00:00I got a lot of jealousy, a lot of jealousy.
00:03What do they say about that emotion?
00:04Not a good emotion, wasted energy.
00:07Don't covet other people's things.
00:09Don't say, why don't I have what they have?
00:12Don't be all dialed into that.
00:14But I got a couple instances today in the sports world as it relates
00:18where jealousy is at the top of the list,
00:21not the least of which is watching the Chicago Bears last night
00:24on Monday Night Football, and I go, well, they're in a much different place
00:28than we are.
00:28We're sitting here wondering about Michael Penick starting next year in 2027.
00:33We're wondering, is Kevin Stefanski the right guy?
00:36Although I don't think too many people are wondering.
00:38Yeah, that's real early in his tenure.
00:41We're trying to figure it out.
00:44And you had a Super Bowl team last night in Seattle with Mike McDonald
00:48that went out and won a Super Bowl and dominated.
00:52You got another team that is absolutely eyes on the prize thinking,
00:57why not us?
01:00I mean, why the hell not us?
01:02Look at our running game.
01:03Look at our quarterback.
01:04Look who we just picked up on defense.
01:06Look at our head coach.
01:09Like, it's kind of like when you see in your late 20s that you don't have it together.
01:16Maybe you're going to be dumb enough to be in radio or television
01:19or be an actor or some kind of career.
01:22And then you look and you go, oh, that guy's an accountant or that guy graduated law school
01:28and he's already got his life ahead of him and he's got it figured out and he's already
01:31got hired and, like, all the pieces are in place.
01:35He knows exactly the path he wants to take.
01:37Might even have a girlfriend he's getting engaged to on a bye week.
01:41Right?
01:42Or planned a wedding for a bye week in the fall.
01:45But, like, you're looking at him and you're going, wow, dude, I got to get my mmm together.
01:50Dude, that guy knows exactly.
01:52Meanwhile, I'm making $23,000 a year.
01:55I'm doing overnight, you know, updates on some nationally syndicated network.
01:59That dude just graduated law school.
02:01That's a little bit like the Falcons looking at the Bears and going, the Bears haven't figured out.
02:05They know exactly who their quarterback is.
02:07They love him.
02:08They know exactly who is calling plays for them and they love him.
02:12They know that it's an era of football ahead of them that they can be proud of.
02:16They also know they have a chance to go to the Super Bowl this year.
02:18We don't have any of those things.
02:20We have none of them.
02:22We don't know if it's our quarterback.
02:23We don't know, you know, what we're going to do with all that cap space money to be able to
02:30build a much more solid defense and just more pieces around.
02:34We don't know if we're headed for another non-playoff year nine years in a row.
02:39We don't know.
02:40We turn on the TV and we go, oh, they know.
02:44Chicago knows.
02:46And Seattle pretty much knows they'll be in the mix next however many years.
02:51Players just are not at that place.
02:53I'm an enormous Falcon fan and the word fan, which is why one week I go, I think Michael Penix
02:59has it figured out and he's NFC Player of the Week.
03:01And then the next week I get on and I go, I don't know, I've ever seen a quarterback play
03:05worse in my life.
03:06And the conditions are terrible.
03:08So that's called being a fan.
03:09I don't have, I don't know where this thing is headed.
03:13I've never seen a team, and I, you know, I know every week in the NFL is different, but I've
03:18never seen a team have losses like this.
03:20The Carolina debacle, the opener in Pittsburgh, the backup quarterback loss to the Ravens, and then the drubbing against the
03:30Bears, and then the utter humiliation of the Bucs.
03:33That's a lot.
03:35That's five losses that ain't pretty.
03:37And I know we sprinkle in Green Bay, New Orleans, and San Fran, that's fine, but, you know, as I
03:43said, you're still trying to figure out your life, and that guy over there is already like, you know, he's
03:50got two kids in the oven, two buns in the oven.
03:54He's got twins coming, and he's got a solid job, and he's making, I don't know, $78,000 a year.
03:59So maybe we'll figure it out.
04:01Anyway, let's figure out our 9 at 9, shall we?
04:04What time is this?
04:05Time for the 9 at 9.
04:07It's 9 things you need to know.
04:099 on the Steakhouse.
04:11Brought to you by Vardy.
04:13AC heating, plumbing, and electrical.
04:15Vardy does it all.
04:16Scheduling your repairs or service is effortless at Vardy.com.
04:20Sports Radio 92.9, the game.
04:23Well, the Chicago Bears, I just talked about them.
04:26They took on the world champs, and it was a good night.
04:30Not for the folks in Seattle who, you know, it's still one of the best crowds in all of football,
04:34but they could not affect the machine that is the Bears' offense.
04:3934-17 win, three Dondre Swift touchdowns, and Jeffrey Simmons, who's come over from Tennessee, had himself a night.
04:48Feels like he just got off the plane, and next thing you know, he's sacking Sam Darnold.
04:52Here's Ben Johnson talking about the newest piece to the puzzle in Chicago.
04:57Our guys were excited the moment they heard the news that we were bringing him on, and he's fit right
05:02in.
05:03You know, we got a high-character locker room, and he is that himself, and you can feel his presence
05:08out there.
05:09I thought he played outstanding.
05:10He got one of the game balls.
05:11I mean, to come in there and have a share of the lead of the tackles and a sack in
05:15his first game, his impact was profound.
05:18His impact was profound.
05:20Will James Pierce Jr. have an impact that's profound?
05:23He'll be playing in Spain this weekend.
05:25Obviously, the Falcons do not want to limp home at 3-6, but they're playing a Bengals team, number one
05:32in the league in third down conversion.
05:33A guy, Joe Burrow, five touchdowns and a running touchdown last week.
05:37A Bengals team that is only a little bit of favor over us, so another strange point spread.
05:43A lot of folks here at the station headed to Spain.
05:45Meanwhile, the Atlanta Hawks, if ever there was a win that is not exactly reason to do backflips, I would
05:53argue last night watching that one.
05:54108-104 over the Pacers.
05:56The Indiana Pacers had all five starters out.
06:00All five of their leading scorers out.
06:03It looked like a G League team by the Pacers.
06:06Only six players available.
06:10Only six.
06:11And darn it, if you didn't look up, it was a two-point game late in the fourth quarter.
06:15Hawks had a great first half shooting threes.
06:17Matter of fact, Nikhil Alexander-Walker hit a career-high nine threes.
06:21But they survived against a truly beaten-up team, the Pacers.
06:27Six players available.
06:29That was it.
06:30And all five starters out.
06:31Meanwhile, they head to meet Trey Young on Wednesday night in Washington before the Wizards come back here.
06:38The Wizards win again yesterday.
06:39Anthony Davis, Trey Young, DeBonsa.
06:42That's all in the horizon as well.
06:44We'll talk a lot more about what that's going to feel like.
06:48The Trey Young legacy and all that.
06:49That's a big story this week in Atlanta sports.
06:51And you know what the Dawgs are doing.
06:53They're getting ready for a Saturday night showdown in Oxford, Mississippi.
06:59They had two games last year.
07:01They were pretty spectacular.
07:02Mike Griffith will join us a little bit later on from the AJC.
07:05He'll talk about that.
