Tickling Tonsils, Kiffin Drama & George Clooney on Pranks, Parenting & Jason's Batman | EP 168

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• Jason recounted his experience firing a musket in New England where the powder ignited but the projectile did not fire, leading to zero recoil.  Copied to clipboard!
• Travis shared his fond memory of attending the International Bowl in Toronto, Canada, during his college years.  Copied to clipboard!
• The hosts discussed the chaotic nature of college football coaching changes, specifically Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss for LSU right before the College Football Playoff, drawing parallels to their own past coaching departures at Cincinnati.  Copied to clipboard!
• George Clooney shared humorous anecdotes about his acting career, including being dubbed in 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?' and pranking Meryl Streep with Brad Pitt's stationery.  Copied to clipboard!
• Clooney discussed his parenting style and the challenges of raising children while being a public figure, noting his children are starting to roll their eyes at him.  Copied to clipboard!
• The conversation confirmed that George Clooney is a University of Cincinnati alumnus and a long-time Bengals fan, who also revealed that an 'Oceans' sequel is being scouted for locations.  Copied to clipboard!

Segments Expand All Collapse All

Pre-Show Banter and Ad Read

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(00:00:00)

• Key Takeaway: Raisin Cane’s menu items include chicken fingers, cane sauce, crinkle cut fries, coleslaw, Texas toast, iced tea, and lemonade.
• Summary: The segment opened with an advertisement for Raisin Cane’s, highlighting their core menu offerings. The hosts then engaged in brief, informal banter about future plans and physical activities like an offensive lineman duck walk.

Podcast Introduction and Hosts

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(00:01:24)

• Key Takeaway: Travis Kelsey introduced himself and his brother Jason Kelsey, noting Jason’s origin from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and the University of Cincinnati.
• Summary: The official start of the New Heights podcast, sponsored by Yeti, featured the hosts introducing themselves. Travis mentioned the recent downturn in the University of Cincinnati football team’s performance over the last three games.

Favorite College Bowl Game

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(00:02:05)

• Key Takeaway: Travis Kelsey’s favorite non-major bowl game was the International Bowl held in Toronto, Canada, where he enjoyed the experience due to the legal drinking age being 18.
• Summary: The brothers reminisced about college bowl games, with Travis singling out the International Bowl. He received a leather duffel bag with a maple leaf as a gift from that event.

Militia Musket Experience

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(00:02:55)

• Key Takeaway: Jason attempted to fire a musket in New England but only heard the pan ignite, feeling zero recoil, suggesting the main charge failed to fire.
• Summary: Jason detailed his experience with a historical weapon, noting the instructor emphasized the gun’s recoil, which he did not feel. He concluded that the gunpowder in the pan ignited, but the charge in the barrel did not, resulting in a misfire.

Introduction to Road Bowling

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(00:04:03)

• Key Takeaway: Road bowling is an Irish sport involving rolling a 28-ounce iron ball down a road, aiming for distance in the fewest throws, similar to golf, and always involves betting.
• Summary: Jason introduced the sport of road bowling, which uses a heavy iron ball and requires participants to bet on the outcome. The game involves underhand throws, and sometimes magnets are used to locate lost balls in the leaves.

Road Bowling Techniques and Experience

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(00:05:10)

• Key Takeaway: Effective road bowling technique involves an underhand throw to achieve proper spin, and the environment, including loud local support, is crucial to the fun.
• Summary: Jason described his participation, noting his initial throws were not impressive, but he managed to win one round. He emphasized the electric atmosphere created by the Irish spectators and their vocal reactions.

Teaching D-Line Moves at Pub

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(00:06:37)

• Key Takeaway: Jason taught a local kid the ‘push-pull’ defensive line move at the Red Rose Irish pub in Boston.
• Summary: After road bowling, the hosts enjoyed the community atmosphere at the Red Rose Irish pub, where people were singing. Jason demonstrated a D-line move on a local, who was visibly shocked by the technique.

Bedtime Storytelling and Children’s Books

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(00:07:50)

• Key Takeaway: Jason prefers telling classic stories or improvising narratives for his daughters, believing many modern children’s books lack enduring value compared to established tales like ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf.’
• Summary: Jason performed a song from ‘Ballad of Buster Scruggs’ before criticizing the low quality of many contemporary children’s books. He stressed that stories should hardwire positive moral software, using the example of lying leading to negative consequences.

Pinocchio Story Incident

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(00:11:18)

• Key Takeaway: Jason terrified his daughter Ellie by incorporating her favorite stuffed animal, Slothy, into a Pinocchio story where Slothy came to life, causing Ellie to become too scared to hold the toy afterward.
• Summary: When reading to his daughters, Jason incorporates their requests, such as including stuffed animals in the narrative. This specific Pinocchio story resulted in Kylie being furious with Jason for frightening Ellie.

Podcast Preview and New News Setup

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(00:12:35)

• Key Takeaway: Upcoming topics include a recap of Thanksgiving NFL games, the ‘Fat Guy Fight Club’ at the Linc tailgate, and an interview with George Clooney.
• Summary: The hosts transitioned to the official podcast content, reminding listeners to subscribe across platforms. They previewed segments covering the NFL week and the highly anticipated interview with George Clooney, whom they jokingly claim as a fellow University of Cincinnati Bearcat.

Belly Bucking Champion Announced

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(00:13:44)

• Key Takeaway: Dom, referred to as ’no shirt Dom,’ won the first New Heights Belly Bucking tournament at the Lincoln Financial Field tailgate, despite initially loose rules regarding stepping out of the ring.
• Summary: The first segment of ‘New News,’ sponsored by Xfinity, crowned the belly bucking champion from the tailgate event. The rules were adjusted mid-competition from stepping one foot out to requiring two feet out to end a round.

Operation Breakthrough Charity Support

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(00:17:49)

• Key Takeaway: Operation Breakthrough in Kansas City supports over 3,400 local families during the holidays and provides students with essential trade and STEM skills, including converting a vehicle to electric hybrid power.
• Summary: The podcast highlighted a partnership with Amazon for holiday giving to Operation Breakthrough, an organization supporting Kansas City families with food and after-school care. Jason noted his foundation supports their STEM lab skills initiatives, including a project converting a truck to electric hybrid.

Chiefs vs. Cowboys Recap

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(00:21:38)

• Key Takeaway: The Chiefs’ 28-31 loss to the Cowboys was one of several close, one-score losses that have resulted in the Chiefs being 6-6 despite having a significant positive score differential for the season.
• Summary: Travis expressed frustration over the Chiefs’ record, noting all losses are within one score and attributing setbacks to crucial mistakes like drops or penalties. He cited an ESPN statistic suggesting the Chiefs are performing well overall but experiencing bad luck in game-deciding moments.

Andy Reid’s ‘Tickle Tonsils’ Quote

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(00:25:33)

• Key Takeaway: Chiefs coach Andy Reid stated the team’s mentality moving forward is to ’tickle your tonsils on every play, every game,’ signifying an aggressive, attacking mindset.
• Summary: Travis loved Andy Reid’s unique quote about aggressively attacking every play, which he interpreted as a double entendre related to trash talk. This aggressive attitude is what Travis believes the team needs to adopt to win out.

NFL Trash Talk Analysis

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(00:43:36)

• Key Takeaway: The hosts agreed that trash talk is a standard part of the NFL, suggesting that threats like ‘suck my dick’ or ‘I’ll fucking kill you’ are generally considered fair game unless they involve racist remarks or attacking family members.
• Summary: The conversation turned to specific instances of NFL trash talk, including a Jaguars player allegedly telling a Titans player to ‘suck his dick’ and another punter allegedly threatening to kill an opponent. Travis felt these comments were standard competitive banter.

Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Departure

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(00:47:34)

• Key Takeaway: The NCAA should implement rules preventing coaches from leaving for new jobs until after bowl games or the playoffs conclude to prevent destabilizing teams like Ole Miss right before a major game.
• Summary: Travis expressed sympathy for the Ole Miss players who must now play the College Football Playoff without their head coach, Lane Kiffin, who is moving to LSU. He recalled experiencing similar coaching departures at Cincinnati, which left teams with interim staff, highlighting the disadvantage this creates for the players.

Cincinnati Sports History

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(01:05:26)

• Key Takeaway: George Clooney lived on Straight Street near the University of Cincinnati campus.
• Summary: Clooney confirmed he attended the University of Cincinnati for a minute and lived on Straight Street, recalling the difficulty of parking there during snow. He also mentioned his past baseball tryouts for the Cincinnati Reds, where his scouting report noted he had ’no arm’ and ’no speed.’ Clooney reminisced about the ‘Big Red Machine’ era of the 1970s, featuring stars like Pete Rose and Johnny Bench.

George Clooney Introduction

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(01:08:23)

• Key Takeaway: Clooney’s introduction highlighted his multiple Academy Award and Golden Globe wins.
• Summary: The introduction listed George Clooney’s extensive accolades, including four Golden Globe wins and two Academy Award wins. He is promoting his new film, ‘Jay Kelly,’ available on Netflix. Clooney humorously noted that he won People’s Sexiest Man Alive twice, unlike Jason Kelce.

Discussing ‘Jay Kelly’ Film

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(01:10:21)

• Key Takeaway: Clooney and Sandler play a blockbuster actor and his manager navigating a midlife crisis in Europe.
• Summary: The film ‘Jay Kelly’ features George Clooney as an actor and Adam Sandler as his manager, taking a sabbatical in Europe. Clooney related slightly to the character’s crisis but felt secure that his own children still liked him, unlike the character’s kids. Travis Kelce mentioned being on set with Adam Sandler for ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ and expressed interest in acting.

Lake Como Experience

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(01:15:17)

• Key Takeaway: Clooney described the Italian lifestyle in Lake Como as celebrating long, communal dinners.
• Summary: Travis Kelce shared that Lake Como was his first time in Italy, describing it as an epic realization of the world’s beauty. Clooney noted that Italians celebrate dinner, often lasting two hours with multiple generations present. Kelce enjoyed running along the water every morning during his stay.

Hollywood Entourage Accuracy

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(01:16:17)

• Key Takeaway: Clooney stated that many established actors, like his ‘Oceans’ castmates, maintain surprisingly normal lives despite large entourages.
• Summary: The portrayal of massive entourages in the film is accurate for some actors, though Clooney finds it seems like a lot of work. He mentioned that his co-stars from the ‘Oceans’ films, like Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, generally live fairly normal lives. Clooney also confirmed that another ‘Oceans’ film is being planned, pending scheduling.

Running Scene Training

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(01:17:30)

• Key Takeaway: Clooney learned from Jason Kelce’s advice to pump arms faster instead of trying to run faster at age 64.
• Summary: Clooney had to film multiple takes of sprinting scenes for ‘Jay Kelly’ despite being 64, which was physically taxing. The director repeatedly asked him to run faster, leading Clooney to apply a technique learned from Jason Kelce. This technique involved pumping the arms faster to simulate increased speed.

NFL Team Competitiveness

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(01:21:30)

• Key Takeaway: Actors do not experience the same direct competitive drive as athletes because their success is not zero-sum.
• Summary: Clooney explained that actors lack the direct competition seen in the NFL playoffs because one actor’s success does not inherently mean another’s failure. However, he admitted to enjoying giving his friend Matt Damon (a Patriots fan) grief. Clooney noted that the Chiefs are targeted by every opponent because they are the reigning champions.

George Clooney’s Batman Role

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(01:26:08)

• Key Takeaway: Clooney considers his performance in ‘Batman & Robin’ his lowest point, feeling he was the worst part of the famously panned film.
• Summary: Clooney admitted that playing Batman in ‘Batman & Robin’ was humiliating because he felt he was the worst element in the movie. He described the physical discomfort of the rubber cowl and the director’s instructions to channel despair. He asserted that he was the best Batman, despite the film’s reputation.

Pranks and Welcome to Hollywood

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(01:27:17)

• Key Takeaway: Clooney once pranked Meryl Streep by sending her an accent tutorial book signed from Brad Pitt.
• Summary: Clooney confessed to stealing Bill Clinton’s stationery to send fake notes to actors praising their less successful films. He later sent Meryl Streep an accent guide from Brad Pitt, which she kept for years, believing it was a genuine gesture from Pitt. His ‘Welcome to Hollywood’ moment was sharing a beer and conversation with Paul Newman outside a sound stage.

Marriage Secret Revealed

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(01:25:01)

• Key Takeaway: Clooney’s secret to a decade-long fight-free marriage is avoiding arguments altogether because he knows he won’t win.
• Summary: Clooney stated he has not argued with his wife in ten years, attributing this to recognizing he cannot win the argument. He expressed immense gratitude for his wife, stating he cannot believe how lucky he is, which negates the need to fight over trivial matters.