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00:00Sports Radio 610 presents Area 45 with Bajani and Creighton.
00:11Hey, do we know what this song is?
00:14Um, is this like Tulane's fight song?
00:19I'm gonna go with a no dog.
00:21It's a Cincinnati's fight song.
00:23I am also gonna go with a no dog.
00:26Oh, I know.
00:27Lamar Cardinals.
00:28It's gotta be Lamar Cardinals.
00:30You're a terrible human being.
00:33Oh, Manuel Irby's gonna kick my ass.
00:36Yeah, it's gotta be the Rice Owls.
00:38Rice Owl fight song.
00:39And you know why this matters?
00:42Why?
00:42So you know how historic Rice Stadium has, you know, kind of been in a little disrepair in recent years
00:51and has needed a facelift?
00:53Yeah.
00:53Some might say dilapidated.
00:55It's getting a facelift.
00:57Would you like to know who's doing that facelift?
01:01Well, I could probably take a guess now.
01:03Emmanuel, you guys, your company's working on renovating Rice Stadium?
01:07Yeah, they have a lot of what they're doing.
01:11Some of my colleagues are all a part of that project or whatnot, and they're doing, I think, bringing Rice
01:18Stadium into the 21st century or to a more modern, right?
01:21Mm-hmm.
01:22It's historic, right?
01:24Kennedy made the man on the moon speech there.
01:26Yeah.
01:26But unfortunately, we haven't been able to feel that thing to be able to have it to the same way
01:30it has when the Vikings had their Super Bowl there.
01:32So they're trying to be able to do some cool little renovations to it, bring some cool premium spaces to
01:37it just to make it more of a real community stadium, I think.
01:41Like something where it's like a destination that, you know, I think Rice Village is such an interesting area.
01:46West U is such an interesting area, right?
01:47Like a very real neighborhood.
01:48But how do you make that stadium kind of get into that environment and be like, kind of like Stanford
01:54is in Palo Alto, you know what I'm saying?
01:55Like be a part of that whole time.
01:56Yeah.
01:56Well, bring it into the 21st century, you know, make it more modern.
01:59I saw the concept of it, I guess, sometime last year whenever there was discussions of doing this, and it
02:06looked absolutely phenomenal.
02:08You know, I'm a Cougar, so I give Rice people a hard time.
02:13But that was my first football game that I ever went to was one at Rice.
02:16It was Rice in Texas, like the week of Thanksgiving back in the day, and it was great.
02:21And I thought Rice Stadium was the creme de la creme whenever I was a kid.
02:24I mean, it's a football stadium.
02:25This is amazing.
02:26They played a Super Bowl here.
02:27And now you and your company, you're charged with making it a great place again, an attractive destination for people.
02:35That's awesome.
02:36Yeah, yeah, I think like, I mean, shout out to the Cougs.
02:38At first, like I used to be like, man, we need to be on the same level as like, as
02:42U of H.
02:43But I'm like, man, there's enough space for both.
02:45Like there's something about a team that's a neighborhood team versus kind of like the bigger, the bigger campus has
02:50a bigger infrastructure and everything that's right there.
02:52But Rice really still has its own little, and I think we see that with mid-majors, right?
02:56Like have that ability to kind of be like, there's two schools, you know, we have a national recognition, but
03:00us at the same time, like that neighborhood kind of feel or whatnot.
03:03And giving U of H its presence of like it being the city, and especially the way Houston's growing, like
03:08there's enough room for both.
03:09So I think I'm kind of excited.
03:11I'm not kind of excited.
03:12I am excited, especially because it's the Gateway Project.
03:14I think it'll really put Rice Athletics on that front stool, that, you know, front stoop of the kind of
03:20environment of the campus.
03:22Because that campus is so amazing, having the Med Center there, you know, having Herman Park, that's so close.
03:26And now you add the stadium, and now it's all become a part of this whole entire like district, this
03:30whole entire West U district.
03:31Definitely.
03:32You know, brings it up.
03:33Now, Amal, let me ask you another question regarding the Houston area.
03:37Does anybody in your company know Dan Friedkin and maybe can build him an NHL arena here in the H?
03:47I saw that news.
03:48Yeah.
03:48We need that.
03:49Yeah.
03:49We need an NHL team here.
03:51We need an NHL team here.
03:52Like the way that the, like the Stars, have y'all been to a Stars game?
03:56I have not, no.
03:57I don't really go up there to Southern Oklahoma too much.
04:00But when I do visit Southern Oklahoma, those games, they got some, the Dallas Stars, man, they do a great
04:07job with that.
04:08And I think that's something we could have.
04:10We have the people and the fan base for it.
04:12I mean, imagine you go in and be able to go up there and see just a dude get decked
04:16on some ice.
04:17Yeah.
04:17Like, like I've never once been to a hockey game and I, I'm not going to go unless Houston gets
04:23an NHL team.
04:24I'm just not.
04:25I was trying to convince him we should go out to Vegas and catch a Vegas game and looked at
04:30me and he said, no.
04:32Well, you did.
04:34He said Dallas first, you know, Southern Oklahoma.
04:36And I'm like, I am not going to Southern Oklahoma.
04:38That is not going to be my first hockey experience.
04:40It's like Vegas.
04:41Vegas, you know, you throw a little money my way, get me out there.
04:44You know, we go to hit the casinos, hockey game.
04:47Yeah, I could maybe do that.
04:48They do.
04:48They do hockey right in Vegas, man.
04:50They do.
04:51They really do.
04:52What do you think, like in your opinion, how, how preposterous is it preposterous that the city of Houston is
04:59now in direct competition, according to reports today, with the city of Austin to maybe get an NHL team?
05:06Like, who's it going to be?
05:07I mean, what does that say to you?
05:09How crazy is that?
05:10I don't think it's crazy.
05:11I think it's like, I mean, first, we're getting the comments, right?
05:14So, like, we got to look at our sports ecosystem.
05:17Like, we can support it.
05:18Now, Austin, they have a college team.
05:20You know, they have kind of their NFL team, right?
05:22UT is that.
05:22But, like, they could be able to have an NHL team there.
05:26And I can almost see them wanting to go to Austin first because they're like, hey, this is a trial
05:29market.
05:30There's not much competition for us here.
05:31You know, we can really go and sew into this fan base.
05:35But at the same time, I mean, imagine an NHL team here in Houston.
05:39Yeah.
05:39Like, just, like, just think about how that is.
05:41And a part of your weekly lineup is you're not just watching the Rockets play.
05:45You're not just watching the Comets play.
05:46The Dash or the Dynamo.
05:48Not the Texans.
05:49Boom, there's a hockey team this year.
05:51Like, I think that would be the coolest thing.
05:53And it just really would set the city to another level.
05:54I think it's really a great point.
05:56Do you guys think that Houston would kind of adopt an Austin NHL team as kind of, like, their own?
06:02No.
06:02You don't think so at all?
06:03Not at all.
06:04Like, it's not any different than if...
06:05Because it's not San Antonio.
06:06It's not Dallas.
06:07It's Austin.
06:08It's not a pro...
06:10You don't think there's any possibility in that?
06:12No.
06:13I think Houston is Houston.
06:15And because this city is so transient, half this city is from somewhere else.
06:18Yeah.
06:21Hockey is a diehard sport.
06:25Right?
06:25Hockey is a sport where so much of the experience of hockey is in the arena.
06:31If you're not...
06:33Nobody's driving three hours to go to a hockey game, especially during the week when you kind of get up
06:39and go to work.
06:40Fair.
06:40Nobody's driving three hours to go to a game.
06:42Austin's got an MLS team.
06:45Okay.
06:46Austin's got a G League team.
06:49They've got, you know, a PCL team.
06:52You know, the Round Rock Express is right there.
06:54They have the minor league affiliate of the Dallas Stars.
06:58Their pro team, like Emmanuel said, their pro team is UT.
07:02Football, basketball, baseball.
07:05UT is the entire ecosystem.
07:09And, you know, can they support an NHL team?
07:13They probably can.
07:15I think two million people in that greater Austin area.
07:19I'm sure they've got a lot of company.
07:22They've got a lot of business up there.
07:24I'm sure they could support it.
07:25Yeah.
07:26But it's not going to be the same as if it's in Houston, which is seven million plus.
07:33Yeah.
07:33So, busting out, obviously, more business and a city that has proven it supports pro teams.
07:42Hell, the football team can be complete garbage and they're still going to sell the thing out.
07:46I'd be curious how receptive the city of Austin, though, would maybe be to know a lot of OG Austinites
07:51that despise that number two million.
07:54Like, how fast that place has grown over the course of the last 10 to 20 years.
07:58I think the mid-sized markets like that, they adopt the team like it's gold.
08:04Yeah.
08:04I mean, I'm not going to say that.
08:05I think they absolutely would support it.
08:07I agree.
08:08But, man, there's a hell of a difference between Austin and Houston.
08:12Houston is a historic rival of, as Emmanuel said, southern Oklahoma.
08:18And, you know, to me, like, if you were going to put a second hockey team in Texas, it would
08:22be in Houston or it would be in San Antonio.
08:23It wouldn't be in Austin.
08:25Austin is the closest of those three cities to Dallas.
08:30Now, while Dallas does not have territory rights to reject the way Jerry Jones has territory rights to reject, the
08:37way the Texas Rangers have territory rights to reject, the Stars don't have that.
08:42Yeah.
08:42But putting a team in Houston is just, it's a different level.
08:48Yeah.
08:48It's a different level.
08:49It didn't make the most sense to me.
08:52Emanuel Ellaby is our guest in studio, former Rice Owl, former Houston Texan football player.
08:57He's got a youth football camp coming up this weekend at Rice Stadium.
09:00Can people still sign up for that, by the way?
09:02You can go to our website, www.beesbelievers.org.
09:06To be able to sign up, you can Google it.
09:07Just Emanuel, it'll be fifth annual camp.
09:09A little event bright link will come up.
09:10And we saw some spots that are available, limited spots.
09:12But, yeah.
09:12Here, let me say that a little louder and a little slower.
09:17Beesbelievers.org.
09:18Yes, there are still spots.
09:19Only limited spots.
09:21So, if you want to get in, right now, really good time to go to www.bees.org.com.
09:33And go get your kids registered now before all the spots are gone.
09:37Yeah, that's great, man.
09:39Hey, we're going to bounce some stuff off.
09:41Yeah, I told you I was very curious.
09:42And you follow Houston sports.
09:43You're very into it.
09:45This is not necessarily a Houston thing, but it has been the biggest story in college football for about the
09:52last month or so.
09:54Brendan Soresby, right?
09:55So, that whole debacle has seemingly come to a head.
09:59And now it is ended.
10:01He will not play NFL football this upcoming season.
10:05And at this point in time, his lawyers seem to think that they feel like they are going to take
10:10on the NFL with a lawsuit.
10:13The NFL said today there's no supplemental draft.
10:16What are your thoughts on this entire situation that has unfolded?
10:22And did the NFL do the right thing by not holding a supplemental draft again?
10:28Because they never do.
10:29Yeah, yeah.
10:30I mean, I think, first and foremost, like, I mean, all the stuff that he has to go through and
10:34getting help for that, like, that's real.
10:35That's serious.
10:35You don't want everyone to take that away from it.
10:37But also, at the same time, like, I'm a real big proponent.
10:39I remember our coach used to always tell us, like, it's a privilege to be able to play this game,
10:43right?
10:43And, like, you are representing a lot to do that.
10:46And I remember once we went to the NFL, they used to have, like, they don't do rookie symposiums anymore,
10:50but they do what they call, like, a rookie enrichment program over the summertime.
10:55And they'd have vets come and speak to you, and they'd talk to you about gambling and everything that's sort
10:58of there.
10:58And I think for, like, the NFL, like, you know, they always talk about protecting the shield, right?
11:03And so for a guy, you know, to go in and place that many bets and then be a part
11:08of it, like, I came into you.
11:11And I think as we all are adults, like, sometimes you make mistakes that you can't get back from, right?
11:16And it's a sad, you know, thing.
11:19But I don't think the NFL should, you know, simply go in and make concessions to be able to kind
11:23of, like, make it good for him to be able to play.
11:25Like, it is a privilege to play football, right?
11:26Like, he won't play in the – he said – you're right.
11:29Like, they said that legislation that came out today, or they put out that memo that says, like, 2026, he
11:32can't play this year.
11:33Yeah.
11:33Like, inside the season.
11:34And that's fine.
11:35Like, if he really, really wants to play, then he's going to have to go and do almost kind of
11:39this whole entire revamping thing of his whole entire image to be able to get played again.
11:43Because that is a privilege.
11:44Like, you took something that you got from a different standpoint, I feel like, as an older player and a
11:49guy who played, you know, pre-NIL.
11:51Like, you were getting money.
11:52Like, I remember it was a huge thing for us to fight to just to get cost of attendance, which
11:56was supposed to be, like, an extra $500 on top of, like, our regular stipend check that we were using
12:01to just get paycheck by paycheck.
12:03Paycheck by paycheck.
12:04Paycheck.
12:04Excuse me.
12:05But now you're getting all this amount of money, and then you're going to go take an opportunity to go
12:09gamble and then go do it again and then do it again and betting on games and fixing those.
12:13I think, you know, for the NFL, like, they always tell you protect the shield because that represents so much
12:18more than just you.
12:19It represents all the guys that came before you that played and then all the guys that are coming afterwards
12:23that come, you know, after you.
12:25Kids sit there and dream about going to play with that.
12:27So I think for the NFL to come down with that memo and say, like, hey, he can't play in
12:32here, I think that's the right thing to do.
12:33I think they're trying to protect the game, and you don't want to necessarily let somebody in that comes in
12:38and dishonors everything that's been built.
12:40That's over a 100-year organization.
12:42Yeah, yeah.
12:43And like I said, I don't want to be too, like, on a pedestal or whatnot there, but, I mean,
12:48I think it's a real serious thing.
12:50The NFL set a precedent.
12:51Like, if you don't, then it's just all of a sudden, you know, everybody's willy-nilly, and you don't want
12:55to have that, right?
12:56No, you're opening the doors to the Wild West that is college football now into the NFL.
13:00And like you said, they are always going to protect themselves, but I think ultimately, yes, everything you said, it
13:07was well said and right, but, guys, there's no way the NFL was going to allow Brendan Sorsby to repair
13:15his image as an NFL player, like, literally months after the biggest story in sports broke open.
13:22And they're there for some drama.
13:24They're there for some entertainment and some soap opera type stuff.
13:28They weren't there for this one.
13:29I think they made the right decision.
13:31I thought one of the things that you said is so spot on, right?
13:35Because today's kids have no concept of what college athletes used to do before NIL.
13:42Back when you weren't allowed to have a job because, you know, that would violate your scholarship.
13:48When somebody, like, for example, if I had gone to meet Emmanuel Lelleby after school because I was going to
13:57talk to him about an opportunity after he graduated and I bought him a hamburger, violation.
14:04Yeah, yeah.
14:04If the place just didn't charge him for it, violation, sorry, you can't play.
14:12The rules were so patently ridiculous.
14:16And generally, if you were on an athletic scholarship and the semester as an athlete, a fall athlete would start,
14:25you know, in July, not in the end of August, be out of money on your meal plan before September
14:3230th.
14:33And it's like, okay, now what do I do?
14:35Because I have no money.
14:36I'm not allowed to work.
14:39And nobody can buy me anything.
14:41It was the dumbest thing going.
14:44And that's why there were so many, you know, $100 handshakes and, you know, a little brown bag.
14:51That's not a sandwich.
14:52I think the funniest thing is, like, you talked about, like, you run out of meal on your meal plan.
14:56Like, we used to have guys at Rice that was, like, because, like, we were not, they told us, like,
15:00yo, we're not trying to get any type of legislation, like, kicked out.
15:03Because, like, that looks bad on us as compliance people.
15:06Dudes were like, hey, bro, can you go give me something from the surgery?
15:10Like, I ran out of swipes.
15:11Like, just that is how real it is.
15:12And now, you know, guys make, you know, well more than people come in and their first job out of
15:17college.
15:17And it's just, like, man, like, I think, like you said, like, it's a privilege, man.
15:22And, like, you know, younger people don't know everything that you had to go through to be able to have
15:26that opportunity, like, that they have now.
15:28So, yeah, man, it's just, it's insane to me.
15:30I would not.
15:31But I think another thing that you pointed out, too, that I don't skip over is, like you said, the
15:34NFL, you like entertainment, right?
15:36A little drama.
15:37You can handle it, right?
15:38But imagine a team having to now pick that guy up on their team and then having to, like, go
15:43through the whole entire season with that.
15:44It's constantly going to be acts in the media.
15:46Like, what coach wants to deal with that?
15:48Especially from a rookie.
15:49You're trying, you're building a culture right now, whether you're a new coach, a veteran coach of, you know, insert
15:55whatever program.
15:55And now you're going to bring in the hottest thing going in sports.
15:59And by hot, I don't mean good.
16:01And that is absolutely a distraction.
16:03And it will be a distraction all year long, whether the guy plays or doesn't play.
16:10You know how the season ended for C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans last year.
16:14You've heard all kinds of crazy, you know, cockamamie takes from talking heads, NFL analysts, people on maybe the show
16:21or station, whatever.
16:23What has been your take, your kind of how you've digested the Houston Texans and C.J. Stroud over the
16:29course of the last six months?
16:30I said it, I was on Nate's show and I told him then, I was like, man, the defense, the
16:35defense is just, they continuously with that defense, I think defense wins championships.
16:40I think C.J., you know, I think this is going to be a crazy year for him, like a
16:44good year.
16:45And I think I say that because, like, you have the sophomore slump, you go through that.
16:49Then you have the third year, you thought he was going to bounce back, but he still didn't do it.
16:52So I think you have two years that's there and now he's kind of, he's gotten the whole entire thing
16:56about the option taken care of.
16:57But now he knows he's going out there and fighting for, like, not only his playoff life, but, like, that
17:01opportunity to really just kind of set himself up for the rest of his career, right?
17:04And this is, like, all eyes are on you, you know, backs in the corner or whatnot.
17:07And whether you're going to rise to it, I believe that, like, you know, Jameko and all those coaches that
17:13are in there, you know, Coach Ocam, Franklin Ocam was with me at Rice.
17:17And I know how he approaches about that defense and then the culture that they bring and him talking to
17:22me about knowing D'Amico as a player and then also, like, you know, him going into coaching and everything
17:27in the story.
17:28Like, they're going to try to figure it out.
17:29I don't think that they're, you know, they say the definition of sanity is repeating the same thing over and
17:33over again, expecting different results.
17:34Like, no, I think they're changing it up.
17:35And I also think, like, that defense is letting them know, like, yo, I got you.
17:39Like, you know, they fortified the front, you know, locking up Will Anderson, giving him that big deal.
17:45Obviously, Daniil, shout-out to him, Morton Ranch, you know, deal.
17:50Then you came and put, you know, Aziz in the middle.
17:54You have that that's solidified there.
17:56So your front seven is kind of, you know, taking care of it.
17:58And then you got your big boys up hunting.
18:00That's hunting.
18:00They're bringing back some of those people as well.
18:02And then their back end is just good.
18:03I'm really – I'm big about that defense and how it is.
18:06Like, watching how they played against that Seattle game, and obviously Seattle ended up going up to be the Super
18:10Bowl champions.
18:11Like, I think for that one is, like, they'll look at games like that and really be like, okay, we
18:16know what we need to do
18:17and how we have – like, we can have teams on the ropes if we just put all these things
18:21together.
18:22And I think offensively, like, you know, like I said, like, they're going to figure it out with CJ.
18:27I think, you know, it's really about how do you get him started, get him started hot, get him his
18:31confidence up.
18:32But as soon as they, you know, they don't let that media get into the locker room,
18:36I think you don't allow that to happen.
18:37And you just allow him to be able to stay kind of in his own zone and get it done,
18:41he'll have a great year,
18:42which I truly expect him to do.
18:44I think that's like – again, it's so hard to put together a really great defense
18:47and then have a defense that can be able to support and bail out, like, your offense whenever it goes
18:52bad and stuff of the sort.
18:53I think they have that.
18:54Everybody stays healthy.
18:55You know, I think they've already lost certain people out that are for your, I think, speed.
18:59Yeah.
19:00You know, he's out for the year.
19:01But I do think that they have, you know, good guys that have depth there.
19:05And I think they have a good cohort and cohesiveness that's there that leaves.
19:08Can we get a prediction?
19:11Dan Quinn used to always tell me one thing we don't do is bake predictions there.
19:14But I'm retired now, man.
19:16I think, man, that South, I can't lie to you, the South is going to be tough.
19:23First year, Robert Sala.
19:25You know, you got Daniel Jones that they just locked up.
19:28Robert Sala.
19:29Brought him back.
19:30They did lose his own defense.
19:32Then you got Jacksonville.
19:33Jacksonville is just slow and steady.
19:35They like the tortoise.
19:36They just, they don't care about nobody else.
19:37They're going to make it.
19:39I can see them hitting the playoffs.
19:41I'm not going to say to win the division because I do think this division is going to be one
19:43of the more competitive ones in the AFC, in my personal opinion.
19:47I think, you know, it'll be interesting to see how Sala and Ward gel and getting them together.
19:55But, yeah, I can see them hitting the playoffs.
19:57I think worst case, wild card.
19:59You know what I'm saying?
20:00Man, I think everything that's going on this year, I think, you know, they can link, they can limp into
20:06the playoffs.
20:07And I can see CJ having a crazy year.
20:08Yeah.
20:09That would get a crazy playoff run.
20:10That would get him like, okay, hey, we need to sign him to a bigger thing.
20:13Or go crazy in the season, you know, and then just ride that momentum being, you know, a number two,
20:18number one, you know, number two or number three seed.
20:19I'm not going to put him on that one pedestal yet.
20:21That's hella heavy.
20:23But getting a really high seed and going from there.
20:25So, yeah, that's my prediction.
20:26Awesome.
20:27So, Manuel Ellerby started straight Jesuit, started Rice, was a member of the Houston Texans, a member of the Houston
20:33Roughnecks.
20:34And, you know, you get the Falcons, the Chargers, and the Seahawks all in there, too.
20:38Been around a long time.
20:40Terrific guy.
20:41And now working with a company that builds arenas and stadiums that is renovating historic Rice Stadium and having a
20:53youth football camp this weekend.
20:58www.beesbelievers.org.
21:01There are a handful of spots left.
21:02You shall get to learn from Manuel Ellerby and several other professional coaches, some from the area, some just professional
21:13players.
21:14But great opportunity for them to come and learn from guys who played at the highest level.
21:20Manuel, appreciate your time coming in today.
21:23And can you get on that NHL arena thing here in Houston?
21:28Please.
21:28I'm trying to.
21:29I'll tell you, all right, if I do get news about it, I'm going to come back here and be
21:33able to be like, hey, guys, we got some news.
21:35Atta boy.
21:35We'll drop it here.
21:36Yeah.
21:36And there will be celebrations.
21:37Come back any time, by the way.
21:39With Frenchies in honor of Coach Bailiff.
21:41Ooh.
21:42Ooh.
21:43Pat, you talking to my stomach.
21:44You don't need to do that, man.
21:45You talking to my stomach, man.
21:46That's better than talking to my ears.
21:47Talking to my stomach is even better, man.
21:50Awesome, man.
21:50Thanks again, Emmanuel.
21:52We'll see you soon, man.
21:53We'll see you soon, man.
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