Back On The Bench

Recorded August 18th, 2026

Football season is creeping in, golf season is heating up, and we’re finally back after a long hiatus, so we come in hot with life updates and sports takes. Graham goes back to Erie for his 25-year high school reunion, squeezes in Cedar Point, then somehow ends up playing golf for the first time in years and that turns into an instant debate about scoring, rules, and the sacred phrase “ball and hole.” If you’ve ever played a messy round with friends and argued about what “counts,” you’re going to feel seen. 

Then we get real. Scott talks through dropping his daughter off for freshman year of college at ECU and the weird aftermath: the quiet house, the emotions you don’t expect, and even the family dog acting different once the routine changes. It’s one of those moments where sports takes a back seat and life hits the front of the conversation. 

After that, we jump back into the headlines with the FedEx Cup playoffs and why the PGA Tour postseason can feel decided before it gets interesting. We break down Scottie Scheffler’s dominance, Rory McIlroy’s event schedule and the double standard around it, and why the points format needs to create more late-Sunday pressure. We wrap with NFL preseason buzz, training camp injuries, roster depth, and early fantasy draft feelings as the chaos ramps up. If you enjoyed this, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs football back, and leave us a review. What’s your most ridiculous “rules dispute” story in sports?

#baldguysonthebench #graboneandcrackone

Transcript

Welcome Back And Crack One

Graham 0:00

Welcome to another episode of the Bald Guys on the Bench podcast with your hosts Graham Cohen and Scott Wasco. What's up everyone? Welcome back to another episode of the Bald Guys on the Bench. Scotty Waa, brother. It's been a while. How you doing, brother?

Scott 0:22

It has been a while, and it would have been a lot earlier tonight if Cox wasn't shitting the bed over there in Nevada. My God. Yes, it has been a while. Uh in fact, it's been so long. We have not had an episode since Graham embarrassed himself about War Eagle.

Graham 0:40

That's how long it's Oh my God, no one is talking about that.

Scott 0:45

No one. To you, they're embarrassed to talk to you about it. But it's been that long. That seems like ages ago. But we have a lot to talk about. NFL training camp preseason is in going on. FedEx Cup playoffs, PGA tour. We got a little Graham trip back to memory lane for his high school reunion. So, Graham, you know what time it is, my guy. What do we do? It's time to grab one and crack one. Let's go. Let's go. Hopefully your internet downloads that. Oh shit front door. It's been so long that we've been waiting on Graham's internet that I had to literally take my cold beers and put them that were hot back in the refrigerator and get cold ones. But uh anyhow, I mean, we're not gonna talk about weekend, we're gonna talk about your trip because it's been a couple weeks since we've been on the air. So, you know, I think you mentioned it in the last episode that you were going back for your high school reunion. I will say, before we ever do it, say anything about it, I'm giving you props because I called bullshit. I was like, there's no way this guy's playing golf, and he played golf, but that's another story for a little bit later. So, Graham, tell us about the trip to Erie.

Graham’s Erie Reunion Recap

Graham 2:07

Uh trip was good. Uh, it was a week, flew into Cleveland, got picked up by the homie. We drove up to Sandusky, Ohio. That's where Cedar Point is, which is now owned by Six Flags. It's one of their locations.

Scott 2:22

And good news is Graham didn't get stuck upside down. Like the shit that's going on around our country. It was roller coasters, so I'm glad that that happened.

Graham 2:33

Oh, on a side note, I should have switched out these beers. Um You're welcome. Oh, he says to me, I ain't no bitch.

Scott 2:40

I'm gonna drink them anyway. I ain't no bitch. Yeah, okay.

Graham 2:45

Anyhow, did Cedar Point, had the fast pass, gotta have it, was worth it. Um, then drove to Erie after that was over and was there for the weekend and a few extra days. Did the reunion was number 25 year? That's wow. It's just crazy to think about it. Saw some old friends, and you know, it was one of those trips where I got to see a bunch of different people on each night, different friends, got to hang out. But I'll just say this. Andy, I saw you on Sunday, I saw you on Monday, we played golf, I saw you a little bit on Tuesday. Didn't he pick you up? He picked you up on Sunday, right? He picked me up, said he'd be there at noon, got up early for that, and then I get up at 10 30 to be ready for him, and sure as shit, he didn't show up until one. Thank you for that. Um, and I only bring that up because I went to sleep at 6 30 in the morning, so thanks for that. Um, hey. When you go to bed late and you drink a lot, and you normally don't do that, well, drink a lot, staying up late is the forte, but uh it's tough to be ready in the morning, so I'm just gonna

The Infamous Golf Match Debate

Graham 3:55

leave it at that. Played some golf. That was an experience to say the least. Um, played a course that uh was probably the nicest public course in a 60 mile radius. It was too nice of a course for the four people that were playing on it. Myself and Andy were the better of the of the four, some that was out there, the two people that were with us, one of which, yo, Andy, why would you invite someone that said he's only played golf three times in his life? I mean, what? Who? I I just uh look, we had a great time. We got in 18 by the luck of it, and by the luck of it, I didn't even finish 18 because I couldn't even see the ball that I hit in the middle of the fairway. I mean, that's how long of a night it was. Had a great time, fun playing golf. Didn't lose against someone that uh plays how often recreationally? And I haven't sworn the club in three years.

Scott 4:55

You lost the front nine, you won the back nine.

Graham 4:57

Yeah. On technicality, because the first two holes, oh, what what are we maxing our score at? Double par when you could have had a 12 on a par four, but that's here nor there. We'll get into that at another time. Um look, it was good to see everyone. It was good to be back on the East Coast, but it was also nice to get back, be here in Vegas and sleep in my own bed. So I'm happy to be back. I'm happy you had a great time and welcome life and work.

Scott 5:27

Yeah, I did, dude. It's always fun to go on a trip and do your thing, but it's always fun to get home. Obviously, get back in your own bed. Exactly.

Graham 5:36

You know, so I had that pretty momentous trip. What about you? I didn't you have a pretty momentous trip this past weekend.

Scott 5:43

Yeah, I did. Not, I mean, I don't even know what to say. I mean, well, we'll get into it in a minute, but let's go back to your trip. Uh oh uh, yeah. I mean, folks, I've known Graham forever since before kids, and it's weird. And TP was like, I can't even believe this. I've never played golf with Graham. I have no idea what Graham's golf wing looks like. And at one point during their match, you know, I was on the phone with Graham and Andy multiple weekends before this trip, and we were, you know, they were back and forth talking about how many strokes Graham's gonna get and this and that. And there's this app called the Grant where you can watch live scores and I get the notification. Andy and Graham teed off, and I'm like, okay, let's go. Hell yeah. Uh Andy makes an eight on the first hole, Graham makes a seven. I'm like, okay, here we go. I text Badger, I'm like, uh, are you watching these two? And he goes, Yeah, they're a bunch of whatever. Thoroughbred or something like that. I mean, Andy starts off around going 86676364, Graham 756-86495. And I'm like, wow, this is like and and remember, folks, he did say it earlier in tonight. They were the better two of the four. So what in the shit did the other two look like? Is all I'm gonna say. We didn't score for the one. Yeah, anyhow. Uh I'm just excited that you played golf. I called bullshit, you weren't gonna play. And hey, I'm glad you played. Uh Andy always wants to bet something, you know. It's pride, you know, let's just go have fun. It is what it is. And y'all played. So the max score thing, you know, he never told me about that. And that was never in the discussions when you, him, and I were on the phone together when we were laying out the strokes per side. Yeah. Remember, and I'm gonna quote myself this match is ball and hole. What does that mean, Graham? Ball and hole. That means there's no max. It means you keep hitting that little ball until what? It's in the hole.

Graham 8:21

So I'm just gonna leave it at that. I I mean, I'll say this. Am I saying I won? No. Am I saying I didn't lose? Yes.

Scott 8:35

I'm saying the video that he sent me. I'm like borderline. I'm like, oh my god, look at Graham's setup. It looks pretty good for a guy that hadn't played golf since he the Lakers beat the Suns, right? Way back when in the playoffs. Yeah. I mean, I still lived in that no, I didn't live in California. But I'm like, oh my god, look at the setup. He's a little wide with the base, you know. Looks good, but whatever. It's Graham. I'm sitting here, I'm like, oh my god, I'm watching the swing. Um, you know, I'm like, oh man, this looks pretty good. And then it happens. I mean, I almost put it on the ball guys Instagram. Not the original, but me breaking it down. Oh, okay. And the the thing that pisses me off the most, the app I use for teaching at the club, the first one I broke down was way better than the second one. I had to record it twice. And somehow the first one did not save. And Kristen, when I hit stop, Kristen was like, that was kind of mean. And I was like, I don't care.

Graham 9:46

I'm glad I didn't hear this.

Scott 9:49

But anyhow, my one question is you know, I don't care about you know, you haven't played golf in forever. Whatever, you ain't supposed to go out there and light the world on fire. Yeah. What's the name of our podcast? Bald guys on the bench. What in the shit are you doing out in the middle of the summer? I don't care where you are, playing golf without a hat on.

Graham 10:16

I because it was 5 p.m. It wasn't this.

Scott 10:21

And why did y'all tee off so late? Because you can't wake up.

Graham 10:25

First of all, that had nothing to do with me. It was getting all of us together and then driving out there. Our tea time was at four o'clock. I was picked up at 2 30. Alright. So don't get me started.

Scott 10:42

Hey, I'm so happy you played golf. Yeah, thank you. I'm pumped on that. Now the golf swing part, I mean, BT was like, man, that looked really good until it didn't.

Graham 10:52

Wow, how many people oh yeah, because Andy had to put it on the group chat of both fantasy leagues. Thanks. Jerry's not on that. Oh, so you showed it to him on the on the uh oh, perfect. Of course. Of course. Okay, who haven't you shown this to? Did you show it to TH?

Scott 11:14

I played the fifth. You son of a bitch. I actually didn't. I should have though. God dang it. How did I forget that? I asked it to my dad. My dad's like, wow, that looks pretty good. I'm like, Dad, did you see where the ball went? And he goes, Yeah, I did. But the swing looked better than the shot. I'm like, yeah, I know.

Graham 11:34

In my defense, it poured there. We shouldn't even have been playing golf. I'm wearing shoes that have no spikes, and the driver that I was using had no grip on it. Didn't I give you some golf shoes back in the day? Yeah. Eight years ago.

Scott 11:51

And they didn't have spikes? I mean, you've played golf zero times in eight years.

Graham 11:55

So well, I I don't have them anymore, okay?

Scott 11:59

Would you pawn them?

Graham 12:02

Yeah, I pawned size 13 golf used golf shoes.

Scott 12:06

Uh anyhow, hey, I'm glad you had a fun time. I'm glad you made my Monday night that entertaining with that golf swing and that video and all of that stuff. But hey, welcome. Andy, I'm not even saying he won the front nine after hearing all this. There's no max score. Ball and hole, and I said it, dude. I said it one of the weekends before you went out there when we were all talking, ball and hole, and you're like, and Andy's like, of course, what else are we gonna play?

Graham 12:43

And I just want to point out, I didn't bring this up to him. He brought this up to me. He was like, so what's the max score? I'm like, what do you mean what's the max score? I can't wait to hear about this when he listens to the episodes and he tries to defend himself.

Scott 12:57

Uh, well, uh, uh, uh, uh, you know, those people behind us. Uh I we were just trying to get to the next hole.

Graham 13:06

Ball and hole means ball and hole. You know what? I'm writing that down. That's gonna be the Z fantasy team. Yes. Yep, ballin' hole. Love it. I'm writing it down. Here you go. You'll forget. I'm writing it down. It's right here.

Keeper Deadline And Shadur Chaos

Scott 13:26

Dude, that's a great team name. You know what a great team name is? I could only imagine. Go ahead. I kept Shador Sanders.

Graham 13:42

Boom!

Scott 13:45

Dude, so yesterday at nine o'clock Eastern was our fantasy league's keeper deadline in our auction league. And I was shocked that one of the guys in our league actually kept Shador Sanders for six dollars off of our salary cap. So the way our league works is whatever you drafted the person for last year, you had five dollars inflation at your keeper value this year. Six dollars? Six?

Graham 14:20

I bro, as I told you after the fact, look, this is fantasy football. This is competitive. Regardless of the money, fantasy football is all about talking shit and being competitive. When it comes to keepers, have a few of us, you know, together mention like, oh, this is who you have, maybe keep this person, you know, or I don't want to say like this. We've all discussed with each other like who each other have, what you may or may not want to do. And look, yeah, you don't have to keep anybody, you can keep who you want. There's different levels based off how much you want to spend. Look, do what you do. That being said, when the deadline is upon us, if you tell me, hey, I'm gonna keep X, Y, and Z, I'm gonna tell you, hey, great job. To your face. And when I mind I'm gonna say, what the bleep are you doing?

Scott 15:23

But and when that person texts me at 5 a.m. East Coast Time or 2 o'clock west time and says, here's who I'm gonna keep. Oh, and by the way, what is Jadora Sanders' value for last year? Is it six? I could not answer fast enough. Yes, it is. But hey, whatever. Who knows what's gonna happen. I mean, it is what it is. You know, we all blasted Andy last year for moves and worked out for him.

Graham 16:02

Dude, what are these days? His crazy moves are not gonna work. I'm just saying.

Scott 16:08

What do we always say? Fantasy football is what? About luck.

Graham 16:12

A hundred percent.

Scott 16:13

You know. But anyhow, uh 17 minutes in and talked about your trip to Erie.

Dropping A Kid Off At College

Scott 16:22

My uh, since we recorded a episode back when Graham didn't know what War Eagle was, uh has been nothing but getting my daughter ready to go to school, freshman in college, and you know, last week, last Friday, dropped her off at ECU. And what's today? Tuesday? It's Tuesday, we dropped her off Friday. It's weird as shit. It's very weird. She's doing well, you know, it is what it is, but it's still weird. It's you know, I I don't know. It's just me, Kristen, and Kellen. And Tori is bitter betty. You know, I've talked about well, maybe not on the show. Our dog and Ava were like, you know, ham and burger, peanut butter and jelly. You know.

Graham 17:13

BFF is an understatement.

Scott 17:15

Yeah, and dude, it's been weird, Tori and but you know, it's weird. Like I told somebody at work, it's when you start thinking about it, ever since the kid was born, it's like you're preparing her for this. You know what I mean? To walk out of the house, be an adult, and be on your own, and you know, it's crazy. It's very weird. I mean, one of my boys at work was like, just wait till you drop her off. And it wasn't that, it was the day before Thursday when I'm driving home from work, and I'm like, wow, this is the last day I'm driving home from work, and Ave's gonna be here. Like, shit. But, you know, she's doing well. She's in this place where that I have tons of memories. Kristen has tons of memories, and we're pumped for her, and you know, she's gonna be back in a couple weeks. We're all going to the old Dominion ECU game at ODU, have a good old time, and you know, see what happens. So on that note, you know it's funny. I was like, it's actually funny because Taylor asked me, he's like, Who are you gonna root for? I'm like, well, I'm gonna wear an ECU hat and a whole Dominion shirt. He was like, good answer. I'm like, yeah, you're welcome. But you know, week one, ECU opens up at Bama. Dude, and they're only 28-point underdogs. Kind of weird. Key word in that phrase. Only. Dude, remember, and I know we talked about this last year. Remember week one last year, uh, Old Dominion gave Indiana, the national champions, the best game they played all year. First play of the game, Old Dominion's quarterback, who's now the starter at Wisconsin, thanks NIL. First play of the game, 70 yards to the house. Not saying anything crazy is gonna happen, but just saying. Uh pumped. It was fun to get back down there. My son fell in love multiple times with college girls. And it was hilarious. Yeah, it was hilarious. But uh, you know, here we go. Another step in the world we call life. Exactly. So yeah, it was weird. Like we moved her in Friday, woke up Saturday, and it was just like okay, now what?

Graham 20:01

How's Tori been at the house?

Scott 20:04

She's been alright, she's been good. I mean, because Kristen hasn't started back to school. Ah. Kristen's been here. It was weird, like Tori hasn't peed in the house in God knows how long. Sunday night literally peed on the rug underneath my coffee table, literally at the spot where Ava always sits on the couch. Aww. Right? How crazy is that? Super weird.

Graham 20:38

I mean, sad, but it's like, what do you say?

Scott 20:43

I mean, you remember, I mean, when Ava, when the when they would all go to Colorado, you know, we'd have their door shut. Tori would go lay outside of Ava's bedroom. But, you know, Kellen keeps going, oh, you know what? Tori needs a friend. Tori needs a friend. I'm like, shut up. You need to feed her one night if you want to get another dog. And you don't even want to do that. So just simmer down.

Graham 21:07

So yeah. He doesn't want another dog. Why? Yeah, all he doesn't play with the dog. Exactly.

Scott 21:14

I mean, not that he doesn't, but like him and Tori are like 1A and 2B. Okay. I mean, the other night it was hilarious. Like, he took Tori upstairs to go to bed with him Sunday night, and he texts me like a half hour later, can you open the door and get Tori? She's not laying down. She doesn't like me. I'm like, dude, she doesn't like anybody right now. So, anyhow, uh, that was my last, you know, craziness. You've known me before, Ava. Yeah. And, you know, which is crazy. And you've seen her go all this way, and now she's in college and doing her thing. But uh 20 years, bro, now. Yeah. Insane. But uh let's get jump back into sports.

FedEx Cup Playoffs And Rory Heat

Scott 22:05

Uh FedEx Cup playoffs, you know, starting off in uh God dang Tennessee, the FedEx, St. Jude, you know, the place everybody dreads playing because it's always the temperature of the surface of the sun, and it's always hot. And a lot of the guys at top ten don't like to play there. Well, they did this year. And Scotty, wow, what can you say? Scotty paired with Rory for the first two rounds. Wow. Uh boat race. Hey, remember back in the day when Scotty made putts and what happened at tournaments?

Graham 22:49

Oh, so what we were saying the last X amount of weeks ago when we said, yeah, I mean, like, he's having a good season, but he just hasn't really put it together. Uh hold our beers.

Scott 23:01

Eight-shot win. And don't forget, early in the round on Sunday, he hit a pitch shot that hit a sprinkler head that went in the water. It could have been a 10-shot win.

Graham 23:16

That's insane.

Scott 23:18

Dude, it was one of the craziest, unluckiest things I've ever seen in my life. And just gets it done. Wins by eight. Okay? Third youngest ever to get to 21 wins behind Tiger and Jack. Yeah. I saw that. Dude, and just think he hasn't been getting those dubs his whole time out there.

Graham 23:45

Yeah. He's also second in career money winnings all time. He's $1 million behind Tiger.

Scott 23:53

That's, I mean, obviously. One granite. Yeah. Yeah. Tomato tomato. One million dollars.

Graham 23:59

Times have changed, but still like. One mil. 21 wins and has made 1, what was it, 112 or 120 million dollars? Something like that. I think it was 120.

Scott 24:13

And and Rory, like finishes 66th out of 70 players in the first leg of the playoffs. 66th.

Graham 24:25

Yeah. Well, when you play 12 events a year, because you only want to do that, but yet your status of who you are and you're number two in the world, and you can get away with you know the PJ tour and folks I'm air quoting, you know, them looking the other way and not penalizing him. I I just I don't know.

Scott 24:45

I Well, there's rumors out there that the commissioner made Rory play this week.

Graham 24:55

Which is because I he did that's insane.

Scott 24:57

Because he never plays there. He never plays there. And he hasn't fulfilled his requirement of events played. And then there's other rumors, and one coming from the person that gives Rory putting instruction, and that guy's name is Brad Faxon, that we all know Rory hasn't played since the open. Rory touched the club for the first time since the open two days before this event. I mean.

Graham 25:39

Rory finishes 66 out of 70. Okay. Right? Yeah, I'm not.

Scott 25:47

Scotty, Scotty misses one cut in how many years? Finishes 24th, and we all blast Scotty. Oh, he's lost it, he's lost it. Blah blah blah. Nobody says a word about Rory. I'm guilty, you're guilty, that PGA Tour media's guilty.

Graham 26:09

Well, I mean, look, when he got the Grand Slam and then won again at the Masters the following year, we were kind of like, all right, do whatever you want. Like, we're almost putting it Did we say that to Tiger? No. Then why do we do it to Rory? I don't I mean, is there some part of it where I mean, I'm not trying to like interject these two thoughts here, but it's just like, is it some of it with like how against Liv? I I I don't know. Like, I really just I just can't accept the notion where we just allow him to do what he wants because he thinks he's numero uno. Like, I don't okay. Well do you think he thinks he's at Tigers level? I mean, not and by level I mean not as a player, I'm just saying like his position on the tour.

Scott 27:11

I don't, but I think he thinks he deserves all this because of his stance against Liv when he was pumping his chest for the PGA tour and making his you know valid points every week and this and that. Right. I think that's why. But does that mean you don't need to play in the required amount of PGA tour events?

Graham 27:37

No. You don't think the uh commissioner wants the number two player in the world to play in events? Especially the elevated events? Mm-hmm. The whole the whole stink that you were making. You're not playing in the events? Like, why would I don't care if you have a big enough lead? Why are you not playing in the first of the three quote and I'm folks air quoting again, playoff events? Even if you have a big enough lead, it doesn't matter. I mean, if that was the case, why even play next week? Just go to the tour championship.

Scott 28:17

Dude, it's already over. Scotty has a 1,400-point lead. He didn't have to play the next two events. Guess what? He's getting that $21 million FedEx Cup win. It doesn't even matter.

Graham 28:33

So And that's why they're changing it. They I thank you. You just took the words right out of my mouth. Like they have to. Like, there's no drama.

Scott 28:42

Dude, only one player this past week got bounced, and one player got in to make it to the top 50. That's it. The tournament was a rap, dude. The tournament was a rap on the as soon as they made the turn. Give me a reason to watch. Okay? Give me a reason to watch. Let me watch these dudes stress out the last five holes to see if they're gonna get in the top 50. Isn't that the point? There wasn't. I mean, last year, you, me, and everybody we know that loves Rick, yeah, we were stressing. Why? Because Rick started the week at 68th and then finished the week at 47th to get into the BMW. There was none of that shit this week. Keith Mitchell, he was the most drama we had when he had his tee shot almost in the water on 18. And then come to find out, even if he made par, he still would have gotten bounced. I mean, I don't know. The good news is they're changing this shit. And the other good news is our boy Fowler last year, this time, I was so fired up because I was going to watch him in Baltimore at Caves Valley, and he started the week at 47th, you know, last year, and then played well, finished 32nd, missed out on the tour championship. Well, this year we're he's sitting there at 30th. He started the started last week at 28, I think, dropped two spots. Sitting there at 30. You know, the good news, top 50, you're in all the signature events next year. Right? That's the good thing. Because last year he didn't have that, you know, until he did. Like Romano said that night when we were having dinner, he's like, dude, if you would have told me we'd be having dinner on Friday night here, I would have told you you're an idiot. Because that's how the year went. Dude, we're sitting at top, we're sitting at 30, right? We need to finish this week. We need to finish. And not just, you know, if you make the tour championship, yeah, you get into all the majors next year. You know, I'm being selfish, of course. I want to see him at Augusta. Kristen wants to see him in Augusta. But dude, uh if you get into the tour championship, not only do you get in all the majors, you know, next year in the signature events, you also have a two-year exemption on tour. You got two years. And you're in the players' championship. And last place in the tour championship, no cut. Uh, 355 G's.

Graham 31:35

Is that any good?

Scott 31:36

Yeah. The thing I've heard who was it? I forget who it was. Oh. What the heck is the guy's name? I heard an interview with a dude that won the US Open at Beth Page way back when. I can't think of his name, but he said the hardest thing to do as a guy, as a professional golfer, is Masters Week when you've played in the tournament and you're not there. Right? Could you imagine?

Graham 32:10

I I mean, no, but I it just after listening to what you've been saying and how Scotty has it pretty much locked up, I I guess is the excitement really for this week just to see who can position themselves to get to the top 30 so that that can position themselves for next season?

Scott 32:30

I mean, yeah. Uh dude, the points are so tight for the end.

Graham 32:38

Besides the loyalists, what's the point of the tour championship? Yeah, it's still a tournament you can win, but FedEx is locked up. You're already in the top 30, you're already in the events next year, you're already in the majors. Like, all right, let's just go out, play four rounds, make some money, and call it a weekend.

Scott 32:57

Like, I I yeah. Dude, I mean, it's so tight. You're looking at literally 28 through 30 on the points. Tom Kim, 1341, Adam Scott, 1315, Kidiyama, 1259, Bud Collie, 1258, Ricky, 1258. So, I mean, we need to finish. We need to top 15. You know, his finish last week, his last two holes, going double on 17 and bogey on 18. Cost him some.

Graham 33:39

Yeah.

Scott 33:40

I mean, played well round one, played bad round two, played well round three, had it going round four, made a dub early on the back nine, then made a couple birdies to get it back, and then double 17, bogey 18. But hey, I will say this. TP was like, is the tournament back in Baltimore again this year? And I'm like, no, thank God, because I am not trying to go walk that goddamn golf course again. This coming week. He was laughing. I mean, we all remember that shit when we were talking about it last year. Uh, but it is at a golf course, Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. Uh Bruce Kepko won the last major there by two over Tiger in 18. Wow. Yeah. In 18. Kepko finished 16 under and Tiger was a 14. But we need a week. We need a week from our boy. It's gonna happen. It's gonna happen. Romano, you're gonna get it. We're gonna get in the tour championship. We're gonna see you at Augusta, and then you're gonna suck in our fantasy draft just like you always do the following week. And by the way, uh, can you respond in our group thread about the draft date, please? Because Bro, he's too good for us.

Graham 35:07

What are you talking about? He's too good for us right now.

Scott 35:09

Oh, dude, that ain't Romano at all. You've known Romano forever. He ain't too good for it. I know, I know. I know we got too many stories for that shit. Anyhow. Love that dude. Yeah. Awesome dude. But anyhow, uh golf season's wrapping up, dude. It's crazy. US Am was his past week in Philly at Marion. Dude won from England, he's a senior at Florida State. I was listening to a podcast with him on it today. Listen to this shit. You know, you win the US Am and you get into what? The Masters, the U.S. Open, and the British Open. And they're talking about you know where those three maters are? Obviously, the Masters at Augusta, the U.S. Open's at Pebble, and the British is at St. Andrews. Uh has there ever been a better venues for a USAM champ? I mean, hey, going to Pebble, going to St. Andrews. Thanks for playing. Crazy. Not bad. Yeah.

Graham 36:17

Not bad.

Scott 36:18

Anyhow, let's jump into it, dude. NFL

Fowler’s Path To The Tour Championship

Scott 36:22

preseason. We haven't even talked any NFL because it's been a while since we've been on air. You know, did we talk a little bit about a Hall of Fame game, maybe? I don't remember.

Graham 36:33

No, we didn't know because we did it right before, I think.

Scott 36:36

That's right. But hey, it's been pretty good. It's been weird. Aaron Donald, can we stop treating him like LeBron James and having an Aaron Donald tracker? Like, dude, we all know the guy's gonna play, okay? Relax. And Graham still owes me an apology. We all know he's gonna play. Nobody cares if Aaron Donald.

Graham 37:01

You still owe me a shot from three months ago. So shut the front door.

Scott 37:05

We all know nobody cares if Aaron Donald plays week one, two, three, four. I want to see Aaron Donald in November. You know, at the end. But, you know, what do you want to say? Injuries, galore, you know, the Niners, my God, the whole team's injured. And then, of course, the bad luck hit my chargers today. We've we had been injury free. In fact, I watched an interview with McDaniels last week. He said this is the first time in the history of him being a coach in the NFL that training camp, all 90 players were healthy. That's insane. Wow. Yeah. But dude, love from the Cardinals. I don't know if you even watched any of that against the Raiders in the preseason the other day. Dude. I did. Dude, he had so many carries so early. It's like, what in the shit is going on here? I understand he's a rookie running back. He needs to get some carries and learn the speed. But that many.

Graham 38:14

It's Arizona. Do they know how to do anything correct?

Scott 38:23

Hey. It's just. I mean, and it's not only them, dude, it's the Bills. You got Josh Allen and Moore out there the other day. Of course, they gotta get on the same page, but dude, Moore leaves the game injured. Hey Giants, uh, you might want to block with your running back, that guy blitzing. Jackson Dart goes to the tent. Preseason game one. Uh Luther Burton injury. They haven't even said what it is. What's the

US Amateur Winner And Dream Venues

Scott 38:58

what's the Saints first round draft pick? Number seven overall wide receiver? Hammy. Uh, how important is your hammy for a wide receiver?

Graham 39:07

Look. Guys get hurt during preseason. And by preseason, I also mean training camp. It's the law of, you know, the law of life. Shit happens.

Scott 39:21

Dude, your boy said you're freaking out because Harbaugh said our starters, both sides of the ball, are playing the first series against the Niners Thursday night. It's like, God damn. This is the deepest team we've had in forever. But whatever, we're not even gonna get into that. Rob's already jumping off bridges.

Graham 39:40

I mean, first off, Rob can't jump off a bridge because he's he resides off the bridge already. Like you can't jump off a bridge that you're already at the bottom. Okay. Like I just I don't know. Look, I'm gonna knock on wood just because with my squad, I know it's preseason. I get it, I get it, I get it. Granted, we didn't have our studs play, but I loved what I saw from our backup quarterbacks. Dude, all three of them. They all looked good. Drew Aller,

NFL Preseason Buzz And Injury Anxiety

Graham 40:21

you would have thought he played at, you know, Alabama or a school that didn't mess up his throwings arm. I I don't know. He looked amazing. I liked Will Howard, he looked amazing. A lot of our guys looked good. I just I don't know. For as much as I was not questioning Mike McCarthy, I mean, like I knew he would be a good hire, especially as the offensive guru, you know, and what of a guru he is for quarterbacks. The ex the excitement is there, bro. I'm not saying we're gonna do anything. I'll say this. Will we make the playoffs? I like our chances. All we gotta do is get in the dance, but I think our team could make some noise. I really do. I mean, I don't think we're winning like 12 games or anything, but I'm just saying, I think in a game per game basis, based off matchup, I like what our team can do. I like our wide receiver room, I think the defense is gonna be good, I like our offensive line getting better. There's excitement. Let's just say this. I have more excitement this year than I did last year, and I had a lot of excitement last year. So wow. Yeah.

Scott 41:30

Hey, yeah, I'm right there with you. I mean, I'm sitting there watching Trey Lance with McDaniels on our offense. I mean, are you kidding me with McDaniels and what we're doing right now?

Graham 41:42

Bro, with you, and you'll say this as well. Can the key players just stay healthy? I mean, I think the sky's the limit for you guys. I mean, it I really do. I mean, I'm not jinxing anything, I'm just saying.

Scott 41:57

No, I know, I know. It's this is the deepest team we've had in a while on both sides of the ball. And then Slater goes down in the training camp practice in San Diego, goes to the tent, comes out, and he hasn't practiced since. Nobody said anything. Are they being careful with him? Probably. And then, you know, we draft Slaughter in the second round, who's the best center in college football. But we're trying to, well, we just signed Tyler Biatish, who's a top 10 center in the NFL that the Redskins cut. Don't tell me why, no idea. Everybody's bitching about Slaughter getting taken in the second round. We're gonna move him to guard. Played well the other day in preseason against the Texans. Biotish gets hurt today, carted off. How crazy does that pick look now? We don't know what Biatis's injury is, but you know, at least we got that guy, right? I mean, you, me, Tori, Kellen are better than Bradley Bozeman. I mean, he was. I mean, I mean, just think about it, dude. I mean, we won 11 games last year with the worst offensive line in football. You know, TP says something to me the other night during the preseason game, and he goes, dude, we could have beaten the Patriots in the in that game if McDaniels was calling the place. You should have seen. Anyhow, I'm not getting too excited. I love our team. I love where we are. It's all about the offensive line. Hampton looked like a beast. And, you know, wide receiver room is deep. Thompson, stud, my boy here from Norfolk, looked like he was gonna be a cut, you know, made the team near. Night. I'm literally can't believe I'm saying this. I think Vidal is playing for his job, dude. I've been hearing that. Dude, the Johnson guy, or whatever his name is, that lit it up the other day against the Texans. Dude, he looked great. He did the same thing in preseason last year for the Packers, and the Packers cut him. So I don't know. I don't know. Another side note, dude. Nazi fine with the Giants today. After what's his nuts didn't hit that block and got Dart almost killed. Yeah, Tracy or whatever. Running back totally whiffed that block. All he has to do is chip him. Nope. Sorry about it. So it's been a while since we've been on the show.

Chargers O-Line Worries And Depth

Scott 44:54

It's been a while since we've done a quiz. So, you know, we're gonna do a quick little quiz. Graham will probably get this one right. I hope maybe.

Graham 45:03

Oh my god. So you set me up earlier before we started the podcast. You said, Oh yeah, you'll get this, and now you're I think.

Scott 45:09

I mean, it's a baseball thing. So there's six teams in Major League Baseball, okay, that have the letter X, Y, or Z in them. Can you name it?

Graham 45:25

What? X, Y, or Z? X, Y, or Z. Uh I mean Mets and Yankees. Two sh. Is there a Z in the Mets? You said X, Y, or Z. New N Y. Oh, wait, hold on.

Scott 45:45

And their name. Yeah. Yankees you got.

Graham 45:47

Wait, wait, wait. Oh, oh, team names. Team names. Yankees. Okay.

Scott 45:50

Yeah. Yankees you got Z. You got five more. X, Y, and Z?

Graham 45:58

Oh man.

Scott 45:59

You should get two of these just for thinking.

Graham 46:04

I hate you right now. X, Y, or Z. All I can think about is Z now. Um.

Scott 46:16

You got Yankees. You're missing five. Oh my god.

Graham 46:23

I bro, I couldn't even I couldn't tell you. It would take me 20 minutes to list all what is there, 32 teams in baseball?

Scott 46:32

Uh dude. 30? Red Sox, White Sox.

Graham 46:36

Oh, yeah. Yeah, okay. Okay.

Scott 46:38

Come on, dick face.

Graham 46:39

I don't know. There's three. There's three. Okay, three. So I'll need another three. So X is out, and I need Y and Z. I didn't know I did one, Y and Z. There's no, there's no there's no X.

Scott 46:50

There's no X. But the quiz the quiz was X, Y, or Z. Or no, sorry, there's no Z. There's no Z. Okay, so then they're all Y. You have Red Sox, White Sox, and Yankees. You have three left. Two are in the AL East. Two are in the AL East. Two remaining.

Graham 47:17

The AL East. Oh, the Rays? There's one. So it's Tampa, Orioles, Toronto, Blue Jays. There's one. Okay, so that's the two. What was the other one? You got one left.

Scott 47:34

In the same division? Nope. Not telling you. I mean, I've given you too many hints already.

Graham 47:41

Yeah, because I watch baseball. What? Um, why? See, you totally set me up for this. Uh I already said booted in uh crap, no, it ain't no uh chant no dodgers, pot no, uh I hate you. Give up? Yes. Can I get a conference, a division? Royals. Royals, oh the royals, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, because I was gonna think of them. Yeah, you never would. Setting me up to fail. Anyhow. Oh, yeah. Anyhow. Before the show, you'll definitely get these.

Scott 48:42

Well, I mean, God knows. As soon as I said the question, he should have said Red Sox and White Sox. I mean, God bless. I mean, instead you said Yankees and Mets. Yeah, there's a X, Y, or Z and Mets.

Graham 48:55

Um, I was thinking the city, not the team. Yeah, okay. In my defense. Yeah, in your defense.

Scott 49:04

Anyhow, uh, what

Baseball Letter Quiz And Final Jabs

Scott 49:07

else we got, dude? I mean, what else you want to talk about? You want to talk about that golf shot you hit? No, we're done with that. We're good. Man, sounds like you want to keep talking about it. Anybody that listens to us and has my cell phone, hit me up. I'll show you the original and then I'll show you the broken down golf professional version.

Graham 49:30

Folks, he still hasn't shown me this. I still haven't seen it. You put the video of you critiquing it?

Scott 49:40

Yeah. It's out there. I need to check this out. And one of our fantasy threads. Alright, I'm just gonna scroll back. I hate you so much. It's so good. It's so good. Not as good as the first one I recorded.

Graham 49:57

Bro, it's carpet only. What do you mean?

Scott 50:02

Oh, max score on a hole? Okay. Hey, ball and hole hashtag. Yeah, you better change your fantasy name to that right now. I will. As soon as this podcast is over, it's gonna be Yeah, you have to. On a side note, hey, it's been fun, it's been a while. You know, we had a little break. Uh let's go. We got golf and we got fantasy drafts coming up. And before you know it, your boy's gonna be saying that song is the most ain't doing it tonight.

Graham 50:36

But I mean he got me. I was just about to start belting it out.

Fantasy Draft Takes And CMC Hold-In

Scott 50:48

Fantasy football drafts. It's a weird year. I don't know. I don't know what's happening. I got the third pick in like all these drafts, and I hate it.

Graham 50:59

Yeah, because you're taking Jamar Chase. Oh, that's so hard to choose. Oh my god. It's so tough.

Scott 51:04

Yeah, it is. When his quarterback's played one full year since he's been in the league. Yeah, it is.

Graham 51:11

He's still produced. Yeah, and your backup's Joe Flacco, and he's been there the whole offseason. Whatever. Don't go. Old Joe has your back. Whatever. All right, then take Puka.

Scott 51:24

No chance. He's getting suspended. Why? Well, he's gonna get a game or two, guaranteed. For the shit he did in the offseason. He's trying to save face because he's going to rehab. But anyhow. Speaking of safe face, dude, McCaffrey, hold in. Mm-hmm. Is it a hold in or is it an injury? Oh, it's a hold of it. It's a hold in. 100%. It's funny how he all of a sudden gets hurt the day Gibbs signs that contract.

Graham 52:01

Well, I mean, when you're at the best running back last year and, you know, you ain't making that money. It's just it's crazy how you have to get a contract in the NFL versus the other leagues. It's like you have to prove yourself and then we'll pay you. And then we'll have you'll have to like, you know, jump over 20 hoops just for us to pay you too. And not even what you're worth.

Scott 52:22

And not only that, think about how many touches McCaffrey had last year. I think it was in the 400s. Bro. Ain't nobody sacrificing their body more than him. And people want to clown him and say he's hurt. Oh, you touched the ball 400 times, and let me tell you how you feel at the end of a season.

Graham 52:43

I mean, if Luke Keekly is a first ballot Hall of Famer, I I I mean, I'm not making comparisons. I'm just saying for how great CMC is, if he doesn't get a Super Bowl, he has to be in the conversation. I mean, he's just been that guy his whole career.

Scott 53:05

Has he not? He's getting in the hall of fame. A hundred percent. A hundred percent. Just the fact that Luke Keekly is a first ballot and Antonio Gates isn't. Is it another kick rocks moment for a time that we don't have enough time for you to edit with beeps?

Graham 53:26

Hey, Bill Belichick isn't a first ballot. Yeah, we all know why. I'm just saying.

Scott 53:35

I'm just saying. Anyhow,

Sign-Off And Football Is Back

Scott 53:38

Graham, get us out of here. FedEx playoffs, Fowler, Romano, let's go. The ball guys are in the bench or back. We had a little hiatus, and it's time. It's football season. And it's gonna be on fire. Which running back are you taking from the Steelers?

Graham 54:04

It's it's committee, bro.

Scott 54:06

Not the dude from Iowa, even though he's gonna be the best of the three. You heard it here first on roller derby. What?

Graham 54:15

Yep. Look at you showing confidence in a place I wasn't expecting. Oh man.

Scott 54:20

Dude, he makes one fumble on a special teams play, and the guy gets benched for the rest of the year. Yeah. It was a pretty bone-headed play. But still, still, who hasn't made a dumb play?

Graham 54:34

I agree. Yeah, but how is he gonna get time when you have Doddle and Warren, who they paid. They like Warren. And Doddle, I look.

Scott 54:46

They like young guys better, because you know why? You ain't gotta pay on.

Graham 54:51

Yeah, I understand that.

Scott 54:54

But it is what it is. My other call is Rodgers is not finishing the season as your starting quarterback. Homeboy from Penn State is. Until he gets put in this Penn State drug trafficking ring.

Graham 55:16

Shut the f up.

Scott 55:18

Anyhow, Graham, get us out of here. It's football time. I miss doing the show with you. TP, you got your fix. Hopefully, Cox downloads this in the next three hours, four hours. I don't know. It's midnight here on the East Coast, and I gotta go to work. But anyhow, Graham, get us out of here. Love you, buddy. Glad you had fun. Uh glad I got to see a video of your golf swing, and that's all I'm gonna say.

Graham 55:45

Scott, it seems like it's been too long. Like it really has.

Scott 55:49

War Eagle.

Graham 55:52

You know what? Suck it! Hey, as the best homely always says, Boo by.

Scott 56:00

Good night, friends. Good night, Graham's golf swing. Good night, War Eagle. Good night, Amanda Baleonis. I saw you on a Sunday with that interview. And then I saw you on your Instagram today in Montana riding a horse. Anyhow, love y'all. Can't wait for football. Keenan signs with the Colts. That's huge. They need it. I like it. I like it. But anyhow, love y'all. See you next week.

Graham 56:34

Boom!