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The Tech Deck

Beast Mode takes on Gronk in Mortal Kombat X on ‘Conan’

Conan O'Brien, Marshawn Lynch and Rob Gronkowski gather for a few games of Mortal Kombat X on O'Brien's TBS late-night show.
Conan O'Brien, Marshawn Lynch and Rob Gronkowski gather for a few games of Mortal Kombat X on O'Brien's TBS late-night show.

Conan O'Brien seems to have figured out how to break Marshawn Lynch's media silence.

In an 11-minute clip from last night's 'Conan' show on TBS, "Beast Mode" says more during his bouts in Mortal Kombat X against New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski than the entire previous week before national journalists covering the Big Game. You can watch the clip, and Lynch's admission that he loves to play as Toad in Mario Kart, below.

The segment, filmed as O'Brien says, "Somewhere in Arizona, I don't know where the f--- we are," is part of the show's Clueless Gamer series, which has seen Conan and other celebrities play Assassin's Creed: Unity, Super Smash Bros. WiiU, and my gaming obsession of the moment, Minecraft.

Lynch appears to employ my favorite fighting game method, the button-mash, telling O'Brien that's his go-to strategy "for sure." Then there's a naughty, innuendo-filled joke (warning: The game in the video is very violent, and there is a decent amount of cursing.)

For those who don't want to watch the gore, here's the spoiler-iffic breakdown of the bout:

Fight One: Lynch (Kano) defeats Gronk (Ferra & Torr)
Fight Two: Lynch (Cassie Cage) defeats Gronk (D'Vorrah)
Fight Three: Lynch (Quan Chi) defeats Gronk (Raiden)

Clearly outmatched, Gronk takes on Conan in the final bout.

Fight Four: Conan (Scorpion, with an assist from Lynch) defeats Gronk (Sub-Zero)

Be sure to stick around after the fights for some discussion of touchdown dance moves, and when it's acceptable to grab your crotch.

My favorite moment: Lynch trying to urge his on-screen character Cassie Cage to "lick the gun" after defeating D'Vorrah (5:28, check it out).

Mortal Kombat X releases April 14 for PC, PS3 and PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

Postscript: I met Conan O'Brien in Washington, D.C., before the White House Press Correspondent's Dinner in 2013. He made time to talk with some of the scholarship recipients and was a funny, engaging and humble guy. If you don't watch 'Conan' on a regular basis, I suggest it.

Kip and friends with Conan



Kip Hill
Kip Hill joined The Spokesman-Review in 2013. He currently is a reporter for the City Desk, covering the marijuana industry, local politics and breaking news. He previously hosted the newspaper's podcast.

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