The host of a controversial podcast announces that the scheduled guest, Mr. Daniel Strother, will not be appearing on this episode due to communication issues. The host expresses gratitude for the support the podcast has received and mentions upcoming episodes, including one with Daniel Strother to discuss NFL free agency. The host also plans to continue the podcast over the summer and hopes to have a female guest in the future. The host acknowledges that episodes may be delayed due to scheduling conflicts and mentions upcoming topics such as a WrestleMania special and an NFL mock draft special. The host then begins discussing the current state of March Madness, giving a recap of the first round and sharing thoughts on certain teams and upsets. The episode concludes with the host expressing excitement for the upcoming Sweet 16 games.
Welcome, welcome, welcome to the most controversial podcast ever created. I'm your host, the most controversial of them all, Big Cam. So things have been switched up a little bit, a little bit unfortunately. Originally this episode I was supposed to have Mr. Daniel Strother on, but due to some no communication issues going on, this episode has been postponed to a future episode. It's still going to happen, but unfortunately it won't be for a little bit. I don't know how long, but he is going to be on here eventually.
My goal is to get him on for episode 5, but just bear with me guys, he will be on eventually. And before we get into things, I really got to thank you guys for the support lately. The podcast has actually been going, honestly it's been going better than what I thought. It all just started just because of a final project I had to do for class. That was the podcast with Marcus Davidson, episode 1. And ever since then, everyone's been requesting to be on the podcast, and I've actually been reaching out to people about getting them on as well.
There's actually quite a bit of people that I am going to be doing podcasts with down the road. And then I do plan on continuing the podcast over the summer to get some other people on back home, in my hometown, because I'm doing this on campus. But I'll go ahead and give you guys just a preview of a few future episodes coming up. The next couple episodes still to come. Obviously, I'm going to be having Daniel Strother on.
We're going to be discussing the NFL free agency. Because this free agency has been one of the more crazier ones as of late. With Russell Wilson signing with the Steelers to the Chicago Bears trading Justin Fields for a late draft pick. Which we're also going to be diving into that quite a bit, because there's a lot of NFL fans that are not happy about it. And quite a bit of my buddies on campus are Chicago Bears fans and are fans of Justin Fields.
I'm not a fan of the trade myself, but again, all that talk is for a future episode. So, don't worry. It's going to be coming eventually. Eventually, though, probably within the next week, I'm going to be doing two podcasts. One, I'm going to have Sam Pace on here. And then later in the week, probably next Thursday or next Friday, I'm going to be doing a WrestleMania special. On my own, most likely. Because this podcast, I'm going to shoot for potentially an hour long, if I can make it happen.
It's going to be a challenge. Break down the entire WrestleMania weekend with NXT Stand and Deliver on the same day as WrestleMania Saturday. But, obviously, that's literally the first day of the day. The event starts around noon, I believe. Something like that. I'll have to go back and double check, but I'll be breaking that down. And I'll be breaking down both night one and night two. I'm going to go through the card, make my predictions, give some hot takes, and we'll see where everything goes until then.
So, definitely expect that. Definitely expect the Sam Pace-Daniel Strother episode. Hopefully, here soon, my goal is to try to get my first female guest on here. I'm sure everyone knows, so far, I've had mainly male guests. And I have more coming up. I don't even have lined up a single female guest yet. So, I'm hoping to get a female on eventually. I don't know when, but I am working on it to the best of my ability.
So, if everyone could just bear with me, we will get there eventually. I promise that. And then within about the next month, maybe a few weeks, depending on schedules, because the way I run my podcasts, episodes come out mainly on my availability and my guests' availability. Because we all have lives. We all got things to do with classes, schoolwork, making other plans happen. So, eventually, everyone's going to have to bear with me and wait patiently. I try my best to not keep you guys waiting for so long for episodes, but it's going to get a little harder because with my first year of college winding now, it's starting to get more busy for all of us, especially now that everyone's been focusing on getting ready for the 24-25 academic year and all that nonsense, with registering for classes, putting in selections for housing, potential roommates, all that.
It's been busy as of late. It's continuing to get busy, and plus I'm coming off my first wrestling show of the season, and many more to go, which throughout my podcasts, I will at least make announcements regarding my wrestling shows, because I've had a lot of people actually express interest in coming out to my shows. So, we will be getting into that down the road eventually. But next month, this is probably going to be my biggest podcast possibly.
I'm going to be doing the NFL mock draft special to celebrate the upcoming NFL draft next month. And we'll be having not one, not two, but three guests on all at the same time, and we'll all go do a mock draft together. The guests will be revealed closer to that episode, because, again, it's not 100% guaranteed that they're going to be on, because, again, like I've said earlier, it all depends on everybody's availability. But I'm working as hard as I can to make it happen, so everyone just please be patient as much as possible.
I try to stay consistent with it. I stay consistent with checking if views have gone up, et cetera. It's actually going a lot better than what I thought, so I'm really looking forward to it. But without any other interruptions and announcements for future stuff, we will go ahead and get straight into today's episode. So today's podcast, this is the first episode of Big Cam's Controversial Podcast without a guest. This one, I am going solo, unfortunately. Again, like I said earlier, this episode was originally supposed to feature Daniel Strother, but he couldn't make it for this episode, so I'm going solo on this one.
But today we're just keeping it nice and simple, because today we're – I'm just going to give you guys a recap of March Madness and where we're at right now. As everybody knows, the Sweet 16 begins tomorrow, and it's starting to get heated. My bracket, first round, I dominated. I did really well. Second round, ugh, kind of got my butt kicked, to be honest. The women's bracket, I'm actually doing really well. That we'll probably get into maybe in a future episode, maybe closer to the national championship.
Something like that, because, by the way, the men's is obviously the talking point, obviously, like it is every year. But overall, my bracket's still doing well. My – quite a bit of my picks are still alive. So I'm going to just go through it. So let's just go through the first round. Obviously, UConn had an impressive win over Stetson. I had Northwestern beat Florida Atlantic. Pulled that off. San Diego State, Illinois, with impressive wins. Fortunately, though, my pick, Auburn, I had them going all the way to the Sweet 16.
Fortunately, ended up falling to Yale. NYU, another one of my picks, ended up falling to the Dukes of Duquesne. I had – now, this is a hot take right here. This is a controversial one. So this is where it's going to get good. I had Drake going to the Sweet 16. Apparently, that backfired as Drake ended up losing to Washington State in round one. And you know what's funny about Drake? Both their men's and women's basketball teams do well in the regular season, but March Madness, they do terrible.
All the time it's like that. I don't know why, but it kind of annoys me. So I think Drake and their basketball programs need to get a good reality check. Because I don't know – because I think March Madness is too much for them to handle. But who knows? I'm not a Drake bulldog. Because I'm from Indiana. I don't even know where Drake even is. But sorry to all the Drake fans out there. Iowa State, obviously the win over South Dakota State.
North Carolina. Michigan State always. Impressive wins to advance. Of course, I'm glad I made the pick about Grand Canyon advancing over St. Mary's. Grand Canyon got the job done. Fama with an impressive win over Charleston in round one. Now, this one's going to be controversial. Clemson versus New Mexico. A lot of people, I think, were way overhyped about the Lobos and saying how they're going to make a deep run, go to the Final Four, yada, yada, yada.
I'm sorry, New Mexico fans, but you guys got way too overhyped and completely blew it. Just like Buffalo Bills fans, Bills Mafia, and the whole Buffalo team in general. You guys got so overhyped, you ended up completely blowing it. Clemson completely ran through New Mexico like nothing, 77-56 in round number one. Baylor ended up beating Colgate in round one. Dayton, Arizona with impressive wins. Dayton and Nevada was actually a good game, don't get me wrong. I think it would be cool to see Nevada win.
But in the end, the Flyers ended up flying past the whole pack to advance to round of 32. On the other side of the bracket, Houston, Texas A&M with impressive wins. I had Nebraska winning in my bracket, unfortunately. Lockheed, I picked James Madison, Lower Wisconsin. They ended up getting the job done. Duke, NC State all with wins to advance. Lockheed, I picked the whole pack of NC State because here's the thing. I think NC State can actually make a run.
Their run in the ACC tournament winning five games in just five days was unbelievable. I think they definitely deserve to make a run. Now this is probably the upset of the whole tourney so far. Oakland over Kentucky. The star Jack Gohey, however you pronounce his name, just went off on the whole Kentucky team, leading the Golden Grizzlies past Kentucky. In fact, they're even named Golden Grizzlies. They literally went out there and played like they're golden. But a big congratulations to the Oakland team as they ended up advancing into the second round.
Fortunately, Florida ended up losing to Colorado, which Colorado ended up beating Virginia in, or no, never mind, Boise State to advance to the first round. Virginia ended up losing to Colorado State, which we're about to get to the Rams here in a minute. And then Marquette obviously with the win over Western Kentucky. Purdue ended up beating Grambling. Utah State took out TCU. Gonzaga ended up beating McNeese, which everyone I think was kind of over-hyped about McNeese making the run.
But I honestly don't care because I knew they were going to lose. I'm going to skip this next one because this one I actually do need to take a minute. South Carolina, my pick to advance, ended up losing to Oregon, Creighton, Texas, Tennessee, all with impressive wins over Akron, Colorado State, and St. Peter's. Now to get to the real controversy, Kansas versus Samford. It was actually an unbelievable ballgame. Honestly, I think it went down honestly as a true classic in my opinion.
But what really made this game controversial and the worst one yet, Samford had a chance to pretty much win and stun the Jayhawks in round one. But what happened? Kansas pretty much, I think, had to steal at the game one. I think they were going for a layup or a dunk to finish it. Yeah, they went for the dunk. Samford, one of the Samford players, comes over behind, blocks him, and ends up getting fouled. But if you remember the game, what happens if you watch the replay? Samford didn't foul.
It was a clean block. You don't consider it the cleanest block they've ever seen from a nasty, vicious play like that. And yet they still call on Samford. And when I read the comments on social media about the game, everybody was livid, saying that that was the biggest NCAA screwjob yet and that the referees definitely deserve to be fired for that. Every play like that, especially when it's in a situation like that, needs to be reviewable.
They were so quick to call on Samford just to get Kansas to win because Kansas is a powerhouse school. I mean, I'll admit, I had Kansas winning. It was my bracket. I had them going to the Final Four. I will admit that. And, yes, I definitely expect hate comments for that. But that was just my pick. Because Kansas is still one of the best basketball schools in all of America. But I got to admit, I feel bad for Samford.
They did not deserve that to happen. But I know they're going to do well, and I think they're going to make a run here sooner than Julie. It just sucks that it got taken away like that. Justice for Samford is all I'm going to say. Then we're off to the second round. I didn't get to watch a whole lot of it because I got all caught up with all my wrestling stuff over the weekend. UConn runs through Northwestern.
San Diego State ended up beating Yale. So I ended up defeating Yale. Illinois runs through the Dukes up to Kane. Iowa State ran through Washington State in an impressive win. I got to say, though, Michigan State, there's been some controversy about Tom Izzo lately. But I don't even know how to respond about it. Because I know he's a big deal with college basketball. But it didn't matter because the Spartans got their butts kicked by North Carolina in the second round.
And funny, both their women's teams actually played each other in the first round of the Women's March Madness. And Michigan State lost to them as well. Wow. I guess the Spartans are pretty much owned by the Tar Heels and everything. I don't know. We're going to have to let those fans decide. Grand Canyon and Alabama was a fun game. Grand Canyon would not stay down. They would keep getting back up after taking shots from Bama. But in the end, they went down and Bama got the job done to advance.
Clemson ended up steamrolling Baylor, which I didn't expect that coming. And Arizona defeated Dayton, which I was rounding the money there. Houston defeated Texas A&M. Now that was a game. Houston pretty much had it sealed. But what does Texas A&M do? Louisville was one second to go. It's a buzzer beater. 4-3 to tie the game. And they actually put up quite a fine overtime. But they still lost the game. James Madison got rolled. They got rolled over the worst way yet by Duke.
The way they just came out and tried to outplay Duke was completely terrible. Like listen to this final score. 93-55. Really? Pathetic. NC State-Oakland ended up putting on another banger. Just like they both did in their first round matchups. But in the end, it was the Wolf Pack who ended up getting the job done over the Golden Grizzlies to advance to the Sweet 16. And then Marquette ended up being Colorado in that thriller. Purdue took out Utah State.
Kansas fans fortunately ended up feeling the karma of the screw job against Stanford as they ended up losing to the Gonzaga Bulldogs. They ended up screwing the Stanford Bulldogs. And then another powerhouse Bulldog team, the Gonzaga, came in and got the job done running through the Jayhawks. 89-68 the final score. Creighton ran through Oregon in a fun matchup. And then Tennessee ended up defeating Texas in a fun game. And now here we are in the Sweet 16.
UConn faces San Diego State. Illinois will face Iowa State. I can go ahead and predict those two because this was my pick. Because that whole portion right there, my prediction for the Elite Eight is still alive. UConn versus Illinois. Just like that. North Carolina versus Bama. Clemson versus Arizona. My prediction for the Elite Eight for that region is still alive. North Carolina versus Arizona. Give it to me. Now on the other side of the bracket, Houston versus Duke.
Obviously going with the Cougars in an NC State marquette. Now that's going to be an interesting game. Those two play this Friday night, night at 7 o'clock. I love the Wolfpack and their run this season, but I feel like the Sweet 16, it's going to come to an end. I say marquette. I do see Purdue possibly beating Gonzaga because, for once, Purdue is not choking. With Zach eating, Lance Jones in there pulling up all the points, Zach eating the paint, doing what the big man does best, Purdue can outscore Gonzaga.
Plus, let's think about it. The only reason Gonzaga's good is because they play in a disastrous conference. Their only other competition in that conference is St. Mary's, and they lost in round one to Grand Canyon. Then I had Tennessee and Creighton going to the Sweet 16 against each other, Demi Creighton. Now we're in the round of eight, my final four. I say UConn versus Arizona. Then I say Houston versus Creighton. I think Purdue is going to choke either right here in the Sweet 16 or in the Elite Eight.
I don't really care because my pick for the national championship is still alive. For the national title, I say UConn over Houston for the title. My final score, 77 to 73. Huskies repeat, and their women's team makes it all the way to the final four. Paige Beckers, Kaitlyn Clark put on a show against each other, but in the end, Paige Beckers and the Huskies get sent packing by Kaitlyn Clark and her fierce Hawkeyes team. I'm sure everyone is probably going to be asking me, what are really some of the biggest controversies in March Mad so far? Just based off what we have seen, I can definitely answer a couple of those questions if you want me to be honest.
Number one, Oakland's upset over Kentucky. Everyone's brackets got busted. Everyone had Kentucky making a deep run. I know I did. I had them going all the way to the round of eight and losing to Houston there, and yet they blew it in round one. So an Oakland team that hardly anybody ever even spoke about. Give me a break, America. Another controversy, the Texas A&M buzzer beater against Houston. I personally got scared because I thought, oh no, Houston's about to lose the game.
They're actually about to lose the match. But it didn't matter. The Cougars still clawed their way through. The Aggies of Texas A&M got the job done. And just like that, they're in the sweet 16. Texas A&M, bye-bye. It was nice knowing you. They'll adore you on the way. Grand Canyon had quite the performance. Empty state. I think it's definitely the Cinderella story at this point. Empty state, and I think Clemson is another one because I didn't even expect Clemson to make it this far.
I expected them to lose in the second round to Baylor. I had the Bears advancing over the Tigers. Yes, everyone was so overhyped about Clemson losing to New Mexico in round one, but what ended up happening? What ended up happening? Like I said earlier when I jumped to the New Mexico-Clemson game, everyone tried acting like the Buffalo Bills mafia and their fans. Getting overhyped, blowing the spotlight, becoming too much. And as a result, New Mexico got steamrolled in round one by Clemson, and New Mexico was done.
No national title for you. But tough break for the Lobos, though. It's a shame. But the big controversy that's still stuck in my head is obviously the Kansas-Sanford foul. I still cannot even imagine how furious Sanford fans are. I mean, do I even blame the Sanford fans and for that? I mean, I don't. It seriously gets on my nerves when the refs cannot get it right. All that, and they won't even go back and review it.
Because normally, in all sports, when there's a situation like that, especially towards the very end of the game, it's close, it has to be reviewed. And I just read it, and listen to this. This just came out a few days ago. That's because of a controversial foul called late in the Jayhawks' 93-89 win in the Midwest region. Sanford had cut the KU advantage to a single point when Nick Timberlake drove for what appeared to be an uncontested dunk.
But the Bulldogs' A.J. Statton-McCrae made a tremendous display and blocked the shot. And yet, they called it a foul. In the worst way yet. It seriously, I feel bad for Kansas fans. Just thinking about it now still, it makes me angry. I mean, if you just go back and look at the photo of the moment it happened, the Sanford player never touched the Jayhawk. He never even touched it from behind. His fingers are just on the ball.
He never even touched it. It was a clean block. I still don't get why they even called it a foul in the first place. Like, seriously? Besides, I can't even imagine what Sanford fans probably did once the final buzzer went off and Sanford got sent packing. I wouldn't even be surprised if there was a riot and a whole bunch of hate comments going through everything. That's the thing with sports. It has gotten very controversial as of late.
With all the controversy and March Madness, but that's what March Madness is. It's all about that because it's always the unexpected moments that make it complete madness. And then there's also been the recent controversy in the NFL about the whole tackling ban, which I don't even know how to respond to that. I will be getting into that topic in a future podcast episode. And then just the other day, when I was out having a meal, I also heard the news that the NFL has now approved some new kickoff rules.
Like, football's not even the same as it used to be now. And I don't even know how to respond to it. But this is why I get so irritated about sports. It's these stupid, idiot changes that ruin the game that we all love and enjoy and just find fascinating in our lives. Like, wake up and realize the mistake you have made. But not everything is perfect, though. That's all I can really say about it. If they want to change it, you know what? Fine.
Convince me. But with that being said, and with March Madness continuing to wind down, make sure you tune in for the start of the Sweet 16 tomorrow night. And keep your brackets well up to date to see, who knows, if you pull off a miracle in your bracket. I still have a potential chance in mine. I got some competition, though, but I'm not out of it yet. But with that being said, that will officially conclude today's episode of the most controversial podcast that has ever been a thing.
I'm your host, Big Cam. And don't forget to watch and remember to stay controversial. Don't get too controversial now because, who knows, it might just get you in trouble. And it might end up taking a bad turn. I've already had it. And then make sure, if you want to be a guest on the podcast, just make sure you reach out to me, set up a date and a time, and we will make it happen. Trust me, I will make you famous.
That quick. Especially with how well this podcast has been taking off. And then don't forget, like I said earlier, all the upcoming episodes coming up, featuring Daniel Strother, Sam Pace, my WrestleMania weekend specials, and then the countdown for the NFL Mock Trap special is coming up. So stay up to date on that one. And that officially concludes today's episode. Thank you all for tuning in to today's episode of Big Cam's Controversial Podcast.