Two For The Win - S2.85 - MLB Deadline Heat! Seeven-Sixxers? NFL Camp Alarms!!

The sports week doesn’t ease up, it stacks pressure until something breaks, and that’s exactly why we love it. We start with MLB as the trade deadline gets close enough to feel: Hall of Fame news, wild game-changing reviews, and the kind of late-inning chaos that makes front offices panic-buy a bat or a bullpen arm. We talk Carlos Beltran, Andruw Jones, and Jeff Kent getting into Cooperstown, Chan Ho Park joining the Athletics ownership group, and a reminder that in baseball one call can turn “one run” into a grand slam in a heartbeat.

From there, we zoom out to the bigger mid-summer sports mix. WNBA All-Star Weekend gives us a fresh wave of momentum and debate, from the three-point contest results to what the league does well and where it still needs to catch up in how it showcases stars. Then the NBA hits with the headline that made everyone do a double take: LeBron James choosing the Philadelphia 76ers on a team-friendly deal. We break down why the money isn’t the point, how the second apron and roster construction shape everything, and what this move means for the Sixers, the Lakers, and the teams watching from the East.

We close with NFL training camp, where the news turns serious fast: Eric Bieniemy stepping away after a family crisis, Kyle Shanahan’s frightening car crash and recovery, and Ahman Green sharing his Parkinson’s diagnosis at 49. We also run through key injuries, hold-ins, extensions, and a quick look at UFL expansion as the football pipeline keeps growing.

If you like smart sports talk with real reactions, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave us a review so more fans can find the show.

Transcript

Welcome And Sponsor Shoutouts

SPEAKER_03 0:07

July 30th, 2026. Welcome back everybody and thank you for joining us once again for another episode of Sports Talk with Us. I'm Brian with an eye, and I'm Mike, and we are two for the win. Mike, what do we got on tonight's agenda, bro?

SPEAKER_02 0:21

Well, we're days away from the MLB trade deadline, and things get crazy. I have literally seen where trades come at the very last second. And it's always an exciting time. All these teams that are out of it, they're looking to trade away players, and the teams that are fighting for that playoff spot, they're trying to bump up their team by just adding that next piece. And we just had a WNBA All-Star Weekend. Woo! You sure did. And training camp has kicked off for the NFL team. And there was a little kind of uh big news in the NBA that we uh need to discuss. So we got we got a little talk about today.

SPEAKER_03 1:07

We have quite a long-winded agenda, and mind you, uh, before we dive in, I'm just gonna go ahead and say thanks to our sponsors and partners. And if you don't mind bearing with me, because this is gonna be a tad long-winded here, because we have a lot to say. But at all, all great things. Starting out with Body by D Gym, located in Yorktown and Gloucester. Deshaun Wright's a former bodybuilding champion, training future bodybuilding champions. And Mike, I might as well call him current champions because a lot of these people, including his son, Christian Wright, are beginning to win medals and trophies. Uh, so passing on his legacy in the way he does things, as well as many other great things happening up there with them. Our good friends speak of the devil, uh, Caden and Christian, by the way, at Solis Outfitters. And by the way, Christian has started a new Instagram project. Uh, it's at MK3 Revived. He's building a Mark III Super, but it's not just about the build. This is about life and experiences as well, Mike. So it's a very interesting project they're undertaking here. And congratulations on that, my friend. Uh, Mid-Atlantic Territory Wrestling, our friends over there, and as you know, our House Dallas Cowboys uh expert who will be on again here soon. Uh PQ, the pain train, you know. Uh they have a show coming up August 1st this weekend. It is a huge annual of theirs. It's a tag team competition. It is the Chuck Coates Memorial Tag Team Tournament, okay, and that's taking place in Fisherville, Virginia. Uh, and that's a huge one. I'm very excited for them to undertake that. And they have some big names across the board for that, okay. Our friends from Por Vita, by the way, as well as trademark screen printing and embroidery over there, and our friends of request request station. I almost made it through, Mike. I almost made it all the way through. Almost. Anyway, all our friends, partners, thank you everybody for being with us, and we look forward to doing more business with the with you in the future. Mike, let's get down to business.

SPEAKER_02 3:07

Well,

Baseball Hall Of Fame Class

SPEAKER_02 3:08

since we've gotten into about the mid-part of the MLB season, uh, we're getting to a point where, you know, they have the teams that are playing now, and we honor the teams of the past, or at least the players of the past. And by doing so, we get usually a few people inducted into the Hall of Fame. And uh this past week we introduced three new members to the Hall of Fame. And those three members are Carlos Beltran, Andrew Jones, and Jeff Kent. Now, I remember watching all of these players. As a matter of fact, I even met Andrew Jones when I went down to Atlanta and saw some games. Nice. Really cool guys. Nice, absolutely. Um but like all of these guys made multiple All-Star games, had huge impact in the game. Uh Jeff Kent got the benefit of hitting, you know, around Barry Bonds. So if they weren't if they weren't pitching to Bonds, they had to let Kent hit. So Kent was like, alright, I'm just gonna hit this dinger now the bonds is on. Hey, look, we're up to. Nice. So he a lot of benefit there. But uh I thought it was kind of interesting because uh Kent actually uh thanked Media Member for him getting in the Hall of Fame. And that particular media member was uh Mad Dog Russo. Mad Dog Russo. He he oftentimes on his show, if there was ever a point where they brought up Hall of Fame or players that should be in the Hall of Fame, he did mention Jeff Kent's name multiple times throughout the years and just said it's a travesty that he's not in. But he finally got in, along with Andrew Jones and Carlos Beltron. And not to not to you know say anything anything ill of anybody on this list, because they all they all are deserving to be there, they all had very impactful careers, and everywhere they played were impactful players. So congratulations to those three.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

Absolutely, congratulations to them, and quite a feat to have uh obtained.

SPEAKER_02 5:17

Yeah.

Chan Ho Park Buys Into A's

SPEAKER_02 5:18

And speaking of players of the past making their way into the spotlight again, uh, a player I really remember as probably one of the first players that came from overseas to come play baseball in America, and that's Chano Park. Now, Chano Park, he was a Dodger, and I mean he played for a few other team teams throughout his career, but he's most known for being with the Dodgers and being a very impactful player. He himself made all-star games, but you know, he had a professional career over in Korea where he's from, and then eventually came over. And the reason I bring him up is he has joined the ownership group that owns the A's. Now the A's are getting ready to move to Las Vegas to be the Las Vegas A's or Athletics. So now he is the first Korean to buy a stake in a major league baseball team. So a pretty impressive feat there.

SPEAKER_03 6:17

Very impressive, and congratulations to him. And uh I know uh the Korean people are just as excited. Oh 100%.

SPEAKER_02 6:27

Now, for anybody that's never seen Chanhoe Park when he pitched, I encourage you to go watch some old videos of him and how he pitched. It was probably one of the craziest looking wind ups, and I don't know how anybody ever tracked any pitch off his hand with the way he he would pitch. So if you want something kind of interesting to go see, go look how this guy pitched. It was pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_03 6:50

Yeah, I I'm gonna do that myself as well. Very interesting person uh coming into this.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

So

Reviews That Change Everything

SPEAKER_02 6:57

oftentimes we go through life and there may be times where we pass up a decision or you know, we change what we're gonna do, and sometimes it doesn't work out for the better. And I say that because in a recent game between between the Guardians and the Reds, there was a situation where bases are loaded, pit uh player is up to hit for Cleveland, and it looks like the pitcher hit the batter, but and they did. They thought that they hit him and they were gonna award him first base, and that would have put in a run. So it's like, oh, okay, we're gonna go ahead and you know, push in one run, letting this guy be up, you know, get on first base and push in the guy from third since bases are loaded. Right. But they went to review because the Reds were like, no, no, no, no, we're reviewing that. We didn't hit him. And so the um's like, oh, okay, call over turn. You didn't hit him. Well, you might have a little remorse in that fact because after the after that, they wound up, they wound up letting the batter bat because he wasn't he wasn't out, and so and I I love doing this to Brian. What's his name, Brian? What's the batter's name right there in blue? Kyle Manzardo is the batter, and he hits a home run for a grand slam. So instead of giving up one run, they gave up four runs. So now they're down four-nothing. So it's like, dang, man, we should just let him be hit by a pitch.

SPEAKER_03 8:36

Just let him be hit, bro. Yeah, just let him be hit by a pitch. What a crazy. I realize baseball is literally like a domino effect here, right? It's just a crazy turn of events all the time.

SPEAKER_02 8:49

By the way, the Guardians won that game six to five, snapping their five-game losing streak they were on at the time. And this was back on July, July 28th, I believe. But you know, it's funny how sometimes you make a decision, it's like, man, I shouldn't have done that. Yeah. That's kind of that's kind of what happened there.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

Yeah, foot and mouth. So hey, sometimes you swing and miss, literally. These guys swung and hit four times.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

Well, you want to hit him in that point. Yeah, because at least you want to hit it with the one run. Right. But we go from that to the scenario where and this happened today, this and this is kind of a cool, cool scenario. So there's one thing in baseball that always stands true. It's not over until it's over. And then that can be in life. Things aren't over until they're over. And in this case, for the twins, they were get they were having a game against the Royals, and they hadn't even had a hit in six innings, right? So they're going, they're going deep into this game, haven't done anything, they're going to the bottom of the ninth, and it's 3-0. So it's like, ah, man, like if this is not looking good, right? Well, the twins manage to get the bases loaded, so it's like, okay, we got a chance. We got a chance. And so Cody Clement, the son of or Cody Clemens, I should say. Not Clement. Clemens, the son of Roger Clemens, comes up to bat and hits a grand slam walk-off winner to give the twins the win, getting just the most timely hit that they needed. Because up until that point, it looked like it was a Kansas City Royals game the whole way. Nope. With that hit, four to three, twins win at the end.

SPEAKER_03 10:43

Man, what a hell of a game, too. And especially against a team like the Royals.

SPEAKER_02 10:48

Well, Royals haven't been as good this year.

SPEAKER_03 10:52

Yeah, they've taken a step back, but you know, they're they've still got some, you know, still a classic.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

So recently we had a game between the Orioles and the Tigers where the Tigers flex their muscle.

Tigers Run Up Score Plus Squirrel

SPEAKER_02 11:06

Now, the Tigers have kind of been on a bit of a downward slide. They have not been that great this year. They're kind of looking at possibly being sellers here at the deadline, and we'll get to that here in a minute. But they had a game against the Orioles in their home park that kind of won for the won for the ages for them, or at least, you know, makes you feel pretty good because they accomplished something that had not been accomplished since 1935 in this game. And that was the relentless feat of their scoring, where they scored 14 runs and allowed no runs in the game. So pretty impressive. The last time they accomplished something like this was in September 6, 1935, against the Brooklyn Dodgers.

SPEAKER_04 11:57

Lord.

SPEAKER_02 11:58

Pretty impressive feat there. I mean, they had a number of guys hitting home runs, and it was just a it was an all-around assault on on an Orioles team that probably was after the first few runs going, dang, really? Hey, and Mollywapped here.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

And you know, I know we haven't gotten to it yet, but coming up on an interesting time in the MLB season here.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Yeah. Well, not to take away from that, you know, but there was also another interesting thing that happened in the games recently. Um they had a game recently at Camerica Park against those same Orioles where they had a little uninvited guest, a black squirrel, made its way onto the field and kind of made a made his presence known. He was just running around on the warning track. But as as much as they tried, they couldn't seem to get him to get off the field. At one point, they actually got the entire crowns crew trying to chase this squirrel and get him to go out one of the gates or at least get him away from from the the team or the field so they get back to playing. Because I mean nobody wants to hit a squirrel with a baseball. That guy's just holding the door open like he's just gonna run by. Yeah, he just thinks the squirrel's gonna run by. And so what they finally wound up doing, they have the whole grounds crew trying to wrangle the squirrel. They're like tossing towels at it, they're trying their best. I mean, he's just running all over the field, they can't really do anything to get him. I mean, nobody wants to get bit or nothing. Right. And at one point, he even runs up into a player's glove. Like the player tries to shoe him over with his glove and he runs up in it, so the player just kind of flicks him out of the glove. But like, look at this, Brian. You see all these people? They're all chasing this squirrel. They're all chasing this squirrel towards the the right field corner to try to get it to go out the gate in the right field corner, and the squirrel's just like juking and moving and just not having it, not having it at all. Yeah, they're trying to convince it to go another direction. At one point, he runs up into the player's glove. You'll see it, you'll see it. It's pretty funny. You know, it's just ridiculous. Like they're they're trying to have a game, they just can't have a game. And eventually they throw a towel over him, scoop him up, and then the ground screw guy just runs out the gate with him. But you know, it's not the first time we've had animals on the field. I mean, we talked about that goose that decided to be the fifth outfielder for the for the Phillies earlier in the year. I'm glad they were smart enough to close the door before he let it down. But if you haven't seen it, go check out man, that is go check out the black squirrel running around the world. That is wild.

SPEAKER_03 14:47

I never in my life, that's wild. Yeah, yeah. But moving on, they probably called in reinforcements. Hey man, we need you to come in.

SPEAKER_02 14:56

Yeah, we we need 50 guys to chase this one squirrel.

SPEAKER_03 15:00

We'll pay you over time, don't worry about it.

SPEAKER_02 15:03

But moving on to a player who has had a huge impact, and I love doing this to Brian.

Bobbleheads Marlins Skid Ends

SPEAKER_02 15:10

Brian, can you say the White Sox player's name who had a recent bobblehead day?

SPEAKER_03 15:15

By the way, I like this player, Mike, and his name is Munataka Murakami. There we go. This is he's actually becoming one of my favorite players.

SPEAKER_02 15:25

Look, as I get more into the sport. So he is having an amazing year, and as you can see, there's his bobblehead. I'm showing you the picture of his bobblehead.

SPEAKER_03 15:36

I want it.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

Pretty good.

SPEAKER_03 15:37

He should not have a production deal with World Championship.

SPEAKER_02 15:40

Pretty good likeness there. But on his bobblehead night, he went off.

SPEAKER_03 15:47

I want a bobblehead night. What? I want a bobblehead night. Of you? Of us. Uh could you imagine two for the win, Brian and Mike bobbleheads? Well, I don't know. I'm gonna sign a deal with world championship creations. They do shit like that.

SPEAKER_02 16:05

So back on the the 26th, the White Sox had a game again against the Astros where the White Sox came alive with a 12-3 victory over the Astros. And in that victory, and I'm trying to find his numbers here.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

I should have been more prepared. I'm so sorry, folks.

SPEAKER_03 16:28

I agree.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

I know, it's horrible.

SPEAKER_03 16:31

Planning and preparedness are the words of the day. You know, when I was growing up as a Boy Scout, and I think even still true to this day, the motto was be prepared, right? And how I've often found myself so unprepared for many of life's events and occurrences, you know. But not all bad, not all good, not all mediocre. Mike, have you made it yet? Do we do we have the inflammation we seek over here? I have I'm turning into Yoda. But, you know, as I stare at this Studio Technica mat here, which I set my cell phone on, uh our listeners may want to actually hear about sports. So you know I'm excited for the inevitable segment of football, as always.

SPEAKER_02 17:26

Well um sorry that I didn't have the exact box score, but I do know that he had six RBIs in that game alone, just himself. So on your bobblehead night to show up, pretty good feeling, I would imagine. And then I hope they gave him one of his bobbleheads, to be honest. I mean, tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 17:45

I don't see why not. They probably gave it to him before they released it, because I I imagine he has to approve something like this. Probably gave it to him as a gift. I could see that. But I want bobbleheads for us now, Mike.

SPEAKER_02 18:01

You want bobbleheads for us?

SPEAKER_03 18:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:04

It's uh I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 18:08

We can have this bobblehead. We can have them custom made.

SPEAKER_02 18:13

Custom made bobbleheads? Yeah. I think we'd only sell two, and it would be to you and me.

SPEAKER_03 18:18

And we can have little two for the wind hats on.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

And anyway. So moving right along, we're gonna come down here and talk about the Marlins. The Marlins, unfortunately, the Marlins, unfortunately, have been uh up until this recent series against the Phillies, they have been on a bit of a skid. They were on a 12-game skid, just not having a good time. And all that changed when the Phillies came to town because they have swept the Phillies in this three-game series, and it's and you know, Griffin Conai, son of Jeff Conye, who was a pretty good Marlin back in his day, has been showing out. He's been hitting late, late home runs, giving them a lead twice in this series. And honestly, the the way the manager put it, he said that their uh whole series has been kind of like that movie The Odyssey, or like the story, The Odyssey, which if you don't know, it is out there. It is a movie you can go see. Oh, Christopher Nolan movie. But there's actually the whole the whole the whole story is basically the crap that this guy goes through where it's just like one thing after another just seems to keep happening to him. And it's like, can I just get home?

SPEAKER_03 19:46

First of all, if you're unfamiliar with the Iliad and the Odyssey, you need to go back to school. I'm not gonna educate you that here on a sports show. Secondly, very good movie is I like both the old one and the new one.

SPEAKER_02 19:59

I never saw the old one.

SPEAKER_03 20:01

As well as the book. The book is good, as well as the movie Troy, the old one, not the new one.

unknown 20:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

Anyway.

SPEAKER_02 20:08

But basically, the Marlins, they're kind of out of it. I mean, they're they've been losing too much, so they're probably gonna be sellers at the trade deadline. But they have been, you know, playing some good ball late, at least against the Phillies, to swept those guys. Not good look for them.

SPEAKER_03 20:24

Well, maybe maybe they uh have a strong end of their season and pick it up next year, you know.

Injuries And Deals Before Deadline

SPEAKER_02 20:30

And speaking of not good looks, the veteran pitcher for the Cubs, Jamison Town, he has been DFA'd. D F this this was a cornerstone of their rotation just a few years ago. And now he's been you know, relegated basically. So not a great look for him. He's just not been performing. He's just haven't been well at playing well. Well, that happens sometimes, man. You know, maybe change the scenery might work out for him. I don't know. I hope so. But speaking of other bad looks, um, Cody Bellinger, bad look, man. He's gonna make miss the next four to six weeks with a grade two hamstring strain. Well, that's gonna hurt. Now, this has been a thing with Cody Bellinger. He has not been dependable, he's been hurt a lot these last few years, and he's still a great player. He's just not available, you know. So that's that's a really big hit for the Yankees who are depending on him. And this might change their strategy come this trade deadline.

SPEAKER_03 21:33

And you know, it's tough because uh everybody always wants to look at oh, why can't you stay healthy? Why can't you well look it's not always in their control, right? No, it sometimes these things just happen. Yeah, your body, your genealogy, hereditary, sometimes, circumstance, you know, your medical health, you know, where they stand at. So there's a lot of factors. Sometimes just bad luck. Sometimes just bad luck. I mean, it's you hang. To see great players go down, you hate to see any player go down. But that you know, that's part of the game we call life, and I still support them. Um, and I it's just, you know.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

So speaking of players with issues and with being healthy, uh, a player who is an all-star this year, Shane Langelier of the Athletics, uh, he is dumb for the year. Him and their right-handed pitcher, Mark Leiter Jr. Who's I believe the nephew of Al Leiter Jr., or Al Leiter, I shouldn't should say, not Jr. But Langolier is having surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee, and Leiter is having surgery to repair a right hip. His right hip is where he's having the surgery.

SPEAKER_03 22:50

Now go go ahead, finish. Sorry.

SPEAKER_02 22:53

But both of these players were names mentioned heading into this trade deadline as possible, you know, trade chips that people were looking to acquire. So the A's have to be thinking to themselves, dang, like we were going to trade these guys, get some good players in return, and now we can't do anything. You know, it might it might turn into be a good scenario for them to be in the end, to be honest, because sometimes when you don't keep a player, it turns out okay.

SPEAKER_03 23:21

Well, they were probably planning on shoveling anyway, now they have that information, which is but But you can't trade a player who's nobody's gonna trade for a player that can't play now. Well, yeah, that's what I'm saying. That they obviously those plans are at the window. How does this I don't have the the uh rankings in front of me, but how do you think this affects the rest of their season?

SPEAKER_02 23:40

I mean, they're already kind of in the bad lens of the season, like they're not great, they're not gonna be in the playoffs anyway.

SPEAKER_03 23:46

Right. This was a which is why they'd be sellers at trade time.

SPEAKER_02 23:49

Right. The teams at the bottom are looking to sell off pieces to get better players or future players that will become better players. It happens all the time. I mean, way back, the Atlanta Braves traded for uh a player from the Cardinals. Um, I can't remember his name, but we wound up trading Adam Wainwright in that deal before Adam Wayne what Adam Wainwright was who he is now, you know, who he became. So they got this prospect who turned into one of the best pitchers in the game for close to 20 years. So it's like great. You know, we got this uh what was it? Uh oh, it was JD something. Dang, I forget his name. JD JD Power. No. Sorry, as an award. Anyway, for what we got and what we gave up, it was kind of stupid we should have held held on to him, which is the kind of what happens. You know, sometimes you trade away a player and he turns into something. Look at Pete Crow Armstrong with the Cubs. He's one of the best players on their team and one of the best players in baseball. He could have been a met. You know, it is what it is. But some trades have already happened. Like we just had had the Red Sox who traded for a player player from the Nationals. Uh, and I want to get this right. It was Curtis Meade. He he's a infielder that Boston was hoping to utilize him coming up, and unfortunately, his very first game that he's with them, he gets hit in the left wrist and his wrist is broken. So now he's out for a long period of time with a broken wrist. So, you know, doesn't help it doesn't help them out. You know, you trade away some assets and you don't still don't get the players.

SPEAKER_03 25:47

Yeah, yeah, that's that's tough as well as a tough draw.

SPEAKER_02 25:51

The Angels, who are definitely sellers, they have been pretty open about selling off their good players. Uh, they traded off a couple of pieces to an end division rival in the Rangers. Whoa. Kind of a little little crazy there, but reliever Chase Seth uh Sil I don't know. Brian right here.

SPEAKER_03 26:13

Chase Chase Sil Seth. Sil Seth? Sil Seth, it's probably Syseth or something like that. Sil Seth, Syth, Syseth, either way, they're sending a hop to the to their minor league 3B team.

SPEAKER_02 26:25

And then catcher Logan O'Hopi is the other player in this trade, going both going to the Rangers, and the Rangers in turn are just giving some minor league third baseman to the to the Angels. So I hope that the return they're getting is worth it.

SPEAKER_03 26:45

That's what I yeah. I you kind of taking a gamble there, but you know, and maybe maybe they get lucky and they get a really good future player out of it.

SPEAKER_02 26:57

So another trade that happened literally today, the Orioled for veteran catcher Jake Rogers from the Detroit Tigers. Um, this is coming because of their both their catchers being hurt. You know, uh Adley Rushman, he has a left wrist inflammation issue, so he's not playing for a while. And then their backup catcher has a right shoulder inflammation, so he's not gonna be playing. So it's like, well, dang, we need to get we need a veteran catcher. So they just reached out tigers like, hey, can we get can we get Rogers from you? Well, I mean, that's not a that's not a bad play. Yeah, I mean, this is the thing. So, like,

Trade Deadline Targets And Contenders

SPEAKER_02 27:39

players at this time of year, you're gonna have your your needs and your wants change based on what's happening. So there's gonna be players, like right now, the big fish out there is Terrence Scupel of the Tigers. He's a two-time Cy Young award winner, and he's the player that everybody's gonna be going after. So your your Yankees, your Dodgers, your Braves, your Phillies, your Cubs, they're all gonna be going after this one pitcher, and he's gonna he's gonna yield a pretty big demand. So we're gonna see like teams can trade away these types of players and wind up rebuilding their franchise off of one player by just letting them go and saying, look, we're gonna get five players in return, maybe one that plays now and four that are in the minors that may turn into something. So this this is a really cool time of year because you start seeing the shakeup. Yeah, teams that are like, we just need a right-handed bat, you know, or we just we need some starting pitching, or we need a good reliever because, or a closer. And you see this all the time where teams just start going after players. And there's already been some names mentioned. Robbie Ray of the the uh Giants, he's been named as a possible trade candidate. Uh Waka of the Royals is a pitcher who's possibly on the move on the Angels. You got Nito, the catcher, he's possibly on the move. I mean, and you you're you're having some teams that they've straight out come out and said, We're we're sellers. Like right now, the Marlins have already said they're sellers, they're trading off any pieces they can, uh, just like the Angels have. You know, Sandy Alcantra comes to mind as a starting pitcher that they'll trade. You know, they're and then you have teams that they just want to find that missing bat. They need a batter, you know, they need somebody that can swing the lumber, you know? So that's what she said. Exactly, exactly. And sometimes the the craziest thing is there'll be things that come out where players you wouldn't even think are on the market to be traded will get traded. Or players you watch, these next few days, there'll be games where players they don't even start, or they get told to sit the bench, and they'll be in their jacket, sitting on the bench, and they're just walk by and saying goodbye to players in their dugout because they're no they know they're being traded. They know they're going elsewhere. And for a lot of players, this is a good time of year because you may be playing for a crap team, and then you're going to a team that's about to win, or going to be making a deep playoff run. So we're gonna see a lot of shakeup, we're gonna see a lot of players on the move, and it's gonna be real interesting. The deadline is on Monday at 6 p.m. And you'll see trades up until that point. If they don't get in before, I mean, literally a minute before six o'clock, you can still get a trade in as long as the paperwork is filed. So we're gonna see the shakeup.

SPEAKER_03 30:45

Yeah, I'm I'm eager to see, and especially tomorrow being Friday, you're right, we're right at the line. So uh I'm eager to see what happens over the weekend, especially maybe not so much over the weekend. We I'll see uh we expect to see some moves, but I really think we're gonna see something happen Monday. That's a lot of big things happen right before the line.

SPEAKER_02 31:03

Oh, of course, of course. Like, remember, Blue Jays were just in the World Series not too long ago, and they're bottom in their division. They're gonna be one of the teams selling. They've already named a couple players, like Kevin Gosman might be one of the players on the move. Um we've already mentioned we've already mentioned the Angels as possible movers and shakers. The Mets, the Mets could be sending Freddie Peralta away. They just traded for that guy not too long ago, and he might be on the move. And the the uh Cincinnati Reds, they could be looking to trade their ace Hunter Green. They might be trying to trade him away. And of course, you know, Colorado Rockies, they're at the bottom of their division. The ravines. They're gonna be they're probably gonna be trading away players. They've already mentioned that their their uh catcher, Hunter Goodman, is is a big bat available, but it's gonna come at a huge price.

SPEAKER_03 31:56

I hope they trade away their name. To be honest with you. I think you just have it out for them. I mean How can you put your name at the top of a peak when you were at the bottom of the barrel? Consistently. Routinely the ravine. Anyway. It's like an upside down uh it used to be a really good team. Yeah. Anyway, so I mean they yeah, they had their time. Hopefully they can turn it back around.

SPEAKER_02 32:28

So right now, the leaders of their divisions, the AL East, we have the Tampa Bay Rays, who will probably be shopping around between now and Monday. Okay. The AL Central, the Chicago White Sox, pretty cool. Remember, they were last in their their division just a few years ago. Now they're winning. But that's that's the point. That's one of the teams they traded away assets and they turned their team around. Yeah. See how that happens. So they're they're they're the classic story. Trade away your players at the deadline, get things to build with. And we come over to the AL West, where the Texas Rangers are leading that division. Um, they're not that far ahead of the Astros and the Seattle Mariners, so there's could be some shakeup between those three teams come this trade deadline. And the NL East, the Atlanta Braves, who I know are looking for starting pitching, and probably a bat and a reliever. So they'll probably be looking to buy, and so will the Florida or not the Florida Marlins. The Phillies. Wow, way to mess that up. The Phillies will be looking.

SPEAKER_03 33:33

It doesn't even start the F.

SPEAKER_02 33:35

Florida spelled with the PH. No, I'm I'm looking down here. I was looking at the Marlins when I said it, but I meant the Phillies. Who are they? The Phillies will be buyers. The Marlins, even though they're only eight and a half games out, they will probably be sellers, the Nationals will be sellers. The Brewers are leading the NL Central and are definitely going to be buying along with the Cubs. Also, both those teams are looking to be in the Terrence Scuble deal. And we'll see if that happens. And in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers are leading that division. Close behind them, or not that close, or 11.5 games out, is the Diamondbacks. So pretty much everybody except the Dodgers in the NL West who could be sellers. But the Dodgers themselves, they might be buyers. The Dodgers are buyers.

SPEAKER_00 34:19

They have been mentioned in the Terrence Scuble deal, which, yeah, the Dodgers need more, more great starting pitching.

SPEAKER_03 34:25

Honestly, I'm willing to play Saparlay that they go get him. The Dodgers are like the Yankees. They're they're willing to load up.

SPEAKER_02 34:33

They don't need him. They already have like pleasing pitchers. That's exactly why they're going to go get him anyway. Yeah, because they want to they want to just make me even more pissed off. Probably, probably so. The world hates you, Mike. I know. It's all against me. Um the world hates me. I don't hate you though. Anyway, moving moving on over into the WNBA. WNBA

WNBA All-Star Weekend Reactions

SPEAKER_02 34:56

just had their recently had their all-star weekend, and they had their three-point shooting contest, which was a little controversial because they didn't have the past winner in it, and they also didn't have Caitlin Clark in it, but Caitlin didn't want to participate. She already denied she was going to play. But this opened the door for Azy Fudd, who became the first rookie to win the WNBA three-point shooting challenge. So, congratulations to Azy Fudd.

SPEAKER_03 35:23

Uh, by the way, congratulations to her because she's been an absolute fireball coming out of college. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:31

So yeah, and and and you know, to show up to the All-Star game and make that that three-point challenge win, it's gotta feel good. Yeah. It makes you feel like you belong.

SPEAKER_03 35:41

Yeah, first and first in league history. Mike, and I gotta say right now, right, like I'm I know a lot of people not too hot on WNBA, but I really like what they're doing. Um, I like that they're trying to expand. I like that they're trying to bring more attention. I like that these big name players are becoming bigger name players, and they're getting paid better than before. So I I really like this surge of the WNBA here into the mainstream.

SPEAKER_02 36:13

The only the only down that I downside I have in this league is just kind of how it's been managed right now. Because honestly, they don't showcase their talent well enough, and they don't like when there are issues, they're slow to react, they don't act on them quickly or say anything, which leaves a lot to be desired, and then people are like, Well, why aren't you doing anything? You know, this is an issue, why aren't you doing anything? And I don't like that, you know. Yeah, I mean you do make sense. The main thing is though, the product on the court has been good. These women, they play their hearts out and they play tough. They play hard. Like if you like good physical basketball, you're getting that every night in the WNBA. These these women play hard. Sometimes I feel like they play harder than the guys do, to be honest.

SPEAKER_03 37:11

And I hate that people want to compare them to the W to the NBA because yes, a WNBA player is not the same specimen that an NBA player is, okay? Not by a mile, not by a long shot, but they have talents and skills to display well in their own right. Like they can do things, and they're fast.

SPEAKER_02 37:36

Like well, speaking of the All-Star game, we had Team Spoon versus Team Coop, and Team Spoon came away with the win 129 to 122. And Caitlin Clark in this game hit a logo three, but she was not the one that came away with the honors in this game. But before we get to that, Brian, go ahead and fill us in on Asia Wilson in the comments.

SPEAKER_03 38:00

Asia Wilson. Okay, let me pull this up here. I'm on the wrong thing. Okay, here we go. Sorry, guys. We're pulling it up. I'm getting us ready. Okay, here we go. Here we go. What am I reading here? I know about this, I'm just trying to familiarize myself with what Mike has put in front of me here. But anyway, just reading the headline, I'll go through the through the article as well.

SPEAKER_02 38:25

Uh Adam Silver should should fire her during halftime. WNBA fans erupt over Asia Wilson's savage response to her relationship with Kathy Ingelberg. So?

SPEAKER_03 38:41

And she said her response actually, which I kind of like it too. Quote, my only relationship with Cass with Kathy is when she hands me awards, which is great. I love to see her. And I I thought that was hilarious as well.

SPEAKER_02 38:59

Yeah, so yeah, it's sounding like some honest trolling going on there that doesn't need to happen because honestly, Asia Wilson is the best player in the WNBA, and she has she has every right to tout about her awards because she wins them consistently. You know, I if I'm not mistaken, she was last year's MVP. Yeah, she was the MVP the year before that.

SPEAKER_03 39:27

She was, and she's becoming a very big name. I forget the name of the the WMB player who retired. Uh because we talked about her. Uh, but it seems like Agent Wilson is also kind of like kind of stepping into those shoes. I I know her name. It's off the top of my tongue. I forgot it. I'll find it. But anyway, it doesn't, it's not totally relevant right now. Um, but I love how these ladies respond sometimes to public criticism. Uh the sassiness and the the sizzle. Yeah. Wow! I like it.

SPEAKER_02 40:07

Give me them calls. So Joquellen Jones was named the MVP of the All-Star game. Jones had 22 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists. That's a pretty good line stat line against your peers' best players. Yeah. That's a pretty good line.

SPEAKER_03 40:28

No, that's a really good line. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 40:30

Yeah. So that's that's that's really awesome of her. And honestly, I mean, think about it. This kind of score line, we see this kind of score line with the guys, you know. So the competition's there. The league, this league has been gaining respect, and it's warranted. It really is. I honestly think that some of these women, though the the skills they have, some of them could play in the NBA.

SPEAKER_03 40:58

No, I absolutely think so. I didn't say they couldn't compete. I just said they're not the same specimens. But again, no, I well, yeah, they do that because most of them aren't the same height.

SPEAKER_02 41:08

You know, they're not six, seven, like, well, it's not even just about it's not even just about height.

SPEAKER_03 41:13

Women often don't have nearly as much muscle as a man does. And if they do, they have worked very hard for it.

SPEAKER_02 41:20

Excuse me, sir. Do you do you not remember China? No, that was WMB or W E.

SPEAKER_03 41:28

I do remember China. Okay. I do remember China. And she was a freaking nature.

SPEAKER_02 41:32

I watched her roll a frying pan up like it was a like it was a piece of paper.

SPEAKER_03 41:37

Yes. I also watched this same frying pan you're referring to.

SPEAKER_02 41:41

Yes. So I'm saying they can't they can be that strong. China stronger.

SPEAKER_03 41:46

China was many men's first visual of Dominatrix, okay?

SPEAKER_02 41:52

Good lord.

SPEAKER_03 41:53

There, that was many men's first.

SPEAKER_02 41:55

Oh, I'm intrigued. Anyway,

LeBron Joins Sixers For Less

SPEAKER_02 41:59

let's get off this and move over into the NBA, where Draymond Green has decided he is returning to the Warriors on a one-year deal worth $27.7 million. But that's not the most interesting thing that happened in the NBA as far as players signing. The more interesting thing, which most every everybody knows by now, and if you haven't, where have you been? You've been under a rock. LeBron James has finally decided where he's going, and that is to the Sixers. For Peanuts. Yeah. He signed a two-year, eight million dollar deal, you know, league minimum, to go play with the Sixers.

SPEAKER_03 42:37

Now, Mike, I need to ask you. There's a lot of controversy over this, and some people talking shit about it, in fact. Some people support it, some people don't. I want to I'm gonna ask you kind of a loaded question here, okay? I I want to know if you support uh what he signed for and where he went, but um, yeah, yeah. Let's start with that. Do you do you think this is a good idea? Do you think this is a good match for the Sixers and for LeBron? And uh, do you think he's selling himself short? I have an opinion on this myself, and I've read a lot about this as well. So, because at first the sticker shock is like, oh, really? But then there's things to fact.

SPEAKER_02 43:17

Well, well, there's a couple of things with the new second apron deals and you know, matching salaries, and you can't have like really more than two like superstars on a team that are eating up 70% of your money, which is why the Sixers got Jalen Brown, which, by the way, it's kind of a funny little side note. Remember, Jalen Brown is now playing with Embiid, who he called a flopper, and he's playing with LeBron, who badmouthed Brawny saying that he's not an NBA player, and now those are his teammates. Two people he's insulted are now his teammates. So that's got to be a little Little awkward first meeting.

SPEAKER_03 44:01

You know, I'm interested to see but I wonder if they've tried to clear the air yet.

SPEAKER_02 44:05

I'm sh I'm sure something has happened.

SPEAKER_03 44:08

And by the way, funny you mentioned Bronny because there's rumor the Lakers might be trying to move on from him.

SPEAKER_02 44:14

Actually, they've already said they they signed him to a fully guaranteed fully guaranteed deal. I think it's like something like 2.4 million or something like that. He's staying, they're keeping it.

SPEAKER_03 44:27

I mean, I would like to see him be successful at this point for all the for all the haters that have been out there.

SPEAKER_02 44:33

Well, I think the hate isn't really about him, I think it's about his dad. Probably but um getting back to the family, getting back to the Sixers. Now, this is an interesting scenario because LeBron, you know, he was weighing his options, and he had every right to. And for people to be like, Why are you taking your time? Why are you not making a decision? Come on, make a decision. Let the man make his decision. He's got time, he's allowed to have di time to decide. You know, he's been in the league for over two decades. He can decide where he wants to go or if he wants to play at all. So the interesting thing was it came out that he didn't really he was still thinking about it up until the point where he found out that the Celtics were trading Jalen Brown to the Sixers. And then that kind of was like, oh, wait a second. So they're gonna have Edgecombe, Maxie, and Bede, Brown, I could be the fifth guy. And that's a pretty good starting five, and albeit if if everybody's healthy, but you gotta be thinking for a second, what about the Celtics? Are they kicking themselves now? Because they not only did they trade him in division and to a rival, but then you sit there and trade him and cause LeBron to wind up in your in your division.

SPEAKER_03 46:05

We well anyway, yeah, as we're as we're going through that, and there's I have something else to add to that, by the way. Um you know, the especially about Son of Social, like he's he's kind of at the end of his career, right? Uh maybe, maybe not, but everybody's aware of it. Uh LeBron doesn't necessarily want to be the we talked about this before. He doesn't necessarily want to be the guy all the time, uh, but he needs help. And you're right, I feel like he feels like he's coming into a supportive situation there. Uh, but also the numbers of the contract, as we were just talking about. He doesn't need the money. He doesn't, he doesn't need the money. Um it it's not really about money for him. It's a two-year deal, so he has some some security and some stability for two years now to figure out what he's gonna do next. Okay. So I think actually he's in a very good situation because I don't think it's about I don't think it's totally about playing with the 76ers. I think they gave him a deal that was friendly to everybody where he can kind of evaluate what he's gonna do over the next 24 months.

SPEAKER_02 47:19

Well, I I think it's more so about the group that he's playing with. It's about playing in a scenario where, yes, he is not the guy. He's the one that he's the one that can sit there and be an additive and not somebody that has to carry a team. You know, he's not at the point now where he's gonna be doing hard minutes where he's playing, you know, 38 minutes a game, or being the guy that is, you know, carrying the load for the entire team and trying to be the guy that sets everything up. Now he can kind of be, you know, a facilitator, which he has shown. Look at what he did this past playoffs, where he was the only guy that was healthy on the Lakers out of the big three, and he was facilitating guys and getting you know guys to a point on the floor where they needed to be to get easy buckets, to get transition, you know, easy buckets, and to play kind of a or team-oriented basketball and facilitate one another. Because you remember, when we came into the oh, we're gonna have the Rockets and the Lakers, the Lakers were you know chomping at the bit because they they were like, this this could work for us against this team. If they played any other team, they probably would have been bounced immediately. But because they got the Rockets and they didn't have anybody facilitating for them.

SPEAKER_03 48:47

It was supposed to be KD.

SPEAKER_02 48:49

No, no, it was supposed it was supposed to be Oh dang, why am I forgetting his name? But their their point guard's been was out all year hurt, and so they didn't really have a guy to facilitate, and they really didn't have a way of getting, you know, organized as a team. It was just kind of like they were just trying to figure out who who should take the ball. But LeBron going to the to the Sixers, it comes with it comes with a couple of different things.

SPEAKER_03 49:15

You're not talking about Van Fleet, are you?

SPEAKER_02 49:17

Yes, that's it, Van Fleet. So him going to the Sixers comes with a couple of things. One, it means he's not going to San Antonio. Or not San Antonio. Golden State. Golden State. Sorry. He's definitely not going to San Antonio State. Which is where I swore he might end up, but maybe not. He doesn't wind up there because they're really not playing for nothing. Because they're they're older team, they don't have enough stars. Even if LeBron went there, it was going to be heavy minutes, heavy usage, and it was not going to be necessarily a fun situation. It might have been for a little bit, but at least when he's with this team now, the Sixers, he doesn't have to be the guy every night. He can just come in, get his minutes, be effective when he's out there, and not have to drain himself so much that he winds up missing more time as the season goes on. It's going to allow everybody to be a little fresher and hopefully keep Embiid fresher for the playoffs. Yeah. Hopefully. But it also means that he wasn't going to back to Miami, which is an intriguing situation too, given the fact that they just got the Greek freak.

SPEAKER_03 50:26

I did not think he was going to go back to Miami.

SPEAKER_02 50:28

I I thought it was a good notion. There was rumors about it, but I think ultimately, because of the fact that it didn't end well between him and Spoolstra and Riley, because Pat Riley was not playing LeBron's games. Yeah. And he basically because he wanted to get he wanted Spo out. He wanted to get Spo fired. Yeah, I Pat Riley told him no.

SPEAKER_03 50:51

No, I I already knew he wasn't going back to Miami after that situation. So I know, like you say, I know there were rumors well, he did have an interview with the Cavs and the like face-to-face interview.

SPEAKER_02 51:04

Um, but it it just didn't work out. It wasn't something that was gonna work for him. And honestly, I don't think it would have been a good fit for what he he wants to do now in his career. Right. Where he went gives him the best chance to win maybe one or two titles because of the group around him. Now, I know some people have given him crap about ring chasing by doing this, but to me, who isn't gonna do that? Who is not gonna go to a situation where you're setting yourself up for success? Like, yes, I'm gonna go to this team where I can't do anything. I'm gonna just be sitting at home, come playoff time. Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_03 51:44

And in no sport does that exist. There nobody does. You're always gonna go to the best possible situation.

SPEAKER_02 51:50

Well, that's what everybody looks for. You're always gonna try to go to the best possible situation.

SPEAKER_03 51:54

It's either money or best situation, you know, you're you set the priority. If money is the best situation, that's what you got. If winning is the best situation, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 52:06

Sometimes the money isn't at the best playing situation.

SPEAKER_03 52:10

But no, I I agree with you, but he went to theoretically the best situation for him. And I I think the six 76ers are well set up for a deep run.

SPEAKER_02 52:20

You you know what else is kind of funny about this whole situation that most a lot of people haven't talked about?

Lakers Celtics Knicks And KD Takes

SPEAKER_02 52:26

Realize that when LeBron was first like when he first went down to Miami, and all these teams were like just clamoring over him, like, oh, maybe he'll come here, maybe he'll come here. You know, everybody's like hoping he would just stay in Cleveland, but all these other teams are like, oh, maybe he'll come be my team, my team, right? You know, the Sixers, they were excited because apparently his family was there looking at schools or something like that around that time. And then the the Knicks were like, Come on, LeBron, they're holding up signs. Come be a come be a Knicks, come play for the Knicks, come on. I couldn't see him on the Knicks, I'm not gonna lie. But but here's the funny part, right? So when it's finally time and LeBron's looking for where he can go, and the Knicks are great, like they just won the championship, so they're a great team now. And you know, back in the day when they didn't get them, they were all bummed out, like, dang, we didn't get them. Now the attitude's kind of changed, like they got their squad, so they're like, Yeah, we don't need you, LeBron. Like that's the the it's totally flipped. They're like, Yeah, we're good here. So, out of all the teams in the NBA, the one that wanted him the most back when he was making this the decision, they're like, We're good over here, bro.

SPEAKER_03 53:42

You know, we don't need you. I was waiting for you to get to that part because I could not envision him as a Nick anyway.

SPEAKER_02 53:49

And then, like you say, he's still gonna live in New York and commute down to Philly. So, Philly fans, the first time they start losing, they're they'll probably have a problem with that.

SPEAKER_03 53:59

I mean, a lot of people do that, but that's okay. But like, I again, like you say, they just won. Nah, they're like, yeah, we good now. Yeah, we're good. I feel like that was them sticking their nose up. We're good now. Now we don't need you.

SPEAKER_02 54:12

Yeah, yeah. We have our trophy. We don't need you. Yeah, watch them buddy. Yeah, it's just funny. It's funny the like the the change and the smug of the Knicks now where they're just like it's okay. Yeah, we don't need you. Watch them get bumped in the first round next year. It's like uh uh it's like their owners just sitting there, just you know. Yeah, good. I don't need you, bro.

SPEAKER_03 54:34

It's okay. You might make the playoffs, but you'll be out after the first round.

SPEAKER_02 54:38

Yeah. So what about this whole thing with Kevin Durant and what he said about it?

SPEAKER_03 54:43

You know, I like Kevin Durant, but I feel like and this is in the NFL tube. The older some of these more unhinged players become, the more unhinged they also become. Right? So, like, and I don't think KD's totally unhinged, but I think he does say some things sometimes that at least at least he wasn't using a burner account to say it this time. Yeah, I mean, you know, Draymond Green.

SPEAKER_02 55:14

I'm trying to figure out, I'm looking for the well, we know through the years KD's been searching for his respect. And, you know, when he was with the the Thunder, you know, they were a good team. At one point, you know, they had Westbrook, they had him and Harden all on the same team. Harden was a six-man coming off the bench, and they were great. And they lose to the Golden State Warriors, and he goes and joins them after he loses to him and wins a couple titles, and people are just like, Oh, yeah, you you ain't him. You got them off the back of that team that just won.

SPEAKER_03 55:48

He said LeBron to the Sixers for four million dollars a year is such a slap to the face to Lakers fans.

SPEAKER_02 55:57

Yeah, like him, like he has room to talk going over to the Golden State Warriors like he did.

SPEAKER_03 56:03

Well, we just discussed how it really isn't about the money.

SPEAKER_02 56:07

Um and he's kind of gonna be it's not it's not a slap to the face of the Lakers because the Lakers didn't want him. They made it apparent when they gave all that money, when they gave all that money to Austin Rivers Reeves, Reeves, Austin Reeves, sorry, I don't know what I said Rivers. Anyway, they gave all that money to him. That was a clear sign. Yeah, we're good, bro. We're moving on. We suggest you do the same. Yeah, you know, that was a clear sign that we ain't in the LeBron business anymore. We're gonna keep your son, but you can go.

SPEAKER_03 56:42

Yeah, I mean, I I don't disagree with you. You know, the market for LeBron is beginning to dwindle, if not significantly. Like, you're only gonna be a great player for a short for such a for a certain amount of time.

SPEAKER_02 56:57

I wouldn't say that it's dwindled. I would say because he proved that he's still good. Look at the play. He still has a lot of knowledge, a lot of experience. You're not getting the player that would dominate the game from from beginning to end. He can't do that anymore because he is older, but what you're getting out of him, you're still getting over 20 points a night out of him. Yeah. You know how many teams. You know how many teams would kill for that? Yeah. So look, it's not about it's not about LeBron not being a good player as much as it is LeBron being with the team that fits him the best. And right now, the team that fits him the best is the one he's on. The Sixers.

SPEAKER_03 57:39

No, I agree with you. And honestly, Mike, the more I think about it, the more I like this.

SPEAKER_02 57:44

I mean, uh I know the Celtics don't like it much now, because they basically gifted the Sixers LeBron after trading Jalen Brown to him. And all they got out of it was Paul George. Like, good job, Celtics. Oh, shoot. And I I blame this solely on their new ownership group.

SPEAKER_03 58:01

Yeah, I do too. Um because this is a total owner. This is a total like This is a very corporatized ownership. Yeah, this is this is a it's not cut the books, it's get efficient. Yeah, cut the books, get efficient. It's not like the owner where there's like, oh no, we're gonna get that guy no matter what. Now you have people making business collective decisions.

SPEAKER_02 58:23

I'm kind of and unfortunately, we're getting to the point where teams have to make hard decisions because of the second apron and because of the way that excuse me, the cap structures are set up now, where you can't have two guys eating up 70% of your salary cap. Yeah, you know, so that and that's where they were at. And plus there was a little bit of rift going on between Tatum and Jalen, and you know, when Jalen's saying, Oh, this is one of one of my favorite seasons, and it was a losing season, but he said it's one of his favorite because Tatum wasn't there and he was winning without him, you know. Even though he didn't say that directly, that's what we all know it was. Yeah, and I thought he was the man, which is hilarious because he wanted to be the man. He was like, Yeah, trade me out of here. I want to I want to have my team. And then he goes to a team that has LeBron, Maxie, and Embiid. And it's like, bro, you ain't even a man on this team. The guy that just signed is more the man on this team than you are.

SPEAKER_03 59:26

Yeah, that's that's the field cap, that's the field general right there. But I digress on the LeBron comes in. I'm the captain now. I'm the captain now. He's like, 76ers smells in here. It's uh it's Philly. But anyway, before we before we jump into football though, I just wanted to let everybody know. Check

Season Three Plans And Socials

SPEAKER_03 59:50

out our socials, uh Facebook, Instagram. Uh we have some fun events planned uh coming up, by the way, as we have the beginning of our third season, Mike, uh, as well as some live in-person hangout events. We're gonna be having some watch parties here locally, Mike. So we'll be doing some fun things here coming up in our third season. Uh so check us out on Instagram, check us out on Facebook, go to two, that's the number two for the win.com. Uh and we're working on some other things, working on some collaborations. So it's gonna be a very exciting third season. You've seen some of the guests over the last couple years, uh, and those those folks will also be back for another run with us. So we're we're very excited. And check us out, check us out uh online as well. And obviously, check out uh, you know, listen to the episode if you're not already. Anyway, let's jump into let's jump into football, my friend.

Chiefs Family Crisis And Shanahan Crash

SPEAKER_03 1:00:42

NFL time.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:44

So the NFL is kicking off, and unfortunately, we gotta we gotta start it off with kind of some bad news. You know, it I don't know what it is, but the NFL has some bad things going on with them right now. Terrible. Um, and right now one of the bad things happened is with Eric Eric Bienemy. He uh he's left the Chiefs camp because um and and it's still fresh, they're still trying to figure out all the details of what's going on. But apparently uh Eric Bieneme's son had shot his wife, her his mom. Um, and so unfortunately, uh Mia BM Bienname is in the hospital in stable stable condition as of Monday, I believe, uh, which was the 26th, I think. Anyway, but she's in stable condition, but still she was she was shot, so you gotta you gotta think the worst when somebody gets shot, and especially when you get shot by a family member.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:45

So it's not exactly a great situation there. Absolutely. And and Andy Reed has already come out and said that for now Eric can miss as much time as he needs to while he's handling family matters and attending to his wife, which is a really classy move by the Chiefs organization and by Andy Reed. I really respect that decision and really respect the fact that they're willing to do everything they can to support him in a time that's pretty impactful.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:17

No, I I agree with you. Um and it's unfortunate circumstances, and you know, I really like Eric Bienemi because it's like he's always been right there on the cusp, but there's always something, right?

SPEAKER_02 1:02:32

Look, he doesn't he doesn't maintain being a coach for this long without being good at his job. I mean, yeah, he did kind of take a stab at being a head coach, didn't work out, and then he went down to college, did his thing in college for a little bit, then came back and was the run game coordinator for for the uh Chiefs. No, the Bears. Oh yeah, the Bears. Then hears last year, and then Andy Reid brought him back to be the offensive coordinator with the Chiefs this year. So he he's definitely he's been around been around the game, you know, and he's like I said, he he wouldn't be there if he wasn't good at his job.

SPEAKER_03 1:03:06

Yeah, I agree with you. And obviously, also very outgoing guy. Many players described him as one of their favorite coaches.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:14

So moving on to another situation that kind of brings a little bit of controversy to it, but not really. I mean, we'll we'll we'll get into all of that. But recently we found out, uh, I think it was like 11 days after the fact, that Kyle Shanahan had a pretty significant car crash uh where he crossed the center line at 20 miles an hour and had a head-on collision with another car. Uh, and this this comes after he states that he dropped his phone in between the seat and his car and he was trying to go for it, and that's when he wasn't paying attention, went across the line and hit another car where a young lady was driving the other car. And unfortunately, due to a little mix-up, the police had kind of indicated her at as being the person at fault, and then Kyle Shanahan came out and straight up said, No, I'm at fault, it's my fault. I did it. And you know, I And then I I can I I kudos to him for being honest, but he really took a lot of the brunt of this. He got really screwed up in this car accident. He has a broken hand, broken ribs, broken nose, and a laceration that required on his face that required 40 stitches, and according to his friend Chris Sims, he almost lost an eye.

SPEAKER_03 1:04:27

No, I I uh I feel bad for him. I feel like he's part of me feels like he's doing the chick affair. You mean a cop? I mean, I know cops aren't always reliable, but you mean the police. Well, the cops even said they clicked the wrong box. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:44

They said that when they were doing the they were entering the report, they clicked the wrong box for who was at fault. Yeah. And uh Kyle came out and said, no, no, it's it was me, it's my fault, and he took full ownership of it. And this might also be because he was trying to work out a settlement with with the person he crashed with, and you know, probably, you know, handling things outside of media ties, you know. Yeah, that's it's probably that's probably why it took a little while for it to come out.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:12

I gotta give him a lot of credit uh on that as well, though, because so many people would just oh, okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:20

Well, you know, there's been controversy over because it took 11 days for it to come out, and when it was reported by uh ESPN, or when it first was put out by the Niners, it was like a minute later Adam Schefter had the report up on ESPN that it had happened. So it was kind of like, huh, you mean you had typed an entire report in a minute? Man, that's some fast typing.

SPEAKER_03 1:05:42

You know, I bet they were probably just waiting for the green light.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:46

I I bet you that's what it was. It was probably, hey, this happened, keep it under wraps. We're trying to get this settled out and figure it out before we say anything. And then and and also, too, let's let's remember something. This is a significant thing for. Two families, right? One of them a family in the spotlight. Two, a family that has been impacted because you you don't know this person's situation. Right. This this probably is somebody, this is the only vehicle they have, and now they have no way to get to work, or you million in one situations, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:06:16

So there has to be a little bit of a, you know, let things get figured out before you start causing difficulties for these families, you know, like Yeah, I I say, you know, give them some space and let them uh sort through it in their own way, uh, and in the respect that they that they need, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:35

I hope I hope that all involved are doing well and and and heal quickly and uh that they get their lives back on track as best as possible. I knew I do know they also said that Kyle has a concussion as well. Um now symptoms from a concussion can last you know now days up to a year.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:57

And there's a little more controversy on top of that, because didn't he show up to a practice or something like that? No.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:04

I I saw some of the he's been excused from being in any practices and his coaching staff has basically taken over uh all facets of of training camp and getting ready for their preseason game. And it's already been said by by John Lynch that they they anticipate that Kyle will be ready for their their game. Season opener. Yeah. Yeah. And said that he'll probably be even be ready for preseason. Well, so we'll see how that all works out.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:30

Yes, our our thoughts and prayers out to the Shenahan family as well as the family and the other individual. Uh, I'm glad they seem to be working that out. Um, and hopefully everybody moves on in good faith and continues with a great life. Hopefully a great life.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:46

Uh so moving over to another kind of impactful story that happened that came out literally today. Uh Ahmad

Ahman Green Parkinson's Reality

SPEAKER_02 1:07:54

Green, former running back for the Green Bay Packers, the career rushing leader for the Packers, actually, uh has revealed that he is dealing with Parkinson's disease at age 49. And he's basically come out and said that like his short-term memory, it's trash. He can't remember remember things very well. And Parkinson's is it's a pretty rough, rough disease. I mean, we've seen we've seen you can live with it. I mean, Michael J. Fox comes to mind yeah as somebody who's who has it and lives with it and and and functions, but we've also seen how he kind of has scaled back from being in the public eye. Now, Ahmad Green, he was he was in the league for a number of years, was great running back for the Packers. And it it just it sucks because you you you almost know that 100% this is probably due to his NFL career because of you know concussions and stuff leading to things like Parkinson and CTE and and other things of that nature. And how helmet technology has only now started getting so much better, even though we're still getting concussions and stuff. It it just looks sucks for certain for somebody that you for me. I remember watching him play for a number of years and really admired him because thought he was a good player, and now he's well he was a good player, yeah. Trying to deal with this.

SPEAKER_03 1:09:19

Yeah, and it it's tough, it's tough to watch, and it's sad to hear about. But you know, no matter how good helmet technology gets, Mike, it's never gonna be safe to run your head into someone or something else. Like never. They there that safety is always gonna be limited, my friends, because you can still get a concussion even while protected, right? Yeah. So just from the shake and the whiplash, things like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:09:44

We wish the best to him and his family and hope that you know whatever he needs that you know the NFL and his family and everybody that needs needs to give him support can support him and will support him because it's gonna be a tough road for him. Probably for the rest of his life.

SPEAKER_03 1:10:04

Yeah, yeah. I mean, it you know, but like you said, our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. Um we wish him the best. Yes. Yes, we do.

Comeback Timelines And Camp Scares

SPEAKER_03 1:10:14

Uh now here there's there's some things here, right? Uh with this next one. Danny Dimes, Daniel Jones. You know, I wasn't really a big fan of his uh for quite some time, particularly when he was with the Giants. But imagine that. I I say, I say I've kind of started to grow on me here this last season, okay? Now, there's been a lot of controversy because he had a full tear of his Achilles tenant, okay? Uh ended his season in the middle of the season last uh last year. Uh he's only been recovering for about like maybe nine or ten months, uh, but he's been seen out on the practice field uh largely in almost full capacity, but there's a lot of but he's not cleared yet, right? For full medical participation. So a lot of people uh think he's um here. I'll just read some of these quotes, but Joe said on so I guess he is fully cleared now. This was as of uh a couple days ago. But when I got this uh article, he hadn't been cleared yet. So a lot of people think he basically faked the injury to steal the contract money or to steal the money, whatever. But good, bad, or indifferent, I don't think he faked it. And medical technology has come a long way.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:40

Anyone that thinks that he faked that, I I don't have any respect for anybody that thinks that, to be honest, because the way you cannot fake somebody's foot looking the way his did, where they moved his leg and his foot's just dangling like a limp noodle. Like that's you can't fake that. You know, like that literally he couldn't put put any weight on it, and plus the fact that oh, you think a surgeon's just gonna go and do surgery on somebody that's that invasive for nothing? No, I mean, come on now.

SPEAKER_03 1:12:19

No, I I agree, and and so this must be the same stupid people that think the earth is flat, and like, come on, yeah, and medical technology's come a long way, and the way we heal has changed and evolved.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:31

So that's why that's why he's back so quickly. Yeah, him and Mahomes. Mahomes has been cleared too. Yeah, Mahomes got cleared today, actually, I think. But the reason both of them are back as quick as they are is one, they're they did the same thing, they got surgery immediately after their injuries, and the recovery time shrinks. For whatever reason, they've gotten so much better with these surgeries that if you get a surgery right away instead of waiting for swelling to go down or whatever it is, yeah, you heal better. I mean, we've already seen this, like with Adrian Peterson. Same thing when he had it had his uh ACL tier ACL tear, yeah, he got surgery right away and he was back in nine months.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:10

Yeah, eight eight to nine months, he was back in full full and he had no fear, he was back to full force and everything. So I I agree, medical technology, these things that used to be career enders are kind of now becoming just a speed bump, you know? Hopefully. Now, now that's the second part of the equation is can you get back out there and perform at the same level? Quarterbacks have it a little easier. All they have to do is be able to plant and maybe step up. They they're not like running backs, right? They're not out there running routes, but you also have to get the confidence and you know, yeah, you got to get that.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:48

For quarterbacks, you're gonna have people falling at your legs, you're gonna have to get used to be being in spaces where it's tight. And for him, he's he's known for doing a little bit of scrambling. He's gonna have to get used to doing that again, too. So it it it's gonna be a really big build-up process for him, not just physically, but the mental portion, getting over the uh should I no, I shouldn't go. Should I go? No.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:13

Because prior prior to the prior to his injury, they had them pegged as a deep playoff contender.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:20

Well, yeah, they start out the season like eight and two. They were doing pretty well.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:23

They were rocking.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:24

Um speaking of players and injuries, the Bengals, uh Shamar Stewart, who was their rookie last year that was kind of holding out to get a contract and finally did, and was had a okay rookie year. Uh, he had a bit of a scare this past past week with training camp where he looked like he had suffered a serious knee injury, but thankfully, after some tests, they found out he's only hyperextended it. So he's just gonna be sitting out for a few weeks and he'll be fine. Well, that's good news. So he'll be ready for the season.

SPEAKER_03 1:14:58

That's good news for him, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:14:59

Yeah. And uh kind of a surprise, uh so the do-it-all, you know, Swiss Army knife uh of Taysom Hill, uh, he's come out and said he's not coming back to the Saints. Nope. So he will not be the versatile weapon that he's been for the Saints for like the last nine or ten years.

Hold-Ins Extensions And Depth Chart Drama

SPEAKER_02 1:15:20

And uh it begs to ask the question Do you think he's gonna go to Denver and be the be with uh his boy Sean Payton, the one that brought him?

SPEAKER_03 1:15:31

I think if they find a way to offload uh one of their three tight ends now, it's a possibility.

SPEAKER_02 1:15:39

Yeah, but he's he's not just a tight end, he's a he's also a special teams guy, he's a backup QB, he's a running back, he's a wide receiver. I I I believe you can use him at whatever you want. He's just a player on the depth chart or any position.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:57

Well, yeah, and it's funny you put that in there because I had that at the bottom as well. I wish I had seen that. My bad. Anyway, no, um I I think he's probably just trying to take a break for everyone's with you, but I think it's possible he'd go to the Broncos because two out of three Broncos tight ends right now are not terribly great. Both of them are also older. Honestly, I don't I I wouldn't lock him into any position, to be honest. I would I yeah, he he could go up there and be a receiver. I mean, he's he's kind of an X Factor, right? He could he's a utility, like you said. Um, I am excited about a young tight end, uh tight end number three on the Broncos with the last name Jolly. Keep a close eye on him because he's a very Jimmy Graham-esque type athlete. Um, so if you got him and Taysom Hill together as a two tight end set in that offense, yeah, I could see that.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:50

So going down to the Bucks training camp, they're having a little bit of an issue with their two-time Pro Bowler uh Vita Vea. He is asking for a trade. And now this is probably since he's in the last year of his deal, he's probably just looking for a re-up on his deal and kind of get a little bit of extension, which you know he's getting up there, he's in his 30s now, so it's kind of like eh, how much do you really want to invest in this guy? I mean, and they really haven't paid Baker. Like Baker's been looking for a new contract, and they haven't really guaranteed him nothing. And Baker said, look, once we get to training camp, I'm not talking contracts. So yeah, he he feels a little slighted.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:33

Well, you know, it's funny you mentioned Baker with Vita Vay because it's giving me vibes that the Bucks just don't want to pay anybody. Okay. And uh as you mentioned Baker here, uh he wanted to be in the 50 million per year club, right? And honestly, I'd given some of the other I think he's worth it to be honest with you. He had a he hey, he was the number, he was in the he was one of the top quarterbacks for one of the stats last year, but but apparently the Bucks made an offer and they were way, they were not even close.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:08

So this is probably a situation where him needing a contract is coming at the worst time because if their team doesn't do well, guess what? There is a whole slew of quarterbacks available in this next draft. And the Bucks could probably just go hard reset and start trading off all their assets to get there.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:26

And honestly, I'm not putting it above them because Chris Godwin's health has kind of been in flux the last two seasons. Evans is gone. Uh, you got the young receiver who shows McMillan. You said Ebicon. Ebicon what?

SPEAKER_01 1:18:42

Ebicon.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:43

Oh yeah, Ebuka.

SPEAKER_01 1:18:44

Yeah. Ebuka.

SPEAKER_03 1:18:46

They have they had the Eggbuka. Yeah, they have Eggbuca, who's very promising a receiver. Uh, and then they have uh McGim, TikTok McMillan's brother over there as well as WR4 right now. And he's just a little bit proud. He doesn't really found an opportunity to break out, but you're right, Mike, like side of Bucky Irving and Kate Otten, and Kate Otten's really not even a top tight end that set.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:12

Look, a lot of their veterans that they've had have left, Mike Evans left, Levante David left for retirement. So there's so a lot of their players are their staple players are leaving, and they're getting old, so it's getting to the point where it's like time to reset, and they might reset their coaching staff as well.

SPEAKER_03 1:19:31

I could I could very I could very much see the Bucks trying to close out you know the post-Brady era, pretty much.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:40

But there's two there's two players that are doing hold-ins that I I forgot to add to the agenda, but I wanted to bring up because I remembered. Uh, two of the top running backs in the league, and B. John Robinson and Jameer Gibbs are both hold-ins at training camp. Neither one is participating until they get new deals. And you know what's gonna happen. One of them's gonna get the deal, and then the next one's gonna get a million plus, you know, so to be the highest paid running back. It's how it goes. Well, B John wants to get paid because Well, wouldn't you if you've been through through what you've been through with that team? Yeah. To me, to me, it might make sense if Atlanta's kind of they're not gonna trade him. Hey. They're not gonna trade him. If you trade him now, the hole you will get will outweigh kind of downstairs.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:35

The problem is Atlanta thinks they're better than they are. I also think that they have some talent quite a bit. Drake London, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:45

Yeah, they locked him up, and then yeah, they also locked him up to the Kyle Pitts and B.

SPEAKER_03 1:20:50

John Robertson. That's a three-headed monster right there, and you're hoping. He's playing quarterback. Well, they picked up Pennyx. Well, Pennyx is already there, but who came over? It was uh Tua. Tua's hurt. Tua's over there. They're both hurt.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:07

Yeah, that's my point.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:08

Well, that's my point. The quarterback has the quarterback position has been, but Pennyx had that offense rolling at the end of last season.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:16

This is not too different from from what happened with with Carolina and them having Christian McCaffrey. And it just, yeah, they had McCaffrey. What else did they have? Yeah, and then and and McCaffrey. McCaffrey traded, they traded McCaffrey away, and now look at him.

SPEAKER_03 1:21:29

Yeah, and that yeah, that was the post-Super Bowl run, too, as well. And Rivera was gone. McCaffrey was ready for a reset.

SPEAKER_02 1:21:35

Anyway, moving along, the three-time Pro Bowler Adams, uh, Jamal Adams, that is, is going to be joining the Vikings. And uh honestly, I feel like that's a good, good, good landing spot for him. He's kind of bounced around ever since he went from the Jets to Seattle, and he just never lived up to what Seattle gave up for him. And not that it hurt them. I mean, obviously they won the Super Bowl last year, so they're fine. But um moving on to the Cardinals, the Cardinals have uh finally gotten Brissett to come in because they gave him a guaranteed $15.5 million in a rework deal. So we'll be seeing him on the playing. He'll probably be the starting quarterback unless unless Beck shows out.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:20

You know, I like Brissett. He's kind of got a Gino feel to him.

SPEAKER_02 1:22:26

I wouldn't say that. I would say he's he's he's the quintessential bridge guy now. Um moving over to the Eagles. The Eagles have signed up Jalen Carter to a four-year $152 million extension, which is kind of a smart move on their part. And this is what their their GM has been doing. Sign him early and then just extend, extend, extend out until you're just like, I'm done with this dude and trade him away.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:51

It's not it's not a bad one. And and he must have had a good year after he spit on Dak Prescott in the in the season opener. They couldn't even get the first play on it.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:00

Maybe maybe that's why they gave him the contract extension.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:03

But I think that was enough. But I I I know, right? Uh I have something else on the Eagles while we're on it, something I remember. Dontavian Wicks is over there right now, and uh reports are that he's quickly emerging as the wide receiver too and could challenge for WR1. I don't think this could happen, but they said they said he's quickly solid. They say he's quickly emerging as a second option. Bro, it's training camp.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:26

Don't believe the crap you hear. Um, Saints.

SPEAKER_03 1:23:29

I don't know. Dontavian Wicks, man, he he has some potential. So he Green Bay was crowded in the receiver room.

SPEAKER_02 1:23:38

Anyway, Saints have locked up Chris Olave, giving him a new deal worth $132 million over the next four years. So kind of a what you expect for a top receiver in the league, and it's kind of a good deal to be honest, because he's he's been a pretty solid receiver for them. So it makes sense to bring him in, and well, not bring him in, to lock him up so he stays with them and start to build something there, you know, now that they have Tyler Shuck and they're gonna be, you know, trying to get more on the younger side. I mean, they did draft draft that one kid uh out of uh Arizona State. Um oh I forget the receiver's name. Dang, that sucks. But they they drafted him in the first round. No, no, I know you're talking about it. Yeah, you know who I'm talking about. Anyway, and I do this, man.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:28

Hey, I'm horrible with names. I remember stuff like that. It's not a good night for names, and clearly we need to take better notes before the show.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:34

But before we I think about these things in the show.

UFL Expansion And Final Thanks

SPEAKER_03 1:24:38

And and I know we don't typically talk UFL, but there is some interesting things going on with the UFL right now, I just wanted to touch on, just for a tad quick update, okay? They released a statement today. I will not read the whole thing because I don't care, but they are taking their teams, uh basically Birmingham and Houston, they are leaving those markets. Uh, and not only are they going to reassign them to a new market, but they are also expanding to 10 teams. And one city that they are guaranteed said they're moving to, Oklahoma City, Mike. OKC is getting a professional football team, okay? And this is expected. Uh the new replacement markets for the previous two teams, Birmingham and Houston, expected to be replaced in 27. They want to be expanded to 10 teams by 2028. So, uh, and they want to be a 12-team league by 2030. So clearly the UFL is trying to catch up to the NFL. I could even see a potential future interleague.

SPEAKER_02 1:25:42

I I feel like right now all it is is the uh developmental league for the NFL. Like the guys that don't make it into the NFL that still are trying to, they're like on the cusp, they go to the UFL, show out, and then they get picked up. I mean, it's it's not like we haven't seen people have success from doing that. I mean, well, the kicker the kicker for the cowboys, he came from the UFL.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:05

Look at what happened, just correlating with the PGA, right? Uh Live Live Golf came up. And yeah, but that thing's dead. Yeah, it's dead now. But enough people were fed up with PGA and live golf with this new shiny thing, and they started to offer really good money. And a lot of people jump shit, but obviously, like I say, that's not around anymore. Uh, but I see this as a similar thing. I think if enough people, and talent is growing in the NFL, trickle down talent. Uh the UFL, in my opinion, is a viable NFL alternate compared to the other limited options that are currently out there. But I digress on that and I thought it was rather interesting. But real quick before we close out the show, I just want to go ahead and thank our sponsors and partners, Body by D Gym, Cellus Outfitters, MATW, uh, and our good friends Porvita Requestation and their friend that runs um trademark screen printing and embroidery. We're gonna have some merch coming out from them. Uh, thank you everybody once again for joining us for another episode. We have a double header coming up for you, Mike. For the last time tonight, I'm Brian with an eye, and I'm Mike, and we are two for the win. Thanks, everybody.