Hey folks, Matt Major from Growth Mode Content.
Welcome to Tuesday Newsday on Good News York,
joined by the Hulkster Jr., I guess. Yeah. My
buddy, Mike Brindisi. Hey, buddy. Yeah. And Mike,
you got a fella today. Do we ever have somebody
with us? Good News York sponsored by ads on the
go get ads on the go dot com. Bring to you a
legend. in the wrestling, not this kind of wrestling
in the real wrestling world. If you are a wrestling
fan, you know who he is. Ladies and gentlemen,
Mean Gene Mills is here and Gene, welcome to
the show. And thank you so much for taking the
time to to come here. So a little quick backstory.
The way I got hooked up with Gene was we had
Diana on from David's Refuge. They had mentioned
that they were doing a charity golf tournament
and the NFL Alumni Association, the Upstate New
York chapter. They choose a different charity
each year for their golf tournament, you know,
proceeds to go to. And David's Refuge was that
recipient. So the wheels started turning and
I thought, well, that would be great to shoot.
And so we went and I shot some footage there.
Gene happens to be the, is it the head of the,
what's the proper term? The event director. the
event director of the golf tournament for the
NFL Alumni Association. And, you know, before
we went, I like to do a little research and I
typed in Gene Mills and holy hell, man. Hmm.
Listen to this. I'm going to do this for you.
Here's his record. One thousand three hundred
and fifty six wins, forty six losses. One tie.
New Jersey state champ, high school national
champ. NCAA career pin record, 107 pins, two
-time NCAA champ, four -time All -American, 1980
World Super Champion, 1980 USSR champion, 1980
U .S. Olympian Athlete of the Year, National
Wrestling Hall of Fame, Greater Syracuse Sports
Hall of Fame, a coach, and yeah, the NFL Alumni
Upstate New York. You're amazing, man. I mean,
it is... What an unreal resume. This isn't even
like just like a local. No, no, no, no. His credits
go around the world. Around the world, man. Jean,
I've got to start by asking you. You got the
name Mean Jean. How did the nickname come about?
Well, I think I like it. I should probably ask
that. Well, yes and no. I felt like I got a bad
rap when I was wrestling. People thought I was
mean. Wasn't mean. You're actually the nicest
guy I've ever met. Yeah. I would get on top of
people, I would make them uncomfortable, so they
wanted to get pinned. And when they wanted to
get pinned, I should have been nice guy, the
pin machine, because I would let them get pins.
No, true. That's a positive way to spin it now.
Again, I never wrestled, but I'm friends with
many wrestlers who, you know, don't have your
resume, but did very well at Ithaca College and
Cornell University. And one thing that people
don't realize because, you know, people that
watch the entertainment wrestling, you know,
every match usually ends with a pin. But is it
is it true that in actual wrestling pins are
a tough thing to get, correct? Yeah, they it's
I know it's it's obviously a point system, but
pinning is kind of a rare thing. So for you to
have one hundred and seven career pins, which
is your NCAA record, that was just college. That
was just college. Sorry. Sorry, I apologize.
He's going to pin me right on this table. What
did you is this something that does every wrestler
kind of set out to like the ultimate thing, which
do you always want to get a pin or is it something
that as you're going, if it prevents itself,
you go for it? Well, I think that most people
go out there to win the show and I didn't. I
went out there to beat the living daylights out
of them and make them want to get penned. And
then when they wanted to get penned, I would
then and if they didn't want to get penned, I
would change their mind. So they wanted to get
penned. So I think you're amazing. I love this.
Absolutely amazing. So tell me, how did it all
start out for you? Like, when did when did you
start wrestling? How did you find your passion
for it? When did you know you were like, Whoa,
I'm good at this and I love it. Well, I really
didn't start until I was a freshman in high school.
And I remember after about two weeks of practice,
I remember going home for dinner and my father
asking me, you know, so how do you like Brussels?
And I was like, you know, I really like it. I
think I'm going to be good. My father was kind
of an instigator. And he was like, well, how
good is good? I said, well, I think I could be
real good. He goes, well, how good is real good?
I said, well, I think I could be the best. And
he's, my father looked me at the eye, looked
me in the eye, pointed his finger at me and he's
like, let me tell you something. No matter how
good you ever get to be, there will always be
somebody better. That pissed me off. So I was
out to prove my dad wrong. So basically I was
a four foot 10 88 pound butterball. And I mean,
I literally just went on a mission. That's my
mission was to. Crush kill and destroy. Yes,
and you did it sounds like maybe your size was
an advantage to that, right? Well, no, cuz I
was I was small for back then the lightest weight
was one 98 and I was 88 So I got thrown around
pretty good. Okay, once I got the feel of what
they were doing how they were doing it. I started
using Their strengths to my advantages. So when
they would push me instead of pushing back, I'm
gonna lose I they want to push I'll pull they
want to pull me I'd push and so I would always
try to use their strengths against them. There's
definitely a lot a lot of strategy involved.
It's not just pure strength and things of that
nature. No, obviously, yeah, no strength. I mean,
it can hide a lot of a multitude of mistakes,
but it's not going to ultimately make that decision
unless, you know, you're at the same level. You
know, growing up, people always thought I wrestled
or I was a horse jockey because I'm so short.
You know, you mentioned you were for 10 or whatever
it was. And all the wrestlers that I spoke to
about you coming on the show, which they're going
to be watching this and and shout out to them.
They are also kind of smaller guys. Is that a
how? Why does it seem like most wrestlers are
are kind of smaller guys? Well, I think they
look smaller just because they're so wide. They
don't look as tall. But if they were skinny,
they'd look taller. Yeah. Well, that's a good
point. Wrestlers usually are not. I mean, they
get lean, but they're not skinny because they're
usually buff, ripped. I I've said on this show
many times, I always I thought, you know, people
say you don't want to get in a fight with a with
a motorcycle guy or I've always said you don't
want to get in a fight with a wrestler. Do you
believe that's true? Because I feel like you
either have to knock them out while they're standing,
because once once you guys get us on the ground,
that's it. Right. I mean, yeah, it's cold. Done
It is called done I uh, I got a question for
you as as we look at this resume We were talking
about how you've competed it all around the world
Are there different things about different places
in the world that maybe surprised you they do
it differently in different countries anything
like that that That really stood out as you you
made your travels A lot of a lot of countries
had different I don't know, flavors, techniques,
whatever. And so they would, you know, like one
country might be known for just headlocks and
another country might be very, you know, disciplined
and trying to get what they call leg laces and
all. So it was good because you got to wrestle
all these different styles. And it would, overall,
it just helped. So when I got to travel around
the world, I think I... competed in over 30 countries.
It was fun. Any, any, any favorite out of all
of them? My favorite was probably Hungary. Okay.
And, um, especially when we'd go, I'd always
go to this place called Miskolc. We probably
went there like 15 times and we'd go to Budapest
and when we'd go to Budapest, I would, back then
it was. the fifth I'm not here partying on the
Daniels. I was all lit up. It was beautiful.
Did you play other sports growing up? Because,
you know, do you think like today's young athletes,
they need to dedicate themselves to a single
sport in order to succeed at the high school
and college level? Like, what's your take on
on so many young athletes going all in on on
on one sport on a single sport? Because that's
kind of a debated topic these days. It is a very
debated topic. I'm a phys ed teacher. I've been
a phys ed teacher for years now and. Well, I
should have just retired last week. Oh, congratulations.
Thanks. I'll add that to the resume. Tired phys
ed teacher. But, um, we always try to preach
to the kids and do three sports. So, you know,
number one, it does give you a little break and
you're, oh, usually work in different muscle
groups when you are doing different sports. And,
um, I mean, I think wrestling can help with anything.
You know, I mean, the hand -eye coordination,
it's pretty amazing what can do to help. other
sports, but, um, I think it's good that they
do that, but I don't think it means you totally
go away. So what I mean by that is I encourage
my kids to do football. So a lot of kids are
like, well, I'm doing football. I can't, I can't
ruffle. Well, well, well, football practice got
done at five. You know, we're going to go from
seven to eight. Why don't you just come in and
learn something because you can still make serious
gains in any sport by still doing it. a couple
of times a week. And that's what I'd like to
see the athletes to do, you know, two, three
days a week. Um, and all, but some kids are like,
Nope, they're all in for one sport, then all
in for the next, then all in for the next. So
they, they always get to this good and then they
never get great. Um, I think you still need to
do whatever your passion sport is. You need to
do that. kind of year round, even if it's two,
three times a week. And so I got a lot of kids
to do baseball. I'm like, OK, after baseball,
I have some kids that come in and I'll still
try and get better. Other kids are like, I can't.
I had baseball today. What do you mean you had
baseball? Yeah, but now it's seven o 'clock.
There's more hours in the day. I mean, you don't
want to get better while I do it, but I'll do
that when the season comes. OK, so kids, I don't
think kids understand. Is that a generational
thing or you mean it's always been that way?
Um, like is it the newer generation that the
young, you know what I mean? That's not, there's
two letters that I think explain the younger
generation. I think the first letter is lay last
one to see lazy. I got you. Okay. And it's, uh,
yeah, they're always looking for excuses. So,
but when the season comes, you know, they're
going to be wondering why they didn't win. And,
you know, off season stuff is optional, but so
was winning. Well said. That's fair. So what
was your pre -match like mindset and routine?
You know, like what was your day to day training?
What did that look like leading up to the conference
and national championship conference finals and
national championship? Well, my biggest thing
is I used to go out there to wrestle. A lot of
kids go out there and they want to be strategic
and they want to get the W and they don't want
to lose and they don't want to lose. and they
don't want to lose. I never thought of it. I
went out there to go after him and go, go, go,
go, go, go, go until they couldn't breathe anymore.
And wrestling has a lot to do with, you know,
your cardio. Yeah. You know, and if you can push
somebody and you can get them to gas out, no
matter how good they are, you can turn them into
a plus. Just couldn't last them. Oh yeah. That's
right. I mean, I remember I asked the U S team
coaches if I could, uh, I want to go 136 wrestlers,
two time Olympic champ. And they're like, Oh,
nobody, nobody can beat that guy. I'm like, and
I said, give me a minute. And then I will have
them so tired and be able to breathe. And I said,
give me 90 seconds and I will push that guy so
hard. And after 90 seconds, that guy was done.
Wow. Toast toast. And it was only for nothing.
He beat me for nothing. Make how am I not gonna
come back and beat this? You know, it's like
I scored like seven points in any taking So I
think I know I think I know what you're talking
about because this was a question that one of
my buddies wanted me to ask you It's 1981. You're
in the EIWA championship at Princeton. You're
wrestling Bobby Weaver who is known as your Kind
of your arch rival, right? Oh, well, that's very
nice. You get put on your back, you go down 5
-0 to start the match. 4 -0? He took me down,
let me up, let me down. My friend set me up for
failure with this question. No, but he was beating
me 6 -2. Okay, so what's going through your mind?
Like, as an elite athlete, how do you overcome
that adversity in the moment? I mean, you're
down, you said 6 -2. What goes through your head
at that moment? That was the first minute. That
was the first minute? So that's what you're talking
about. It's just sticking in it. Yeah. And then
when I was like 27 to six, I wasn't worried anymore.
Yeah. What's there to worry about? We were we
were good friends. I think we both know who is
going to win. I mean, that wasn't an issue, but
he kind of caught me off guard. And the first
minute of every match, every match, if they were
halfway decent, I would be losing after the first
minute. Big deal. I didn't care because I knew
my cardio. I knew my mentality I knew I was gonna
keep going and going and going and going until
I was gonna make them fold I was gonna make them
quit and I was gonna make them say I don't want
to be here Then maybe give them a little bit
of false sense of security. Yeah, and he's a
friend of mine I mean, you know when he's scored
that that last take down to go up six two and
No, let him know it I love that this guy knows
every detail of these match. Oh, they know you
don't hear I was born. This is a lot. I finally
you get interviews with NFL players that haven't
played in 30 years and you can go tell me what
happened in that Raiders game in 1971 and they'll
rip off. Yeah, you know that you just you don't
forget that. That's amazing and it just shows
you how much the mental aspect of athletics is
so much not more important, but just as important
as your physical. condition. I mean, every story
you're telling, it seems like you're like, I
didn't care or I had my focus on that. And I
just think that mental toughness is so, so important
in anything you do, but especially in what you
did. Now, you were part of the 1980 Olympic team,
but that was the year we boycotted the Olympics
because of the Russia thing there. Does that
is that something that I mean, you get a goal
by default? Yeah, well, that's a great question.
But also, Was that something that you look back
on and you're angry or upset about or you just
wish it could have happened? Or is it water under
the bridge? It is what it is. Well, I wish that
happens. I had wrestled the guys, the top four
guys in the Olympics that year, and the guy who
was fourth in the Olympics, I was beating 15
to two within a minute before it bends. The guy
was third of being twenty seven to two. And second
period and then. I, who was second in the Olympics,
I was beaten 24 to three. When I pinned him in
any Olympic champ, I beat three times. And the
one time I had second period, I scored 14 points
in like 50 seconds before I pinned. So, I mean,
it wasn't like. There was anybody out there.
Well, that's what I'm saying. You won the gold.
Yeah, pretty much did. Yeah, but we didn't get
to go. So I joined that long list of. Billions
of other people on this planet called should
have what it could have club. Yeah. Yeah Well,
I think we're all part of that in some way now.
I know the movie Foxcatcher was an incredible
movie Which kind of centered around that that
era, you know, did you were you training at that
facility? No, I would he he would have he would
send the layer jet up to pick me up and go down
and teach him Wrestle for him. I told him why
and I said, I don't mean to sound rude, but I
told him I felt like I was my soul to the devil.
And if you watch the movie, you were right. And
I, you know, I am somebody who will call a spade
a spade. And I didn't I was not very comfortable
when I was around them. And I told him I would
not wrestle for him. And he offered me a lot
of money. And I wrestled for the New York Athletic
Club. And I was kind of. I didn't make a penny
with New York Athletic Club. They paid for my
flights, my food and my hotel. I was good with
that, but I would have had that with Foxcatcher
and a lot of money, but I was not comfortable.
I respect that so much. Yeah, you followed your
heart and what your gut was telling you and your
morals. And my loyalty. And your loyalty, yeah.
So New York AC was always good to me and the
people were great and I'm not gonna do that for
money. When that movie, when that movie came
out, it was a big movie, a credible movie from
my point of view. Was that something that you
you were able to watch or is it something you
were like, I don't I don't know if I want to
see that. And if you did, is it was it accurate?
Well, it was hard. Was it accurate? No, I was
actually in the movie. You were in the oh, you
were like in the film. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I don't
know. Like, I don't know if you remember when
Channing Tatum did the back flip after he won.
Yeah, I was the referee. Oh, my God. That's amazing.
I did not know that. Oh, that's fantastic. Well,
you said you said it wasn't accurate. What what
what parts of it weren't weren't? Well, there
were a lot of little things that they changed.
So they actually asked me to come because Mark
Schultz when he was talking to Bennett Miller,
the director, he asked if I could play me in
the movie. So the one part where Mark had to
lose 12 and a half pounds in the minute story
is on the bike and he's yeah, they're just like
said pushing them. So after Mark was sitting
on the bike for 45 minutes, Dave came running
into the Pensacola Athletic Center down in Pensacola,
Florida, and was yelling for me, yelling for
me, Gene. I'm like, what? He goes, Mark's 12
and a half pounds over, and he's got 45 minutes,
and he's not doing shit, basically. And he said,
you're the only person he'll listen to. So I
ran out there, and I started talking to him.
Next thing you know, we had this puddle of sweat
underneath. I actually have pictures of the real
life. Wow. And he lost 12 and a half pounds in
45 minutes. What? Yeah. It was kind of like a
rocky scenario. What? At first there were like
six or eight of us. And I'm like, come on, take
it, take it, take it, take it. And then back
then. So he was one eight hundred and eighty
pounds. It's one ninety eight to twenty to eighty
five. So as those weights get done you have 90
minutes to make weight, but 198 gets done You
know in 220 285 now people are leaving it's called
athletics So as I'm screaming it now dig it dig
it dig it dig it I was getting them on the bike
and I told them we were gonna go 30 seconds as
hard as you can 36 30 seconds as hard as you
can 30 seconds those 30 seconds I was doing 50
tens not telling them good We didn't have much
time. So as we're doing it And I've got him with
his head down. He's going as hard as he can.
I'm going like this to the crowd. Next thing
you know, there's, you know, 20 people, there's
30 people, there's 50 people. Next thing you
know, I got 150 people and I've got all these
people cheering Mark on to make way. And so he
wanted to kind of recreate that for the movie.
And then they just, Mark Ruffalo ended up just
doing something. Which, look, from a production
standpoint, They should have went with what actually
happened, because that scene was very intense
and it was amazing. Your point of view from what
really happened was actually, I think they did
themselves a disservice. It was way better. That's
amazing. It was pretty cool. And then at scales,
like when we got on the scales, you know, we
got them, we dragged them to the scale. I had
to wake them down with towels and he got on there
and they had the thing turn the other way. So
I couldn't see it. And there was like, all you
hear is, holy shit. Oh, my God, I can't believe
it. 0 .3, and he broke down crying. He was under
by 0 .3. So he thought he lost 12 .2. Wow. It
was pretty emotional. He broke down crying, and
he was really happy that he did it, and it was
pretty cool. And then he had to go out and wrestle
after that. Yeah. So I just gotta ask you a question,
because I'm not... yet once once officially weighed
in Well, I I remember in high school in the 90s
a lot of wrestlers would chew tobacco all day
and a lot of the teachers and and Coaches would
turn a blind eye to it because they knew they
were trying to make weight for that night Is
it was that something that was just where I'm
from in Hurcombe or New York? Or is that something
that was in the in the wrestling culture? No,
you lose water weight from spill saliva so you
see but I see if you fill a bottle 16 ounces
of 16 ounces Yeah, so it was something in wrestling
culture. Yeah. Well, we used to chew gum. Okay.
Back then they had this sour gum. You do it and
you spit up and fill up a water bottle of saliva
that's a pound. That's wild. I'm gonna vomit.
I know when I came to college, you know, some
guys on the team were doing tobacco. Yeah. So,
yeah, it was real nasty. Well, one more question
for me, at least when we'll talk about your the
Wrestling Foundation. I'm wearing a Hulkamania
shirt. All right. And, you know, listen, I grew
up in a great era and I used to love that as
a kid. And in some ways, I still watch it. My
son's into it. What from from someone who is
as decorated as you are in the actual sport of
wrestling? What was the I know everybody's different,
but what was the general consensus towards that?
Was it like, oh, it's cool. It's fun. Like. Or
were you like, why are they doing this? They're
they're they're kind of tarnishing the name of
wrestling. Well, it does kind of put it like
a negative impact for the rest, because with
the U .S. Wrestling Foundation, we do surveys
throughout the country and. When we survey all
these, you know, kids and families and throughout
the country, they're like, well, we don't like
when they smash the chairs over their head. It
seems violent. I'm like. Are you? Oh, my God.
I mean, people don't understand. I mean, there's
it's crazy. There's wrestling and then there's
entertainment. Yeah, there's it's a big difference.
Seems like they should have come up with some
kind of different term for that. You know, looking
back, you know, as an adult, absolutely. Absolutely.
I mean, I guess at its core, it's supposed to
be a little bit of I would say wrestling inspired.
Yeah. But not enough to where it should really
share that name and radically different. I know
it's like. It's like if someone came in and they
said, I'm a podcaster. And you find out they
just sit on a CB radio all day. You're like,
that's not the same thing. I guess men's soap
opera doesn't sound quite as cool. But that's
what it was. It's literally what it is. So, Gene,
this is incredible. First of all, obviously,
we've been over your resume talking about your
wrestling career. Got into coaching P .E. teacher.
You're part of the NFL Alumni Association. If
you want to talk about that, you're the head
of the Upstate New York chapter. But. You do
a lot with the U .S. Wrestling Foundation. I
want to talk about that a little bit. Tell us
about it. Well, one of my buddies, who is the
executive director of the U .S. Wrestling Foundation,
Jack Clark, he had a vision of doing these posters
and sending them to every high school in the
United States. But he didn't. So, you know, I
like the idea. So he was saying, you know, like,
what if we got a Super Bowl guy before I won
a Super Bowl? I wrestled. Wow. And then, I remember
when I called Mark Ruffalo, I answered the phone
in the background and I heard some guy yell at
me, what are you doing? And he's like, hey, my
name's Gene Mills, you answer. Nice. And I'm
like, Mark, what's going on? He goes, you know
what, like 30 some years, I've never yelled cut
in the middle of a scene. I'm like, you're filming
right now? And he's like, Yeah, I said, yeah,
you killed cutting metal scene for you. Yeah,
he said I got so excited when you were calling
Goach stuff. That's you know, I feel like an
asshole because Jean called me last night and
I was like I was in the middle of like dinner
and I saw it and I was like, I'll just call him
right back. Mark Ruffalo cut a scene in a movie
to talk to you and my stupid ass didn't pick
up the phone when you called. That's why he's
a superstar and you worked for a pocket. I guess
that's a good point, Matt and depressing. Gene,
that's absolutely amazing. So regarding the US
Wrestling Foundation, what do you guys got going
on now? So we're continuing to do that. And we're
trying to get, you know, celebrities before I
did whatever I wrestled. And, you know, we've
got one guy who was a two -time world champ bull
rider. Before I rode a raging bull, I wrestled.
And I'd be a guy who won the I Did A Rod six
times, who was a... you know, a wrestler in the
U S nationals. And before I, when the, I did
a rod, I wrestled where you take that sled dog
sled 1600 miles across Canada, six times. Um,
I don't know. It's just cool. And so people are
looking at this saying, Oh wow. And they did
that before they wrestled. So it builds interest.
And we asked every high school coach in United
States, please do not put in your wrestling room.
Put it in the gym, put it in the camp area, put
it out. Put it in the hallway, put it where the
rest, any, you know, people besides wrestlers
will see it and maybe they'll draw interest.
So when we crushed it going, you know, with our
goal, raising participation numbers, 3 % a year
for the next 10 years, you know, a hundred percent
in two years and 32 .8 for men and a hundred
percent for women. Um, we just. crush the numbers.
You know, it was a very expensive, um, thing,
but we did a lot of, you know, great promotion
fundraising in order to be able to make 13 ,000
posters times 10 posters a year and every high
school in the United States. Unbelievable. Yeah.
Um, all right. Is that a campaign that's still
going, Gene? Yes. So, um, yeah, I, you know,
if you go to, um, wrestling changes lives .com
or let's wrestle. or hashtag let's wrestle dot
com. There's all those posters up there. I don't
want to. I don't want you to have any competition
here, but I feel like you've stumbled on a brilliant
campaign here for any sport. Looking for some
attention is really just, you know, highlight
some of the superstars and what it could do for
it. It's brilliant. It is. It is. It's great
to see that those big names were also able to
step up for you and you know. Originally, when
you were talking about it, I thought it was just
a, you know, a general ad campaign. You should
wrestle. It's fun, you know, right? Um, I didn't
realize that you had the celebrities involved
and you got that sort of endorsement that really
showed them the path. Well, and I now know as
posters, we have a QR code so kids can take their
phones and put the QR code and. And it will be
a video of them and saying how wrestling helped
change their life and help how it helped them
be successful. And it's amazing some of the stories
that some of these people have. What a brilliant
idea it is. We got to get you out of here. I
know, but I just have a couple of lightning round
questions because I have so many things I wanted
to ask you quickly in your era of US greats were
competing today. Who do you think you'd be wrestling
on a live pay -per -view event? Who would I be
wrestling right now? Yeah, would you be? Who
would you be going for? You mean? against the
current guys yes from this year yes brother What
do you think of Kyle Dake? Because Kyle takes
a Kyle Dakes a big name. I live in Ithaca. So,
you know, he went to Cornell and he he's phenomenal.
Yeah, I mean, he a lot of people don't realize
that he moved up 30 pounds this year. Jesus,
because he didn't want to make his weight for
the Olympics. It was a hard cut. But if you go
up one weight class, that's not an Olympic weight.
So. For the World Championships, there's 10 weights.
For the Olympics, you have the first weight,
the third, the fifth, the seventh, and the ninth.
It's like it skips every other weight. And so
that that weight is not an Olympic weight. So
he went up. That's a 30 pound difference. So
he went up and he was given up phenomenal size.
So he did not make the team this year. But is
he great? Absolutely. He's phenomenal. And if
he had trained with you, he could have gained
30 pounds in 45 minutes. That's less than that.
Last question. What was your I mean, your accolades
are insane. Do you have a proudest moment? I
mean, I don't know how you pick, but what do
you remember? Was there ever a moment where you're
like, wow, like this is this is the moment where
I feel like, well, I mean, I was proud. I wanted
it that most healthy and wrestler at the NCAs,
which is basically the where they call the SPS
like a. like Ernie Davis. So I won the Heisman
of my sport. I won the Outstanding Wrestler Award
at the World Super Championships. And then I
won the Outstanding Wrestler Award in the hardest
tournament in the world called the Tbilisi tournament
in Russia. And the reason that was the hardest
because back then you had one person representing
the USSR. It's a big country. And that tournament
you had. The top three guys in the country from
Russia, the top three guys in the country from
Georgia, the top three guys from Ukraine, the
top three guys from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, all
the other stands. I mean, you got the best guys
in the world. And like we had Olympic champs
go over there and they would go over there and
they'd get like seven matches and get pinned
all seven times. Because you're wrestling the
best guys in the world. Back then, if you had
a... guy from russia and you didn't get him to
like fourth fifth or sixth round they were not
in shape the americans were always in shape so
if you can get them at the end they were easy
to beat wow you know so we'd have you know three
four olympic champs because we were in such good
shape but then when i wrestled i was the fifth
american to ever win it in 22 years in a row
wow so and then i just you know kind of set a
world record i just Must be an everybody like
20 when I pinned them except the world champion.
Well gene Your can I just point out because I've
been admiring this guy not only he's a world
champion But he's also got some incredible style
and I just been noticing you He's got Syracuse
colored glasses on. I did notice that when you
sat down. Those are just so awesome. I just love
the blue and orange glasses. I do it. I'm glad
I thought about saying something and I was like,
that's not relevant. I'm not going to say it,
but I was admiring those glasses and he's got
the circus. You're gene stylish and representing.
This has been not only. Not only an incredible
interview, but you have done a great job of making
Matt and I feel like we are losers because we
don't we can't compete with this resume. No,
you're absolutely amazing. Give us before you
go. The plugs, what websites, anything for yourself
or the foundation? Well, for the US Wrestling
Foundation, US Wrestling Foundation dot com wrestling
changes lives dot com. And then I work with NFL
alumni, so it's nflalumni .org, but you have
to go to the Upstate NY chapter, New York chapter.
And with that, we try to raise monies for charities
in Upstate New York. You're amazing. That's awesome.
Gene, thank you so much. Gene Mills, thank you
for coming on Good News York, sponsored by ads
on the go get ads on the go dot com. And you're
a legend, man. And we wish you the best of luck
in any time you want to come on the show. Yeah.
And we actually can't say no, because you'll
pin us. And if Mark Ruffalo caught a scene episode.
So what if we did a scene where he just walks
in middle of the show and he just lays us out
right here? Right on the table, right? Amazing.
All right, Gene Mills. He's a legend for Tuesday
News. Tuesday Newsday coming up next. We are.
It is Good News York sponsored by ads on the
go get ads on the go dot com. Mike Brindisi and
the great Matt Major, the leader of the kingdom.
Matt, it is Tuesday Newsday. I think I have one
or two stories, but we have so much more to talk
about because we didn't shoot an episode yesterday.
So we have a lot to catch up on the weekend.
Well, first things first, I posted something,
a funny thing on the weekend. First things first,
I'm the realest. That is, what's your name? Okay.
So over the weekend, has this ever happened to
you? So my wife and I You know, we're home and
it's Friday and I said, all right, hey, what
do we got going on today? We got this business.
What do we got going on Saturday? We got to go
here. We got to go to this. What's going on Sunday?
We have nothing, baby. High five. That's amazing
because I told you I'm at a point in my life
where I just don't want to day off. I want to
day off with nothing to do. Well, Sunday morning
rolls around. We get to about nine thirty in
the morning. She comes out and gives me the old.
What do you think about rearranging the basement?
I went here, we fucking go. Next thing you know,
we're knee deep in purging the kids' toys, moving
furniture around. Now we're moving a foosball
table into storage and it gets stuck in the doorway.
I've got to find tools, take the leg off. Why
does this happen? Do you think it's like, women
unnecessarily mean it or do you think they go,
I'm, like, because I'll be honest, from my point
of view, I don't think my wife meant, like, she
wasn't like, I'm gonna get them. It's a day off
because she wanted a day off too with nothing
to do. I think it's like she can't just sit still.
Do you just say no? No, well, no, I mean, I could
and she would be fine with it, but. I guess the
sad part is I really I was kind of like that
is a good idea. We should do that. I just didn't
know we were really going to like do it, do it.
I don't know. It's one of those where you get
tricked into a massive project. Yeah, basically.
I will shift boxes around for 15 minutes. Next
thing you know, it's five hours later. Correct.
And that is what happened. And I'm happy because
you know, I go down there now and I'm like, okay,
it looks great. But anyway, um, you want to come
clean my base? I will. For you, buddy. I'll do
anything. There's not much down there. I bought
this off. I bought my first so you know, even
getting me onto the tick tock shop stuff you've
been talking about. Yeah, by Chinese. Yeah, I
did. And my wife hates this, but I love it. So
it's a hand. Okay. And comes with a remote. and
you stick it to your window. Oh, and so look
at this. I can do a waving sign or someone pisses
me off. I can give them the finger. Wow. Or you
can give them like the horns like, yeah, rock
on, brother. So I I'm very excited about this
purchase. Have you seen this work? Well, I haven't
tried it yet. Actually, I really have. Let's
try it. I charged it all last night. Make for
a better bit. Well, strike one last night, I
I charged it, and it did not charge fully. Well,
no, the light didn't turn on to turn green to
know it's fully charged, but it would charge
for like eight hours. There's no way. Tell me
it doesn't work. No, it works. All right. Hold
on. Anyway, so my daughter goes, oh, I have the
battery in backwards. My daughter goes, Dad,
I've been seeing that on TikTok. People have
been getting arrested. What would mean you charged?
There's like a USB. It's a fucking empty battery.
No, no, no, watch. Fuck. Oh, wait, it needs batteries,
but it made me charge it USB. It does have a
USB port, I'll give you that and it says it changes
to green when it's fully charged. I think they
intend you to use maybe rechargeable batteries
or something. No, because I plugged it in and
the light was orange and I was waiting for it
to turn green and it never did. And I'm like,
well, it's funny. I was plugging in here and
then this tablet right here and see if you can
make it work. What? You must be on. One standby.
OK, OK. So maybe it's got it. Let's see what
happened. Whoa! Yeah, so you can plug it in.
Hello. But I think you otherwise need batteries.
Fuck you. So you could like plug that in the
car. It's not charging. It's just a power cord.
So that's that would be why I never saw the green
light. Correct. After charging it for eight hours.
OK. Well, anyway, my question is, where do I
put this? Do I do it on the back window side?
That's typically. Yeah. Yeah. OK. Good to know.
And I'll let you know, my daughter said there's
people on TikTok getting arrested for them because
they're driving distractions. So. That's not
I mean, I drive to Syracuse Monday through Thursday.
So and there's a lot of assholes. So I'm probably
going to be using it. I wanted to let you know,
we are officially getting backstage credentials
for the K Rockathon. Yeah. Oh, yes. We did it.
We did it. We are next week. I believe yet media
creds. We have legit media creds. We're going
to be baking them. We're going to be doing an
episode. of Good News York at the K -Rockathon.
Candlebox is going to be there. I forget who
else, but we're going to we're going to be backstage,
buddy. And that's a bigger deal for us than people
think, because when you were growing up in the
90s in upstate New York, you know, especially
your teenager, dude, for me, K -Rockathon was
my Super Bowl every year. We would load up the
car. Or in your case, you saw us. We got a U
-Haul and put furniture in the back. I used to
sneak backstage at all the K -Rockathons. I remember
I told you I made fake backstage passes online,
and I would hand out my demos of whatever music
project I was involved in. I was on tour buses.
How'd that work for you? No, not great. I'm here.
I mean, I didn't get signed at the time, but
I'm glad I didn't, to be honest. It is the Sweetgrass
K -Rockathon reboot, Saturday, July 26th, and
Chevy Court at the Great New York State Fairgrounds.
Oh, yeah, there's going to be nothing more candle
box drowning pool, which, incidentally, last
time I was at a K Rockathon, I saw drowning.
That was the last K Rockathon. Alien Ant Farm.
Yeah, I open it off. It's going to be a great
time. You go to KRockathon .com to grab your
tickets. This is going to be a good time. K Rockathon
is like a it's like just a local. It's just I
don't know, staple. Yeah. And look, this is the
reboot. They're bringing back some some classic
things. They have a very vintage 90s computer
look to their their theme, which I have to love.
You have to love it. It's awesome. Which we should
post that. We'll post that picture. Of course.
Yeah. So definitely grab your tickets. It's going
to be great. I'm very excited. I got to dig up
all the old footage on my eight millimeter tapes
of me backstage. Honestly, the last K -Rockathon
I went to was with Drowning Pool. And it was
the original singer who died of a drug overdose.
I remember I was the one you and I are at together.
We've talked about this. Is that the one? Yeah.
And he ran across coming off stage. I was on
the side of the stage taping. He ran by and slapped
my hand so hard. I felt like it caught on fire.
And did it almost make your body hit the floor?
It did. And we opened for Alien Ant Farm at the
Lost Horizon. My band did. Did you really? One
of our last shows. We opened for Alien Ant Farm.
I really like them. As well as we were talking
about this yesterday, Candlebox. Candlebox is
a band from the 90s that I feel like might be
a little underrated. They are very under. Spectacular
talent. Great music through people, mutual friends.
I'm actually friends with the singer on Facebook,
but I don't know him personally. I saw Candlebox
in 1996. They opened for Aerosmith at the Pepsi
Arena in Albany. It was the first time I saw
them and they were great. But yeah, you're right.
Candlebox is a great band. Phenomenal. Great
man. And we're going to get to see him. Yeah.
And on the 26th at the Sweetgrass K Rockathon
reboot. Right at the Great New York State Fair,
Chevy Court. I think you'll find you don't necessarily
even have to know where Chevy Court is. I feel
like if you just pull up to the fair, there's
the old guy that sits in the booth. And for some
reason, no matter how big the event is, you're
still supposed to stop and say hi to the fella.
Like, hey, I'm going to the giant event here.
OK, and he acts surprised. Oh, like, oh, oh,
is that what this whole line of? But no, I love
things at the fairgrounds because you got all
the room in the world and you can have a great
time. So I'm I miss, you know, my my fondest
K Rockathon. I guess venue is I loved when it
was at Vernon Downs. That was my absolute favorite.
I did the Weed Sports Speedway. That was cool.
but Vernon Downs is just... There's something
about it. Maybe just because that was the OG.
Maybe. Maybe, but... Yeah, maybe it's Regency
bias. If that's the thing. It was local to us
at that point. It was local. Real to us, damn
it. Also this weekend, we've got Mafia Con for
you Bills fans out in Buffalo. Bills Mafia Con.
Forget about it. And remember we went to... Oh,
different Mafia. We went to Clovers and Skinny
Atlas. We shot an episode. I thought those men
in suits were here for a different reason. No.
We went to Clovers and Skinny Atlas. And if you
remember, I'm a huge Metallica fan. I was looking
for Jason Newstead. Jason Newstead is performing
this weekend. I wish I had more details. I probably
should have looked. No, not at Clovers, but either
in Skinny Atlas or around the area. I believe
it is in Skinny Atlas. Not in his own backyard.
It's somewhere. He's performing Friday and Saturday
night. It's two different shows. So I might go
to that. I feel like he heard that you were looking
for him around town and he's like, I'll show
this dude. I'm going to perform when I know he's
not coming. Yeah, you know what? I'm going to
hide out while he's here. And then when he leaves,
I'm going to put a two night banger on. Well,
I'll take it. Anyway, Tuesday Newsday. Tuesday
Newsday. Let's get, you said you had a new story.
I want you to, you never give us a new story
on Tuesday News 8. You do yours. I woke up way
too early and turned on the TV, which I almost
never watch television in the morning, which
is weird, but I encountered the today show pre
-show. You ever seen this? There's like a show
before the today show. Is that the yesterday
show? No, it's, you know, it's just where they
take like their D -list anchors and let them
host something for people like me who woke up
too early. In any case though, they had this
story, and here's the thing. It's about a plane
crash. What the hell? And it's out of Florida.
Oh, so it's... This sounds like I'm breaking
all my rules. Yeah, it has nothing to do with
New York and it's not good news. But stick with
me for a second, because spoiler alert, all four
passengers of the plane are okay. Good. They're
at the hospital. I'm sure they've got some cuts
and bruises, but they're fine. Why is that sad?
Well, they got cuts and bruises. That's good
news. Okay. They got cuts and bruises. All right.
They crashed into a tree. There's video of this
on the news story. Wait, hold on. Sorry. I don't
mean... A plane doesn't crash. A car crashes
into a tree. No, no. A plane crashes and whatever's
in its way gets taken down. Trees, houses...
You don't say, oh, I was in a... plane crash.
We hit it. We I was driving. I was in the plane
and we hit a tree. It's literally like that.
They were they were going. Apparently this this
is near a local airport and a pilot miss, I guess.
I don't fuck. But in any case, he hit a tree.
OK, and in this local neighborhood. Took out
the tree crashed. All the neighbors flocked to
this thing. And this is the positive part of
the story. This is the part that sort of gave
me a little a little pride in humanity. The neighbors
saved these folks. They immediately went to work.
They grabbed garden hoses and started putting
water on the thing so it didn't explode. And
a bunch of them started hacking the thing apart
to pull people out of this plane. And it was
just incredible to me. And in the days we hear
about, you know, nobody wants to help anybody.
People just want to stand around and and take
out their phones. It looked like damn every neighbor
in this neighborhood came to aid this plane crash.
First of all, I love this. Second of all, Matt,
are you breaking news that if people work together?
There's the plane in the fucking tree that it
did hit a fucking tree. You're right. And somewhere
not all the trees will see one tree. Yeah, we'll
see if they got the clip. Somebody's ring camera
caught it like. Has it going into the tree? I
don't know if that's going to be in this clip.
Are you saying if we work together, we can do
better things if everybody unites? Hmm. Oh, wow.
Incredible. What a con. You know, that's just
the thing. That's that's that's the way things
are supposed to work. It's supposed to be a community.
It's supposed to be, you know, this guy. Something
occurred. Pref record. You don't worry about
Karen who steps on your your side of the lawn.
Right. You know, you. You grab garden hoses and
tools, and you help these strangers. Look at
this. Who appeared on your lawn, quite literally.
You know, that is wild. Imagine something similar
like this happened to... Hold on a second. Danny,
can we get a little audio just so we can... I
was watching dishes. I like that the onlooker
stories are the best part of any local news story.
Of course. Sorry, I didn't mean to throw a wrench
at you, buddy. that over the last five years,
we've had over 35 crashes here. Jesus. The time
has run out. This community wants to feel safe.
Broward County, and I'm calling on the Broward
County Commission. Can you zoom back for us,
buddy, or rewind? We've had 35 crashes in the
last few years. They were just like, neighborhood
watch, assemble. That's what I'm telling you.
These folks might be prepared. They're like,
ah, John, we got another one. I heard a big boom.
And then we heard the chk. And we knew like that
was a plane. They almost sounded like a semi
-target. I love this guy. And we just saw this.
According to Pembroke Pines officials, the plane
was arriving at North Perry Airport Sunday evening
with four people on board when it crashed into
a tree in a neighborhood on Southwest 14th Street.
I noticed that the plane was like making a dip
and the dip got lower and lower and then there
came the crash. Officials say all four people
on board were treated for minor injuries. Dude,
you are so... See the people like banging the
window trying to break it open. to get the people
out. So the story that I watched this morning,
it must have been on a different news channel,
had footage of the crash and of the people helping.
So I'm sorry that I failed you with wherever
I linked this from. But listen, but you made
up for it with, like I said, give me faith in
humanity. Civilian interviews are never disappointing.
They always include sound effects. I heard a
crash and then a boom pow. Now we're doing the
dishes. That's classic Florida man. I've had
something similar happen in our neighborhood.
So there's a guy that has like this hot air balloon
company in Ithaca, in the Ithaca area, and he'll
take people out. And so what I learned is, so
one day we're, same thing, I'm washing a dish
and you hear like the kids screaming, look, look,
everyone's running outside. The hot air balloon
landed in the middle of the road in our neighborhood.
Yeah, you can't necessarily control where they
land. That's what I found out. I didn't know
that if you're in a hot air balloon when it's
time to go down, it's time to go down. You just
have to find a place that's big enough, whether
it's a neighborhood or a field. If you ever see
any of these hot air balloon festivals, you will
see that there are chase cars or literally people
will follow the hot air balloon in a vehicle
to retrieve it whenever it comes down. Would
you would you do it? Would you go in a hot air
balloon? I don't know. I don't either. You know,
I don't like the idea of floating in a basket.
I don't. I'm not super like in the heights. I'm
also not so like nobody airplane doesn't bother
me. Then I feel like I could be mistaken, but
I feel like I would feel secure enough in a balloon
and that maybe that's foolish of me. But I feel
like as I've seen these things go up and down,
like they don't, they don't drop like a rock.
Well, they, they do if the balloon pops. Yeah,
but like. Has that ever happened? Well, it's
funny you say that. I just saw a video recently.
I can't tell if it was AI or not, but it was
like the fire caught the balloon on fire. Oh,
yeah, that'll happen. And then it was a deadly
plunge. So you know, that's another thing. I
hate when people go, oh, I do not like heights.
I'm like, who does? Who's like, I love being
50 ,000 feet in the air. Nobody likes it. Can
I tell you something weird, personal? Yeah, I
don't. I don't really have any sort of issue
with heights in terms of like I could stand on
a real tall building and look over and that's
that's fine with me. I have an issue with stairs
and like steep stairs. Don't know why. All right.
But I have more of an issue with that than being
at the roof of a. I can't make funny because
I am completely OK with roller coasters. Ferris
wheels. Go fuck yourself. I'm not getting in
a Ferris wheel. Yeah, I don't like. Going up
and down and then stopping. I'm not really I'm
not down for either to be completely honest with
you But if I had to choose I'd take the ferris
wheel would you I want no part of these fucking
rollercoasters Well, I mean that that's the reasonable
answer you remember at the Herkimer County. Well,
not even just her all fairs remember the Herkimer
County fair Remember the uh, so it was like a
ferris wheel But in addition you were in a cage
that would spin independently on its own like
little like gondolas sort of Yeah, but well,
they were still death traps to me. They just
have like a great that you could see out of and
you had a bar over you and you were just independently
spinning while also I don't know that I ever
went on. Yeah. Yeah. Hated it. I never went on.
I think. Oh, no, I did. I went on once and it
was the worst experience of my life. So I never
went on again. But I always liked what's that
one. Was it like the Gravitron, the one that
like spins? Oh, yeah. Where you were you were
in a spaceship and you would lay down and you
couldn't move because of the gravity. Remember
the first time I went on that with my buddy we
got on and like we weren't totally sure what
was gonna happen and These kids next to us obviously
knew what was gonna happen So right before you
get to the point to where you can't move they
like jumped and did poses. Yes Yeah, that's what
I used to do and like the whole time. I'm there
like that's fucking cool, man I wish I had understood
how this thing works. But yeah, I would go upside
down But then you're screwed. It didn't it didn't
feel like I don't know as fast as it moved you
I didn't feel like I was gonna die in any way.
Right, right. And you know, back then there was
no social media. So the only way to really find
out what the ride was like, because it was in
you're literally inside a spaceship. You had
to go look. There was no like going online and
looking it up. I remember right next to that
at the Herkimer can affair was the flying bops.
Now that was my favorite or flying flying bops
flying bops. It was the one where they would
play music, and it would just go in a circle
and music would like the lights go in. It had
like a winter theme. Yes, yes, yes. The Flying
Bops. Like a snow. Yes. I never heard it called
that. It's called something else, but I know
exactly what you're talking about. Maybe I'm
thinking of like a tag team. We're the Flying
Bops. You sit like a bench. Yes. Yeah, I love
that. Yeah, I'm down with that one. And I also,
here's a little personal one for me. I am terrified
of haunted houses. And I don't mean that's the
intention. I don't mean the elaborate ones that
like nowadays it's like a real life horror movie.
I'm talking about just your simple old haunted
house where there's mirrors and every now and
then a guy in like a crusty suit that hasn't
been washed in 30. I can't do it. I get scared
very easily. I don't like I'm not like right
now if we were at a fair at my age and you said
go in that haunted house by yourself, I'd say
I am too scared. So I wouldn't say that I'm scared
of those sorts of things, but I don't find the
entertainment value. No. You're trapped. You
don't know what's going to happen. It's the Herkimer
County Fair, by the way, so who knows if they're
a local hire, which could be more dangerous than
a national hire, because the county fair are
scarier than any haunted house. You bet your
ass, my friend. They're probably like Billy.
I don't know why you would pay to go see a haunted
house at the county. Yeah, it'd be like that
was the price of admission. Yeah, Billy. Yeah,
get in there. What costume you want me to wear?
Nothing. Wear what you're wearing games. I did.
I used to do the one where it was a spiral and
it would also spin and the spiral thing would
spin and you had to take the thing. A boring
game they had, you mean? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And
then there was one that I was good at the water
gun where you hit the target. That one's gold.
Yeah, that was the one I was always good at.
The rest I sucked. So I took my daughter to the
state fair, my youngest, and she wanted to play
games. And we played that one first and she won
it. God, that was a nightmare. Yeah, because
now you're screwed for every time you walk by
it. Now she assumes she's going to win every
game. So now we're playing all these other carnival
games. Yeah. And they're not as easy. And she's
like, what the hell? I don't know if I was exceptional.
You set the bar absolutely the wrong way. You
did. I might be one of the best water gun carnival
game players ever, because I always would win.
But maybe I'm just average on a national scale.
I'm reasonably sure that there's a little dealer's
choice control on that particular game. There
is. You can look it up. There's a whole community
online. I didn't know this. Where you get there.
They have YouTube channels, social media channels
dedicated to beating carnival games and exposing
the tricks. It's actually. There's one with the
crane machine, but I tried it and it didn't work.
I don't remember what it was, so you gotta be
careful because some of its problem with claw
machines. I used to be a claw machine connoisseur.
They don't squeeze hard enough intentionally,
right? It's like one in five. The tension is
controlled. That sounds about right, because
every fourth or fifth time I would win. Yeah,
but even then you even that time when you grab
it, then you have to grab it from the right end.
You know it's. You know, I've been seeing videos
of kids going up in there and getting stuck,
and I'm going to promise you, I mean this, I'm
jealous. I wish I had thought of that. I wish
I had gotten stuck in a stuffed animal. I don't
know how we got the claw games, but since we
did, I got to ask you. I saw this video the other
day of a restaurant that had a lobster tank clogging.
Wait a minute. So you know how you go to like
Red Lobster and you want fresh lobster and you're
like, give me that guy out of the tank. Same
deal, but it's a clogging. Hold on. Are you telling
me they're like, not only do you get to pick
your lobster, but you make a game out of it with
a claw and it's a live lobster? Oh, yeah. This
is amazing. Where is this? I don't know exactly.
I'll find the video. Oh, you didn't go there?
No, no, I fucking did not. I thought you meant
it was local. I want to go there for lunch. Yeah.
Here's the thing, though. I got to ask you. So
the debate in the comments was how cruel that
is. Oh, here we go. What do you think? You think
that's cruel? Okay. Or even how about just cooking
lobster live? All right. Here's what your thoughts
on that? Okay. That's a fantastic question, by
the way. Where do I fall on this? First of all,
I'm a big animal lover. Overall, do I think the
way we pick lobsters out and then set them in
boiling water and listening to them scream? Do
I think that's horrible? Absolutely. But I walk
away for that part of it. I think it's really
scream. However, What I think is making a claw
game out of choosing them to go to their death.
I think that's probably their last fun ride before
they go. I don't I don't think considering what's
about to happen to them. I don't think the claw
part of their day. It's the best part of their
day. And I and I don't I don't think that kind
of size is up to putting them in boiling water.
Like at that point, I mean, the whole the whole
thing may be may be inhumane. But you can't just
cherry -pick the crane part of it and say that's
inhumane I mean the whole process is fair, you
know, I mean, I'm just thinking out loud But
I think some people some chefs will tell you
that they'll knock out the thing first Hmm. I
don't know if that's throw it in the pot. You
never heard him scream I'm reason I could be
mistaken. I'm reasonably sure it's not a scream.
It's more of the steam That's that was where
I was going which is that is another debate that
some people are claiming now that they don't
scream If they did, they just say, don't put
me in the fucking pot. Under the sea. Yeah, I
don't know, man. Look, I'm not I'm not for hurting
animals. But if you're going to hurt a lobster,
you may not hurt them if you're going to if you're
going to eat them. I don't think the crane part
of it adds any sort of worse. We got video. Oh,
we're going to put it up. Yeah. All right. While
he's doing that, let me just do this real quick.
It is Tuesday Newsday. I thought this was awesome.
This is from the Finger Lakes. They're opening
cooling centers. They're available because of
the heat wave. You call ahead and they have certain
hours. Can I get some of that cooling? Yeah.
I'm talking Seneca County, Schuyler County, Stubend
County, Tompkins County, Wayne County and Yates
County. And under each county, there are 10 to
15 places. I'm not talking about like one or
two places. They have done widespread cooling
centers, which I just thought is such a great
idea. You're working in the heat. You don't have
air conditioning at home, things like that. It's
what an awesome idea, right? I love that. All
right. What do we got? So speaking of the opposite
of lifesavers, let's let's go to the videotape.
Don't tag PETA on this. Oh, my God. So what they've
done is they've taken looks like a traditional
claw machine and they've they've now waterproofed
it because they're not. Wait a minute. Danny,
can you roll that back just to like the end?
I want you to notice something though. Now in
a normal claw game, right here, it would drop.
They actually went ahead and let you... Well,
these have control. So you can, if you have one
of those machines, you can set it to full strength
every time. Yeah. I don't know if that makes
it better for the crowd that's saying that's
inhumane, but I will say bonus, they don't let
it free fall. Yeah, you know, they set it down
gently. No, here's my question though Do you
think it's the same the same rules apply where
like you try to get the lobster a couple times?
It doesn't and then on the fifth try it's strong
enough or you think it's just it every time That's
a great question my thought was that it was one
of those deals where like maybe it's a Sale a
deal. Hmm. So like you get five bucks to try
to catch a lobster Otherwise you pay that 20
bucks a pound or whatever the fuck it is great.
I don't know if that's what they do What if they
did this? What if they mixed in like crayfish
and like, I don't know, something else. And then
like, if you don't, yeah, if you don't get the
lobster, looks like you're eating crab or crayfish
or the issue might be just bird lobsters might
eat the other. Well, that's true. They banned
their claws. So here's the thing, though. I didn't
see any. Was there water in there? Oh, there
was. OK. Yeah, they they clearly took a regular
claw machine and like sealed it like a fish tank.
It's wild. You think this is one place that does
it? Or is this kind of a thing that I love it?
I think it's great. We love animals. It's just
an efficient delivery system, right? I have no.
I love everything about it. I think from a marketing
fund standpoint, from a logistical state, I think
it's all. I think it's great. But you know if
we don't like your email to send your hate mail
to goodnewsyork .com. Alright and. I think I
think that's good. We've got a we got some great
guests coming up this week. We do. We do. We've
got some mind blowing stuff from Dr. Jennifer
Shiabi, who I've worked with. She is a mental.
She's she shows she she is a doctor and she I
forget where she worked, but she left. She was
I said, when is that? Oh, when is that? I don't
have hand I think tomorrow. Let me look. Let
me tell you who's coming up. You got to tune
in for that because She is doing some mind blowing
work in the mental health world, and I am a part
of it blowing and it has changed my life. It
is not a joke. It is unbelievable what's going
on. If you are struggling, I'm being dead serious.
There is hope. There is hope. There's always
hope, but there's definitely hope with her. She's
coming on Thursday. Tomorrow. We have your boy.
We have a double header. Dylan Wirtz is coming
in. Dylan Wirtz is the man who's putting on a
great comedy show coming up soon. All right.
And if that if that doesn't tickle your fancy
right after that, we've got Gabe from Home Chow
coming in. Do you remember what Home Chow was?
The pizza vending machine from the Canna Con.
Oh, snap. Oh, yeah. And here's the thing. It's
we it's not just pizza. Is he is he bringing
us a machine? I don't know. I don't think you
can. They're from Rochester. They're coming here.
So that's quite a trek. I don't know if you can
travel with them. I mean, if you can put lobster
in a crane machine, my landlord, let us put one
out front. I'm going to say yes, because I want
it. What if this is the first location of an
actual pizza vending machine? If you get a pizza
vending machine, dude, I will. I don't even know.
We're going to have to ask him this. I wonder,
can you put them outside, though? Like, is that
is that safe? Well, when he showed me how it
worked, you keep. And by the way, they know it's
like a regular vending machine. They have also
other meals like chicken parm and. But anyway,
they keep them on these metal trays that keep
them warm. So I don't see. I'm just wondering,
like, do you have to worry about people like
breaking into it or something? Oh, of course.
I mean, you got to work about worry about people.
I'm sure you got to worry about people breaking
in the lobster claw machine. That's maybe what
we have a lot. That's why we can't have nice
things. Just like in the front buildings on Main
Street or something. Gone are the days of when
you would get a pack of M &M's and have to smash
on the glass to get it to fall. You know, those
days are gone. Those machines still exist. Have
you seen, when's the last time? Is there nothing
like a pizza vending machine, which we're gonna
hear all about tomorrow and go to New York. My
favorite, oh we should have ended there, but
I gotta say this. My favorite dive bar in the
world, and I love it. My favorite bar in the
world is the Fall Creek House. No, the Creaker
in Ithaca, New York. They, I believe to this
day, still have a cigarette vending machine.
When's the last time you saw? In Herkimer. Yeah,
it did actually. I used to smoke then. So gross.
When's the last time you saw a cigarette vending
machine? Recently at a casino in Vegas. Oh, that's
right. Blew my fucking mind. It's crazy, right?
Legit old school cigarette vending machine, just
chilling there like it's 1972. Right. Maybe it's
not as obsolete as I thought because... Fully
functional with new cigarettes in it. New York
State has a law, you know, you can't smoke indoors.
And I don't know what other states do and don't.
So maybe there are a lot of vending machines
outside. Aside from Brownies, which I'm reasonably
sure wasn't kosher at the time. But aside from
the machine there, I always remember the bowling
alleys had them. Oh, yes. I don't know why in
particular. Well, I feel like the way fishing
and beer goes together. I feel like bowling and
cigarettes for kids who want to smoke was they
got them out of the vending machine at home.
Yeah, bowling and cigarettes go together like
beer and fishing. Fuck it, dude. Let's go bowling
Merica. Peace out.