North Florida Sports Network Podcast
North Florida Sports Network Podcast
From Final Four and Torpedo Bats, to NFL Draft: The Complete Sports Breakdown
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Final Four Preview: Florida vs Auburn
Speaker 1the north florida sports network all right welcome back. It is the north florida sports network the north florida sports network it's final four set. All one seeds, all chalk florida god damn it taking on auburn duke, taking on houston, florida down 10 or 9 with like less than three minutes left and they pulled it out all you gotta do is hit the front end of that one and one yeah, it's over combination of that and some really clutch shooting by clayton.
Speaker 1He's whenever they get, whenever they need a bucket, and he just goes right to the three-point line and just shoots it and makes it it sucks he's almost, you know.
Speaker 2You know who actually kind of reminds me of with as automatic as he is with that three. Is you remember Doug McDermott back in the day for Creighton or something?
Speaker 3Yeah, the coach's kid.
Speaker 2He was the same way, dude, dougie McBucket. That guy was sick.
Speaker 1Well, it's sad, it's all chalk. It's kind of a you knew it would kind of be like this. You have the two SEC schools battling it out.
Speaker 3Well, you know, Florida's big star is a guy from the mid-majors the transfer. I don't know about the other three teams.
Speaker 1Oh, they all, it all.
Speaker 3I mean there's the Cooper flag, Well, Duke is kids that are going to the NBA. Yeah, pros.
Speaker 1Houston. They run a suffocating style of defense that Justin does not like to watch.
Speaker 2It's so boring.
Speaker 1Yeah, they're going to go and give Duke, I think, some trouble, but I believe that Cooper flag will have an answer for it. There's just nobody that can guard him.
Speaker 3Nah.
Speaker 1Duke plays defense too. That game will kind of be ugly, though. The game that I think will be more entertaining is the Auburn-Florida game. These teams matched up in the regular season. Florida won big at auburn. I like florida here in this one. Um, just think the familiarity, familiarity familiarity yeah, man, um, three point shot um, and I see flor-Duke final. How do you guys see it?
Speaker 3That's what I picked.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's me too.
Speaker 2I hope that's the final dude, because the Florida-Duke would be a really, really fun matchup.
Speaker 3Yeah, I'm going to go against that, even though I picked it. My hell is going to be that Houston is going to pull off an upset over Duke and then Florida is just going to breeze through them in the title game.
Speaker 1No, no, no no watch. I mean Auburn's the number one overall seed. So I mean it's hard to beat a team multiple times in one season.
Speaker 2I watched them struggle against Alabama at the end of the season and then not play well in the SEC tournament, so I've kind of had a bad view of them. Obviously, I know what the hell I'm talking about. I don't have a single Final Four team on my bracket. I didn't even put one number one seed in my bracket. I'm that smart.
Speaker 1Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 3Well, it doesn't, I mean. What is this?
Speaker 2this like the most chalk it's been in 40 years, some shit like that oh no, it's like 2008 or something like that there was uh, and that was like the first one, that in like forever uh was oh, it was like oh, eight, oh seven, oh nine, something like that, where all four number ones made it it.
Speaker 3Um, it was like when memphis was awesome oh yeah, I remember that when cal was at memphis.
Speaker 1I do remember that god, that was that long ago, jesus you know, I got the gators winning it man well, you know, florida's uh, auburn's getting three and a half, um duke's getting, I mean houston's getting five and a half.
Speaker 2So those are the favorites I like I've had the covers on both of those. I don't think either.
Speaker 1I think both those games are going to be close games okay, three and a half, all right, um, five and a half for houston, give me some buzzer beaters.
Speaker 2This is, this is march. Madness has been so depressing for me. I think Duke wins big, not win big.
Speaker 1but I think they pull it out like 62 to 51 or something like that and they cover, and then I think Florida covers as well. So I'm going against you there. How about that?
Speaker 2Well, there you go. Yeah, I mean, I can't argue it. I've been wrong about everything.
Speaker 1So yeah, all right well um what else we got.
College Baseball and Pitching Strategy
Speaker 1I mean, we got, uh, college baseball, jimmy's specialty here oh, yeah, or say how they looking man I mean they're 28 and four, two of those losses with jamie arnold on the hill right right and I think one maybe got charged to him the miami loss yeah, that's true, but I got a hot take, yeah, yeah, I want to see him take over as the closer moving forward. What do you think I like it? You know, I think it's his arm angle, and I think the time you get to see that over and over again, you can time it up and his lack of change-up is.
Speaker 3Yeah, I think he's trying to figure out how to be a pitcher and all that. I don't think it's going to work, man.
Speaker 1Well, I think Rick Vaughn in Major League too, he comes over this season. He's an eliminator, Nah you just got to go to the pen man. He's just working on some crap and he needs to just go down to the bullpen reshape focus, go in there and throw as hard as he can and throw some nasty sliders. Right because he can run it up high 90s I see, that's where he's going to go in the big leagues anyway, he does have a slider.
Speaker 2You've got to be in the upper 90s to be a closer. You can't come in there and throw junk.
Speaker 1I know that's what I think he should do. I think he's struggling right now, trying to be something he's not. That's just my take and yeah, joey, joey veleney's definitely been the ace of the staff up to this point in this season well, and I think it's the weakness of the team, is the bullpen oh without question. This would bolster that. You know, and you kind of you, have enough starting pitching to weather that storm, but we'll see if they're able to do that, if that's a hit to his ego draft prospect, who knows?
Speaker 3There's all that to deal with the whole Mark Saul's thing from back when Jamie Shoup was coach.
Speaker 1Well, the season ended so long ago. They still haven't had a draft yet, even though it feels like we've already had it. It's just coming around the corner, right, I know it feels like it's already been a draft, it's still like three weeks away. I know.
Speaker 2Four weeks, I mean my God man.
NFL Draft Quarterback Predictions
Speaker 3We've got four more Mel Kiper big boards to drop before that draft.
Speaker 1I'm upset. I think Cam Ward's going to be the first pick.
Speaker 3I don't think it's even a secret anymore.
Speaker 2I don't think it's even close anymore.
Speaker 1Then it comes down to Cleveland and what you think they have planned at that position. I kind of think they're waiting to get Kirk Cousins and they're going to draft either Hunter or what's that guy from.
Speaker 2Penn State. They've got to to draft either hunter or what's that guy from penn state it's gonna be they got, they got, dude, you got they gotta draft abdul carter.
Speaker 1I mean, what was it? They take carter to team up with miles, garrett no, garrett's out of there? No, he's not. He hadn't left yet.
Speaker 2No, he signed oh, he resigned, that's right yeah, man, you pair him up with abdul carter and miles garrett and dude, if you go back in their in their draft history dude. I can't remember what quarterback it was, but they took Miles Garrett over a young top five draft pick quarterback and that's where I think it gets interesting with New York.
Speaker 1You have them there. They don't really have a long-term answer, you would say on paper at quarterback.
Speaker 3I'm taking Hunter.
Speaker 1Yeah, I am too, and you know, and you'll have Shador there, but I'm taking the best player available. If I'm the Giants, knowing that I have two veterans, that I think between the two of them they can give me something that's been better than what we had and better than what the rookie's going to be. It's been better than what we had and better than what the rookie is going to be, and you can have, and you have a chance to get, either the best defensive player or the best offensive player in the draft. I think that's what you do.
Speaker 2But does day ball do that? Does day ball have any job security if he goes?
Speaker 1you know, I think that you'll find out by who the pig? I think if it's, it is your door that's coming from ownership, yep, and I think if it's from, I think, gm Dayball. I think they're kind of tied in together. So I think, if they choose, it's going to be Hunter. Now, I think Hunter might get away. Ownership might sign off on that, being that he is like a two-way player and they will get a lot of noise. But I know that Mara wanted to address the quarterback room. It was the number one issue for them in the off season and they, in the way, in the money that they saved by signing those veterans, I mean they haven't spent and they can leave. They can leave both of them.
Speaker 3They don't have to have both of them, you know what if they trade back and yeah, and take jackson dart?
Speaker 1right. So that's when it gets interesting in the draft around number three, or actually right there too, because I think cam ward's gonna be the number one pick. There are a few people that are saying that Jackson Dart is ranked higher than Shador Sanders.
Speaker 2Well, what did I say at the end of the college football season? I told you Jackson Dart was going to be the sweeper quarterback in the draft.
Speaker 1Yep, Dude, it was just like a month ago.
Speaker 2I was saying man, I'd love it if the jackson dart in the second or third round and now all the first rounder. Everybody saw what I saw in the past month. Apparently all the scouts figured it out.
Speaker 1Yeah and I think that's just the nature of the beast in the quarterback being like you can take a swing on a guy on his rookie deal, especially if you've got Brian Greasy as your quarterback coach. I think Jalen Monroe will fall. I think he'll go to the end of the first round. I think somebody will want that guy and word will get out of who's going to take him in the second and people you know how it goes and you'll have somebody trading up late first round to get Jalen.
Speaker 2Monroe. The Colts will trade up at the end of the first round to draft Anthony. What if Philly takes him?
Speaker 1Oh God, Philly's done it.
Speaker 2I like Pittsburgh. I like Pittsburgh taking Rowe Watch out. Watch out for.
Speaker 1Pittsburgh. They need a quarterback. Even if they get Rodgers, that's only for one year. They don't have anybody there. They need a young guy. I, I, I mean you've seen the success hurts is isn't had right there in that state they just had him, though I know he's had justin fields.
Speaker 3Well, that's that I know.
Speaker 2I just think they'll take her I think I think they'll take monroe, if he's there, that's that'd be dude, because I mean, like Jimmy said, dude, they just had a better version of Jalen Monroe. Nah well, I mean he's just as fast, just as big and a better thrower of the football dude Monroe is Anthony Richardson bro.
Speaker 1You're looking for that.
Speaker 2Lamar Jackson, jalen Monroe, yeah, but I saw Lamar Jackson throw the ball accurately in college. He's got a special gear that these quarterbacks don't have.
Speaker 1Lamar Jackson has game breaker, wide receiver type, speed and moves.
Speaker 2Let's not get it twisted. He was coached by Bobby Petrino in college.
Speaker 1When people say that he's a little bit more agile than these guys. Jalen Hurts is a weight room warrior. I mean, he's strong as an ox, you know. But he improved his passing. That's why they got better.
Speaker 2He threw the ball better at Oklahoma in college than I've seen Jalen Milrow ever throw the ball.
Speaker 1Yeah, that's true, but I'm just saying that's, I'm just first round.
Speaker 3First round.
Speaker 2I wouldn't take him before the third.
MLB's New Torpedo Bats
Speaker 1It's that you know it's early April. Here we talked about the final four. We mentioned college baseball. Here in the North Florida area they're not using wooden bats. The big leagues talk about braves now, braves haven't won a damn game yet um when will they win? I don't know um the a lot of people are using these new bats, the torpedo bats, where the weight is transferring more towards the hands. It's a lot of, it's a lot of publicity right now.
Speaker 3Yeah, I've never heard of them. What are they? They just look a little differently.
Speaker 1Yeah, wooden bat, the weight is transferring a little bit.
Speaker 2Yeah, they look weird.
Speaker 1It gets a little skinnier at the end, so it kind of looks like a bowling pin at the end of it, so it kind of gets a little skinnier.
Speaker 2It kind of moves a little skinnier moot kind of moves away back in. What's the? Uh? Basically it puts the the majority of the mass, the allowed mass of the wood bat at the uh, the allowed biggest circumference in the sweet spot of the bat right this is just the next step in the ball it's the next step in the analytics of the game.
Speaker 1It's such an analytical game where you can now you'll probably get swing analysis and have like well, some people will. You'll probably do better with this bat as opposed to this bat.
Speaker 3What is? Does it have an effect? I know, the Braves just ordered some. Yeah, all right, we got to actually be able to make contact work to matter, right well, I mean, I think the yankees had like 15 home runs in the opening series.
Speaker 2This would be something that, uh like, looking back historically, somebody like, uh, tony gwynn or ichiro would have ended up hitting a shitload of home runs because they could pepper the ball wherever they wanted, so they were putting that bat right where they wanted it. And you make that their sweet spot all of a sudden. That little line drive double is a fucking home run.
Speaker 3Tony Gwynn would have had like an entire fucking golf bag full of different baseball clubs for different situations.
Speaker 2Right, dude, I love Tony Gwynn, I know.
Speaker 3Nostalgic 90s baseball they need a blue single left side right here.
College Football Spring Practice
Speaker 1Such a tough guy it was unbelievable dude.
Speaker 2He was like a high school baseball coach with a fungo bat hitting ground ball. Practice for the infield. All right.
Speaker 1Well, spring practice is going on. They don't really want anybody to find out about it? I wouldn't either.
Speaker 2Yeah, I haven't heard anything out of Miami.
Speaker 1That's good.
Speaker 2I mean other than.
Speaker 1Carson Beck getting robbed and gone. Hey, that's a good thing for you, right?
Speaker 2Hey, less crap for him to focus on.
Speaker 1Yeah, the $4 million man out of Miami will take over. This year we got the $400 man up here, little Tommy. Well, tommy Castellanos here at Florida State. Big year for Mike Norvell after coming off the worst season in program history.
Speaker 3It's a big year. But what's going to happen if he bombs again? Nothing. But I'm just saying I mean, come on man. I'm just talking, I got you.
Speaker 1I don't think that's going to happen if he bombs again.
Speaker 3Nothing, I mean come on man, I'm just talking, I got you.
Speaker 1I don't think that's going to happen. I think last year was just a perfect storm of a combination of factors, mainly being that your O-line sucked.
Speaker 3Yeah, that's where I'm going to stop. Is that your O-line coach was a gigantic fraud and beyond that, you can't really accurately assess anything other than everything sucked.
Speaker 2Yeah, you can't really accurately assess anything other than everything sucked, yeah. So yeah, o-line's been an issue under norvell for basically his whole time there.
Speaker 1Well, his whole time there he said that same coach.
Speaker 2So right he went back to the familiarity oh, I know, I know, oh, I know, that's why he's on the hot seat, just that, two seasons after going undefeated.
Speaker 1Um, but he's got the band back together. I'm just as bad as it was. I think he's going to turn it around.
Speaker 3No, I think that there'll be a lot better this year. Six to eight.
Speaker 1No, I still think they're going to be a lot better this year. I think they're going to. They revamped the O line. They still have uh, I'd say good backs in the backfield. Now you have a quarterback that can run. I like the size that they added in the wide receiver room.
Speaker 3They're playing in the ACC Right so if you can't win six games and then, if you get lucky, maybe seven or eight. It was so bad, the offense was so bad.
Speaker 1The defense wasn't as bad as it as it seemed. So I think that can elevate the defense even further, just having a competent offense, just having a confident offensive line, having the trio back together. That was at tulsa. I know I'm that's a stretch, you know, but still when they were together, when these three guys together, they put up NCAA records. So compared to last year, it's going to improve, it's going to be a good game. I think Miami and Florida State are going to be in the mix this season for the ACC title.
Speaker 3I would disagree with Florida State on that one, but just because of a roster standpoint.
Speaker 1Yeah, I know, I was just. I said in the mix, you know, it is the ACC.
Speaker 3Right, so about week six? You're still technically not being eliminated.
Speaker 1Yeah, I mean, the mix is a step above garbage.
Speaker 3Yeah yeah, it won't be great, at times it probably won't even be good, but you like it. Six win dream man.
Speaker 1Well, I mean, you look at it, it was just. It was just a terrible, terrible nightmare of a season. It was over by october right, it was over it was over by like halfway no, it was over by week two, oh, it was over when memphis came rolling into. Yeah, that was it um, but I think it's going to be a better year. We'll get into all the predictions and stuff as we get closer to it.
Speaker 2But I'm feeling better about it. As a Miami fan, I've got to see these crystal ball recruits now, and his defense has got to be something better than the worst defense in the country.
Speaker 1Yeah.
Speaker 2Carson Beck isn't going to do what Cam Moore did.
Speaker 1Yeah, I would say the pressure Miami is on the defense and I think that on for Florida State it's the offense and I and I think both units will have improvements.
Speaker 3Yeah, well for offense.
Speaker 2Yeah, it will be interesting to see what that. Yeah, it's hard, not to.
Speaker 1I mean literally, I could show up and probably get better than last year. We could, you know. So we'll see about that. I think the defense cam ward, like you were saying, I think he shined a lot of holes on that defense. Damn, if they could have just been average, who knows what that team could have done they at least would have made the ACC championship Right.
Speaker 2Right, that's all they had to do.
Speaker 1Restrepo and Ward were enough alone. I think he's going to be a good pro. I mean duh right.
Speaker 2Restrepo Dude. Somebody's going to steal Restrepo in the fifth round.
Speaker 1Oh yeah, I mean the Niners. Probably they're the new Patriots, I guess.
Speaker 3No, no, no, They'll be the Patriots.
Speaker 1As it comes to white players.
Speaker 3The 49ers don't make good decisions. How that Belichick's?
Speaker 1not in the NFL anymore. The 49ers now are the designated white guy draft guy.
Speaker 2I mean they are yeah, this is my nightmare. My nightmare draft scenario is the Patriots get Travis Hunter in the first round and then Restrepo in like the fifth, and it's like three of my favorite college football players.
Speaker 3Yeah, that would hurt.
Speaker 1I know right.
Speaker 2Restrepo Hunter like oh, kill me.
Speaker 1I was thinking that when Jameis was linked to possibly going to the Jets, I'm like am I going to actually root for the Jets? You know?
Speaker 3And I mean when you start rooting for these players it's kind of like how the nba had done it. Yeah, I had to root for the goddamn bucks man when he was playing for the bus, but I, I still have my.
Speaker 1I still. I'm still a huge dolphins fan. I just have certain players I root for oh dude I will be rooting for the titan.
Speaker 2We have cam ward last year dude.
Speaker 1I'm going to be a fan of his for as long as he plays Exactly what's that?
NFL Player Fandom and Cowboys Woes
Speaker 2Oh, hey, shit. That's why I like the Cowboys in the 90s, dude, because they were just like the Cane's varsity team, yep.
Speaker 1Well, we got to get on out of here, our ride's here, but, like you were saying, jimmy Johnson brought in that and then Jerry Jones was jealous and hasn't done shit since, right.
Speaker 2Right, we're in them, all off.
Speaker 3Just the history between the two of them. That whole thing is so funny. I didn't like you in college, jimmy.
Speaker 2We only won the title because I was in college with you, jerry. Yeah, no, without me on the D-line, you got one to one.
Speaker 1I know he's been looking for that glory hole and he's just I mean his odds are now he's just getting pessimistic. There's just a very low chance he's ever going to get there. There's no chance. He's more like Gary.
Speaker 2Jones' South Park character.
Speaker 1Well, yeah, he's not going to make it before he dies because he doesn't have the quarterback and he's paying him more than anybody in the league. I still can't believe that he's the highest paid player. Just laughable.
Speaker 2How has he he successful in business the way he's been working the cat the last 5-10 years?
Speaker 1yeah, he's talking about now. He's doing it again with the defender yeah, with Micah Parsons yeah, I mean he's just I want to make sure it's done right. I don't care if it costs me more. Well, that kind of does it wrong, then doesn't it Jerry if you can get them for cheaper if you can get, yeah, he's doing it again with Micah.
Speaker 1Now he's going to end up making up there probably one more than Miles Garrett just had, and I wouldn't. I don't think he's worth it. I think he's already peaked. Now I'm not saying he's not a great player, but when you're talking about that kind of money, yeah, I mean what's he done.
Speaker 2You're going to get that check and he's going to demand a trade.
Speaker 1You're going to get it now because you procrastinated and you were looking for glory holes. There wasn't one and smiles instead of just doing the damn deal.
Speaker 3I don't know. All right, Bray, Late news man. We just got Andy Wiggins' little brother from Clemson. We got who, Chauncey Wiggins. All right for who? For?
Speaker 1the basketball team. All right. Oh yeah, Luke Lox is tearing it up in the portal. We'll react to that. Next time we got the Final Four coming up, We'll talk about that and some more football to get to. We'll do that all next time right here on the North Florida Sports Network. I'm going to beat the shit out of you.
