We all know how hard it is to just make it to the National Football League. To play for 15 seasons and to be known as one of the best players with a certain skill set is even harder. Brandon Stokley was viewed as one of the best slot receivers in the NFL for several seasons and retired after 15 years with two Super Bowl rings, and plenty of stories. Let’s tell some of them.
Before we get into Episode 92, as a reminder, The Bridge is broadcast as a one-hour radio show every Wednesday night at 7 ET / 4 PT on Sports Radio America. A rerun is then aired the following hour as well. Once the dust settles from that live broadcast, the show is released as a podcast on iTunes and on this website the following day on Thursday. You can listen to the show every Wednesday on Sports Radio America here or through the TuneIn app, and find some bonus content, including a weekly gambling segment, when the show comes out in podcast form.
- “Sports News Read Like Real News” told the tale of LeBron James and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers taking the NYC subway back from shootaround (2:29).
- The Bridge Question of the Week is: What is your least favorite mode of public transportation, and why? Leave a voicemail or text in your answer to 929-BRIDGE7, that’s 929-274-3437, and you’ll make it on the next show.
- This week’s guest is Brandon Stokley, a 15-year wide receiver in the National Football League, two-time Super Bowl champion and the now co-host of the Stokley and Zach Show on 104.3 The Fan in Denver, weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. (Mountain Time) to cover the Denver Broncos. Brandon was one of the best slot receivers in the game during his playing days and was fortunate enough to play and win a Super Bowl on a team with one of the best defenses in NFL history (2000 Baltimore Ravens), and on a team with one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history (close friend, Peyton Manning). You also might remember him from one of the best catches in Denver Broncos history. This was a lot of fun for me, not only as a Broncos fan, but as a fan of football, and Brandon was more than kind with his time and in telling some great stories, both from on and off the field. We’ll talk about how he came to play in the NFL and what he did to find success on the field, stories from winning the Super Bowl with the Ravens and catching the game’s first touchdown pass, winning the Super Bowl with the Colts but not being able to play in the game, stories from playing with Peyton Manning as his quarterback, both with the Colts and Broncos, and possibly wooing Peyton to come to Denver, some highs and lows from his career, transitioning into sports radio, and what the hell is wrong with the 2017 Denver Broncos.
- Follow Brandon on Twitter -> @bstokley14. The interview starts at the 10:37 mark.
– In the interview, we discuss:
When he knew he was good enough to make the NFL (11:11), playing for his father and close to home in college (12:22), how long it took to get comfortable in the league and with the Ravens (13:27), if he bet on himself to score the first touchdown of Super Bowl 35 (14:42), how veterans on the Ravens helped calm things down before the Super Bowl (16:03), the better defense of the 2000 Ravens or the 2015 Broncos (17:37), how he became successful as a slot receiver (18:33), the most important day of the week in preparing for Sundays (19:58), proving himself and staying competitive in the league (21:03), gelling with the Colts and Peyton Manning (22:56), if being friends with Peyton off the field helped with chemistry on the field (25:04), if Peyton got him benched on purpose (26:48), if the 2004 Colts was the best team he’s played on and not getting the pass at Peyton’s statue unveiling this year (28:07), the lowest point of his career in 2006 (31:39), the “Immaculate Deflection” (34:27), how much influence he had in getting Peyton to play in Denver (37:34), any differences from playing with Peyton as a Colt to playing as a Bronco (40:11), if the 2012 Broncos could have won the Super Bowl (41:32), having Peyton throw for seven TDs against him (43:31), pranking Peyton Manning (44:14), making Denver home and getting into sports radio (45:43), what listeners will find on his radio show (48:08), the biggest fix for this year’s Broncos (49:59) and getting inducted into the 2018 Louisiana Hall of Fame (51:13).
- “The Toll Bridge with Donnie RightSide.” Donnie is a professional handicapper who knows a thing or two about the lines of the sports world and joins The Bridge for a weekly segment to help us get on the right side of those lines, based on his years of numbers, strategy and overall knowledge of the market. This week, Donnie offers up some of his best bets to correspond with The Bridge Fade of the Week, where listeners are urged to completely go in the opposite direction of the show. You can find Donnie at DonnieRightSide.com and SportsBookReview.com and follow him on Twitter @RightSideVP. And remember, this segment is for entertainment purposes only (55:30).
- “Five Minutes in the Film Room” with Joe Baress, former star of the prestigious John and Joe Sports Show, breaks down “Murder on the Orient Express,” which Rotten Tomatoes describes as:What starts out as a lavish train ride through Europe, quickly unfolds into one of the most stylish, suspenseful and thrilling mysteries ever told. From the novel by best-selling author Agatha Christie, “Murder on the Orient Express” tells the tale of thirteen strangers stranded on a train, where everyone’s a suspect. One man must race against time to solve the puzzle before the murderer strikes again (1:01:15). You can follow Joe on Twitter @dukemich and read his movie reviews, previews and ratings at cupof-joe.com.
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Show music: ‘Actionable’ and ‘Epic,’ courtesy of www.bensound.com.
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