RUSH: There was one story in the NFL over the weekend. There were a lot of games. It was Week Three of the NFL preseason, but there was only one story in the NFL. I’m not talking about the Rams quarterback Sam Bradford blowing out the same ACL in the same knee as last October. There was one story in the NFL over the weekend.
Did you watch any of the games? (interruption) You know, I haven’t, either. I think I’ve watched five minutes of preseason football. I don’t know, folks, I don’t know. Normally, nostalgia and so forth, normally you couldn’t keep me away. I mean, week three is the dress rehearsal, that’s when the starters play the longest they’re gonna play. That’s when the coaches actually try to find out what they’ve got.
Next week — well, this week — week four is where you don’t want anybody hurt, so you just play the scrubs. I mean, you literally play the scrubs to help you make your final roster cuts, but basically it’s to not get anybody hurt for the regular season. Except for the 49ers, Jim Harbaugh, the coach of the 49ers said Colin Kaepernick will play ’cause he’s not had a good preseason. Gotta get him some more tune-up, so he is gonna play in week four, which is unusual, very unusual.
But I just — I don’t know. I have not yet gotten into it. And I’m trusting that I will once the real season starts, but I haven’t yet. I don’t know rosters, any of that. I have not. Now, granted, there’s a lot of work stuff going on right now that you’ll learn of soon. But even so, I’ve had some spare time, and I have not spent much time at all on the NFL. It’s just really strange. And that used to be — you know the Stick-to-the-Issues Crowd. They used to hate it when I brought it up. (interruption) Well, if you don’t know what the one story is I’m probably wrong.
If you don’t there was one. (interruption) No, it’s not that one. See, this is the point, I may be wrong. My interpretation is there is only one story, only one thing of note happened this weekend the NFL, and if you don’t know what it is, I’m probably wrong, ’cause you have been following it. And if you don’t know what it is, then I’m probably wrong in suggesting it was the only story. (interruption) Well, why even mention it? If I’m wrong about it, why mention it? If you don’t know what it is, and… (interruption) No. It’s nothing to do with the Redskins, the name of the team, no. Look, I’m wrong. Obviously it’s not the biggest story, if you don’t know what it is. So it’s no big deal.
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RUSH: To the phones we go. Time to start with Justin, St. Augustine, Florida. Thank you, sir, for calling. It’s great to have you with us. Hi.
CALLER: Yes, Rush. Glad to be here.
RUSH: Thank you, sir.
CALLER: Commenting about your side talk there about the number one story in the NFL. It was actually a nonevent for me considering I’m an NFL fan for the game, and I try to keep the politics out of it, as hard as it may be. But as soon as I got on social media this morning, the Michael Sam sack of — I believe it was — Johnny Manziel was all over the place.
RUSH: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
CALLER: And I’m pretty sure that was what you were referencing before.
RUSH: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, right. Absolutely right. Snerdley had to put you up first ’cause Snerdley had to find out if you were right ’cause he’s wanted to know, too. Yeah, you’re absolutely right that there was so much in that one play. The Drive-Bys — the sports Drive-Bys — have just been praying, hoping. They want, they need this guy to make the team and not out of gratitude or…
RUSH: They want him to make the team — and sacking Manziel? Oh, that’s even better. You know, I’ll tell you something. It was as though you’re looking at it on social media and sports media on Saturday, they were just so excited by it, so thrilled that that it had happened. Now there are stories… I don’t know if you’ve seen them, but now there are stories that it’s gonna be really hard for the Rams to park Sam on the practice squad, because when you put a player from your roster onto the practice squad…
Each team gets 10 guys on the practice squad, but when you put one on the practice squad, he’s eligible to be picked up by any other team in the league, and so the sports Drive-Bys today, Justin, are writing that because of Sam’s wonderful sack on Saturday night, he could be snapped up by anybody if the Rams try to put him on the practice squad, which means the Rams can’t put him on the practice squad. They’re gonna have to keep him, and that’s why it’s the big story.
CALLER: Well, that has been the plan the whole time, but —
RUSH: Yeah.
CALLER: — I don’t think they could not they couldn’t have gotten rid of him no matter how he played.
RUSH: I agree with that. Once he’s picked, he can’t be cut.
CALLER: That was a sack among a multitude of sacks that happen all around the NFL, but this one seems to matter more, unfortunately, because, like I said before, you can’t keep the politics out of the playing.
RUSH: Exactly right. That’s exactly right. Did you see the sack? Did you see the play?
CALLER: No. I was too busy watching my beloved Buffalo Bills lose miserably, unfortunately.
RUSH: Oh, man, my condolences.
CALLER: (chuckles)
RUSH: The Buffalo Bills. You have, it looks like, what may be a long season.
CALLER: I think we’ve been having long seasons since ’99.
RUSH: I know. That’s that’s what I mean.
CALLER: It does look like another long one, unfortunately. But keep hope alive. I’ll never abandon them. Once a Bills fan, always a Bills fan.
RUSH: You just have to hope the preseason — and, by the way, one thing about the preseason: Wins and losses really don’t matter. Wins and losses do not tell you a thing in the preseason. Now, how individual guys play, yeah — and who they’re playing against, yeah — but wins and loses don’t matter.
CALLER: Absolutely.
RUSH: No they really don’t. It’s such a nonfactor; it’s hard to convince people. Anyway, Justin, I appreciate the call. You’re very perceptive. I have even more thoughts on that. You know, but let me take the safe road.
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RUSH: John in Indianapolis. Welcome, sir, to the EIB Network. Great to have you here. Hello.
RUSH: Add some vodka? Have you ever tried orange vodka in the blueberry tea?
CALLER: No, that’s a bit out of my price range in this economy that we’re in, but the reason I’m calling is I think that St. Louis, Missouri, is gonna be on the radar for just a tad bit longer than we even realize. I think the next media whirlwind storm is coming when Michael Sam doesn’t make the St. Louis Rams. And you predicted it. You said there’s a good chance that he will not make the team, and I just hope that —
RUSH: No. No. No. I don’t remember that. Because I said, about any team that drafts him, they can’t cut him.
CALLER: Well —
RUSH: No, here’s what I said. I remember it specifically. I said — this is about the Rams — if they’re gonna cut him, they better play him in every preseason game and they better have reams and reams of video showing that they don’t think he can play, because there’s gonna be hell to pay if they cut him. Now, they don’t have to cut him. They could put him on the practice squad. See, that’s the media’s agitating for that today. You may not know this. The media’s agitating for him to be put on the practice squad if he doesn’t make the team. But they say the Rams can’t do that because they would lose him, ’cause some other team would snap him right up if they do that.
So the pressure is already on the Rams not to cut Michael Sam. If you’re right, if they do cut him, there will be some anger in the media out there. It won’t be everywhere. It won’t be universal. I mean, some sports people will say, “It was understandable. He’s not that good.” There’s a lot of people in his position on that team that are better, but there will be some who will use it as a launching point. Why don’t you think he’s gonna make the team?
CALLER: I don’t think the NFL can take it. You know, me personally, as a consumer, buying that product, I don’t want to see that. I’m not going to the game to see that.
RUSH: Well, you won’t see it.
CALLER: Well, on my TV in my front room. I do not want the media —
RUSH: Oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh. You don’t want a camera on Sam every time and the media commentators doing nothing but reporting on Sam during the game, that’s what you mean.
CALLER: Correct.
RUSH: Yeah. Okay. Well, I still stand by my original point, and that is, if you’re going to draft him, you can’t cut him. Don’t care what. And there’s got to have been… see, I have to stop, folks. ‘Cause even though I’m right about what I’m gonna say next, there’s no proof for it, so no point. And I’m out of time anyway, thank you.
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RUSH: Here’s Willie in St. James, Missouri. It’s great to have you on the program. Hello.
CALLER: How you doing, sir? Thank you for what you do.
RUSH: I appreciate that, Willie. Thank you for calling.
CALLER: Well, now I got two things. I got something about Michael Sam and something about the ALS. But Michael Sam, the Rams probably shouldn’t have drafted him in the first place. I think it was all political. But this gives them the perfect out. They can go ahead and put him on the practice team and let him get taken off by another team.
RUSH: Well, here’s the thing about putting him on the practice squad. From what I understand, every team, whenever they designate a player for the practice squad, that player can be selected by any other team in the league.
CALLER: Exactly. That would be their perfect out. They get to cut him without-cutting him. They can say another team wanted him; they had to let him go.
RUSH: Oh, I see where you’re headed! Willie, you’re a step ahead of me on this.
CALLER: That’s hard to do.
RUSH: You’re assuming they want to cut him but can’t and that would be the way to do it.
CALLER: That would be it. That’s a golden opportunity for ’em.
RUSH: Well, I have to admit that it all would depend. If somebody doesn’t pick him, then they just they park him on the practice squad.
CALLER: That would be it. Then on the ALS, I don’t think most people know — y wife researched it — less than a fourth of the cash collected actually goes to research and the primary source of research is embryonic stem cells, like 50-something percent goes to the salaries to run it.
RUSH: Yeah, that’s true. No, no. Willie is up to speed here on a lot of stuff. A lot of pro-life people object to the ALS research because it uses embryonic stem cells. (sigh) You know, there’s a tradeoff for everything. But, Willie (chuckling), old buddy, old pal, he was a step ahead of me. He’s assuming the Rams do want to cut Sam. This is a great way to do it. I don’t know. I don’t pretend to know.
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