Hour 3: Eagles Insider of the Year announced

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2:03Go ahead, get picky. Whether you're into subcompacts with heated cup holders, crossovers with all-wheel drive, pickups with kicking sound systems, or SUVs that can survive whatever chaos your kids unleash. Just drop in your info and you'll only see cars in your budget. Really, once you find your one and only, you can do the whole deal online and have the car delivered to your driveway. Or you can pick it up at the dealership and drive your new ride right off the lot. Really, autotrader makes it easy to buy your car online because the whole process is designed around your once and must-haves. Autotrader, buy your car online, really. It is the WIP afternoon show with Ike, Spike, and Fritz. It is the moment we've all been waiting for. Dozens of people, thousands of people, Elliot. Thousands of jack, rather. So let me set the stage for you and then we'll get into it all year. Eagles inside of the year, we've been giving you the power rankings here is what we have in the studio. I am here with Ike, Elliot. The reigning Eagles inside of the year champion is here as well. He is also wearing a sleeping mask

3:04with a pillowcase on top of it. So he cannot see who will win Eagles inside of the year until we announce it. That person will be right in front of him and then Elliot will hand over the award. Jack, hit it. The Scoops, The Stories, The Insight. 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 52 weeks a year. There are a group of people trying to find light in the darkness. The Eagles insideers. Why didn't Cheel and Hurts run? What is AJ Brown mad about this week? What country did the office of Lyman Goat and get sketchy medical procedures to save their careers? What does Nick Suryani do? My job is to be the head coach of the team. The Eagles insideers hear these questions and find the answers. But at the end of the year, there could only be one. One who uncovered the truth in a world of lies.

4:07The 94 WIP afternoon show presents in 2026. Eagles insideer of the year. You can feel the excitement in the air. Now, before we announce the finalists, we'd like to give an honorable mention to some of the other insiders who have had good weeks this year but are not finalists. We want to give an honorable mention to Joe Santolacuito who, of course, reported on AJ Brown's trade request and is always lurking. We want to give an honorable mention to Dee Gunn who definitely had an active few weeks there. Was that top of the rankings for a little bit? We want to give an honorable mention to WIP's own Hugh Douglas and his reckless speculation. I'm honestly surprised he's not in the finalists with as much reckless speculation he put out this year. Well, then he started being a tool of the organization. So that went away. We want to give an honorable mention to our very own training champion Elliott Shore Parks

5:08as the tough questions when the other guys didn't want to do it and we want to give an honorable mention to Tim McManus. He did have that wonderful story about Vic Fangio's. Meet balls. We don't know about it. Yeah, we don't think it was Tim's greatest year but we salute Tim. We appreciate him. We salute Tim. So this has been an interesting season for Eagles insideer of the year as the season started off well but then there was attention and there was chaos with the Eagles. And when there was chaos, there are more stories. So this covers, of course, training camp. It covers the season. It covers the postseason, meaning free agency and a coaching search, all of those things. Our three finalists this year for Eagles insideer of the year are Jimmy Kemsky. Now, Jimmy had a really good year. He had the scoop about Vic Fangio possibly retiring. He had the conditions for a Bryce Huff's compensation. You know, what they would get if he did a certain thing

6:10with the 49ers. He also had the story about why Jalen didn't want to run that it was his choice rather than the team's choice. It was a good year for Jimmy Kemsky. Now, Jeff McLean, some refer to him as sort of like a vulture picking over the dead body of the Eagles. And when things don't go well, McLean is there. McLean did have several stories on his silly little podcast. Jeff Stoutland being named or being removed as run game coordinator. Little Jordan. He had the little Jordan stories of Jalen as well. And the third finalist, Diana Rossini, the first finalist that is a national reporter. Diana has been dialed in to the biggest story of the Eagles season. Locked in to the AJ story, reporting on it midseason, postseason, and even up until a week and a half ago, having the big story about the Rams getting in there with the New England Patriots, when it felt like there was momentum for a trade. Diana also was all over the Eagles' offensive coordinator

7:11search when they were looking at Brian Dayball and Mike McDaniel, so on and so on. I mean, it was 20 coaches they interviewed. Yes. And they wound up with a guy we never heard of. In any case, it is time to all of it. Are you ready? Yeah, it's crazy how hard it is to talk on the radio when you're blind like this. Yeah, well. Well, all right. Bring in this year's Eagles Insider of the Year. Here comes that person who will sit right next to Elliott. Max will remove Elliott's mask right over there, person. Max will remove Elliott's mask. This year's Eagles Insider of the Year is of the Athletic. Diana Rossini! Wow! Congratulations! Yeah! Right now, Elliott, while you're playing games, I got something right now.

8:11Oh, do you really have something? I've been wondering what you get. I did not know you guys would be providing this awesome plaque here. You could put it on a chain if you would like. Yeah, I would put it on a chain. I like that. Thank you. It's a little hair clip for me. I put it on a chain. There you go. There you go. And there's something. Oh, nice little brooch. Bring it to the owner's meetings next week. You know what? I think I'm going to do that. I'm going to go right up to Mr. Laurie and say, hello, good to see you again. Can you sign it for me? There you go. I'm sure he'll be avoiding me. Well, congratulations, Diana. Eagles Insider of the Year. We had never considered that a national reporter would be in the running, but you've been so locked in on Eagle stuff. The AJ thing we mentioned, of course, offensive coordinator search. So congratulations. Any thoughts on your victory? Well, first of all, the runner-ups, all of them try very, very hard. They are at the facility every day. It's something I could never do. Like I have so much admiration for beat reporters, and I mean this seriously. I just scoop it here and there.

9:14I have all 32 teams. It also just shows you how good I am at what I do. Yeah, I have all the teams. And I'm just smoking McLean. Yes. Hemsky's place. He's 10 laughs behind me. Wow. Yes, of course. Yeah, it's all good. Yeah, it's all good. It is my favorite market in the world. It's because it's so competitive. Elliot and I have known each other for years. It is you guys are the fiercest group. And you were the scariest group to be around. And I get the privilege of covering all the different teams. So I get to attend all these different press conferences. And I have to tell you, I have to put the big girl pants on before I come to Philly. Okay, here we go. Because there's nowhere in the world like this place, which is why they're the best fans. And the building knows it. The building knows every day they got to bring their fastball because you guys don't let anything get by. No, I mean, the owners' meetings are you can see it where the Philly table has 20 reporters and the other ones have five or six. Congratulations. As the former winner. Very excited. I feel like your strong Jersey roots will make you a fun member

10:16of the club, get some physical open going. I mean, this is an exclusive club. I love you in it. I'm honored and you deserve that. Look, for my family, I married into a Philly family. Big Eagles fans, season ticket holders. Shout out to section 226. Yes. Where, you know, I think they were happy when my husband and I got married. I think they were thrilled when we had our two boys. But I think today, today was the biggest day in the management family. Yes. Our son, Jared, a woman that knows everything about the Eagles. There you go. Well done. So I was frightened, actually, because I do think the title, inside or of the year, should probably have one more sentence to it, which is the most hated media member, right? Well, that's why I wanted last year. Is that how that was? So you knew this. I didn't know this. Yes. Yeah. Well, you can be right there with me. Yeah. So I feel the wrath all the time. But it's been, it's been extras. So I did bring a professional bodyguard. My father-in-law was me. Yes. Because I was so concerned that there would be fans.

11:17Out front, aching my car. So it's great to be here, though. And thank you for having me. Yes. And your father-in-law, Andrew, of Section 227. 227. 226. 226. 226. All right. Yeah. So when I was at ESPN before I joined the athletic, they gave us one Sunday off a year when you're a football reporter. And you know this, when you get a buy, it's like, oh. It's my wife's favorite week of the year. Correct. So I had just started dating my husband at the time. And we were in that schmoopy stage where you're just crazy about each other. We're not going to spend a day apart. Right. So I finally get this buy. And I'm like, you know, you want to go away? You want to do something? He said, well, you know, I'd really like to bring you to an Eagles game. Which I'm like, that is the last place I want to go on your week off. So he's like, you know, my dad does this amazing, amazing tailgate. And he's, you know, the menu's unbelievable. You love it. And so I'm like, sure, I'll go. And so I'm following them into the link. And we go all the way up. And we just keep going up and up and up.

12:17And I'm thinking, like, I have never watched a football game this high in my life. Their seats are in the last row of the link up against the cement. Oh, in the very last row of the stadium. Of the stadium. That's true, fan. The status. Yeah. Good view, though. You see everything. That's what they said. They're like, it's all 22. Yeah. You know, what's the big deal? So I looked at Kevin. I said, I got to tell you, like, we are closer to the Eagles in the sky than the Eagles on the ground. You know, so fast forwarded. I try to go as much as I possibly can with our schedule. And just recently we actually had a guy in front of us. My husband's like, I think that guy's googling you. And I was like, nah, I'm like, oh, he is. I was like, he's probably just like, I know her face from somewhere, you know? Sure. So he turns around and goes, I got to tell you, you don't know anyone down there that can get you a better seat than this. I said, no, sorry, I'm here with my family. This is how we do it. So you mentioned the intensity of the fan base, right? When you're in the midst of a season like the one we just had this past year,

13:17from the Eagles viewpoint, and you're reporting on things that are happening with the team and as a fan base, no one really wants to hear that the starwad receiver may want to be traded and all these types of things. I'm wondering how do you sort of handle that? Because social media, we're human. We want to try to ignore it, but sometimes we take a peek. And if things aren't being said kindly about you, how do you sort of handle that and apply that to doing your job? Yeah, it's definitely part of what I have to do. I'm not in the business to win the Miss Congeniality Award, right? Like, people are not going to like me, but what I've discovered over the years is it's actually not me. They don't like what I'm telling them. Right. And a lot of fan bases really just want to hear the good. And I've done that before where I've leaned into just the good observations, the good reporting. And that's just as successful, but my job is actually to dig and find the truth. And when it's the truth and you can share that, I'm okay if you don't like me. I just hope that you respect it because it usually always shakes out.

14:18And then there's no better feeling as a reporter when it's not like you proved it, but you knew the whole time. And sometimes you can only share so much too. That's another part of the game. And you guys know that because you have tons of insiders come on all the time and all the guys you named before, they're also good at what they do. And most of us know what we're doing. And no more than what we're allowed to share. So I try not to read it all, although the Philly fan base is pretty incredibly mean. But they're funny. And they're relentless. They won't let it go. But they know the gate. That's why I like them. Because like even I know I joke about sitting with my brother with my brother in law as my husband up there. And yes, they're drinking. But they know football at the level that people that do this all the time as analysts on ESPN. They know it that well. So I enjoy it. And it's why I probably like covering the Eagles so much because they come back with good answers. They're not asking me, you know, lollipops. Yeah. Diana Rossini with us. She won the second annual Eagles Insider of the Year. Elliott, the first winner is with us here.

15:19My eyes are still adjusting to the lights. To the light. I can't believe they. I know. Welcome to the Philly Martin. Yeah, he's a good teammate. Yeah, you said there's some people out there that were happy about seeing that. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yes, yes. So let me ask you this. You know, as you were sitting down, I noticed you look at your phone. Is there this complete like anxiety all the time that if you're not looking that you may get texted a piece of information? And I know that sometimes you probably have a window of minutes even to get it out before somebody else does. How do you manage like not, you know, pulling away occasionally and not having that compulsion to always look at it? I think the question is, how do you have a life? Yeah. Yeah, no, it's really. Yeah. You don't look. There's not that many people that do this all the time, right? There, you have our, you have really good beer reporters who stay on the beat, which takes a lot. But when you're doing it at the national level and you have, and you're responsible for all the teams,

16:22it is, it's constant. And you have to have good family, you know, to understand what it is that you do. And even when I took the job at the athletic to become a full-time insider, like I had to sit with them and say, look, this is going to look different than the way it did when I was at ESPN, where I was part of it, but it wasn't a full-time job. Yeah. So look, it's hard. It's actually I have a four-year-old and a three-year-old, like little boys that are growing up. I don't want them seeing me on my phone all the time, right? It's just such a bad habit. I mean, you have to have your phone by 24-7. But it's always there. It's in the shower with me. It's in the car. It's that pickup. I remember missing a Saquon story years ago, because I was just strapping Joey in the car, like in his seat. And my phone was buzzing, but it was in that moment where if I let go, he would have probably fallen. And I saw the text from the source that gave it to me, and I see Shepter do it. And he winds up breaking before me, and I kept thinking to myself, what could I have done differently? And in the moment, I don't think I could have done anything differently.

17:24It's sometimes you just lose. But I have better stories on the opposite side of it, where I just happen to be up at one in the morning, and I see a time like, oh, yes, or just good habits of being up a lot, and not sleeping much. Have helped me get stories sometimes when I probably shouldn't be getting them. Is there any chance A.J. is going to get traded right now while you're sitting here? I don't think so, because I can tell you there are a lot of people in the Eagles building listening right now. Shout out to everybody there. I love you. Real quick. I'm distracted. We got to do something with the hairy. You don't have to be like, how powerful you got stuff all in here. There you go. There you go. I brought this. Yeah. No, you look good now. Have you ever worn that too? Yeah. No, not the suit, the chain. I should start wearing it, though. You don't want to. Maybe we can match. We should do. I get some credit in that locker room. The guys will be like, wow. All right. Yes, yes, yes. Can I ask you about the A.J.? I have to ask you about the A.J.

18:25Do you think there's any chance that it happens before June 1st? No, I don't think it makes any sense for the Eagles to do that. I think for even Brown's side of it, I think they understand how this is going to go. I think once we get to post June 1, I think we'll get some more action. I think those conversations that were happening a week ago now between the Rams and the Patriots and there were even some more teams before that really got heated up that were poking around on it, because there was a thought at one time that maybe how he would be open to doing it, maybe. Before June 1. Before June 1, that there was the small little thought. That changed pretty quickly Friday late afternoon was when pretty much that story was wrapped up where I think everyone kind of went, all right, nothing's going to happen today. Let's just wait for June and then we'll bring the discussions back and we'll see if we really do this. We were on the air the day, I told you, we were on the air the day where the Patriots and Ramsting was happening.

19:25They're Friday. Yeah, and I was just thinking, I was thinking, come on, Diana, we're only on the six. I know this is the end of the year. You know, we were talking about like having no life, you know, when you do this job. Yeah. Sometimes the worst parts of this job is sitting on a story or working a story all day like that and it doesn't turn out. That was like the best example of it started like 6.45 that morning and just going all day long until I guess it was 6.45 is because you were off the air by then. Yeah. When I found out that it was all off the table technically at that time. But I was like, man, I did nothing today. I've accomplished zero. I've sat in my kitchen table with a cup of coffee for 15 hours. Watching your phone. Just waiting to hear that this trade went down and just giving updates throughout the day. And I try, Ellen, you're going to laugh. I know you're going to make fun of me. I try not to do the click of date type updates. I'm sure you've heard that in your head. Yeah. When I was at ESPN, I learned under Shafter and Adam taught me really good habits.

20:30Don't put out like you're hearing of a trade. Don't let the world know. Go get it and then bring it in. Bring it home. Right, right. So I try to keep that in my mind every time I have the bread crumbs of it. I don't want to let it all out because then great reporters like Elliott and McLean, they're going to go maybe BB. So that was a day where I was like, you know what? With the Rams in, this feels big. I knew the Rams were keeping an eye in at the whole time. But when I talked to somebody that was really close to the situation, I was like, oh, no, no, no. They're going hard. They want this. And when I was at the Super Bowl, I went to Matthew Stafford's MVP after party. So remember, you went MVP this year. So they, I was there. And I just happened to be with Saekwon and AJ at that time because I was standing right there. And Stafford came right over to AJ. And I kept thinking the whole time during all this like, I wonder if that's where it started. Where do they sell the love with each other? Yeah. But Stafford said right there in front of, right in front of me, it was just like, man, imagine playing with a guy like this. Yeah.

21:30Oh, wow. Stafford said that. Yeah, right. I didn't, AJ just smiled, by the way. Yes. I did notice that. I was like, gosh, he didn't give a lot of love back to the effort there. Is there, I mean, I would try to talk generally, but I guess I'm talking about this. Do you think that AJ, do you think there's any, like, could there be consternation on his side that it's not done yet, or do you think there's an understanding of the process that, because if I were him, right, and I wanted to be gone, I would be sitting there watching, and it's like, you guys better do this. You guys better do this. And I'd be watching my phone, too, and being terrified that maybe the Patriots, you know, signs to fondigs again, or something, or get called feet or whatever. Do you, do you think there's on that side, there's like a calmness that it's going to get done? Yeah. I have sensed throughout this process that there is an understanding that everybody is on the same page about this and are acting really professionally. Okay. And it feels less traumatic than I think you've been making it and even reporting and talking about it.

22:33Yeah. I don't feel this anger, frustration, you know, hate from the AJ Brown camp about Philadelphia. I don't feel the Eagles feeling that way about AJ, even talking to his teammates. Everybody kind of loves each other, appreciates what they've accomplished, but realize that maybe... AJ is popular in that locker room. And I think a lot of people don't understand that. Right. They think that because he's had some moments of, you know, reading the book or some of the diva behavior will call it. I think they think that that's become a cancer whereas that has never been the case. Well, I mean, I know you've been in locker room a few times during the year, but I always say like, I see more players from different positions come up to AJ locker than any other player on the team. Like defensive backs, linebackers, offensive linemen, like he's, he is a popular guy in there. I'm not saying he always handles things perfectly, but I've never sensed the teammates don't like him. Yeah. No, no, and I think that's why this is being handled the way it is. I think a lot of people have been pushing back of, well, if he really wants out, then go on the record with us.

23:33Say you want out or... Or demand to trade. Or demand to trade. Right. And if you've noticed, none of that has happened. Nope. Like, don't you think one of us at this point could have gotten somebody on the record to say to us, yeah, I don't want, you know, to AJ, you know, have AJ sit with me. Let's say and be like, I want out, report it. He would have done that. I think if he wanted to make this ugly, but he doesn't, because there must be an understanding. So the thing I always wrestle with internally is, like, when I think about next year's team, I almost just, I almost think of AJ just not on it, right? Like, I look at the depth chart, Devonte, they signed receivers in the past few days. This might be a tough question to answer, but like, do you think there's any chance AJ's on the Eagles next year? Or do you think it's correct to look at the roster and say, okay, here's what they're going to be. And AJ is on it now, but by the time we get to training camp, not going to be there. I don't think the moves that how he's made over the last few days are signals of they know AJ is not going to be here. I think that's just how he's going to build the receiver room anyway. He does it like an NBA team, right? Where it's like he likes all different forms and versions and different types of athletes. So I think how he's just doing what he is always doing this time of year.

24:35But as you know, the roster that we're seeing right now on March 25th is not with this roster is going to look like first week of the second week of September. Like, and I think the building knows that too. They still have work to do and they're going to be doing that over the next few weeks. So I think if you're freaking out looking at this offense right now going, it's just without AJ. It just doesn't look that good. I don't think they feel that way in the front office right now. I guess a better way to phrase it is. Do you think there is any way like AJ is open to coming back or the Eagles are open to having AJ back. Or maybe they've both decided they know they're going their separate points. Yeah, I think at this point, I think both sides have come to grip with like, this is probably better. Everyone goes in different directions. Look, could something happen? We would be dumb to make a guarantee on any of this because look at Max Crosby. He literally got treated and sent back. So all this stuff is always fluid and as you know, it sometimes makes the job a little hard. Well, as Nick would say, you can't guarantee anything.

25:36What was it called? Shadowhand said, I mean, I don't know if I'm going to be alive. Yeah, right. Yeah. So yeah, so look, most likely I could see this roster being without AJ though. Is there a, I'm going to let you off the hook with the AJ stuff. You've been gracious to talk so much about it. I'm always interested in, you've been in this business a long time, broken a lot of stories, got a lot of inside information. Is there a story that you may have in your travels and experience that you're like, I wish I hadn't reported on that or didn't turn out the way. Oh my gosh, do we have six hours? I have so many of the, but that's part of your role. Is there a big one that you, that you, that sticks out to you? Um, you know, I, I think I don't, I don't have one that stands out that like I wake up in the middle of the night and go, oh, what, I do that. Um, I think what I've learned as I've gotten older, um, and I've been doing this and I've seen all types of stories is sometimes in the moment when you're rushing to get a story

26:36and you're trying to beat everybody, um, you, you often don't realize how one story affects so many people. You think it's just one transaction, one thing, um, and then you've come to find out like, you know, the general manager never even told the player he was trading him or he never told his wife that he decided that he didn't want to be with this club anymore. Like, you know, there, there's sometimes those moments where I feel like I try now to have a little bit of, uh, more breaks than I've ever actually. Um, I was probably a little bit more of a cowgirl, uh, five years ago, but now I try to just think things through a little bit more of like, okay, who's going to be pissed? Because I, that's usually the chain reaction to it. And that is the other like challenge of this. Um, so at my job at the athletic, I read a column on Saturdays. Um, it's basically called what I'm hearing. And it's, it's a week to week update on everything I'm hearing in football. Uh, and we quoted a lot as, uh, well, when there's, when there's eagles in fall in there, I appreciate it.

27:38So part of my process of that is not to just write it and collect the information. But before I publish, I have like a checklist of people I have to call to make sure they know this is coming down the pipe because nobody likes to be blindsided. And so I spend my Saturdays usually just arguing with people in football because everybody wants the story told their way, but that's not, that's not always the case. There are times I write raving things about players and they'll still call me and go, why did you put it that way? They'll like, I just said you were the best, you know, cornering football. What else do you want me to say? You're the best looking to like, you can't do that yet because you're not. So, uh, last thing, Diana Rossini is with us. Diana won the eagles inside of the year for 2026. Congratulations again. Elliott was here to graciously give her the award. Elliott is the reigning champion. Now you said, you said, uh, you know, you learn from Shafter.

28:39Now our guy Elliott here, he is great at a lot of things. But we also, like the scoops part of it is like, we got to get him to pick it up a little bit more. Can you give him a hand? Well, he just said out competitive the beat was. You great scoops. I see your scoops. I see your scoops. I see your scoops. Where's the jokers? Jackson Whitney says. We're in the jokers. I didn't see the jokers. I didn't see that I was like a smooth out of me. Also, you never know. Oh, I love her. Congratulations. Now, you mentioned your brother-in-law here. can you pull that mic jack can you turn his mic on real quick now you are an Eagles fan and and Diana or is it okay that about place are you kidding now this is his dream are you are now now she mentioned we talked about Diana gets a lot of you know bad feedback from Eagles fans does that ever cause a problem with you is you're going to the games maybe some people know your

29:42relation there ever put heat on you because of what she is reporting no I mean there's always a lot of conversation yeah just this year she had come to one game and there's 77 steps to our to row 30 okay well she got up there and she walked by the one of the families the people next to me they have 23 tickets oh my family okay and and I have an aisle seat and and we're kind of piggybacked well Diana walks by and one of the Clinton family he turns around and says that's Diana was seen I said yeah it's my daughter-in-law yeah I was waiting for you know all the burnridge coming out that and yeah and and yeah how often he's sitting you up for info feel like you got the ultimate source here oh yeah they're the way that actually my son Kevin would would

30:43put it is is that you know it looks like they're considering basically dancing around the the real the real thing Kevin does is he my husband listens to what I'm doing in the kitchen sometimes and then they have a group chat that's very private and so they have they have the inside track to the scoops before they break they know a lot more but but they don't they don't like any of it my we I just saw my brother-in-law recently and he said you know I got to tell you I was driving home from work and all these people are calling in at W.I.P. and I was I wanted a colon so bad because they kept saying you stir the pot I go oh mark that that was cool like you were gonna like stand up because no I was gonna call him like that's my sister-in-law she stores the pot well congratulations we appreciate you making the the track down here we know you're you're not in Philly so you coming to accept the award means a lot to us and we will fight all the haters online if we need to for you so this is this is a the W.I.P.

31:48afternoon show is a safe space for for I never seen these are good advocates yeah all right so so maybe this city will open the arms well yeah I'm the hang out with like I'm the only one is really love yes yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah we're a potster over here love everybody loves him so congratulations of course your work you can subscribe to the athletic day and his work the podcast scoop city still still kicking as well so you can with another filled out your favorite chase Daniel oh yeah here's what I love that truth a lot he is smart he does the work and he knows this he knows the team very well he's really good at my job because he he doesn't care what people think you know and he does he's not reporting he's observing yeah and he is he is sat in so many quarterback rooms so he knows

32:49the truth yeah it's just you know sometimes it gets a little crazy yeah we like it so congratulations thank you for coming as well thank you for having both of us this was great yes and thank you for coming in as well Andrew congratulations Elliott on your your your rain five fitness yes we just want to give out too much anyway because we want to be able to give someone else an opportunity when next year here's the thing right it's all 2027 it's already started just starts now it starts now so let's start Jeff McLean I'm coming for you again wow love it love it talk that talk yeah this is the WIP afternoon show with Ike spike and Fritz hey Philly's baseball is back and there's only one way to celebrate with a surfside iced T and vodka or surfside lemonade and vodka smooth refreshing and made for game day surfside is the perfect match for a day at the ballpark or catching the game at home surfside is only one hundred calories with zero bubbles so it goes down easy it's not a celtzer it's surfside proud partner of the Philly's must

33:50be 21 please drink responsibly this episode is brought to you by progressive insurance what if comparing car insurance rates was as easy as putting on your favorite podcast with progressive it is just visit the progressive website to quote with all the coverages you want you'll see progressives direct rate then their tool will provide options from other companies so you can compare all you need to do is choose the rate and coverage you like quote today at progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust progressive progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates comparison rates not available in all states or situations price is very based on how you buy following the fillings from outside Philly honest local focused Philly baseball talk wherever you are follow the 94 wip morning show jutter camera generator on apple podcast Spotify or wherever you listen testing season is right around the corner and this is when confidence really matters when kids take time to review key concepts and strengthen their skills before assessments it can make all

34:54the difference ixl helps reinforce what they're learning right now so they walk into every test feeling prepared capable and confident ixl is an award-winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand what they're learning whether they're building math confidence strengthening reading and writing skills or reviewing science concepts designed for students from pre K through 12th grade ixl delivers personalized interactive practice that adapts to your child's level and pace it's an easy effective way to support learning as the school year heads into its final stretch study show kids who use ixl score higher on tests proven in all 50 states ixl is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the us make an impact on your child's learning get ixl now and listeners can get an exclusive 20% off ixl membership when they sign up today at ixl learning dot com slash audio visit ixl learning dot com slash audio to get the most

35:55effective learning program out there at the best price did you know that you can buy your car completely online on auto trader really just visit auto trader dot com filter and search through dealer listings for the car you want make model color and all the features that matter to you go ahead get picky whether you're into sub compacts with heated cup holders crossovers with all wheel drive pickups with kicking sound systems or SUVs that can survive whatever chaos your kids unleash just drop in your info and you'll only see cars in your budget really once you find your one and only you can do the whole deal online and have the car delivered to your driveway or you can pick it up at the dealership and drive your new ride right off the lot really auto trader makes it easy to buy your car online because the whole process is designed around your once and must halves auto trader buy your car online really i'm Spencer and i work at united health care suspense and why do you care i care because my daughter adeline has special needs i am motivated by adeline who inspires me every day i am driven to help families like mine navigate the health

37:00care system i'm so blessed to lead an amazing team at united health care focusing on the member experience and making that better i'm Spencer and i'm committed to care so w-i-p after noon show with ix bike and fritz that's a 4 30 90s back that sounds like 90s music right there man i love the backstreet boys i love the backstreet boys 17 times you've seen them 11 times all right yeah haven't found a way i want to see them at the sphere but we haven't found a way to get over their tickets are crazy to go see them at the sphere that's like it's all sold out all the time i just i was in sync just in timberlake in sync okay yes backstreet boys little my getting home which one is my guy my i'm a nicle shade guy nicle shade was 98 degrees 98 degrees yeah over two never Cincinnati yeah yes okay yeah big reds guy big reds man yeah big reds guy he was married to Jessica Simpson yeah nicle shade i took my wife to meet nicle shade once when he was doing he was doing some show at vh1 of once or something

38:04okay yeah well she's this she's a big boy band guy of course and as i mentioned our wedding song was a backstreet boys song so thank you to Diana Rossini for coming in and accepting the award congratulations of course to Diana Rossini's 2026 Eagles inside of the year and we put him through hell Elliott man love that dude but the guy came in yeah not knowing who was gonna win the award put a mask on a pillowcase over his head and we made him give the award to somebody else and then ask that person to give him advice as to how to do his job better Elliott sure parks i know i know look i know sometimes Elliott might drive you crazy i'm telling you right now most of the time he drops you crazy yeah nobody works harder than Elliott but as far as being a good teammate Elliott is the best teammate you could ever hope for in your life so i appreciate Elliott not not only being a part of wip but being part of the show and he knows if he decided not to do it i would have crushed him anyway so it's a little bit of fear but

39:06or his a thing yeah that that messing with his hair he does not play about his hair he didn't i know that yeah that's very flustered about it that was a real moment yeah and i couldn't tell now i did have my my boss Tim Sabian once i was in a in a meeting with him and he i had some of my teeth in front of everybody he goes you have something in your teeth i'm like Tim and he goes would you rather i not tell you and that's the way i felt about the hair i agree i didn't want to say anything but then Elliott be sitting there with the dumb hair he was distracting me yes i couldn't i was and i knew we had the outfell for thing going in the back with the hair sticking up i'm like he we got to do something with that it was much better once he took care of it yes so now one thing we we haven't talked about yet today and we've talked about the fillies a lot as eagles did sign a wide receiver talked about it briefly there with Diana sign Elijah Moore who i had i think like nine catches last year i i i mean a year uh but but had a couple of you know hundred target years with the browns uh then it was drafted i think that a jet um hard to

40:06get good receiver play because you can't get good quarterback play in new york yeah yes no that not the last 20 years or so uh he was a second round pick of the jets he's a smaller guy five ten buck eighty something like that you know i i agree now a j's not going to be back i i don't know what his role is you know Elliott mentioned that he split his time outside and the slot so he can do both it just seems like it's another guy so so here's where i'm envisioning him sort of playing yes that sort of slot guy so they had a guy in green bay i was a big fan of obvious reasons once i say his name uh you'll know Jane Reed then went to Michigan State okay yeah so he's that he's that type of receiver like body wise yeah so when you're thinking about uh if you want little motion gadget plays things of that nature put him in the slot getting matched up on certain people like Elijah Moore has good speed for size so i think that's i'm i'm thinking that's the role that kind of envisioning him plan is the jayton Reed role that was in green bay okay yeah well and

41:12yeah i think he ran a four three something in in at the combine and this kind of offense again when you think about i just keep going back to the the Niners or you you could even think about the the the Rams but i think the Niners more specifically different kinds of wide receivers and wide receivers that do different things you know that the Niners and you think about kittles and ayuk and uh who's the other guy that that left before last year oh no debo debo uh and then you had pierce all who's more of a deep threat and there's just a lot of guys doing different things and that you know part of of that offense is the defense not knowing if you're going to run or pass but the other thing is is just sort of working all three levels of of the field so there's a threat everywhere and i don't think we've now part of that is the offense and part of that is is jalen to a certain extent but having guys that can do different things i think it's important also think of two two at well okay in the Rams offense yes they little speed guy and in that Rams offense so

42:12you think about green bays receiver christian was in was different than Romeo dobs jane re was different than both of those guys right today to your point having different receivers sort of you want certain roles filled in the offense from a from a receiver sort of standpoint having those multiple guys that can do that makes it a little harder for a defense to figure out you know what you're planning to do every particular now two one five five nine two ninety four ninety four so what i'm going to do right now is i'm going to tell you about cornball law and then we're going to get back to the fills and we're going to talk to you right afterwards what is cornball law well they're here to help you through a difficult situation imagine one of these difficult situations like uh if there's a condition that was mismanaged in in some way they don't diagnose it in time if there was a complication from an injury if there's a medical procedure that didn't go the right way everybody knows somebody i'm sure what maybe it's happened to you maybe it's happened to a family member maybe it's happened to a friend cornball law is the place that you reach out to when those things happen a first of all Adam cornblow is the guy over there a cornblow law i know him

43:15personally as i've said before i've you know told close friends to call Adam i've told a family member to call Adam nobody is better than cornblow law at these sorts of medical situations first of all the medical expertise is off the charts uh the passion for doing it and getting a family that suffered because of this that shouldn't have what they deserve there's a a passion for that so that the law side of it they have they have covered they also and this separates them on staff an unmatched staff of medical experts at cornblow law they can help with these this is a different kind of case so you need a different kind of law firm and that's what cornblow law is it's about k-o-r-n-b-l-a-u so if you are in one of these situations or if you know somebody who is tell them to go to cornblowlaw.com that is cornblowlaw.com cornblowlaw we're medicine and law meet 2.5 5 9 2 94 94 Lew and Philly you're on w-i-p what's up Lew? Lew all right how about Ed and Phoenixville

44:16is he ready Jack thumbs up yes Ed and Phoenixville you're on w-i-p what's up Ed? I like like Jack happy pre-opening day happy opening day Eve and it's it's very exciting you know yes we we were doing good Philly stuff we had to award Eagles inside of the year was great with Diana but great to get back to the Phil's and think about opening day tomorrow it's going to be 70 degrees we were looking at the weather last week it looked like it was going to be you know low 50s now we're going to have a 70 degree opening day that's a it's a good sign man somebody watch yeah yeah the colleague of mine asked me if I was coming into the office because they're doing like an opening day like lunch like hot dogs cheese sticks and all that and I said like I would love to but I feel a serious case of OLED I just coming on I've got to you know turn on the 75 inch 4k TV and maybe maybe not get as much work done tomorrow but not it's great just yeah we can get into any sort of like you know our concerns of the team it just feels great

45:16that they have baseball back it's like the one sport more so than footballs aware like you know like certain teams have a better chance than others but like everybody's zero and zero to start to see that and there's that you know for some like under achieving teams they could sweep an opening series and it gives them hope it's just like something that I can't really describe but like it feels unique to baseball that makes it's just like the you know coincidental with spring and everything it's one of my favorite times of the year yeah it's uh and and ike talks about this all time it's kind of nice to know it's there you know every night where you're like oh the cells are on and it gives you a chance now it's because we what we do and it's how I consume sports over react to everything but the good thing is is that after a bad game there's another game like the the emotions and the ups and downs of a baseball season are kind of fun and kind of unique uh and what you said is true Ed i mean there are most teams in the NBA go into a season knowing that they have no chance of winning a championship i don't think that happens in baseball there are some

46:18you know there are probably five or six teams that have no chance but beyond that you know baseball's funny that way so do you think you know the question we we asked to open the show which they have a real chance to win the world series a puncher's chance or no chance what do you think i think they have a real chance and this may just be the opening day optimism talking but you know outside everybody like jack said everyone knows about the dodgers like who else is really scares you and the nationally at the mat you know they're you know got to deal with them but you know that's just kind of where we are like if our pitching holds up and if stoddy continues to improve his plate discipline that ties into my aggressive take which i mentioned in a second um you know and then who the heck knows me i mean the dodgers could lose an opening around series and then we may not have to play them so it could happen yeah yeah that's the crazy thing about this playoffs that up is very often the best teams get knocked out early and then you could have a more favorable matchup but you know it's uh i i think we have a real shot yeah and i do think

47:22you know this is sort of unrelated i guess but i do think baseball is helped i know that part of the uh the labor stoppage is going to be the dodgers right is but i thought the NBA was particularly healthy when the heat were there uh when everyone else was aiming for beating that one team and i do think that a team as good and star laden as the dodgers gives everyone a target and raises the profile and adds some like i don't feel like dodgers are the best i don't think nobody can beat the dodgers but it also creates this uh i think story arc to the season of who can someone beat the dodgers instead of can someone win the world series there's also can someone beat the dodgers you know um almost that warriors feel yes when the warriors had KD not i wouldn't fair but yes yes like that it's like that except you can beat the dodgers right right yeah actually can beat the dodgers no one was going to beat the warriors but you you could

48:24be you could beat the dodgers so and for next question today for those uh Zach Bryan tickets we're asking for a bold prediction for the philis this year what do you got well i mentioned Bryson Scott and his walk total is actually i think improved with each year uh especially the second half a last year i'd say a hundred walks for Bryson Scott 100 walks what did he wind up with the last year it couldn't have been more than seven feels like 70 i think okay but i could be okay tax looking at that that is a pretty bold yeah means OVP was uh it 54 walks last oh my god twice as many as year yeah yeah that's it that's gold between him and Bryson they're gonna date they don't walk there where all right news walk yeah don't even need runs just walk thanks for the call yeah this episode is brought to you by progressive insurance whether you love true crime or comedy celebrity interviews or news you call the shots on what's in your podcast q and guess what now you can call them on your auto insurance too with the name your price tool from progressive it works just the way it sounds you tell progressive how much you want to pay for car insurance

49:26and they'll show you coverage options that fit your budget get your quote today at progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust progressive progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates price and coverage match limited by state law testing season is right around the corner and this is when confidence really matters when kids take time to review key concepts and strengthen their skills before assessments it can make all the difference ixl helps reinforce what they're learning right now so they walk into every test feeling prepared capable and confident ixl is an award-winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand what they're learning whether they're building math confidence strengthening reading and writing skills or reviewing science concepts designed for students from pre K through 12th grade ixl delivers personalized interactive practice that adapts to your child's level and pace it's an easy effective way to support learning as the school year heads into its final stretch study show

50:27kids who use ixl score higher on tests proven in all 50 states ixl is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the US make an impact on your child's learning get ixl now and listeners can get an exclusive 20% off ixl membership when they sign up today at ixl learning dot com slash audio visit ixl learning dot com slash audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price did you know that you can buy your car completely online on auto trader really just visit auto trader dot com filter and search through dealer listings for the car you want make model color and all the features that matter to you go ahead get picky whether you're into sub compacts with heated cup holders crossovers with all wheel drive pickups with kicking sound systems or SUVs that can survive whatever chaos your kids unleash just drop in your info and you'll only see cars in your budget really once you find your one and only you can do the whole deal online and have the car delivered to your driveway or you can pick it up at the dealership and drive your

51:29new ride right off the lot really auto trader makes it easy to buy your car online because the whole process is designed around your once and must have auto trader buy your car online really i'm Spencer and i work at united health care so Spencer why do you care i care because my daughter Adeline has special needs i am motivated by Adeline who inspires me every day i am driven to help families like mine navigate the health care system i'm so blessed to lead an amazing team at united health care focusing on the member experience and making that better i'm Spencer and i'm committed to care it's Charles Barkley here with Wayfair let me tell you game day is serious business at my house if i'm grilling chilling and watching hoots my outdoor setup better be ready to play that's where Wayfair wins from patio seating and umbrellas to grills and grill accessories Wayfair's got it all and it shows up fast i'm talking fast and easy delivery so level up your

52:31grill game and your outdoor chill game and head to wayfair.com to get your outdoor space ready for the season play fair every style every home yeah and Bryce wants to walk 140 times which is aggressive we'll take a hundred we'll take a hundred uh well i mean stop stop to get a great eye and he also i love i love along at that like i love and at bat where you get off i know i know you're shaking your head at me well i like what you get off there and it's one and two and he fows it off and he waits against the two and two he fows off three more and he gets to three and two we're going to count well making the picture through 11 pitches and just fouling it off because it wasn't the pitch that you wanted and it wasn't a ball that baseball well that's do it stop that's why i like stop i love those at bats man you go there just just drive the picture nuts and maybe you'll frustrate them into throwing a mistake you like the cast to get that no first pitch swinging every time yeah uh yeah but there's a lot of optimism with with stop

53:39seems like he's the talk of spring training yeah the Larry Anderson said the same thing i think ball well brought on the spotlight hit three seventy five he's gonna be batting fifth tomorrow which is it would jump up in the lineup he's hitting fifth tomorrow seems that way yeah wow they're gonna flip flop him in marsh whoever i think is hot okay yeah wow seven yeah wow far is is Garcia going down well he's hitting sixth okay left right he's six that should be hitting fifth if he's having a good season would love to have him heading fifth you said clean up that is a i think that's a dream but well it's it's really just i think they're it's the right left the of so like the dolly spats four or six okay to then bone would be six and then one of the left these marsh are starter hitting five well there's an important season for stop as well from a career standpoint it's like who is this guy closer to pay the yeah yeah is he the guy that you thought he was two years ago yeah or is he the guy who's been the last couple of years well you have paid a guy in the lineup yeah it's good that pay the guys in the lineup it can work out yeah it can work out um what's gonna say about stop well i lost it well yeah three seventy five

54:43and spring that's a big thing to point yeah oh and boah mentioned it the other thing we we sort of let it slide i think not slide but because uh Larry Boah was so positive yesterday him saying out loud and i think it might have been at the product yesterday him saying out loud their windows closing i don't think it's closed yet but i mean just flat out saying it i mean it's loaded you don't yeah the filter isn't there as much yeah a lot of honesty out of the fillings whether you want to go to d'ambo LA Larry Boah Middleton they're like whatever he better win this crap i mean jeez how many times we're gonna stand up and say this is the year do it that's what it feels that's what it feels like it's like yeah we were talking given up explanation and excuses get it done get it done already yeah that's not mid-lary too was like yeah the big guys they got to hit they got to hit in the playoffs that's it jack we didn't hear uh here your review of the Eagles Insider the year appearance from Diana Rossini electric it was great wasn't oh me i mean it was it was just so nice listening to a true insider wow you know what i mean just

55:48break it how they got to get scoops and stuff and did you the the moment for me yeah was when we brought up in joku she said not even close yeah just what are you crying this never happening it's never happening that was quite a moment that was quite a moment like i saw it i didn't want to say anything friend of the show now officially yeah what a development yeah yeah who would have thought that this show would have had the insider that drives everyone the most crazy oh i would have thought yeah i was gonna say yeah jack what's coming up in the top five at five developments here at wip these are always my favorite a lot of developments these are always my favorite two one five five nine two ninety four ninety four this is the wip afternoon show with ix bike and fritz i got a development for you a development happening over a colonial Hyundai this month it's march so the development is in march they have the march into more sales

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58:55kicking sound systems or SUVs that can survive whatever chaos your kids unleash just drop in your info and you'll only see cars in your budget really once you find your one and only you can do the whole deal online and have the car delivered to your driveway or you can pick it up at the dealership and drive your new ride right off the lot really auto trader makes it easy to buy your car online because the whole process is designed around your once and must have auto trader buy your car online really i'm Spencer and i work at united health care so Spencer why do you care i care because my daughter Adeline has special needs i am motivated by Adeline who inspires me every day i am driven to help families like mine navigate the health care system i'm so blessed to lead an amazing team at united health care focusing on the member experience and making that better i'm Spencer and i'm committed to care i'm done caring around bulky drinks and i'm definitely done cleaning melted candy out of my

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