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00:00Three-man rush and Young stumbles on the way back and fires up the middle. Pass is caught by Owens. Owens made the catch. Holy moly!
00:12Now, back to Willard and Dibbs on 95.7 The Game.
00:17It just got more interesting up in here. You think? It just got a little bit more interesting up in here, didn't it?
00:22It went from just me and you to me and you and, I don't know, one of the greatest in the history of the National. Yeah.
00:28Football League. And just to hear that call coming back from Pat Summerall, I got some goosebumps not only being next to T.O. Always do.
00:36But hearing the calls, too. My goodness, it's T.O., Mark. What's up, T.O.? T.O.
00:41Oh, you're talking about me? That's me? Yeah, I'm sorry. Oh, I'm T.O., man. Oh, hey, guys. What's up?
00:46And we'll get to your pickleball greatness in a minute, but, man, football and heading into the playoffs and T.O. in the building, this is pretty cool.
00:55It's an honor to have you here, man. I appreciate it, man. Thanks for thanks for having me.
00:58Yeah, thanks. Thanks for being here. And I mean, we got all kinds of stuff we want to want to talk to you about.
01:04But our listeners know because we've been we've been talking about it a lot over the All-Star Weekend, the celebrity pickleball bash,
01:10Pickletainment that you guys are involved in and the trash talk that's already starting now between you and some of the other participants.
01:19Yeah, I hear CeCe Sabathia has been really talking a lot of trash. I mean, I know he's good on the diamond, but pickleball, you know, the court is the pickleball court is a little bit different.
01:28Are you like training for this? Like, have you been getting into it? I wouldn't say training.
01:33OK, what would you say? Kind of refining a few skills. But yeah, I mean, get your pickleball ready. That's all I can say.
01:40Your skill set, great hands, great short area, quickness, ability to go over the middle, toughness and the rest. How does that translate to pickleball greatness?
01:51There's an intimidation factor when you're at the net. I think that that kind of factors into it.
01:55Obviously, with my physical attributes, my length that helps me at the kitchen.
02:01But again, like you mentioned, just the change of direction, the athleticism, it comes into play.
02:07But it's not all athleticism. It's all about, you know, obviously the skill set of like dinking, obviously some strategy into it.
02:14You can get beat by some 60s, 70s, maybe some 80 year olds. Yeah, I mean, if you don't know what you're doing, you're laughing.
02:21No, I know. I'm not some 60, 70 year olds, but I played in a tournament in Puerto Rico.
02:28I got paired with a guy. The guy's name is Ben Patton. I'm probably about to call him out.
02:34I thought he was really good because he was like, I know this is charity, but he's like, I like to win.
02:39He's like, you like to win. I'm like, yeah, I'm like I'm and I just started to learn like maybe a couple of months ago.
02:44And so he's like, yo, let's win this thing. And so we got on the court and we played four matches.
02:49We only won one. Yeah. And the first couple of matches was brutal.
02:54And the second match, we had a couple of ladies and they waxed us. And I was hot.
02:58Low key. I was very, very hot. I'm mad. Yeah. And so I left Puerto Rico and I'm like, this is not happening again.
03:05So I've been taking a few lessons here and there, but I've definitely I've gotten gotten addicted to pick a ball.
03:11Thank you to some ladies. Sydney, that's working with the PPA.
03:16She's working with you. She's a brand ambassador for them. But, yeah, I'm very fortunate to be a part of Celebrity Pickleball Bash.
03:25Ben Shapiro, who's obviously one of the founders of Celebrity Pickleball Bash, I'm now part of that.
03:30And I'm looking forward to this this weekend because I heard Eric Decker is a great pickleball player.
03:37Just saw Brandi Chastain last night. She was talking trash. Yeah, I know.
03:41Isner Isner. He's a pro pickleball player. Now turn. I mean, tennis player now turned pickleball player.
03:47So it's a lot of great pickleball players out there.
03:51Chris Mullen, Hunter Pence, Bay Area legends are going to be a part of this.
03:55By the way, it's February 15th and February 16th.
03:58T.O. just mentioned it. Celebrity Pickleball Bash dot com is where you can buy tickets.
04:02Yeah. And they start at just twenty five dollars.
04:05So what exactly is that? What's it going to look like for the fans?
04:09What are they going to come out and see? I don't know yet.
04:12I'm trying to get out, get my walkout theme song, getting that ready. That's going to get me get me pumped up.
04:17But obviously we're going to be playing on a stage, iconic Warfield Theater stage.
04:22And so they're going to have like DJs and all that good stuff.
04:24So I'm really not knowing really what to expect.
04:27Again, like I said, this is I'm Tara Lawrence, the pickleball player.
04:31Now forget anything that is transpired before today.
04:35Now, like I said, I'm I'm I'm full throttle with this pickleball thing.
04:38But it's going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a lot of trash talking.
04:41I'm sure it's going to be a lot of entertainment. And Chris Mullen, he said it earlier today in one of the interviews.
04:46It's all fun and games until it starts, that the scores start being kept.
04:50And so, again, like I said, I'm not trying to be the butt of anybody's jokes.
04:54I'm not trying to be on any memes. I'm not trying to be on anybody's social media.
04:58I'm playing to win. That's that's number one.
05:01I'm going to have a little fun, but I'm I'm playing to win.
05:03Any thoughts about the walkup song? And will you come out with the gold jacket?
05:08Because, I mean, you gave me an idea.
05:11You got my Mullen and Brandi Chastain's one of the greatest of all time.
05:14I mean, no one can flex like T.O.
05:17I could see you coming out like a half shirt with the 10 pack flying with a gold jacket.
05:22Oh, yeah. Trust me. I'm I'm I'm trying to bring this this pickleball, you know, to life around the country.
05:27So this is going to be our first first event All-Star Weekend.
05:31And I think after that, we're going to be going to San Antonio for Final Four and stuff like that.
05:36So, again, like I said, I'm not I'm not just doing this just as a celebrity face or what have you.
05:40I'm literally I'm trying to be I'm trying to become pro with this.
05:43Love it.
05:44So I want to be able to compete with, you know, some of the likes of like Sam Querrey and Eisner and all these guys.
05:49And again, you got Ben Johns. I met about a month and a half ago.
05:54Obviously, he's one of the best pickleball players, if not the best in the world.
05:59Yes, it's been a lot.
06:01My advice when you faced Eisner, you got to take him.
06:04The man is 6'11", Mark.
06:06John Eisner is one of the tallest human beings in the history of paddle sports.
06:10You got to make that man bend over.
06:12Yeah. Tyson.
06:13Make him stoop.
06:14Was it Tyson McGuffin? I think he's one of the guys.
06:17Corey, one of the guys.
06:18I mean, I've met a lot of guys over the last probably a couple of months.
06:22And I'm like, I've only been playing this game for probably maybe two to three months, if that.
06:27And so I've tried to improve my game every time that I've stepped on the court.
06:30I'm in Houston. I'm Googling.
06:32I told the guys I've Googled on the side of the road trying to find some pickleball courts.
06:37And I found some places in the woodlands.
06:39There, drop shots.
06:40I did my first pickleball tournament December 14th, the weekend I did my birthday party.
06:47So that was a huge success.
06:49And so a lot of people turned out for that.
06:51But, yeah, man, this game is fun.
06:53I mean, it's the fastest growing sport in the United States right now.
06:57I told some people this is equivalent to what really kind of what CrossFit was some years back.
07:04Everybody gravitated to CrossFit.
07:06Now, I mean, you start seeing CrossFit places like pop up left and right.
07:09There are some injuries associated with this game.
07:12It's not just something you just go out there like, oh, I can play.
07:16If you're not, you know, know your level of fitness going into this thing.
07:20Because, again, like I said, if you're trying to reach out for some stuff and you haven't played in a while,
07:24you might find yourself on a physical therapy table the following week.
07:29Make sure you stretch and hydrate.
07:32I'll have a blue tent out at the event for sure.
07:34You recognize the voice.
07:35T.O. is here with us on 95.7 The Game.
07:38Willard and Dibbs, I wanted to mention to you also, congrats to, I saw that your son got the reserve futures contract with the Niners this week.
07:47Yeah, just, I mean, I know that there's still a lot of work to be done there.
07:52But how's he doing and what's going on there?
07:55Yeah, he was at the event last night, some of the promotional stuff we did at Sports Basement.
08:00But I'm super proud of him.
08:02Again, that's a long journey for him.
08:04Again, he's just now starting to get his feet wet.
08:07And so he had like a little setback right before training camp.
08:11He broke his hand.
08:12So he had to heal up and they brought him back probably, I think, around fourth or fifth week of the season.
08:19So he's maintained a steady level of progression with where he is.
08:24And I just told him, that's all you got to do.
08:26Just steadily progress and get better with everything to become the receiver that he needs to be.
08:31He doesn't need to go out there and try to really be me.
08:35Just live up to that Owens name.
08:37And I think he has the ability to do that.
08:39There's been a lot of talk, I'm sure this is no surprise to you, about the 49er receiver room as a whole this year.
08:46We'd love to talk to you about it and get your response to what you've seen out there.
08:51From the IU injury to what seemed like certainly a disappointing year for Debo.
08:56Juwan Jennings kind of coming out.
08:58Ricky Pearsall coming up.
08:59What do you think of the room as a whole?
09:01And does it need more?
09:03I think when you look at injuries, that's been really the situation with the entire season.
09:12It's hard to kind of duplicate the season before.
09:15Especially the last couple of years, they've been knocking at the door of winning the Super Bowl or getting to the Super Bowl.
09:20And it's hard to do that when you have a lot of key players out.
09:23And you think about CMC.
09:25You think about obviously Brandon Aiyuk, he had the contract situation.
09:28And then he comes in right before the season, probably not in the best shape.
09:33And then obviously the unfortunate injury, the ACL injury.
09:38Christian McCaffrey, lingering injury from last year.
09:43Missed part of the season this year.
09:46And so again, you've got Nick Bosa on the defensive side of the ball.
09:49Even Greenloft, Super Bowl, right in the warm-ups, Teresa's Achilles.
09:53But again, it's hard to come back from a lot of injuries.
09:57And if you don't have the caliber of players to really duplicate what they've done,
10:02then it's hard to kind of rebuild and restructure and things of that nature.
10:05But they have, I think, the necessary pieces.
10:08They've just got to have everybody healthy.
10:10I think everybody's been critical of the play of Brock Purdy.
10:14He's not been the consistent quarterback that they want him to be.
10:17But I think if you surround him, and I think everybody has seen that,
10:20with the type of players that he needs to make plays for him,
10:24he's not one of those guys that's going to just go out and will you to a win.
10:28He has the ability to make all the throws, make those gutsy plays when he has to
10:34if he has to run the ball.
10:35But if you surround this guy with superior talent, you know what he can do.
10:40They've gotten to the Super Bowl with him.
10:42And I think this year, next year, going into next year,
10:45they can kind of refine some of those pieces that they kind of lacked this year,
10:50especially in the receiving room, as you were speaking of specifically.
10:53And I think with Debo, I talked to Debo during the course of the season.
10:57I think he knows he has to play better.
10:59I think Kyle Shanahan knows that, obviously, with a talent like Debo,
11:03you have to put those guys in positions to succeed and win.
11:07He's not a traditional every-down back.
11:10He could be, but he's not an every-down traditional receiver either.
11:13So you have to have a guy with special skill set like that.
11:16Debo can return kicks.
11:17Obviously, he can get back there in the backfield.
11:19You have to put those guys in special situations in order to help you win ballgames.
11:26But I'm not going to defend Debo, but he knows if you're going to want the ball,
11:31you've got to go out there and make those plays.
11:33You can't be going out there, dropping the ball,
11:35letting the ball go through your hands, things like that,
11:38and then get in the media and saying that you're not being utilized enough.
11:42Did you talk to him after?
11:43There was a little exchange the last time you came on this station
11:46and said that he was more interested in his outfits.
11:48Oh, yeah, I talked to him.
11:49And then he hit you on social.
11:51Was your conversation after that?
11:53Yeah, it was.
11:54And how did it go?
11:55No, it was cool.
11:56He just texted me, and like I said, we laughed about it.
12:00I've known Debo, and we've talked prior to that.
12:03And so, again, I said it tongue-in-cheek.
12:06It's not anything I'm sure.
12:08That wasn't the worst thing that has been said on social media.
12:11So, obviously, it pales in comparison to some of the things that were being shown
12:15and said about him on social media.
12:18He just needs to kind of tighten up his wardrobe a little bit,
12:21make it a little bit more manly.
12:23He knows that.
12:24But, yeah, we had a laugh about it, but it wasn't anything bitter.
12:28It wasn't any harsh exchange of words.
12:30We talked about it, and we left it at that.
12:32And that's what men do.
12:34We pick up the phone, and we talk about things, and we keep it moving.
12:36Just hash it out, exactly.
12:37But, yeah, it wasn't even, like I said.
12:39No, nothing to even hash out, right?
12:40But it was funny.
12:41I mean, he has to know.
12:42He doesn't really know me personally, but, like I said,
12:44it's not anything that anybody else hasn't said on social media.
12:47Right, and you look at this era of player in the social media era
12:51because you got done a little bit before all this blew up.
12:54Do you ever think about how you would be if you were playing today,
12:57and 51-year-old T.O. is different than 31-year-old T.O.,
13:01and do you think about how you would be if you were at the peak
13:04of your playing career now in this social media era?
13:07Oh, I would love it.
13:08I would love it.
13:09I would be eating it up.
13:10I would be eating it up.
13:11I mean, honestly, I would have you got to find ways to have fun with it,
13:14and then just understand just what entertainment is, the fan engagement,
13:19know who you are, be secure in who you are,
13:22and things of that nature.
13:23Again, like I said, I love fashion, so, again, they have segments
13:27on a lot of these shows about a lot of these guys' fashion,
13:31things of that nature.
13:32So, again, I would fit right in.
13:35I think I was ahead of my time.
13:36Yeah, you were a trailblazer, and I think about college football now,
13:39the big controversy about flag planting, and you were out there
13:42putting the football at the 50 for Dallas Cowboys.
13:46I mean, you look at these controversies now,
13:48and you're probably thinking, I was doing this 25 years ago.
13:51Yeah, like I said, it pales in comparison to what some of these guys
13:54are bickering about right now.
13:57You're listening to 95.7 The Game, KGMZ FM and HD1 San Francisco
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14:10Obviously, we are talking to Terrell Owens in the building,
14:14in studio with us right now on 95.7 The Game.
14:17Hey, you mentioned Brandon Aiyuk and the contract holdout
14:21from earlier this year, and I wonder what your experience is
14:25with regard to how that kind of thing affects a team,
14:28and add into it that Brock Purdy yesterday publicly stated,
14:32if there's an extension, let's do this quickly.
14:35The Niners, two summers in a row, have had contract holdouts.
14:39How does that affect the team?
14:41I think as a player, you don't really harp on anybody's contractual situations.
14:46You kind of just let it play out the way it's supposed to.
14:49Again, like I said, this game, NFL is unlike NBA.
14:54It's unlike MLB where their contracts are guaranteed.
14:57So guys are really trying to maximize the most money that they can
15:01with their signing bonuses and then whatever is on the back end
15:05or whatever, you kind of let the agents do that.
15:07But it shouldn't affect the way that you play because at the end of the day,
15:13the guys that may have something to say,
15:15they're going to be in that same situation at some point or another.
15:18You're going to have a situation where you may have to renegotiate your contract,
15:24and you don't know.
15:25It may happen in two weeks.
15:26It may happen in a month or whatever the case may be,
15:28however long it takes.
15:30I think it's unfortunate that it had to drag out as long as it did,
15:35and I think it made no sense because I don't think what he was wanting
15:39however long he waited out, I don't think it made much of a difference.
15:43So they should have just settled it from the very beginning,
15:45only to get to that point of like, okay, the numbers are pretty much the same.
15:50So it's just a lot of wasted time, I think, to be honest,
15:53and I think I'm sure for Brandon Iyuk, I'm sure now looking back on it,
15:57I'm sure he'd be like, well, man, we should have just gotten this done early on
16:00or I should have taken a different approach about it or what have you.
16:03But when you're in the moment, you want to kind of, honestly,
16:06you want to make the most money, maximize the most money that you can.
16:09It makes sense.
16:10And like you're saying, I mean, football, no guaranteed contract,
16:12so you've got to get what you can get while you can.
16:15A lot of people talking about a Super Bowl hangover this year for the Niners.
16:18You went to a Super Bowl.
16:20How hard is it to go from being that close to almost tasting it
16:24to then trying to strap up again in August and climb the mountain one more time?
16:28I don't consider this a hangover when you consider the number of injuries that they had.
16:33It would be different if they had everybody healthy, everybody playing,
16:37and they didn't play their best brand of football.
16:40Like I said, it's hard when you have, you know, your best running back who comes,
16:44like I said, he's lingering from an Achilles injury last year,
16:48and then the first probably, I don't know, six or seven games he misses,
16:52and then he comes back a week or two later and he's right back out.
16:55So I don't think that's the definition of a hangover, so to speak,
17:00when you look at the injuries that they've sustained.
17:02Obviously, I can look at the receiver situation.
17:04Obviously, Brandon Ayuk, and then who I think who benefited from the injuries
17:10is DeJuan Jennings.
17:12Here's a guy, again, even from the very beginning of the season,
17:15here's a guy who actually played like he was owed
17:19or he was getting paid $30 million a year.
17:22That's something that Brandon Ayuk was, you know, holding out for.
17:26When you think of guys like that, this is a great example for guys
17:30that are on rosters that are, you know, not number one guys.
17:34You get your second and third team, and you're getting, you know,
17:37minimal reps or what have you.
17:39You go on the field and you maximize the most of your opportunities,
17:43and I think the last two years everybody is starting to, you know,
17:47know who DeJuan Jennings is, and I think he's starting to make a name for himself,
17:51and he's starting to make some money for himself at the same time.
17:54Some 49er greats have weighed in on Kyle Shanahan this year.
17:58Jerry Rice and Steve Young both said that he kind of needs to reinvent himself.
18:02Do you agree with that?
18:04To a degree.
18:05I don't know Kyle Shanahan like that, but I will say, honestly,
18:10when we were speaking on the Debo situation, like I said, I talked to Debo,
18:13and when we talked he said, you know, he and Shanahan had a great communication,
18:19great relationship where he could go in there and talk about, okay,
18:22how can I get and be more involved?
18:24I think sometimes you have to go away from what you've done
18:27and try to evolve with, you know, what you have talent-wise in that locker room.
18:32Again, like I said, Debo isn't your traditional, I think, you know, WR1.
18:37Could he be that with, I think, with a good summer of just nothing
18:42but route running, specializing on that?
18:45Absolutely.
18:46But he's such a unique talent that he can do a little bit of everything.
18:50He's somewhat of an X-factor.
18:52He's not like, you know, an every-down-back like CMC.
18:55CMC can do a little bit of everything as well,
18:58but you're not going to see CMC go out and play wide receiver.
19:01Debo can do a little bit of everything.
19:03He has to be a little bit more creative, I think, with his players
19:07and expand the playbook a little bit.
19:09I think that's what Steve and Jerry may be touching on.
19:12And is part of that letting Brock, you know, get back there and cook a little bit?
19:16Because Mark and I talk a lot about what the Niners do,
19:18and you use the fullback a bunch,
19:20and so you don't have a lot of three-receiver sets.
19:22Would you like to see Shanahan open it up a little bit more
19:25to where you get some four-receiver sets and you get him back there
19:28and just cutting it loose a little bit more?
19:30Absolutely.
19:31When you have some dynamic receivers, especially like three and four receivers,
19:35when I played, we had myself, JJ Stokes.
19:38We had, obviously, some good tight ends.
19:41We had four- and five-wide packages or what have you.
19:44When you have some dynamic receivers and, obviously, some running backs
19:47that can, obviously, catch the ball out of the backfield,
19:50it was that way when I went to Philly.
19:53We had myself, Chad Lewis.
19:54We had LJ Smith.
19:56We had Todd Pinkston.
19:57We had Freddie Mitchell.
19:58And we had some other receivers.
20:00We were unstoppable.
20:02And we had some guys, Brian Westbrook coming out of the backfield,
20:06Correll Buckholder.
20:09I mean, we had a little bit of everything.
20:11And so I think if he can kind of duplicate some of what I just mentioned
20:14with those guys, with the guys that he has in that locker room, again,
20:17just let it rip.
20:18And I think you don't really see a lot of deep balls being thrown.
20:22You have a lot of misdirection, a lot of over-routes.
20:25I don't see a lot of slants, a lot of things that allowing players
20:29to really short routes, like getting the ball to them quick
20:32and letting those guys make plays.
20:34I think that's what Steve and Jerry are touching on.
20:37T.O., this is something that we, as fans, don't get to know about.
20:41And I wonder what your perspective is because this fan base right now
20:44is talking about and thinking about money a lot because it's a quarterback
20:47going into talks on an extension.
20:51We've also seen the wide receiver market specifically go crazy
20:55and balloon in the last couple of years.
20:57How do teammates, I know everyone likes to stay out of other people's pockets,
21:01but how do teammates handle all of that?
21:04And, like, how would you feel if a young quarterback
21:08is making $60 million a year?
21:12If the market is for that, then what can you do?
21:16There's not anything you can say.
21:18There are times, like I say, when I played, I felt like I should have been
21:21making a little bit more than some of the quarterbacks that I was playing with,
21:24but that wasn't where the market was at that time.
21:28I never maximized and got full value as a receiver when I played.
21:33That was part of the reason why I didn't get an extension
21:36or got kept with the Eagles.
21:39When I went through that little short stint of trying to renegotiate my contract,
21:43I was just trying to get fair market value,
21:46and they felt what I was asking for was too much.
21:49Look at what guys are making now.
21:51It pales in comparison. It doesn't even scratch the surface.
21:54Again, it's hard to say.
21:57The market is different, and some guys kind of set the market for other guys.
22:01If you feel like you have the skill set and you put it on tape and you're producing,
22:05then you want to go for it.
22:07Again, football players, they go into it trying to maximize
22:11and making the most money that they can
22:13because, like I said, it's unlike MLB and NBA
22:17that those guys get guaranteed contracts.
22:20For us football players, those football players,
22:23they try to get the most in their signing bonuses they can.
22:26Does that ever cause anything, though, in the locker room?
22:28Are guys looking at this stuff?
22:30I mean, does it ever cause any hurt feelings, jealousy?
22:32No. I mean, why would it?
22:34If you're playing in a position where the market is set,
22:37where they're making a lot of money,
22:39the only thing you can do is change positions.
22:41Other than that, you just do what you do.
22:44Yeah, keep your head down and try to play football.
22:46But do you now, looking back, because you've been out of the league,
22:49I mean, a little bit of a stretch, 14 years you've been out,
22:52and we always joke that you could probably still get out there and do it
22:55maybe for a series or maybe a little bit more,
22:58but do you look at some of these players and think,
23:00Man, I wish I was 25 years old right now
23:03making what some of these guys are making.
23:05It would be stupid, bro.
23:06Honestly, it would be stupid.
23:08At the height of my career, I mean,
23:11the market would be stupid for what we were doing at that time
23:15and considering what these guys,
23:17they're doing but they're really not doing.
23:20And doing it in a league where the rules are a little different now.
23:24You go over the middle and you might get stabbed.
23:27You might get your wallet taken.
23:29Yeah, I mean, like I say, if you look at the yards
23:32that these guys are putting up right now,
23:35I mean, again, just imagine how many yards we would be flirting with.
23:40Honestly, I would try to be 2,000 yards every year
23:44considering how the league is being officiated,
23:47how soft the defenses are and you have to play now.
23:51Guys are going over the middle, barely getting touched.
23:54So, again, that was something, like I said, I never really feared too much.
23:58That was just part of what I did and part of my physical makeup
24:02to go over the middle and take those hits.
24:04With the West Coast offense, it afforded me the opportunity
24:07to really take the short and medium game passes
24:11and take them to the house.
24:13I think a lot of people really didn't know that I had the ability,
24:16especially speed-wise or down the field threat-wise,
24:19until I went to the Philadelphia Eagles.
24:21Most of the plays that I made, they were short, intermediate plays
24:25and then I did the rest.
24:27We never really threw any deep balls coming out from our own red zone.
24:32We never started from the 5, 10, 15, or 20.
24:35We never threw any shots or deep balls until we got to around the 40,
24:39around to the 40 or 50.
24:41That was because Jeff Garcia, he was limited at his arm strength,
24:44and so that's not a knock on Jeff.
24:46It was because of what he did best, which was getting out of the pocket,
24:50scrambling, and making plays off improvisation.
24:53We're talking with Terrell Owens, obviously,
24:55here on Willard & Dibs 95.7 The Game.
24:57He is part of the big pickleball event that is coming February 15th and 16th.
25:03CelebrityPickleballBash.com is where you can get more information
25:06and buy tickets, and he is among many celebrities.
25:09We've been talking about Brandi Chastain and Hunter Pence and Chris Mullin,
25:12and all these people are going to be there.
25:14Tickets starting at just $25.
25:16While we're talking about those receivers in the league, who do you like?
25:19Give me three receivers who you think are really, really,
25:22really stand out to you right now.
25:24Right now you've got to look at Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, one more maybe.
25:33One guy who I think is being underutilized is DK Metcalf.
25:37Interesting.
25:38Whoever is that offensive coordinator, they're doing him a disservice.
25:42It's an injustice as to his production and what he could be possibly doing.
25:48He's too big and too great of a talent not to be even –
25:52you don't even really think of DK Metcalf, really, to be honest,
25:55in the top five when you think about receivers this year.
25:58I know him because I know him personally.
26:00I've worked out with him, and I know what such a talent he is.
26:04I feel like he's being underutilized in that offense.
26:07Who's got a higher body fat, you or DK?
26:09Because I got you both at about 3.8% right now.
26:11No, I'm a fatty right now.
26:13I'll say that.
26:16Come on, man.
26:17I'm a fatty compared to DK.
26:18What did you eat over the holidays?
26:19What did you eat?
26:20I ate pretty healthy.
26:21I had a couple of pizzas here and there.
26:24Trust me, I don't eat as healthy as when I played.
26:28I hope not.
26:29Overall, I eat relatively healthy.
26:31By the way, Seahawks just fired their offensive coordinator.
26:33For real.
26:34They should have.
26:37I'm not saying that.
26:38I'm just saying that just because of lack of production,
26:41just the lack of not hearing DK's name throughout the course of the season
26:45for him to be such a talent.
26:46And even Geno have a quarterback like Geno.
26:49Those two should be wrecking the league.
26:52No matter what, we should hear something about DK Metcalf every week,
26:57if not every other week.
26:58Would you actually pick him as your number three current production?
27:01Jamar, Justin, if I made you pick a third, who would you pick?
27:05Yeah, because there's no other names that really just stick out to me.
27:09Not A.J. Brown?
27:10Amon Ross, St. Brown?
27:12Yeah, St. Brown.
27:13He's doing very well.
27:14What about Tyreek Hill?
27:16He fell off the wagon this year.
27:18How did his comments this weekend grab you?
27:21Did you see him where he's like, first of all, he wouldn't go in the game?
27:24That's terrible.
27:25And he said, I'm out.
27:26Yeah, to say you're a competitor, and then you look back and you say,
27:29and to find out that you didn't go in the game, for what reason?
27:34It's like a non-injury-related type of situation, but you're a competitor.
27:39Yeah, that's a lot of...
27:43It's a little hollow.
27:44Yeah.
27:45So, again, like I said, I didn't agree with what he said.
27:47Again, you wanted to get out of Kansas City because you wanted money.
27:51You could have taken less to stay in Kansas City to win,
27:54which is why you're upset this year because you're not winning.
27:59So what is it?
28:01You can't have your cake and eat it, too.
28:03So, I mean, he made that bet.
28:05He has to lie in it.
28:06How does a healthy Brandon Aiyuk stack up with those names?
28:09Because that's a conversation we're having in the summer.
28:11I don't know.
28:12I've never really seen him as a number one receiver, to be quite honest.
28:16I think he was a beneficiary to some of the things that were happening last year.
28:21Obviously, Debo was, like, when he put up those big numbers,
28:25I think everybody was double-teaming Debo.
28:27They was looking at CMC.
28:29So he was a secondary receiver that put up a lot of numbers that warranted big dollars.
28:35But are you that guy?
28:37Are you that dog?
28:38Not everybody fits in that mode.
28:40You can have number one WR1 numbers,
28:46but that doesn't mean you're going to produce like a WR1.
28:49I think, you know, I give two examples that I've seen.
28:53Back when I played, you had Eric Moles and Peerless Price.
28:57Peerless Price put up huge numbers due to the fact that everybody was double-teaming,
29:02you know, paying a lot of attention to Eric Moles.
29:05Atlanta Falcons paid him a lot of money to go to be that number one.
29:08We haven't seen Peerless Price since.
29:10And that's not a knock on him, but I'm just saying,
29:12everybody's not built to be that number one receiver.
29:15And just because you want to get paid like one, you have to produce like one as well.
29:19The other one is AB and Juju Shuster.
29:22Juju produced number one numbers because of AB.
29:26He wanted to get big dollars.
29:28He got paid.
29:30We're still looking for Juju.
29:31Yeah.
29:32I'm just saying, that's just how it is.
29:33Alvin Harper, back in the day when he was next to Michael Irvin,
29:36don't you think that was pretty similar?
29:38Yeah, in a sense.
29:39But I don't know if he was griping about big dollars.
29:41No, but he took a free agent contract to go be number one,
29:44and we never really heard from him again.
29:45Right, exactly.
29:46Again, it's a different animal, a different mindset to be a number one receiver.
29:51Just because you get paid like one, you've got to actually produce and be that guy.
29:55You know what I mean?
29:56You can't just go missing.
29:57So you subject yourself to a lot of criticism when you go be a number one
30:01and then you're not producing.
30:03You saw Juju Shuster.
30:04He wanted money.
30:06He had other theatrics.
30:08He was doing other things.
30:09TikTok, going to the guys, middle of the field, doing a lot of social media stuff.
30:13He was prioritizing that instead of prioritizing what he was supposed to be doing
30:18on the football field.
30:19One wide receiver, one that we saw hit a milestone this weekend,
30:22was Mike Evans down in Tampa.
30:24Eleven straight years, getting 1,000,
30:26and he gets it in a spot where the defense was kind of laying back.
30:31What did you make of the streak continuing,
30:33and just what do you make of him as one of the great receivers?
30:36I'm proud of him.
30:37He's very underrated.
30:38He reminds me of a Larry Fitzgerald.
30:40Just quiet, goes about his job, gets it done.
30:44Obviously, he's a Super Bowl champion.
30:46Again, like I said, obviously he's going to be a Hall of Famer one day.
30:50To obviously have a streak of 11 1,000-yard season in a row, that's incredible
30:56because I know what it takes to really be in that position
31:00and put your body through the work, the mental capacity that you have to have,
31:05week in and week out.
31:06And obviously for him to even really just go through a lot of the hamstring injuries
31:11that he's had over the last few years, that has to be weighing on him.
31:14So I'm proud of him.
31:16And such a classy move by the organization to get those five yards
31:21or what have you to get him past the 1,000 mark
31:24and then just an incentive of $3 million.
31:27That's huge.
31:28Three milli.
31:29That's huge.
31:30It's a big catch.
31:31It's a big catch at the end of the day.
31:32That just shows you that the ownership, they're very, very classy.
31:36Obviously, they knew about it.
31:38They knew the streak.
31:39They knew what he needed to get that,
31:41unlike an owner who's the GM that said that he didn't know Cooper Rush
31:45needed X amount of percentage plays.
31:48When you're the GM and negotiate contracts, how can you not know?
31:52But, oh, well.
31:53Yeah, I don't know what team that is.
31:55I'll have to Google it to you.
31:57I can't quite think of it.
31:58That's why they're having the lack of success that they are,
32:01because of, you know, obviously doing too much.
32:03T.O., there's Dion, there's Deshaun Jackson, there's Michael Vick,
32:08there's others, a lot of ex-players getting into coaching.
32:10Has Chattanooga called you yet?
32:12No, I don't think.
32:14No, I don't know if Chattanooga,
32:16I don't know if I'm in the running for any coaching jobs anytime soon.
32:19Does that interest you?
32:21I just like helping out, man.
32:23You know, Dion brought me into Colorado last year to speak to the team.
32:28And, you know, I spoke to the team.
32:30Like I said, I obviously helped out with some of the receivers there.
32:33One of the guys, he wanted me to kind of groom
32:35and try to get him to where he needed to be.
32:38And so, again, like I said, I go there from time to time.
32:40Like I said, he said I had an open door there to come in whenever.
32:44So I just go.
32:45I support him.
32:46I like everything that he's doing.
32:47I'm proud of him, his kids.
32:49I'm proud of, you know, everybody.
32:50I'm just super-duper proud of what he's doing.
32:53You know, obviously not for just the culture,
32:55but representing himself in a manner to really just bring just a different brand
33:00of football that really kind of is unheard of and not seen before.
33:03Yeah.
33:04He's doing it his way, and people may not like it,
33:07but it's all about, you know, producing, like, good young men,
33:11not just on the football field, but off the football field as well.
33:15Outside of pickleball, which we know is a passion, if not an addiction,
33:19your words, and being a father.
33:21It's becoming an addiction.
33:22I ain't going to tell no lie.
33:23Believe me, I've pickled a little bit, and it's hard to get off the court.
33:25It's so fun.
33:26But what else do you spend your time doing?
33:28What else do you get into as, you know, 51TO, still young and fit and active?
33:33And I know your daughter's playing volleyball in college.
33:36Yeah, she's a superstar.
33:37I follow you on the Gram, so I keep up with all the Owens family stuff.
33:40But what else do you got going on?
33:42Man, I'm just working on my clothing line, Prototype 81.
33:46So I collab with Celebrity Pickleball Bash.
33:49So we created some merch, you know, some apparel for the pickleball.
33:54So obviously when you come here and you see it in February,
33:58you'll see the collab that I did with Celebrity Pickleball Bash.
34:02Ben has actually an actual hat that's going to be available.
34:07We have some skirts, tennis pickleball skirts for the women, some shirts,
34:12some cool pickleball shorts for the men.
34:15So I'm just trying to get into the pickleball, like the manufacturing,
34:18the clothing side of it, so see where I can go with that.
34:21But, again, like I said, I have a skincare line.
34:24Obviously that's why I'm looking so nice and bright.
34:26You see my skin?
34:27Yeah, yeah.
34:28Flawless, really flawless.
34:29You do not look 51.
34:30You do not look 51.
34:32I'll say that.
34:33Part of it, Ben and I, we just dipped into this spa.
34:36We went to Alchemy, this spa right before here.
34:39Fancy.
34:40Man, it was super nice, man.
34:42The sauna, then we did the cold plunge.
34:45But, yeah, I put my serum on.
34:47Yeah, my serum.
34:49I was about to ask you about that.
34:50Yeah, go to MeSkincareByTO on Instagram.
34:55You can go to MeSkincareByTO.com.
34:58You can check it out.
34:59So I have a facial scrub.
35:00I have a lip balm coming out.
35:02And then, obviously, a serum that's made with vitamin C, rosemary, and turmeric.
35:07So it's good for moisturizing your skin.
35:10Definitely great for when you get out of the shower.
35:12Any sauna routines that you might have.
35:15But, yeah, those are just a few things.
35:17And then I have a candlelight.
35:18Obviously, my candlelight as well.
35:19Yeah, of course.
35:20loft81home.com.
35:21He's got more endorsements than I do.
35:23This guy's a machine.
35:24Strong, strong.
35:25I guess these are shameless plugs that I'm doing right now.
35:28Just plugs.
35:29You're going to start it with, hi, I'm TO.
35:32Whenever my skin's a little dry.
35:34But I don't get to 95.7 that often, so I got to take advantage of it.
35:37No, you're always welcome.
35:38You're invited anytime.
35:39By the way, was this spa trip before or after you played against Mully today?
35:43Did you play Mully today?
35:44Yeah, we waxed him.
35:45Me and Ben waxed him today.
35:46Yeah, we waxed him.
35:48We were down.
35:49Who was he playing with?
35:50Elliot.
35:51Okay.
35:52Yeah, Elliot.
35:53Yeah, he's pretty good.
35:54Elliot's pretty good.
35:55He's a former tennis player.
35:56How's Mully?
35:57Mully was Mully.
35:58Okay.
35:59Mully was Mully.
36:00What does that mean?
36:01Mully was Mully.
36:02All I know is my game has improved since the last time that we played.
36:06Okay.
36:07I will say that.
36:08We were down 3-9.
36:10Was it 3-8 or 3-9?
36:12And we beat them 11-9.
36:15And then you went and celebrated at the spa.
36:17Yeah.
36:18I had to go relax after that.
36:19All I lacked was a cigar.
36:21You know what I mean?
36:22No doubt.
36:23Not very spa friendly, but I get where you're going.
36:25Right, but you know.
36:26You got to get that cigar.
36:27By the way, again, this is all part of NBA All-Star Weekend, February 15th and 16th.
36:32They'll be at the iconic Warfield Theater.
36:35And you can go to celebritypickleballbash.com to get information and tickets which start at $25.
36:40T.O. among the many celebrities who will be there.
36:43And I'm sure it's a big deal for you.
36:45We all know how big of a basketball fan you are to be a part of NBA All-Star Weekend.
36:50Since they won't invite me back to the celebrity basketball game anymore, so I might as well.
36:55I was told you were too dominant.
36:57You took the game over.
36:58They haven't told me that, but I'm starting to believe that that may be the case.
37:02Because, again, even a few years back, I had some people that worked inside the NBA.
37:06I even talked to Adam Silver about, like, okay, what's the criteria for playing in a celebrity basketball game now?
37:13Because, like I said, I have a few MVPs from playing in it, but over the last few years,
37:17everybody's been asking me, like probably the last 10 years or so,
37:19everyone's like, well, why don't you play in the celebrity basketball game?
37:22I don't know.
37:23Ask Adam Silver.
37:24Yeah.
37:25Who knows?
37:26My sources told me too much offense and too much defense, too much overall skill is what I heard.
37:31It's too much.
37:32Yeah, too much.
37:33I get it.
37:34That's a great problem to have.
37:35It is.
37:36It is.
37:37I'm going to bring that problem to the pickleball court.
37:38Yeah.
37:39Heads up, Mully.
37:40By the way, I'm doing math on what you said.
37:41You said it's been 14 years since you've been in the league, right?
37:43Yeah.
37:44So were you 37 when you retired?
37:46Yep.
37:47Okay.
37:48Well, I didn't officially retire.
37:49Right.
37:50Nobody would just resign me or give me an opportunity to play.
37:52But, like, barely older than what Steph Curry is now,
37:56and the Warriors are still hot after the effort to make him the number one player on what they hope is a championship team.
38:03Like, what do you think about that at that age?
38:06No, he very well could do that.
38:08I mean, the way he takes care of his body.
38:10I mean, even now, the guy's not really slowing down, to be honest.
38:14You really can't tell if he's slowing down or not.
38:17I mean, he's very efficient.
38:20Again, obviously, the offense has to go through him.
38:23I'm sure there's a plus-minus when he's on the court and when he's not on the court.
38:27And obviously, you have the staple pieces, like Draymond Green, who's defensive-minded,
38:31and bringing those other young guys on to really hone in on the defense.
38:35Because that's where games are won, especially in the playoffs.
38:38Because it's more of a half-court game when the playoffs start.
38:41You see all these inflated numbers during the course of the season because everybody's in transition.
38:44They're going down and shooting threes.
38:46But when it comes to championship and playoff basketball, the game slows down tremendously.
38:51It's a half-court game.
38:53And that's where, again, you'll benefit.
38:55I know there's going to be some trade rumors.
38:57I'm alarmed that my guy, Jimmy Butler, is not playing with the heat tonight.
39:02But obviously, he's rumored to possibly be.
39:06This is one of the landing places for him.
39:08But if they can get some pieces without losing too much,
39:12then obviously I think the Warriors will be definitely in hunt for another championship this year, if not next year.
39:19Jimmy's your guy, huh?
39:20Yeah, I love Jimmy Butler.
39:21Yeah, he's a baller.
39:23When you think about guys that rise to the occasion, he's a guy, like, come playoff time, he's a different animal.
39:32He's a different animal.
39:33You know what I mean?
39:34And you've seen that.
39:35And I think it's unfortunate what's going on down there in Miami.
39:40Obviously, there's some tension with he and Pat Riley or what have you.
39:43But I didn't know that it was so bad with what they call the heat culture and Pat Riley and what he's established or what have you.
39:51But I didn't know it was such a bad outing with Shaq and Dwayne Wade.
39:57Now I hear it's with Jimmy Butler.
39:59So obviously, there's a common denominator there with Pat Riley.
40:02So maybe he needs to change his old way of thinking, try to evolve with this new space and value of players.
40:11Because, again, it's a little bit different, like I said, with football.
40:15But these basketball players, when the market has been set, and we were just talking about that, they want to go for what they feel like they've earned.
40:22And I think when you think about Jimmy, what he's done in Miami the last two or three years, he's deserving of what he's asking for.
40:31I think if pickleball doesn't work out for you, sports talk radio might be a fallback for you.
40:36This guy, he watches everything.
40:38He's got takes.
40:40I watch more basketball than anything.
40:42I've never really been a football guy.
40:44For me, it's hard to not follow football when you're on social media.
40:49So that's why I know a little bit about something.
40:52But basketball, I love basketball.
40:54So, again, I love the addition of Buddy Hill.
40:56Buddy Hill has to now improve.
40:58He needs to continue.
41:00He needs to continue to where he started out this year.
41:03He needs to get back in that rhythm of shooting those threes.
41:07And I think what really stood out to me is how he just felt free.
41:13Whereas before, I think he was in Sacramento.
41:17I think he was restricted.
41:19Sometimes coaches have these game plans where the ball has to pass, and people have to get a number of touches before you shoot it.
41:28But I think people that have come to the Warriors, just think about Nick Young when he came over from Lakers.
41:34He played free.
41:35He went out there.
41:36Maybe too free.
41:37Well, yeah.
41:38But I think that's a part of coaching.
41:40You have a coaching staff, and you know the strengths of players that you're bringing in.
41:44When you're bringing in guys that can shoot, allow them to shoot.
41:48Do what they do best.
41:50But you've got to kind of hone them in a little bit.
41:52Like, yo, we need to play a little bit of defense as well at the same time.
41:55And that's how you win championships.
41:57You can hang your hat and live and die with the three, and I'll do that any day.
42:01But again, when you've got Buddy Hill and you've got shooters like Moody and Steph Curry,
42:05but again, when you've got a defensive mind like Draymond Green, and you keep on with that,
42:14then that's a recipe for a championship.
42:17Will we welcome your pickleball partner in?
42:19Who is that?
42:20Yeah.
42:21Bring him in.
42:22Bring Mr. Pickleball in.
42:23It's Ben Shapiro.
42:24Ben Shapiro.
42:25They call him Mr. Pickletainment himself.
42:27A well-earned nickname, I would imagine.
42:29Not bad, right?
42:30Not bad, not bad.
42:31Welcome in, man.
42:32Thanks for having me.
42:33This is a hell of an event you're putting on.
42:35How'd you get all these people?
42:37Well, I mean, a lot of hard work, right?
42:39I mean, you come up with an idea and you try to carry it out, and we're excited.
42:43I think pickleball is a sport that's the fastest-growing sport in the United States.
42:46There's 48 million people playing it.
42:48It just became more popular on the Apple Watch than tennis.
42:51And I played tennis in college.
42:54I played pickleball.
42:55I've been involved in pro pickleball.
42:57I think the problem with pro pickleball is I go play every Thursday night with my buddies,
43:02and nobody can name two pro pickleball players.
43:04Now, everybody knows who T.O. is and Chris Mullin and Hunter Pence and C.C. Sabathia and John Isner.
43:11So we're going to take celebrities.
43:13We're going to partner them with pro pickleball players.
43:15Nobody knows who they are, but they're dang good pickleball players.
43:18And we're going to have a doubles tournament.
43:20And we're going to be playing music.
43:22It's going to be a pickleball party.
43:24Music Entertainment Incorporated pickleball court on the stage at Warfield Theater.
43:30And it's going to happen Saturday, February 15th, Sunday, February 16th, 1 to 4 p.m.
43:37So it's not going to interfere with the dunk contest that happens over at Chase Center on Saturday night
43:42and the All-Star Game on Sunday night.
43:44And it's going to be a heck of a pickleball party.
43:46It's incredible, and I played tennis in college as well, and so I have gravitated to pickleball.
43:51You get older, and the tennis court seems so big.
43:53It's so hard to play tennis.
43:55But pickleball, and T.O. touched on it, pickleball is fascinating because you can be a pro athlete like T.O.,
44:01and you can be bested by a couple of 65-year-old grandmas because they happen to have the dink
44:08and they got the touch, and maybe it's an Ernie around the post or whatever it is.
44:12So I think it's fascinating that you've got these pro athletes like T.O. who is so into the game.
44:19Like I'm hearing the passion from you, T.O., that reminds me of when you were playing football 15 years ago.
44:24Oh, trust me.
44:25I'm not about to be a laughingstock and be like, because I hear some of the conversations, you know,
44:31and I'm like, man, I don't want to be, when I leave, like, oh, man, that guy's terrible.
44:35That's not about to happen.
44:37I'm taking it serious to the point, like I said, I have a couple of coaches wherever I am
44:43that's helping me kind of like refine, you know, some of the efficiencies in the game.
44:48Like I said, understanding and learning the lingo.
44:51Definitely got to stay out of the kitchen.
44:53Always.
44:54Got to stay out of the kitchen.
44:55Learning to dink.
44:56And it's a patient game.
44:58Sometimes it's a game of like, okay, who's going to mess up first?
45:02And so, again, it's really just learning, you know, the angles, the way you hold a paddle,
45:07all those things, return, service, all that good stuff.
45:10So I'm learning.
45:11I'm learning.
45:12Ben, real quick before you go, how would you describe T.O. as a pickleball player?
45:16Hey, man, he's intense.
45:17He wants to win.
45:18He's an athlete.
45:19And I was telling T.O. earlier today, I mean, we played about a month and a half ago,
45:23and then we played yesterday and today at Sports Basement,
45:26and T.O.'s leaps and bounds better than he was, you know, a month and a half ago.
45:30So come February 15th and 16th, I'd be shocked if T.O. is not making a run in the championship.
45:36Who's my partner again?
45:38Well, we haven't announced that yet.
45:40We're going to be announcing the teams very soon.
45:45And we're going to have a draw, and it's going to be a heck of a tournament.
45:49And, you know, we're doing 20-minute games, so it's not side out, game to seven.
45:54It's going to be fast.
45:55It's going to be quick.
45:57And then in the breaks, we're going to have a one-song concert.
45:59We're going to have a dance performance.
46:00We're going to have some comedy.
46:01So it's going to be a show, and that's why we're doing it at the Warfield Theater,
46:04because it's a show.
46:05This is not just your daddy's pickleball, right?
46:08I mean, this is a new form of pickleball.
46:10And we're trying to scale it, by the way.
46:12I mean, we want to do it at many other events.
46:14So NBA All-Star here in San Francisco is the first, but we're targeting the Final Four.
46:18We're targeting Vegas NBA Summer League.
46:21We're targeting the Super Bowl.
46:22We're targeting U.S. Open tennis.
46:24That's a good idea.
46:25So those big events where you already have celebrities like T.O.,
46:28and you already have fans like us congregating and going to the big event,
46:32well, there's wine tastings, and there's dinners, and there's this and that.
46:36Why not Celebrity Pickleball Bash?
46:38Why not?
46:39And that's, by the way, exactly where, one more time,
46:41you can find info and tickets, celebritypickleballbash.com.
46:45$25 is the start.
46:48Saturday, February 15th.
46:50Sunday, February 16th.
46:51And a cast of thousands, including Terrell Owens.
46:55Thank you very much, both of you, for coming in, man.
46:57All I can say is I'm telling people, get your pickleball ready.
47:01Terrell Owens coming to a pickleball court near you.
47:04That's great.
47:05Third person on the way out.
47:06Oh, it's fantastic.