Hornets Shock the NBA, NFL Teams That MUST Make the Playoffs & World Cup Talk

The NBA offseason is already delivering absolute chaos.

This week on Big Game Energy, Spencer and James break down the shocking moves made by the Charlotte Hornets, including the blockbuster LaMelo Ball trade to Minnesota and the Miles Bridges deal to Phoenix. Is Charlotte secretly building one of the brightest futures in the NBA, and where do the Timberwolves rank now with Anthony Edwards and LaMelo together?

Then we shift to the NFL and debate the four teams under the most pressure to make the playoffs in 2026. Which franchises are facing a season that could determine the future of their coaches, quarterbacks, and front offices?

We wrap things up with another edition of No Huddle, covering:

•  Brendan Sorsby's supplemental draft drama 
•  USA's World Cup outlook 
•  Messi and Argentina's path through the tournament 
•  A historic 4-overtime WNBA game 
•  Barry Bonds' unbelievable GOAT statistic 
•  Ty Simpson's early Rams depth chart concerns 
•  Fantasy football season right around the corner 

If you love the NBA, NFL, soccer, and rapid-fire sports debates, this episode has something for you. 

New episodes every Monday and Thursday.

#NBA #NFL #WorldCup #FantasyFootball #LaMeloBall #AnthonyEdwards #Hornets #Timberwolves #Cowboys #Bengals #Lions #Patriots #BigGameEnergy

Transcript

Spencer 0:00

Big game energy, James and Spencer hanging out with you. We have a lot to discuss here today. Hmm trades going down in the NBA. The Hornets are making moves, and they are up to something ahead of free agency starting this week. They shipped off LaMelo Ball, and today they shipped off Miles Bridges. We're gonna talk about that. We're also gonna tell you what teams in the NFL have to make the playoffs in 2026. The pressure's on, the heat is up, they have to get it done. And then we'll end with No Huddle. We have to talk about the NBA. Oh, my. And we have to talk about a team that not a lot of people are gonna talk about. But the team of the off-season, the team that everyone needs to talk about right now is the Charlotte Hornets. The Charlotte Hornets- Ooh have been making moves, and they are up to something. What are they cooking there in Charlotte? The news came out earlier this week that they are trading all-star LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves, and in return they get Naz Reid- Mm an unprotected 2030 three first, and three first-round swaps beginning in '28 all the way through 2030. And then three second-round picks as well. But they weren't done. Sunday morning it came out they are trading Miles Bridges to the Phoenix Suns in return for Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and a future first-round pick in 2033. They also this week re-signed Kobe White following the trade of LaMelo Ball. Mm. So after a season where the Hornets took a big step forward, James, and they were darlings of- Right yours and I. We were big fans of them. We wanted to see them make some noise and make the Pistons sweat a little bit in the playoffs. But they didn't even get past the play-in. James, what were your thoughts on these moves, and what are we cooking up in Charlotte?

James 1:46

Yeah. No, I... And I'm not gonna lie. You would've thought this off-season was all about Giannis. Giannis, move out of the way. It's all about the Charlotte Hornets.

Spencer 1:53

Yeah, that's right.

James 1:54

Making moves. Who would've thought, man? 2026, we're talking about the Charlotte Hornets over Giannis and all these big timers. But no, I was shocked. From the jump I was shocked. And now of course you might have people who are happy with the LaMelo trade just because, you have guys like Nick Wright who mentioned he's just not mature enough as a player. He still has that LA Fitness hoop vibes. Can you win with this guy? And you mentioned it, they were our Cinderella team. We were hoping to have in the one-eight series them versus the Pistons. I probably would've picked them to beat the Pistons, just with all the confidence I have in this team. But Spence, the leadership just saw something different and, I wanna joke around and be like, The Hornets took the streets out of the team, and now they gotta find something else." But- In all honesty, what they got in return builds out their roster for what you mentioned. You probably got the number. I think they have over 50 million in, under cap space to spend during free agency. Do they trade one of these picks for Jaylen Brown? Do they trade one of the... I wish I could joke here and say, "They, hey, they got enough money. They could pay LeBron one year, 50 mil. Let's just get it out of the way. LeBron, you coming to Charlotte?" But no, I was shocked, Spence. What we thought the ceiling could be to now you, you trade basically two of your best players on the team. LaMelo, we're probably more shocked at. Miles Bridges, we actually may understand because guess what? Are you gonna pay Miles Bridges 50, 60 million for 16 and a half points a game even though he's a value to your team? Probably not. Some team will do that, but not the Hornets, and they might see that as a, a value down the way. And of course, they got Royce O'Neale and Grayson Allen. I know Grayson Allen didn't have the best three-point efficiency this year from two years ago, but you still get three-and-D guys from Royce O'Neale and Grayson Allen. So at the end, Spence, I don't know what the Hornets are doing but man, I'm just gonna say it right now, I think the Hornets might as well just go and try and get Jaylen Brown. Let's do it.

Spencer 3:59

They definitely have the assets to do it, and they do have a large traded player exception as a result of the LaMelo trade that they can use. Lot of assets to build a roster at. But even right now, what we're looking at, starting five, Coby White, Kon Knipple, Brandon Miller, Naz Reid, and Moussa Diabate. That's not a terrible starting five. You maybe want a little bit more strength at the- Yeah four and the five, but I think Naz Reid's gonna bring a little bit of a dog to that front court. Of course. And Naz Reid on that team I think's gonna be a very good fit with Brandon Miller and Kon Knipple shooting the ball. On the, off the bench, Tre Mann, Pat Connaughton, Christian Anderson. Now you're adding in Royce O'Neale, Grayson Allen. You also have young guys like Liam McNeilly, right? Yeah. He was a fanout. I was a big fan of his coming out of UConn last year. Their 14th pick this year, Haynes Steinback. Mm-hmm. They have a lot of assets. They could make a move, an all-in move, or they could just sit pretty and, they... Look at their 2027 picks. They have their own, they have Miami's, which is gonna be outside of the lottery- Right and they have Dallas's, which is only protected one and two. And next year, we know how different the odds are gonna be. Unless you have Dallas as a shoo-in, guaranteed they're gonna make the top six seeds in the West, which I don't think I'd put the Mavs there just yet-

James 5:18

Nope

Spencer 5:18

they should be better, but that pick very well could end up being a low lottery to maybe even being somewhere up even higher than their own, depending on where the lottery balls shoot next year They have all these assets, and then, like I said, all the swaps between them and the Wolves. And then 2033 rolls around and they have three unprotected first round picks. Mm-hmm. Their own, Minnesota's, and now Phoenix's. They have a ton of assets. They are building things really smart. This is a small market team that this is what they have to do. They have to stockpile assets. They're never gonna be the t- the team that's attracting the superstars, the- Yeah the Giannis's were never considering this place. You joke about Jaylen Brown. I don't think that would be a realistic possibility- because Jaylen Brown's a little too much of a diva to go play in Charlotte. Maybe I'm wrong there. But what the Hornets are doing, they are going to go and find more homegrown developed talent. Right. They've already done that with a couple of players, I think already. We saw them grow and develop LaMelo Ball, and you might have your opinions on him, but at the very minimum, he is one of the most prolific scoring guards we have in the game today. Con Knipil was damn near gonna be the rookie of the year before C- Cooper Flagg went crazy last year. I'm just saying, I really like a lot of the things that the Hornets are doing, and I love their team on paper. Will they get out of the Eastern Conference? No chance to me. I don't think they're gonna make the play-in at this rate, but I don't think that's their goal. I think their goal is to build these assets, develop these young guys.

James 6:50

Yeah. You know what? You just pinched it right before I was about to get there, 'cause I was about to say from, on paper, I look at this roster as very stable, very fundamental. Kolby White, he freaking played his tail off in that play-in. Basically was the main reason why, 'cause in that play-in, even without Bam, if it wasn't for Kolby, LaMelo and them were not shooting that ball well. Even Con Knipil was not shooting that ball with, with those lights bright. I was just about to ask you, Spence, where do you see this team in the rankings? 'Cause we all, last week we talked about the Heat probably staying maybe at that four, five slot. You still got the Cavs, you got the Celtics, you got the Pistons, and, you got all these teams that are trying to get there. And so do you see this team being the 10th seed or the ninth seed?

Spencer 7:37

You know what? I'ma say they're gonna make the play in as the nine seed.

James 7:41

Okay.

Spencer 7:41

And I, I definitely could see them being one of those nine seeds that slips in and they're feisty. Coby White can turn it on in a moment. And who knows what year two Kon Knipple's gonna be. Right. But again, I think if you're Charlotte, I don't think you really care about where you finish because if you make the playoffs, great. That means our young talent that we have has developed and now we can look at paying them. If we are bad again hey, we have three picks this year. We're gonna stockpile more assets, more talent- and see if we can get some winners down here in Charlotte. I love what they're doing. It's not sexy on the surface and it can hurt a lot if you are one of the few dozen of Charlotte Hornet fans out there. We're talking to you out there. No disrespect. I really like what they're doing though. Don't be surprised if they're making some noise in the Eastern Conference in a couple years.

James 8:29

I hope so, man, 'cause man, Charlotte, that whole city just needs to, do better. We got the Panthers and we got the Hornets. They, come on man. Come on, Charlotte.

Spencer 8:37

Yep. Now, on the other side of the LaMelo trade, we didn't get to react to this, James, but-

James 8:41

Oh my goodness

Spencer 8:42

LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards. I think they are going to be the biggest nightmare for a PR department that has ever existed- in the NBA's entire history. Man. James, LaMelo and Ant together, how does this stack up in the Western Conference now?

James 8:58

Man, I will say, makes it fun to watch the West. So, they always joke it's easy to get out of the East, but the West is so much fun, you got KD, you got Shay, you got Ant and, Melo. You got LeBron and Luka. Well, maybe I shouldn't say LeBron. You got Luka and, and you got Joker and all those guys. The West is always the most interesting conference to watch. And with these two guys together, the only thing I, when I saw this trade go down, I know we both texted each other like, "What the..." We didn't expect LaMelo to get traded. But I, I love this for- the T-Wolves because of the number one thing we're gonna talk about is who can create shots? Now, is LaMelo the most efficient player on this Earth? No, but at least he can help Ant. When Ant's going off and he's getting double-teamed, I know they saw Ayo do a couple things when Ant was hurt in that first round versus the Nuggets. Now you have a guy who can stretch, this, the three-point line for this team. I'm always critical of, not just LaMelo, but guards in general like Trae Young, LaMelo, Steph. I'm being rude about Steph. He's d- he's been okay lately. But it's the defensive side of the ball. Y- is this team gonna go from being... Cause they were a top, I think, five team defensively, and now you're projecting to what? You're gonna play J- McDaniels as the four and Gobert as the five, and you're gonna go four guards deep? I don't know, you just paid Ayo, and I don't, and I don't think you pay him to be on the bench. So you have Ant, Melo, Ayo, and McDaniels. That's probably your one through four right there.

Spencer 10:34

Yeah. I think when you also consider just Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, I think the Rockets are gonna be in that conversation. I'm biased, of course. You got Luka, maybe LeBron comes back or not. But there's so many teams in the West. And, the Wolves, all to their credit, have always been in the mix every single year, and you know they're gonna be feisty, you know they're gonna be a tough- Mm-hmm out every single year. Oh, by the way, I didn't even mention the actual Western Conference champions, the San Antonio Spurs, right?

James 11:02

Yeah,

Spencer 11:02

we forgot those. But the Wolves, we know the Wolves are always gonna be in that conversation 'cause of Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert. You add in superstar power, which, I don't know, some might not like that term being thrown around there for LaMelo Ball. If you're someone that's gonna be a 90 overall in 2K, I don't care about your resume. I think you're at least a superstar. Now, I think, that being said, I think it is fair to criticize LaMelo Ball, 'cause he's done absolutely nothing in the NBA. Of course. Absolutely nothing. But the eye test doesn't lie, and he does score buckets. The bucket getter. And I think that's one thing that the Wolves desperately needed last year, especially in the playoffs at times, where teams were throwing doubles at them. LaMelo now is gonna open up so much for that offense. And, defensively we'll see what he can do defensively. I... Pe- people forget, they wanna give him the cone tag. But this is a 6'7", 6'8" point guard, and you have Rudy Gobert playing behind you, protecting the rim. Yeah. He and McDaniels are two bodies. I think we're gonna see another side of LaMelo Ball. And I'm not saying he's gonna become like Bruce Bowen or Tony Allen overnight, but I think he's gonna fit in well with a really rugged Wolves defense- Yeah with Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards. I think it's a great fit. And I- Yeah I do-- I will say this, I still have them behind the Thunder and the Spurs.

James 12:20

Yep.

Spencer 12:21

But right now- Most definitely heading into free agency, I have them as the clear third best team in the West.

James 12:26

Yeah. I can't disagree with you on there. If I had known for sure that LeBron's gonna be a Laker, then maybe I have the Lakers third, 'cause just a LeBron bias on that. But I will say, man, you know what jersey's about to sell out, that old school black T-Wolves ball jersey, man. That's gonna be the hottest thing on the market, man. Yeah. So I will say it's gonna be fun watching Minnesota. I can't wait for, Prime and Peacock days for the NBA. And I got T-Wolves versus the Spurs. I can't wait.

Spencer 12:55

I'm ready to start talking about some football, James.

James 12:57

Okay. I like the sound of this.

Spencer 12:59

I wanna talk about the teams that we believe must make the playoffs in 2026. Okay. And if they do not, it's a colossal failure- and people's heads will roll, and jobs will be lost- and people will be traded, all right? Okay. James, we're gonna each do a team from the AFC- Okay and a team from the

James 13:19

NFC. All right.

Spencer 13:20

I'll go first. All right. And this is a team that, I feel like this is an obvious one- Yeah but I'm gonna give you a side of this that I don't think enough people talk about. My team that must make the playoffs in 2026 from the AFC is the Cincinnati Bengals. It is the Bengals by a country mile. This is a team, all the expectations James? Joe Burrow, right? Yep. Came into the league his second year, made the Super Bowl. He goes to the conference championship his third year, and what has he done since then? Two straight years, has not even won double-digit games and has missed the playoffs in both games. Sure, the defense has been a big problem, but they've added Dexter Lawrence. They've drafted well on the defensive end. This is now a team that should make the playoffs. You're, on paper, a better team than you were last year. Yep. The offense should show up. You have Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins under contract. Joe Burrow, the second coming of Jesus, right? He's the, he's clearly a top five quarterback James? Mm-hmm. I don't have him in my top five.

James 14:26

I don't have him in my top five.

Spencer 14:27

I think quarterback is such a wishy-washy position, but I think the days of us definitively putting Joe Burrow automatically in the top five when you talk about the Josh Allens, the Lamar Jacksons, the Pat Mahomes, people are gonna pick and choose their order, but people used to throw Joe Burrow in that category. Mm-hmm. Just you have to put him in the top four. It, that's what it starts with. Right. He's not in there for me, and it's because of how he has disappointed these past two seasons. Mm. And you can say defense this, defense that, health this, health that. At the end of the day, teams figure it out to get it done. Yeah. So the Bengals and Joe Burrow need to figure it out and need to make the playoffs this year.

James 15:06

Yeah. No, you're totally right. That was my number one team for the AFC 'cause you look at everyone else. Spence, Whatever happens in the AFC South is either a fluke, for the top teams, and the teams that are at the bottom are just, not that good. You go to the AFC West and, again, the same as the A- AFC South- You got Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs. You expect them to be good. You expect the Chiefs with, uh, Mahomes hopefully the full season to play, to be a good team. Raiders, we don't expect much. So then I look at the AFC North where the Bengals were my number one team just 'cause what you mentioned. Joe Burrow, what they're paying for Tee Higgins, Jamar, this guy, this guy. But it's real- Zach Taylor, this is his job on the line. He might get fired, Spence. Zach Taylor might get fired. I know Stephen A. Smith jokes about it. He might get fired again if they decide to start the season 0 and 2 for the fifth straight year. I swear he might as well get fired 'cause they always start off slow. I don't know what they do in Cincinnati for freaking off-season training or for all that sponge ass. But no, Spence, for me, and again, this might come to you as a shocker, but my team that I expect that needs to make the playoffs Is the New England Patriots, man. Because what has everyone told me after they lost to the, the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 61? Oh, they should've never made it. They got lucky. This and that. All the off-season drama with Mike Vrabel. You got all this shenanigans going on with A.J. Brown. What is gonna happen? You, last year you had the easiest, schedule last year, all the way to basically almost the Super Bowl, where every team you played, they fired their head coach or their quarterback was injured following that week. So all the pressure is up to you. Again, 'cause you already know the Bills have made moves. They're getting D- they got D.J. Moore, so you know they're gonna be one... they're gonna make the playoffs. You go look at the AFC South, and I think the Jags and the Texans make the playoffs. You go to the AFC West, I don't know if three teams will make it, but we'll just say at least two. And then you got the AFC North, where you get maybe one, maybe two teams. So it leaves one spot left maybe. And Just seeing what I can see with what the Patriots now, have they done some moves? Yeah they've done great. I don't see them taking a huge fall-off, but from what they're gonna get from an easy schedule to now w- a tougher schedule, and 'cause I expect you to go four and two at minimum in the AFC East. That's just me. But with all the off-field drama with Vrabel, it's just all these other X's and Y's and Z's. That would be my team that needs to make the playoffs just one, you shut off everything that happened in the off-season. You're like, "Hey, yeah, we lost the Super Bowl. We got back on our grind. We're here. We upgraded the receiver." We are pleasing our receiver hopefully, 'cause if you don't make the playoffs, hell, A.J. Brown might get traded next year. Whoever knows. But I still trust Drake May. There's no doubt on his side of things. I won't say "Oh, he's not that good," 'cause he did perform well. He was... he just did not during the Super Bowl. But if I had to pick a team, 'cause you chose my team, I gotta go with the New England Patriots, man. They gotta make the playoffs.

Spencer 18:05

It's funny, I debated between the Bengals and the Patriots also. Man. There was a third team. I almost said my Houston Texans as well. I was

James 18:13

Okay, I was gonna say, who's your third team,

Spencer 18:14

man? I was this close to saying the Houston Texans as well- Really? just because y- C.J. Stroud. It's simple as that. C.J. Stroud is an approve it year for himself. He, i- if the contract doesn't get done, which all indications right now saying that's not gonna get done I, I would think that maybe if the Texans don't make the playoffs, it's- Yeah it's sayonara C.J. Stroud. But overall, if the Texans miss the playoffs this year for some reason, they probably f- do something different at quarterback, obviously. But- Correct they, that defense is all under contract. You, you've- Mm-hmm got good weapons in Nico Collins under contract, right? Mm-hmm. You got some young guys coming up. Offensive line's in good shape. So-

James 18:50

Yeah

Spencer 18:50

yes, it's, it would be the end for C.J. Stroud, but the team overall, I don't think it'd be the end of the world completely. I gotcha. It would definitely be disappointing for fans like myself, but it wouldn't be- it wouldn't be the end of the world as a franchise like it would be for the Patriots- Yeah or the Bengals. All right.

James 19:04

Yeah.

Spencer 19:05

Let's go to the NFC.

James 19:06

All right.

Spencer 19:07

James, my NFC team- You're not gonna like it. You're gonna hate it because you do hate it. Okay. But I think the Dallas Cowboys- Ooh, I'm so glad. I'm so glad have to make the playoffs- in 2026, right? They

James 19:19

don't have to.

Spencer 19:19

Shut up, Josh. Jerry Jones, Jerry Jones, man, this is a guy that always is in the s- the front light. He is always in the headlines, and that's the way he likes it. He loves the Cowboys being a drama, a soap opera. Mm-hmm. But fans are tired of it, and yes, they'll continue to be the biggest sports franchise in the entire world. That's not gonna end this year or any year going forward, uh, how much longer are you gonna put your fans through this, Jerry Jones? Where you constantly hype them up, constantly have them saying, "We them boys. This that year. It's gonna be the year we finally figure it out." No NFC Championship appearances since 1996. We all know the stat, but you got Dak Prescott, big contract. You got CeeDee Lamb, big contract. Mm-hmm. George Pickens, franchise tag, big contract. On the defensive side of things, you made big trades. You did a lot of stuff. You brought in some guys. Caleb Downs, my best player in the draft, you got him. This is a team that has a lot of talent on both sides of the ball now, and another thing for Jerry Jones to consider, everyone criticized the hire of Brian Schottenheimer. His first year was very disappointing to say the least, but everyone knew it was gonna be a tough year for the Cowboys, a little bit of a rebuild. Getting rid of Michael Parsons is gonna be tough for that defense to overcome that. Second year with this roster, Brian Schottenheimer- Mm doesn't get to the playoffs, he is gone. He is gone, unless Jerry Jones just continues to have that blind loyalty like we've seen him have in the past for guys like Jason Garrett. I would just be shocked if it was another disappointing season. Yeah. The Cowboys miss the playoffs. They go 7 and 10 with some competitive wins, but they don't get it done and they don't make the playoffs as a wild card. People's heads are gonna roll, and we might even be looking at Dak Prescott changing teams in 2026, so the Cowboys must make the playoffs in 2026.

James 21:16

I will say I can't disagree with you. As much as I would be like this would be a music to my ears, Cowboys not making the playoffs, hell yeah, man. F the Cowboys, man, but in all honesty, you mentioned it, w- the expectations you bring from Dallas you get a new defensive coordinator from Philly who was the cornerback's, you know- Coach, so you try to build this defense, 'cause it's been horrible the last couple years, even with Micah Parsons, and I don't care if he was hurt or what. You gotta find ways to build... You mentioned it. They got Caleb Downs. I think that'll be a solidify pick in that area. And again, they, you hope they make the playoffs because I know the Eagles just won the division, and we had back-to-back NFC winners for the first time in 23 years. So you would think maybe, hey, maybe history's on your side. You win the division, you make the playoffs, easy money. But no, my team, Spence, I'm gonna just say it right here. It's the Detroit Lions, man. It is the Detroit Lions. Why? Because I look at this team. Yeah, everyone goes through injuries and this and that, but one thing that was stable last year was the quarterback position, Jared Goff. And I'm not blaming Jared Goff. But Spence, please tell me, would you have picked the Lions to be better than the Vikings who went through six quarterbacks last year? You would've picked the Lions. You would've been like, "Yeah they're a better team." The Vikings had the same record as the Lions. What do we expect from the Bears? They just went to the playoffs. We expect Caleb Williams be that first quarterback in Bears history, 4,000 yards. We expect them to be better, we expect the Bears to be better. Packers. Yeah, they went nine, seven and one. Maybe a tie turns into a win. Guess what? They're in the playoffs at 10 and seven. I know Josh Jacobs' situation's gonna be a little murky, but still, you still got guys like Jordan Love out there, you still got Micah Parsons on the defensive side. I think the Packers will probably be in that 10 and seven record area. And then you look at- That's what they

Spencer 23:03

always finish.

James 23:04

It's just solid right there. Just

Spencer 23:06

write it down.

James 23:07

Yeah. And then you got the Vikings, who- You know who, are you gonna play JJ or are you gonna play Kyler? And I know me and you, Spence, we're gonna say hopefully you play Kyler 'cause we wanna see Kyler throw the ball- Are we,

Spencer 23:17

I, are we giving up on Kyler?

James 23:19

Yo, we gave up on him in Arizona- That's a topic for another day.

Spencer 23:21

We'll have to visit that another day.

James 23:22

I'll say it like this, we gave up on him in Arizona, but now he's throwing it to JJ Arcega, so now we're back on- You son of a

Spencer 23:29

bitch, I'm

James 23:29

back

Spencer 23:29

in.

James 23:30

I'm back in this thing. So no I need the Lions to step the F up now because w- since the NFC Championship game, which I will always, and I'm not even a Lions fan, I will always go down and blame Dan Campbell for how he coached that game versus the Niners. Ever since then, you lose Aaron Glenn, you lose the offensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears, and then this is your first year. We get it, it's gonna be some bumps and bruises, new, two solidified coordinators are gone, might be some up and downs. You're gonna have to step up because your division is either, A, gonna get better, or B, you're gonna be in third place, and guess what? When you got the NFC West, who's gonna put three teams possibly, and you... of course, unfortunately, you gotta put one team from the NFC South. Somehow someone has to make it in this damn thing. And you got the Eagles and you got Bears and Packers. You need to step up. If not, I'm not gonna say this is Dan Campbell's hot seat, he's gonna have to get fired, because I think he's done a phenomenal job for a horrific organization for however the longest I've ever thought. But in all honesty, they gotta step up. They gotta win. They gotta make the playoffs now, 'cause other than that, what are you looking at in this team, you got, obviously you got value in Aidan Hutchinson, you got guys like Amon-Ra St. Brown, and you just traded David Montgomery, so you're hoping to put Jahmyr Gibbs as your number one guy are we gonna look at Jared Goff and move from him? You talked about the Cowboys. Should they finally move off from, Dak? Which I would say yes, just so you don't kill your team with the cap space. But do the Lions look at Jared Goff and it's "Well, we're gonna have to do what the Rams did." It's just we reached our ceiling, it's not good enough, let's trade him. Let's trade him to Indianapolis. I don't know.

Spencer 25:08

Where quarterbacks go to die and be washed up in Indianapolis. I'll say one honorable mention I had for the NFC, Atlanta Falcons. They paid everybody. Michael Penix coming off of a serious injury, Tua trying to reclaim his, status amongst the NFL elite-

James 25:26

Yeah

Spencer 25:27

we'll say. I think that's gonna be a situation to watch in a very winnable division. They should be able to compete in the NFC South, I would hope. We say this every year. We say it every year a- and just the NFC South just continues to be booty cheeks but- All righty, James, let's wrap it up no huddle. Now- Oh before you go- Yeah I wanna throw this one out there. We haven't talked a whole lot since the news came out about Brendan Souersby. We had a big- Oh discussion about it previously. It looked like he was gonna go the supplemental draft. Now he said, they said, "Nope, no supplemental draft." It almost feels like they kinda trapped Brendan Souersby into dropping his suit, going to the NFL, and the NFL pulled the rug from out of him, said, "Nope, psych, you gotta wait till April."

James 26:13

Dude, I love it, dude. He- at the end of the day, we talk about this, it is called accountability. Gen Z, remember this word, accountability and responsibility. You have to just, as my mother always told me, there are always consequences for your actions, and Brendan Souersby, just work on your game, bro. Everyone's got film on you. They know you're a gambler, you're a degenerate like us. Maybe we're fading away now 'cause all the college guys are just betting big bucks. I'm just sorry- I keep losing my $5 parlays, but- Spence, you hit it on the nail. He was gonna do the supplemental, and then they said hell no with it. So just work on your game. Just work on your fundamentals. Work on stuff that Mel Kiper and all those guys think your weaknesses are, and just work on it, man, and get drafted in the third round next year

Spencer 27:01

by

James 27:01

the

Spencer 27:01

Jets. Yeah, I think I see myself being a fan of Brendan Shores when I really shouldn't be. Like, I see myself, whenever he gets drafted, being like, "This guy's good. He's gonna do something. He's gonna become a guy." I don't know. Maybe it's just because I see him. He's one of us.

James 27:17

He

Spencer 27:18

He has gambling addictions just like we've all gone through that stage.

James 27:24

Yeah, man. We're, yeah. I'm

Spencer 27:26

Yeah. We are, those days are past us, James. Those days are behind us. Oh, and then last thing. Hm. World Cup, how we feeling, James? USA against Bosnia Herzegovina.

James 27:35

Yo, all I know is soccer-wise, man, we should run these mother- But man, the girls I've seen on Twitter, Bosnia by 100, bro. By 100, bro. What's

Spencer 27:47

up? Really? So you like the Bosnians over the American- Yeah when it comes to the ladies? Yeah.

James 27:51

Yo, maybe they do selective photos and they, i'm just saying the, I think the top four I've seen from Bosnia is like, oh, man. Oh, my.

Spencer 27:59

Du- dude the World Cup cameramen are the biggest perverts of all time. You, either that or the TV directors for the actual broadcast. Oh, yeah. 'Cause you just know there's someone in the green room that's going, "Hey, scan the audience, scan the stadium. Find the hot bitches and get them on camera right now. Find them. Find the hot women. Get them on camera now." You know that's what they're doing.

James 28:24

Yeah, bro. Yeah. No, but I think... Oh, matter of fact, you know we should dive in a little bit in the World Cup, and I know this is ruining the no huddle stuff.

Spencer 28:32

That's what no huddle's for, brother.

James 28:33

What are your thoughts on all this backlash I'm hearing from the path to the finals for Argentina and Messi? I've been hearing all this flak. Again, I don't know some of these countries, this and that, but they're over here saying when it comes to, when you talk GOAT debate, between whoever you have, e- either it's Ronaldo or Messi and the X, Y, and Z other guys. Man, everyone is poo-pooing on Messi's path to the final, and they say that hurts his legacy. Spencer, I don't know how the World Cup is drawn. I don't know how this stuff works, it, I feel like it's similar to March Madness. You land where you land, and that's how you do it. And if you come up top, you come up top, 'cause you beat so many teams.

Spencer 29:14

You're exactly right. It's you gotta play what you play. You went into the tournament knowing exactly what it was gonna be. You take care of your business, and you know what your path has a chance to be. So yeah, they play Cape Verde their first game, then they'll play the winner of Australia and Egypt. Then the other side of the bracket, they're gonna play one of Switzerland, Algeria, Colombia, or Ghana. I didn't name a single team of those seven I just named. I didn't name a single team that Argentina wouldn't be heavily favored against. Now, we see upsets all the time.

James 29:47

Yeah.

Spencer 29:48

And if it goes, gets to extra time, things could get interesting. But if it goes to PKs, it, just sign it up. It's an Argentina victory. And then from there, it could be interesting. Now, I'll tell you this. What I'm very ins- interested to see- is for the United States. Mm-hmm. They play Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday, and then they're likely playing either Belgium or Senegal, but it's likely gonna be Senegal based off of recency bias on their form. However, the United States in a recent friendly earlier this year, they beat Senegal. So it is looking very possible that the United States are gonna have a quarter finals matchup against- Mm-hmm either Spain or Portugal.

James 30:32

Oh my goodness.

Spencer 30:33

And that could be one of the craziest, most hyped soccer matches in this entire country's history. But it all starts Wednesday. You should take care of business against Bosnia, a team that you are head and shoulders better than. Mm-hmm. And Edin Džeko, I'm sorry, I love you. Shout out Edin Džeko from the Man City days, but their best player is 40 years old, and he is not who he used to be, I promise you. So go take care of business on Wednesday, Americans. USA.

James 31:00

USA. I just don't know how I feel about the USA, Team USA, playing in San Francisco. Like I said, that's just me.

Spencer 31:07

Would you rather them play in Vancouver?

James 31:09

Hell yeah. Why?

Spencer 31:11

What? No, I'm

James 31:11

just joking.

Spencer 31:12

No, you... That was a communist answer there, James.

James 31:16

I know.

Spencer 31:16

That was a bad, bad answer. On the week of the Fourth of July, how dare you?

James 31:23

How da- right. You're right, you're right, you're right. All right, man, let's move on. Spence, man, did you know the other day we had a four overtime game in the WNBA between the Washington Mystics and the Portland Fire? Four OTs, Spence. That was the second game in WNBA history all time that has gone to four OTs. Spence, can you guess the other time that it went to four OTs in the WNBA right now?

Spencer 31:50

I'm not gonna guess that, but can I guess that the final score was, like, 60 to 63?

James 31:55

You're... Not gonna lie, you're fairly close. For a

Spencer 31:58

four overtime game? The- I was making a joke. No.

James 32:02

No, no joke. Look, I'll give you this. It happened July 3rd, 2001. And a team won 72 to 69 in four OTs. How about them apples? They were playing defense back in the day,

Spencer 32:16

yeah, defense. AKA, just watching the ball go clank, clank, boof, boof, clank.

James 32:24

But I'll tell you this, I know you weren't gonna guess it, but back in 2001, the last four OT game was the Washington Mystics, again, versus the Seattle Storm. 72 to 69. Man, four OT game.

Spencer 32:37

I can't believe we have four OT games that are in the 70s. That is... Look, I'm not someone that hates on the WNBA, that's not who we are, but that is atrocious.

James 32:49

That is atrocious.

Spencer 32:50

That is bad.

James 32:51

That is bad. That's

Spencer 32:51

very bad. Neither team deserves a win that day. I know you hate ties, James, but This is worthy, this is a worthy nomination. Y- yeah, come on, you gotta give me that one. At least for the fans in attendance. Imagine staying there the whole time.

James 33:04

No imagine it was like, I know it probably wasn't this time slot, but imagine it was the w- it- you're watching the game West Coast. On, in playoff season, and it's a 10:30 start. Four OTs, 2:00 AM for 72 to 69. Hell no, man.

Spencer 33:21

Oh, that's awful.

James 33:22

All right, Spence, man, let's move on to football. It's been reported, now I don't know how much I trust Polymarket Football, but it's been reported that Ty Simpson, number one quarterback drafted in this last draft class to the Rams- Hmm is currently trending towards being QB3 on the Rams. Spence, how do we feel about this move, and is this Trey Lance 2.0?

Spencer 33:45

Ooh. Hmm. I hope he's not Trey Lance 2.0. I think he at least has a little bit of pedigree than there. But hey, man, when it comes to Ty Simpson, it begins and ends with we're gonna find out next year. We have no idea what it's gonna be. They're going all in this year. If he plays this year, it's because of injury and injury alone. But next year's when we'll find out, is Sean McVay truly a genius?

James 34:07

That is a fact. All right, man, Spence. Hey, I got two more for you. We're gonna go to the World Cup. All right, now Spence, currently right now there are three teams that are 3-0 in group play: France, Argentina, and Mexico. No team has won the World Cup after going 3-0 in group play since 2002. So the teams you just heard me say, do we have confidence in these three teams right now?

Spencer 34:32

Man, Argentina's got a cakewalk to the final. We have-- we discussed that ear- earlier. But France is a betting odds favorite as well. I... And what was the third?

James 34:42

Mexico.

Spencer 34:43

And Mexico. Mexico would be the one that's, would mean absolute Cinderella story. It would be amazing to hear and see that happen. I just don't see them coming out of the, their bracket with England on deck in the round of 16. But- Mm argentina and France, that very well could be the final.

James 35:02

Yeah. Just like the last one in Qatar. That was an amazing final.

Spencer 35:06

Yes,

James 35:06

it was. I felt bad for-- 'cause I remember that game was on a Sunday, and I was just like... I told my wife and my in-laws, I was like, "Sorry, I cannot watch this during church. I gotta go." I like, "There's no way." It was 2-0, and then it was 2-2 after 80 minutes, and I was like, "No. I'm sorry, the service has gotta stop." "This has gotta go." All right, Spence, man. Last one. We're going baseball this time, and this is just- Ooh an insane stat. So Spence, man, Hall of Famer David Ortiz's career on base percentage, 380. That's a really good on base percentage. If you were to take out Barry Bonds' 762 home runs and turn them into outs, his on-base percentage would be 384. Spence, how crazy of a stat is that? And is Barry Bonds your GOAT?

Spencer 35:53

Barry Bonds is absolutely the GOAT. He did steroids, yes. He cheated, yes. But you don't get that many home runs- have that many crazy statistics if you aren't just an absolute threat at the plate. I'll never forget being a young kid growing up knowing that the smartest play was to intentionally walk that guy.

James 36:15

Yeah, dude. I saw this and I was like, man. I, Big Papi always on the TV with A-Rod and Derek Jeter, and then you just see a stupid stat like this. Yeah, I still remember the day I watched Barry Bonds break the record in San Francisco. I was in Omaha, Nebraska with my grandparents watching the game. That's how, that's where I was when he broke that record, man. But yeah, man, switching it up. Hey, man, I got no more for No Huddle, Spence, so man, let's wrap this thing up.

Spencer 36:42

Yeah, let's wrap it up. James, you're gonna be on the road later this week, so I'll be flying solo. I'm gonna give y'all an update on the World Cup and NBA free agency, which begins on Wednesday. And then Sunday, we gonna do a little fun with some fantasy draft. It's gonna be July, which means it's time to talk fantasy football. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So that's what we got on the deck, and then James will be back next Wednesday. But- Yeah until then, for James, I'm Spencer. We'll see you all next time on Big Game Energy.