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00:00All right, well, listen, we're going to break free and we're going to talk to Lindsay Rhodes
00:03now from Sumer Sports.
00:06And Lindsay, of course, hails from El Toro, Cali.
00:12How about that?
00:13How about that?
00:14And you're friends with my guy, Tommy D, Dimitrov, and all my friends at Sumer Sports.
00:20How's it going now?
00:21Because I think when it started, it was like three years ago, maybe.
00:25Am I crazy?
00:26Is it about three years ago?
00:27I think it's been three years.
00:28I've only been there for just this football season.
00:31Right.
00:32I have a newer ad.
00:33Right.
00:34But I think it's been, yeah.
00:35So when they started it, right, like I've been friends with Thomas since he ran the
00:37Falcons.
00:38Uh-huh.
00:39And he used to come do my show when I was on, I was on the Howard Stern channels for
00:44like 10 years in New York City.
00:47And he would come do the show and we'd go out, eat lobster in Manhattan.
00:51We became close friends.
00:53And then through the years, he would always come on the show as the Falcons GM.
00:57And then he left and he started doing the stuff with Sumer.
01:02And it was like, you know, I remember it was real analytical and it was trying to help
01:06franchises.
01:08So you had done a lot of stuff in football with like NFL Network and such.
01:14So I did, what is it, NFL, I don't know if it was NFL Films or NFL Network.
01:21I did the top 10 shows for about 15 years because I like would go on those things and
01:25misbehave for like 15 years.
01:27And we would tape them in like the Omni in Manhattan, do the whole season in like five
01:31hours and we would tape, tape and tape and tape.
01:34So I know a lot of the people at the NFL Network.
01:36What was it like for you to transition from that to Sumer and going into like, I mean,
01:42they're like mad scientists at Sumer.
01:45They're not the people at NFL Network, a bunch of beer drinkers and whiskey drinkers that
01:49like football and gambling at Sumer.
01:51They're like scientists.
01:53Well, it's in so many different ways.
01:56It's really, really interesting in terms of the layers of difference.
02:00Right.
02:01Well, first of all, even prior to leaving NFL Network and then prior to me starting
02:06at Sumer was like entering more of a podcast space and having and radio and doing those
02:11types of conversations, which is a transition in and of itself.
02:14Right.
02:15From television.
02:16Right.
02:17Television's very choppy.
02:18Talk about things.
02:19Sure.
02:20Like a minute and a half max.
02:21You're right.
02:23So if you're having a conversation on a podcast, you could go like 12 minutes on a topic.
02:26Right.
02:27Back and forth with somebody with all the different.
02:28Or the whole hour.
02:30For sure.
02:31Right.
02:32Yeah.
02:33Right.
02:34And I saw people today, they were like at our network, they were taping half hour segments,
02:36one after the next, trying to get as many of them in the, load them up into the queue
02:41for the week.
02:42And they just bang out segments.
02:44It's a lot different down there, right at Sumer.
02:46Well, it allows you to go into a lot more detail.
02:48Right.
02:49And you're really kind of getting to the thing about TV that's always challenging in a good
02:54way sometimes, but is like, if you're doing an interview, you have time for maybe three
02:59to six questions.
03:00Right.
03:01And so you kind of have to do the mental math about, is it worth it to ask a follow-up question?
03:04Right.
03:05Are we going to get bogged down and then not have time to get to the other things that
03:08people want to talk about?
03:10But then there is a level of like kind of surface that you're scratching.
03:16You're not scratching it.
03:17You're just staying right there.
03:19And so it's been so interesting being able to dive into all of the many layers of things
03:25and really kind of ask the questions about like, okay, so this is that, but is it really
03:29that?
03:30Or do we just think it's that?
03:31This player is good.
03:32Is he still good?
03:33Right.
03:34Or is he not really good anymore?
03:35And kind of ask all of the questions that help peel back some of those onion layers
03:38to get to information that you feel like really properly reflects what's going on on the phone.
03:44How have the teams responded to it?
03:47I remember when the guy started, what was his partner's name?
03:49Eric, something like that.
03:50Yeah, Eric Eager.
03:51So I know Eric really well.
03:52Eric came on my show once and dropped an F-bomb live on television.
03:56It was fantastic.
03:57It really made my day because I was a guy, listen, I worked at Howard Stern.
04:02So I am the epitome of bad language and horrible behavior.
04:06I never wear a sport coat, okay?
04:08So I am a bad person.
04:10And he came on and said all kinds of horrible things on my show one day.
04:14He had no idea that we were on like clean television.
04:17And I love him for that.
04:18I really do.
04:20But what has it been like from, have you seen these teams receiving this information?
04:25Because they wanted to take it to the teams and show them what they could do to realize
04:31what they were missing on the football field with their analytics and with their videos,
04:36their films.
04:37Because they study film like you and I, like you have kids, I have kids, I've got kids
04:41in college, I've got, kids are a pain in the ass.
04:44NFL teams' film sessions are a pain in the ass.
04:48But I think Sumer wanted to cut through that and help them.
04:52Did they receive it well?
04:53Well, so I would not be the person to answer that question because I'm not going to.
04:57You have to be.
04:58Yes, they received it great, obviously.
05:02The business-to-business model is selling like hotcakes.
05:06That is awesome.
05:07It sounded like a chime in your backyard.
05:09Is that like a chime in your yard?
05:11The person who has the ringer on, what's that going on?
05:13That is a fantastic phone ring though.
05:16I've never, like I've never, I thought, I literally thought the wind was blowing and
05:20that my dog was in the backyard and I could, he had knocked it.
05:23Listen to the chimes.
05:24It won't stop.
05:25It's fantastic.
05:26You got a lot of, you're really popular.
05:27People calling you left and right.
05:29I know for sure that that's an unwanted phone call because that's the only kind.
05:32I don't, I don't like those.
05:34I block all those.
05:36Let me ask you a question.
05:37Where did you cut your teeth?
05:39Uh, it, my, well, my, well, there are so many different.
05:43Fair enough.
05:44So tell me the story.
05:45Well, I started working like internships in broadcasting when I was in college.
05:50So I was working.
05:51Where was that?
05:52In college.
05:53Manager and a red hat.
05:54The person who holds up their hand.
05:55Right.
05:56What college?
05:57USC.
05:58Oh, a Trojan, this woman.
05:59Unbelievable.
06:00Yeah.
06:01So I worked at Fox Sports West prior to leaving college and then went and did like small market
06:04stuff.
06:05Um, Yakima, Tri-Cities, Washington.
06:07Sure.
06:08I know Yakima.
06:09I used to be on the air there.
06:10Were you?
06:11Well, I've been syndicated nationally my whole career, so I've been on everywhere.
06:15Not on the air.
06:16No, just on there.
06:17I've been on everywhere.
06:18They hear me in Yakima.
06:19That's what you meant.
06:20Yeah.
06:21It's a good spot.
06:22So do you like, um, did you like doing the NFL network stuff?
06:25And who do you think is going to win this football game?
06:27Like, do you even care about the football game?
06:29Of course I care.
06:30Do you still?
06:31Who would be here?
06:32Well, who's your team?
06:33Who's your team?
06:34Cause I'm a Steeler fan.
06:35I hate both of these teams.
06:36I hope they, they get diarrhea.
06:37I'm a nerd when it comes to just football data and content.
06:42I'm kind of, will go wherever the wind leads me in terms of where the right story is.
06:46And then what I root for are my takes.
06:48No, but what about, you don't have a team that you root for?
06:50I don't have a team.
06:51You don't even have, you don't have a, wait a minute.
06:53You're like a woman without a team.
06:56You have no team that you rooted for your whole life?
06:58Yes.
06:59So I grew up in LA.
07:01And they had so many teams leave, you lost interest.
07:03I know, but it just, it wasn't, it wasn't where my interest was attached to.
07:08And so I wasn't really a huge fan of the NFL.
07:10What does your husband think of you being a sportscaster?
07:13Like does he like it?
07:14Or is he into sports?
07:15Yeah.
07:16What does he do?
07:17I run all of our fantasy leagues.
07:19And you beat his ass in fantasy leagues?
07:21I mean, he's, he's pretty good.
07:23I'm going to give him some credit.
07:24He's not bad.
07:25What does he do for a living?
07:27He is, uh, he's Baywatch, like the TV show.
07:33Wow.
07:34So he's like David Hasselhoff.
07:36You have like a honk husband that runs on the beach in a red swimsuit?
07:39I don't know how much he runs on the beach, but just red swimsuit.
07:43Lindsay, I love you.
07:44It's great to meet you.
07:45Say hi to my friends at Sumer Sports.