Hour 1 - Fernand-UH-OH

Ben Maller opens the hour with a single, unambiguous verdict: Fernando Mendoza, the Raiders' number one overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft, looked terrible in his second exhibition game against the Texans. Maller watched so his listeners wouldn't have to, and what he saw made him laugh. Mendoza threw an interception returned for a touchdown, struggled against backups who will soon be working overnight shifts at Amazon fulfillment centers, and posted a passer rating below 75 with a yards-per-attempt under six and a completion percentage below 60 across two preseason games. The Raiders rallied late against Houston's fifth-string players and celebrated like they had won a Super Bowl—something the franchise hasn't done since the 1980s.

The vomit comet over Vegas

Maller's word for Mendoza's performance is "cockpit"—specifically the cockpit of the vomit comet, the airplane used to simulate weightlessness for astronaut training. "You very rarely see the vomit comet in an exhibition game," he says. "We saw the vomit comet. We did. Holy cannoli. Somebody grab one of those air sickness bags. Raider fans are puking here and everywhere."