a Red Sox thought for us. Go ahead, Robbie. Hey, how's it going, guys? I just wanted to say, when they got Durant in the DH spot, right, I would much rather nine times out of ten see Masahaki Yoshida in that spot. You know, Durant, if you've got to pick someone to take out of the field, I think that's the right move. but I got way more faith in Maza just watching them. Like if there's three guys on and Maza's up, way better chance of moving someone over. Thanks a lot. Okay, Maz, your thoughts on, you know, the lineup that Cora hinted would be his opening day lineup had Roman Anthony at DH. Yep. Who should be the DH? Who should be in the outfield if you were drawing it up? Well, so I would go with the way they have it. I would go with Anthony at DH, Rafael in center, Duran in left and Abreu in right. But I also think that, you know, You can put a mannequin in left field at Fenway Park, for crying out loud, so Roman Anthony can play out there as well. Look, this is part of why the roster is not constructed well. They have too much redundancy in the outfield. They're all left-handed, with the exception of Raffaella, and so they can't all play at the same time, and Masataka Yoshida doesn't have a power enough to be a regular DH. and so there you know i and i know all these guys were not necessarily brought in by breslow and i suppose i'm talking about yoshida in particular but they needed to move some of the log jam here to help the roster out and give the roster a little bit more flexibility if they end up carrying masutake yoshida at the beginning of the year as a bench guy that's stupid really they don't want to use him defensively now you want to say you want to use him as a pinch hitter or something late in the game because he can do what the caller said which is make good you know make contact more often than not and put the ball in play and i and he played well in the postseason yoshita looked pretty good but you know you're not you're not carrying him to be a 19 million dollar pinch hitter either admit the mistake and release him or trade him for a bag of balls or you know play him and i don't think they want to play him i don't think they should play him yeah i was i wouldn't want him in i don't want him in over any of these other guys me neither that you're talking about why why can't he be i know he's stupidly overpriced but why can't he be a good pinch hitter a good bench he could be it's just a terrible use of resources sure you know but you're not going to get who's going to take on that contract well so nobody nobody and looking you could do worse than a 19 million dollar pinch hitter you know what i mean yeah like you know we've all seen that so i'm I'm not philosophically opposed to it. I would be surprised, though, if they keep him on the bench purely to commit and pinch hit basically late in games. Although with their roster, who knows? I mean, they're going to have to do some mixing and matching at certain points. And if they have to burn Yoshida late in the game, maybe they're willing to just bite the bullet and keep him on the bench. All right, coming up next, Chris Sims attacks the New England Patriots media and the New England mafia, meaning you people. Do some emails. You people do respond, as I would have suspected. We'll do that coming up after Big Jim Murray gets you updated. Don't go anywhere. This is Dale for Northeast Men's Health, where we've successfully treated thousands of men for low testosterone and helped them feel like their old selves again. Please take a moment and listen to how we helped Marty. I was a really grumpy guy, you know, sleeping like garbage. And getting older, the energy level was just in the toilet. And that was what led to me going in. I've been treated at Northeast Men's Health for low testosterone. coming on about two years now. Within a few weeks, I started noticing I was sleeping a little bit better. I definitely noticed a higher energy level, but the old man crankiness just went away. I'm able to stay really well organized. Nothing slips through the cracks. Having the T treatment is leading me to keep on top of my game. What I would say to any other guy that is in the same situation where they feel like they're dragging, just call Northeast Men's Health. You won't regret it. Thanks, Marty. It's true. Low-T therapy can dramatically change your life. Your initial appointment is only $99 with the results in minutes. And if you start on testosterone the day of your appointment, your visit is free. Call today, 617-793-5000 or go to northeastmenshealth.com. It looks like one of the toenail clippings. Oh, usually leaves in the studio. Welcome to blah, blah, blah, everybody. I have sit here at that one and literally go, I would be embarrassed if I voted for Drake May for the MVP. I thought it was the easiest vote ever, like the easiest one ever. So there's that. Sorry. No, I like it. Fortunately you weren one of those And thank God you weren because the AP vote Matthew Stafford beat him out by one vote as you said so your vote did matter a lot Yeah good I glad it did If my vote the one that got it over thank you for Chris having sanity and bringing everybody back there Because like I said, I feel like the New England Mafia hijacked this. They found little, oh, look at this stat in the third quarter when the sun dials pointing northwest. he's the best quarterback that's ever been on the planet like they were just finding stuff like it was crazy so yeah he's awesome we know that but he wasn't the mvp he was a matthew stafford guy and he feels that the playoffs justified his opinion so one of the fallouts of losing a super bowl you got to hear it from the other side they're all off season that's why sometimes you're better off never having have made the game i mean i don't believe that but that's just sort of the way it goes. Some might tell you that. So anyway, he takes on the New England media, the New England mafia, you people. And you people respond in kind. Let's do some emails, shall we please there, J. Stu? It's the Coleman Electric Email of the Day! Dear Felga, I really hate you. And I think Maz is a boob. It's electric. The Coleman Electric email of the day. It's electric. Send yours to Felger at 98.5 the sports hub.com. Email of the day brought to you by Coleman electric, a bunch of really good electricians helping homeowners like you. When you need an electrician, you want to call Coleman. It's electric. It's electric. K-U-H-L-M-A-N. particularly anemic version there from Paul Prolo again, right? And me. It's electric. Not great. That is not electric. Paulie. Old wiring in your home specialist. The Absolutes by Jesse Coleman, the founder of Coleman Electric, wrote a book on it. I can't imagine it's light reading. If you want to read it, it's on Amazon. But trust me, he's the one you want to call. If you've got an old house with old wiring, it's got to come out. It's a fire hazard. Ah, subject line, MVP votes from Jax. How many MVP votes did Chris Sims in his career get? That's embarrassing. Sims, a career backup. A joke to talk about NFL quarterbacks when he sucked his career is embarrassing. Jackson Revere. So unless you were... I'll tell you, some of the best quarterbacks in the booth are his commentators blow. Brady was said to have gotten better this year. I didn't really see it. He kind of sucks. Joe Montana was a complete debacle. Joe Namath was a freaking laughingstock embarrassment. I could keep going. So that's a qualification. You had to have actually been good to be a good commentator. I like Chris Sims. Subject line, Chris Sims is a Nepo baby hack. Matthew writes in, he sucks as a reporter and only has a job because of his last name. Much like Collinsworth, Collinsworth is useless spawn. Really bold take from him after the Super Bowl. What was he saying prior to the big game? I wonder, MD. He was saying Matthew Stafford should have been the MVP is what he was saying. And after the playoffs, he feels justified in saying that Matthew Stafford should have been the MVP. This is what happens. When Patrick Mahomes loses the Super Bowl, what do I hear from you people? See, he's not that good. He's not Brady. So, your guy loses, the other side takes aim. Can you handle it? He was right about Jack Collinsworth, though. He stinks. Not exactly sure what that fellow brings to the table. I would agree. so I think I said earlier how does Chris Simms ass taste or the other side how does the ass taste it's just the way that you lose a Super Bowl you got to smell the ass taste the ass for a full off season Justin says no ass to taste sorry Felger your crush on Chris Simms is wrong MVP is a regular season award May's postseason performance is irrelevant to the MVP vote Simms just can't handle that people actually questioned his quote-unquote brilliance. And you love him because he's saying negative things about the people around here. But if callers basically said someone was stupid for voting for Stafford, you would have said they were bitches. Sims is one of your callers, except he's on the other side. Just sign up for Sims on OnlyFans and get it over with. Sign Justin. That last line's pretty good. No, that is pretty good. No, I think Chris Sims on OnlyFans, that's like you just ass models, right? Yeah, pretty much. Yeah. You'd be hot on that. Who's this? Someone writes in. Jason, frequent e-mailer. Since you're talking about Sims, if you want another great attack on Boston sports fans and the Boston fan base, go to Jared Stillman's podcast on February 3rd at the 7-minute mark. He goes, I have to apologize to you people of Nashville because I, well, da-da-da-da-da. So we actually pulled it up. We actually took this emailer's advice and said, go to Jared Stillman, February 3rd, at the seven-minute mark. He attacks you people. Go ahead, Jimmy. Well, actually, Mike, I sent you the whole clip because it's seven minutes long. Oh, geez. Oh. And there's a lot of cussing in there, and it actually might cover like an hour's worth of content for tomorrow's show. Is there any unbeaten portion you can play? No. Yeah, we'll save that for tomorrow. He dropped an FB, amongst other terms. F word and then bitches. Oh. Okay, so I said... You'll want to consume this. You'll want to edit this. You'll want to really... We can get an hour out of this tomorrow. Okay. Or at least a segment. I'm in. Okay, well, let's see how that goes. Not a bullet to waste at 542. I told you I was going to let the 1980 Olympic thing go. You lied to us again. And I largely am, but I got so many emails. and I'm so tempted just to keep engaging on this because the more you protest, the more I think I'm right, that you're just sort of, you're shoehorning yourself into that political drama and you weren't feeling it at the time. I just, Jackson, a frequent email, another frequent email, Jackson in Western Mass says, only Felger would have a personal vendetta against his own favorite sports win and one of America's greatest sports moments. It's true. No one knows more about the 1980 Miracle on Ice than I do. No one's watched it more than I do. I taped 1980 maps as a 10-year-old boy. You might remember this. Most of our listeners don't remember this. You remember beta tapes, right? Of course, yes. This was even before VHS. The original form was beta. And even though the thing was tape delayed, I recorded, and not that I even knew it or remembered it. I mean, I guess I knew it was tape delayed. The whole concept wasn't that foreign at that time. The NBA Finals was tape delayed in 1980, in 1981. I mean, so like you, you, it was an era pre-internet that you, something could happen in the middle of the day and it was, you could make it to the point where you didn't have to know what happened. So anyway, I taped this thing on beta and I must've, I think I still have it. My guess is I still have it in some box in my garage or the attic. And I watched that thing so many times. I know that thing better than anyone. but unlike you, I can sort of tell it like it is. I don't, and none of my Miracle on Ice 1980 commentary, do I talk about gas lines or the Cold War or the Ayatollah or anything like that? Because that didn't mean anything. That wasn't what it was about for me. And I think if you're my age, you're lying if you're saying it was anything other than that. I don't know. There's no 10-year-old boy who's going to sit there and say, I really hope we win because it's going to improve the mood of the country. And it's just preposterous. So, Mike, my personal experience to you is a lie because it doesn't agree with your opinion. My personal experience. So you're saying, how old are you, Jimmy? Oh, I would have been negative one at the time. Okay. So I asked you this yesterday, Maz. Eight-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 12-year-olds don't think like that. No, they definitely don't. No, no, no. They definitely don't. But, you know, again, why are we focused just on the 10-year-olds? So if you're older, of an older vintage, then you have, I guess you could say that. But I still think it's a stretch. I still think it's something that's been sort of retrofitted after the fact. And, of course, like the Red Menace and the Cold War and the Soviets, that's real. I'm not, you know, that's, of course, they were the big red machine. and they were the big Soviet bear and all of that. Like that, I'm not disputing that. The Soviets and the Cold War element to it. But now you've wrapped everything else into it, the gas lines and inflation and the Ayatollah. And it's like, it doesn't, I just, if you're my age, you weren't thinking of that, watching that game. You're watching because there are a bunch of kids from BU. Go ahead. No, I was just going to say, I think all that stuff is included though. just to give you an idea what the overall morale in the country was. It's a storyline from the movie and the documentary that's done 20, 30, 40 years after the fact. But Mike you do remember and this was in the actual documentary about the AD team not the Kurt Russell movie You do remember that they posted telegrams all the way down the hallway leading from I think it was their locker room to the ice in support of the American team And that, you know, some of the telegrams were like... From the hostages, you're saying? No, no, no, no, no. From American citizens who sent telegrams to the... Okay. That said things like, beat those commie bastards. Yes, the Cold War part, yes, that's obvious. And even a 10-year-old, that you get that part, okay? Kind of, a little bit, as much as a 10-year-old can. I just think people get wrapped up in the melodrama of the movie and the documentary. Well, sure, yeah, sure. But anyway, it's true, though, that there's no game more important to me than that. And I'll go toe-to-toe with anyone about the details of it. and the actual game, the game. But I'm not going to sit here and, like, make up all this stuff about what it meant to me because you had to wait in line for gas. It's just, that's for a movie. And that's part of my problem with it. It's been over-dramatized. Anyway, Jackson says, you spent more time, Felger, complaining about 1980 yesterday than celebrating the win over Canada. That's not true. That's not true. I spent more time blaming the Canadians and bitching about people not ragging on McDavid than placing the Americans. That I'll give you. But 1980 was a sidebar. Now I'm engaging because you can't, you just, you provoked me. Oh, and better not bring up any historical context for 1980. 10-year-old Felger wasn't thinking about the Cold War with Russia, so no American wasn't, I didn't say no one, I said no one my age, if they're being honest, was thinking about the Iran hostages if they engaged in that tournament. You weren't thinking about that. You weren't. And you weren't saying that, boy, this is going to be good for the country if we win this game. You were saying, I watched Jack O'Callaghan at BU, and he's out here on the ice against the Russians, and I want him to win. That's what you were thinking if you were in Boston and my age, as I was doing with Mark Johnson and all the kids from Wisconsin and Minnesota. So no one felt that? It was only the movie? There was no Cold War in 1980? It's all made up? Stay miserable, Felger. Love the show. And then I got all these emails about what constituted a pro. This is another thing. that is said now that the Americans lost to pros, which is kind of true. But I think, again, if you're younger, you don't even understand what that means. People have taken that to mean that somehow, like, the college Americans lost to NHL players. You know what I mean, Maz? Yeah, no, no. They misrepresent or misunderstand what professional means. Right. They could have been pros. They were old enough to be NHL players. They were good enough to be NHL players. They were paid by the Soviets to be, you know, in their army or whatever. They were given government jobs, quote, unquote, and paid. But they weren't pro hockey players like you would think of them today. And you said there wasn't even a KHL then, right? There was. People sent all these emails about there was a league in Russia at the time. But I wonder what that thing looked like in Soviet Russia. You know, what was that league? But they were older. They were paid. They were pro quality for sure. Oh, they were definitely, yeah. These guys are like, the average age of that team was probably 30. But they weren't. Weren't they beating the NHL all-star teams, though, at the time? Yes. Yes. So this is what I'm saying. So they were better than you, NHL pros. Way better. Yeah. But people think that there were NHL players skating around out there. And that's not what happened. their communist eastern bloc countries were paid by their government to play for their athletic teams and they were treated as amateurs it was unfair but that was the deal but that didn't make them detroit red wings i'm just using the transitive property meaning they beat your all stars so they're better than your pros yeah i mean well of course they were no obviously yeah the word professional definitely confuses it they were full-time hockey players is what they were They were employees of the state who played hockey. But, oh, my God, the emails on the prod. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. It was a great win. It doesn't need, this is what bothers me, Matt. I guess this is the core of it. It doesn't need all the extra melodrama. So that's probably true. It was that good, and it was that real. It was real. It was a game. It wasn't a movie. I say that a million times. And the game was that good. and the result was that real and it was that amazing. It doesn't need all the extra crap. And so I just sort of reject the extra crap. I don't need it. It was good enough on its own. But like I said, I wasn't going to do it, but we had time, so I did. Do you want some numbers? They're now out regarding the U.S.-Canada game. Go ahead. The 2-1 overtime win over Canada averaged 20.7 million viewers. It peaked at 26 million in overtime. NBC Sports' second most watched hockey game ever behind the 2010 Olympic gold. It also makes it the most watched pre-9 a.m. Eastern sporting event in U.S. history. Oh, cool. That is cool. That's a cool one. So next time, I don't know. Sorry. Maybe give me a little between periods panel. who could break it down as opposed to going back to Mike Arruzzioni again? You have all those eyeballs on the thing? But like I said, I'm going to stop now, Jimmy. Let's do the final word, shall we? Hey, it's Belger here. Now on Belger and Mads. It's the final word. Recapping this four-hour show in four minutes, which leads to the question, does it really need to be four hours long? No. The final word brought to you by Town Fair Tire. If you're looking for the best deal on tires, there's only one place to go. That's Town Fair Tire. The best prices and great free services. Nobody beats Town Fair Tire. Nobody. Nobody. Nobody. So with some Patriots offseason talk today with Elliot Wolfe speaking at the Indianapolis Combine, we talked about a linebacker that may or may not have been the Patriots in the past. May or may not have been a Washington Redskin or may or may not be called Dearness. My fault. You know, you got to find, I think you're going to be looking at this where you're going to say, where can we find the value? Khalil Mack Khalil Mack's a free agent End of the road, probably wouldn't be getting that much Yeah, maybe That sounds like something they could do Right? I could see that Who was the pass rusher that used to be with the old Redskins The Washington team that was here for a year or two And was pretty good Oh, Andre Carter Was it? I can't even begin to remember his name Yeah, they got Carter and Mark Like five years ago Mark Henderson? Mark Anderson? Maybe What's his name? It was Andre Carter I think is the guy you're talking about. I think they got him from Washington. Yeah, he was an edge pass rusher, totally at the end of the road, but gave him a couple good years or at least one good year. You know who I'm talking about? Yeah, I think it was him. Yes, Andre Carter. They got him in 2011. Yeah, it was a while ago, though. And there was another guy they got. 2011? Jesus, really? It was like almost 15 years ago. Oh, my God, my mind is shot. I'm sorry. I think he was one of the ends in the butt fumble game. Is it Andre Carter or DeAndre Carter? I think it's Andre Carter. Andre Carter. I'm going to drop that now. One. Because when I look it up, it says DeAndre Carter. Hold on. I'm not going to rest now. Seriously. Oh, wait. DeAndre Carter. It might be both. But then it says Andre Carter. Yeah, it says. Wait. When it says DeAndre, there's 12 and 15, I say that's the guy I'm talking about. I think it's Andre Carter. I promise. We're going to drop that. That's the kind of guy you're going to sign. The De or Andre Carter guy. That's the guy you're signing. The old guy who gets his AARP card, not his ARP card. I've never actually heard it referred to as an ARP card. That's what my father, the old ARP man here, he gets his AARP card, and you get a good AAV off a guy who's over the hill. That's the kind of guy I think you're signing this year. You can sell me on Khalil Mack, though. I'm coming around on that. I blame Google because you looked at the same thing I think I did, Mike. Thank you. When you look it up, it says DeAndre Carter. It's Andre Carter. But then it's Andre Carter under DeAndre. Okay, it's Andre Carter. I don't know how many freaking times I have to say it before you guys just came in and accept the fact that I was right. I just think. I remember the year they signed two veteran guys to one-year deals. Mark Anderson and Andre Carter, and they both got 10 sacks. Names and math, we just shouldn't do it on the air. I say that all the time, and then we end up doing it on the air. And it's always a disaster. And I blame me. It's my fault. Isn't the woman basketball analyst? Isn't she Andrea Carter? Okay, Maz, like I said, we're going to let that go now. Is Joe Murray? I have no idea. Yeah, I do. Joe, are you there? Someone else. No, that seat is empty. Joe might have been lost to the snow. Who knows where he is? Okay. Someone go look for Joe. Someone's going to be here to take you home starting at 6 o'clock. Otherwise, Felger and Maz back tomorrow at 2 p.m. They open the airport. I'll see you guys in studio. If not, who knows? We'll see you. Bye. Bye.