The unpredictability of our talk show on WWL in New Orleans is one of the main things that make it fun for me and the audience. I love that on any given day we never know who is tuned in, and who may feel the need to call.
We got one of those unpredictable calls during the show today while I was talking about the controversy over the L.A. Rams kicking a totally meaningless field goal in the closing seconds of the game against the 49ers last weekend.
Many sportsbooks had the Rams as a 7.5 pt. underdog to the 49ers. With the score 49ers 30 - Rams 20, those who bet on the 49ers and gave up 7.5 pts. were winning their bet. With seconds left on the clock, rather than let the clock expire or give QB Matthew Stafford a chance to throw a Hail Mary pass - Rams Coach Sean McVay decided to kick a field goal that would be meaningless to the outcome of the game. So why kick the field goal?
In an interview with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk - Coach McVay explained that they were planning to kick a field goal and then try to recover the ball during an onsides kick. But that doesn't make sense because with seconds remaining the chances of doing anything even if there was time left after recovering an onsides kick were close to zero.
McVay also added that kicking the field goal as the clock expired gave his special teams a chance to get playing time early in the season.
Neither of Coach McVay's reasons for kicking the field goal in the last seconds of the game seem logical.
Those betting on the 49ers and giving the Rams 7.5 pts. lost their best by a half a point. Their frustration is understandable and Chris "Mad Dog" Russo - who is a sportscaster on WFAN in New York City. As his nickname "Mad Dog" would suggest - he had a tendency to be a little crazy at times.
"Mad Dog" Russo was livid when the Rams kicked the field goal because at the moment of the meaningless field goal he lost a $10,000 bet!
Here's a conspiracy theory from "Mad Dog," who has been very critical of popular sports host Stephen A. Smith. "Mad Dog" knows that Smith and McVay are friends. "Mad Dog" Russo says that McVay called for the last second field goal to be kicked to get back at Russo on behalf of his friend Coach McVay. Russo said "He (Sean McVay) knew about the bet because I told him, 'I love the Niners today.' So he called McVay and said, 'Do me a favor. I hate the guy ("Mad Dog" Russo). Kick a field goal at the end.'"
Did it happen that way? We don't know, but we do know that Coach McVay's decision to kick the field goal in the closing seconds of the game is at best very suspicious.
A caller identifying himself as "Black Cat" called into the show to comment on the meaningless field goal - but the wild conversation covered some interesting things - like "Black Cat" was a booker in the New Orleans area and talked about having his fingers broken over a big gambling dispute. "Black Cat" talked about people "visiting" his family as a threat.
"Black Cat's" comment about the meaningless field goal was only the beginning of a fast-paced conversation that left me almost breathless.
Check out the call with a first time caller "Black Cat" in the audio player above.
