UnafraidShow Fearless Football Picks: 9/17/2022

Welcome to the UnafraidShow.com 2022 Fearless Football Picks contest between George Wrigshter and Ralph Amsden.

Every week, George and Ralph will make five picks, either against the spread or the total, for the upcoming weekend. Each participant will start with 10,000 Units, and we’ll keep the total throughout the season.

George Wrighster

Current total: $12,000

Overall record: 6-4

Georgia (-24.5) at South Carolina (risking $1,000)

Washington (-3.5) vs Michigan State (risking $1000)

Miami (+6.5) at Texas A&M (risking $1000)

Oregon (-3.5) vs BYU (risking $3000)

Arizona (+2.5) vs North Dakota State (risking $1000)

This week’s picks:

Ralph Amsden

Current total: $5,000

Overall record: 5-5

This week’s picks:

Oregon vs BYU UNDER 58 (risking $1000)

Miami at Texas A&M OVER 45 (risking $1000)

Fresno State (+11) at USC (risking $1000)

Notre Dame vs Cal OVER 41 (Risking $1000)

Arizona vs North Dakota State (-2.5) (risking $1000)

Have a take you’d like us to address? Email us at immad@unafraidshow.com and we’ll read your take on a future Wrighster or Wrong podcast.

Pac-12 Apostles Podcast: 2022 Week 2 Recap, Week 3 Preview

On this episode of Pac-12 Apostles, George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden recap a week that saw USC get its first conference win, Wazzu upset Wisconsin on the road, and Jonathan Smith showing massive guts by giving the ball to his hybrid fullback/linebacker Jack Colletto to get a win over pesky Fresno State. The guys recap all of last week’s games, and preview the week’s upcoming games, including Michigan State at Washington, Cal at Notre Dame, and argue about whether North Dakota State should be favored in Tucson.

Apple Podcasts // Spotify // PocketCasts // Google Play // Stitcher // RadioPublic // iHeart

Or Watch the Most Recent Episode on Youtube:

Who are the Pac-12 Apostles?

The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the conference. Join us by becoming a Pac-12 Apostle. Subscribe and share the podcast.

Please leave a rating and review of our podcast on iTunes! We record a podcast once a week with emergency episodes when necessary. Our podcasts are always heavy on Pac-12 football. But we make it a point to also try and cover the other notable Men’s and Women’s Pac-12 sports. We cover recruiting and any other major storyline in the Pac-12 universe.

George Wrighster is a former Pac-12 and long-time NFL tight end. As a television/radio host, opinionist, and analyst, who is UNAFRAID to speak the truth. Contrary to industry norms he uses, facts, stats, and common sense to win an argument. He has covered college football, basketball, NFL, NBA, MLB since 2014. Through years of playing college football, covering bowl games, coaching changes, and scandals, he has a great pulse for the conference and national perspective.

Ralph Amsden is a sportswriter and podcaster. He is the publisher of Rivals’ ArizonaVarsity.com, Content Director for UnafraidShow.com, and was previously the managing editor of the Arizona State University Rivals affiliate, DevilsDigest.com. Wyoming born, Arizona raised, and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and four kids, Amsden made his mark in Arizona sports media through investigative reporting, and being one of the first people to leverage social media and the podcast medium to grow his platform. . Ralph might be sub-.500 in spousal disputes and schoolyard fights, but whether the topic is food, movies, music, parenting, politics, sports, television, religion, or zoological factoids, he’s always UNAFRAID to square up.

UnafraidShow Fearless Football Picks: 9/10/2022

Welcome to the UnafraidShow.com 2022 Fearless Football Picks contest between George Wrigshter and Ralph Amsden.

Every week, George and Ralph will make five picks, either against the spread or the total, for the upcoming weekend. Each participant will start with 10,000 Units, and we’ll keep the total throughout the season.

George Wrighster

Current total: $11,000

Overall record: 3-2

Stanford (+8.5) vs USC (risking $1,000)

Kentucky (+6) at Florida (risking $1000)

Tennessee (-6) at Pittsburgh (risking $1000)

Oklahoma State (-11.5) vs Arizona State (risking $1000)

Baylor (+2.5) at BYU (risking $1000)

This week’s picks:

Ralph Amsden

Current total: $12,000

Overall record: 4-1

This week’s picks:

South Carolina (+9) at Arkansas (risking $1500)

Texas A&M vs Appalachian State over 54 (risking $1500)

USC at Stanford UNDER 67 (risking $1000)

Mississippi State (-11) at Arizona (risking $1000)

Colorado (+17) at Air Force (risking $3000)

Have a take you’d like us to address? Email us at immad@unafraidshow.com and we’ll read your take on a future Wrighster or Wrong podcast.

Pac-12 Apostles Podcast: An Interview with Kyle Whittingham, Week 1 Recap, Week 2 Preview

The Pac-12 Apostles (George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden) recap week 1, including Utah’s loss in the swamp, Oregon not getting off the bus in Atlanta, and the offensive resurgences of Arizona and Washington. The guys preview the week 2 games, and find a way to disagree on the outcome of nearly every game. George also interviews Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham.

Apple Podcasts // Spotify // PocketCasts // Google Play // Stitcher // RadioPublic // iHeart

Who are the Pac-12 Apostles?

The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the conference. Join us by becoming a Pac-12 Apostle. Subscribe and share the podcast.

Please leave a rating and review of our podcast on iTunes! We record a podcast once a week with emergency episodes when necessary. Our podcasts are always heavy on Pac-12 football. But we make it a point to also try and cover the other notable Men’s and Women’s Pac-12 sports. We cover recruiting and any other major storyline in the Pac-12 universe.

George Wrighster is a former Pac-12 and long-time NFL tight end. As a television/radio host, opinionist, and analyst, who is UNAFRAID to speak the truth. Contrary to industry norms he uses, facts, stats, and common sense to win an argument. He has covered college football, basketball, NFL, NBA, MLB since 2014. Through years of playing college football, covering bowl games, coaching changes, and scandals, he has a great pulse for the conference and national perspective.

Ralph Amsden is a sportswriter and podcaster. He is the publisher of Rivals’ ArizonaVarsity.com, Content Director for UnafraidShow.com, and was previously the managing editor of the Arizona State University Rivals affiliate, DevilsDigest.com. Wyoming born, Arizona raised, and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and four kids, Amsden made his mark in Arizona sports media through investigative reporting, and being one of the first people to leverage social media and the podcast medium to grow his platform. . Ralph might be sub-.500 in spousal disputes and schoolyard fights, but whether the topic is food, movies, music, parenting, politics, sports, television, religion, or zoological factoids, he’s always UNAFRAID to square up.

UnafraidShow Fearless Football Picks: 9/2/2022

Welcome to the UnafraidShow.com 2022 Fearless Football Picks contest between George Wrigshter and Ralph Amsden.

Every week, George and Ralph will make five picks, either against the spread or the total, for the upcoming weekend. Each participant will start with 10,000 Units, and we’ll keep the total throughout the season.

George Wrighster

Current total: $10,000

Overall record: 0-0

Oregon (+17) at Utah (risking $1,000)

Utah (-2.5) at Florida (risking $1000)

Notre Dame (+16.5) at Ohio State (risking $1000)

Oregon State (-2.5) vs Boise State (risking $1000)

Arizona (+6) at San Diego State (risking $1000)

This week’s picks:

Ralph Amsden

Current total: $10,000

Overall record: 0-0

This week’s picks:

South Carolina (-12.5) vs Georgia State (risking $500)

North Carolinia as Appalachian State over 56.5 (risking $1000)

Wyoming (+6.5) vs Tulsa (risking $2500)

Coastal Carolina (-2) vs Army (risking $1000)

Oregon (+17) at Georgia (risking $3000)

Have a take you’d like us to address? Email us at immad@unafraidshow.com and we’ll read your take on a future Wrighster or Wrong podcast.

Pac-12 Apostles Podcast: 2022 Week 1 Preview and Predictions

The Pac-12 Apostles are back to celebrate kickoff week. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden take listeners through all 12 games, and make picks against the spread. George also reveals that he finally sat down and watched Friday Night Lights. 

Apple Podcasts // Spotify // PocketCasts // Google Play // Stitcher // RadioPublic // iHeart

Youtube Episode Breakdown (below):

(1:32) Preview of Arizona State (-25.5) vs Northern Arizona

(8:44) Preview of Colorado vs TCU (-13.5)

(13:10) Preview of UCLA (-23.5) vs Bowling Green

(16:15) Preview of Georgia (-17) vs Oregon (with a break from 20:20-26:00 to talk about Friday Night Lights)

(30:54) Preview of Arizona at San Diego State (-6)

(37:47) Preview of Cal (-21.5) vs UC Davis

(41:00) Preview of USC (-32.5) vs Rice

(45:29) Preview of Utah (-3) at Florida

(50:28) Preview of Stanford vs Colgate

(53:26) Preview of Washington State (-28.5) vs Idaho

(56:00) Preview of Oregon State (-2.5) vs Boise State

(1:00:22) Preview of Washington (-23) vs Kent State

Who are the Pac-12 Apostles?

The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the conference. Join us by becoming a Pac-12 Apostle. Subscribe and share the podcast.

Please leave a rating and review of our podcast on iTunes! We record a podcast once a week with emergency episodes when necessary. Our podcasts are always heavy on Pac-12 football. But we make it a point to also try and cover the other notable Men’s and Women’s Pac-12 sports. We cover recruiting and any other major storyline in the Pac-12 universe.

George Wrighster is a former Pac-12 and long-time NFL tight end. As a television/radio host, opinionist, and analyst, who is UNAFRAID to speak the truth. Contrary to industry norms he uses, facts, stats, and common sense to win an argument. He has covered college football, basketball, NFL, NBA, MLB since 2014. Through years of playing college football, covering bowl games, coaching changes, and scandals, he has a great pulse for the conference and national perspective.

Ralph Amsden is a sportswriter and podcaster. He is the publisher of Rivals’ ArizonaVarsity.com, Content Director for UnafraidShow.com, and was previously the managing editor of the Arizona State University Rivals affiliate, DevilsDigest.com. Wyoming born, Arizona raised, and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and four kids, Amsden made his mark in Arizona sports media through investigative reporting, and being one of the first people to leverage social media and the podcast medium to grow his platform. . Ralph might be sub-.500 in spousal disputes and schoolyard fights, but whether the topic is food, movies, music, parenting, politics, sports, television, religion, or zoological factoids, he’s always UNAFRAID to square up.

We Need To Have An Honest Conversation About Debt Relief And The Future Of Student Loans

The Biden Administration’s decision to relieve student loan debt, specifically $10,000 for those that make less than $125,000 in annual income, and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, has kicked off a massive debate about the fairness of relieving debt for people that contractually agreed to pay it back. Much of the noise came from those on the political right, and which resulted in a tit-for-tat back and forth between United States Congressmen and the official Twitter account for the White House.

We need to cut through the partisan noise and have an honest conversation about debt relief and the future of student loans.

Two things are true

1) People should pay their debts.

2) People should be protected from predatory lending practices.

An in-state degree, and let’s use an education degree as an example, can easily run a student well over $100,000 when you factor in tuition, room, board, books, transportation, and an unpaid student teaching period.

Let’s assume that the student in this scenario accumulated $40,000 in government-backed student debt over this 4-5 year period. Assuming the average starting salary of a teacher is around $40,000, if that student is on a 10-year repayment plan, the monthly minimum payments are going to exceed 20% of that teacher’s monthly pre-tax income.

If this hypothetical student is able to make every minimum payment over the 10 years in order to repay that debt, they will have paid back over $80,000 to the government, and likely surrendered one fifth of their income over the course of a decade (assuming they’re still able to stomach a teacher’s salary into their early 30’s in the face of needing housing, family planning, inflation, etc).

That same student that was able to secure $40,000 in student loans was probably early enough in their credit history that opening a bank-backed bankruptcy-protected line of credit for a few hundred dollars would have been harder than securing an unprotected, previously unforgivable loan for tens of thousands of dollars.

When banks don’t think you’re a good bet to recoup a few hundred bucks, why should education lenders think you’re a good bet to saddle with exponentially more unforgivable debt in an economy where wages stagnate in comparison to inflation and housing?

I totally get the frustration of people that went through the pain of full repayment looking at people that have yet to complete that process and feeling as if it is unfair. But what we can’t do is pretend that the government doesn’t have a history of targeted bailouts that benefit one group over another.‪

American taxpayers bailed out the banks, the auto industry, the farming industry, and most recently, businesses struggling to meet payroll during Covid through PPP… We also perpetually help subsidize mega corporations that fuel the creation of bazillionaires.

We even, and this is absolutely true, spend hundreds of millions making sure that free penis pumps are available to men who are unable to attain an erection under natural circumstances.

So why is it, that when the topic of addressing a student debt crisis born out of college tuition rising between 4-8% annually, outpacing inflation nearly five times over, so many people start decrying and mocking the generation of people who took out those loans in hopes they’d be qualified to fill available jobs and live with the same quality of life as previous generations? If millennials are drowning in debt at a never before seen rate, and wages aren’t increasing to assist in making sure that debt is resolvable, then without relief, the people that truly suffer are anyone and everyone producing any type of good or service that is dependent on expendable income.

In other words, if we don’t have any money left over at the end of the month, you can’t have any of it.

I sympathize with anyone that views those receiving loan forgiveness as rewarding irresponsible individuals, and as an endemic symptom of a “gimme generation.” But does your definition of “gimme generation” include the soybean and corn farmers of America? What about the subprime-mortgage writing baby boomers that drove the 2009 financial and housing crisis? Or the restaurant owners that needed a grant to retain employees through the worst pandemic in 100 years? Or the millions of people and businesses that benefit from bankruptcy protections?

What about those suffering from erectile dysfunction?

At the end of the day- colleges are bloated, charging too much, and not being responsible in the area of helping students understand the employment landscape in relation to the debt they accrue.

Companies are doing all they can to show investors ever-increasing profit margins at the expense of wage stagnation for a generation that is forced to accrue more debt than ever to even participate in many entry-level positions.$10,000 in loan forgiveness is nice… but colleges are going to keep billing students according to what the government will allow an 18-year-old to borrow, and knowingly sending them into fields that don’t pay a wage commensurate with the ability to both live and honor their commitment as a borrower.

The entire system needs an overhaul, but that’s not going to happen if we’re all busy bickering over who deserves this helping hand.

The only reason our entire economy hasn’t collapsed while fuel prices, food costs, and housing expenses run wild is that at the moment, tens of millions of Americans haven’t had to surrender 10%+ of their income to student loan repayment over the last two years. When those payments restart, times are going to be very tight. And the people that are upset that there are Americans benefitting from loan forgiveness right now, are going to be forced to realize that our economy is entirely interdependent on the spending power of its middle class.

Like it or not, we’re in this together, and the income that remains in the hands of people that were previously indebted to the government for loans they accrued at an age when a financial institution would have scoffed at even a $300 line of credit, is going to find its way into the economy, and potentially your pocket.

Instead of fighting, let’s be thankful that we get to hit the snooze button on our complete financial demise as a society to another day, and rally around making the changes necessary to ensure that people are using the collegiate system more judiciously, and being trained for the jobs that are going to keep us afloat for decades to come.

Pac-12 Apostles Podcast: 2022 Season Preview and Predictions

The 2022 Pac-12 season is upon us, and along with the drama of whether or not the Pac-12 is going to cease to exist, we’ve actually got a very exciting season filled with new coaches, high level transfers, and a new King of the Mountain in Utah. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden give their season win-loss predictions for every team, as well as discuss the storylines that have shaped the offseason for all 12 teams.

Apple Podcasts // Spotify // PocketCasts // Google Play // Stitcher // RadioPublic // iHeart

Youtube Episode Breakdown (below):

An introduction to the season and a discussion about the possibility of the conference surviving the latest shake-up in TV rights contracts.

Preview of Arizona (10:36)

Preview of Arizona State (15:55)

Preview of Cal (23:39)

Preview of Colorado (29:02)

Preview of Oregon (35:42)

Preview of Oregon State (42:00)

Preview of Stanford (47:17)

Preview of UCLA (52:17)

Preview of USC (56:50)

Preview of Utah (1:01:00)

Preview of Washington (1:07:20)

Preview of Washington State (1:11:27)

Who are the Pac-12 Apostles?

The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the conference. Join us by becoming a Pac-12 Apostle. Subscribe and share the podcast.

Please leave a rating and review of our podcast on iTunes! We record a podcast once a week with emergency episodes when necessary. Our podcasts are always heavy on Pac-12 football. But we make it a point to also try and cover the other notable Men’s and Women’s Pac-12 sports. We cover recruiting and any other major storyline in the Pac-12 universe.

George Wrighster is a former Pac-12 and long-time NFL tight end. As a television/radio host, opinionist, and analyst, who is UNAFRAID to speak the truth. Contrary to industry norms he uses, facts, stats, and common sense to win an argument. He has covered college football, basketball, NFL, NBA, MLB since 2014. Through years of playing college football, covering bowl games, coaching changes, and scandals, he has a great pulse for the conference and national perspective.

Ralph Amsden is a sportswriter and podcaster. He is the publisher of Rivals’ ArizonaVarsity.com, Content Director for UnafraidShow.com, and was previously the managing editor of the Arizona State University Rivals affiliate, DevilsDigest.com. Wyoming born, Arizona raised, and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and four kids, Amsden made his mark in Arizona sports media through investigative reporting, and being one of the first people to leverage social media and the podcast medium to grow his platform. . Ralph might be sub-.500 in spousal disputes and schoolyard fights, but whether the topic is food, movies, music, parenting, politics, sports, television, religion, or zoological factoids, he’s always UNAFRAID to square up.

Pac-12 Apostles: Media Day Recap, Interviews with Cam Rising, Dan Lanning, Yogi Roth, Chip Kelly

On this Episode of the Pac-12 Apostles, George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden react to the biggest storylines and best quotes to come out of Pac-12 Media Day, including George Kliavkoff’s “shopping” comments about the Big-12. Featuring interviews with Utah QB Cam Rising, UCLA Head Coach Chip Kelly, Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning, and Pac-12 Network star Yogi Roth.

Breakdown:

Intro

-Conference games in L.A. post USC/UCLA exodus? (7:40)

-What can the Pac-12 do to hang on to the rest of its schools? (11:40)

-Impressions of Kyle Whittingham and Utah (17:00)

-Impressions of Dan Lanning and Oregon (19:11)

-George Kliavkoff “shopping” comments about the Big-12 (21:40)

-Impressions of Kalen DeBoer and Washington (29:20)

-Impressions of Karl Dorrell and Colorado (32:20)

-George Wrighster Interview with Utah QB Cam Rising (34:00)

-Impression of Jedd Fisch and Arizona (38:00)

-Impressions of David Shaw and Stanford (42:15)

-Impressions of Herm Edwards and Arizona State (44:40)

-Impressions of Washington State, Cal and Oregon State (49:00)

-George Wrighster Interview with UCLA Head Coach Chip Kelly (53:00)

-Impressions of Lincoln Riley and USC (1:03:00)

-George Wrighster Interview with Oregon Head Coach Dan Lanning (1:08:50)

-George Wrighster Interview with Pac-12 Network’s Yogi Roth (1:14:45)

Apple Podcasts // Spotify // PocketCasts // Google Play // Stitcher // RadioPublic // iHeart

Who are the Pac-12 Apostles?

The Pac-12 Apostles is a podcast for fans who love the Pac-12 conference. George Wrighster and Ralph Amsden are committed to the honest and fair conversation about the conference. Join us by becoming a Pac-12 Apostle. Subscribe and share the podcast.

Please leave a rating and review of our podcast on iTunes! We record a podcast once a week with emergency episodes when necessary. Our podcasts are always heavy on Pac-12 football. But we make it a point to also try and cover the other notable Men’s and Women’s Pac-12 sports. We cover recruiting and any other major storyline in the Pac-12 universe.

George Wrighster is a former Pac-12 and long-time NFL tight end. As a television/radio host, opinionist, and analyst, who is UNAFRAID to speak the truth. Contrary to industry norms he uses, facts, stats, and common sense to win an argument. He has covered college football, basketball, NFL, NBA, MLB since 2014. Through years of playing college football, covering bowl games, coaching changes, and scandals, he has a great pulse for the conference and national perspective.

Ralph Amsden is a sportswriter and podcaster. He is the publisher of Rivals’ ArizonaVarsity.com, and was previously the managing editor of the Arizona State University Rivals affiliate, DevilsDigest.com. Wyoming born, Arizona raised, and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife and four kids, Amsden made his mark in Arizona sports media through investigative reporting, and being one of the first people to leverage social media and the podcast medium to grow his platform. In addition to his podcasts, he is the Content Director for UnafraidShow.com. Ralph might be sub-.500 in spousal disputes and schoolyard fights, but whether the topic is food, movies, music, parenting, politics, sports, television, religion, or zoological factoids, he’s always UNAFRAID to square up.

Pujols, Soto, Rodrìguez, and the Continuation of Dominican Baseball Excellence

We need to talk about Albert Pujols and the legacy he’s leaving behind.

On Monday, a 42-year-old Albert Pujols participated in the Home Run derby as an all-star weekend swan song. Earlier this year, Pujols returned to the St. Louis Cardinals on a one-year deal for his final season, and while many people thought Pujols’ inclusion in the derby was a gimmick, he actually advanced to the second round.


In case Pujols time with the star-studded but lowly Angels organization made you forget, this is one of the best baseball players we’ve ever seen.


Albert Pujols is a three-time MVP, two-time World Series champion, two-time golden glove winner, 11-time all-star, is fifth all-time in home runs, tenth all-time in hits, and  third all-time in runs batted in. 

Albert Pujols Introduced as a reserve player in his final All Star game (via MLB.com)


While I’m not like some stuffy baseball gatekeepers who turn their back on the players of the steroid era, it’s definitely worth noting that Pujols accomplished all this in the era of strict PED testing.


What I want to talk about most though is the fact that Pujols has set the stage for Dominican born baseball players to do exactly what he did- stand on the shoulders of giants and ultimately surpass them. Albert Pujols started his first all star game alongside Dominican legends like Manny Ramirez, Sammy Sosa and Vladimir Guerrero. 


On Monday, it was a pair of young Dominican superstars in Juan Soto and Julio Rodríguez that grabbed the torch from Pujols and showed that the future of baseball is bright. Soto, at just 23 years old, is in the process of captivating the nation with both his play on the field, and a stratospheric contract negotiation with the Washington Nationals that saw him turn down a $440 million contract.


Pujols made sure to let anyone that was listening know that he believes Juan Soto is a future Hall of Famer. Soto’s response? “He’s gonna make me cry.”


Julio Rodríguez, who finished second in the home run derby, but hit over 80 home runs in the contest, was awarded $50,000 more for finishing as runner up ($750,000) than he’ll make on the entire season ($700,000).

The 21-year old Rodríguez said of Pujols, “He’s a legend. It’s amazing that I’m here sharing the stage with him.”


Well Julio, the stage is now yours.  And the next generation of baseball fans, and children in the Dominican Republic, are watching. Time for you and Juan Soto to do what Albert did for you.