The Pomp And Joe Show
12PM - Nick Kostos gives us his Steelers-Lions thoughts and NFL Week 16 picks; The Bechtold Breakdown - Pirates trade Mike Burrows for Brandon Lowe & more
19 Dec 2025
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Sounds like we might have a little pirate trade to talk about. That should be interesting. But first, our friend Nick Costos. He's on the line right now, host of You Better You Bet, Odyssey Sports Betting Insider, Insider Calls presented by BetMGM. Make it legendary. Check out the latest lines on the BetMGM app. Catch You Better You Bet weekdays, 3 to 7 p.m. Eastern.
And You Better You Bet countdown to kickoff Sundays, 11 to 1 Eastern, leading up to kickoff on the BetMGM network and the Odyssey app. Nick, have I made you a Bo Nix believer yet? Here we go. We're tied. Yeah, I guess we are tied at this point, right? Good job by the Broncos last week beating the Green Bay Packers. I lost money on that game. I did bet Green Bay.
Overall, a winning week for me last week, and that is Sports Betting Content Creator 101. Yes, I may have lost this game, but let me tell you about a bet that I won also. So, yes, that was a loser for me last week, and good job by you with the Bo Nix and the Denver Broncos. So where do we decide this, Nick? I think this should be the deciding game this week.
Can I pick a game, perhaps, where there's a discrepancy and we'll have a little lunch on the line? Well, I think now I'm still one up, right? Limits, is that correct? No, from what I believe, you were one up, but after this past week, we are now tied again.
I think that's because I think we pushed a couple weeks ago with Packers-Bears, and I was two up, and then you won last week, so now I think I'm one up still. That's true. You're right about that. He's right. Of course he's right. He's always right. Well, I don't know if I did like the Packers. Yeah, we can definitely work. Yeah, what do you like this week?
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Chapter 2: What are Nick Kostos' thoughts on the Steelers vs. Lions game?
And we can see if we can find a discrepancy. We can do that now or at the end if you want. I think we should do it right now. I think that the Ravens are going to win and cover against the Patriots. You like that one? I do like New England, but they're potentially down three starting members of their secondary. I don't want to make that bet. Well, let's see if we can find another one.
How about this? If we can't find another one, then I'll do that one with you and I'll take New England. But maybe we can find something better. Do you dare pick against Bo Nix again? Because I'm picking them to win outright and cover at home against the Jags. The number's three and a half now. How about this? Do you think it'll be a higher scoring or lower scoring game?
Donnie, I'll let you go there. I'll go higher. I'll go higher. Well, I like higher also. How about the Bears and Packers? I'll go Packers on the road to cover against the Bears and win outright. You know what? I'll take Patriots plus three. Okay. Let's do that, Donnie. You like that? A little Sunday night fun. A little Sunday night fun.
Nothing better for a Pittsburgh audience than you guys betting on the Baltimore Ravens to win a cover on Sunday night. The ultimate kibosh. That means they'll go down. So am I a Yinzer now? Am I using that correctly, even though I'm a New Yorker, since I'm taking the team to beat the Ravens and help the Steelers coming up on Sunday night? I think so. Yes. Unofficial Yinzer. Yes, you are.
It's great to be here. What about this game? From New York to Yinzer. 9-6.5, Lions over the Steelers. What do you got on this one? So Pittsburgh has been the preferred betting side in this game, guys, because this number was 7 for a lot of the week. So we've now seen the number come off 7. And we are expecting a high-scoring game here. The total in the game is 52.
And I do agree with the move off 7 towards the Steelers. And I think last week was pretty interesting, right, what the Steelers were able to do to Miami. And that was kind of like a men versus boys game. It was pretty embarrassing for Miami, honestly. Also featuring, and Joe, I believe you're like an old-time wrestling fan, right? So I think you'll appreciate this reference.
I am a little bit more than Joe. Yeah, I don't know anything about it. So just to use a more modern reference then, like when Darnell Washington caught that pass in the flat and like took seven dolphins to bring him down, that's like the spot at the Royal Rumble every year where like the great Khali's in the ring and it takes like eight wrestlers to get him over the top.
How are they going to get this guy out of the ring? I always love that spot. We get it every year. Yeah, and then on the Metcalf touchdown, Minka Fitzpatrick didn't seem like he had much interest in tackling in Pittsburgh, which I think Steelers fans might have a thought on on that particular play on the Metcalf touchdown.
But the Steelers kind of did a great job throwing the ball and spreading the defense out. And we know generally what Arthur Smith likes to do is pound the ball, so it did represent a bit of a change a little bit there. And I think the way to attack Detroit's defense is through the air with the injured secondary. And look what the Rams were able to do last week.
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Chapter 3: How does Nick Kostos analyze the Ravens vs. Patriots matchup?
That's why I kind of like the over. Yeah, because Detroit's defense is in rough shape. Rodgers is playing well. Yeah, I would only bet the... Detroit might score 40 in the game. I like the over in the game. If I actually don't think I'm going to bet, I'll have some props. I don't think I'm going to bet side and total as it stands right now.
I would be more comfortable, like, if I'm an outside, like... like, better to this. I think what Nick just said is perfect. Like, I would much rather just bet the total points in this game. Yeah. I mean, Joe, we both have it over. Think about the scores that we gave earlier. Like, way over. Yeah, mine was 36-33. Yours was 38-30, correct? Yeah. There you go, Nick. How about the Ravens-Patriots?
Well, that does seem to be over. Yeah, so I have a... I'm not sure... This game's a little difficult, right? I'll ask you guys a question, and we have fun with this stuff, right? If the Patriots played the Ravens on a neutral field and both teams were fully healthy, who do you guys think should be favored? Man, is that a great question? If both teams were fully healthy, I would say the Ravens.
I think I would go Patriots. So I agree with Donnie. I think the Patriots are better than the Ravens. I would have the Patriots as a small favorite. And if that's true, then I have to fundamentally disagree with what the point spread of the game is with Baltimore being minus three. I'm not trying to get into math here, right?
But let's say you, the person watching or listening right now, you agree with me and Donnie, and you think New England is a little bit, not like a lot better, but it's better than Baltimore. and would be favored on a neutral field. Then let's say you give the Ravens two points for home field and maybe two and a half because it's a game in prime time on Sunday night.
We're not at Ravens three here, and that's the number. But the problem, and Joe, this is what I was saying earlier, why I was reticent to take New England at this point in the week. New England has two of their starting corners, Carlton Davis and Marcus Jones, both haven't practiced. Pass rusher Harold Landry's not practicing. Linebacker Robert Spillane's not practicing.
So I think there's an avenue, and we just saw Josh Allen nuke this Patriots defense last week for Lamar Jackson and the Ravens to score a bunch of points in this game. And the Ravens defense is playing better. They were very good last week, obviously, against Joe Burrow and the Bengals, especially in the red zone.
I think the Patriots are better, but the injury situation scares me a little bit in this game, and I think that's the avenue for the Ravens to win in cover. But make me pick the game right now, I'll take New England without knowing the full injury concerns for the Patriots, because I do think the Patriots are better than the Baltimore Ravens.
I don't say that with a ton of confidence now, needing more injury information, but if you made me pick now, I would take New England plus the three. Nick, how about the two games tomorrow that intermingle with the college football playoff? I certainly think the primetime game is a great one. Packers and Bears, and it's basically a pick-em.
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Chapter 4: What are the betting trends for NFL Week 16 games?
He made the All-Star game last year. Also 19 doubles. Had 130 hits, which was close to a career high. So he immediately goes into the Pirates lineup and is... Honestly, probably their best bat, depending on what ultimately happens with O'Neal Cruz and his development. It's Lau, Cruz, and Reynolds. This should just be the start, though, for the Pirates.
They just don't need to go get another bat, probably two more, unless they truly believe in this Garcia outfielder that they acquired in the trade with Johan Oviedo earlier. Donnie, what do you think of the deal? I mean, it almost sounds too good to be true for them to only get rid of Mike Burrows, who, listen, I like Mike Burrows.
I think he's a guy you could toss like in the back of your rotation. Oh, him and Obiata will be competing for the Cy Young, but keep going. But the fact that they just grabbed a guy who, I agree with Austin, you immediately plug him in, and he's the best bat they have. People can argue if they want about the projection of O'Neal Cruz or what Brian Reynolds used to do.
This guy, to me, is their best one. He's coming off a season in which he had 31 home runs. He had back-to-back years of 20-plus. He had 39 home runs a couple of years ago. They also get an outfielder, an extra outfielder in Mangum that... Mangum P.I.? He doesn't have the huge power numbers, but the guy can actually see and hit the baseball.
That means, most importantly, Jack Sawinski can be fired into the sun. It's a win-win. I can't believe. Wait a second. You're including Mangum P.I. as a real part of this deal? It means Jack Sawinski is not going to be a guy that we watch play like 80 games in a pirate ship. Well, let's hope. I'm not so sure about that. How do you even know Mangum P.I.
is going to make the team out of spring training? He's a 30-year-old who's played one year, and he only had four homers. Maybe he's a late bloomer. And he hit almost 300 in over 100 games last year. I know batting average is old school. So did, what's his name? Joey Bart a couple years ago looked like Johnny Bench.
Joey Bart continued to be one of their better players, even though he sucked the last half of last year. That was the problem. Let's talk about Brandon Lau, for God's sakes. Yes, 31 homers last year. I don't know if he repeats that. He had 21 each of the previous two years. Then he had eight in an abbreviated season, then 39. Listen, this is great. This is what we want them to do.
And as Mr. P put it, It needs to be the beginning, not the end. Is he going to play second base here? He's played a couple games at first, and he's been a DH. He doesn't have to play second. He could do a little bit of both. Maybe he could platoon with McCutcheon at DH a little bit. I don't know.
I just know they got a major league bat, but let's not pretend that this is time to plan the parade here. This needs to be one of at least two, and hopefully a higher profile one than him, and maybe three bats that they add. Limits. Yes, and I think that this should carve the way with Lowe only making $11.5 million, guys. This should, other than Soto. So they've signed Soto for the bullpen.
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Chapter 5: How does the injury situation affect the Patriots' chances against the Ravens?
Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to act like they just brought in Barry Bonds here, but they absolutely made their team better. Yes. And they did so with a guy that I still think you plug him right in and... He is right now the best bat in that offense, considering where some of the guys finished last year. They had one guy who played regularly last season. Horwitz, who had a higher OPS.
Spencer Horwitz, who had an OPS. He would be their best hitter, but that's like being the fastest guy in a race with a bunch of Harry Callis clones. But something else about Brandon Lau, he's a pretty consistent player. Yeah, he's a professional hitter. His OPS plus has been over 100, which is league average, every single year of his career. This is what you call the price of doing business.
This is simply acting like a normal Major League Baseball team. And because the Pirates have been where they've been and done what they've done, I think there is a tendency to overreact to things like this. Most teams go out and get people who can hit a baseball in off seasons. They seem to have struggled with that. They've made one move. Yay. Make more.
I am starting to become a fan of Magnum P.I., though. Mangum P.I. here. 27 stolen bags last year. An old-school type player, perhaps, Joe. Is he a good defender, too? Limits, can you look that up? You're the beat writer. Did you like the old Magnum P.I. or the new Magnum P.I. that came out not that long ago? Not even close.
The old one with Tom Selleck could never be matched, and they never should have made a new one. Are we off the air? What a mustache that is. No, we're on the air. Okay, we had a momentary scare. No, we're good. I just looked over, yeah.
All right, this guy, here's why I'm a Mangum PI fan all of a sudden, because he actually has a really good minor league track record where in AAA, over six seasons, he hit .313 with an .800 OPS and bunches and bunches of stolen bases, oh, limitless wonder. Namely, 100, well, let's see here. 43 steals in four years, and then he came up into the majors and, like you said, stole 27 last year.
That's impressive. Yeah, he could be a fourth outfielder for you that fills in his spots. Of course he could. It's possible. What are they going to do about their first three outfielders? Well, Reynolds will be one, and Cruz will be the other, and then they need to acquire somebody to be the left fielder. Unless it's the guy they got for Roviedo. Jostinson Garcia. Jostinson, yes. The password.
The password. Man, the password. You ever see that show, Donnie, on TV, Password? No, I never watched that one. The password is left fielder. and then they have to act out left fielder. Okay, so they're starting to behave like a normal major league team. That is encouraging for as far as that goes. Good move, Pirates.
I mean, there's also, I think, a real chance that by the mid-summer months, or maybe even once we get into summer, like June or so, The middle of that infield could be Connor Griffin and Brandon Lau. Yeah, I do like that idea. Pretty attractive to me. Can Gonzalez play third? I feel like he's played there. Limits, you're the beat writer.
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