REAL DEAL with Tony Reali

February 4, 2018. Fourth and goal. Thirty-eight seconds before halftime. Nick Foles walks over to Doug Pederson and asks, “You want Philly Philly?” His proposal: let a tight end throw a touchdown pass to a backup quarterback who has never caught a ball in his NFL career. In the Super Bowl. Against Bill Belichick. Pederson stares at him for 2.23 seconds. Then he says yes.
The great Peter King joins me to relive the Philly Special and the little details that made something so preposterous possible. Why Foles couldn’t smile in the huddle. Why Trey Burton had to keep his glove on. And why Foles turned down $150,000 before playing the greatest game of his life. Tom Brady threw for 505 yards that night. Nick Foles went home with the trophy. Eventually, even Mick Jagger had something to say about it.
Peter’s new book, THE GAME, which is out today, brings together stories from 40 years covering the NFL, and we get into a few more of them: Peyton Manning’s tanning-bed preparation for the combine, the inside help Dak Prescott got before his Cowboys interview, and the quarterback San Francisco picked instead of Tom Brady who became an actual goat farmer. Plus, Peter makes his case for the perfect football career. Brady? Manning? Madden? His answer might surprise you.
Welcome to Episode 020 of REAL DEAL! I’m Tony Reali, and I’m so happy you’re here.
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0:00 The Philly Special
0:52 Peter King joins REAL DEAL
2:11 Why this play still amazes Peter
4:35 Doug Pederson’s 2.23-second decision
7:24 Don’t smile. Don’t take off the glove.
9:26 How the Eagles fooled the Patriots
11:04 Nick Foles’ focus and the $150,000 he turned down
13:55 Mick Jagger’s shoutout to Nick Foles
15:44 How the NFL became a year-round obsession
18:17 Peter’s case against an 18th game
20:12 The trust between quarterback and coach
22:58 Mahomes and Reid vs. Brady and Belichick
24:26 What fans don’t know about the NFL
26:46 Story time: Picking up Boomer Esiason
27:59 Peyton Manning’s bizarre combine preparation
29:33 How Dak Prescott got the answers to the test
31:00 The 49ers picked a future goat farmer over Tom Brady
32:53 The Seahawks’ prank on Marshawn Lynch
34:22 Peter’s favorite story: Paul Tagliabue after 9/11
37:53 Who had the perfect football career?
42:03 Peter’s Philly Special gift
43:18 Tony’s final thought on Peter King
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Fifteen strikeouts. A playoff win. And a strike zone that still makes you wonder what, exactly, you’re watching.
Let’s go back to Game 5 of the 1997 NLCS. Livan Hernandez is on the mound for the Florida Marlins, Greg Maddux is pitching for the Atlanta Braves, and Eric Gregg is behind home plate. As the game goes on, pitches outside become strikes, Braves hitters start swinging at balls they can barely reach, and Hernandez finishes with 15 strikeouts. Then comes the final pitch to Fred McGriff. Watch it and tell me: HOW is that a strike?
Joey Duffield from Baseball Doesn’t Exist joins me to relive one of the most baffling games in baseball history. We watch the calls, debate how much credit Hernandez deserves, and argue over whether the Braves choked or got absolutely hosed. Joey has some conspiracy theories. I have some objections.
Then we take on a bigger question: Is baseball actually better with mistakes? From Jeffrey Maier’s catch to Armando Galarraga’s stolen perfect game and George Brett’s pine tar eruption, we revisit the calls that got it wrong and gave us stories we’ll never forget.
Welcome to Episode 019 of REAL DEAL! I’m Tony Reali, and I’m so happy you’re here.
Were the Braves robbed? And which blown call in baseball history still bothers you? Tell us in the comments.
00:00 Intro
01:34 The Pitch That Still Makes No Sense
02:34 Joey Duffield from Baseball Doesn’t Exist Joins
03:57 Setting the Scene: The 1997 NLCS
04:38 The Numbers Behind Livan Hernandez’s 15 Strikeouts
07:33 Growing Up a Braves Fan
10:47 Rewatching the Infamous Eric Gregg Game
12:58 Eric Gregg’s Strike Zone and Career Fallout
14:00 Can an Umpire Have His Own Strike Zone?
15:04 The Theories Behind the Eric Gregg Game
18:14 How Much Credit Does Livan Hernandez Deserve?
20:07 Why Didn’t the Braves Argue More?
21:32 Were the Braves Robbed?
23:26 The Braves Dynasty That Could Have Been
28:05 Is Baseball Better with Mistakes?
28:20 Jeffrey Maier’s Controversial Catch
29:53 Armando Galarraga’s Stolen Perfect Game
32:05 Did Matt Holliday Touch Home Plate?
32:58 George Brett’s Pine Tar Eruption
34:33 Don Denkinger’s Blown World Series Call
35:59 Joey’s Final Verdict on Eric Gregg
37:18 Joey’s REAL DEAL Phone Case
37:42 Tony’s Final Take: Leaving Room for Human Error

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February 1, 2009. The Steelers and Cardinals met at Raymond James Stadium for Super Bowl XLIII.
And just before halftime, James Harrison made history.
He picked off Kurt Warner at the goal line and rumbled 100 yards the other way for a touchdown. The longest pick-six ever. This is a man who looks like he cools down at the gym by deadlifting a Toyota Sequoia, but in the span of one play, Harrison looked both superhuman and human. He had just done something no one had ever done, on the sport's biggest stage, and needed an oxygen mask just to make it to the third quarter.
The Steelers won that night, and a 15-year-old Joey Mulinaro celebrated with a Steelers cookie cake, soaking in a memory that would forever be burned into his temporal lobe.
Now Joey joins me to relive the moment and remember the Pittsburgh legends who made it happen.
Welcome to Episode 018 of REAL DEAL! I’m Tony Reali, and I’m so happy you’re here.
00:00 James Harrison's legendary 100-yard pick six
00:54 Joey Molinaro joins REAL DEAL
03:43 Joey remembers watching Super Bowl XLIII
07:20 Simply Irresistible: How long did Harrison's return take?
10:28 Remembering the 2008 Steelers
15:28 Rewatching James Harrison's pick six
20:09 Harrison makes the interception
23:02 How did Harrison actually make it 100 yards?
27:28 The massive Super Bowl swing
30:33 What if Harrison never makes the play?
34:00 Who is the ultimate "Steelers Steeler"?
45:27 Joey Molinaro calls the play as Gus Johnson

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The 2021 Giants were a rough team to watch. Not much went right. There were injuries, tons of losses and, to cap off the season, one of the most baffling and embarrassing sequences in team history.
Jake Fromm was at QB, and the Giants were backed up at their own five-yard line. They ran a QB sneak on 2nd-and-11. Then, on 3rd-and-9, they ran it...again?
That’s the moment we’re covering on today’s REAL DEAL with comedian and die-hard Giants fan John Franklin. John joins me to try to explain the Joe Judge-era Giants, while also revisiting some of the other head-scratching and confounding moments in team history.
We laughed, we cried, and then we laughed again.
Welcome to Episode 017 of REAL DEAL! I’m Tony Reali, and I’m so happy you’re here.
00:00 Intro
03:27 The Giants' Infamous Back-to-Back QB Sneaks
04:22 John Franklin Joins the Show
06:35 WHY Did the Giants Do That?!
09:59 The Longest QB Sneak in NFL History
12:24 Remembering the 2021 Giants
17:28 Breaking Down the First QB Sneak
19:32 The Unbelievable 3rd-and-9 QB Sneak
20:55 Is There ANY Defense for This Play Call?
23:59 Ranking the Giants' Biggest "WHY?!" Moments
24:28 Jaxson Dart's Injury
25:25 The Giants' Coaching Carousel
26:20 Ben McAdoo's Infamous Suit
27:16 Daniel Jones' $160 Million Contract
27:40 The Saquon Barkley Hard Knocks Call
28:37 Benching Eli Manning
29:42 Punting to DeSean Jackson
30:43 The Infamous Giants Boat Photo
31:14 One Medium Pepsi
32:12 John's Final Giants Ranking
33:28 John's REAL DEAL Phone Case
34:26 The Giants Surrender
34:45 The Greatest Giants QB Sneak Ever?
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Let's go back 10 years to the 2016 NFL Draft.
Fourteen minutes before the first pick, it's a normal draft night full of excitement, hope and anticipation. Thirteen minutes before, everything changes. A video of Ole Miss offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil smoking from a gas mask bong hits his own Twitter account, and chaos ensues.
Tunsil's stock plummets, and the Miami Dolphins take him 13th overall. Three years later, after he's turned a disastrous draft night into a Pro Bowl career, Tunsil is at the center of a blockbuster trade to Houston. The fallout from that trade reshaped the NFL for years.
The great Bill Barnwell was gracious enough to join me for this one! He remembers watching the drama unfold in real time, walks me through the full butterfly effect, explains how the leak might play out today, and makes the case that the biggest winner of the whole thing was...Laremy Tunsil.
Welcome to Episode 016 of REAL DEAL. I'm Tony Reali, and I'm so happy you're here.
0:00 The Laremy Tunsil Gas Mask Photo
4:00 How Many NFL Players Did This Moment Affect?
7:00 Bill Barnwell Remembers Watching It Unfold Live
9:13 Why the NFL Draft Broadcast Couldn’t Address It Yet
11:11 Just How Good Was Laremy Tunsil as a Prospect?
14:27 NFL Teams React to the Photo in Real Time
17:47 Who Leaked the Laremy Tunsil Video?
21:14 How Much Money Did Tunsil Lose?
25:09 Would the Same Photo Matter Today?
26:13 The Butterfly Effect Begins
30:13 How the Tunsil Trade Changed the NFL
32:25 From Trey Lance to Jaylen Waddle and Micah Parsons
33:58 How Tyreek Hill Became Part of the Tunsil Tree
35:43 Bradley Chubb and Sean Payton Join the Chain
37:20 The Most Bizarre Images in NFL History
42:04 The 36-Player Laremy Tunsil Family Tree
44:16 The Ultimate Winner: Laremy Tunsil
Subscribe for new episodes of REAL DEAL every Tuesday. You can also listen on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.