Phillip Bupp

I like Danhausen. I learned who he was through AEW. I enjoy him, he seems like a good guy, and hope he does well in WWE. But...yikes at that response.

Can we finally end this narrative from many in the national media that the Rooney family is this upstanding ownership group that serves as a great example for the NFL? Art Rooney, great. Dan, excellent. Art II, absolutely pathetic and destroying what his dad and grandfather did.

Also important to note he wasn't anti-safety. Dale supported SAFER barriers after seeing them in action at Indy. He had his way of valuing comfort in the car over safety. I'm no doctor but I wouldn't be surprised if Dale had some sort of claustrophobia or a fear of being trapped in the car.

Perhaps. I remember reading Adam Petty's death got to him because of Dale Jr. coming in at the same time. There was a lot of "old school" mentality that racing is dangerous and you just accept it but multiple times where it hits too close to home that maybe he'd eventually think differently.

I agree Dale's death probably saved lives because his death couldn't be ignored. Dale himself said that the HANS device was a "noose" and told drivers concerned about safety that they can leave if they're scared so I feel like that mindset would've remained for a while if he was around.

As it’s been 25 years, I sometimes think about how different things would be if Dale Earnhardt survived. Some things would be different, some things would stay the same, and maybe there would have been some unintended consequences along the way.

Maybe I’ll eventually write that.

One thing I'll say, NASCAR holding off throwing the yellow at the end of these races has been a welcome change this weekend. Obviously, that can't happen all the time but it preserved some great finishes. #NASCAR

Randomly picked Tyler Reddick to win Daytona 500.

Finally got a Daytona 500 winner right and it was completely random. That's superspeedway racing. #NASCAR

Hot take: If you release your "Super Bowl commercial" early, it's not a Super Bowl commercial. It's an expensive ad airing during the game. That's why the ads aren't great anymore. No anticipation during the game because we've seen most of them online already.

The race that would never begin became the race that would never end. More bumper cars than racing and I wasn’t expecting Preece winning, but it’s nice to see a new face in victory lane. #NASCAR

Is Bill Belichick a first ballot hall of famer? Of course he is. But some of you people act like you want to burn down the HOF and murder anyone who didn’t vote for him. Get a grip and talk to a therapist or something.

Look at the Patriots. Belichick won six Super Bowls with the Patriots and they split five years after winning their last. Now, it took them three losing seasons, a couple coaches, and a top QB to get back and maybe make it to the Super Bowl. Already surpassing the Steelers along the way.

No one wanted to make the difficult position to fire Tomlin. If ownership or the players realized what the fans realized, that the Steelers were in purgatory, maybe both sides could've had a fresh start years ago and be better off now.

Players worship Tomlin and... 10-7 and a Wild Card loss every year was the best they could do for him?

I don't blame anyone for still wanting Tomlin but don't act indignant that after a decade some fans want change because you're so close you can't see the forest for the trees.

It's clear that Tomlin and the players had a special bond. That's honestly great, and shows a sometimes overlooked aspect in the coach/player relationship. But a lot of what's said in here just reinforces that Tomlin probably should've been fired a while ago.

That's why they're mediocre, Rooney doesn't take any risks. Horrible teams like the Jets, the Browns, the Titans are in a position to succeed earlier than the Steelers because they're willing to take risks and will try again when it doesn't work out.

To unlock what the Steelers are about, it comes down to Art Rooney II. He's so scared of making the wrong decision he doesn't make a decision at all. That's why Tomlin still has a job. That's why they kick the can down the road on a franchise QB and get cheap ones short-term.

Think 16 drivers is too many but I'm cool with the Chase overall. Got rid of "win and you're in" which is good. As long as the final 10 races incorporates a healthy mix of tracks relative to the overall season, it's going to be a nice system to crown a champion. #NASCAR

It's a good PR move and probably avoids a defamation lawsuit with Richard Childress, but anyone expecting this to be a magic fix in how the sport is run is going to be disappointed. Especially if Jim France stays in charge. Phelps is merely an effective scapegoat for France.

Ekitike not going down after all that is exactly why players dive. Honesty gets you nothing in soccer. Blame the refs for that. They should call it but they don’t, so players have to dive. #LFC

And I honestly have a more liberal view of those bumps because I'm sure they're more careful. It's why I'm cool with Moxley blading or Darby jumping off of things. Because when they get hurt it's for something unexpected like losing a tooth on the steps or breaking a foot jumping out the ring.

But unlike someone like Jimmy Korderas, William Regal isn't saying this to get clicks for his podcast. Yeah, Regal is a WWE guy and doesn't mention it when it happens there, but he seems to be coming from a more sincere place than trying to get clicks or ragebait everyone.

If you're a WWE fan who hates AEW and their fans and if you're an AEW fan who hates WWE and their fans, you're the same person and you are who you hate. All the other wrestling fans, not saying you have to love both, just love one more than you hate the other.

The whole William Regal discourse is why talking pro wrestling on social (or anywhere) sucks. I'm talking about WWE fans who can't accept their wrestlers don't also land on their necks and AEW fans who can't accept a guy with neck issues who still has friends in AEW might have a point.

Steelers played harder to avoid being the ones to get Garrett the sack record than winning.

If the plan was to put the belt on MJF, Hangman losing at Full Gear was unnecessary. Other than starting a feud with Hook, which hasn't happened. Despite that, great year for AEW. Moxley's face turn without making the Death Riders turn on him to make it happen was extraordinary.

Celebrate the Christmas and holiday season with some of our interviews from the past year from the Awful Announcing Podcast. I learn so much from our guests sitting in on their conversations and editing the interviews.

Enjoy, check out The Play-By-Play as well, and see you after Christmas.

Alexa Bliss on the top rope

Gunther

Rey Mysterio

Cody Rhodes

Despite the adverse weather conditions, I had a great time at Raw and SmackDown last night. Say what you want about John Cena’s retirement, and I’m not sure I’m all the way on board with the booking, but I can’t deny that Gunther has nuclear heat as a result.

In the end, probably for the best it's settled. But I do think there's still going to be long-lasting damage. Trust in NASCAR and those who run it is pretty much dead after what came out in all this. They came off as evil at times, inept other times, and fans won't forget that.

If 23XI has 150 employees and let’s say they make an average of $80k/year, that’s $12 million just for payroll for a team that’s supposed to spend $30 million total. And 23XI is one of the smaller teams in NASCAR.