Two for the Win
Mike is a U.S. Navy Veteran and Bryan has more than a decade of civil service experience. Together, these blue collar guys dissect the latest sports headlines and events.
Two for the Win
Two For The Win - S2.63 - A Wild Week Of Olympic Highs & Sporting Lows
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A week that starts with grief and ends with gold isn’t supposed to feel seamless—but that’s exactly how this ride goes. We begin by honoring Northern Iowa tight end Parker Sutherland and NBA icon Doug Moe, then launch into an Olympic surge: Johannes Høsflot Klæbo joins Phelps with 10 golds, Elena Meyers Taylor wins solo bobsled gold at 41 while raising two special needs sons, and Mikaela Shiffrin reclaims downhill glory. Norway sprints ahead in the medal table, the U.S. women’s hockey team smothers opponents, and a wolfdog crossing a biathlon finish line steals the show. The Games also spark debate: a Ukrainian skeleton racer is DQ’d for a memorial helmet, and Eileen Gu’s dual-citizenship choice spotlights whether representation can expand a sport without betraying roots. Yes, we even wade into Crotchgate and how equipment—and procedures—shape performance.
Baseball heats early: Twins ace Pablo López faces Tommy John, the Padres take a flier on Walker Buehler, and Cavin Biggio reconnects a family name in Houston. Then a bombshell: MLBPA leader Tony Clark steps down amid alleged misconduct with CBA talks looming. We unpack why a salary cap with a spending floor could fix baseball’s haves-and-have-nots without killing ambition. Over in the NBA, a crisp All-Star format delivers quick drama, Dame wins the three-point crown, and the MVP ladder tightens around SGA, Jokic, and Luka. The league’s tanking headache gets fresh proposals—lottery limits, two-year odds, and even a mini tournament—to stop fourth-quarter “injuries” and restore urgency.
Football stays loud. The NFL clashes with the NFLPA over team “report cards” and facility optics. The Titans tilt toward Oilers-blue and ditch sword imagery. Patrick Mahomes frees $43.65M in cap space with a smart restructure, Miami trims veteran salaries, and the Raiders stack a QB-centric staff. Seattle’s potential sale meets a coaching carousel, and the 49ers draw two international dates, testing competitive balance as the league chases global fans.
It’s all here: medals and myths, tanking and truth, cap magic and culture wars. Hit play, then tell us what you’d change—rules, rosters, or the way we measure greatness. If you’re into sharp takes and zero fluff, follow, share with a friend, and drop a review to help more sports fans find us.
February eighteenth, twenty twenty six. Welcome back, everybody, for another episode of Sports Banter, and Happy Lunar New Year to those of you who look forward to something like that. Uh, I'm Brian with an eye, and I'm Mike, and we are two for the win. Mike, we have a lot of road ahead of us tonight. What can we expect on tonight's agenda?
SPEAKER_02Well, the Olympics is happening and there's some interesting things to talk about involving the Olympics. Uh we got some NFL news to talk about, even though the NFL is done with, now we've hit this time of the year where you start having rumors who's in, who's out, who's being cut, who's being moved, plus the draft coming up. Plenty to talk about there. As far as basketball, we got some college basketball and NBA basketball to speak about, or talk about. And on top of that, baseball. A little good news, and a little controversy coming out of baseball that we need to discuss.
SPEAKER_03Oh, yeah, we don't get controversial very often, and certainly not political either, but I think this will be a good one to talk about and bring up. And of course, you know, as you just mentioned, this is the time of year basketball tends to heat up for most fans. But before we get started, I just want to thank our sponsors and partners. Body by D Gym, located in Yorktown and Gloucester. Uh Desha Wright's a uh great guy, former bodybuilding champion himself, uh, training future bodybuilding champions, as well as very community and your youth organization based as well. A lot of great things happening out of there, out of that organization. Uh, our good friends uh Katie and Christian over at Solace Outfitters, two young athletes uh graduating this year, high school, uh, you know, moving on to college. Congratulations, guys. And, you know, not just displaying a high level of talent on the court, but also a high level of a business acumen as well off the court. So good job, guys, and keep on going. And the Giving Tree Chiropractic, located down here in Virginia Beach with us, Mike. Uh Justin's very good uh at what he does, very knowledgeable, uh, very welcoming, and he has his pricing uh structured so that it's accessible to anybody with any kind of budget. So that's that's great news as well, Mike. Uh and before we get started, before we jump right in, uh I just want to give our thoughts and prayers to a couple families out here. First off, uh a young gentleman out of northern Iowa, uh, tied in Parker Sutherland, uh, tragically passed away at the age of 18, man, uh, after an off-season workout. Actually, this past Saturday, uh, it was sudden. Uh, I don't have any further details on it, but I know age of 18, just getting his post-high school career uh and college football really going, uh, had so much life to live, Mike. This just truly uh, you know, unfounded uh tragedy for this family. I can only imagine what them and their team are going through at this moment. Uh and you know, NBA uh lost to a great one as well. Doug Moe. Uh Denver Nuggets organization was devastated to learn of the passing of legendary coach Doug Moe. Uh this was actually just a few days ago. No, sorry, this was about a day ago, according to what I have here. Uh obviously a uh legendary figurehead, not just uh uh in the NBA today, but in NBA history as well. Uh Doug played in the ABA as a player only for a few years, but then you know eventually made his way over the NBA uh as both a player and eventually a coach.
SPEAKER_02Uh number of uh uh accomplishments and argument and basically the coach for the Nuggets through most of the 80s, yeah, and uh coached the Sixers as well, and had a winning record when it was all said and done. I mean, you you're pretty much that era of basketball was pretty uh physical.
Olympics Kickoff And Add-A-Sport Debate
SPEAKER_03So yeah, that you know, and even today people talk about it as possibly one of the greatest eras uh in in basketball history, uh, and probably will continue to be, and he was part of that. So uh our thoughts and prayers go out to uh both these folk, both these guys, uh the young gentleman uh and Mr. Mo and the communities and everybody affected by their passing. Uh so Mike. Yes. I know we started with some doom and gloom news, but are you ready to talk some Olympics, my friend? Sure. Yeah, boy. Sure, let's talk. America holding their own, kind of in the Olympics, you know, doing well as far as metal placing. But what we got up first here, man, real quick, I have a question for everybody, okay? We may not spend a lot of time on this because I was a little more creative with it than I think Mike wants to be. But basically, and I asked it on social media, we got zero responses, it's okay because we don't have that many listeners yet. Um, if you could add any sport to the Olympics, any sport you name it, summer, spring, fall, yeah. I mean, there's only summer and winter Olympics, but you get the gist. What would it be? What sport would you add? Mike, we'll start with you because you're the only other person here.
SPEAKER_02Uh well, one that comes to mind kind of off the wall, and I say that with the lead-in to what I'm gonna say, uh, I think it would be kind of interesting because we all saw how uh parkour kind of became a thing for a little bit. I think it would be kind of interesting if you had a parkour style race with multiple contestants trying to get over and get style points for getting over obstacles through through a course. I think it'd be kind of cool.
SPEAKER_03I have actually two ideas. I'm I'm sure I have a number of the ideas that come to mind. Um but the first one pickleball. Hey, I mean, you have you already have like tennis, yeah. And volleyball. Yeah, I know. And ping pong one time even made it.
SPEAKER_02But now ping pong is still a thing, and honestly, dude, to be honest, don't knock it. If you see them people playing, I don't know how they even pick up on the ball with as fast as it's going off that table. Now we have pickleball.
SPEAKER_03And for a little bit more, or shall I say a little bit less athletic, because you always gotta pick an actual athletic uh activity and then maybe a not athletic activity to make it, right? So, you know, chess is not athletic, but it's it was in the Olympics, right? I'm thinking, go ahead.
SPEAKER_02I'm glad you brought up chess because this this sparked this in my memory bang. I this is a recent thing that developed. Like I I saw an article, and and apparently there is a sport now, it's chest boxing. So you like you get up, you play chess, like there's a chest board in the ring, you play chest, and then you get up and box in between. Like you like you make a move, then you get up, you box, and then you in between rounds, you sit there and do your chess moves.
SPEAKER_03You know, I like this. You know, there's a lot of creative things, you know, tractor racing.
SPEAKER_02That's really uh just an American thing.
SPEAKER_03I don't I don't think Yeah, basketball started as an American thing and it's in the Olympics now.
SPEAKER_02What about what about, and I know it's mainly over in Japan, but what about sumo wrestling? What if that was in the Olympics?
SPEAKER_03I mean, I'm not knocking it, but I don't think it's a worldwide recognized sport. So like Magic the Gathering would be more likely to be an Olympic sport to me than sumo wrestling.
SPEAKER_02No, no, those those are not sports, dude. That would not be neither is chess. Or when you add boxing into it, and gun shooting.
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, well, yeah, when you add boxing to it, that makes it a I mean, first of all, chess is already an Olympic quote sport.
SPEAKER_02No, it's not. It's been in the Olympics before. No, the reason I say sumo wrestling, and here's here's something I don't understand. Why are more NFL teams not looking to get some of these sumo dudes? Because if you're looking for big guys that are good with their hands and agile and quick on their feet, these sumo dudes, they're more athletic than you think. I mean, I make them move big dudes.
SPEAKER_03I'm inclined to agree with you. Um, I think it's honestly a good notion. I'm sure there's a reason why there's not more of them coming over and possibly doing that.
SPEAKER_02Probably because they make a crap ton doing sumo wrestling.
SPEAKER_03I mean, they probably make just as much and maybe even work less. Like, they're like boxers, right? You get one fight and then you retire.
Gimmick Fights Rant: Mayweather vs Tyson
SPEAKER_02Oh, I'm glad you brought up boxing. Can you believe this BS match we're getting? Did you heard about this, right? You heard about the match that just was announced.
SPEAKER_03Which one? I've heard about a couple of them.
SPEAKER_02Mayweather? Yes. So we're getting Floyd Mayweather and Mike Tyson in a Congo boxing match. Well, it makes sense. It does not make sense. For one, okay, hang on. First of all, Mike Tyson has 70 pounds on Floyd Mayweather. And anybody who's ever watched a Floyd Mayweather fight, I'm sorry, you probably did like I did and fell asleep between three rounds and didn't miss a damn thing. Wait a minute. Didn't this fight happen like back in 2010? No. No. Tyson has never fought Floyd Mayweather. Dude, this is who was the who was the big one Mayweather last fought? Like there's no such thing as the big one Mayweather last fought. There wasn't matches. Mayweather ducked and didn't fight anybody relevant until they were past their prime. Like, I look, kinda like Tyson. Tyson didn't dodge anybody. He was fighting everybody.
SPEAKER_03No, I'm not saying he dodged everybody. I'm saying Tyson's past his prime, and now Mayweather wants a piece.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, exactly. My point. Which by the way. Mayweather's ready to fight Tyson when he's past his prime, which Mayweather was a probably a kid when he was fighting.
SPEAKER_03I was gonna say, yeah, Mayweather is also now past his point.
SPEAKER_02Hold on, hold on. Let me get let me get to my point here. Yes, sir. My point is Mayweather is a point fighter. He that's all he wants to do. He just wants to score points. He doesn't want to knock anybody out. He just wants to dip and bounce and get a jab in, get his points, and let everything go to decision because he just wants to get the damn points. He's not an actual fighter. A fighter, in my book, is what you would see in the old Tyson matches where he's trying to knock your ass out. He's not he's not looking for points, he's looking for the knockout. That's what I I loved. I loved watching those types of boxing matches. If it went to decision, it was because you were a damn good fighter, could stay on your feet. Well, not not just running around the ring the whole time. Well, back in Waste Floyd Mayweather.
SPEAKER_03Just look, sports and quote winning, especially when it comes to combat sports, is not about the glory anymore. It's about money now, it's about living to fight another day.
SPEAKER_02So they're not always been about money.
SPEAKER_03It's always a well, yeah. Well, money is always evolved. But what I'm saying is, like, it was about money, it was also about the glory. Like, you fought to knock somebody out, right? Now, now they fight to live another day. They just fight to win. This match is okay.
SPEAKER_02This match between Tyson and Mayweather is a joke. This is this is I hate to say it, this is not boxing. This is the BS that they do now. It's a giant money grab. It's it's how many people can we fool into watching this match that is not really gonna mean squat. Yeah, because these boxing matches are not boxing matches. I s look, you fool me once, you okay. You fool me twice, alright. I'm a sucker. You fool me a third time, then I'm the idiot for doing it for a third time. I'm not watching another Floyd Mayweather match. I'm not watching any more of these gimmick fights. These are not good fights. These are like these are nothing more than we just want to do something that'll make people hold.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I I think you're right to an extent because this is just like when the WWE would bring back Hogan, right? Hogan's 70 years old. They know he's not slamming on, I mean, he could, but because wrestling is what it is, but like, you know, oh it was a gimmick. It was a seat seller, right? It was it was like, oh, Hogan's back after 15 years. Come see Hogan in the come see Hogan in the rock, right? And so you're right, I think this is pretty much exactly that same gimmick. It's about getting two more.
SPEAKER_02It's more than that, dude. You have two different fighters that wouldn't even fight in their primes because they're two totally different weight classes.
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, I was just about to say that they're not even the same weight class, so they wouldn't even realistically fight, even if, like you say, if they were both, you know, cape fighting capable, which I'm sure may be offended by that, but I'm talking about age.
SPEAKER_02But the point of the matter is like if you go back and look at the the Logan Paul fight where you had Tyson fighting this this guy, I I almost want to say something else, but he's fighting this guy, and the Tyson that I remember, every time the guy got in close, you're seeing these uppercuts come in, and Tyson knocked out a bunch of dudes with these uppercuts. Yeah, he didn't throw a single one in that that match.
SPEAKER_03That was a bullshit. Well, they they had the no uppercut rule, right? And that's bullshit.
SPEAKER_02That's not boxing. I thought that was bullshit. If you're handicapping the ability for the fighters to fight the way that they fight, it's not a real boxing match. A real boxing match, you go in and you agree, yeah, you agree to the gloves, you agree to the venue, you agree to the length of the boxing match, but there's not gonna be you can't you can't throw uppercuts, no left hooks, like that you don't do that, you just get in there and you fight.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna reel us back on track here in just a second, but I'll I'll I'll leave this point off. If you have to handicap the aged veteran as the and you're the young buck, then you probably not as good as as you say you are. I'm sorry. Hey, you gotta put a handicap on the old dog. Look, he should be handicapping you. You're the young buck, bro. You saw what happened when he fought a real fighter.
SPEAKER_02You know?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. But anyway, I digress. Let's really back to the Olympics here, folks. That's enough of that question. I think we milked it and I think we got what we wanted out of it here. Um it took us off somewhere. It did take us off somewhere. And you know what? I love the rabbit hole conversations because this is what our listeners may or may not be living for right now at this moment in time.
SPEAKER_02I hate when we go down rabbit holes and it strikes that nerve and it gets me riled up.
SPEAKER_03Like, I hate it. I like to get Mike riled up. He's like an old grandma. I'm not an old gold year. I just hate it. I hate it. I say look. Bobby Boucher.
SPEAKER_02Look, I just don't like people trying to pawn off stuff on the average American and say, like, oh, this is a great thing. You should watch it. This is great. We're doing something great for you. This is the most amazing thing. You should watch it. And then what happens when you watch it? It's like, I wasted my money on this.
SPEAKER_03Mike's so sweet. Listen to how patriotic his consumerism is.
SPEAKER_02No, I'm just saying, like, they're treating the American public like we're all a bunch of dumbasses. Don't sit here and sell me this BS like this is the greatest fight ever, and it's just crap.
SPEAKER_03I don't think they're trying to sell that. I think they're just I think they're just selling a name brand fight.
SPEAKER_02They've been doing this for years. This is why boxing's gone down the tubes. Because we we sat there and pushed this money Mayweather crap, and he wasn't even really fighting. He wasn't fighting nobody.
SPEAKER_03It's just a name match. Nobody really expects to see a knockout, drag out fight between these two. They already know that. This is just for people in their nostalgia. Oh, I saw Mayweather and Tyson. But we all know both of them were well past their prime.
SPEAKER_02Real fight fans will see through this and they'll be like, this is the dumbest BS ever. Yeah. But they're not, that's not for the real fight fans anymore.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, because Tyson weighs as much as two Mayweathers.
SPEAKER_02It's it's like the stupidest arguments where where you get people saying, Well, what would happen if you had Floyd Mayweather fighting George Foreman?
SPEAKER_03This is like if you could get a a shark to fight a mammoth in real life, except they're both already dead.
SPEAKER_02I'm just saying, like, I don't I don't like these gimmick fights. I think they're stupid. I think it's a waste of time and people's money. I and half the time you know the result. So it's like, why should I waste my time?
Olympic Controversies And Viral Moments
SPEAKER_03Anyway, speaking of wasting time, you know who else doesn't like gimmicks? The Olympics Committee. Because they DQ't that Ukraine skeleton racer. But this gentleman, uh, and I'm gonna try to say his name here. Oh, come on, another great segment of Brian said names. Vlad Vladislav Hers Hershevic.
SPEAKER_02Oh my god, I think a nail that seems pretty close. Vladislav Hershevac. But he's he's gotten more than$200,000 on Tuesday to help him keep competing and advocate for his country. Uh just basically people supporting him. Yeah. Like a like a GoFundMe, he didn't even ask for, really. But they're just they're just supporting him so he can keep training and he will be able to compete at one point. They're not letting him compete because of his helmet. His helmet depicts fallen coaches, fallen athletes that were involved in the Ukraine war with Russia. Yeah, yeah, based, yeah. I can understand why he did it, but it's it's one of those that I commend him because he sacrificed his ability to perform in the Olympics. But at the same time, I I feel for the people that he lost, you know? Because these are people he knew.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, there are people he knew, people he looked up to, there are people in his community, in his circles that obviously they were lost. Either they were fighting in the war or they were casualties of the war. Um, and I it's kind of a slippery slope, right? Like, it's political, but it's really not political because it's so personal to him. But it's like I personally wouldn't have a problem with it, but that's because here in America, we can do things like that, right?
SPEAKER_02I wonder if there was a compromise he could have made where he could just carry the helmet around with him. Like, not wear it for the competition, but like afterwards. Like he does an interview, he's holding it. If he's seen out in out in town walking around, he's holding it. If if if they could have just at least been like, okay, you can't wear it during competition, but you can carry it around for interviews, you can carry it around, you know, for for photo ops out in the the Olympic village and stuff.
SPEAKER_03I I think the Olympic committee being what it is, I think they just didn't even want to open the door, they didn't want to set the precedent. Uh there is a lot, there is a lot going on in the world, Mike, today. Probably even more so than there normally would be 20, 30, 40, 50, 100 years ago, okay? Um so people always trying to protect their stake.
SPEAKER_02You realize they're four years into that war now.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02It's crazy.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I know. It's it's four years. I remember when it started. I remember when it was building up. I mean, if you count the buildup, it's really been more like six years at this point.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well. Let's uh let's move away from that uh and let me. Bring up something that most people probably didn't know about. Uh and I know it's not on our agenda, but I thought it would be kind of funny to bring it up. So most people aren't aware that when these athletes go to this Olympic village, that half the time these athletes, they're focused, they're ready to go. And then the other half of the time, they're looking for a party. I know exactly what you're doing. They're looking for more than just a little party. They're looking for a little tenda after the after their match. I know where you're going with this. And here's the thing. Here's the thing. So it's well known that these athletes hook up, but usually the Olympics supplies a bunch of condoms. Apparently, they have already run out of condoms. So these athletes are not only breaking records, but they're breaking hearts up there at the Olympic Games. And the the Olympics has reported that they have provided more condoms to these athletes. Yeah. I wonder if they have them in the same color as the Olympic rings.
SPEAKER_03They're probably based on their home country's color, so you can collect them. Oh, Lord. I don't know that you know. I have the one from America. Anyway. Sure, sure feels like a star. Anyway, going for the show. This is a family show. We can't go down this road. But anyway, that's funny. I thought that was really funny. What we talk about here. Clevo joins Phelps as the only 10 gold Olympian. Uh, both of them 10 gold Olympians, albeit in a different sport. Say his full name. Okay. We gotta get Brian saying the full name here. Okay. Uh, this is gonna be fun, but easier than the last one. Johannes Hosflat Klebo. Johannes Hosflat Klebo. I'll take it. I'll take it. Or Klebo. I almost said Hosefoot, but I had to read there's an L there.
SPEAKER_02Well, as you alluded to, Klebo is 10 gold medals in. He has 10 gold medals for his career, putting him up there with Michael Phillips. But here's the thing. He's done this in biathlon. It is not an easy sport. Like you're you're talking about not only are you, you know, cross-country skiing, and that takes a lot out of you, but you're also sharpshooting when you do biathlons. And every miss you make with the gun, you gotta do a I think it's a hundred and fifty meters penalty lap. So if you miss, and and let's say you gotta take five shots. If you miss two of those shots, guess what? You're going around two times. But he he pulled it off, man.
SPEAKER_03Like he hell of an accomplishment. I mean, just one gold medal in a lifetime is hard enough. Imagine being the LeBron James or Tom Brady of the Olympics. All right, Klaybo and Phelps, that's these two guys right here.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but on this type of a sport, you know, like this isn't ski jumping, this and not not knocking any of these other sports, but this is this is one when they're done, they literally collapse after they go past the finish line because they're so exhausted.
SPEAKER_03They have exerted their body to the maximum limit.
SPEAKER_02And and he was doing a lot of these competitions one after the other. So it's not like he he did his race and then he's off a few days. No, he did his race and then he came back for another race, you know, a day later or the next day, and it's like, yeah, it's insane.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and there's a little bit of a sweet story here that goes along with this, Mike. You want to take that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, yeah. So funny we bring up biathlon, but there there was a kind of a guest appearance on the biathlon this past uh past biathlon, and let's listen to this real quick.
SPEAKER_04Clearly, the biggest gear of the day is not for any of the skiers, so that's true speed down the finishing straight. Magnificent local wildlife, domesticated.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah. So, in case you couldn't pick up what they were talking about, the announcers were laughing at the fact that not only were the skiers in the biathlon finishing the race, but they had uh a trailing uh brand new opponent and a uh wolf hound. Wolf dog. A dog. Uh it's it looks like a a wolf, but it's it's actually a domesticated wolf dog. And it's crossing the finish line right behind these skiers, and they're they're literally collapsing after they get down, and they turn and they're like, Oh, it's a dog. There's a dog here. There's a dog. And so the crowd is literally the you know, the skiers are thinking, hey, they're really cheering for us. They really want to see us win. And then they turn around, oh, there's a dog.
SPEAKER_03That's funny. I can only imagine what that feels like, man. It just, oh man.
SPEAKER_02Like they weren't, they weren't even worried about them.
SPEAKER_03Could you imagine being faster than a dog? That you are, you know, well, I guess the dog is chasing. The dog probably could have been faster than, but oh my, I didn't see you there.
SPEAKER_02The dog's probably thinking, what's over here? They're they're really going over there quickly. Uh let me see what's going on over there.
SPEAKER_03And they're clapping for the dog. So the dog's like, oh, snap, son, I just walked into something. What is this? That's how that's going. That's very sweet, though. I like that.
Medal Leaders And Standout Performances
SPEAKER_02Yeah. You know, the owner's probably thinking, oh, dang it.
SPEAKER_03He got out again. Yeah. And then uh on another front, uh, Elena Myers Taylor's two young sons watched her leap into the air, throw her fist skyward, and wave the American flag to fall to her knees and start to cry. And that's really not what I meant to read there, but I hope you enjoyed it because I did it well.
SPEAKER_02Go on. Meyer Taylor is 41 years old and a U.S. bobsledder, mother of two, and she won the gold in the solo bobsled. And to kind of cap off her career, she becomes the oldest African American or oldest woman to win this event and get a gold medal. But that's not all. She's breaking barriers as well. Because she also has five, she has five times before three sil three silvers and two bronze, giving her six winter medals by a woman, making her only the second woman to ever do this feat of having six medals, tying her with Bonnie Blair for the most by a U.S. woman in winter history, winter Olympics history. Congratulations. So go you. She's doing this pretty impressively. And an extra note, you did mention her sons. Her both her sons are special needs. So not only is she doing this on top of you know training, but she's also taking care of two special needs children, which anybody who has has special needs children or or has helped with dealing with special needs children, yeah. You know it's a it could be a tall order at times, it could be a rewarding order at times, you know, but for her to be able to do this and do this at a gold medal level, just uh I can only imagine how she feels.
SPEAKER_03This is nothing short of a heart-driven accomplishment to me. I mean, like you say, uh her two special needs son and her uh don't take this the wrong way at the age of 41, gives me a lot of hope. I really uh look up to her for what she's accomplished here, both in her regular daily life and her athletic career uh and what she's doing here. So a lot on her plate, and to be able to go to the Olympics, she must have a very good support system in place. Exactly. To be able to do this. And and ladies and gentlemen, and everybody in between, this is, in my opinion, a perfect example of what somebody can accomplish when they have a healthy, strong support system in place. Okay, and this goes for everybody.
SPEAKER_02Well, undoubtedly. I mean, she didn't get there on her own, so this gold medal and her medals in general probably mean a lot to everybody involved because you know if she's there competing, her kids are probably back home.
SPEAKER_03So they might be there with her, they are there with her because they I just read they ran down the stands with her. Oh, well, okay. So her family is there watching her compete and celebrating with her as a as she accomplishes this. Well, that's amazing.
SPEAKER_02That's even better. Yeah. And speaking of even better, uh Michaela Schifford. Shiffrin. Shiffrin, sorry. This is why I read names, Mike. Yes, she has finally gotten off the snide of not winning a medal, and she won the gold medal in the women's downhill slalom.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So congratulations to her. It makes three for her career. Good job. And you know, she's she's very decorated. She's been, you know, multi-time, you know, world champ, and just this is this is a big accomplishment for her. I'm sure. I'm sure I'm sure she wants to keep going as long as she can, but if you know, if this is if this is the end, I mean three gold medals, that's pretty good. Just getting one gold medal is amazing, but you get three, come on.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's pretty awesome. And then Norway's uh Tormo Torwood Frosted captures the Olympic freeze uh free ski big air gold. And Mike, this is a funny story too, rather interesting. Uh, the difference between the silver and gold uh for the men's big air was a matter of who did a trick called a nose butter better.
SPEAKER_02So the difference in points was only 2.25 between the two two opponents. Uh did you do the name?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Tormont Frosted. He beat out uh US's uh Mac forehand.
SPEAKER_02Mac forehand. I feel like with a name like that, you should be playing tennis. You shouldn't be doing like skiing and stuff like you know how how cool would it be? Forehand with the amazing forehand. Sounds like a pickleball move to me. Anyway, it's coming. It's coming pickleball is like tennis. Look, anyway, back to back to this like ping pong.
SPEAKER_03Or racquetball.
SPEAKER_02Matt came into this with most people expecting that he would walk away with the gold. So for uh how'd you say his last name? Forstrad? Forrestrad? Frosted. Frostad. For for him for him to come away with the gold, which by the way, Norway's beating everybody out for gold for gold as well as just metal count in general. So congratulations to Norway.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and with that being a Norwegian name, it's probably not Frosted. As I'm saying, it's probably like Joltenstead or something. I don't know how they say things out there. But congratulations to him. Um, and sorry for it, and maybe next time, buddy. Yeah.
Hockey Thrillers And Injury News
SPEAKER_02Well, yeah, maybe, maybe, maybe it's next time. But getting over to some hockey action going on with the Olympics right now, we're gonna talk about the match between Canada and what?
SPEAKER_03Oh no, I was just gonna say, this just might be the juiciest part of the Olympics here, what we're getting ready to talk about, uh Olympic hockey.
SPEAKER_02Okay. So Canada was facing against uh I think it's Chestia. Chechna. Chechna Czech Republic for most people, but it's not that anymore. Anyway, they were going against them against Canada, and Canada came away with the overtime win. Uh but America Light. America Light. But Canada came away with the overtime win between Let me have it. So Canada comes away away with the win in overtime for the 4-3 victora. Victory, but it comes at it comes at a cost. Unfortunately, uh during that game, they lost Sidney Crosby to a a lower le a lower body injury. Uh it looks to be a severe lower body lower body injury to his right leg, I believe. Yes, his right leg. Uh it came in the second period of the of Canada's win uh with the 4-3 win in overtime. So they're losing, they're losing their captain, they're losing pretty much Crosby has been their mainstay. I mean, when they won their gold last time, that he was he was the guy, but now you're losing him. But since we're since we're talking about hockey, we need to talk about the fact that the women's hockey right now, they are killing it. I mean, killing it. I I have no doubt that the women's hockey team is going to be going for the gold, but they're winning at such a pace that their last game they won 5-0. I mean, come on. Most of their games, it's been like 5-0, 5-2, 5-1. They're getting like five goals, it seems like every match. They're outscoring their opponents ridiculously. And they're doing this with players, some of them even playing out of position. Like they've got, you know, people that are normally not defensemen playing defensemen, and they're just stepping up. They're just like, screw it, I'll play it. I might get a you know, gap assignment wrong, but you know what? I'm gonna do my best, and next time I'll be in position.
SPEAKER_03They understand the assignment, their team, obviously very close knit. Um, and they're very well coached. So uh they're and it's showing in the results. So congratulations to them. I I hope they win gold, obviously, because I'm American.
SPEAKER_02Well, well, the UA US women's and the US or the Canadian women's and the Swedish women's teams are all doing quite well. Uh, I'm sure we're gonna see those those teams probably down the stretch. Uh actually just ended a little while ago the men's competition between Sweden and and the US men's. Uh this game for the longest time, up until I believe the towards the end of the second quarter, it became one-nothing for the United States. And with only a minute and 31 seconds left in the third period, Sweden got the tying goal descended into overtime. But when we go to overtime in the Olympics, it happens right away. There's no break, it's just go. And they do a three-on-three fast-paced hockey, and thankfully the United States came away with the goal, uh, and it was what a what a goal it was. It hit right off the post and end just getting past the the Swedish goalies glove hand, and just you hear that that ting and you see that puck hit the back of the net. It's just a great feeling. So, congratulations to them getting a much needed win, keeping them ahead in group C. But they're they're they're uh well on their way to competing against probably Canada again for the gold medal if they keep this up.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Canada, uh this yeah, Canada and USA seem to lead for right now. Well, group. Although there's not really like a it's a grouping thing. Yeah, it's a grouping thing, but but uh I like to look at overall though, just for shits and gigs. Um I mean Finland leading group B. Group B is pretty tight. Uh Finland, Slovakia, and Sweden.
SPEAKER_02Oh, yeah, but though, but all those teams have one losses. The only teams that don't have any losses is the US and Canada.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, Canada and the U.S. pretty handedly handling their groups. Uh Finland, Slovakia, and Sweden. Italy's probably out. Let's just face it. Sorry, Italy.
SPEAKER_02Sorry to jump around, but I I forgot to mention something. Just when you thought Crotch Gate was over. Oh Lord.
SPEAKER_03More penis problems.
SPEAKER_02So Crotch Gate has just been a thing. Like, there's been all kinds of controversies going on with the Olympics. This just has been the damnedest winter Olympics. But this this is this is the crazy part. Uh, so so a doctor uh Doctor has come out and said he didn't name names because he's technically not supposed to, but he did say that he has performed a uh enhancement surgery on an athlete that is was competing in the ski jump. So um yeah, they're doing anything and everything to create more wing drag.
SPEAKER_03I I have a question. Wouldn't that add weight making it more difficult to get air and lift and maintain lift? Wouldn't that like putting a sinker on a fishing line?
SPEAKER_02No, but I mean like you're trying to create more surface area and more area to drag air across to create lift. Uh so you know, I guess having a little bit of a uh bulge helps. I mean, they're the ones doing it, not me, so I don't know. I mean, I'm I'm assuming that it's working because with all the Crotchgate stuff that's happening, it seems to be a thing.
SPEAKER_03All right, but I said it before and I'll say it again. We're exiting the age of performance-enhancing substances and now entering the age of performance-enhancing procedures. P. E.P.s, y'all. That man's penis is fake and it gives him an advantage.
SPEAKER_02You know how, like, when you go through the combine, they sit there and they measure your hands, they see how high you can jump, how fast you can run. Do you think for ski jumping, if they were doing a combine, that's gonna be the next measurement? It's like, let's just see how how good your end seam is. I mean, they do they do have like sorry, we're not gonna go with you, we're gonna go with this other guy because he's a little he's a little more uh gifted. What do you mean he's gifted?
SPEAKER_03They do have qualifiers, you know. Look, they do have they do have qualifiers, which is like a combine kind of.
SPEAKER_02I mean, yeah, there are qualifiers, but like I don't know that that's one of the things that is the qualifying, you know, like this yeah, I see what you're saying, Dow.
SPEAKER_03Kind of like when Kenny Pickett's hands were too small. His hands are too small, he can't throw the ball. Well, well, he really can. His bulge is too little, he can't create enough lift, which is not he's not creating enough drag. There's not enough drag. There's not enough lift.
SPEAKER_02So this is where those those stereotypes come into play, and it's like, when are we gonna start seeing like you know, the Jamaican ski jump team?
SPEAKER_03Or the you know by the way, I'm glad you mentioned Jamaican ski jump team because for the second time in history, the Jamaican, female Jamaican bobsled team is kicking ass. And a movie which has stood the test of time, uh, cool runnings comes to mind. Uh so I'm just remembering that movie and what those gentlemen went through, and now I'm reading about how the female Jamaican bobsled team has come to town to the optics. Blah blah blah. Anyway, everybody knows I words are hard and I can't talk, especially when I'm trying to be slick on the fly. Yeah, when you when you can't talk, start a podcast. That's right. When you have motor speech problems and you can't think clearly, let alone speak clearly, you should start something where people will have to listen to you. But yeah, I think that's intriguing and congratulations. There's a lot of things happening in the Olympics. Uh we try to cover as much as we can, usually what comes across our news feed.
SPEAKER_02But yeah. Uh let's talk about the metal count real quick. We're gonna get to the you know, just the top three, because really, I mean, once you get beyond that, you start getting into the weeds. But Norway They can't smoke weed, sir. That's just kicking everybody's ass because right now they have 15 gold medals, which nobody else is in double digit for gold medals.
SPEAKER_03Oh, Norway is running away with it, right?
MLB Injuries, Signings, And Scandals
SPEAKER_02Norway has 33 overall medals, so most of them gold. But getting into the home country, Italy, coming in in second, they have nine gold medals with an overall medal count of 26. So they're doing quite well in their home games. And for any of the athletes competing with Italy, it's gotta be a special feeling to do it on your turf. Yeah. Especially like there was there was one uh I can't remember the athlete's name, but there was one that was doing the skeleton, and he literally the track he is doing his Olympic run on is the one he's been training on the whole time. So it's like Got. So you better win gold. You better win a medal on this one.
SPEAKER_03And Italy, even though they suck at hockey, seems to be doing well in other sports because, like you mentioned, they have 26 total, nine of those being gold, placing them ahead of even the United States of the Americas.
SPEAKER_02Speaking of which, United States coming in at third with seven gold medals and an overall medal count of 24. We have gotten medals in alpine skiing, bobsled, country, uh cross country skiing, curling, which that came in the mixed doubles, uh, figure skating, free freestyle skiing, luge, snowboarding, and speed skating. And you know what? While we're on it, we did talk about snowboarding there for a second. I I I heard this thing where people are giving Eileen Goo crap about performing in the Olympics, not for the United States. Eileen, come on, Eileen. Come on, Eileen. Eileen Goo, if you if you don't know her, she's a 22-year-old uh Olympic snowboarder slash model. Uh she she's just talented at everything she does.
SPEAKER_03And the subject of a famous Beatles song.
SPEAKER_02Neither here nor there. But she's also attending Stanford. So she's gonna be a graduate here from Stanford. So she's definitely got everything going for herself. But because her mom is from China, China, she's allowed to compete for China. So JD Vance, our vice president, and a few other folks have vocally said it's it's not cool that she's performing for another country when she's attending and was born in America and attending school in America. It's like, why are you not performing for us? And I say, if she is has birthright to that country, and she's not the only one doing this, there are other athletes doing this as well, performing for other countries, but she's probably the most known because she was looked as the hands-down leader of the house when it came to women's, you know, competing downhill uh snowboarding for for like the competition where you're doing tricks and stuff. And if it wasn't for a bad run where she literally first rail kind of falls off the rail and falls and screws her her run and giving the gold to another competitor, she was probably going to get the goal, but she winds up with two silvers, and some people are giving her crap about getting silver.
SPEAKER_03And I'm like, wait a second, when did when did getting a silver medal become a bad thing? First of all, this is a competition, okay? The results aren't guaranteed. People stumble, people get knocked out, people underperform all the time. You have to perform the best in that qualifying moment. And a lot of people, more than you think, end up falling short, even though they are capable of becoming gold medalists. The other thing, go ahead, Mike.
SPEAKER_02Well, even the quad god, he came up bad in his competition and he owned it. But it's kind of funny because it kind of reminds me of when Simone Biles had the yips and she wasn't able to perform in in the Olympics a few years ago, but she came back the next Olympics and owned, like she just tore everything up, gold medals crossed the board, but pretty much. And it just shows that even though you're like one of the best, it doesn't mean you're always going to be the best when it comes to the competition.
SPEAKER_03It doesn't mean you're always gonna win or place, but the fact that you have the name recognition in your sport as one of the best, that's what matters because it's it's not that particular competition where you draw your reputation. Your reputation was built on everything you did up to that point. So it that shouldn't change who you where you stand in the sport, okay, because this is one of the stages of stages.
SPEAKER_02Well, one of the things I like that Eileen Goo said about when people were commenting on her, you know, skiing for China instead, or not skiing, snowboarding for China instead of doing it for the US. I like that she said, well, by her having that platform and doing it for China, she's hoping to generate more interest because she is a celebrity, she is she does have some influence because I mean, like I said, she's a model, she's an influencer, you know, she's attending Stanford, so she's definitely not a dummy. You know, she's way smarter than me. But she's putting it out there so maybe she can inspire other athletes to follow and perform at the Olympics because really China has not really been a forefront comp uh competitor in snowboard. They just haven't.
SPEAKER_03No, they haven't. And I I like this a lot. I mean, there's a it could go both ways depending on how you argument. My thing is where is your citizen at citizenship at? If you have citizenship to both America and China, then I say yes. Maybe you win China now, and then you come back in four years and you compete for America, okay? That could bridge, that could bridge the gap in politics, okay? Uh that can bridge a lot of gaps in socialism uh and things like that. And and I'll get you in just a second, Mike, but I also think that um she's showing, you know, not just more inspirational stuff, like you can come to America, build a better life, and still compete for your home country while living in this country.
SPEAKER_02Uh well, she's born here. That's part of the reason a lot of people have an issue with it, but her mother is from China, and there's there's plenty of other athletes who are doing this who are performing for other countries because yeah, for a number of different reasons. Sometimes your country is so stout in a certain competition that you're in, and there is no more spots, or if you go to this other country, it opens up a spot for another competitor who might not get on if you were still there. So it's affording opportunities to for other athletes that might not be to Eileen Gu's level, but get their Olympic dreams known. So there's there's that too, and that's another thing that she brought up is like it it gives people the ability to live out their dream, and hopefully what she's doing is inspiring the next wave of competitors for China and for not only her mom's home country of China, but maybe inspiring people from this country, like maybe they will go and say, Well, dang, I I just missed out on being on the American team, but you know what? My great-grandmother is full from Germany and I have ties to Germany. Maybe I'll go compete for them.
SPEAKER_03I'm sure there are rules in place for how far back your ancestry could go. Because then literally every American could compete for any other country but America.
SPEAKER_02Well, no, you have to. There are criteria and they have to be approved. So this isn't like you could just claim something and go do it. You have to have a legitimate reason to be a competitor for that country. But she's just the one b because she is as popular and as well known as she is, that's why it's so much in the front. Why so many people, you know, are talking about it at a level where it's like they're giving her crap, but it's like, don't give her crap. Like, yeah, I mean, I I don't hate the game.
SPEAKER_03She's following the rules. I understand why some people feel the way they do, but honestly, it's really not that big a deal, in my opinion. Uh I think Eileen, keep doing what you're doing, girl. Congratulations. She'll be fine. She'll be fine. And as much as she's accomplished, she's gonna she's gonna accomplish way more. She could come back and compete for America in the future. Yeah, she's she's I don't even I don't even want to hear this argument right now.
SPEAKER_02She's only 22, so she's got plenty of more Olympics ahead of her, so she's fine.
SPEAKER_03She could become the first person to win a gold medal for multiple countries.
SPEAKER_02I don't know if it's it would be the first. I do know that some people have done this before. So that's an interesting thing. It might have to look at it.
SPEAKER_03No, we'll talk about this maybe next Olympic cycle.
SPEAKER_02But let's move right along. Uh stop talking about Olympics for a little bit and get into some baseball news.
SPEAKER_03Let's jump into some baseball. So I know, I know, I know. Which by the way is also an Olympic sport.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's world baseball classic. But yes. And then you have the world baseball Olympics. So here's the thing. Like, I know baseball, most people are like, why are you talking about it? Season hasn't even started. Not so fast. Spring training literally starts this week. We have games starting this week on the 20th.
SPEAKER_03To add to that, our big three for those of you baseball, basketball, and football, we will probably always talk about those three sports year round, no matter what. Okay. Especially me being on here. There's gonna be some basics. Yeah, and me too. Like, we're always gonna find something to say about all three of those sports, no matter what. We just try to mix other things in. You good there? Yeah, yeah. I just it I just random noise. Yeah, it's over. It's over. I am done saying I'm done saying things.
College Hoops Upsets And Discipline
SPEAKER_02So yeah, some things. Anyway, with the onset of the upcoming season, uh, the twins just getting really bad news. Their ace pitcher, Pablo Pablo Lopez, let me slow down and say it right, has a significant tear of his unular collateral ligament, or in this case, what is known as the UCL in his elbow. He is having Tommy John surgery and is likely done for the year before it is even started. So they're losing their ace pitcher. Not something you want to hear off the rip before you've even started the season.
SPEAKER_03So that's a huge blue.
SPEAKER_02Already lowering the bar. Well, the twins are kind of in flux anyway, because they got rid of last trade deadline, they were just fire sandaling. They were getting rid of all kinds of players.
SPEAKER_03I recall this.
SPEAKER_02But now we're now we're coming in this new season. They have made some moves, been low-key, but we'll see what happens with them uh unfortunately losing their ace. Yeah, tough blow there, but yep, here we go. Moving on to a kind of a fall from grace, but hopefully for a bounce back, comeback player of the year kind of scenario. Uh the name Walker Bueller should sound familiar. Bueller. Because he was part of the Dodgers when they were making those runs and you know, getting getting into the playoffs and then actually winning a World Series with them before he he was uh traded off. And uh unfortunately, with a bad run playing with the Boston Red Sox and just not looking great, he has signed a minor league deal with the rival to the Dodgers, the Padres. So now he's gonna be pitching for the enemy. And hopefully, this is a low-key, low-risk move for the Dodgers or the Padres, where they're getting Walker Bueller if he can bounce back to his ace form. That's a good get. Bueller. That will set their rotation up pretty nicely. But the the Padres weren't done. They weren't done. They made one more move.
SPEAKER_03Bueller. The guy. I had to do it one more time. I'm done. I'm done. Are you? Bueller. Since you're messing around, since you're messing around, go ahead. Say this name, Brian. Sunday. Sorry, that's a different word. Uh one year of the pot is Nick Castellanos. That's easy. It's Italian. I'm Italian. We're all Italian.
SPEAKER_02Anyway, the former Phillies player who was released this pat past week, Nick Castellanos.
SPEAKER_03No relation to George Costanzo.
SPEAKER_02You know, for people that don't know, this was this was a really horrible season for him last year where he actually got benched. And he he was actually at one point admitting that he had snuck some beers into the dugout because he was so he not when he was playing, because he was benched. He wasn't playing, so he was definitely pissed off about that, and was not uh shy about mincing words about how he felt about him being benched and uh not shy about the way he he was treated exiting the Phillies, which can't say as a surprise because the Phillies have been dealing with a lot of controversy with their GM saying some rather not so nice things about the players, let alone uh players that are already having riffs with the coaching staff.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So he's out, he's going to the Padres. Good get for the Padres. Hopefully we'll add some strength to their DH position. Yeah, good pickup for them. But in a a kind of a cool move recently, the Astros are bringing back Biggio. No, not Craig Biggio. I know a lot of people have fond memories of Craig Biggio playing. He's an all-star, he's a Hall of Famer, but now his son is going to pit play on a minor league deal with the Astros. So from their father to the son, Cavin Biggio will be playing for the Astros. I think that's kind of a cool thing, you know, to see see the son play for the same organization that his dad did. I think that's incredible. So hopefully, hopefully he'll kind of have a little bit of a bounce back.
SPEAKER_03Almost like LeBron and Brawny, but in baseball and less name recognition.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but but I think BGO has been a little better than that whole scenario because he was with the Blue Jays and was doing kind of well. At one point, the Blue Jays had had three players that were all from former fathers who played in the league. Because you had Bochette, who was uh his dad, uh Bo Bachet. No, he's Bo Buschet. Dante Bochette was his dad, who played for the Rockies and a couple other teams. I believe he played for the Expos. And uh and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., obviously, his dad is Vladimir Guerrero Sr. All former players.
SPEAKER_05Get at him.
SPEAKER_02All former good players, because uh Craig Biggio, great player. Here's the thing that was kind of interesting about Craig Biggio. He actually played pretty much every position on the field. You could put him at catcher, you could put him at first, second, short, outfield, didn't matter. The only thing you didn't see him do is pitch.
SPEAKER_03Nice.
SPEAKER_02But his son, primarily second baseman. Now, I did promise controversy. I did promise that we have some interesting things going on with the MLB. Well, it is time to pay the Piper and deliver. And we are, we are delivering. So, former MLB player and now director of the MLBPA, which is the collective bargaining agreement for the MLB, Tony Clark is in a little bit of hot water now. So it came out just yesterday that he was basically stepping down as the leader of the MLBPA. And it was like, well, wait a second, why is he stepping down? Some thought, okay, maybe he's stepping down because we're getting to a point where the collective bargaining agreement's going to be renegotiated, and maybe he doesn't want to be part of that. No, not so much. Apparently, then more news came out where catch me or stop me if you've heard this before. He was having an inappropriate relationship. Where have we heard this before? We have heard this multiple times before. Not just, you know, one sport or another. This seems to happen in a lot of sports.
SPEAKER_03This just happened in Michigan.
SPEAKER_02Bingo, you said it, not me. But getting back to this one. You said it, not me. Getting back to this one. This one has a little extra spice to it, uh, because his inappropriate relationship was actually with his sister-in-law. His wife's sister is who he was having the inappropriate relationship with. You know, I don't, but wait, I'm not done. I'm not done. Not only was an inappropriate relationship started with his sister-in-law, he also helped his sister-in-law get a job within the within the MLBPA, so she was a coworker. So now you're not only having an inappropriate sh relationship with a sister-in-law, but you're having an inappropriate relationship with a coworker.
SPEAKER_03You know, this sounds somewhat familiar and also slightly different, right? When you said it's spicier, I didn't know how it could get spicier than a domestic pregnancy situation.
SPEAKER_02But I'm not done. Oh my lord. I'm not done. What? It just keeps going, right? Jesus. So apparently they're also in trouble with embezzling money from the funds from the MLBPA. So we're not talking about, oh, you just lost your job. This might be a situation where uh maybe some jail time coming. It wasn't just him, it was him and her. Basically. How old is she? She's in her 50s.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_02She's Well, I mean, look at Tony Clark. He's he's up there too with this white beard. I mean I mean, it's perfectly manicured beard. It looks great.
SPEAKER_03He's a good looking guy. I need to see this woman. I'm sure she's a good-looking woman too. I mean, Tony Clark, I'm sure, has high standards.
SPEAKER_02But not only have you ruined your job and probably ruined your marriage, and not only that, but probably ruined the family, family Christmas setting for years to come. But you've also set yourself up where uh you might be looking at some jail time because of the this whole money situation. So this is this is only going to provide more stuff as we go along.
SPEAKER_03He won't go to jail. I I think he'll stay out of that. They'll if if that becomes a thing, I think he'll stay out of jail. He'll probably just get heavily fined and banned.
NBA Tanking, All-Star, And MVP Ladder
SPEAKER_02So it leads to some other other questions because as I alluded to, the collective bargaining agreement after this season needs to be re-established. So this is where the players kind of bring their list of demands and say these are the things we want, and the owners come with their list of demands and the things they want to see, and they get together and bargain and agree. Now, if you don't recall, which Brian, you might. I do. I haven't said it yet.
SPEAKER_03I know, but I know I recall.
SPEAKER_02So I brought up where the commissioner of baseball went to go talk to the Phillies in their locker room, and uh, Mr. Bryce Harper told him to get the F out of their locker room because he knew what he was coming to discuss. He was coming to discuss possibly doing a salary cap on baseball.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I remember this conversation very well. We dove into it head first. Yeah, he said, get to F out.
SPEAKER_02And and, you know, not just me. Maybe you don't want to say that to somebody that, you know, if you get in trouble who has say over what happens with you, just me. But anyway, I digress. This situation is leading to a kind of a reiteralist ship when you're going into negotiating. Because if they don't establish a new head of the PA quick and soon and get them up to speed, you're gonna go into this negotiation period kind of ill-equipped.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, uh, your front man is now out. I'm sure that they have, you know, other, you know, a vice president and whatnot, but you really want somebody you're gonna be confident in to handle things on your behalf. And I'm speaking from a player's standpoint here, right?
SPEAKER_02Well, Tony Clark has been in the seat for 13 years, so this isn't like it was his first rodeo. No, he's been around for a while.
SPEAKER_03So he's been around and he knows what to ask for, and he knows probably how to get it. He knows how to negotiate.
SPEAKER_02Being a former player, he also knows that both sides of it. He knows the players' you know, wants and desires from a player standpoint and understands from a business standpoint, being with the owners and the commissioner, how they see things and kind of being that kind of the buffer, the middle, the middle ground guy that can kind of smooth things over for both sides. But when you don't have that, and which I'm sure they'll establish somebody in a hurry, because the negotiations, like I said, they're coming up this next winter. So you're talking November, December time frame, they're going to be negotiating. I personally, And I'm going to call this right now. I think we're going to wind up in holdout. I think there's going to be a holdout, and things are going to kind of grind to a halt, and we're going to be seeing some crazy situations happening. Now, this isn't the first time it's happened. We've had this happen, I think, back in 2022, where we literally lost, I think it was like almost 90 days into the season because of this type of stuff. And we lost the entire 1994 season, which was a crucial, crucial season because the Expos, most people don't even remember the Expos, which are now the Nationals, they were they were red hot. They were looking like the team to beat that year. And we went into a strike and the season was over. They didn't get a chance. But more so than that, Tony Gwynn was on a turret pace where he was probably going to break the 400 batting record for the season. Like there has not been somebody that hit over 400 in Major League Baseball since Ted Williams. So you're talking about decades between players for this to happen, and he was on pace to do it. Like he literally was going to do it, and season ended because of because of negotiations. So it's it's unfortunate.
SPEAKER_03You know, I I only wonder how much history would have changed had the Expos came, had they had that season, and the Expos actually maybe won it all being the favorites. Um the other thing is, when did you say the CBA is set to end? They're negotiating it now, obviously, but when did you say it's gonna end after this season?
SPEAKER_02Okay, so they're gonna have to negotiate this next winter. And this uh this is such a weird situation, and this is kind of why a lot of people strayed away from baseball. When we had that strike year in '94, it really soured a lot of people on baseball. And it also did the same, you know, when we had the shorter one most recently. So this is not a great thing. I mean, baseball has been doing great with getting more fan eyes and getting it more people involved. Yeah. The last thing you want to have happen is another strike or another holdout, which is the same thing with WNBA. You don't want that either, because you might end up seeing the league fold altogether if they have another collapse and don't play. You need people to play.
SPEAKER_03I I agree with you. I uh Narrow, we'll keep it on baseball. I almost went into WNBA, but we'll keep it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I'll I want to steer back to this because there's there's significance to this because as I brought up, the issue with the salary cap, now they don't have one. So like you can just spend and spend and spend and spend and spend. Now, you might say, well, well, if you could spend and spend, why aren't these teams spending? Well, it's a couple of things. So you have teams that they're better equipped to spin, you know, like the Yankees and Dodgers. They have TV deals that provide a crap ton of money for them. So they they wind up using that money to go and get free agents and get players. And now there's also what the revenue brings in and how much they put the revenue back into the team. Now, as much as people are upset with the Dodgers, the Dodgers are the team that's actually with the revenue share put the most back in. They actually do about a 70% clip of what they bring in back into the team. So they're they're putting more money into being a better team, where tons of other teams don't do it.
SPEAKER_03And honestly, the results are showing. Yes, the results are showing. But same with the same with the Yankees, uh spend an unreasonable amount of money every season.
SPEAKER_02Not not in recent history. I mean, they have in the past. During the 90s, they were the big spender. They spent and bought everybody, which I absolutely hated. And I don't really like that the Dodgers are doing it right now. But spending money doesn't equal wins. Just look at the Mets. They spend, they spent the most in free agency last year, and we all know what happened with them. They kind of went off a cliff, they didn't do well. But the problem that we're running into is even though you have teams that have the ability to spend and have owners that want to spend, it's also in what your team is getting to spend. So take a team like Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh doesn't have a big TV deal like the Yankees, like the Dodgers. You know, I remember back in the day, you used to watch WGN. You could catch Cubs games, you could catch White Sox games, Bulls games. They had that WGN and it was helping them out immensely back then.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02But now we don't have that. Now we have these packages where you can just, you know, M L B T V or whatever, and it's not the same. You know, you're not you're not getting the channel revenue share like these other other teams do. I mean, for the Oriol Orioles and Nationals, they have Masson.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02They have a deal with them, which, don't get me started, blacks out a lot of my games when the Braves play the Nationals, because I can't watch those games unless I, you know, go over to somebody else's house.
SPEAKER_03Well, this is what I think going back to the Sports Broadcasting Act, they need to rectify in the age of streaming. Yes. I agree. I 100% agree.
SPEAKER_02But with that said, getting back to the collective bargaining agreement and this whole putting a salary cap on it, you may ask, how does a salary cap help? Well, let's go to football. Think about this for a second. Would you say the Chiefs have been pretty relevant, a pretty good team?
SPEAKER_03Up until this year, and maybe part of last year. But they've been a good team. Yeah, they've been a good team. Yeah. Where are they based out of? Kansas City.
SPEAKER_02Right. Well, there's also a baseball team in Kansas City.
SPEAKER_03Which, by the way, they just switched states, but still Kansas City.
SPEAKER_02Okay. Neither here nor there. But there's a baseball team, there's a baseball team in Kansas City, and they're not doing as well. Why? Because in football, there's a salary cap that keeps teams from having the ability to spend over a threshold without paying a huge penalty. Now, what baseball needs, they need a salary cap, but they also need a minimum cap. Meaning your team must spend over X amount in order to be within the non-penalty portion. Because we have teams right now, they are not putting money back into the team. Yeah, they don't care about winning it.
SPEAKER_03They're just, yeah, they don't care about winning it. And this is what I hate about uh detached owners, because the team is just an ATM to them. They'll run it bankrupt into the ground and then dissolve it once disappear. Or they'll just sell it and somebody will buy it. Okay, when they're in enough debt, somebody will buy it because it's a professional sports franchise in America. Oh, but I I agree, like I agree with the salary cap minimum. Oh I agree with the salary cap maximum because that those parameters keep teams playing on the same level in at least one facet of this business.
SPEAKER_02It also allows for top market free agents to not all go to one team. Now, granted, where it might piss off players because it keeps them from being able to make as much as they can, it does spread them out too. And there's another thing that kind of makes players mad because I mean, you think about it. Your choices are you can live in Miami or you have to live in Kansas City. I mean, come on. I mean, it's taking Miami Take in Miami all day. It's vastly different. But even though Miami has not been a good team either, but they've had their ups and downs, but they have won a couple World Series. I'll take the pay cut. We're going to Miami. But speaking of World Series, and this is kind of a side note. Side note? So the Miami, the Miami Marlins, I almost said Dolphins. The Miami Marlins.
SPEAKER_03Very close. Good job. Funny. That's funny.
SPEAKER_02The Marlins and the division they're in, you have the Marlins, you have the Braves, you have the Phillies, and you have the Mets and the Nationals. You know what most of those teams have in common? East Coast. Well, beyond that. They're all on the East Coast. But the Nationals, they've won a World Series. The Marlins have won a World Series. The Phillies have won a World Series. And the Braves have won a World Series. All of them have done this within the last 25 years. Notice how I didn't say the Mets. They're the only team. They have not won a World Series since 1986 when they beat out the Red Sox. That's when money didn't exist. Now, I bring this up only to bring up the owner of the Mets. The owner of the Mets, Steve Cohen, he has laid down some some ground ground laws right quick because he wants to spend. He says, I have he has basically told the Dodgers, he's like, hey, you can spend as much as you want. I'm not afraid to spend either. So I know Mets fans will love and hear that. But they've made a ton of moves, don't get me wrong. We've we've covered some of them. But he came out recently and he said, as long as I am the owner of this team, there will be no team captain. And I'm the captain now. Now it this comes with a little bit of a needs little backstory, needs a little bit of a clarification because all of the longtime players have pretty much moved on. They have traded away all the players that have been mainstays, and the only person left is Francisco Lindor as one of the longer-tenured Mets. And uh one of their better players is usually who becomes the captain. But from behind the scenes, there's been some reporting that he's not exactly the best locker room guy, and it would actually cause a riff within the locker room if he was the captain. So to keep the peace, if you don't name a captain, then nobody can be mad that there's a no captain. Doesn't there have to be a captain, though? No. There is nothing that says that you have to name a captain of the team. It's more of a if you feel like it, you can. You could have multiples. I'm the captain now. No, not in Steve Cohen's world. Well, you can't be the captain. Fair point. There is no captains. He said no captains.
SPEAKER_03But that's not all he said. Steve Cohen is the captain now. He's gonna go do the coin toss.
LeBron’s Longevity And Lifestyle Tradeoffs
SPEAKER_02That's not all he said. He did say that he will spend money, but he has said that in a most recent interview, because they like interviewing these people at spring training, he has said that he is very growing very frustrated because his team he is spending money. He's trying to get a winning result, and he's not getting his winning result. He said they're having some success, but they're not winning like he would like. And he said with each passing year, he's growing a little more and more impatient. So I I don't know if I've if I was a Mets fan, I don't know if I'd like that. Because that to me sounds like he's about ready to go ham on this team.
SPEAKER_03It sounds like he's about it sounds like he's about to gut this team, like Oprah, you get fired, you get fired, you get fired, you get fired. Yeah. So I'm like, okay. Everybody getting pink slips today. You get a pink slip, you get a pink slip, you get a pink slip. And that's not mess sounds like a song. Who's our pitcher? He gets a pink slip.
SPEAKER_02Everybody in the club getting pink slips.
SPEAKER_03I can just He's not throwing dollar bills, he's throwing pink slips. He's making it rain pink slips. Find your name and leave.
SPEAKER_02He just walks to the locker room, fistful of pink slips, and just goes, phew, right in somebody's face.
SPEAKER_03If your name's on one of these, you out. And then he just walks away. Have a nice night, suckers.
SPEAKER_02He walk, he walks out, he just throws it in somebody's face, and he's like, bitch. Just keeps walking.
SPEAKER_03That's right. And his elderly wife just quinks her glasses and walks behind him. That's right. It's like geez. That's funny. It's anyway.
SPEAKER_02It's getting thuggish in this mess locker room.
SPEAKER_03Anyway, that is the Mets for you, and never a dull moment in baseball. So let's jump in. But let's jump in. Let's jump in. Like I said, I know we mentioned earlier we have a lot of road ahead of us tonight. You probably listened to this in chapters. And the next chapter involves a little bit of WMBA, Mike. That's not WMBA. It should be MBA. No, we have WMBA. Unless it's MBA.
SPEAKER_02It's MBA. You put it in the wrong spot, sir.
SPEAKER_03Wrong spot. I did. I'm moving it down. I don't know why I put that there. I don't know why you did it. Why did I put that under the WMBA? I don't know. Maybe I thought Jazz Jackson was a female name, and I just said that goes under WMBA. I don't know. I'm so sorry.
SPEAKER_02I'll move this down and we will instead switch over and discuss and while we talk about that.
SPEAKER_03We'll discuss college instead. Men's college basketball. Because whatever I was about to say is not time for that. But anyway, let's start this men's college basketball out. This is kind of interesting, I thought here. This actually is a more common of an issue than you might think, but we're going to break it down right here, okay? The U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets announced that IMG Academy, if you're not familiar, IMG Academy is a very prestigious athletic academy, and they produce high-level professional athletes for all sports every year, every season. So, excuse me. And it's predominantly for uh high school and college level athletes. Uh, but they're going to be fined$1.72 million for accepting tuition fees uh for two students whose parents are linked to Mexican Mexican cartels. Okay. Uh and this is quote, over five consecutive years, uh IMG Academy repeatedly transacted with two individuals whom OFAC, that would be the Office of Foreign Assets and Control, uh, sanctioned based upon their ties to a sanctioned Mexican-based drug organization cartel. Uh, I don't know how they even found this information out. I'm sure. I mean, you're talking about a person related to a person who maybe knows a person who's affiliated with another person. Like, this is some CIA level, like, and this should go to show the lengths of vetting that some of these athletic programs and colleges go to and professional organizations into looking into what people have been involved in what they do.
SPEAKER_02So um oh, that actually you actually brought up something that kind of okay, so this sidebar. I'm gonna jump back to Olympics real quick.
SPEAKER_03Sidebar?
SPEAKER_02So the 2028 Olympics is actually going to be in Los Angeles, and the mayor of Los Angeles is asking for the the lead person who is dealing with the Olympic committee and and organizing everything uh to be pushed out. Like doesn't want them to be involved, doesn't want them to have anything to do with this because it has recently come out that this person, uh their girlfriend, was associated with the Epstein Files and does not want them associated with them hosting the Olympics. And I can understand from a a uh uh how it looks standpoint, not exactly good look for somebody to be involved with being the host country's representation that's involved in bad stuff like that.
SPEAKER_03So it sorry to sidebar, but that that's just something that no, I I agree that the optics can be bad, and maybe we'll dive into that a little bit more. But I thought that was interesting about IMG Academy, and honestly, not just with IMG Academy, but universities uh across the nation here in America. Uh, this is a relatively like common thing, apparently. I look deeper into this. It doesn't happen every day now, but this is not the first time that this has happened. Uh and all I do is get fined. So it's obviously it's just to me, it seems like just an optics thing.
NFL Facilities Report Cards And Rebrands
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's a that's definitely what sounds like. Uh, but speaking of optics, let's jump into this situation that happened with UCLA. So use UCLA uh actually has kind of been not in a great situation. They've lost by 20 points uh two times now. Uh Tuesday night they lost to number 15th rank Michigan State by another 20 points. But during the game, the Bruin the Bruins were trailing 70 77 to 50 with four minutes and 27 26 seconds left to play in the game. And in the 82 to 59 point loss, UCLA center Steven Jemmerson. Jamerson, I think I'm gonna go with Jamerson, uh, the second, a former former Michigan State student was called called for a flagrant foul against uh Carson Cooper. Uh so apparently he was trying trying to attempt a dunk, and there was a hard foul committed by by Steven, and the coach of UCLA takes his own player, moves him towards the end of the bench, and then points to the locker room saying, get out. He ejected his own player. Mick Cronin, the UCLA coach, ejects his own player out of the game, and he basically said there's no room for this. He said we were we were losing, and there's no room for this. It doesn't matter, you know, they're doing this hard foul at the end of the game.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it was a it was a it was a 25-point game. He didn't think it was worth it. Um, I like what he said here, uh, what Cronin said. Uh he said, you know, true toughness is how you compete and how you go to work every day. Steve's a good kid. He made a bad decision. Uh Cronin obviously explained later after the game, but he said, if you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game for a blockout, for a rebound. Uh so and again, going back to what you just mentioned, obviously he didn't approve it. It was a pointless, it was a pointless attempt, probably slightly bad sport. He was a little, probably a little frustrated, and it was obviously out of reach as it was a 25 plus point game. Uh so I like how the coach handled it, to be honest with you. Uh, and I I think it taught his player a lesson, uh, but I don't think he ridiculed him publicly.
SPEAKER_02Well, Cronin also snapped at reporters, and we actually we have uh a little bit of that. I'm gonna go ahead and play for you guys right now.
SPEAKER_01Is uh how you compete and how you go to work every day. Um Steve's a good kid, he made a bad decision. Um, but uh if you know if you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game for a block out for a rebound. So I was thoroughly disappointed. Guy was defenseless in the air. I know Steve is trying to block the shot, but you don't the game's a 25-point game, you don't do that. So what was your thoughts for the student section chanting Hooker's name? I could give a rat's ass about the other team student section. Is that the overall the way that you're I would I would like to give you a uh kudos for the worst question I've ever been asked. All right, but did you like to the preparation of the You really think I care about the other team? No, I don't think you care about the other students. Are you raising your voice at me? No, I'm just there you are. There you are. Come on, dude. Come on, but yes, you are everybody standing here listening to you. Everybody, this is on camera, they can hear you. I answered the question. I could give a rat's ass about the other team student section.
SPEAKER_02So definitely fired up after this uh loss, but also fired up because the reporters are just making him mad.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think honestly, I think he's just a little short-tempered there. Uh reporters are always gonna try to get answers out of you, even if you've already told them no. Uh Bel Belichick was notorious for just ignoring you. Uh so like we're on to Cincinnati. Yeah, so I mean, I I get why he's upset. It was a bad loss. He he had a can I can I try that again?
SPEAKER_02There was a little too much feeling in that. We're on to Cincinnati. We're on to Cincinnati.
SPEAKER_03Anyway, yeah, you're right. It's funny. But he it was a bad loss by plus deficit. He had a player make a bonehead mistake, probably a player that he really likes to.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well you could tell by the way he talked about him, he cares about the player.
SPEAKER_03He should, about all his players. And I like how he he's not defending his player, but he's obviously not going to entertain any riff-raff about it either, right? He addressed the situation. Let's move on. I agree with what the reporter like, I mean, I agree with what he said. The others, these coaches don't care about the other school. They don't care about the other school's players. They don't care. They definitely don't care about the stands of the other school. Yeah. Like, I I agree.
SPEAKER_02Like, I understand why he's frustrated, and I think maybe he was pushed a little bit, but at the same time, like so, since we're since we're talking about losses, uh, we need to note on some stuff that happened uh literally yesterday. So we had some pretty tough losses by some teams that are looking to make a push for the the uh March Madness tournament. Uh North Carolina, who's currently ranked 16, lost to NC State, in-state rifle there, uh 82 to uh 58. So not a great showing by the Tar Heels. That was not great. No, and then number 18, uh St. Louis, lost to Rhode Island, an unranked team 81 to 76. So that was a tight game, but they just did not hold down. And then the Louisville Cardinals, ranked 21, they lost to SMU 95 to 85, so that's not a good look either. I mean, you're just you're seeing this on a few teams just like not having great nights. You had uh Wisconsin, who's ranked 24, losing to Ohio State 86 to 69, and then Iowa upsetting number nine Nebraska 57 to 52. Low-scoring defensive battle there, but you're this is the worst time to be losing games. We're just weeks away, and this is gonna affect your position, you know.
SPEAKER_03At this point, it's not even weeks. This is the 18th of February. I'm sure it's a couple weeks, but at this point you can describe it as days. Like if you're not up to par now, uh you you're looking pretty bleak.
Contracts, Cuts, And Coaching Moves
SPEAKER_02So, as we talked about with these positions uh being crucial, uh, I kind of misspoke here because these teams have already been moved by the by these losses. So uh one team I didn't mention was Arizona, uh not a loss, but they did move down in the rankings three positions because of their not so great play here lately. Uh Iowa State moving down one one position, Nebraska moved down from seven to nine. Uh and uh Illinois moving down two spots. You come to uh Michigan State, who was ranked five spots higher, has now moved down five spots to 15. And as I alluded to, North Carolina moving down five spots to 16. So these this is not the time of year you want to be losing games because it's gonna affect your position and possibly uh if you lose enough of them, you're not gonna make the tournament.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, uh yeah, a lot a lot of shifting going around here, and uh you need to hold strong and hold tight. And honestly, once you get into the bracket, you still can't even breathe because then you got to put the pedal through the floor and continue performing at an even higher level because then you're out if you lose after that.
SPEAKER_02So moving on to another kind of a upset loss, uh Texas Tech, number 13. Uh, unfortunately, not only did they lose, they had an upset loss to Arizona State 72 to 67 uh in Tempe, so they were in Arizona's house, but they also wound up losing JT Toppen, one of the best scorers in college right now. He's he was averaging 22 points a night, so you know he's getting some great production, but to have him go down right before you're about to get into March Madness, you know, you're I mean, you're one of your best players, probably the best player on their team, yeah is is down. Uh unfortunately, it's a it's it's an ACL tear, so he's done. Right, he's there they don't have him. And it's it's really unfortunate. They were hoping for good news and they did not get it.
SPEAKER_03Is he a senior?
SPEAKER_02Uh that I am not sure of. I'm not sure if he's a senior, but bottom line is like you when you lose your one of your best scorers you right before tournament time, it's not it's not a great look. So unfortunate for the Texas Tech.
SPEAKER_03No, no, no, no. We'll do a little more reading on him, but hopefully uh he's not in the midst of trying to declare for the NBA draft either, because that will also hurt him with that kind of injury. Uh that might even hurt him in next year's NBA draft, uh, because it's a year, at least a year-long recovery process. So uh, and here we go on the next thing we have here. Michigan reaffirms the number one ranking by dispatching number seven ranked Purdue. Uh Michigan's week started with a this is via uh Jeff Borzello and the NCAAM on ESPN. Michigan's week started with the Wolverines moving to number one in the AP poll for the first time since the 2012-2013 season. I remember that, by the way. Uh, with games at Purdue and versus Duke in a five-day span this week. However, there was some concern their time on top could be short-lived, Mike. But they seem to have quelled. Quenched. Quinched. I don't know where I'm looking for. It starts with a Q, though.
SPEAKER_02But they seem to have put that talk uh I think you're looking for quieted all of those chatter about them being a faux number one. And I see what you did there, yes, they have quieted it. So talk a bit. When you start beating opponents in the top ten and you're ranked one, that's a great that's a great thing to be doing when coming down the stretch.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think so, I think so too. And uh, you know, they're they're strong, obviously sitting in the number one spot right there, Houston right behind them, and Duke in uh number three for the time being. But uh the typical ones uh in high end of Yukon always has a strong uh showing. I'm surprised not seeing uh University of Kentucky in these standings here, or Kentucky University, sorry, KU. Uh because they're usually pretty strong.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but they haven't been strong for for a little while since the one and done years went away. Yeah, uh it's been a little bit. It's been a little while. It's been a little while. I mean, they they've made a few appearances, but it hasn't been the same, and they don't have Cal Perry anymore. I believe uh Cal Perry, I believe he's with Nebraska, yeah, if I'm not mistaken. Uh it's hard to keep track of these coaches and stuff these days, especially with everything else I follow from sports wise. Uh but interesting scenario happening and and ESPN kind of taking a jab at a former former uh analyst for them. Uh, in the Green Bay head coach, Doug Gottley, suspended for criticizing officials uh in his last last loss, where uh it was a 75 to 72 loss against Milwaukee on Sunday. Uh Gottley slammed on the table at one point and used an expletive in his post-game uh news conference while complaining about the officiating. So, one thing you don't do as a coach is complain about officiating in any league.
SPEAKER_05Yeah.
SPEAKER_02But especially when you're talking college basketball. So, unfortunately for Doug Gottley, he's gonna get a little bit of a suspend suspension there, just just one game. But it's not great. You're in the horizon league, you need as many wins as you can, and it's not a good look. Not a good look for Mr. Gottley. Right now, Green Bay is 15 and 13 and 10 and 7 within the division. Not great. Not great. I mean, it's a well well improved, though.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, well improved, and uh, you know, you gotta give him some some credit there.
SPEAKER_02Well, I mean, it from what it started when he first got there, they weren't winning like any game. So for him to be on a 15-game win, and and for some that don't know, Doug Gottly was uh doing his his afternoon radio show with uh Fox Sports, but it's since been changed over to somebody somebody else. I'm not gonna promote other people on our show.
SPEAKER_03But let's jump over to some NBA action real quick. And actually, I say real quick, but it may not be very quick. And this is a little bit of a funny to get us started here, a little bit of an icebreaker for tonight's NBA section. Okay, Golden State uh reportedly alerted uh Kaminga that a person around him was, quote, taking too much food from the family room. By the way, I didn't even know this existed, Mike. At these team facilities. News to me. Yeah, so could you imagine the team? That's one of those, like, hey man, maybe maybe back off a little bit.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02Hey, I mean, a lot of these facilities, I know, I know these major sports like NBA, NFL, baseball, like they have some pretty nice facilities and some pretty nice catering. You know, they support their players, most support their players pretty well.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah, they and they have nice facilities. I always thought it was pretty much just for the players and maybe, and or their direct families, like their kids or their spouses, but I guess maybe, like you say, they have family rooms here. Uh, this is I have a little less knowledge about this aspect of sports, uh, specifically as it relates to the NBA. So, but I did think that was funny and a funny icebreaker. Uh, and now on to what I was gonna mention as part of the WNBA, which is actually part of the NBA.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the Utah Jazz player forward Jaron Jackson Jr. Yeah uh underwent surgery Tuesday to remove a growth in his left knee. Uh, this surgery has pretty much ended his season for this year. Uh so it's pretty much determined he will not play at all, which is probably gonna help the Jazz out with their uh tanking situation, which we'll we'll get to that. But unfortunately, they just traded for him, and this pretty much knocks out any kind of hope that he was gonna be an impact this year.
SPEAKER_03And you know, it's funny you should mention their quote tanking and uh situation because the NBA is actually discussing creating a tournament uh among lottery teams to determine uh a draft order, uh, which is geared, which is the idea is to stop or limit the tanking. Uh so the proposed changes here, there's five of them. Uh they limit pick protections, uh, top four, 14 plus, uh no top four picks in back-to-back years, uh lock lottery standings after March 1st, two-year record for lottery odds, postseason style tournament among lottery teams to decide draft order. Uh, I think a couple of these are novel ideas. Uh, a couple of them, I think they're grasping at straws.
Seahawks Sale Buzz And OC Carousel
SPEAKER_02Well, I think this situation with tanking has been a problem with the NBA for a while. And I think for the fan, it's most aggravating because if you do have a team, which these days you don't have so many people that follow teams as much as they follow their favorite player. So sometimes when their favorite player moves on to another team, uh for just for sake, like LeBron, when LeBron was with Miami, people were Miami fans, and then when he went to the Lakers, they're Lakers fans. You know, that kind of situation. So it's like when, you know, your favorite player moves around, they just kind of cheer for that team. Uh, but those of us who have teams that they root for even when they're bad, uh it it it kind of is a disheartening feeling when you know your team really is not even trying. When they're like, we're trying to get that number one pick, and sometimes it doesn't even work. I mean, look at what happened with Dallas. Dallas wasn't exactly tanking, but when they traded away Luca and then they get gifted the number one pick, basically, and get Cooper Flag, it kind of makes it a uh a oh, oh, look what happened here.
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, and I I don't interrupt you, keep going, but we're gonna talk about Mr. Flag here in a second. Oh, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02But this the situation where and and it works for the NFL. Like the worst team obviously gets the first pick. It works for them because there is no way that you can basically in the NFL, you're not gonna convince 53 guys, hey, we want a better draft, but how about y'all tank? Because their careers, you know, NFL stands for not for long, so they're not gonna be able to tank. Most guys, they're playing as hard as they can to get as much as they can while they can. NBA, you got a lot of guys that they have lengthy careers, and it doesn't mean anything to them, you know.
SPEAKER_03I I don't know how it works to be NBA, but I don't think in any sport Well, it's a lottery system. It's well, what I'm saying is where I'm going with this is tanking usually comes down to one or a handful of individuals. I don't think you ever really get an entire team to be like, you know what, you're right. Let's let's just not do the best we can do in every single game. Like, I I think it comes down to scheme. Sometimes, maybe if it's a coach thing, maybe the coach is like, uh, laxy daisy. There's ways you can affect a team's performance that could significantly uh hinder them.
SPEAKER_02Well, we just had this. The Jazz were sitting there sitting all their starters in the fourth quarter of games, making it blatantly obviously blatantly obvious that they're cheating, and they got handed a million dollar fine to the organization for it. Yeah. Uh as well as I believe the Kings, I think got a ha half a million dollar fine for for their stuff that's going on. And also, Sabonis, he has an injury and he's gonna be out for the remainder of the year as well. So another blow to the Kings, but we'll probably help them in the tanking system. But when you tank, you just get a higher percentage of getting the number one pick. It's all done kind of like the lottery. They pull a ball, and if your team's on it, oh look, they get the pick. So that's kind of how they establish it. But I think the way that you should you should incorporate this uh situation is maybe by going to a a scenario where you also play the percentages of games played by your starters. Where if your starters had healthy scratches or your minutes played or below a certain certain threshold, uh your ability to get the number one pick diminishes. I I actually I like that idea. Kind of making your your odds diminish by not putting a competitive uh team out there.
SPEAKER_03It's almost like a system of checks and balance, like, yeah, you did this, but you didn't play your star players.
SPEAKER_02Like, really? Yeah, if there was if there was a lot of healthy situations, you know, healthy scratches, or yeah, you know, you're sitting players in the fourth quarter that don't need to be sitting. Like you want your starters out there for the last like 10 minutes of a game.
SPEAKER_03Now, these players, I know you said the team, you talked about the team agreeing. There did the players outrage much about not getting playing time, or are they pretty much just like to do when the coach says sit? Yeah, but it's you know, like for instance in other sports, you know, athletes are not bashful about I mean, I guess you want to stay on the team, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Oh, don't don't get me wrong, NBA players will bark if they want to play. Yeah, there's there's not a there's not a question in that. But when when you have a coach telling you sit, and he doesn't ever turn to the bench and go, you in, and that never happens, he goes, uh you over there, you in. What? Like, why am I not going back in? You know? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Like that definitely is That definitely is on coaching.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there well you can kind of do it on coaching, but you know, when you get guys that have injuries, like, you know, like oh my calf, oh my calf, it just it's ah, it must have strained it. Oh, and then all of a sudden they get traded, and it's like, oh yeah, my calf feels great. Like, huh? Well, you you you sat out like 20 games for your former team, and as soon as you get traded, you're good.
unknownHmm.
SPEAKER_02That's odd.
Two International Games For 49ers
SPEAKER_03Yeah, you know, so there's a lot of people. Yeah, that's a lot that's that's quite odd thing. That's quite odd too. Um, and and speaking of being out, by the way, uh, just keeping us on track here. Um, and I think you make some great points, Mike, and I largely agree with most of them. Uh, but speaking of injury, he'll agree with me part of the time. Don't be fooled. But anyway, uh Dallas Mavericks uh rookie star player center uh Cooper Flag has sustained a uh midfoot sprain and will be missing actually tomorrow night's game. Um, you know, as well as the 2026 Castro Rising Stars game on Friday. So he's out for at least the better part of a week, maybe a couple. Um, you know, maybe not a huge, huge blow to their prospects, but definitely in the short term, a huge blow right now uh for the next couple weeks because they gotta figure out uh he's made a quite a name for himself and carved out quite a niche on this team already in just his first year. So they're gonna have to find somebody who can who can kind of I don't think it'll be too hard, but I think they'll find somebody who can fill his shoes for for a little bit.
Closing Thanks And Sign-Off
SPEAKER_02So we've been talking a little bit of the NBA right now, but we have not mentioned the big thing that happened within the NBA this past week. All stars. It was all-star weekend, and they did a different format this year. So the different format was kind of a round robin play where you had the world team, you had the stars team, you had the stripes team, and they kind of broke it all up. So like the world team is built up of players not born in the US, you know, like Wimben Wimbenyama and others, and you know, Stars and Stripes just made up of, you know, whoever. Uh so the world team, they were they were coming out kind of with some heat because Wimbenyama, he actually he was playing, like he was throwing down, but it didn't work out so well because the world team lost and lost in overtime to the stars, and the world team also lost to the stripes, but it was a close game, it was 45 to 48, so these weren't like full games, so like the world lost 35 to 37 to the stars, the stars lost to the stripes 40 to 42 in the second game. Then for the all-star championship game between the stars and the stripes, he the stars took it to him with a 47 to 21 victory. But you know what, man? I wasn't as much captivated by this. I kind of liked some of the outlier stuff. Like, I watched the three-point shooting, and that that was a that was actually a pretty fun contest because you had you had like Devin Booker was in it, Con Kanipple was in it, you had uh uh oh dang it, why am I forgetting his name? Uh Damian Lillard, okay. Damian Lillard was in it, and then you had you had uh oh dang it. It was Cavs. Uh dang it. Anyway. That kid, Mac. No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. Uh I missed the screen. No, the cavali the Cavalier, the Cavaliers, uh dang it. Why I hate how I do this with names, man. It pisses me off. So let me let me see, let me see, let me see. I'll find it. I will find it, I swear to you. James Harden. Nope. Nope. It was not James Harding. It was not James Harden. It was not James Harden. Donovan Mitchell, that's who I'm thinking of. Dang. Oh, Donovan Mitchell, yeah. Yeah. So getting back to this. So really, uh I I honestly thought that Con Knippel would put up a good showing, and he did. The first uh first go round he put up 27. Uh, but he got outdid by by Devin Booker. Devin Booker put up, I think, like thirty in his first go round, because they did it so they did it where they dwindled it down in the three point challenge to kind of get it get it s situated to where it'd be like the last three. And the last three was basically Con Ki Nipple, Damian Lillard, and uh Donovan Mitchell. Or not Donovan Mitchell. Donovan Mitchell didn't do as well as I thought he was going to do, but Devin Booker. Um and Booker and Damian Lillard were going off. Con Knipple, he didn't do so great in the second round of the uh three-point challenge. But I was I was really happy to see Damien Lillard doing so well because you know, after his injury, it's nice to see him kind of bounce back and be in a trailblazer uniform again. But I mean Devin Booker took it to him at he had a chance. He had a chance. He was at the last rack of three-point shots, and he had, I think, three three balls left to go to try to pass Damian Lillard, and he didn't he didn't get it. So Damian Lillard took the three-point challenge. And it was really cool to see. I mean, I like Damian Lillard. I always respected him for saying, man, I'm not leaving Portland. He got traded from Portland, which wasn't necessarily his decision, but he was like, I'm gonna stay here, I'm gonna win here. He wasn't gonna travel around like the rest of the players in the league. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But jumping back over, let's talk talk about Java to uh NBA.com's updated MVP ladder. This was done roughly almost about a week ago, so it may be changed by now. Uh, but at the time of this screenshot, uh sitting in the number one spot, and this is just according to NBA.com, I'm sure this is, you know, NBA.com is an official source because it's the NBA.com. But again, I'm sure these standings will change. But sitting in the number one spot for MVP ladder, uh SGA, Shy Gaelis Alexander, uh, really not a huge surprise there. He's sitting in the number two spot, uh, Nick Jokic, uh, and right behind him, Luca. Joker. Yeah, Joker. Uh Nicola Jokic, Joker. Uh right behind him, what? What? What?
SPEAKER_02What? What? Go ahead. Sorry.
SPEAKER_03Anyway, right behind Joker, number three, Luke Donchik. Uh four, Cade Cuttingham, followed by Victor Wombayana. Uh well behind Wimby, number six, Jalen Brown, who I was just looking at on our screen a second ago, because he's having a relatively good run right now, too. Uh number seven, Donovan Mitchell, who you just mentioned. Uh number eight, Anthony Edwards. Uh nine, Jalen Brunson, and ten, Kawhi Leonard. I can never say this man's name. What? Kaui Leonard. Kawhi Leonard. Kawhi Leonard. I just said it right, then I said it wrong. Then I questioned myself. And after you said it, I said it right. But, you know, uh, those are the top ten names uh leading the list. Uh hard to believe. I have not heard much about the Pacers or uh their lead man.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah, Pacers were the other team that was uh Pacers was the other team that was fine for tanking. Oh they're tanking this year.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, well that makes a little more sense. Uh especially given you know his you know entry to their star player there in the playoffs last season. Uh weird, what a turnaround uh one one year makes, you know. Um and then bouncing off that NBA list, uh we're gonna talk a little bit here. Go ahead, Mike. I'll let you take it from here.
SPEAKER_02Well, since you're gonna be bringing up LeBron James, I wanted to uh discuss something that recently he was talking about uh things he would give up. And he kind of said it in a weird way. He said, I actually did two things I very love. I don't know why he said it like that. He said, I actually did two things that I very love, drinking wine and chocolate chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Uh he's given that up. So he's given that up uh it as a as a uh just basically so he can be more focused on basketball. Like he's giving those things up so you know they're they're counterproductive to him playing basketball, you know, drinking and his chocolate chip cookies. But the way he said it, two, two things that I very love. I think he meant two things I very much love. I think he's missing a much in there when he was saying it. But it just it hit the ear weird when I heard him say it live when he when he was putting it out.
SPEAKER_03Well, we know this obviously didn't last terribly long because No, but this is this is recent.
SPEAKER_02You know, around New Year's. No, no, no, no. But this but he's just now talking about it, the things that he's given up. He's given this up for him to be able to continue playing at at a high level. But uh it it's kind of a at a good point because this is at the point where people are giving things up for Lent and people are giving things up for their He only did it during his injury because it says here the abstinence lasted nearly two months with his first cookie and wine, not until New Year's Day.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_02So he's back on it again. So, but he's he's talked about giving things up for basketball. But this it just ties into the fact that we're getting to the point where people are going to be giving things up for religion. Like, you know, people give up something for Lent, that's coming up. So, and we're we're in that point at the time. So I just thought it would be a kind of a cool little side thing to talk about because he recently brought this up in an interview.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think that's uh I think that's pretty interesting. And like you say, given uh some of the religious uh things happening right now, you say it was uh not Ramadan, is it?
SPEAKER_02Lent.
SPEAKER_03Lint, Lint, yeah. Sorry. Um I believe we're on Ash Wednesday. Yeah, we are on Ash Wednesday now. Uh so yeah, that that's rather interesting. And by the way, LeBron recently, which game was this, Mike? I didn't notate the game. Um he had uh at a historic at his age, by the way, of 41, a triple-double. He had 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists. Uh, I forget which game this was. This was actually just a few days ago. Uh, maybe even more recent than that. A few days ago, you say.
SPEAKER_02Well, go ahead. You you say what you're gonna say, and I'll I'll see if I can figure out which game it was.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and while we're talking about LeBron and that that amazing feat, uh a lot of people are saying LeBron, that that performance uh solidified him as not just the greatest uh NBA player, but also possibly, and according to Denzel Washington, the greatest athlete of the greatest single American athlete of all time.
SPEAKER_02Greatest single athlete of all time.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, and don't get me wrong, I I think there's actually a lot of weight to that argument because he is a very prolific um NBA player, but LeBron could easily, I think, even right now, could switch sports and be a star still. I don't know about baseball, but definitely LeBron could probably play football. Uh, that that has been a conversation for almost over a decade now. Well, he did play football in uh high school.
SPEAKER_02High school he played football. Yeah. I mean, we we might be talking about about the game he was going again against the Mavericks.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I think it was the game against the Mavs. Game against the Mavs. He had Because that's I think also the same game that flag got that injury. I think that was the same game.
SPEAKER_02Let's see. Uh yep, 28 points. He had 28 points in that game, 12 assists, 10 rebounds, triple double. He had a triple-double in that game. That's it. Yeah, so that's the game. That's the one. I knew it sounded I sounded familiar. I couldn't remember which game it was, but but yeah, it and this this was back on uh Thursday, Thursday of last week. So it was right after we it was it was right before right before the all-star break.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and we we had recorded on Wednesday, so it was right after we'd recorded that episode. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So so yeah, this is yeah, this I mean, LeBron, this is what I said before. You know, with LeBron, he's not he's not quite the player he once was. He can still have flashes of this, but he's not gonna be the guy that you get triple doubles every night. You're not gonna get the you know, almost 30 points every night like you used to with him, where you'd you'd be like, oh, how many points do you have? Oh, he had, you know, 30 points. I'm not surprised.
SPEAKER_03And you know, I I think it's an incredible nod to his athletic ability, and also not just that, but his athletic ability as his age, because most professional athletes start losing their step around, we'll say an average of age 30. Okay. LeBron is 41 years old, and up until maybe the last, up until maybe this season or last season, he's been as prolific as the day he entered DNBA.
SPEAKER_02Well, let's let's also keep some things in context. The the ability to train and health and things you can do to take care of your body now didn't exist, you know, just 20 years ago. This is true.
SPEAKER_03This is also true, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yes, he he he invests so much into his health. Like I he invests millions in keeping his his self in peak physical health. So this is not you you get guys like, okay, for instance, Luca, they they who is a teammate of his, they they have issues with him being committed to staying healthy and staying, you know, at peak peak physical health, and peak physical shape. And it's part of one of the reasons the Mavericks traded him, is they had they were frustrated with his training and his methods of trying to stay in shape.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah, you can you you can see he is not the same specimen that LeBron is.
SPEAKER_02Well, yeah, but LeBron is also hyper focused on his training. Like he he he you heard it, he gave up stuff to keep himself committed. Yes. And, you know, it's not just that. Like I believe he does uh what is it, one of those those hyperbolic chambers where people will, you know, basically it's a heightened oxygen level chamber where you just kind of you rest and recover in. I I believe he does that as well as like he basically has probably one of the best gyms available at his own house.
SPEAKER_03And let me tell you just how driven he is. Uh it's funny. Caitlin Clark herself said she would rather just retire than give up the two things he gave up.
SPEAKER_02Well, it it's kind of a funny scenario though. Like, you think about it. If you had to give something up, what what you know, if you were trying to get in the best physical shape that you possibly could, what are things that are like you're I can't just not gonna happen. I can't give this up. What would you not be able to give up? Pasta. Yeah, that's probably me too. I can't give up pasta.
SPEAKER_03So show pasta, I could give up beer, although I don't want to. Oh about wings? Could you give up wings? I could give up wings. Wings are okay, wings are a luxury. I've lived with that luxury before. Pasta is attainable no matter how broke you are. Well, here's here's something though.
SPEAKER_02And you know, people when people say they give up pasta, you know, because they're trying to get in shape, it's like, do you guys understand that you know, when marathon runners are about to have a big marathon run, they carbo load on pasta? Like you eat big bunches of pasta, kind of keep that for fuel.
SPEAKER_03They do, and I carbo load before an evening with my girlfriend, but American American pasta is specifically bad for you because it's just not like it's well, most American food is bad for you, so I digress.
SPEAKER_02Why don't you just buy the healthy pasta?
SPEAKER_03You can yeah, well, you can, and I mean I'm sure these folks do. I don't think LeBron buys any of his meals or food from anywhere in America. He probably gets all important.
SPEAKER_02You can get healthy stuff. I I think that he probably has a chef who makes good stuff for him. Who imports all of his, I don't no, no, no. Look, I could tell you right now, a lot of people over in California, they live very healthy lives.
SPEAKER_03You know, there's a lot of like health or a lot of people in California live very expensive lives.
SPEAKER_02It's California, everything's expensive, but the access having the access to health conscious stuff is very prevalent over there, is what I'm saying. Like you have you have plenty of places to get good, healthy, you know, just good for you stuff in general. Yeah, and not to mention all the stores to help with better health as well.
SPEAKER_03So yeah, it's slowly making its way over the East Coast. We still live on pizza and wings uh and beer, but moving on, uh congratulations to LeBron, even in the what seems what would be the back end of his career, still setting records and the bar. Okay, Mike, listeners, myself. Are we ready to talk football? Yes. Let's do it. I like how your yes is just always, yeah. Let's do it. I built this up, man. I know you built it up. Okay. Anyway, we'll jump into some football action here and move on down the road, all right. Um, you squashed my energy. Dick. The inertia has been disturbed. You're supposed to come in like, yes. And starting out our NFL uh evening news or evening whatever we're gonna call it. So the NFL has won. Yeah, our banter. So you remember those report cards that the NFL PA was making public and all that stuff. So the NFL Are the Cardinals still last? They are still last. And by the way, the NFL does not like that the NFL PA made those public. Uh they actually took them to court over that. And by the way, um, this is just an excerpt from the NFL's own statement sent to all 32 owners of the league, by the way, uh today. Throughout the course of the proceedings, despite NIST numerous requests, the NFLPA steadfastly refused to produce any information or data related to prior years surveys. However, at the hearing, the NFLPA's witness and counsel characterized the report cards as union speech and admitted that one, the union reviewed player responses, and cherry picked which topics and responses to include or not include in team report cards. This is actually one of the bigger points made. Uh, two, players had no role in drafting the commentary included in the report cards, which was written entirely by union staffers, which, by the way, given point number two, I can see where the leaks coming from. Okay. Number three, the union selected which anonymous individual player quotations to include or exclude entirely to support its chosen narrative, and four, the union determined the weight to give each topic and the resulting impact on the alphabetical grades it assigned. In essence, the record established that the report cards were designed by the union to advance its interest under the guise under the guise of a scientific exercise. So basically, the NFL is saying that the NFLPA intentionally sought to make the NFL look bad and its owners look bad by reporting that quality conditions of team facilities were less than what they should be. Obviously, this was not information that the NFL wanted public, and the NFL made it the NFLPA made it sound worse than it actually is, and did not really provide substantiative um sources. So I I can agree where the NFL is a little upset about that.
SPEAKER_02You know, owners stop crying. Y'all are billionaires, you own an organization, you have these athletes that you should want to take care of, because let's face it, they're only there for a short period of time, majority of them, and if you want them to perform well, the better you give to them, the better you're gonna get on the field. The better training facilities you have, the better training care you have, the better dietary things you have for your players, the better overall support of your players yields to a better product on the field. Because I bet you, I bet you, Brian, pull up the list and tell me the top five teams with the best facilities.
SPEAKER_03Top five teams with the best with the facilities with the best facilities, number one. If I make this out correctly, what is that team logo? Half of it's cut off. Actually, 95% of it is cut off.
SPEAKER_02Okay, so number one is the Philadelphia Eagles. Nope, because they're it looks like the Philadelphia Eagles.
SPEAKER_03They're at 22. Okay, let me see. It's not the Lions either. Let me see that. I had the list. This is the the split screen of the memo and the rankings. I actually do have the rankings. Let me see that ranking.
SPEAKER_02No, no, no. I think I think that's the Dolphins logo.
SPEAKER_03No, Dolphins are. I think the Dolphins were number one. I think you're right. That is the Dolphins logo. So Dolphins are number one. Uh, and by the way, it's funny because we're talking about this, the Dolphins actually skewed this result, and I can read about that. Um, I had something on that in a minute. But number two is the Vikings, number three is the Falcons. Falcons. Falcons. Falcons. Uh words are hard, as we all know. Number four is the Raiders, which is honestly surprising. But they did just get that brand new stadium in Las Vegas. And number five is the Chargers, who ironically also just got a new stadium. In fact, uh four out of these top five teams have brand new stadiums.
SPEAKER_02There you go. I was gonna say that. It's brand new stadiums, but it's also probably the fact that the ownership in those particular cities are giving back. They're actually giving to the players.
SPEAKER_03Well, not just that.
SPEAKER_02Um I mean, the bottom teams always seem to be the Cardinals, the Bengals. Am I right? The Cardinals and Bengals down at the bottom.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and number one is the Dolphins. I have it cut off right there. Uh, there was some speculatory stuff surrounding the Dolphins being number one because the Dolphins did some things financially to askew their way into number one, supposedly. Uh I don't know what I did that I don't know what I did with that source, but I did have that source attached to it. I'll find it later. But either way, you got the top five, and you understand what we're trying to convey here. The NFL didn't like them uh with that with those report cards. I think that the NFL PA was trying to publicly pressure the NFL and those owners into investing more into the quality of life of their facilities. But again, um, you know, I I kind of agree with the NFL here in the way this played out and the way it played out in court, uh, which is rare because I don't usually agree with the man. But anyway, next thing, uh, Tennessee Titans, if you haven't known, this is a small one. Uh they're changing their logos, they're changing their logos and colors a little bit. Number one, they're expected to lean harder into red accents, but they're doing away with the Greek mythology thing. Uh the Titans, Greek mythology is going away. Um, I don't think, honestly, Mike looking bad at back at it. I don't know if they really portrayed the Greek mythology thing.
SPEAKER_02I never got that from what I was seeing from them anyway. So I'm not sure.
SPEAKER_03Their logo was a sword, and it was supposed to be the Titans from Greek mythology. And I actually have a statement here from the team, uh, and I quote, one of the biggest changes uh the Titans are making with their big 2026 redesign is moving away from the team, from the theme of Greek mythology. This means no more sword imagery on the shoulder pads, striped down the middle of the helmet, for example, or the the logo that was a sword. Give me just a second, I can finish this quote. Uh, this brand overhaul centers around an even stronger embrace of the Titans blue, which is the primary color of the old uh Houston Oilers, uh Love You Blue, uh the horse. So they're trying to go back to that.
SPEAKER_02I honestly loved the old logo where it was the Tennessee. uh tee and then you had it on fire kind of I I kind of liked that logo and the white helmet with the it kind of popped off of that but they're going back to a more traditional like you said oilers color and it's kind of a it's a T with the the oilers colors so it's not to me it's not great looking but uh it the the funny part was they hadn't even unveiled this logo they hadn't shown anybody or popped it out anywhere but on the Fanatics website you could have got a dog toy with the new logo on it because they mistakenly put it up ahead of time and uh do you want to go more into that?
SPEAKER_03Uh uh yeah I'll go into that and uh just to add to that uh the the Greek mythology thing the the logo you're talking about the flames the T was actually a sword if you look at the T it's supposed to look like a sword with the blade and stuff like that.
SPEAKER_02Um and I think with the NFL going towards a more uh globalized brand I think they're trying to go towards a more clean look with some of their stuff and then as you say here uh the the robot dog Tennessee Times new robot you to I don't want to read that out loud uh so the dog the dog toy the dog toy logo they're saying the logo looks uh looks inappropriate and kind of looks like a uh uh female reproductive parts yes yes that's kind of what they're saying it looks like and uh which honestly I'm I'm kind of disappointed in the Titans and the fact that just do away with trying to attach yourself to the old oilers because it's just kind of you didn't stick with it when you left. I mean you did use it for a little bit your first year there and then you transitioned over to the Titans. You should kind of distance yourself from being the Oilers and maybe let Houston kind of do their thing with the Oilers because it was the Houston Oilers not the Houston or the uh Tennessee Oilers it just doesn't it it to me you need to just let it go and not associate it with the team because case in point when the Browns left Cleveland and went to Baltimore to be the Ravens they don't sit there and throw do throwbacks and call themselves the Baltimore Browns they don't sit there and wear brown stuff. You know they they just did away with that portion and they solely focus on being the Ravens. I don't like this trying to reach back and be a team or not or you shouldn't be anymore.
SPEAKER_03No I I agree and even though yeah they moved from Houston to Tennessee um I like that they obviously obviously still hold um their history in high regard of where they came from but they're not Houston anymore as you say um I like the Titans rebrand with them being in Tennessee based out of Tennessee or even that or even close to Nashville Tennessee is very they're in Nashville they're in Nashville but like uh Tennessee's very musically rich especially with country music I don't know why they didn't go with something uh along those lines you I you always try to represent the area right that you that you're in I don't know why they didn't do something like that.
SPEAKER_02Because a lot of stuff's already taken they already have a triple A affiliate called the Nashville Sound yeah you can't really go that route yeah they had Nashville Sound you know Utah has the jazz because there is jazz well the well Nashville that's another team that should have renamed themselves because they were the New Orleans or New Orleans jazz. Now they're the Utah jazz which makes no sense or like the Lakers they were from Minneapolis yeah they were the Minneapolis Lakers now they're the Los Angeles Lakers which I mean really Los Angeles is known for the beach not lakes I mean they they could have been well again this is where I have problems with teams there's there's things hanging on yeah I agree with you and the commanders are starting to go down this road this this would be be like the Cardinals trying to hang on to being Chicago yeah because it for those who don't know the Cardinals actually were the first Chicago team then they moved to St. Louis then they moved to Phoenix or you know Arizona yeah and they used to be in the NFC East mind you yeah so the Bears you know that shows you how old some of these teams are but the Bears have been around for like ever and they are Chicago. If they ever moved anywhere else they wouldn't I would hope that they wouldn't continue to call themselves the Chicago Bears. I mean unfortunately you know it's kind of like with San Francisco they're the San Francisco 49ers even though they play in Santa Clara which is like 49ers it sounds a little more weird progressive.
SPEAKER_03Anyway let's move along and talk about something that's not progressive and kind of a uh giant red flag just kind of a man yeah Rasheed Rice man this guy he just I'll tell you what I don't know if it's the way he's living his life or if he just can't stay at stay out of trouble or what this is like uh this is like what LeVar Arrington and some of the older older heads they say uh there were certain guys that they call him can't get rights because no matter what happens no matter what you do they just can't get right and now we are here we are again Rasheed Rice in the news yeah from 23 to 2025 she's accusing him she who uh an ex-girlfriend it doesn't name names uh accusing him of allegedly repeatedly assaulting her during an 18 month span between 23 to 25 by the way last year was 2025 uh and the year before that was 2024 and remember Rasheed Rice just ref just wrapped up the shit he was involved with with racing that car and his friends and all that stuff um you know it forgive me for a moment okay I this is a slippery slope I'm about to go down okay because I believe that well innocent until proven guilty innocent until proven guilty but I I believe that there are people not just men but I do believe there are men out there or not or people out there guilty of all kinds of abuse but sometimes I feel like the other side regardless of whether we how it broke down whether it's not there anymore whether whatever the case uh I I feel like sometimes and not just women but your ex-spouses they just want a piece of the pie okay and I'm not saying that that's what this is uh the timing is weird to me and the details are a little obscure of it um but I mean 20 23 to 25 for an 18 month span where you where you dated this guy um girl well she dated him he's the guy right I'm talking about her i it takes a lot for people to step up and speak out about abuses and assaults I get that but I'm I'm just trying to figure out he's already been in the news normally once you hit the news once it's not a problem for people to start coming out the woodwork well sometimes these things take a while to even come to light because they got to go through the legal process and to develop and everything like that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah and people don't want to put it out unless they have for sure knowledge on it and let's be let's be fair here we don't know the situation we just know it's being reported and what's being reported is she's coming with charges at them which again like you said this is multiple things multiple incidents with the same person it's not a good look but but let's have let's have some grace and say look when you're young you're dumb you do dumb things you know sometimes your dumb things are minor things like you know staying out too late and you know you you stay out late your parents are like I told you to be here at this time oh I'm sorry I'm taking the car you can't go out crap you know so there's things like this that's wasn't it wasn't it Rasheed Rice who already got acquitted of one domestic case you know the racing aside look this is this is a a common theme with the Chiefs they seem to have a thing with getting players that are uh problems susceptible well I don't want to I don't want to say problems uh people that just seem to to find the bad things going on in the world like they seem to constantly find themselves caught up in stuff and this is this is this has happened a lot and a lot of times what happens is they move on from these players because we all remember Kareem Hunt was a big time player for them and all of a sudden they kicked him to the curb and he goes over to Cleveland but then they ended but then they brought him back later yeah but then they had him on video like kicking that woman and then they bring him back and you don't hear a peep out of it because I mean he's a little bit older probably a little bit wiser and not doing trying not to be in the spotlight but they've had incidents like this with players over and over again.
SPEAKER_03And and don't get me wrong and and I get that young players especially young men make mistakes but I also question both sides and I'm not trying to be sexist or misogynist or any way like that. I like to look at both sides of the story and I have had experiences myself with girls and this is going to be part of a spin-off show that we have coming up Mike I haven't forgotten about that by the way but anyway we are going to do that at some point but anyway like women know how to play the game too okay people know how to play the game so I'm wondering I'm waiting for more details to come out of this but I'm wondering what is really at play here I want to give Rasheed Rice the benefit of the doubt okay he seems to be a gentleman a young gentleman who seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time maybe makes some wrong decisions to help himself end up the in those places um I'm waiting to see how this ultimately plays out and what details come out of it.
SPEAKER_02But moving on from that uh we have some personnel moves here just quick going over um Raiders hire the Raiders are hiring what you skipped over Patrick Mahomes Patrick Mahomes restructures his deal to save a massive capital oh you moved you moved that up I have Raiders ahead of that anyway sorry no you skipped a couple of things no so looking right here yours is an advantage moving moving moving the cap space I didn't move anything the cap space that they have saved converts the$54.45 million dollars in the 2026 salary into a signing bonus uh the cap number moves the cap number to 34.65 million dollars freed up so they can start looking or no no it creates 43.65 million dollars in cap space for the Chiefs yeah honestly I think this is a good move um my homes has had a down year the last couple years uh the Chiefs want to save some money I think this is a good move on both parts and obviously Mahomes wants to be in the conversation with Tom Brady Tom Brady notoriously took pay cuts uh throughout his career so the Patriots uh could afford to bring in new players each season it's not it's not a bad thing I mean it just made a lot more a lot more of your money is well yeah that's why I said I think it's a great thing I think it's good for both sides.
SPEAKER_03I mean Patrick's obviously made a ton of money but he wants to stay with a winning franchise or what he themes is a winning franchise.
SPEAKER_02Well no what I was going with is it when you do this it's it makes the money that you were you know it was incentive based or or you know you were basic basically you're still getting the money they just guaranteed the money so they can just give you a bonus like here you go here's the money up front so then it's not it's not counted against the cap. So it just it's it's a way of reworking the contract where you're still getting yours but we're going to give it to you up front so that way the money up front means and it comes in a bonus and it's not held against what our overall salary is. So it's it's a way it's a way of renegotiating the money that's already been entitled to you in a way that gets it in your pocket and off their books.
SPEAKER_03Yeah and the league new year starts March 1st so this money comes off the books they spend it before that date so I I uh I think that's a big part of it. And I agree I think it's a good move on both parts Mahomes gets guaranteed money right now for what he would have to perform for normally later um and the Chiefs get to clear some cap room like you say hopefully that will help him get some better receivers. And obviously I think this move is being done before the league new year to have that impact. Right right right because there's always that drop hard deadlines and stuff but you were saying about the uh Raiders oh yeah yeah uh you know no big deal the the Raiders I think the Patrick Mahomes thing was a big deal um obviously being a team player in that as well but the Raiders they're uh obviously restructuring Tom Brady is clearly overseeing uh that restructure process because the Raiders are bringing in uh Seahawks QB coach uh Janaco what's his first name so sorry uh coach andrew Andrew Janaco um as their offensive coordinator what did he do he was he was the quarterback coach for the Seahawks he was the quarterback coach okay guys if you don't think the Raiders are drafting Mendoza at this point I need you to just go ahead and give me your football fanship because you don't you shouldn't watch the sport anymore um well I mean it's they're they're going after Mendoza well it's number one overall they took Kubiak who was the offensive coordinator as their head coach he's naturally going to want to bring his guys yeah he's gonna because it's his guy and he's just like and and we don't know if Kubiak's gonna be calling the plays and he's just gonna kind of more be the figurehead.
SPEAKER_02Yeah and and we don't know how much Genaco played into those play calls as well because you know assistants play roles certain key assistants play roles and and play calling as well so moving on to some other personnel news uh the Dolphins made a number of moves uh leading the way was Tyree Kill being cut from the roster uh we saw this come and this wasn't exactly a big surprise that we knew that Tyree Kill was going to be a cut candidate but they also cut uh former pro line Pro Bowl linebacker Bradley Chubb which saves him a ton of money off the cap but they also cut uh James Daniels a guard offensive guard uh which also saves them huge cap room and then they cut receiver Nick Westbrook Akinas or Akines Akines Akinas or whatever Akinesbrook Akines I had him in fantasy football I'm very familiar with him so anyway they they cut these players um obviously he'll he's coming up on being 32 years old he had his knee basically torn all up last year so he shredded his knee so he's recovering but you know we'll we'll see what he can contribute and where he might go and who wants to invest money in an aging I'm I'm gonna be honest Mike uh I think Tyreek Hill retires if not he's just done no I I I see him coming back because he he to be honest somebody's gonna pick him up somebody is going to pick him up on the all-he he might get picked up but I'm telling you right now his all-star career is done at this point I don't think he's gonna come back with the same speed pizzazz or playability if he comes back it's gonna be for veteran presence oh I don't think he's gonna carry much more value than that this is why they're cutting him nobody wanted to trade for him there's no market for nobody wants to pay the money that he's owed. That's what it is they don't want to pay that kind of money for that for that type of player well they also it the I will say the odds are stacked against him but we've seen a number of players come back from from these you know ACL tears and have a productive career after that. I'm not saying he's gonna be you know the Tyreek that was blazing the top off of defenses but we we have seen a shift in the way that defenses play now where they play top down defense where they're doing a high show where they're not letting players get behind them. So this is his his days of blazing over the top and catching a bomb that they're not going to exist in this day's defense.
SPEAKER_03Well I I agree I agree with you there and that's what I've been saying but I think if he does come back and really wants to come back he can still be an all-pro player in one facet and it's not gonna be top end speed he's not gonna blow the top all defenses he's still gonna be a veteran guy uh but he needs to settle into like a WR2 slot receiver if he can refine his route running because he can run routes but he's not the greatest route runner okay if he can refine his route running and run some really crisp routes he can probably get a little more mileage out of his career because he's still probably quick he'll still be quick but I don't think he's gonna have speed we won't know we won't know until we see what we get out of him. No we won't know you're you're right this is a first knee injury this isn't like you know uh Odell Beckham where he's had multiple knee injuries well yeah and I mean but the the thing working against him here too I think is age Javante Williams was young Adrian Peterson was in the middle of his career uh Javante Williams was young which I I re I referenced Javante Williams for a reason because he just had a blowout year with the Dallas Cowboys and he tore his ACL uh actually in his rookie season with the Broncos. It took him two to three years to get that level of competition to get that level back to that to that what would be yeah but the the wear and tear on a running back and being a a running back has a lot more things going against him.
SPEAKER_02It's not just his play it's also the offense you're in it's also the offensive line a wide receiver they just need to get down the field get open and then yes it does depend on the quarterback it does depend on the type of defenses you're going against but and wide receiver has a little more impact onto his playing ability versus the way that a running back in his playing ability you could have the best running back and have a shit offensive line because look at how Ashton Genty was doing last year.
SPEAKER_03He had flashes where he was doing great but yeah that was he was a he had a blocking problem I I don't think ashton gente's problems were totally on him. That's what I'm saying.
SPEAKER_02Yeah but moving on uh Robert Woods should be a familiar name for a lot of people who was a star receiver for the Rams and kind of bounced around a little bit for a few years uh he's calling it a career he signed a deal with the Rams to retire as a Ram. This is a big name to me Mike because Robert Woods was in his prime when like when we were kind of not when we were growing up but I'll say when we were in our late teens right late teens early 20s Robert Woods was out there I don't know I mean I I know the name I've I've had him in fantasy a few times but he was he was a decent player. He just he I mean he wasn't the you know yeah I I remember playing like you know he wasn't owens he was a slot receiver he was a WR2 slot receiver he was just a productive receiver he he brought a lot of value he's good route runner he brought a lot of value to the team he wasn't like you're a superstar but he brought a lot of value uh in helping you win so moving right along of course you know we all know what happened in the Super Bowl Seahawks won but it's probably the best time in the world because the Allen estate because the owner of the Seahawks passed away well his estate has decided they're going to begin the process in selling the Seahawks when do you sell a stock? When your stock is high when you win the Super Bowl your stock is high. So now they're going to be selling the team and let's be honest there's gonna be plenty of people based on where they are geographically in Washington you know a bunch of tech billionaires In Washington, who may be interested in buying this team.
SPEAKER_03So I know that because they won the Super Bowl, this team is going to get top dollar. But I'm telling you right now, they need to lower the price a little bit because this team's currently being gutted. Okay. Kenny Walker's not coming back. Charbonnet has a torn ligament. Kubiak and his assistants are gone.
SPEAKER_02I wouldn't say they're being gutted. They're losing a few key pieces. But let's let's be honest. Kenneth Walker, he's get he got hot at the right time being a Super Bowl MVP. He's gonna get a pick payday, but he has never been known as a pass catcher or a run blocker. He's been like a one and downhill kind of guy. Yeah with a few cuts and gets. He's just a straight up downhill runner. He's yeah, he's a downhill runner. So he's gonna find a spot somewhere, but anybody that's gonna be foolish and give him top of the league pay for a mid-tier back, they're gonna be fooling themselves. Now I'm not saying he can't be a productive player, I'm just saying he's not the player that you go, all right, let's say you're having your fantasy team. You're not picking Kenneth Walker number one. It's just not happening. He's more of a guy you pick up in the you know, third, fourth round, you know, and you're like, ah, I need a running back. Oh, Kenneth Walker's still there. Let me pick him up.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And honestly, you know, not not a bad, you know, but like you say, he's they did well with him because they schemed well for him. And maybe you're right, you know, Mike Mc uh McDonald, he's a good head coach. So maybe they're not being gutted, but they are losing a few key pieces.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, they're losing well, they have some players going to the free agency, but the by not signing Kenneth Walker or not tagging him, they'll that will give them the chance to bring back some of those key players.
SPEAKER_03And also, I think in the middle of a sale, they don't want to tie up any money in players like that. Because if you franchise tag a player like Kenny Walker, first of all, he wants a big contract. They don't want to tie up money like that, especially long term. You can't franchise him because then he's in the top five of his position, which is also a huge financial commitment.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so speaking of Seahawks, and you know, they we said that their OC got picked up by the Raiders. Well, they have found their new OC and they are stealing him from the 49ers. And uh Brian Fleury, he's actually the tight ends coach for the 49ers, so be looking next year for Bonner to have kind of a big year because he's gonna get to work with the guy that was working closely with George Kittle. And if he can get the kind of production out of out of Kittle that he's gotten out of Bonner, Bonner might have a big year next year.
SPEAKER_03You know, I I I like keep an eye out for that. I like this move. I think it's gonna be a small loss for you guys, um, but I think it's gonna be a huge gain.
SPEAKER_02People always still are coaches.
SPEAKER_03Well, yeah, I think it's gonna be a huge gain for the Seahawks. Um, and I mean they had an explosive offense this season. I I I imagine I want to see what they do going forward.
SPEAKER_02So moving over to since we brought up the 49ers, uh, are they kind of getting a raw deer deal here? Because next year uh they're not playing one, but they're playing two games out of the country. They're playing one in Mexico City and then they're playing another in Australia. So you have two games out of country. Yeah, you know, uh, are they both home games? I know the one in Mexico City is a home game, considered a home game, but the one in Australia I'm not sure about.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and uh this is where I'm wondering, and I know as the NFL tries to continue to expand its horizons into the international community, things like this are going to happen.
SPEAKER_02Well, travel time's gonna be insane because going from the West Coast out to Australia is still quite a quite a whole. I know from yeah, you know, you think I think they're in the same time zone as Japan, and Japan is 12 hours ahead of the East Coast. Yeah. So, or actually maybe a day ahead.
SPEAKER_03I'm I'm not great with it. Well, I'm I'm thinking Australia and well, Mexico City, isn't that on the east side of Mexico, the eastern side of Mexico? Because it matters, right? Because it was on the west side of Mexico.
SPEAKER_02Well, no, those they'll still be in the same time zone. Okay. You know, it's it because that's more of like a straight down, you're not you're not really changing time zones for that. Yeah, I'm talking about the having to go all the way out of Australia and all the way back.
SPEAKER_03Well, that's what I'm saying. Like that's a big change. It's a big change. And depending on which side of the country they're on, uh which side of the continent, makes a huge difference in their playability.
SPEAKER_02Oh, you mean you mean as far as the week before?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. I mean, the week before or the week after, whichever way they're they're going, because they're playing in Australia first, right? Or are they playing Australia second? I don't know. They haven't really released that yet. They haven't released the schedule.
SPEAKER_02They just they just said that where they're where they're playing and they're getting two games next year out of country.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and and we kind of messed up. And we have another record international games coming up. The NFL clearly getting more aggressive.
SPEAKER_02I kind of feel like that's screwing over the fans. Like you're not you're taking games away from the fans, and especially like think about it. If your team, you have season tickets and they take two games away from you and put them overseas.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, it's kind of messed up. I I agree. For the domestic fans, they're trying to expand their fanship. To me, this is what you call the cost of doing business. Sure, these fans lose out a little bit, but now you gain X and X number of fans over here, uh, which in turn equates to higher revenue numbers for them. It's all about money, you see. Um, and so I I see that I feel for the fans here domestically, yeah, because they are losing, but the NFL is clearly trying to gain more viewership and more fans, more popularity. They're trying to become an international product.
SPEAKER_02But for us, you're not gonna lose much from us because we're gonna just keep doing this show if you like it.
SPEAKER_03And and I think it's a very interesting time to be an NFL fan because of their push to become an international project product, but I digress and we'll have more on that. Uh for the last time tonight, I want to thank our sponsors and partners, Body by D Gym, Sauce Outfitters, and the Giving Tree Chiropractic. Uh, thank you for everybody for joining us tonight. I know it was a long episode, and I hope you certainly enjoyed it. I'm Brian with an eye, and I'm Mike, and we are two for the win. Thanks everybody.