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00:00Sports Radio 610 presents Area 45 with Bajani and Creighton.
00:07Said if you're gonna play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right.
00:13You got to know when to hold up, know when to fold up, know when to walk away.
00:22The background guitar is gonna come in here in a minute.
00:24It's gonna go...
00:35Houston Gambler's in studio with us on Area 45.
00:38We've got kicker John Hoyland, punter Michael Rivers, who we have not had a chance to say hello to yet,
00:44and the long snapper Marco Ortiz.
00:46They're gonna hang for this entire segment.
00:48They've got the Orlando Ass coming up on Sunday, Mother's Day.
00:52Anyway, I'm sure Kevin Sumlin has talked all week long about how you guys are gonna kick the Orlando Ass
00:59in their ass.
00:59We'll get to more of that in just a second, but Michael Rivers, how the hell are you, dude?
01:03Appreciate you hanging out with us in studio.
01:06Give me your impression of how this UFL season has gone for you,
01:13because I just found out you guys don't even live here.
01:14You guys basically live in Dallas, train in Dallas all weekend, and you fly here.
01:18Every game for you is a road game.
01:21Yeah, it's kind of been like that for a little bit.
01:25I just think, like, the UFL in general this year has been a major step up,
01:30especially with, like, media and advertisement.
01:34I think in the aspect of that, everything's been doing really well.
01:38The two new locations that they added in Louisville and Columbus have been pretty successful.
01:44The crowd turnout looks really good out there.
01:48But, yeah, in terms of, like, traveling, it's always kind of a pain, you know, to travel everywhere.
01:55I mean, I guess that's what comes with it.
01:57But, so, with the UFL, everybody is stationed in Arlington, all the teams.
02:03All the teams.
02:04All the teams are stationed in Arlington, even the D.C. team.
02:08So, say if D.C. has a home game, they have to fly to D.C. and play there,
02:12and then come back the next night or the same night that they play.
02:15Hey, Houston, we're the closest team.
02:18You know, we're not too far, so we just always bust down here.
02:21But every other team has to fly to their home base, you know, the day before the game.
02:26And they fly back the same day of the game.
02:30Now, Michael, I noticed, I mean, look, I expect, you know, Marco kind of looks like a bodyguard.
02:35Like, he's going to, like, you know, the guy that you don't want to see at the other end of
02:39the dark alley.
02:40Right.
02:41But when we were in the elevator, you're not a whole lot smaller than he is.
02:45How tall are you?
02:46Probably about 6'1".
02:47All right, 6'1".
02:48So, look, I know they do this for quarterbacks sometimes, but they do it for kicker.
02:52Have they tried to make you a wide receiver at any point?
02:55Nah.
02:56I mean, I played all that when I was younger, but I just stuck the kick in the football.
03:01Is it because you don't want to run or you don't want to be hit?
03:04I've been hit too much.
03:08Yeah.
03:09I didn't like the hitting part of football.
03:11So, now you have Marco in front of you so you don't get hit.
03:13So, he can get hit.
03:14Yeah.
03:14Well, he can hit other people.
03:16Yeah, that's it.
03:17Yeah.
03:17Yeah, getting hit and sometimes hitting, that hurts just as bad sometimes.
03:21So, yeah.
03:22Nothing wrong with punting.
03:22You boot the hell out of that ball.
03:24That's kind of cool.
03:25So, give us kind of an impression of, you know, what it's like.
03:29Because we were talking during the break.
03:32You and I were, you know, Michael, about, you know, just the whole UFL setup and living in Dallas, practicing
03:38in Dallas.
03:38You fly to Houston.
03:39And the number one thing Michael said to me was, dude, you want to be around the fans.
03:44You want to live where your fans are.
03:45That kind of stinks, you know, that you don't have that opportunity.
03:49You guys all have, I'm sure, NFL aspirations.
03:53Would I be correct in saying that?
03:54You want to try to get to the highest level at some point in time.
03:58And, you know, everything's going to be different there.
04:00What's it been like all of you making the transition over the course of the last year, maybe two years,
04:04college to now the UFL and the pro scene?
04:07How have you had to adapt?
04:08What have you seen?
04:09What have you noticed?
04:11Yeah, so I'll say in terms of difference from a college to pro players, mentality, I would say, and taking
04:21each rep at a time, you know, not living in the past, not living in the future.
04:27You know, being physically strong is great.
04:31You know, anybody, I won't say anybody, but, you know, it's easy to go in a weight room, just throw
04:36around 500 pounds.
04:37But a technique is involved as well, especially as a specialist.
04:42You know, you have to have a great mind to, you know, say you miss a kick or miss hit
04:48a punt.
04:48You got to bounce back.
04:49Like, you know, sometimes I can get down if I hit a miss hit, but it's like, hey, got to
04:55go on to the next.
04:56Now, did you catch that?
04:59It's easy.
04:59Yeah, I did.
05:00To just throw around 500 pounds.
05:02I was going to be a smart ass and say, yeah, I say the same thing all the time.
05:06But, yeah, that's pretty wild.
05:08Like, what do you mean throw around 500 pounds?
05:09Are you squatting that right now?
05:11Like, is that what you mean, throwing around 500?
05:13No.
05:14Yeah, bench.
05:15Bench?
05:16Bench?
05:17Self-robody.
05:18What the hell's wrong with you?
05:19Squat like 800.
05:20Stop it right now.
05:22Nah, I'm just kidding.
05:23I was like, what?
05:25He's about to be at, like, Backlash and throw Logan Paul out of the ring or something.
05:30Holy crap, I'm like, bro, maybe Olympic weightlifter, you know, is something that you ought to look at.
05:35Yeah.
05:36You know, I could introduce you to Mark Henry, you know?
05:38I mean, there are some runners that can squat with 500, 600, so.
05:42So, how old were you when you realized, you know what, I can kick the hell out of this ball?
05:47Uh, I started playing at nine, and it was like, the first drill was hitting a spiral, and then I
05:52could do that pretty well.
05:54I was stuck with that, you know, in a spiral.
05:57That's it.
05:57Nice.
05:58Turn the ball over.
05:59All right, I got one for you guys, and I want all of you to weigh in.
06:03Okay, we'll start with John.
06:05Coach Sumlin, first year with the Gamblers.
06:08This is definitely the first year for you, John, dealing with him.
06:12So, what kind of a coach is he, like, he's been, you know, career college, and now he's, you know,
06:19kind of in a different realm himself.
06:20We talked to him earlier this season about how wild damn special teams is, you know, four-point plays and
06:24thinking about kicking from beyond 50, all that stuff.
06:27What's your impression of a guy who has seen a lot of football and now coaching you guys at the
06:31UFL that has next-level aspirations?
06:34Yeah, you go in and, you know, kind of signing with this team, and you look at Coach Sumlin, and
06:40it's like, that's a pretty darn good resume he has, and you've seen all the places he's gone to.
06:45And then you kind of go in the facility, and he's just kind of walking around, and you don't know
06:48what he's going to say.
06:49Anyway, you can make a comment about something, so you've got to be on the lookout for that.
06:54But, yeah, in terms of the football, he's, yeah, been very detail-oriented, definitely puts a lot of emphasis on
07:02the special teams.
07:03I think we're one of the only teams that has a dedicated special teams coordinator as well.
07:08So, that's been huge to work with him.
07:11But, yeah, the staff that Coach Sumlin has brought in has been, yeah, really a pleasure to work with.
07:18I can add to that.
07:19But, yeah, first day of Coach Sumlin, one of the things he was saying was how he just wants to
07:23help us, help us all on and off the field,
07:25but, I mean, really get into the next level.
07:27And, like John said, he's hired a great staff.
07:30And Coach Grant, especially for us specialists, all they're trying to do is just help us get to the next
07:34level.
07:35So, that's been really awesome.
07:37Culture-wise, how difficult, you know, I ask this to all the coaches sometimes, like from a player's perspective,
07:43like how difficult is it to, like, create, foster a culture for a team that you guys individually aren't going
07:49to be around each other for very long.
07:50You all want to graduate and move on and go play for an NFL team.
07:54Maybe you're back next year.
07:55Maybe you're back with another team.
07:57How does that work?
07:59How has that worked so far this season?
08:02Yeah, so I think we've taken that role as players to step up and do that on our own.
08:10You know, Coach Sumlin, he knows that we're professional, we're grown, so he kind of just lets us do our
08:15thing.
08:17We can't hold our hand out there when we're on the field or outside in public.
08:23So, yeah, I'll say, like, the players have a pretty good connection outside of football.
08:28You know, whether I see the defense always watching film and communicating outside of, you know, practice
08:35or just hanging out outside of practice in the facility,
08:39there's always a really good connection between the players and stuff like that.
08:44Awesome.
08:45All right, guys, you've played in, what, five, six different stadiums so far this year?
08:50Which one was the absolute frickin' worst?
08:53Which one had, like, the worst facilities, the worst locker room, which one of these stadiums did you get?
09:00You're like, man, I can't wait to get the hell out of here.
09:03Can we be honest?
09:05Honest, yes.
09:05No, lie to us.
09:06Lie like crazy.
09:08All right, we'll say it on three at the same time.
09:12Let me think.
09:13Hold on.
09:14I got mine immediately.
09:16I was going to say, I think I know the answer to this now.
09:18All right, ready?
09:19One, two, three.
09:20Columbus.
09:21Columbus.
09:23What did you say, Mike?
09:24Columbus.
09:25Yep, yep.
09:25Old crew stadium.
09:27It's because it's the old stadium.
09:28Yeah.
09:30It's old crew stadium.
09:32Why does it exist?
09:33Like, who used to play there?
09:34Why do they have this?
09:35It's the Columbus Crew.
09:36That's the first.
09:37It's the old stadium.
09:37Yeah, it's the old stadium.
09:39Oh, okay, they built it just for that?
09:41They have a new stadium.
09:42Okay.
09:43You know how, like, when you go to Arlington, you've got the new stadium right across the street from the
09:48old stadium?
09:48Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:49They have an old stadium.
09:50Okay.
09:50It's the first soccer-specific stadium built in the United States.
09:54Wow.
09:55Okay.
09:56Is that their claim to fame?
09:57That's why it's still sticking around, I guess.
09:59Still sticking around.
09:59They had a good crowd out there, really energetic.
10:01We were getting chirped at all game.
10:03Yeah.
10:03And they're teaching the young, because we had some little kids yelling some stuff at us, too.
10:07So, it's not going to stop with that generation.
10:10You're a poohead!
10:12Maybe a little worse.
10:14What's the atmosphere like at Shell Energy?
10:16You know, I know this is your first year, like, you know, in that stadium.
10:21It's not an old stadium.
10:24Before, they were playing at TDE CEO.
10:26I mean, what's it like playing in that stadium?
10:28That's a dedicated soccer stadium now that is, you know, hosting football.
10:31Yeah, honestly, I think it's been pretty cool.
10:33I mean, I'm a soccer fan myself, so I think it's really cool to be able to play in a
10:37soccer stadium.
10:38The fans have been there.
10:39It's been pretty good coming out and showing support.
10:43So, yeah, I mean, we're just looking forward to being back there on Sunday.
10:46Does that have one of the best atmospheres?
10:48That is an excellent answer.
10:50I don't know how many places y'all play where it's, like, actually, like, downtown.
10:54I mean, it's got a great skyline, you know, view.
10:56And, you know, you're kind of in a place where a lot of things, you know, are happening.
11:00A lot of places to go enjoy yourself and drink.
11:03And eat and stuff like that.
11:04I'm going to go three to one.
11:06They're not allowed to hang out after the game.
11:08The game's over.
11:09They're back on the bus.
11:09I was going to say, yeah, I think you guys probably, because you've got to hop on a plane.
11:13I don't know if they give you an opportunity to find fun.
11:15They're not able to walk, like, you know, two blocks.
11:16Oh, hey, we're hanging out at Little Woodrow's.
11:18Come down and down.
11:19Yeah.
11:19If you want to, you can.
11:21You just got to get your own ride back.
11:23Be at the meetings.
11:24Oh, really?
11:25Be at the meeting the next day.
11:26Okay.
11:27Well, that's a little freedom, right?
11:29I go absolutely crazy and hit a Bucky stop.
11:32It's about wild times.
11:34You know, last year I ran into you guys at the Buckees at Madisonville.
11:38You know, last year there was a time where I was going, I was coming back from Dallas
11:45because my son goes to school in Dallas.
11:46He graduates in two weeks.
11:48And you get the Roughnecks from last year.
11:51They were coming down.
11:52So I stop into, as I stop in a Buckees, all of a sudden I see all these players come
11:56out.
11:57And then I see, you know, CJ come out and I'm like, hey, coach.
12:01And he's like, oh, hey, what are you doing here?
12:04That is so random.
12:05It's kind of weird.
12:06Yeah.
12:06All right.
12:07So you got to get a Bucky stop.
12:09You guys, hold on, but Bucky's like, y'all fly.
12:13Like, you know, they get the bus.
12:15Y'all got a, y'all got a bus.
12:17Okay.
12:17All right.
12:18So you do.
12:18Yeah.
12:19I mean, it is kind of a close quarters in y'all get to have a little bit of fun.
12:22And the way that, uh, the way of airline travel has delays right now, it might be faster
12:26to bus.
12:27That's what Michael said.
12:28Yeah.
12:28I was like, ain't no joke, man.
12:30Cause the weather and just other stupid delays at airports, they stink now.
12:34Um, all right.
12:35One day you guys are all not going to have to deal with that.
12:37You're going to be in the NFL.
12:38That's the hope.
12:38That's the dream, right?
12:39Okay.
12:41No NFL.
12:42What are you doing, John?
12:44What's the plan?
12:45No NFL.
12:46What would you do without, uh, without football in your life?
12:48Yeah.
12:49Um, I've been floating, getting a mechanical engineering masters.
12:55Um, I have my bachelor's from the university of Wyoming.
12:57So, um, being able to do that and then kind of branch out, whether it's, um, um, something
13:03in aerospace or something going into sports, I'd be very interested in.
13:07Um, yeah.
13:08So we're not really thinking about that right now.
13:11We're just kind of focused on the whole process of doing this, but, uh, yeah.
13:15Feel a lot dumber now.
13:16Uh, I do.
13:17Uh, all right.
13:19All the three of you, right?
13:21You guys kind of have to come to a consensus here.
13:23Which one of the three of you is most likely to end up on a pole?
13:29A pole?
13:30Pole dancing.
13:31Stripping.
13:31Which one of you is most likely to wind up on a pole?
13:35Oh, they went right to you, Mike.
13:37They went right to you.
13:38Michael Rivers.
13:41Stage name.
13:42Go.
13:42Be cautious with Trayton tonight.
13:44I always tell him when he, like, he's going to say, pull up to the rib.
13:47That's his nickname.
13:48Or the river.
13:49Well, hey, you know, when you're throwing 500 pounds around like it's nothing, you know,
13:52that pole is really easy to navigate.
13:54Do they even still have La Bears here in Houston?
13:56That's the only thing that I can associate with male pole dancing.
14:00I don't even know that exists.
14:02What's that?
14:02No calisthenics, though.
14:04I don't know.
14:05I don't know how well that is.
14:06He'll stand there and be the eye candy for the ladies.
14:08All right.
14:09So what are you doing, Mike?
14:10Aside from PCs, what he sees in you and what those guys see in you, what are you doing if
14:15there's no football or after your career in football?
14:17What are you thinking?
14:18Yeah.
14:19I mean, I did sales for a little bit.
14:21I really like the sales role.
14:23I think it's pretty cool.
14:24I'm a likeable person.
14:25I can talk really well.
14:27Events people.
14:28Sales, real estate, you know, investment properties.
14:31You know, that would be pretty cool.
14:32Get some money going.
14:34Yeah.
14:34There you go.
14:35All right.
14:35Cool.
14:36So what's your sales pitch?
14:37Look, I punt 68-yard kicks.
14:41If I kick you, you won't walk for a month.
14:44So sign here.
14:46The intimidation.
14:47That sounds pretty good right there.
14:50What about you, Marco?
14:52So, I mean, I definitely want to train snappers on the side just to continue to help the next
14:57generation of snappers.
15:00But in the offseason, I'm a substitute teacher.
15:02So I'm planning to become a high school teacher after I'm done playing and maybe work up to
15:07be like a principal or something like that.
15:09He's going to be Shakira's next bodyguard.
15:12Side job, right?
15:13I got to be a little bit bigger for that.
15:15I figured you'd say, you know, if you wanted to train snappers and stuff, you'd think about
15:18being a high school football coach or something.
15:21Yeah.
15:21I think that would definitely be kind of tied into it.
15:23Yeah.
15:24I know.
15:24I just love making an impact.
15:26Very cool.
15:27Something like that.
15:27Yeah.
15:28Very cool.
15:28You can always do that, like, on the side.
15:32I'm always curious because that is something that you have to think about.
15:35You can't play football forever, right?
15:38But you guys are all young 20-somethings.
15:40You're going to have that opportunity, you know, very shortly, maybe even this upcoming
15:45season for somebody.
15:46How exciting is it to know that that's the case and you're working every day with dudes,
15:52coaches that have been there and some players that have been there and done that already?
15:57How much can you take away from those guys?
16:03Yeah, this league, definitely, especially with us being specialists, the league's had a really
16:07good track record of putting guys up into that level and a lot of that is just there's
16:13only 32 of us, or 32 kickers that are in the NFL and doing all that, so we're kind of
16:20the next ones up, so we always got to be ready in that.
16:23And as for kind of the experiences, we've had former first-round picks on the team.
16:27We've had guys that have kind of been on teams before and just getting to kind of learn
16:32from them and be able to share experiences has been invaluable for me.
16:39If you guys are professional wrestlers, what's your finishing move?
16:43RKO.
16:44Yes!
16:44Dang!
16:44Out of nowhere!
16:45He knew already.
16:46He was ready.
16:48I don't even know.
16:49I don't know too many moves.
16:52What a Triple H one.
16:55Pedigree.
16:55There you go.
16:58I feel like, I feel like, um.
17:00Undertaker.
17:01Ugh.
17:01Chokeslam.
17:02I feel like Marco should be like the Razor's Edge.
17:04Ah.
17:06Jackknife Powerbomb.
17:07That's back in the day.
17:08No, the Crucifix Slam for, for, uh, for the Razor's Edge.
17:11Marco sounds like you're probably like me.
17:13You're kind of on the outside looking at when it comes to the wrestling thing.
17:16Yeah, yeah.
17:17All right.
17:17What do you, uh, what do you enjoy?
17:19Like, aside from football, like your sport, like what is, what is your sport?
17:22Sports?
17:23Yeah.
17:23Um, yeah, no, I love soccer.
17:25I'm a big Liverpool fan.
17:27Um, I just started watching hockey.
17:29John.
17:29Liverpool!
17:32John's a, he's a big Avalanche fan, so.
17:34Okay.
17:35I've been watching the Wild Root against them, so that's been fun.
17:38Um, I mean.
17:40What's up there?
17:40Huh?
17:41What's up there?
17:42Yeah, it's not looking too good.
17:44Yeah, no, soccer is the main one that I really like to watch.
17:46I'm, I started watching tennis.
17:47My wife's family, they're, they're big into tennis.
17:50Um, yeah, just watching all those guys.
17:53Yeah.
17:54A lot of the football players I talked to, and, you know, I told PC this, man, I asked
17:58a lot of different Texans in the locker room last year, you know, about boxing or UFC
18:03wrestling.
18:03And a lot of the guys were UFC fans.
18:07And I don't know why I was surprised.
18:08I mean, I, I figured it would be wrestling because everybody seems to be a wrestling fan
18:12except for me.
18:14You know, like wrestling games are died in like the eighties and nineties when I was 13.
18:18Some of them, they still live on, uh, you know, in their hardos.
18:21I mean, we, everybody, if you're at sports talk radio, you're a wrestling nutcase, not
18:25me.
18:25Uh, but UFC, do you guys enjoy that?
18:28Yeah.
18:29Yeah.
18:29I had a good spree on watching that every weekend.
18:32Yeah.
18:32Every two weeks, whatever it was.
18:34Yeah.
18:34See, Mike, Mike knows all these moves.
18:36It's like, you'd be good on the pole.
18:37Like you said, geez, shots.
18:41It's in the bloodline.
18:43Wrestling's in the bloodline.
18:44All right.
18:44So yeah, I just gave these guys a lot of material.
18:47Or PC dead for, uh, you and the rest of the season.
18:50So they're going to be hammering you guys in the locker room and on the football field
18:54for that.
18:54Uh, have fun with that, Mike.
18:56I will.
18:58Well, guys, appreciate y'all coming in studio, man, and hanging out in, uh, uh, getting a
19:02chance to meet our, our fans, our audience.
19:05And, um, again, Houston gamblers coming up on Sunday, mother's day, taking on the Orlando
19:10ass five o'clock kick.
19:12Uh, you'll kick theirs on Sunday.
19:14Good luck this weekend.
19:16Good luck the rest of the season.
19:17And, uh, we'll see you out there, man.
19:19Appreciate y'all.
19:21Guys, appreciate you coming in.
19:22All right.
19:22All right.
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