Steve Hartman and Martin Weiss talk Super Bowl hangover and NBA All Star!

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Don't listening to Fox Sports Radio. Yeah, I love it.
The dream once again here on a fabulous sports Sunday.
This is Fox Sports Sunday, and we're broadcasting live from
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(00:22):
buying should be. Well, I felt like we were with
each other for all of yesterday. I was departing here
yesterday saying I will see you, who knows, maybe next
week Martin. And then the next thing I know, Martin
Weiss is here right now.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
It's just musical chairs. I mean, Bo's about to take
the producer chair over that. He tried to run me
out of the update chair yesterday. Now Monsi's in the
update chair. You're the constantee. How does that so you
just know it all for all the weekend. You're the constant.
I just whether it's good or bet you know there's
only one constant.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Well, I never take any day. I love Martin's work ethic.
Here see some people have asked me over the years, Martin,
all right, So how do you navigate being in this
business for as long as you've been in this business,
which right now is thirty five years, And part of
it is always saying yes, you know, yes, yes, an
you doing it? Yes, yes, and you have the same mindset. Well,

(01:24):
you know, I dare say I am passing the baton
to you, Martin as the single most dedicated, hardworking man
in this organization.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, you see, I continue to say yes because the
bills keep coming and saying no, no, no, go back
to work, boy, get back to it pal. And so
as I pulled into the driveway last night, all right,
the garage last night, and I got the text from
us old Scott Shapiro. He's like, can I put you
on call? I was like, please, in fact call me anyway.

(01:57):
It's good to get that call. It's when the call
stopped coming that you have to.

Speaker 1 (02:00):
So anyway, we've got four hours coming up here on
the show today, and Monsey's here to do the updates.
Chase here, what's going on there? What's happening here? What's
going on? Chris?

Speaker 3 (02:10):
It's the it's the usual ten am handoff, just you know,
trying to get podcasts posted, chairs moved.

Speaker 2 (02:16):
But this is This is the Ben Roethlisberger to Le'Veon
Bell handoff, which is taking that much longer. He's got
the page to standing there behind the offensive line, just chilling.

Speaker 3 (02:26):
We should try working with the software sometimes, see how
fast it takes you.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
Yeah, well, I mean a lot of it has to
do with the fact that everyone is now exhaling after
the end of a football season. You know, we look
forward to the football season. It's frantic. I know on
our Sunday show, the Red Zone Radio, the Rich Ornberger
and I have done for years. Monsey's been a big
part of that as well. You know, you just gear

(02:50):
up like we're gonna sit down and we're gonna be
there to kick off nine games simultaneously. Let's roll with it,
and you keep that pace throughout the football season between
the NFL and college football, and then it's over. And
let's face it, February is one of those months looking
for an identity, I mean, what is the sports identity?
You can think Martin of almost any month and you

(03:13):
can associate that month with a sport. Now, you could
say September, October, November, December, January, even the beginning of
February obviously is football. But every this has always been
that month that sort of stands out as the all right,
exhale month. You know, we still haven't gotten to the playoffs.

(03:35):
March madness is not here yet, Baseball is just beginning
in spring training. How do you identify the month of February.

Speaker 2 (03:42):
I normally identified it as Marty Grass as a kid
who grew up in New Orleans, that was where we
would generally be at. But I think really what you
see here and what you've seen, especially in the world
of women's college basketball, is we are lacking a college
basketball stall in the way that we have had some
college basketball stars in the past. Because while I think

(04:05):
right now you'd be paying attention to a Zion Williamson
at Duke is the last kind of big, transcendent college
male college basketball star, and.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
I think all real eyes are on Caitlin Clark and Iowa.
There's no doubt she's the biggest college star right now.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
But I think that's that's February into March has kind
of been that it's like the we're grinding down conference play,
getting into conference tournaments soon, and it's kind of like,
at least for me, this is when I was like,
all right, let me lock in on college basketball, because
the next thing I'm gonna have to do, honestly, Steve
to try to win some money is fill out the brackets.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
Well, and I'll tell you how it's worked with me
over the many, many years falling college basketball. I know
I'm a college sports guy. First. Obviously, I love the NFL,
love Major League Baseball, love the NBA, love major sports
out there. But there's something about the college game that
has always had a huge appeal to me. College football,
my number one sport. In college basketball is not that

(05:03):
far behind, but it is a sport that his thrived
despite the fact that it lacks star power, and it's
been this way for quite a while. You mentioned Zion,
but remember Zion and that Duke team did not make
it to the final four. Oh they had RJ. Bart,
you know, they had that whole team out there, didn't
get to the final four. You look at the MOPS

(05:24):
Most Outstanding Player of every Final four since Anthony Davis
had his one and done year leading Kentucky to the
title in twenty twelve. It literally is a who's who
of who's that I mean completely anonymous names in terms
of what they did after they left the college game.
And yet it doesn't matter because March Madness is such

(05:46):
a unique event in this country. And I've said this
many times. There are three days of the year that
should be national holidays due to their impact in the
sports world. One of them should be the Monday after
the Super Bowl, because when a game is kicking off
at three thirty on the West Coast at six thirty

(06:08):
on the East coast, and you're late into the evening
raging parties all over the country, you're not ready to
show up for work on Monday.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
I saw several people tweeting are on xing, I guess
now when the game went to overtimes, like, hold on
a minute, I'm old, I'm not what are we doing?

Speaker 1 (06:28):
I mean, I can't do too wait free football? Who
asked for this? Well, no one is going to work
the next day after that, because it's a full day
of partying plus the game. That's one day. But the
other two days that need to be taken off are
the first two days of the nc Basketball tournament that
Thursday and Friday. Sixteen games on Thursday, sixteen games on Friday.

(06:50):
No one's working. Everyone's staring at their brackets. Everyone's got
dreams of grandeur. Those first couple of days you start
crossing off teams, you're circling teams that win. You're completely
consumed by your brackets. Steve, those days should be off days.

Speaker 2 (07:06):
There were two days I vividly remember that were moments
of like, all right, when I'm trying to find what
I was gonna do with my life, I was like,
all right, I gotta either stop paying attention to sports
or find a way to get paid for paying this
much attention to sports. But Steve, I had a D
minus in Spanish class of all classes, of which I'd
actually know more Spanish than I did when I was

(07:27):
at University of Michigan, had a D minus. And I
watched Evan Turner again, another guy who was great college.
We did a good NBA career. Evan Turner hit a
half court shot to be Michigan in the semifinals with
the Big Ten Big Ten Tournament, and I let out
a swear word that if I said it now, we'd
have to dump it. And I'm sitting there in Spanish
class with my laptop open, which, believe it or not,

(07:48):
we didn't really need the laptop, and I realized in
that moment it's like, either I'm gonna fail this class.
I have to either find a way to get paid
to watch these games or stop watching because I'm going
to fail out of college. And so I didn't fail
out of college, but did not find a way to
stop watching.

Speaker 1 (08:07):
That was that was one of them. Seriously, all right,
quick side note here, because you know I go down
memory lane constantly. You know how this works, Martin at
my age. So the most notorious show that I've ever
broadcasting in my entire thirty five year career happened on
the first day of the NCAA basketball tournament. I'm gonna
say this was back in I was in the late nineties,

(08:29):
and I had a boss that was putting pressure on
me to make the show a little more controversial. Okay,
In other words, he wasn't really what I call a
sports guy, so he wanted it to be almost Howard
Stern esque in the content of the show. So he
was out of town and I thought, all right, I'll

(08:51):
tell you what, I'm going to give this guy what
he wants. Now, there may be somebody out there listening
that remembers this show because it really goes down in
the Annals is one of the most memorable shows in history.
So we basically had the idea that we my producer
was going on the air and telling the listeners that

(09:12):
me and my partner off that day because of NCAA
tournament coverage that our radio was going to pick up.
But in reality, we have set up a secret microphone
in Steve Hartman's house as he, we assume, is going
to be watching the games at home. That's our producer

(09:33):
is setting this up. What in reality was happening was
we actually were in studio. In fact, I had invited
a local TV sports anchor well known and a local
college basketball coach well known in on it. So we
basically did this show, but we were sort of off mic,

(09:56):
but we were speaking like we're in our house watching
the game. We brought alcohol in the studio. It was
the full effect. We're getting loaded up on alcohol, snacks
and everything else, and on the air we are dropping
F bombs, S bombs like a bunch of guys watching
the game, like we're watching the actually watching games. Big shot,

(10:17):
oh mother f And this is going out on the air.
The board op is trying to dump as much of
it as he possibly can, but it's going out over
the air.

Speaker 2 (10:31):
There's only only twenty five seconds of dump. There's only
so much you.

Speaker 1 (10:34):
Can do, right, and all of this is going out
in the air. Now. We had a Mexican transmitter, so
we could get away with some of this stuff. But
the phone lines at the station were blowing up, like saying,
does Hartman even know that he's on Mike? This is Crazyville.
So the show ends after three hours of this with
no anything, and then our boss got wind of what

(10:57):
had happened. Now you think why I get fired? There's
something like that. He was just like, what happened there?
I said, well, you told me to get more outrageous.
He was absolutely ballistic, But no, he didn't. He didn't
care me if anything. He said, wow, so you are
capable of that? I said, oh, I'm capable of anything.

(11:17):
If you want to push me that far, I'll take
what that happened yesterday to the next mile, but to
this day. And then I messages on machine back in
the messengers steam days, like, dude, you're on the air
right now. You stay in the upward and then.

Speaker 2 (11:32):
That's radio man, and that's radio goals. Steve Hartman, You walked,
and now Pat McAfee can run right.

Speaker 1 (11:39):
Thank you, thank you, So now he can say the
S word as much as he went on the air
TV and it doesn't bother it all. Right, here's what
we're going to do today. We got a lot of
things going on in the sports where we got the
NBA All Star Game today. Daytona five hundred was supposed
to be today, but they've had to push it to
tomorrow with rain. We got some stories there and I
would like to do I heard Mike and and Jeff

(12:01):
doing this a little bit early, but I want to
look back on twenty twenty three and the thing about
looking on an NFL season teams every year this happens
where you have like six about a half a dozen
teams that far exceed expectations and a half a dozen
teams of fall way short of expectations. So we'll talk
about some of that as it transpired in twenty twenty

(12:21):
three and take a look ahead, make some predictions on
what we're going to see in twenty twenty four in
the National Football League. Hang on, much more coming up.
This is Fox Sports Sunday.

Speaker 4 (12:33):
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Speaker 1 (13:14):
Steve Harvey, Mark Wise, this is Fox Sports Sunday. We
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(13:37):
get off the air. No Daytona five hundred today, Martin.
I actually never dreamt that I would ever go to
Daytona for that race, but in two thousand and nine,
I got paired with Chris Meyers here at Fox Sports Radio.
And the first week we are together, we are in
Tampa for Super Bowl. And the very next week after

(13:59):
we had just going back from Tampa, I was on
a flight right back to Florida did Eatona. Of course,
Chris has covered the uh NASCAR for Fox Sports forever,
and there we were in Daytona. I will say this
that I didn't stay for the race, but I actually
covered it two years in a row. It's quite an event,
it really is. Are you into racing at all? I mean,

(14:19):
is there anything appealing about being in the racing environment.

Speaker 2 (14:24):
No, it doesn't do much for me, not one bit.
When I think of Daytona, I think of Daytona, USA,
the video game, you know Daytona.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
Yeah, that's what I think of, like from the arcade
when I was a kid. That's my But that's pretty
much where it starts to stop for me. The thing
about being at that racetrack is the vertical on that track.
Oh sure, it's you could not walk up the track,
like it would not be humanly possible from the bottom

(14:54):
of the incline is so steep. But obviously the speeds
are going. They have to have that incline. You don't
really see that on TV. But man, I was like,
that is impressive. It's an amazing event. Obviously probably to many.
The number one, I love this. It's the only sport
that starts its season with its biggest event. I think

(15:18):
it's a genius idea. So they start their season with
the biggest race of the year. But you know what
it would be.

Speaker 2 (15:26):
You know what, the NBA should take notes because they
could put they need to put their daytona five hundred,
which I guess.

Speaker 1 (15:32):
Unfortunately they did with the All Star weekend.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
But that the week after the Super Bowl and then
so now we're all talking about basketball.

Speaker 1 (15:44):
There you go. All right, you complained about this yesterday, Martin.
Here it is. You got the first week after the
NFL season and you launched with the NBA All Star Game.
Did you not watch the competitions last night? Start with
the worst of the worst, which is the slam Dunk
competition where Mac McClung, who is anchored in the G League,

(16:08):
wins the competition for the second consecutive year. You had
Jalen Brown and All Star, yet Haimi Hakes Junior a rookie,
and honestly, in all his years of UCLA, nothing impressed
me about as dunk. So I was sort of curious
about that selection. And then you essentially have two g
leaguers that's your four man field for this slam dunk competition.

(16:32):
Here's what I would do a far with the NBA,
since it seems like they've come up with every possible
variation of a dunk, like nothing's new, nothing's new. No,
why don't you do this in golf? They have long
ball competitions. Now, none of these guys play on the

(16:54):
PGA Tour. They're using giant guys, big arms, long drivers,
and they just swing out of their heels and hit
it four hundred and fifty yards. Why not have a
I don't know, find the best dunkers around the country.
Just being a good basketball player doesn't mean if you

(17:15):
could just dunk, like that's the one skill you have,
like Matt McClung, apparently, because if he had any other skills,
he would be playing in the NBA. But why don't
we do that? I mean, if you're going to continue
on with this NBA slam dunk competition and he keep
handing the trophy to a guy in the G League.
Forget that, just go around the country find those They're

(17:37):
on social medi on YouTube, right, we see guys doing
crazy things with dunks. Put them in the competition. So
that's what I want to see. That's that's no, I don't.
I disagree.

Speaker 2 (17:47):
I think that like well, I think if we want
to do that, you could have one thing be separate.
But the reason why people are watching the Slam Dunk
contest and general are like a kid like me, I
grew up watching the Slam Contest. I vividly remember Vince
Carter telling everybody it was over all like I remember
those moments from my childhood and it was one of

(18:08):
the things that I was thinking about I was watching
this yesterday. The reason why is because we want to
see the stars. We want to see the stars, like
you go, Like you said, everything's been repeated, everything's been
done before.

Speaker 1 (18:20):
Same is true of Hollywood.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
There's like no original ideas anymore coming out with new movies.

Speaker 1 (18:25):
No, it's all a reboot.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
One of the biggest commercials in the Super Bowl was
for Wicked that stories of the Wizards of Eyes, the
story's old as time, right, But no, they're gonna do
Wicked because it's the remix. You know, it's gonna have
in that movie a ton of stars, people that you
have already heard of, that you know and you know that,
like I'm gonna go see it because Denzel is in
this movie, or because Brad Pitt is in this movie.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
Are George Clooney's in this movie? What's it about? I
don't know.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
I'm watching it because George Clooney's in it. That's why
I commend Jalen Brown because you know why, because he
would have been an All Star Weekend for another reason,
because he's an All Star. Like the the idea we're
giving the g leaguers are competing Haimy Hokis Junior.

Speaker 1 (19:07):
That's great and fine at least he's in the NBA.

Speaker 2 (19:10):
But if you wanted to set it up in some
form of fashion where you have like two or three
All Stars and then Hime Hokis Junior is the guy
who's everybody's like, wait, who is this again, that'd be great.
Like Fred Jones, he was calling the dunk contest, yes,
giving out scores. Scoring, I guess is the verb to
use there. He was scoring the dunk contest. He wasn't

(19:31):
a superstar when he was in the league, but he
was in it with other all stars. And then when
he wins it, everybody's like, damn, he really earned that
thing because he beat the whole bunch of guys that
we already know.

Speaker 1 (19:42):
That's what that was.

Speaker 2 (19:44):
Revitalize the dunk contest is good people who we already
know in the Dunk Contest. Why it's not the seventh
rounds of the draft? Why am I learning about you
in this moment, like as your name is being called
to go participate?

Speaker 1 (19:57):
No, that's the whole up. Why do you think they
don't want to participate? You know what?

Speaker 2 (20:02):
The conspiracy theory Martin says, you ready for this, everybody,
everybody turn your radio down just a little bit and
take your tin hat and just adjust this slightly. I
think it has something to do with the sneaker companies.
Jalen Brown is a sneaker free agent. He's not signed
with the Didas. He's not signed with Nike, not Rebok,

(20:22):
not nobody. I think I wonder, all right, because like, ' honest,
he's got his signature shoe. Does Nike say, Yannis, I
know you want to do the dunk contest, but you
can't because if you lose, people might buy less shoes.
Jason Tatum and signature shoe. I know you might want

(20:43):
to do it, but if you lose, might lose. You
know what I'm saying something about the shoes.

Speaker 3 (20:47):
What if you blow out your shoe? Like, uh, who's
the zion? What if you have a zion on the
court and all ad.

Speaker 2 (20:53):
You got a shoe in it stands because it flew
off the foot.

Speaker 1 (20:57):
Now what now what? I like that theory. I think
that's a very sound theory.

Speaker 2 (21:03):
And you think it, think about the guys, think about
the All Stars Wars. You know, Devin Booker just released
the signature shoe last night. You know, like these guys
are bringing out with their statements and shoes, and now
their brand is bigger than them just playing.

Speaker 1 (21:18):
All right, So then just eliminate the competition. Listen.

Speaker 2 (21:21):
I think they really should do. I had this com
you know, just to spin off of this. Don't may
have a conspiracy theory, but I also have solutions, all right.
That's what separates me from the rest of you conspiracy theorists.
They should do Team Nike Verse, Team Adidas, team Team
you know, the team Adidas vers team underwarm.

Speaker 1 (21:39):
Really, that'd be great, But what happens to the losing team?
What happens to the losing team? Make a better product,
get better athletes, get better athletes. Somebody's got to win
and lose anything that could potentially take money out of
the players pockets. It's not gonna happen. She's not gonna happen.

(22:03):
They're not gonna take that risk.

Speaker 2 (22:07):
But I think that's why, because big sneakers in the way,
it's holding us back from a great dunk contest.

Speaker 1 (22:14):
All right, On the other side, we'll talk about what
was the highlight yesterday, but first let's find out what
is trending right now now. Despite the fact that she
is diminutive in stature, when we talk about someone that
has hops, Moncey Belanos has hops, I mean shirt she

(22:36):
plays volleyball.

Speaker 6 (22:39):
I like to think that I have hops, but I
don't think they're as good as Mac McClung's hops.

Speaker 7 (22:43):
Yeah, yeah, I know those hops are nuts.

Speaker 1 (22:45):
Have you ever worn a sneaker based on whose feet
are attached to that sneaker?

Speaker 6 (22:55):
I don't know if I've been like I don't want
that shoe because it's this player but I guess I've
been on the other side of it where I'm like, oh,
the shoes I play volleyball in.

Speaker 7 (23:04):
Are Russell Westbrook shoes that I bought, Yeah, why not?
And it's a kid's shoes so it's colorful. Like people
are like, oh, we aren't you giving the shoes like it's.

Speaker 6 (23:13):
A kid size and I don't think they make them
in men's so sorry about that.

Speaker 7 (23:16):
But yeah, it works out. But I've never not bought
a shoe because it belonged to someone.

Speaker 6 (23:21):
This theory of yours, Marian, I'm into it.

Speaker 7 (23:25):
But what about the three point shooting contest? How is
that not the same idea? If you lose this, my
sales go down.

Speaker 2 (23:32):
Yeah, but for whatever reason, we're fine with people losing
a three point contest like Sabrina. I asked you lost
three point contest yesterday and everybody went crazy. They had
a roll out and everything said if you can shoot,
you can shoot boy or girls.

Speaker 1 (23:45):
Yeah you're not really. I mean it's a jump shot,
but any of the shoes are not an impact and
non three point shots yes.

Speaker 6 (23:53):
Yeah, no, I mean I think what was crazy about Sabrina, which.

Speaker 7 (23:56):
Is the whole time I was like, I was giving
a lot.

Speaker 6 (23:59):
Of the credit to Steph Curry for doing it, because
I thought it's a lose lose situation for him. If
he wins, people are gonna be like, why did you
have to beat a girl? If he loses, you lost
to a girl. And it actually became a win win
situation because Sabrina scored the same amount as the guys
during the three point shooting contest. I really thought it
was a win win, which I didn't think.

Speaker 7 (24:18):
Could be the end.

Speaker 1 (24:19):
Well, and we're going to get into this on the
other side, but his whole attitude about the competitioning was amazing, amazing.
It worked for her and worked for him, worked for
the league. Look, the NBA has been keeping the WNBA
float all these years. Yes, there was a time when
David Stern. There were some WNBA players that approached David

(24:40):
Stern about the pay right and his response was swift
and to the point. Yeah, either accept what we pay
you or I'll pull the plug on the league today,
simple as that that those are your two options, right,
And that was the end of that.

Speaker 6 (24:56):
Yeah, So it's nice to see a little change here
in there. Let's check in with college hoops.

Speaker 7 (25:02):
We got two.

Speaker 6 (25:02):
Games going on in top twenty five men's college basketball.
Number twenty four Florida Atlantic losing to South Florida sixty
six to forty one with about twelve minutes to go
in the game. Number two, per Due has a slight
lead over Ohio State twenty two to nineteen late in
the first half. And on the ladies' side, just because
South Carolina has not lost a game this season, they

(25:22):
are twenty four and zero right now. They're taking on
Georgia and they are tied at twenty six with six
minutes to go in the second quarter. No NASCAR today,
the opening Daytona five hundred. It was supposed to happen
this afternoon, not happening because of inclement weather. So it's
going to start tomorrow Monday at four pm Eastern time.
And we still have the Genesis Invitational going on. Patrick

(25:44):
Cantley is supposed to tee off in about less than
an hour or so, and he's in the lead at
fourteen hunder par overall.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
Back to you guys, Alli Monsie, thank you very much,
and by the way, thank you for breakfast again.

Speaker 7 (25:55):
Yes, I know Marin got to be a part of it.

Speaker 1 (25:57):
Yeah, you remember yesterday, Chris is moaning and grow much
be in here without breakfast, said life, Well we're out breakfast.

Speaker 6 (26:03):
Yeah, and it was Saturday, and I almost didn't bring
him one, but I told him I'm gonna not bring
him one.

Speaker 1 (26:08):
Randomly, very appreciated. I'm speaking for Chris.

Speaker 3 (26:12):
I was groveling, yes, hands out, hands out in supplication.

Speaker 1 (26:16):
All right, thank you very much, Monton for check in
with you. A little bit later, Steve Harvey and Martin
Weiss with you here Fox Sports Sunday. So the I
ask you a matchup with Steph I thought was interesting
all around. I agree with what Monzi said. I was thinking, Wow,
this is sort of a lose lose for Steph. You
know what was interesting. I don't know if you watch
the whole thing, Martin, but they're doing there. I was

(26:37):
here on the radio. So they're doing the warm ups
and she finished her warm ups on the left corner
and she airballed three of the five shots that she
put up from that, and that's where she started, and
she made five for five. Now I'm watching this, they
get okay, this this woman is a serious shoot. I
mean I know that. I mean, she's obviously one of

(26:58):
the big Stars of the w NBA. She puts up
at twenty six, which was the exact state score the
Dame put up to win the men's competition. The only
difference was she was using in a w NBA ball,
but the distance was identical. They had given her the
option before the competition to shoot from the WNBA three
point line. She said, no, I'll shoot from the NBA

(27:20):
three point line. She used a WNBA ball. But when
she posted twenty six and Steph missed a couple of
shots early than he hit his last four in a
row and you know, and you know for him, fortunately
won the competition. But I thought his added toude was great,
and I thought it was it was something different. I
was actually into it and very much engaged in watching

(27:42):
that competition. And of course down the line you get
a Caitlin Clark with her ability to seemingly hit a
shot from anywhere on the court. I think it's an
intriguing competition. I said.

Speaker 2 (27:52):
The only way I thought it wasn't going like I
get to lose, lose like for Steph. But really the
loss would have been like if if if Sabrina came
out and only hit like fifteen.

Speaker 1 (28:04):
You know, she like she gets wiped out. If she
just gets.

Speaker 2 (28:07):
Wiped out annihilated, then Steph can't win either way, because
now you definitely can't lose. But it's like like to
what how far do I go? You know, how how
many many do I make? Because Steph did come, no
warm up, no nothing, and hit three or thirty, thirty
to thirty points whatever through the three point shootout, moneyballs
and so on and so forth. Like you said, Sabrina

(28:28):
hit twenty six, so she was right there with him,
But that would have been that would have been this
the poema. Oh, this is uncomfortable if she only hit
like ten of thirty, like ten of a potential thirty
and then Steph came out and just cleared the racks of.

Speaker 1 (28:41):
The way that he did. But I mean sure we
used to do that. Then we used to do this
with all the time.

Speaker 2 (28:48):
I remember there used to be it would be a
WNBA player, an NBA player, and then an NBA like
alumni player. Then they would play like a three on
three with other teams that represented I have a VID
memory of Ryl Swoops, Katino Mobley, and now I can't
remember who the legend player was.

Speaker 1 (29:07):
But this back where they were both.

Speaker 2 (29:08):
Playing in the actual in their perspective, professional leagues and
then playing like three on three. So I don't have
any issue with integrating the WNBA into the All Star
into the All Star Weekend. I really don't, but I
would say, maybe try to line them up a little
bit better or integrate the NBA into the WNBA All
Star Weekend, because I don't WNBA All Star Weekend normally

(29:33):
is the first weekend of NBA Summer League, which the
whole entire league is in Las Vegas for it.

Speaker 1 (29:38):
Well, I'm watching or put up that twenty six, which
again was the same thing that Dame Lillard did to
win the competition, and I'm thinking if they had matched
up with anyone other than Steph Curry, oh, you think
that she would have won? Like if they I'll put
it this way, Steph Curry held his cool, which he

(29:59):
knew he would he needed to make those last four
in a row. Sure, Now, if anyone else is in
that situation, I don't know if they would have held
up to the pressure. And then how do you handle
that situation if she meets you? That would have been
I think if Steph had lost, he could handle it. Right,

(30:21):
because he's Steph Curry's way beyond that, but a lesser
star player. I don't know if that would fly. Are
you into battle the sexiest type of thing? You know?
Such a weird time for us in America right now,
where you know there's an argument between the separation of
the sexes and the inclusion of everybody, so just all

(30:41):
in one big, happy family. It's hard for me because
I was there in the very beginning in terms of
the growth of women's collegiate sports. After Title nine when
I was at UCLA, the first ever women's final four
back on it was AIAW was won by UCLA at
poly Pavilion. My dear friend Ann Myers was the star

(31:01):
of the team. They had another great player, Denise Curry,
on that team. And then years later I was introduced
to another friend of mine, Sheryl Miller, who I still
maintained to this day is the best female basketball player
I've ever seen in my life. So I've been following
this for so many years and I keep hearing the
same complaint time again. Well, you know, it's not the

(31:22):
men's game, this, that, and everything else. All I know
is because you were talking earlier about where's the star
power in men's college basketball. There's no doubt that Kaitlyn
Clark is by far the biggest star in college basketball
this year. It's not even close. I'll give you that.
She's filling arenas everywhere she goes.

Speaker 2 (31:42):
I'm not exactly where it falls between Caitlyn Clark and
Juju Watkins. It's definitely in the top. There are two
of the top five most recognizable college athletes are college
basketball players, I should say, and they're probably not one
in three.

Speaker 1 (32:00):
Well, I mean, after Juju put up fifty one for
sc and you know, that was like, wow, Okay, she
could actually pull this thing off. She can go. So
you know, I felt really good for Sabrina last night
because she held up under immense pressure. As you mentioned,
If she had gone out and just gotten obliterated, which
was potentially the case, going against the greatest shooter of

(32:21):
all time in Steph Curry and forcing him forcing him
to have to hit those final shots just to edge
her out, that says a lot about her egg.

Speaker 2 (32:32):
And you know, keep in mind, Steve, it's not exactly
I mean, I don't know how much of this one
you were watching live at the moment, but the whole
floor was green, like like I'm not saying that, like
Sabrina would be like, you know, shook by a major
crowd or anything like that, obviously sold out arena. But
how many times are you shooting at three pointer when

(32:52):
the whole floor is lime green and switching back and
forth between lime green and yellow? I mean you only
get a couple of practice rounds for that, you know.

Speaker 1 (33:01):
Impressive to me, very impressive. Well, I mean, and we'll
see what it does. I mean, is this happened? Is
this gonna have an impact for you listening out there
that would just say, not in a million years would
I watch the WNBA never ever, ever, ever ever, I'm
never gonna watch a women's basketball game. I don't care

(33:22):
about Caitlin Clark, I don't care about the w NBA.
But you just saw this, Sabrina and ask you doe
to doe in a three point shooting contest with the
greatest shooter ever, Steph Curry. Ever, so maybe you should
reconsider some of your viewing habits out there all right now.

(33:44):
On the other side, I'm gonna switch gears on you
once again. This is how you know I operate, Martin
so you're you're used to this. You never know where
we're going. I had no idea. Oh I know, I'll
be here for another three hours, But I do want
to get into a sport that is starting right now.
I'm not get a gay. What I think is a
changing of the face of a certain sport, and it's

(34:04):
a good change. Let's explain. This is Fox Sports Sunday,
Steve Harvin, Martin Wise, this is Fox Sports Sunday. We
are live from the tire rack dot Com studios. We're
going to get into what happened in twenty twenty three
in the NFL and what to look forward to in
twenty twenty four in the next hour. But right now,

(34:25):
I just want to touch a little bit Martin on
another sport that's just getting started right now. In fact,
later this week we're going to get our first spring
training exhibition baseball games and the process begins to get
ready for another baseball season. And I have to admit
last year I had a little treputation. I was a
little nervous because they were introducing a bunch of rules changes,

(34:48):
and the one that made me most nervous was the
pitcher clock because one of the beauties of baseball is
there is no clock, at least that used to be
the tradition, right, You don't have you know, like in
any other sport, you're down twenty points with ten seconds left,
the game is over. But you could be down twenty

(35:09):
runs with one out to go, and it's conceivable there
is a chance that a team could rally and win
the game because there is no clock. I went to
a Dodger game early in the season and I could
not take my eyes off of this clock. I mean,
it's there's one right behind home played obviously the pitcher
can see, and then you have one in the outfield

(35:30):
where the hitter can see. And I'm thinking, this is
just not gonna work. Well, guess what I was wrong? Wrong, wrong.
It was brilliant. It was a stroke of genius. It
made the game shorter. I went to afternoon games that
were barely two hours long, and the games moved. They

(35:50):
eliminated the shift so that there was more offense in
the games. Every rules changed they made worked. So now
here we are a year later, and I find myself,
for the first time in a long time, feeling it
I'm ready for a baseball season.

Speaker 2 (36:09):
I'm definitely ready for baseball season. I really enjoyed baseball
because it's all day, all the time. There's always a
baseball game on, especially if you live on the West
Coast because they start so early. There's always a baseball
game on from start to finish. So it's a great
it's a great background noise sport. The one rule that
I didn't like, though, and I wish they would. I

(36:30):
wish they would consider changing it back. I feel like
pitchers should have to throw four balls to intentionally walk somebody,
because I mean, we saw Miguel Cabrera hit a home Now,
I know I can say if you could, this is
one of the things I'd like to say on my
show Steve all the time. I know you listened every
single Saturday, so you've heard this before.

Speaker 1 (36:49):
As I'm leaving here, you know I'm locked in with
you and VJ.

Speaker 2 (36:52):
But if you can sit there and name the name
specific instances in which something happened that those are called outliers,
and they don't normally didn't inform the way you move
around and the way you make decisions.

Speaker 1 (37:03):
But like Miguel Cabrera hit a.

Speaker 2 (37:04):
Home run on a pitch that was supposed to be
like an intentional walk attempt.

Speaker 1 (37:10):
Sometimes pitchers would.

Speaker 2 (37:12):
Lose kind of lose their lose their way after throwing
four balls way outside and then having a comeback and
strike out the next guy. I thought that was the
rest of the rules didn't fundamentally change to me, the
game in the same way. Like you said that the clock, right, well,
it's not a clock on the entire length of the game.
It's more like a shot clock in basketball, right, So

(37:35):
there still is no final end of regulation clock, right,
it's it's just a shot clock where if you don't
if you don't shoot, if you don't throw them, if
you don't pitch the ball in a certain time, then
all right, you gotta do it again, and there's a
punishment attached to it. But it still didn't change. Like
base size, it didn't fundamentally change the game. The shift

(37:55):
didn't fundamentally change the game or actually probably changed it.

Speaker 1 (37:58):
Back to what it waged used to be. But that
was the one.

Speaker 2 (38:02):
I feel like, you have to throw five balls in
the dirt intentionally walks away, and.

Speaker 1 (38:07):
That role is put in several years ago before they
introduce more effective rules to actually shorten the games. I
remember when they introduced that rule with the idea, well
this will help shorten games. They didn't shorten the game
at all, not at all, So I agree with you.
And by the way, the most famous incident of how
you can use that the Reds were playing the Oakland
A's in the World Series nineteen seventy two. Johnny Bench

(38:27):
is at the plate, the Hall of Fame catcher of
the Reds. Roley Fingers is on the mound, Hall of
Famer leaf pitcher for the A's, and they're pitching carefully
because they have first base opened. Bench and the cow
gets the three to two, and then the catcher, Gene Tennis,
stands up and puts his arm out, saying, all right,
we're not going to take any chances. We're going to

(38:47):
give him the intentional walk. Bench is standing there, he
can see that obviously the catcher behind him has stood up.
And then instead of throwing wide, Tennis gets back in
his crouch and Fingers throws a right down the middle,
first strike strike three. Ye're out. It was. It was
a great decoy play, one of the great in a
World Series game, no less, But they sold Bench that

(39:10):
we're gonna finally out, We're gonna just walk it because
first base is open. But instead of taking a wide pitch,
Tennis gets back in his crouch fingers, throws it right down.
The middle bench is just standing there like what just happened?
Strike three year out? See, yes, let's see it. And
that's fun.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
Took a little bit of the strategy out of it.
It took some of the thought process out of it,
because you can't have a three two count, you know what, no.

Speaker 1 (39:33):
No, no, no on you Yeah, he would go right
to first base. I like that idea because again, that
rule was put in several years ago when they're trying
to figure out ways to quicken the game. But they
finally figured it out, and and look, this is a
I guess one of the big stories obviously, Well, the
biggest story is going to be show Heyo Tani in
a Dodgers uniform, and a little bit later maybe we

(39:56):
can get into that, because this is going to be Oh,
I'll let's do it right now, show Hao Tani. He
is still someone that I'm trying to figure out if
Major League Baseball has figured out how to best utilize
this once in a lifetime talent. Are they marketing him
in a proper way or does that take care of itself.
Now that he takes off an angel's uniform and puts
on a doctor.

Speaker 2 (40:14):
That's about to say. I think it's yet to be determined,
but we'll see. Because I know this, I know way
more about his spring training now as a Dodger. Apparently
he can't keep the ball inside the park than I
did when he was at any point in Anaheim.

Speaker 1 (40:28):
All right, we got a lot of different sports to
get to. But on the other side, we'll talk about
what just transpired in the NFL in twenty twenty three,
what's ahead in twenty four. Keep it right here. This
is Fox Sports Sunday. Yes, roll along here on a
very busy sports Sunday. We're broadcasting live from the ti
iraq dot com studios tierraq dot com. We're gonna help
get you there a unmatched selection, fast free shipping, Free

(40:50):
road has a protection over ten thousand recommending installers tire
rack dot com the way tire buying should be. We
will not have the Daytona five hundred today. It's been
delayed because of inclement weather, so it'll take place tomorrow instead,
So that's a loss on this Sunday. We will have
the NBA All Star Game later? Is that something you'll
be watching Martin? Will you be watching a game where

(41:13):
the over unders around three sixty? Does that have interest
for you?

Speaker 2 (41:17):
I think I'm going to be watching this the same
way that you know, people who you know just tap
into the super Bowl because it's like the super Bowl party,
you know, so they're like watching I'll be watching the
also game similar to that, Like I'll be bringing the
bean dip.

Speaker 1 (41:32):
Is that your favorite? Is that your go to? I
mean it would be. I see, I'm not the best cook.

Speaker 2 (41:39):
I know how to make a few things very well, right, right,
and so, but the majority of that is like shrimp
and salmon and those types of things, like things that
my sister taught me how to make. But when I
was trying to out there rough it on my own,
Steve Yes, I was having trouble with with with meat
like chicken, beef. I'd either under cooking and get sick,
all right, burn the me hell out of it, so

(42:01):
it would be, you know, it would look like who
did it and why after you put it on the plate.
So what I started to do, I started to make
a lot of vegan food because if you under cook
vegan food you can't get sick.

Speaker 1 (42:15):
You know, you can't get sick.

Speaker 2 (42:16):
It's just for all you know that's gonna you know,
so undercooked black beans aren't going to kill you.

Speaker 1 (42:22):
Undercooked chicken. So yeah, a lot of beans in your
in your diet.

Speaker 2 (42:27):
Well back when I was out there, uh, you know,
in that world, you know.

Speaker 1 (42:33):
Steak every night. So it's a different world for I know,
I've gotten better at the bet all right. I wanted
to I want to talk to some NFL in this
hour with you, Martin, because we just finished the year
and once again, the Kansas City Chiefs are a top
didn't look that way for much of the season. They underperformed,
certainly by their standards, throughout most of the regular most

(42:56):
of the Super Bowl so and most of the Super Bowl.
I mean, how dismal they look in that first half.
And when you think about it, we just had Steve
Wilkes fired as the defensive coordinator of the Kansas City
Chiefs or of the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco So
forty nine ers after his defense held Patrick Mahomes and
the Chiefs the nineteen points in regulation, and one of

(43:19):
those touchdowns was a direct result of a punt landing
on somebody's foot like a gift touchdown, and he gets fired.
He gets fired.

Speaker 2 (43:29):
See this is one of the reasons why I like
the CEO head coaches as opposed to the play calling
head coaches, because sometimes you get moves like this with
the play calling head coaches where it's like, well.

Speaker 1 (43:39):
This was a definite fall guy scenario.

Speaker 2 (43:43):
That's absolutely what it was, because you can't fire the
offensive coordinator because you are the offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.

Speaker 1 (43:51):
Or the GM who traded three first round picks to
go get Trey Lance. But oh wait, that's because Kyle
Shanahan basically is the GM. You know. Don't say that
to John. I think I've known John Lynch since he
was a student at Stanford, so I still believe he's
making a lot of calls. They did have a big
argument on whether or not Trey Lance was the guy,
and you're right about who decided Trey Lance was the guy.

(44:12):
So I'm looking back on this twenty twenty three season,
a team that is certainly no shock to win the
championship based on what we thought before the season, actually
won the championship, that being the Kansas City Chiefs, when
I look back on this season, the two teams that
were in my book clearly the two teams that came
out of nowhere based on my preseason expectations, one in

(44:36):
each conference. That would be the Houston Texans in the
AFC and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC. I mean,
I could have made an argument, along with the Arizona
Cardinals coming into the year that those would be arguably
the three worst teams in the league. The Texans would

(44:56):
have a rookie coach after firing two one and done coaches.
They would have a rookie quarterback that a lot of
people were suspect odd because overinflated numbers at Ohio State.
We've seen this play out many times before, and those
guys had failed to produce any were near at that
level once they got into the NFL. And as far
as the Rams are concerned, we have a big list

(45:18):
here at Fox Sports Radio where all the on air
people make their predictions on the upcoming season, and one
of the things we have to predict is who will
be the worst team in the league. And I had
the Rams, and I even had a little insight on that.
Tyler Higbee, the Rams tight end and I had dinner
together before the season began with former Ram Eric Dickerson

(45:40):
and the Overhunner and the Rams wins was like five
and a half. Oh yeah, And I'm thinking myself, I'm like,
you guys can't win six games six And he looked
at me like, we got problems. We got a lot
of problems. There's no depth on this team. If we
get Stafford to be healthy and we get Aaron Donald

(46:01):
be healthy, we could win some games. We have no depth,
we have any injuries, We're done. And there they are
ten and seven and they make the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (46:09):
And then that's the thing that's funny too, because I
would have agreed with that statement, Oh there's no depth,
there's no depth there. Well, you know, Cooper Cup started
the season on injury reserve, right, you know, with the
degenerative hamstring issue.

Speaker 1 (46:20):
Was like, they're definitely done now.

Speaker 2 (46:23):
Then all of a sudden, Pooka Nkua, right, whoever the
hell that is? You know, it just comes out of
byu and into the touchdown.

Speaker 1 (46:32):
Okay, who could have predicted before the season began that too,
Rams would have two Pro Bowlers named Pooka Nakua and
Kyron Williams. All right.

Speaker 2 (46:41):
I mean if I had told you that the Rams
would have two Pro Bowlers and none of them would
have been Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald or Cooper Cup, you
would have looked at me like I was crazy.

Speaker 1 (46:51):
Well, I mean they did make it, but Pooka and
Kyron Williams. But I mean that was the whole point.
It was like, this is what happens every single year
in the NFL. Things happen again. I'm looking at, Okay,
maybe Stafford can stay healthy, maybe Aaron Donald and Cooper
Cupp has hurt, blah blah blah, they have nothing else,
and then there's Pooka Naku and Kien Williams, and all

(47:13):
of a sudden, the Rams are a playoff team. Give
Sean McVeigh a lot of Credit's a hell of a coach.
So those are the two teams that I looked at, like,
how did this happen? And by the way, can I
make a quick note here on the Houston Texans because
I'm still trying to figure this one out. So Demigo
Ryans lost NFL Coach of the Year. He actually tied

(47:38):
Kevin Stefanski, but they gave it to Stefanski because he
got one more first place vote. There were fifty people
media people that voted for Coach of the Year each
of the awards, fifty and they were to fell out first, second,
and third on their ballot, So he got three spots
in her about first, second, third. Seven of the fifty

(48:02):
voters did not have Demico Ryans in their top three.
How is that possible? How is it possible that you
could fill out a Coach of the Year ballot for
twenty twenty three and you got three slots and you
do not have Demico Ryans in your top three?

Speaker 2 (48:28):
Because I think I think it's very much the way
that the NFL MVP goes, where there's no like the
they are, especially an MVP, to the same extent, they
intentionally leave the description vague as to what you're looking for,
because the NFL Coach of the Year typically is a

(48:49):
guy who took.

Speaker 1 (48:51):
Nothing team and made him something, which obviously is what
Demiico Ryans did, right, But like, if you're telling me
to but if you're just saying.

Speaker 2 (48:57):
Like strict coaching jobs, then you could look at like
a Mike Tomlin, a guy who started uh, you know,
three different quarterbacks and still made the playoffs.

Speaker 1 (49:05):
Well, that was the argument with Stefanski is he loses
his quarterback, you know, gets Joe Flacco off the.

Speaker 2 (49:11):
Couch, right, So, but like to me, that's not what
the coach of the Year is supposed to represent, and
it represents what happened the first time Stefanski won Coach
of the Year when he took a roster who nobody
thought was going to do anything, and all of a
sudden they are now competing. Like if you had told
me that Todd Bowles got a first place vote, I
wouldn't have blinked twice. Because that Tampa team was was

(49:34):
slated to be one of the worst in football.

Speaker 1 (49:36):
You know what they did all is one a little
playoff game on the road.

Speaker 2 (49:39):
That's it, you know, Like that, that to me is
the coach of the year pool that we should be
picking from.

Speaker 1 (49:47):
But like Kyle Shanahan can't win Coach of the Year
anymore because he's already you know, the team's success is
supposed to be there. I understand. And then that that
whether it's valid or not. Once you like Vincelinbar if
you really want to go back in time, he won
NFL Coach of the year's first year and then after
that won five championships, and none of those years was

(50:08):
he coach of the year. Phil Jackson won eleven NBA championships.
He was coach of the year once one time. So yeah,
I mean, but still for Demigo Ryans to be left
off seven ballots, I would I like to know which
one of those guys justified him not being in the

(50:30):
top three choices. All right, So those are the teams
that to me, really came out of nowhere. So I
want to start off. In fact, on the other side,
I want to get into this because I'm going to
take some of the bottom feeders based on what happened
in twenty twenty three, and there's probably at least two

(50:50):
of these teams that are going to be in the
playoffs next year. It happens every year. It happens every
single year. So we're gonna break it down. It's gonna happen.
And by the way, this is gonna help you because
one of the things we do all this offseason, you know,
prop bets and everything else, you know those over under
preseason predictions on wins. There's gonna be teams that are

(51:12):
gonna obliterate it. You're gonna be collecting money well before
the season's over by going over which teams are they?
We're gonna tell you. This is Fox Sports Sunday, Steve
Harbin and Martin Weiz, this is Fox Sports Sunday, and
we are live from the tairaq dot com studios. Have

(51:32):
a good time once again here and just doing our thing.
Talking a little bit about what happened in this last
season in the NFL. We talked about two teams that
far exceeded anybody's expectations. Don't be fool. Oh, I knew
the Texans would be good. I knew the Rams would
be a playoff team. Again, Lie, lie, Lie, no chance,

(51:53):
I don't What kind of odds do you think you
could have had of both those teams finishing ten and
seven preseason? Oh? How about that for a two teams
over one thousand and one? For sure? Easy, easy and
easy over. So this happens every single year. Teams that
you go into a season saying there's no formula that's

(52:14):
gonna make that team a winner. Nothing. I mean, you
try to think about all the different possibilities that if
they all came together. We go back to the Rams,
Poka Nakua and Kyraen Williams being Pro Bowl players. I mean,
you don't even know who those players were when the
season began. So it happens every year, all right. So

(52:35):
I'm gonna throw some teams out at you, Martin, and
I want you to be able to say either no chance,
no or thinking ah, and then give me a reason why.
Let's start with the team at the bottom of the barrel.

(52:55):
They were a bad team a year ago, and they
were even a worse team in twenty twenty three, the
Carolina Panthers. No chance. Okay, Now you can't see the
Carolina Panthers going in nine to eight this year? No,
you can't see Bryce Young. What was your attitude about
Bryce Young coming out of Alabama? Steve, I have a.

Speaker 2 (53:15):
Very simple rubric engrading scale for football players.

Speaker 1 (53:19):
The more they remind me of me, the more out
I am.

Speaker 2 (53:24):
I'm about six to two and about two forty, but
I'm not very It's not I'm not built out of
muscle by any stretch, right, and I'm not. I'm about
an inch taller than where'd you play at height? And
when I saw Bryce Young last year's Super Bowl, I
was like, oh wow, he shorter than me and ways

(53:45):
less than me.

Speaker 1 (53:46):
I'm out.

Speaker 2 (53:48):
That was pretty much it, because I know I don't qualify,
you know, so I didn't think he did either.

Speaker 1 (53:53):
Well. I remember being in San Diego when they drafted
Drew Brees. I met Drew Brees right after the draft,
first pick of the second round by the San Diego Chargers,
and I'm five eleven and I'm standing there face to
face the Drew Brees and he is the exact same
height as me. He is five to eleven. Hey, listen,

(54:13):
it's six feet and I'm having this conversation with this guy.
And that year, guess who the Chargers sign to start
every game that year while they had this rookie Drew Brees.
Doug Flutie. So they signed Doug Flutie, who started every
game that year for the Chargers. Doug fluti is five
eight and a half. And I remember many times sitting

(54:37):
down with Doug Flutie saying, how is it possible that
you can see anything down the field when you have
an offensive line that's averaging six to five and they're
standing up blocking guys that are the same height. You
got all those big bot how do you see anything
he says, here's what you have to understand. I've always

(54:58):
been this height, so my perspective, it wasn't like I
shrunk down and suddenly had to figure out how to
navigate suddenly being five to eight and a half five
now whatever. I've always been this hype, So my perspective
in football has never changed. I've always been shorter, so
my view down the field, looking between bodies, through bodies

(55:20):
wherever to find my advantage. Plus having a pretty good sense.
And he had a good arm. I mean, bottom line,
still have to have an arm, sure, and he had
an arm, But he goes, that's the whole point. It's
not like I was six to two and all of
a sudden I woke up one damn five eight and
a half try to figure it out. So I've always
seen the field the same way. So when you say, well,

(55:40):
how do you see the field, I don't know how
you see the field if you're six five. I only
know one perspective on the field, and it's never been
a problem for me. And that's the same thing with
Bryce Young Well, but.

Speaker 2 (55:52):
It's not though, because he did wake up one day
and everybody else was taller and faster and bigger and stronger.

Speaker 1 (55:57):
But the same thing out with Doug Flutie. I have
not given up on Bryce Young. I have not given
up on this guy.

Speaker 2 (56:03):
And you can point out the two people that it
worked for three if you want to add in Russell
Wilson or.

Speaker 1 (56:08):
Use another one. I don't know. Kyler Murray made the
Pro Bowl his first two years in the league. Point
all of them out. You know what you call those? Steve,
you call him outline well, and I believe that he
is an outlier. I've been watching Bryce Young since high school.
This guy has been a stand out at every single level.

Speaker 2 (56:28):
I was calling Bryce Young games when he was at
Modern Day.

Speaker 1 (56:32):
I can't give up on the kid. But you've given
up on him.

Speaker 2 (56:35):
He was at Modern Day, he was at Alabama behind
it a pro offensive line, playing sometimes not pros on
the other side.

Speaker 1 (56:42):
Can he throw the ball accurately? Yeah? Okay, Look, the
two most important things for a quarterback, Martin, because I've
been told this by people that coach quarterbacks. The two
most important things are the ability to throw the ball
accurately and the ability to decipher information in an instant.

(57:03):
In other words, the ability to recognize as soon as
the ball is snapped. What to do with the ball?
Sure to throw it away, eat the ball, whatever it is.
Those that can make those decisions the quickest are the
ones that are going to be most successful. And Bryce Young,
I think checks the box in both cases. Where does
health follow that list? Well, I mean you have to
stay on the field, obviously, and I.

Speaker 2 (57:24):
Think that's As Bryce Young continues to go through his
professional career, I have wonder about his ability to remain
healthy as he is getting hit by men that are
triple the size of him.

Speaker 1 (57:37):
All Right, I'm not going to look. I'm not bold
enough to say that Carolina Panthers are going to go
nine to eight this year, But they won't be two
and fifteen. They will be a better football team. They'll
be better. It was a bad higher. Frank Reich was
a bad higher. I knew that at the get go.
He was a bad higher. They were sold on Frank Reich.

(58:00):
The personal thing with Frank I got to know him
back in the day. Is a nice man. I think
he's just way over played to be a head coach
in the league. All right, let me give you another team,
the Washington Commanders four and thirteen. Is this a team
that can make the Mighty lead to nine and eight,
ten and seven and challenge for a postseason spot the

(58:20):
Washington Commanders.

Speaker 2 (58:22):
Now see, I'm more inclined to lean with the Commanders
because you asked me about you asked about the Panthers.
The South is going to be relatively the same. I
think the Saints will win between seven and nine games,
the Falcons will win between eight and ten games, the
Buccaneers will win between seven and nine games, and it
will be a fight for average. It is a fight

(58:43):
for B minus in the NFC South. With the NFC East,
I don't know. The Philadelphia Eagles are in a very
interesting position here.

Speaker 1 (58:53):
I feel like the Commanders could stick up a little.

Speaker 2 (58:56):
Bit and be it contending for a wildcard spot because
Giants turned disarray and what's and even when everything seems
to be in array. I think Brian day Ball another
former Coach of the Year, because he was able to
turn this to a bad situation into a.

Speaker 1 (59:10):
Good one and then turn it right back into a
bad turn it right back into a bad situation.

Speaker 2 (59:13):
We'll see how he's able to bounce back from what was,
by all accounts, a disappointing second campaign after going out
there and winning a playoff game on the road.

Speaker 1 (59:23):
The New York Giants did it, did twenty four months ago.
They did that.

Speaker 2 (59:29):
But if the Eagles, which Eagles team is going to
show up this season? Is it going to be the
one from the first ten weeks of the year or
for the last seven weeks of the year.

Speaker 1 (59:39):
Well, you tell me, Martin, look into your crystal ball.
What you're you're asking me a rhetorical question. What is
the answer?

Speaker 2 (59:45):
I think is we're looking more closer to the seven
the last seven weeks of the year out of Nick
sieror Yanny and his Eagles, specially who he hires or
how these assistants work out. But I do think Washington
is a sleeping giant in terms of the second picking
the drafted.

Speaker 1 (01:00:01):
So you have a ton of resources. Either with their.

Speaker 2 (01:00:03):
Second the number two overall pick, or whatever you move
off to get, you're gonna get a you know, with
Jaydon Daniels.

Speaker 1 (01:00:10):
Cliff Kingsbury make you nervous as your offensive coordinator, I'd say.

Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
It depends on, Uh, it depends on who they get
back there. Because if it's one thing he does have,
he does have an eye for quarterbacks. Cliff Kingsbury, but uh,
it depends on what they do it two.

Speaker 1 (01:00:26):
But I'd say as an offensive coordinator, I think it's
actually been pretty decent.

Speaker 2 (01:00:30):
I think it's when you are responsible for everything that
a head coach is responsible for.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
That's where Cliff kind of overstepped his bounds. Well again,
new ownership, New ownership and me when we knew it
was a lame duck year obviously of Ron Rivera, which
is why it was like, why is Eric b Enemy
taking this job? Why are you jumping on a sinking ship?
Rivera was going to be gone. We knew that. I mean,
barring some miracle season they were gonna have with Sam

(01:00:56):
Hall as their quarterback, that was just not gonna happen.
It's not I'll be any of me finds himself without
a job. Cliff King where he's in. I honestly, I
think we're going to see a bigger improvement out of
the Panthers than the Commanders.

Speaker 2 (01:01:10):
But I think the Commanders have some pretty decent skill
position players. I know they traded uh, Chase Young and
Montese sweat away and they got you know, a haul
back for that. But I think the commanders, to me,
especially in the NFC East, because that's to me always
got to look at the division. Who what's going to
be going on around this team before you're prognosticating what's

(01:01:31):
going to happen.

Speaker 1 (01:01:31):
All right, on the other side, will continue on. We're
going to take some of the dregs, the bottom feeders
in twenty twenty three in the NFL, and we're going
to identify, because it happens every year, which teams are
going to go from the worst into a postseason birth.
Got to figure this out. We will, But first let's
find out what is trending right now. Is Monsey is

(01:01:55):
back now? Montsey is very excited Martin because her Clippers.
She he's got a clips hat on today.

Speaker 7 (01:02:01):
Yes, thank you, credit to Mark Medina.

Speaker 1 (01:02:03):
After their three and seven start to the season, are
thirty three and ten in their last forty three games.
That'll get it done.

Speaker 7 (01:02:12):
Yeah, it's very exciting, exciting, And.

Speaker 1 (01:02:14):
We went we were trying to figure this about if
the Clippers actually somehow got the curse out and find
themselves winning a championship, especially if they're moving into their
new arena next year, does that change any of the
dynamic in terms of interest in the city of Los
Angeles because most Clipper fans are LA our haters. That's

(01:02:35):
how the Clippers created a fan base of any kind,
because our people that hate the Lakers.

Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
I hate to break it to you, but no, I
don't think there'll be any change whatsoever.

Speaker 6 (01:02:45):
I don't disagree either, but it would just be nice
to win one anyway.

Speaker 2 (01:02:49):
Drew Tranquil during the Chiefs parade before everything went sour,
was shouting how it was way better than Los Angeles, right,
And I tweeted at the time it was like, you know,
to be fair, if the Chargers had a raid in LA,
everybody would just be wondering why traffic was stopped.

Speaker 1 (01:03:03):
They would have no knowledge. Guys, you were not here
the Lakers parade in nine because I I almost like
half m see this event, or do I did six
hours of radio that day because we were the Laker flagship.
It started as Staples Center and it then went on
a path to the Coliseum, which is in downtown LA.

(01:03:25):
The coliseum was full. I mean, so the idea that
LA can't celebrate I mean that that ran leapiers about
other celebrations because it's freaking LA.

Speaker 2 (01:03:39):
I'm not saying that LA can't celebrate millions strong. You
know about the Chargers actually winning something in the city
that everybody.

Speaker 1 (01:03:48):
Would say, why is figure? Oh it closed, it's on
a Tuesday.

Speaker 7 (01:03:52):
He's right down.

Speaker 1 (01:03:53):
You could do it with the Dodgers. You could do
it with the Lakers.

Speaker 7 (01:03:55):
Yeah, you know, I think that. I do think the Clippers.

Speaker 1 (01:03:58):
The Clippers have their parade.

Speaker 6 (01:04:00):
If they wanted this year, it would obviously have to
start at Staple Center, Crypto whatever it is called, because
that's where they want. I don't know where it would end,
but they would happen, it would end it.

Speaker 7 (01:04:10):
Yeah, it make a big circle.

Speaker 6 (01:04:11):
But yeah, you know, I agree that I don't think
it would change the culture of LA.

Speaker 2 (01:04:16):
But to be honest, what I want to know is monsis,
as a fellow diminutive person, where are you at with
Bryce Young? Because I don't both of you all didn't
wake up and shrink from six to two down to
your current respective heights. Yeah, but I'm curious of where
you are a Bryce Young as a fellow short person.

Speaker 6 (01:04:33):
You know what you just said of like him getting
hit and getting back up game after game, That's what
I thought the whole season.

Speaker 7 (01:04:40):
I was like, this dude looks small. Compared to everybody else.

Speaker 1 (01:04:44):
He's the smallest quarterback in the life. He looks in statue.

Speaker 6 (01:04:47):
Because I feel like like to me, Caleb Williams doesn't
look that big, but he doesn't look like Bryce Young.

Speaker 1 (01:04:52):
He doesn't look small.

Speaker 7 (01:04:53):
He doesn't look small, but he doesn't look big.

Speaker 1 (01:04:55):
Even Kyler Murray Board example Young, but he's he looks stuck.

Speaker 7 (01:05:01):
He does not look as little as Bryce Young.

Speaker 6 (01:05:03):
So yeah, I hope I hope he doesn't get hit
as much this upcoming See, yeah, that would help a fellas.
I thought we were gonna have an upset in college basketball,
in men's college basketball, but number twenty four, yeap, No,
it's happening the official upset. Yes, I thought they were
gonna come back, and I thought it was gonna be
a lot worse than it was.

Speaker 7 (01:05:24):
But an official upset.

Speaker 6 (01:05:26):
South Florida has beat Number twenty four Florida Atlantic, eighty
nine to eighty six.

Speaker 7 (01:05:32):
Florida Atlantic was.

Speaker 6 (01:05:33):
Losing by fifteen at halftime. They made a push outscoring.

Speaker 7 (01:05:37):
South Florida fifty five to forty four in.

Speaker 6 (01:05:39):
The second half, but they were just three point shore
in South Florida with the upset over number twenty four
Florida Atlantic number two perdue losing to Ohio State fifty
two forty seven, still ten minutes to go in the game.
Now on the lady's side, I gotta mention South Carolina
number one. South Carolina, they're twenty four and oh this season.
They're currently losing to Georgia at halftime thirty five to

(01:06:01):
twenty eight.

Speaker 7 (01:06:02):
So we'll see how that one goes. The top of
the leaderboard at.

Speaker 6 (01:06:05):
The Genesis Invitational has officially teed off. Patrick Canley still
in the lead. He is even for the day through
his first hole, but he is still in the lead
at fourteen under par.

Speaker 7 (01:06:14):
Overall, we have Luke List.

Speaker 6 (01:06:17):
And Will Zeltrus one shot back, and no NASCAR today
on an already slow Sunday, no football, no NASCAR because
of inclement weather. So the Daytona five hundred rescheduled to Monday.
It's going to start at four pm Eastern time.

Speaker 1 (01:06:31):
Back to you guys, well, there's always football because we
can do that with the NFL. Of course, of course,
what any spit on the NFL, and it's always an
NFL day, monsie.

Speaker 7 (01:06:39):
Thanks, always in an NFL day, Well.

Speaker 1 (01:06:41):
It's always an NFL day. We'll check with you a
little bit later on. We're trying to figure this out.
From the bottom feeders in twenty twenty three in the
NFL will emerge at least two teams that will be
out of nowhere breakout teams in twenty twenty four. But
which ones are they? So we are both you know

(01:07:02):
not you know we're not going to have a huge
breakout prediction for either the Carolina Panthers or the Washington Commanders,
although you haven't eliminated Washington from your list as as possible, right,
I think Washington.

Speaker 2 (01:07:13):
I mean, you asked me a week after the Super
Bowl I could see Washington contending for an NFC wildcard spot.

Speaker 1 (01:07:19):
Okay, so that's one team you have on your radar,
the Arizona Cardinals. I was waiting for you to ask
me this. Yes, the a Arizona Cardinals, who you know.
Kyler Murray came back and we saw glimpses of the
guy that we have seen really since he came into
the NFL. He made legitimate Pro Bowls, not alternate crap,

(01:07:41):
but actual legitimate Pro bowls right out of the box
in his NFL career, far exceeding with a lot of
people thought he was capable of because of his stature,
and of course, at one point the Arizona Cardinals during
one season, we're the hottest team in the league before
the Wheels came off. Sure staying with Kyler Murray, which
I guess is their plan, and I think it's the
right plan. Could they have a big bounce back year

(01:08:04):
with a fully healthy Kyler Murray in twenty twenty four.

Speaker 2 (01:08:08):
I'm in. I'm in as soon. I mean, this team was,
they had one win without Kyler. Kyler comes back in
Week ten, they go three and six, I mean three
and six with him.

Speaker 1 (01:08:20):
That was a roster that was one of the worst
rosters in football.

Speaker 2 (01:08:24):
I think they're gonna improve that roster this offseason. But
also I just really liked the way that they competed
last season. Pretty much the entire season. They were playing
teams close. They were they were kind of they were
to be as devoid of talent as the team was,
devoid of depth as the team was. I think that

(01:08:45):
they built a great foundation under first year coach Jonathan Gannon.
I think defensively they're gonna get but again, it's gonna
take some building them on that roster. But they're gonna
have Kyler Murray back, to have Kyler Murray healthy. And
you're right, we did see some glimpses of him coming
back in towards the middle of last season, like you said,
got back Week ten, and so that was his first

(01:09:07):
start was Week ten. But from that moment on, I
think we were looking at a much more dynamic offense
and this team of the of the shoot of the
four wins they had, three of them were against playoff teams.

Speaker 1 (01:09:22):
Well, they beat the Cowboys, yep. They were highly competitive
against the forty nine ers well in one of their games,
and in the second. In the second game they played
them closer.

Speaker 2 (01:09:31):
The first one they lost by twenty, but again that
was the game. The second time was the game that
Christian McCaffrey was so open that he fell down, got up,
still scored a touchdown. I think some of that is
just all right. We gotta get some more Jimmies and
Joe's out here.

Speaker 1 (01:09:47):
I'm I'm with you on Arizona again because I'm a
Kyler Murray fan. And he reminded us again he could
have come back and just said, look, why am I
even coming back? You're planning on moving on for me?
And he said, no, this is my team. Get me
the right pieces and we can get this team back
into the playoff picture. All right, here's a team that

(01:10:09):
I think is going to be, in my opinion, the
most challenged team. If I were to pick one team
from this list today that I say one hundred percent
no chance of being anywhere near a playoff contender. It's

(01:10:32):
the New England Patriots. You talk about a roster devoid
of talent. I mean, this is the team I look
at right now trying to formulate some kind of path
like this would have to happen, or this would have
to happen in order for them to win nine or
ten games. I don't see it at all. This team

(01:10:56):
in that last game in the rain as Belichick was drowning,
that is where this franchise is. Can they come back
in ten years? I don't know. It's not gonna happen
this year. It's not gonna happen in two years, not
gonna happen in three years. This is this right now,
in my opinion, is the worst team in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (01:11:18):
Well, I think off on the offensive side of the ball, yes,
but I think defensively that Patriots team to me was
good like on the on strictly the defensive side of
the ball. It was one of the things that was
was Uh, that's one of the things that was kind
of fascinating about the way that Belichick's had the career
ended because I didn't think he lost his fastball on

(01:11:38):
the defensive side. Now you want to talk about picking players,
you want to talk about the offense. You want even
going back to hiring Joe Judge and Matt Patricia has
co offensive coordinators and so like. Yeah, but defensively, they
lost Matthew Judon last year, they lost Chrischigan Zales last year, and.

Speaker 1 (01:11:57):
Still I had one of the better defenses.

Speaker 2 (01:11:59):
Are I just this to have an offense that was
abjectly terrible had one of the better defensive units in football?

Speaker 1 (01:12:06):
Like you know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (01:12:07):
Like, it's very easy to play better defense when you're
up by forty and all you doing is pass rushing.

Speaker 1 (01:12:13):
I have a theory about teams like the Patriots, when
you have a completely inept offense, your opponent knows going
into the game, we don't have to do a whole
lot offensively to win this game. We don't have to
pull out all stops because they're not going to do

(01:12:33):
anything offensively. Even when the Patriots are playing bad defenses,
they couldn't do anything offensively. So I just think that
one of the reasons. And that's not to say that
the Patriots, you know, didn't play well defensed. So I
agree that Belichick knows how to coach a defense. Of
course he's gone now. But I just think that a
lot of teams that are bad that somehow post decent

(01:12:57):
defensive numbers. It's a bit of a deception. It's the
same way where you see bad teams that have huge
offensive numbers. It's a deception, like it's empty points, empty yards.
You know, for years, like Matthew Stafford was putting up
these big numbers of lions, Well what does it mean. Sure,
you're piling up numbers when you're down two scores in
the fourth quarter and just throwing the ball all over

(01:13:18):
the place. I think it's the same thing with defense.
So I think that the perception was because they were
able to hold their opponents a certain amount of yards
a certain number of points with their offense doing nothing.
I think that was as much a reflection on the
teams they play in saying, well, we really don't have
to do a whole lot.

Speaker 2 (01:13:36):
I mean, I don't disagree off the top, but I
do think though that at.

Speaker 1 (01:13:42):
Least how many games was their defenses winning for them? Well?

Speaker 2 (01:13:47):
Their offense, like Kayler Clark from Iowa was on the
screen right now, their offense was Iowa esque.

Speaker 1 (01:13:53):
I mean Iowa football asque. I mean that is still
the all time story. A team that literally finished last
dead last, one hundred and thirty out one hundred and
thirty in total offense won ten games. That is a miracle.

Speaker 2 (01:14:07):
I mean absolutely, It's the type of team that only
have as a college football But when you I was
looking looking at the scores, they gave up. It's not
like they now, don't get me wrong, they got housed.
They got housed a few good times, right, But there
they gave up thirty oh more than thirty points three times.

Speaker 1 (01:14:22):
Yeah, because teams and they have to score thirty points
in order to beat the Patriots.

Speaker 2 (01:14:26):
They had to score thirty points to beat the Commanders
last year. But somehow they sure we're doing to justin
fields to a whole party on.

Speaker 1 (01:14:31):
Them, mark my words on this one. Mark, So are
you are you including the Patriots as a team that
could go from four to thirteen to nine and eight.

Speaker 2 (01:14:40):
Uh No, But again that's the rest of the division
around them. Okay, I think Buffalo will beat them, I think,
and who knows. Aaron Rodgers and the Jets come back.
Now that's a team I think will probably be absolutely terrible.
Win more with Aaron Rodgers.

Speaker 1 (01:14:52):
All right. On the other side, I'm gonna give you
the most overhyped bad team from twenty twenty three in
terms of their expectations for twenty twenty four. This is
the most overhyped team in terms of what everyone expects
to see in the upcoming season after what we saw

(01:15:13):
this past season. This is Fox Football Sunday, Steve Harban
and Martin Wise, Fox Sports Sunday. We are live from
the entire rack dot com studios. Chris reminded me that
I sort of slipped into that Fox Football Sunday.

Speaker 3 (01:15:28):
No, you're reminding me that I don't have football again
for another month. Yeah, and if I want good football,
it's a lot longer of a wait than that.

Speaker 2 (01:15:34):
You know what, Fellas, This is the time to separate
the men from the boys, this right here, all right,
So I need to knuckle up and toughen up.

Speaker 1 (01:15:41):
Yeah right, all right, all right, all right. We have
a lot of things coming up. We're looking forward to
March Mandis, We're looking forward to NBA playoffs down the road.
It started the Major League Baseball season, but in the
aftermath of the NFL season, we're taking stock of what
happened in twenty twenty three and trying to figure out
because it happened every single year, a couple of teams

(01:16:03):
that look awful one year that suddenly emerges playoff contenders
the next year. Wo beyond reason, just like the Houston
Texans and the Rams try to do try to have
done that parlay before the season saying yeah, I'm gonna
go to the window and I'm gonna predict both the
Texans and the Rams are gonna win ten games each.
They'd be laughing at you, like, really, you want to

(01:16:25):
throw your money away? Go ahead, We'll give you any
odds you want. And he would have come out a
big winner. So we know it's gonna happen again. We've
gone through a number of teams. We talked about the Commanders,
we talked about the Panthers, talked about the Cardinals, and
of course I put the f minus on the Patriots organization.
Martin wasn't quite with me on that one. I'm gonna
give you right now the team that is going to

(01:16:45):
be the most hype team up in terms of look
for this team to have a huge turnaround in twenty
twenty four, that would be the Los Angeles Chargers. You
hire Jim Harbaugh, he turns it around. I'm like, remind
me again, because you're a Michigan guy. What was Jim

(01:17:06):
Harbaugh's record his first six years at Michigan against Ohio State? Uh?
Not great, Jim, Yeah, that was ohen six. I mean
his entire.

Speaker 2 (01:17:19):
Career, he was eleven and twelve against Penn State, Michigan State,
and Ohio State.

Speaker 1 (01:17:23):
Right, so only people remember the last three years and
suddenly they erased the memory. Then his first six years
there no wins against Ohio State. One bull win in
those six years. By the way, his postseason record before
this run for the National Championship.

Speaker 2 (01:17:40):
I mean his postseason record is still atrocious, right, it
just now has two more wins on it. Yeah, I
think I believe bringing it reach out to Tobo to
three to three. Yeah, exactly exactly.

Speaker 1 (01:17:50):
But don't worry, Steve he's just a winner. Okay. So
here's the problem with the Los Angeles Chargers. Well, you
got Jim Harbaugh now and he got Justin her Bert
fifty two million over the cap. They are in cap
hell like no team in the league right now going
into the season. And if you're not quite sure the

(01:18:12):
dynamic of the cab, it's very simple. Before you can
do anything in terms of signing players, you have to
get under the cap. You're not able to make moves
in terms of adding players until you subtract players or
rework contracts to get under the cap. And one of

(01:18:33):
the problems that you face as an organization, like if
you were to go to Justin Herbert Martin and Saarah,
we like to rework your deal. He says, fine, I'm
open to that. But in order to do so, to
backload a contract, you got to give them money up front.
Where does that money come from the pocket of the owner?
Chargers have a owner that has no money in his pocket.

(01:18:56):
What are you talking about. He's worth billions of dollars. No,
the team, it's worth billions of dollars. But in order
to navigate the system, and by the way, he had
to come out of pocket to pay Jim Harbaugh at
the mandated league. By the way, I don't know how
they're going to do it. They're just going to have
to cut bodies. Khalil Mack gone, Keenan Allen, see you later.

(01:19:18):
Mike Williams don.

Speaker 2 (01:19:20):
Well, definitely one of those two. Keenan Allen and Mike
Williams will be out of here.

Speaker 1 (01:19:24):
So they have way too many things to do in
order to add any measurable help to the team to
actually get him bout on track. So the Chargers are
a five and twelve team in twenty twenty three, I
would predict look very much for the same thing in
twenty twenty four.

Speaker 2 (01:19:41):
Well, I'll just say this, Yeah, Sean Payton and a
division who coached for like seventeen years in the NFL
prior to this, never lost, has never not won more
than at least seven games, right, Right, So the thing
doesn't fall only finished first, only finished third or fourth
than his division four times in his entire career.

Speaker 1 (01:20:02):
Right. And then I don't know.

Speaker 2 (01:20:04):
If you've watched this big football game last week, but
the Kansas City Chiefs I have a feeling they're gonna
continue to dominate the AFC West.

Speaker 1 (01:20:12):
For a while.

Speaker 2 (01:20:13):
So you got Hall of Fame coaches Sean Payton in
my estimation, definite Hall of Fame coach at quarterback Combo
in Kansas City. That's eight of the seventeen games you're
gonna play, Steve.

Speaker 1 (01:20:24):
Yeah, So do not look for the charges and don't
jump on that bandwagon at least yet. We'll continue on
with more of our NFL coverage. This is Fox Sports Sunday,
having a fun time as we always do here Sundays
on Fox Sports Radio. This is Fox Sports Sunday, and
we're broadcasting live from the tire rag dot com studios
tyerrag dot com. We're gonna help get you there, and

(01:20:45):
I'm Matt selection fast free shipping, free road as of protection,
over ten thousand recommending installers tire rag dot com the
way tire buying should be. It's been a strange weekend
for me when I think about it, because yesterday Moncey
Belanos and I did four hours together. And Monty and
I have worked together for years with her doing updates

(01:21:08):
during our Sunday show. Yeah, and so you know, obviously
it's a huge part of the show and everything else.
But she's in one place and I'm in another place.
And in recent months, Martin has been doing double duty
here at Fox Sports Radio, where he has his own
show at VJ, but leading up to that show, he
sits there for hours doing updates. So it's a very

(01:21:31):
similar situation. I am sitting next to someone who I
normally look through a pane of glass during the show,
and now you're actually next to me. Be careful where
I'll be next. I never know. I don't underestimate anybody
that's in this building. Believe me, nobody. I see Bo's here,

(01:21:53):
Hey Bo, how you doing? You mean? Saw you retired
your chief's cap that you were wearing yesterday? Now you're
back to your face. I am a true blue Dodger fan,
which I know you are.

Speaker 8 (01:22:03):
Nineteen eighty eight World Series hat right.

Speaker 1 (01:22:05):
Here, nineteen eighty eight World Series. I was just sharing
with Martin the story that I still have my ticket
stuff from being at Game one of that World Series.
I was there and I wasn't in the parking lot.
I was in my seat, then jumped out of my
seat when Kirk Gibson's home and left the park.

Speaker 8 (01:22:20):
I have a ticket stuff from Kershaw's No Hitter.

Speaker 1 (01:22:22):
Somewhere Wow, do you really? I have never seen a
no hitter. I was working hundreds and hundreds and hundreds
of baseball games. I've never been eyewitnessed to another that
was crazy.

Speaker 8 (01:22:33):
I got paid to be there, so I enjoyed that
one very.

Speaker 1 (01:22:35):
Much, very nice, very very nice?

Speaker 6 (01:22:37):
Are you?

Speaker 1 (01:22:37):
I mean, we've seen a lot of show hey. We
seen more of show hey Otani in a Dodgy uniform
just before spring training games have begun than I think
we did the entire time he's with then.

Speaker 8 (01:22:49):
I mean, I was going to say yesterday, every time
the Dodgers post something new with Otani, I remember that
he's a Dodger all over again, and that feeling of
joy just returns.

Speaker 1 (01:22:58):
Last night on my LA Broadcast television broadcasts, we had
an interview with Dave Roberts, and one of the questions
one of our reporters asked him was, does it lower
expectations for the Dodgers this year because O'tani will not
be pitching? And I'm thinking to myself, have you seen

(01:23:22):
the overunner on Dodger wins this year? It's one hundred
and three? Have you ever seen a number like that
for preseason? That's they're over under one hundred and three,
So no, it doesn't lower expectations at all. I do
believe though, with Otani Notty having to do both, it
should help him as a hitter. And then when you're

(01:23:44):
in the same lineup with a Freddie Freeman and the
Mookie bets, yeah he's I mean he could put up numbers.

Speaker 8 (01:23:50):
Yeah, He's never had protection the way he's gonna have
protection next year.

Speaker 1 (01:23:53):
So what is your betting horror? Is he batting third?
Is that your d Are you gonna go Mookie Freddie
Showhy Yeah?

Speaker 8 (01:23:59):
I think so, Mookie Freddie Shohey than Munsey, than Smith. Oh,
I thought you were gonna have no I put months
I Max Mounsey with Otani ahead him is gonna be hilarious.

Speaker 1 (01:24:11):
But you got Lefty ah yeah, I mean you don't
care about.

Speaker 8 (01:24:15):
Not really put your best hitters first and then they'll
figure it out.

Speaker 1 (01:24:21):
Think of what Freddy Freeman is gonna do with show
Hay hitting behind him. I mean, are you kidding me?

Speaker 8 (01:24:27):
I actually put a season parlay down yesterday and I
got Freddie Freeman at like ninety five and a half
RBIs and that feels very low to me. So I
think that's going to hit pretty easily.

Speaker 1 (01:24:37):
Yeah, I don't know. It's I feel Dave Roberts is
someone Martin for me that it's a little rough because
I've known him since he played baseball at UCLA. He
actually admitted me one time. He actually called my show
a couple of times way back in the day, and
I root for the guy. But he's like the Clayton

(01:24:59):
Kershaw of me, where he has one record in the
regular season and then we get into the postseason. I mean,
losing consecutive years in the first round to a division
team like the Potterys and then the Diamondbacks. Hard to
do that is that is not happening. So we'll see

(01:25:20):
what happens. But they are definitely going to be a
story coming up. We've been talking some NFL football and
wells we should will continue on here. We're sort of
picking out teams right now that really sucked in twenty
twenty three and whether or not they're going to be
a playoff team. I've been saving this team for the
top of this hour for you because I'm very curious

(01:25:42):
your take on this one team. The New York Jets
seven and ten. Ye have Robert Salah with one of
the worst current records of any active coach in the NFL.
They lost Aaron Rodgers four plays into the season. Their

(01:26:04):
offense never got untracked. Sala's back hackets back, and now
we'll find out if Aaron Rodgers is truly back. Are
you banking on the Jets to be a playoff team
in twenty twenty four?

Speaker 2 (01:26:22):
Look, I was to borrow a phrase that Aaron Rodgers
probably laugh at. I was drinking the kool aid on
the Jets last season.

Speaker 1 (01:26:30):
I watched too much Hard Knocks, didn't you.

Speaker 2 (01:26:32):
But also it was like people were discounting Rogers. You know,
get a discount double check, Yeah, uh no, But they
were discounting Rodgers to a point where I just couldn't.

Speaker 1 (01:26:43):
I just had to go back to like, Yo, this
guy's won two of the last three MVPs, now two
of the last four MVPs.

Speaker 2 (01:26:50):
But I was like, I get it, he's older, and
but he had a broken thumb his last year at
Green Bay and they almost made the playoffs. Like he's
throwing a bunch of rookie receivers. But the idea that
you're gonna build your football franchise in the vision of
Aaron Rodgers in the Year of Our Lord twenty twenty
four going into twenty twenty five is just not one

(01:27:10):
that I'm not subscribing especially and maybe full disclosure, it
very well could be from Aaron Rodgers overload from hearing
every day about how he's doing.

Speaker 1 (01:27:21):
Dolphin's listening to the dolphin's mate and that's helping Bill
Aaron Rodgers be the NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Obviously,
he's number one preseason comeback Player of the year. Will
he ultimately follow up Joe Flacco as the NFL's comeback
Player of the Year. I don't think so. No, I'm
not a believer. I think I'm about as far out

(01:27:42):
as I can be. You know what.

Speaker 2 (01:27:43):
Part of the reason why I'm so far out because
they kept Zack Wilson last season. They kept Zach Wilson
last season. They should if they had moved on completely,
that may not have been a lost year. It may
not have been a lost year. But somehow the Jets finisher,
they got seven wins, and it feels like they were
the worst team in football. Think about that. I know

(01:28:05):
it doesn't it make sense, but it feels like I
told you, like the Cardinals. They almost doubled the win
percentage of the Cardinals. How many Cardinals with four? They
almost doubled it, eight with seven. And it feels like
those teams were on the same exact line.

Speaker 1 (01:28:20):
All right, So if all the teams we talk about, well,
there's one more team, one more team I want to mention,
and it's not the Bears. Bears were a seven to
ten team. Look what the Bears do with the number
one pick in the draft is going to have a
massive domino effect. Obviously, sure, because you look at the
teams at the top of the draft and you can

(01:28:41):
pick out what six or six or seven of the
top ten teams all could be looking at quarterback. But
I'm not including the Bears. Okay, I almost ask you
about the Bears. If the Bears keep the pick and
take Caleb Williams and obviously start Caleb Williams at quarterback,

(01:29:05):
will they be better or worse than seven and ten
and twenty twenty four with him as a rookie? Worse? Exactly?

Speaker 2 (01:29:14):
I think they'd be worse. I think they'd be worse
to seven and ten. I mean, the Packers are on
the rise in that division. Lions obviously We're in an
NFC championship game, So those are going to be four
out of your four games. You got guaranteed to play
one on a home one and on the road. But
then also to the point of like how much better?
I mean, Caleb Williams may be very well, maybe the

(01:29:36):
next generational quarterback to come into this league.

Speaker 1 (01:29:39):
But we do this less in football than we do
in basketball.

Speaker 2 (01:29:42):
But like I'm old enough to remember when Trevor Lawrence
was the was the uh it was the greatest prospect
we've ever seen in all time of history and team.

Speaker 1 (01:29:50):
Sports, leading Clems into a national championship as a freshman.

Speaker 2 (01:29:54):
They don't get me wrong, they know beat Alabama, you know,
had some big wins.

Speaker 1 (01:29:58):
You know. You know, are you saying that Trevor Lawrence
is not going to be that in the NFL?

Speaker 2 (01:30:03):
Well, what I am saying is is that right now
you'd have a conversation of who's the best quarterback in
the division?

Speaker 1 (01:30:09):
Him or CJ. Stroud, Right, So it's like we because
we do this generation. Are you saying Anthony Richardson is
going to pass him up as well? In that division?
He could?

Speaker 2 (01:30:19):
But we do this every year with these generational prospects. Sure,
maybe Trevor, maybe Caleb Williams is you know, the next
sun of the moon and the stars. But in the NFL,
you don't get any credit for any of the games
you played until you get into the league and start
playing them.

Speaker 1 (01:30:36):
All right, one other team and then we'll fight, you know,
make our final choices there which two teams from the
depths of twenty twenty three will emerge as playoff teams
in twenty twenty So the Mapi's hands and the Buckeyes
that pull. That was interesting to listen a little highlight
of that game. One of our favorite games going on
right now. All right, here we go the New York Giants.

(01:31:01):
The New York Giants have been pretty clear despite their
premium pick in this year's draft, they're going to hold
down with Daniel Jones, who they gave forty million dollars
a year in a contract he will continue on and
bounce back with a huge bounce back year for the
New York Giants or not. This is a playoff team
two years ago? Will they be a playoff team in

(01:31:24):
twenty twenty four?

Speaker 2 (01:31:26):
Survey says no, no, no.

Speaker 1 (01:31:30):
Will they continue their downward trim from a six and
eleven season. I think six and eleven feels about right again.
For the Giants, Saquon Barkley won't be around all right.
So we've covered all these teams. Let me review the
teams and you pick out two. We've talked about the Jets,
We've talked about the Patriots, we talked about the Chargers,
we talked Giants, Commanders, Panthers, and Cardinals. Which two of

(01:31:55):
those teams are you picking right now to be playoff
teams in twenty twenty four?

Speaker 2 (01:32:03):
The one that I feel the most confident on Theirs.
On the Cardinals, I think they will be a wild
card team at minimum potentially winning a division at San
Francisco maybe takes a step back. Deebo Samuel did not
impress me in the Super Bowl and leading.

Speaker 1 (01:32:18):
Up to it.

Speaker 2 (01:32:19):
And you know that team, there's only so long the
window can stay open.

Speaker 1 (01:32:23):
You know, there's only so long.

Speaker 2 (01:32:25):
And they've knocked on the door a lot and no
one has come to answer with the ring behind it,
you know they have knocked on that door quite a bit.
People getting older kidled with only two catches in the
Super Bowl. Christian mccaffreys is approaching thirty, so I think
the Cardinals have a great shot this season, and the
second one forced to pick, I'll go with the Commanders.

Speaker 1 (01:32:46):
I know you're sold on those Commanders.

Speaker 2 (01:32:49):
I think, Look, if I think they have a lot
of talent on that team, I think the I like
a lot of skilled players, and I know that they're
likely be getting a new quarterback coming in.

Speaker 1 (01:33:00):
But yeah, I think.

Speaker 2 (01:33:03):
And then, plus NFC East is up and down consistently,
a different team wins the division every dog one year.

Speaker 1 (01:33:10):
My pick is going to surprise you. But there's a
reason for it. Now we say that this happens every year,
and it does. I'm not sure any of these teams
will actually make the playoffs in twenty twenty four. But
the team that will actually, from a wins standpoint, have
the biggest improvement year to year will be the Carolina

(01:33:32):
Panthers because of the division they play in. The Buccaneers,
it's Baker Mayfield going to repeat what he did last year.
The New Orleans Saints as mediocre and nine to eight
team as I can possibly think of. The Falcons a
restart who knows, maybe a lot of Justin Fields as
their quarterback. We'll see what happens there. But I think

(01:33:55):
the Panthers could win eight games this year, it won't
be quite enough to get into the postseason from a
win standpoint two to eight. Mark it down, the Carolina Panthers.
We'll have the biggest year to year win improvement in
the NFL. And put it on the board. Put it
on the board right there, all right. Coming up on
the other side, we're gonna switch gears. Get back to

(01:34:15):
the NBA. It's an All Star NBA Sunday. What does
that mean? And where are we going with just a
third of the season to go before we get to
the playoffs. We're gonna break it down. This is Fox
Sports Sunday. You can put it.

Speaker 7 (01:34:29):
On the ball.

Speaker 1 (01:34:30):
Yeah, Steve Hartman and Martin Weise here Fox Sports Sunday.
We're live from the tyrack dot Com studios. Right after
the show, our podcast is going up now. If you
missed any of today's show, be sure to check out
the podcast. Search Fox Sports Radio wherever you get your podcasts.
Be sure to also follow, rate and review the podcast. Again,
just search Fox Sports Radio wherever you get your podcasts,

(01:34:51):
and you can see this show posted right after we
get off the air. All right, we've taken some time
out of Let's be honest, it's not the biggest sports day.
Could have been bigger with the Daytona five hundred. I mean,
that's the biggest race in NASCAR, but that got postponed
for the day.

Speaker 2 (01:35:11):
I'm not going to put the sport that what is
on TV on blast, but I definitely was looking through,
like my gambling app is like nothing else on besides
this golf replay of the two thousand and six Jerk
Classic or whatever it is.

Speaker 1 (01:35:29):
We do add the Genesis going on right now at
Riviera Country Club, which is too far from where we are.
Beautiful day out there holding out the rain. In time,
I had a good field. Of course, Tiger Woods had
a bail. He got sick. They said he had nothing
to do with his back and he just got sick.
He did.

Speaker 2 (01:35:46):
My good friend Kira Dixon was reporting that there were
ambulances and fire trucks there, but Tiger then cleared it
up the day after that. He didn't get in any
of those ambulances of fire trucks. He had influenza. Yes
he didn't have the flu at influenza. Whi's the same thing.

Speaker 1 (01:36:03):
All right. I want to get to some NBA. Actually
I got the All Star Game. I will say this,
here's my thumbs up on the NBA All Star Game.
It has nothing to do with the actual game, because
obviously the game itself is a defensiveless whatever it is.
But the way they select the All Stars, I still

(01:36:23):
like it. And let me explain Martin, and I'm gonna
go to baseball for a second here. So baseball is
the Midsummer Classic, okay, And the selection of the All
Star team, oftentimes in recent years, is based on what
somebody has done for half a season. So you get

(01:36:45):
a pitcher or you get a hitter that you've never
heard of before, and they have a hot first half
and they are annoyed as an All Star. My name
for the baseball All Star Game is the sum Star Game,
because they're not All Stars. When I was a kid,
no matter what their batting average was at the All

(01:37:06):
Star break, the Willie Mayses, the Hank Aarons, the carl
Yas Strimsky's, They're always on the All Star team. Why
because they were actually stars. And the only sport that
maintains that criteria in choosing their All Star teams is

(01:37:30):
the NBA. The argument again, so why is this guy
on the All Star Game every single year? And my
answer to that is because he's an actual star. It
is very hard to be a first time All Star
in the NBA. In fact, this year, I believe there
were three. So if the twenty four players selected for

(01:37:51):
the All Star Game, three were first time All Stars,
and for me personally, I don't have a problem with that.
You know, there was a lot of questions of like
why didn't the Sacramento Kings have an All Star? Why
would Anthony Davis be an All Star? Why would the Lakers,
who were sitting as a nine seed in the West,
be rewarded with two All Stars? Well, one got voted

(01:38:13):
in Lebron, but Anthony Davis was added to the team.
And my answer is simple, because Anthony Davis is an
All Star. He's an actual star player. So that's my criteria.
Because it's an exhibition gave the game doesn't really mean anything.
But to me, if you're advertising a game to be

(01:38:34):
an All Star game, all Star game, then you can't
be like baseball, which is a some star game or
a few star game. It needs to be an all
star game. And I think the NBA is the closest
thing to an actual All Star game.

Speaker 2 (01:38:52):
But I think one of the things that ends up
happening is when your All Star position is grandfathered in
after a certain periodiod in time, then you end up
getting a little bit of the more laxadaisical play that
we see in the NBA All Star Game as opposed
to some of the other sports.

Speaker 1 (01:39:09):
Not that anybody is going now. You can watch the
Futures Game. If you like that, then what the are
the rising Stars or whatever they call it these days. No,
but I'm just but I do think that I wish
it was a little bit easier for a guy who,
like some people don't need to be All Stars, that
are all Stars.

Speaker 2 (01:39:30):
I don't want to take anybody off the list, but
like I think Trey Young probably should be.

Speaker 1 (01:39:33):
You know, it is the All Star Game, but well
he finally got sucked in.

Speaker 2 (01:39:38):
But you know, I think when you look at some
of the things that are happening on the court, I
don't think it would be the worst. Like, yeah, if
the Aaron Fox was in the All Star Game, I'm
not gonna blink twice, like but you know, but I
will say, like a guy like for example, Klay Thompson,
not to take shots at him, but like he's clearly
not the same guy that he was earlier in his career.
That's well and fine. We don't need to grandfather him

(01:39:58):
in to other All Stars. Appearance is simply because he
used to be for quite some time, do you.

Speaker 1 (01:40:03):
I mean a couple of years ago, Dwayne Wade and
Dirk Novinsky, who had obviously clearly passed their prime, were
added to the teams knowing that this was going to
be their final season. See that's that's to me an
appropriate situation. You're celebrating to future As it turned out,
first ballot Hall of famers with one last chance to
be there featured at the All Star Game. It's an exhibition,

(01:40:28):
not an exact science. So I like that about the NBA.
I just I just know this.

Speaker 2 (01:40:34):
I want people to get out here and at least
like give a little bit of trying, like a little
bit of effort to where it looks like we're like this,
give me, just give me a scoach, like a.

Speaker 1 (01:40:46):
Pat, like a pat of butter. Just so this that much. Well,
you remember they get they they had some gimmicks. Now
this is the first year in several years where the
player that got the most votes from the fans is
not like the cap. I'm a team member. They had
a draft the last several years, Team Lebron versus Team Jannaz.
That's out. I kind of liked the draft. I didn't.

(01:41:08):
I'd say, like this, it's East versus West. That's how
it has been historically.

Speaker 2 (01:41:15):
Monti made a point yesterday that I'm go ahead and
agree with, though I had to stop it where she
said she would get confused because I could tell which
team was the East and which team was the West
based off their jerseys. But I would love it if
we could go back to instead of having the All
Star jerseys, if we could go back to teams wearing
their own individual jerseys.

Speaker 1 (01:41:36):
Road versus road versus home.

Speaker 2 (01:41:38):
Yeah, but you know what that would require, Steve, for
there to be some level of decorum and standard when
it comes to these NBA jersey Can.

Speaker 1 (01:41:46):
You even identify how many? How many literally how many
jerseys right now in the NBA are readily identifiable? I
mean I was watching the other day the Milwaukee Bucks
and they were in Clipper blue uniforms. You know, those
those light blue uniforms the Clippers often wear and the

(01:42:07):
Milwaukee Bucks. Can we turn Monzie on for a second?

Speaker 4 (01:42:10):
Ear?

Speaker 1 (01:42:11):
And I realized I didn't know it at the moment
because I would just flipping through the dial that I
was watching the Milwaukee Bucks.

Speaker 6 (01:42:17):
I thought the first time I saw them, I thought
they were the Dallas Mavericks. Yeah, I thought they were
in because they also have like a weird different uniform
and I glanced by it and.

Speaker 7 (01:42:26):
I was like, those are the Bucks? What are we doing?
What are we doing?

Speaker 1 (01:42:30):
To me?

Speaker 2 (01:42:30):
The worst is the Atlanta Hawks have a black and
baby blue uniform.

Speaker 7 (01:42:37):
I have not seen that.

Speaker 1 (01:42:38):
I just can't square.

Speaker 2 (01:42:40):
Why they and they all look like high school teams,
like I just like the colors are just like where
do we come through with this?

Speaker 1 (01:42:47):
Like because we used to have like you know, oh yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:42:50):
One or two al jerseys? Like who plays? Like what
team is that?

Speaker 7 (01:42:54):
Yeah, you're righty to the college.

Speaker 2 (01:42:56):
It looks like college. It looks like I'm watching Providence play.

Speaker 1 (01:42:59):
By the way, are are you going to see a
multi colored court for the game today?

Speaker 7 (01:43:03):
No, it's supposed to be on hardwood.

Speaker 6 (01:43:05):
It was only the first two events or the first
two days of events on that led light.

Speaker 7 (01:43:10):
I mean now they're going back to the normal.

Speaker 1 (01:43:12):
That n season tournament where they colored the court.

Speaker 7 (01:43:14):
Oh that's what you're talking about.

Speaker 6 (01:43:15):
No, those were awful, But you know how for the
first two days there was like an led court.

Speaker 7 (01:43:20):
They're not using that for the game. They're just using
a regular hardwood court.

Speaker 1 (01:43:24):
Why not?

Speaker 7 (01:43:25):
I don't I don't know, I don't know. It makes
no sense.

Speaker 1 (01:43:28):
Imagine if they had the court they were using yesterday
for the actual game.

Speaker 7 (01:43:32):
It would be fun.

Speaker 1 (01:43:33):
It's unwatchable. See here's the thing. It's watched like a
lot of people, because I had some friends that would
go to those in season tournament games in person and say, yeah,
it looks sort of cool, But on television it was
a nightmare. Like you could not watch those games. Yeah,

(01:43:54):
with those full colored courts.

Speaker 7 (01:43:56):
You know what was it? The Chicago Bulls that were
just like red? It was the worst one. I agree.
I agree it was not pleasing to the eye.

Speaker 1 (01:44:04):
But other people would say, well, if you're at the game,
it actually looks pretty cool. I didn't like the Clippers
one either, but the whole.

Speaker 7 (01:44:10):
Thing I didn't even remember what it looks like.

Speaker 1 (01:44:13):
It was that red and black?

Speaker 7 (01:44:15):
Was that the Clippers one? See I've mentally taken it
out of my brain.

Speaker 2 (01:44:18):
Probably, well, I just it's like, I know, we want
to make these things feel like, feel different than the
regular season.

Speaker 1 (01:44:24):
Why, like, yeah, that's part of my thing. And I
don't know if this is just.

Speaker 2 (01:44:28):
Like me growing up now and being older, but like
when I was a kid, I thought the skills competition
was the coolest thing ever.

Speaker 1 (01:44:35):
You know what.

Speaker 2 (01:44:35):
I didn't need the court to light up for me
to watch it, Like maybe maybe somebody's shoes were lighting
up because they had you know, when you had the
shoes where you step and it had a little red.

Speaker 1 (01:44:46):
Light flash in the back by the way, did it?
It was? It just me? So they had like the
team competition for the skills yesterday, and it seemed like
at times they were confused. No, it was not just you,
because we were sitting here watching like they didn't even know,
like what am I supposed to do here?

Speaker 2 (01:45:00):
Well, I was doing the show as that's happening, and
I was turned to VJ. I said, they don't load
the rule.

Speaker 1 (01:45:06):
They don't know what they're like, what am I supposed
to do next? Here? And then you had a team situation,
so it made it even more confusing. I would just
relieve when Halliburton hit that half court shot and said,
all right, this thing is over. I don't know what
I was watching, but it's over. Over all, right, Monts,
what's happening out there?

Speaker 7 (01:45:24):
Not a lot of stuff, Fellas Martin, I just looked
up the court.

Speaker 6 (01:45:27):
I think you got confused because I was gonna say
I thought the Clippers in season tournament, not that it
was great, but it was baby blue and dark blue
with this in the middle, the clips in the middle.

Speaker 7 (01:45:36):
It wasn't red.

Speaker 2 (01:45:37):
Maybe I was watching the Clippers play somebodybody.

Speaker 7 (01:45:40):
And then you just got stuck because I agree though
the whole and also any all of the ones with
red were the worst.

Speaker 1 (01:45:49):
The red bulls. The bulls by far was the word.

Speaker 6 (01:45:52):
But I'm looking at and it was every time it
was all red. It was hard to see it on
the TV. Maybe being there in person was better, but yeah, no, no, no,
I'm with you Fellas on all of that. All right,
So we got some golf going on. Patrick Canley started
the fourth round in the lead.

Speaker 7 (01:46:08):
He has now fallen to Luke.

Speaker 6 (01:46:10):
Liszt, who is in the lead sixteen under par overall.
Can'tley is two shots back. Will Zelatorus three shots back.
This is the fourth and final round of the Genesis
Invitational at the Riviera Country Club. We do have a
fun game in hockey, but it hasn't started. It's the
Rangers and the Islanders. They're playing at.

Speaker 7 (01:46:27):
MetLife Stadium, so this is fun. I'm hoping no.

Speaker 6 (01:46:32):
You know, it's on ice, so nobody's gonna have any
torn acls or anything like that, or achilles or anything
like that because it is at MetLife Stadium.

Speaker 7 (01:46:40):
But they were supposed to start at twelve. It hasn't
started yet. I'm waiting on it.

Speaker 6 (01:46:43):
But this is a fun one at MetLife Stadium between
the Rangers and the Islanders. And then we do have
some college hoops that have wrapped up. We have a
couple of upsets. South Florida held on to beat number
twenty four Florida Atlantic eighty nine to.

Speaker 7 (01:46:55):
Eighty six, and number two Perdue. Yesterday, the nater I
Meant Selection committee put Purdue as an overall number one seed.

Speaker 1 (01:47:04):
What could go wrong?

Speaker 7 (01:47:05):
What could go wrong?

Speaker 6 (01:47:07):
Ohio State just fired their head coach four days ago.
Ohio State beats number two per Due today seventy three
sixty nine was the final in that one.

Speaker 7 (01:47:16):
So you can't make this stuff up, guys, you can't
make it up, you know.

Speaker 6 (01:47:19):
And yeah, All Star Game today a pm Eastern time,
and it's actual East versus West, which it should have
always stayed that way.

Speaker 7 (01:47:28):
It should have never been. Team captains picked their.

Speaker 1 (01:47:30):
Tea again, the captain thing.

Speaker 6 (01:47:32):
It got confusing, and it just didn't stop when Nicola
Jokic is the last pick.

Speaker 1 (01:47:37):
Yeah, that was. That was. That was hilarious last year,
Like nobody picks Jokic, nobody picks Jokich.

Speaker 7 (01:47:42):
So yeah, I'm happy where it is. But I'm with
Martin that they should wear their jerseys. As I said yesterday, even.

Speaker 6 (01:47:50):
Though I would find it confusing, I think they should
wear this.

Speaker 1 (01:47:53):
You think the not picking Jokic the last pick was
the player's way of saying, we're to this guy getting
all this attention and recognition as supposedly the best player
in the league, and then he goes out and says, Okay,
how about if I win the championship and completely dominate
the postseason?

Speaker 7 (01:48:11):
You know, I really don't. I think it was honestly like.

Speaker 6 (01:48:14):
This is now a game of tricks and whistles and
showy off like whatever we want, and so they were
just like this guy is, as we talked about yesterday.

Speaker 1 (01:48:25):
Mister fundamental, fundamental like he Duncan was mister fundamental and
he won five championships.

Speaker 6 (01:48:30):
Look flashy in any way, And I think that's just
the idea of the All Star Game, is that it's
just this flashy event. I really don't think it was
a we're not gonna pick him because he's so good
and he annoys us.

Speaker 7 (01:48:41):
But maybe you're onto something.

Speaker 1 (01:48:43):
By the way you see him dump water on Luca.

Speaker 7 (01:48:45):
Yes, I showed you that.

Speaker 1 (01:48:47):
I know, Martin, did you see that I missed? So
Luga was speaking, he was sitting in front of him,
Mike speaking to the media, and Yogic came from behind
him and dumped water on the back of his neck.

Speaker 6 (01:48:58):
And it seems like it was really cold, because could
just like shiver like went in instead.

Speaker 7 (01:49:02):
A bad word. And I said to Steve, I was like,
I would not like that prank. If somebody I would
not handle that, She.

Speaker 1 (01:49:07):
Said, I would have gone airborne righte for his neck,
Like I.

Speaker 6 (01:49:12):
Guess some pranks, but if you put like ice cold
water down my back when I'm not.

Speaker 1 (01:49:15):
Expecting it, I'll put that on the list.

Speaker 7 (01:49:19):
Put the take off, my hoop erians.

Speaker 1 (01:49:21):
No one that's gonna happen next. All right, monsie, thank
you very much. Once again, we're broadcasting live here from
the ti raq dot com studios. All right, if you're
one of those people saying, Hi, I haven't seen any
NBA basketball this year because I when football season's on,
that's one hundred percent of my attention, So get me

(01:49:42):
up to date. Well, here's a little update for you.
We had the All Star Game today. Games do not
resume until Thursday Thursday. So there's no NBA tomorrow, there's
no NBA Tuesday, there's no NBA Wednesday. Well, you talk
about really taking it advantage of grabbing your audience right
after the football season.

Speaker 2 (01:50:04):
The NBA is having more days off of the All
Star break than I had snow days combined at University
of Michigan through five years.

Speaker 1 (01:50:10):
It's crazy. All right, let me give you a little
update in the standings. So in the West, the top
two teams in the West are the Minnesota Timberwolves and
the Oklahoma City Thunder. Those are your top two seeds
in the Western Conference. Just like the script makers wrote
it out, right, I mean where the Lakers and the Warriors.

(01:50:30):
All right, Lakers are nine, Warriors are ten, pulling up
that play in tournament seed. Yeah, that's where they are
right now. You're defending NBA champion Nuggets. Having watched the
Nuggets for much of their season, then they came into
the break, by the way, with a three game losing
streak to drop them to the four seed. Clippers are
in at number three. The Nuggets already have one of

(01:50:50):
those looks of a team that shows up when they
feel like they have to. Remember, they go into Boston.
Boston was undefeated at home, sure, and they went in
there and beat the Celtics and sort of like, yeah,
just to remind you when we're playing our a game,
we're still the team to beat. I haven't shaken my
thoughts at all. I think the Nuggets are still the
team to beat in the NBA. You got a healthy

(01:51:13):
yokicch you got Maray, you got those guys. Now that
they have a championship under the belt. The way they
just ran right through the playoffs last year, there's no
reason to believe that they have diminished in any respect
going into this year's playoffs, unless they have a major injury. Yeah,
I'm saving.

Speaker 2 (01:51:29):
Like you said, obviously you put the normal caveats out there,
But no, Jokic is the best player in the NBA
right now. And the thing that's scary about him is
he he does not necessarily put out the same effort
every night. You'll go look at some of those nices like, oh,
Jokis decided to take today off.

Speaker 1 (01:51:46):
Oh yeah, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:51:47):
He doesn't necessarily sit in a lot of times in
the same way that you see a lot of guys
like low managing and so on. But he'll just have
you know, Oh, Jokis took seven shots tonight. Okay, I
guess he's just he wasn't interesting. This is a passing
game for him, but when he wants to turn it on,
I think you're onto something there with Jamal Murray. I
just think that as long as they maintain home court

(01:52:07):
advantaged throughout the most of the playoffs, like up until
maybe Western Conference Finals, they'll be.

Speaker 1 (01:52:12):
A good shape. Now, when you talk about teams like Minnesota,
or you talk about a team like Oklahoma City, I mean,
I guess let's start with Oklahoma City here. I mean,
this has been an amazing rebuild for this organization to
get back, and the key was that trade of Paul George.
They got a boatloaded draft picks and they picked up

(01:52:33):
Shay Gilgess Alexander in that deal, who now has obviously
established themselves not just as an All Star, but literally
an All NBA player. But we still have to figure
out if they suddenly get on a little run in
the postseason, is he capable of stepping up and taking
a team over the top. This is how you have

(01:52:55):
to divide your stars, right, I mean, I mean when
Steph Kerr he sort of hit the scene. You know,
it was a great story, like, Wow, this Warriors team's
winning a lot of games right now, and this guy's
firing threes from all over the court. But is that
going to actually translate into a championship? Does he have
that in him? And of course we found out the

(01:53:16):
answer is a resounding yes. He is that player. Is
a shake Gilgess Alexander, that player they can take his
team to a championship.

Speaker 2 (01:53:28):
I think he could definitely be the best player or
one of the top two players on a championship team.
I just wonder about the arrest of that roster, Like
when I think, like you look at you talk about
Staph Well, you know, he did have the two Musketeers
right by side, Klay Thompson, who was locking down any
perimeter defender and Draymond Green, who was one of the
best post defenders even still to this day, even though

(01:53:48):
he's lost a little bit in some of his offensive respects.
I wonder about the rest of that team and their
ability to handle, especially some of the more the wing
players in the West.

Speaker 1 (01:53:58):
And then there's the Minnesota Timberwolves, and to me, they
have more to point to the idea that this could
be a championship team. I mean, when you look at
the top three names on that roster, I'm really if
you want to go Mike Conley as well. So you

(01:54:19):
got Karl Anthony Towns, who, by the way, once again
was challenging in the three point competition. You had that
ridiculous game the other day where you're just firing threes
all over the place. Rudy Gobert, who appeared to be
a bust a year ago, all of a sudden, now
we figure out, wow, maybe that was a good deal.
He is finally bringing to the Timberwolves what they hope

(01:54:40):
they were going to get. It just it was a
matter of time, you know, with go Beart and Anthony Towns.
Karl Anthony town Is like you had to figure out
the dynamic the two bigs, how do we work together
in the court. They figure that out. But I was
talking about Shay Gillis Alexander, I ask you the same
thing of Anthony Edwards. He's an All Star player. Oh yeah,
but it's almost like it's like the Jason Tatum situation

(01:55:02):
in Boston. So Jason Tatum is now a consistent All
NBA player, but he hasn't been able to get over
the hump in the postseason. Every time it looks like
he might be right there, he falls short. And we've
seen this with a lot of great players over the year.
James Hardy comes in the nine. Anthony Edwards. Are you

(01:55:25):
sold on him as a guy that in clutch, final
minutes of a big game he's going to carry his
team over the top.

Speaker 2 (01:55:31):
I'm one hundred percent sold on Anthony Edwards, and I
have been really since he got into the league. He
to me, has the temperament of a superstar, Like he's
not too he's not afraid of the moment. He's not
the moment is not ever too big for him, and
he's a guy who's like one hundred percent every night
he's out there.

Speaker 1 (01:55:49):
Type of guy.

Speaker 2 (01:55:50):
Like I've been a major, huge fan of Anthony Edwards
game since he got into the league, and I think
that especially now with this team that he has around him.

Speaker 1 (01:55:59):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:56:00):
One that concerns me on Minnesota is Carl Anthony Towns,
who is known to shrink in some of the brighter lights,
right or moves track and go ahead and like somehow
score sixty in the loss. Right, he scored sixty and
was on the bench towards the end of the fourth
quarter because it's like, we're trying to win this game, Carl,
if you're not aware, I think Anthony Edwards is to me, Steve,

(01:56:24):
I say this, he grew up. He looks like he
grew up playing outside and I like those kind of guys.

Speaker 1 (01:56:29):
Well, it'll be very interesting in the Western Conference playoffs
if we go into the postseason where Minnesota is the
one seed in Oklahoma City's the two seed. Yeah, it
will be free, I mean, and then the question is
are they going to live up to that. We'll continue
on as we get ready for the second half of
the NBA season. This is Fox Sports Sunday. Steve Hartman,

(01:56:51):
Martin Wise here on Fox Sports Sunday Live from the
tai Iraq dot Com studios, getting ready for the second
half of the NBA season. The All Star Game is
today and again they are not going to resume games
until Thursday, Thursday. Why not Tuesday or even Wednesday. These

(01:57:14):
millennials don't want to work. Steve man oh Man. Well,
one of the rules changes they made in the NBA
this year is working, and that was the sixty five
game rule. So they made a number that said, in
order for you to be eligible for any postseason honors,
any of the awards all NBA teams, you must have

(01:57:35):
played at least sixty five games. So that means that
one player, Joel Embiid, has been eliminated hundred percent. He's
averaging thirty five points a game. You will not see
him on any All NBA team this year. He will
get no votes for MVP. He is not eligible because
he did not play sixty five games this year. But

(01:57:57):
what we are seeing, obviously is guys playing more games.
The reason the Clippers are playing so well this year
is that Kawhi Leonard's on the court that helps. It's amazing.
When you actually see Kawhi Leonard, You're like, damn, that
guy's a good player. Where's he been load management? He
just takes months off whatever. He was like the king

(01:58:17):
the face of load management. Are you do you like
this rule? Oh? I love it.

Speaker 2 (01:58:21):
I love it, and we have it unofficially in football,
right Like you'll see guy will be in the MVP conversation,
like Lamar Jackson was in the MVP conversation. Then he
hurt his knee and guess what, he's no longer in
the MVP conversation.

Speaker 1 (01:58:35):
Why because he got hurt? Is it fair?

Speaker 2 (01:58:38):
I don't know this is but this is also like
he's not there.

Speaker 1 (01:58:42):
How valuable could he be? Well? I remember, way back
in the day, the NBA players actually voted on the
MVP award. People don't know this. The first twenty five
years that they had the voting for MVP in the NBA,
the players voted for the MVP before they turned it
over to the media. And one year Bill Walton with

(01:59:05):
the Portland Trailblazers, they were off to this terrific start
and he got hurt. He missed twenty four games that
he played fifty eight games and he was the runaway
choice of the players still as the most valuable player
in the league that year, so his one MVP award
he missed twenty four games because of injury. Well, players

(01:59:28):
voted and they said he's still the MVP.

Speaker 2 (01:59:29):
To see Jalen Brown say that he would have liked
to see fifty eight games be the minimum, which you know,
I wouldn't have an issue with that, but I do
think the fact that there was there needed to be
a minimum, and it should be around one fourth of
games played.

Speaker 1 (01:59:42):
I think though, see I'm a little bet I don't
like that kind of discrimination, like in the case of
embiedd where he's legitimately hurt. I mean, I understand the
idea of it is, we don't want players just sitting
out games with that load management where suddenly you're missing
twenty games and and you know it has a direct
effect on the buck of the owners. I would like

(02:00:03):
to have some kind of revision based on an actual
injury keeping you out of games. All right, much more
coming up, Stay with us. This is Fox Sports Sunday,
and join us Sunday here on Fox Sports Sunday, and
we're broadcasting live from the ti iraq dot com studios.
Ty rack dot com. We're gonna help get you there
and I'm match selection fast, free shipping, free road has

(02:00:24):
some protection over ten thousand recommended installers. Ti rack dot
com the way tire buying should be. We mentioned that
the NBA schedule will resume on Thursday, today, of course
being the All Star Game. Also on Thursday, we'll have
spring training baseball games, exhibition baseball getting underway. John Paul Morosi,

(02:00:46):
ore Fox Sports Radio MLB Insider is going to be
joining us here coming up in about fifteen minutes or so,
getting excited about baseball. Both Mart and I have made
clear we're very excited about the upcoming of baseball season.
We've been talking a little of everything today. We've been
rehashing the NFL season that is coming gone already. Our
thoughts are set for twenty twenty four. What's going to

(02:01:08):
happen there. We've been talking about the NBA as we
get through this All Star break and what's to expect
in the second half of the season. Very quickly here
we mentioned these two teams, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the
Oklahoma City Thunder sitting one to two right now in
the Western Conference. Mentioned that you got the Lakers at
nine and the Warriors at ten. By the way they

(02:01:30):
will face each other on Thursday, and both teams actually
playing a little better basketball right now, do you buy
either one of these teams making any noise in the
NBA playoffs, assuming they can even get past the playing round,
if they're stuck in the play in round.

Speaker 2 (02:01:51):
So, what does noise mean? I mean win around, I
mean go to a conference final.

Speaker 1 (02:01:56):
What does noise mean? Well, the Lakers made noise a
year ago by getting to the conference finals, even though
they got swept by the Nuggets at that point. Do
you see any repeat of that?

Speaker 2 (02:02:05):
I could see the Lakers getting it in gear. I
don't see the war I think the Warriors are dead
men walking. They go as far as Steph goes and
I think that's that's a first round exit, our second
round exit at best.

Speaker 1 (02:02:18):
Oh, last year we had the Warriors play the Lakers.

Speaker 2 (02:02:21):
Well, I did, but I think if de Aaron Fox
doesn't fracture his finger midway through the first round of
the playoffs, I think we would have had another all
California series. It would have been like this, the Lakers
and the and the Kings.

Speaker 1 (02:02:33):
We had this wild rumor about a deal that to me,
was the most fantasized trade idea ever I saw. I
mean Lebron James. First of all, why would Lebron James
want to leave the Lakers to go to the Warriors
to play with Steph Curvey? What's the draw of that?

(02:02:57):
They were rivals for four straight NBA finals? Why would
he feel compelled to play with Steph Curry? That was
ten years ago? It wasn't I mean, I mean, I
I don't the idea of playing with someone you've played
against him, like for you know, fifteen years. Why would

(02:03:19):
you say, boy, I would love to play with what's
the new NBA?

Speaker 2 (02:03:23):
He said, look, hey, let's sign up together. You want
to come down here and play with me?

Speaker 1 (02:03:27):
And you had been my foe, You had been a
thorn in my side. My single greatest moment was beating
you and your seventy three win Warriors team in the NBA.
Why would I want to join forces with him? I mean,
ultimately he didn't. Well, I don't think it was ever
on the table, because first, the Lakers would never trade

(02:03:47):
Lebron James of the Golden State Warriors if they were
to trade him, he would be to like the New
York Knicks.

Speaker 2 (02:03:54):
The report saying that Genie said, look, we don't want
to trade Tom, but give him a call see if
he wants to come.

Speaker 1 (02:03:59):
He said, you know what, I don't want to come. No,
why would he want to do that. What's a better
team right now? The Lakers are the Warriors. The Lakers, Yes,
but now that they finally have a coach in Darbnham,
how's this guy still have a job. You you made
a run to the Western Conference finals with Lebron, Ady

(02:04:20):
d low Reeves and Ruey. That was your lineup and
it took him two thirds of a season to figure
out maybe we should put those five guys back in
the starting lineup. Like that's going on here?

Speaker 2 (02:04:36):
Yeah, I know that Lakers fans aren't aren't necessarily happy
about it.

Speaker 1 (02:04:39):
Maybe he was trying to figure out what different rotation. Hell,
he was like, how can I guarantee Torrian Princes in
the lineup? Figure it out? How do I guarantee that
whatever lineup they put on the court, the one guy
that's the constant is Torian Prince. I do think that
specer Dinwood he's gonna end up playing some big medal,
I mean Nollik Gabe Vincent unfortunately got hurt. That was unfortunate.

(02:05:01):
I think gay Finson could have given him some quality
minutes how to actually play with Dimwitty who went to
my high school by the way, Taft High School, Taft, Okay,
right down the street also produced Jordan Farmar, two time
NBA champion with the Lakers, Jordan Farmar taf tie No.
I think Dinwhittie is going to be a nice addition

(02:05:22):
for the Lakers, you know. So I was talking about
the idea of like who would be Let me ask
you this, who do you think would be the right
choice if you were to get rid of Darvinham to
coach a Lebron James led Lakers team?

Speaker 2 (02:05:40):
Whoever Lebron James wants to be the head coach. H
That's the way you got to ask, the way you
got to answer it. It reminds me like when I
when I after college, I moved in with my dad
for a while. I was still living, you know, technically
at home, but he was never there right so he
would literally be gone for weeks and weeks and weeks
at a time. So after a while I would put place,
put things into places where I wanted them to be, right.

(02:06:03):
You know, it's like, this is where I'm put in
the paper towels, this is where I'm doing. And I'm
not a messy guy by nature, right, But however, I
will come home and when my dad would be coming
back in town from two months out, and he'd come
back and be like, well, where are the hells where
are my socks?

Speaker 1 (02:06:20):
Right? They're in the drawer? Well why would they?

Speaker 2 (02:06:22):
They were in the same drawd they've always been in,
but they're on the right side instead of on the
left side.

Speaker 1 (02:06:28):
And you know what that was, Steve. It was wrong.
You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (02:06:32):
It wasn't dirty, it was wrong. It was in the
wrong place. Why would you put the keys there? Because's
where I want to put the keys. They're right there
on the counter. Now the keys are supposed to go
in the kitchen island.

Speaker 1 (02:06:42):
Oh you know why? Because you know what? You know what?
You know what. The lesson to learn from all of
that is.

Speaker 2 (02:06:47):
Is you got right, you got wrong, and then you
got who's in charge. Right and right and wrong can
slide one way or another depending on who's in charge.

Speaker 1 (02:06:57):
So you asked me who who should be coaching the team?
Whoever Lebron wants to be coaching the team, because.

Speaker 2 (02:07:03):
If it's not if it's not right with Lebron, is
not gonna be right with anybody.

Speaker 1 (02:07:07):
Oh, per agree. I am the idea that well a
g A. Lebron's running the organization. Yes, yes, he earned
that basketball Look at Bill Russell became the first African
American head coach in a major North American sport when

(02:07:29):
the Celtics, when he was still playing, made him the
coach of the team player coach and the first year
he did, their streak of eight straight NBA championships ended.
Wilton in the Philadelphia seventy six Ers knocked him up. Seems say,
you can't do both. They won the next two NBA championships,
the Celtics the last two year was there. I don't

(02:07:49):
understand why people think that can happen today. What's the difference?
I mean, seriously, now you dub all this film study
and breaking it down, does it seem like to you
when you watch a normal NBA game, there's some kind
of master strategy going into any of these games. Here's
what I see when I watch the NBA. I see
defense only one. It has to be played. And I

(02:08:12):
see offensively the same offense on every team where they're
just circling ball around to an open guy standing at
the three point line. That's essentially the NBA these days.
So why wouldn't Lebron coach a team. It's not like
football right where you're literal.

Speaker 2 (02:08:25):
I mean, you have certain plays that get run in
the NBA are certain philosophical ideas. We want to shoot
from this place on the court more than we want
to shoot from that place on the court, so on
and so forth. But like in football, you have teams
that are run heavy, you have teams that are pass heavy.
The West Coast, they implement short passing when you know

(02:08:45):
five six yards in the air is how we're gonna
get down.

Speaker 1 (02:08:48):
We're gonna keep a running back on the field. We're
gonna be all.

Speaker 2 (02:08:50):
We have teams like Sean McVay his first few years
in LA where he was like, oh.

Speaker 1 (02:08:55):
We're running eleven personnel. This is what we do.

Speaker 2 (02:08:58):
We will have one tight end, we will have one
running back and everybody else you're going out there to
catch a pass, right, that is what we do. Forty
nine ers, we're gonna have two. We're gonna have a
tight end, full back and running back out here. Whether
we're an empty whether we're in a high formation, we're
gonna have Kyle u Check on the field. We're gonna
have running back on the field, half George Kettle on

(02:09:18):
the field. They don't really do that in the NBA.
Don't only do that.

Speaker 1 (02:09:22):
It's either it's all about how can we get to
the three year layoff? I can remember still watching some
of those. How did that work? You're like, it's simple.
Bill Russell doesn't like what he sees on the court.
He calls a time out, they go to the sidelines,
and he talks to his teammates. Now, let's get back
out there and play the kind of game that we
need to win. This game makes a lot of sense

(02:09:44):
to me. Lebron could obviously do something like that. But
I you know, somebody threw out the name Jean Rondo. Yeah,
somebody was Bo, But I know remember that, mister Bo Benson.
He was all hot on Rondo with no exact where
where did you come up with the Rondo name? Out
of the blue? To be the next coach of the
Lakers if they part ways with Darvin Ham.

Speaker 8 (02:10:05):
Well, it's not like I came up with it myself.
It's been floated around. But he's just one of the
smarter guys to ever play the game. So it makes
a ton of sense.

Speaker 1 (02:10:12):
Well, I know that's he's a player that Lebron has
huge respect for and we saw that winning their Bubble
championship a couple of years ago. And he was like
a coach on the court. I mean that was pretty
much the way he played. Couldn't make freezes, but he
could be a coach on the court. So we'll see
what happens with those teams. I mean, will we see
the Clippers finally make a run? I'm just focused on

(02:10:34):
the Western Conference. Will the Lakers or the Warriors are
both emerge from the ashes or are we gonna find
out teams like the Timberwolves and the thunder legit and
ready to ascend to a championship level? All right? Coming
up on the other side, with spring training underway, it's
time to get an update from our Major League Baseball
insider from Fox Sports Radio. John Paul Morosi will join us.

(02:10:57):
This is Fox Sports Sunday. Steve Hart, Ben Martin Wise
Here on Fox Sports Sunday. We are live from the
tire IRAQ dot com studios. Well Spring training is well
in their way. The actual games are going to start
later this week. I'm joining us right now. So man
that stands alone. He is our Fox Sports Radio MLB insider.

(02:11:22):
And Martin, by the way, as a Michigan guy, you
know that John Paul Morosi bleeds Michigan through and through.
I know he's a good man for that. Yeah, he's uh,
thank you, I mean for Martin, who he did five
full years. Now, you detoured to Harvard. I know you
don't like to mention that, but did you ever consider

(02:11:45):
going to the University of Michigan, John Paul?

Speaker 9 (02:11:48):
Of course I did, and a good afternoon to both
of you. I did. A lot of my best friends
growing up went to Michigan. My wife went to Michigan,
and we were dating during those years. So basically I
would fly back or drive back as it were. When
I ever had a break from my studies at Harvard

(02:12:09):
had to make sure that it was not all academics.
I had to make sure I blended in some fun
and the best way that I could do that would
be to visit my friends and my girlfriend at the
time at Michigan. So I like to think that I
spent about as much time on that campus as you
can without actually acquiring a degree. And so maybe at

(02:12:29):
this point I'm an honorary Michigan grad or at least
a solid towny after all these years. But we were
actually on campus today Chrystler Arena. We watched a really
entertaining game Michigan Michigan State women's hoops. Of course the
same result as a last night's game, with the Spartans
being victorious, but wonderful crowd. Great to be there with

(02:12:49):
my daughters. And I want to mention this one quick
thing about spring training is you brought me back onto
the air here with some like nineteen nineties rock. And
when I was watching the Tigers throw their bullpen sessions
a couple of days ago in Lakeland, I was struck
by how the soundtrack that they were working out to
was a lot of nineties alternative rock, which, as I

(02:13:13):
was looking at the pictures on the mounds and watching
them work, I said, wait a minute, these guys were
all born like nineteen ninety nine, two thousand. To them,
this is classic.

Speaker 1 (02:13:24):
Rock right exactly.

Speaker 9 (02:13:25):
And that was the moment for me where I said,
my goodness, but my first spring training in Lakeland was
fifteen years ago, and I feel a little bit old
watching them and realizing that to them, they were working
out to classic rock like what I regarded as Jimmy
Hendrix when I was growing up. They regard the music

(02:13:46):
of my youth, and man, that really hits a certain way.

Speaker 1 (02:13:49):
All right, Well, then you get to my stage where
the first Dodger game my father took me to. The
Dodgers starting pitcher was Sandy Kofax.

Speaker 9 (02:13:58):
Well, that's a pretty cool thing to be able to say.

Speaker 1 (02:14:00):
It was his final season. He won his twentieth game.
He beat Ray Washer and the Cardinals four to one.
I remember it like was just yesterday.

Speaker 6 (02:14:07):
All right.

Speaker 1 (02:14:08):
I want to get to some baseball news right now,
and I want to start with the Dodgers for a
moment here. And it's not about show, hey, it's about Yamamoto.
So yesterday he was throwing live VP two the likes
of Freddie Freeman, who he baffled. He got a standing
not from MOOKI. This is the highest paid pitcher in

(02:14:28):
Major League Baseball. He hasn't thrown a single pitch at
the mijor League level in an actual game. In the
last three seasons, not only did he win the equivalent
of the Japanese Cy Young Award, he also won the
MVP all three years. What should we expect from Yamamoto
in his first year in the major leagues.

Speaker 9 (02:14:47):
He's special and this might sound extraordinary, but just bear
with me on this. It's entirely possible that in this
season his own we're all impact, the overall marginal value
that he brings the Dodgers even surpasses what Otani does.
And that might sound like blasphemy here, but when you

(02:15:11):
consider how much better Otani will be than what the
Dodgers got from the DH spot a year ago, which
was pretty good. JD. Martinez was a really good DH
last year, and Otani, I would expect, will be better
by a certain amount, but not necessarily twice as good
as jad Martinez was. Yamamoto, though, I believe, when you

(02:15:32):
consider how many different starting pitchers the Dodgers had to
go to last year and the fact that Kershaw is
not ready to begin the season, Buehler might not even
be ready as well. Early on Yamamoto, his impact over
the replacement level player that he's stepping in for I

(02:15:52):
think the delta there will be even higher than what
the delta is for Otani. I really believe that for
year one. Now, obviously the fullness of the contract once
so Tony gets back to doing his two way thing
next year is a different story. But you saw it again.
It was it was a live VP and we're still
in the middle of February. But the stuff that he
has and the command that he has is already all

(02:16:17):
star level. And there are those that believe that. When
you consider the year one pitching impact of all the
great pitchers who have come over from Japan, and that
includes Darbish who was a revelation in his first year,
Nomo Coodei single last year Tanaka. We've had some great ones,
some absolutely great pitchers who have come over from Japan.

(02:16:40):
It is entirely possible to me that in year one
that Yamamoto is going to be more impactful than all
of them have been.

Speaker 1 (02:16:48):
Wow, that somethd it.

Speaker 2 (02:16:50):
I'll tell you so John, I want to tell you
Steve's talking about his firstball game baseball game was watching
Sandy Kofax. My first baseball game as a member of
the media was April twenty fourth, twenty thirteen, which you
may remember John as Jose Valverde's first last save. With
his time coming back to the Tigers, they called they

(02:17:11):
signed to the minor leagues. And in that pregame he
said that he had been courted by a few kind
of big name teams in bigger cities. But before we
got back up to the press box, you said, that's
not true, and I turned.

Speaker 1 (02:17:26):
To you to ask, how did you know that?

Speaker 2 (02:17:27):
He's like, because I just got off the phone with
this guy who's the GM of one of the teams,
and he was like, yeah, he never never happened.

Speaker 1 (02:17:34):
And then how ver Verde ends up getting to say
it was me and Jeff Rieger.

Speaker 2 (02:17:38):
We're at Jose Valverde's first game back as a Tiger
on April twenty fourth, twenty thirteen, and now here we are.

Speaker 1 (02:17:45):
But you said you were just at.

Speaker 2 (02:17:47):
The at Tigers spring training watching the pitchers and hitters.

Speaker 1 (02:17:51):
I've been watching the pitchers pitch right now.

Speaker 2 (02:17:53):
They have the third best odds to win the Al
Central at plus three twenty five. Twins are the heavy
favorite and the Guardians a little bit above them. Do
you think that this team goes over there like eighty
to one and a half win total. This Tiger team.
I know we'll talk about other things in a moment,
but that's really the baseball team I grew up covering
and care about.

Speaker 9 (02:18:14):
Yeah, Martin. Now I think the Tigers win around eighty
six to eighty seven games this year. I really believe
that they have depths. And to me, the guy to
watch in Detroit is Riley Green. If Riley Green stays
healthy for the full season, if he plays one hundred
and forty five games one hundred and fifty games, which

(02:18:35):
I think is possible that now that he's learned and
I spoke with Riley a few days ago about just
learning his body more and preparing his body for the
demands of the long season. And if he's able to
do that, and you see continued progression from Torkelsen. You've
brought in a couple of veteran starters and Flaherty and
my Ata. This next young group of starters I think

(02:18:56):
is going to be even more prepared with Scooball and
Manning and now my is back as well. I like
this team. And maybe they had some bullpen help with
the deadline to help out fully in Lang, but certainly
the Guardians can pitch, and they still have Joziermirez, who
who is at the moment the best all round player

(02:19:16):
in the division. Ramirez, I think still is. I don't
see anybody better than him. So the Guardians will be
heard from the Twins. I look at their team. They've
got a lot of promise, and they've got a tremendous
rookie who I think will impact them this year in
brooks Lee. And they've got Royce Lewis who we saw
in the playoffs last year. They're still going to be
a really good team. But I think the Tigers pitching
depth has now surpassed what the Twins have is rivaling

(02:19:40):
what the Guardians have, and the Tigers position players I
believe have a chance to be as good as anybody
else is in the division. So the spirit of the team,
the chemistry I thought was excellent from being around them,
and I really believe it. Martin. I think that the
Tigers are going to win the division this year. I
know that some people think the maybe a little bit

(02:20:00):
too bullish on them too early, but this team has
a lot of energy and a lot of talent, and
it's about time to bring playoff baseball back to Detroit
for the first time in a decade.

Speaker 1 (02:20:10):
One of the major league players that to me is
an enigma is Blake Snell. I got to obviously see
him as you know Jp denn in San Diego. I
love him personally. I like his whole shtick, so to speak.
But he has pitched his career in Tampa and he
pitched in San Diego, so not exactly Metropolis's obviously. In

(02:20:32):
San Diego though, huge crowds his past year, and he
has these two incredible seasons, one in Tampa, one in
San Diego where he walks away with a Cy Young Award.
For his career, he's never had a complete game, never
even pitched him to the ninth any and he's had
an average of five innings per start for his entire
major league career. I know the Yankees are interested in him,

(02:20:54):
and I would just be so curious to get your thoughts.
And how do you think a Blake think Snell would
fare under the bright lights of New York.

Speaker 6 (02:21:05):
It's a great question.

Speaker 9 (02:21:06):
I think that there is still and Boby night Gil's
reported that the interest in Blake Snell by the Yankees.
He fits there, obviously. I do think that at the
end of the day, when you consider the way that
teams look at risk and gauge the risk when they
sign someone to a long term contract, When you look

(02:21:29):
at someone who led the majors and walks last year,
that's a worry, and that many walks when the stuff
ticks back a little bit, which is inevitable as players
get into their thirties, and he's going to be pitching
in his age thirty one season, it just makes teams
and owners nervous. That many walks plus an age in

(02:21:52):
your thirties is a concern, and I think that's the
perception that he's going to have to back now on
a per year basis. Could you see him sign a
three year deal worth in the thirties per year. I
think that deal's got to be out there for him
right now, and maybe even from the Yankees. But the

(02:22:15):
super long term deal six or seven years at thirty
million dollars a piece, I just am not sure if
teams are comfortable going there and locking themselves in to
someone who led the league in walks last year. I
realized he also won the cy young and that's why
it's so tantalizing. But that's why these jobs are difficult.

(02:22:36):
Why it's hard to be a GM because you're weighing
the positive side and saying, wait a minute, how is
the reigning Sayung Award winner not worth a six year
deal or a five year deal at the very least
at thirty million dollars per And the answer is because
he led the league in walks, and we're worried about that.
And so I think that's why there's the stalemate, why

(02:22:56):
the staring contest is going on between Scott Boris's camp
and at the top gms around the game. And so
we wait and see once that if I still believe guys,
if he gets that asking price down to a three
year deal around thirty million dollars, that there would be
some significant interest at that price point because at that

(02:23:17):
level you do tend to look more at the positive side.
The more years you look at it, the more worried
you become about the downside risk. And that downside risk
involves that league high walk total.

Speaker 2 (02:23:29):
So obviously the Dodgers added two very high profile free
agentsies offseason and spending like eighty cut trillion dollars between
Otani and Yamamoto.

Speaker 1 (02:23:38):
But I'm curious if.

Speaker 2 (02:23:39):
There's another uh, that non Dodger free agent acquisition, our
off season acquisition that you feel can take a team
and put it to the next level. Like, what, guys,
do you think we'll jump off the pay or jump
off the screen in just a few weeks when we're
watching an opening.

Speaker 9 (02:23:56):
Day well Sodo New York Yankees. And the reason I
say that is he addresses exactly what they needed, that
they were already a good ball club. As badly as
things went last year with substantial injuries and the rotation
not being there, Rodin struggling and not staying healthy, Cortes

(02:24:18):
same thing, they were still a winning team. And if
you have a more stable rotation, plus you had one Sodo,
it changes everything, not just about Sodo's spot in the lineup,
but for Aaron Judge, who I expect will be healthier
this year than he was the year ago. I was
looking at these numbers recently, Martin the number one, number two,

(02:24:40):
number three hitters in the sport in the last three years,
just pure offensive hitting talent based on OPS plus, so
adjusted ops. Number one is there in Judge, number two
is Otani and number three is Sodo, And so you have,
interestingly enough and think about just the way the game
has worked. All three of those guys has either entered

(02:25:01):
free agency or changed teams in the last two off seasons,
and they are now all playing for either of the
Yankees or the Dodgers. At number one and number three
are in the same lineup with the Yankees. It's just
they we are overlooking. I think how good the Yankees
should be when you've got those two stars that is
their DNA bring in superstars. They signed Judge, they traded

(02:25:25):
for Sodo. I realize that Soto's future is TVD after
the season is over, but my goodness, for at least
this one year, it is going to be, to use
Garrett Cole's word, magnificent to watch. And I just cannot
wait to see what this lineup looks like with all
the chances the Aaron Judge is going to have to
bat with Jan Soto on base.

Speaker 1 (02:25:45):
Well, if the Yankees do assign Blake Snell, they'll have
two guys that led the Majors and Walks. Snell and
so very different, right, but two guys that led the
mad and Walks. You can use that note if indeed
they signed Snell. Okay, John Paul I'll tell you what

(02:26:06):
we excited. We're going to get some games by the
time that we talk to you next time. We'll see
the guys out on the field. Cannot wait. Always appreciate
the time. We'll check in with you next week.

Speaker 9 (02:26:15):
That's right, Dodgers Padres are going to be playing this
week in a real Cactus League game, and I can't
wait as well. I'll be there on site. I'll be
reporting for Fox Sports Radio two. The Soul Series coming
up next month. Dodgers Padres, You guys should call me anytime,
day or night. I'm just not planning to sleep for
a week. You just call me. Let me know. We'll

(02:26:35):
be talking baseball when I'm on the other side of
the world.

Speaker 1 (02:26:37):
You know we will call you. I mean, no question
about that, JP or the best. We'll talk to you
next week.

Speaker 9 (02:26:43):
All the best, guys.

Speaker 1 (02:26:43):
Thanks all right, John Paul Morosi, our Fox Sports Radio
MLB insider joining us right now. That's a Michigan man
through and through, good Man, good stock, good stop, and
also mister hockey. By the way. He likes to remind
us every once in a while, we need hockey news
to go to JP as well. Let's find out what
is rending right now?

Speaker 2 (02:27:03):
Hey, mancies, is Luke still a top the list? Ah?

Speaker 7 (02:27:08):
Yes, yes, list at the top? I got it?

Speaker 1 (02:27:11):
Yeah, wow, you see how is he? Is he a
full fledged update guy?

Speaker 6 (02:27:17):
Now?

Speaker 7 (02:27:18):
Oh yeah, he's on the roster.

Speaker 1 (02:27:20):
He's on the rock like he's a couple.

Speaker 7 (02:27:21):
Of weeks he wasn't on the roster. He was just
an update anchor. And now it's officially on the roster.

Speaker 1 (02:27:26):
Okay, Because I mean they're very different skill sets. I
know that. I mean I wouldn't even know, I would
have no clue what to do in there.

Speaker 6 (02:27:34):
Yeah, it is a lot different, and sometimes the Internet
is not on your side, as Martin and I have
you refresh.

Speaker 7 (02:27:40):
And then it takes forever and you're like in the
middle of an update.

Speaker 6 (02:27:43):
It's more stressful, don't you think, Martin, oh the update anchor?

Speaker 1 (02:27:48):
Yeah, because well, when.

Speaker 2 (02:27:49):
You're hosting the show, you have a list of well,
unless you're hosting it with Steve, you have a list
of topish that you'll be addressing at some point.

Speaker 1 (02:27:56):
Right, you have a general road map.

Speaker 2 (02:27:58):
That doesn't mean I'm staying down stands not the whole time.
My turn left, my turn right, But at least I
know how to get back home exactly the updates. You
know what is it today?

Speaker 1 (02:28:06):
I don't know. Tiger what said he's sick? All right,
I'll throw that in there, as Montsy found out yesterday,
not that she didn't already know. That's the way I like.
I like to keep my co host on the edge
of their seat, right, what's not even during the break
it's rare. Occasionally maybe I'll say, by the way, this
is yeah, I still don't.

Speaker 6 (02:28:25):
Like to do that, right, No, I I love that spontaneity, Martin.

Speaker 7 (02:28:29):
When I found out that I was gonna work.

Speaker 6 (02:28:31):
With Steve Hartman, I asked Bo Benson, I asked Ryan Berschinger,
and they were both like, yeah, we we just let
him talk, like he just comes in, takes a seat
and he starts talking.

Speaker 7 (02:28:39):
And we all go with it and follow my lead,
follow the lead. And I didn't mind it.

Speaker 1 (02:28:45):
I didn't mind to everyone does such a great job board.

Speaker 8 (02:28:47):
To be clear, that does not mean on the air either.
Steve Hartman gets talking.

Speaker 2 (02:28:52):
It sounds like regular Saturday Today exactly exactly.

Speaker 1 (02:28:55):
I like to sit in in the uh update booth,
I'm Martin said many times, Isaac, I mean, come on,
I terrorise Isaac.

Speaker 7 (02:29:02):
You do terrorise Isaac. He sends me pictures all the time.

Speaker 1 (02:29:05):
Look, hey, he sends him to his wife as well.

Speaker 2 (02:29:09):
Yeah, Allia, Dave, it is twelve fifty nine fifty nine.

Speaker 1 (02:29:12):
I'm on in one second. I actually came in super
early today for Isaac. I mean I'm on the air
at ten West Coast. I came in at eight forty five.

Speaker 7 (02:29:21):
Oh that is early.

Speaker 1 (02:29:22):
You're here? Really are? Like I said, I need extra
time with you. Yeah, I want to hang you know
what I talk about you?

Speaker 4 (02:29:27):
Oh?

Speaker 6 (02:29:27):
I got that when I came in, and Isaac was
very excited to chat, to have girl talk currently.

Speaker 7 (02:29:33):
In the morning. That's what Isaac wanted to do. No joke,
girl talk. Yes, guys, Luke Liss at the top of
the list.

Speaker 6 (02:29:39):
There we go, Martin Weiss with a joke to start
us off fifteen underpar over all Heidiki No, I didn't
say that, right, Hideki Matsuyama.

Speaker 7 (02:29:49):
That's how it hit Decie, Deki Matsuyama.

Speaker 1 (02:29:52):
Deki Matsuyama, thank you, thank you.

Speaker 6 (02:29:54):
He and Will z Alatorres along with Xander Shoffley, along
with Patrick Kentley.

Speaker 7 (02:29:59):
They are all on shot back.

Speaker 6 (02:30:01):
So it really is anyone's tournament, the Genesis Invitational. And
then let's check in on the stadium series happening at
MetLife Stadium.

Speaker 7 (02:30:10):
That's right, hockey at MetLife Stadium.

Speaker 6 (02:30:12):
So far it's been all Islanders that are beating the
Rangers three to one after the first period. And in
college hoops, we did have a big upset. Yes, Ohio State,
who fired their coach just four days ago, beat number
two produce seventy three to sixty nine.

Speaker 1 (02:30:26):
Back to you guys, hey, I have a generational question
ask of both you Monsey and with Martin here, so
you know, every four years or he would leap hears right,
and we get the extra day for twenty nine. It's
always a presidential election year and it's also an Olympics

(02:30:47):
year in terms of the Summer Games. And as a kid,
this was really significant to me. You know, whether it's
seventy six, eighty eight, whatever it was, you know, these
are every four years something super special. Do the Olympics
have any major draw for either one of you guys?
The Summer Games?

Speaker 7 (02:31:08):
Not really for me.

Speaker 1 (02:31:10):
I mean this year they'll be in Paris.

Speaker 6 (02:31:11):
Yeah, I'm sure, I mean I'll tune in, but there's
nothing like right now, I have no headline in my
head of what I would be looking forward to.

Speaker 2 (02:31:20):
The thing is MONSI you'll watch the swimming, you know,
watch the basketball, and probably something of the track and field.

Speaker 1 (02:31:27):
But outside of that, right, I'll tell you it is.

Speaker 2 (02:31:30):
It definitely registers more than the Winter Olympics, which I
just call going to a country club in the winter.

Speaker 1 (02:31:36):
Well, if you're not in the winter sports. Although even
that when I now they used to be in the
same year. They now stagger them, so you know, they
ever every two you know that idea they used to
be in the same year. Yeah, I do, mean you're
not locked in the mixed doubles, bob sledding. I look
at I am zero in terms of winter sports. I'm
a SoCal native, so you know, I don't you know,

(02:31:59):
but I would like downhill skiing. I sort of watched
that kind of stuff. It was a lot different in
those days because they would basically put together highlight packages
as opposed to what we now, which is basically sustain
and then you have the different channels. You're gonna watch this,
you're gonna watch that, and it's so they just keep
creating sports. One of the new sports are gonna have
eventually with the Olympics. Is women's flag football?

Speaker 7 (02:32:21):
That'd be fun.

Speaker 1 (02:32:21):
It's going to be an Olympic sport. Yeah, Olympic sports.

Speaker 7 (02:32:25):
I'm into that. Yeah, but you're right, Marri, like we're
gonna watch basketball just because you're.

Speaker 1 (02:32:29):
Not in you're not into women's flag football.

Speaker 6 (02:32:32):
If I wish women's flag football would have been an
option when I was in high school.

Speaker 1 (02:32:36):
I'm not saying that's not true, well, not denying that.

Speaker 2 (02:32:38):
What I'm saying women's flag football is gonna get the
same viewerships as speed walking or fencing.

Speaker 6 (02:32:43):
I don't disagree with that, but I'm saying I would
be interested in watching it, like the first time around.

Speaker 7 (02:32:47):
I would want to watch it.

Speaker 6 (02:32:48):
Not saying I'm going to stay interested, but the first
time around.

Speaker 2 (02:32:52):
So team USA is opening game, the opening the first
match of pool play, you might be locked in, but
I mean you locked into the national to the national championship,
the gold medal game where it's Canada verse Uzbekistan.

Speaker 7 (02:33:07):
No, I might yeah, like I think the first time around?

Speaker 1 (02:33:10):
Yeah, yeah, so this yeah? See, are you saying you're
not going to be sharing a seat next door to
watch it?

Speaker 2 (02:33:16):
What I'm saying is over the next summer, and my
co host will be one of them on Saturdays from
eight to eleven.

Speaker 1 (02:33:21):
Is one of these people who will fool.

Speaker 2 (02:33:23):
Themselves and the thinking that they're really about to watch
the individual melay relay medley relay of the swimming.

Speaker 1 (02:33:30):
Is like, look, it's all no one is watching this.

Speaker 7 (02:33:34):
You could be right, yeah, in the grand scheme of things,
probably right. I just think there's gonna be a few
people that are actually interested. Not but you're right in
the grand scheme of things.

Speaker 1 (02:33:43):
No, By the way, I make I can't wait to
watch the steeple chase. By the way, I have an
update on the golf. We have a five way tie
right we five wayst has fallen, he fell on, can't
lay shot flee Matziyama zalatorus are all tied right now.

Speaker 7 (02:34:00):
That's exciting.

Speaker 1 (02:34:01):
And we are expecting some rain later today here in
southern California, so they need to giddy up right now
to get the steed duns. You're right, yeah, so they
could be, especially if they go to a playoff. Could
get a little nicey with the weather. All right, So
we'll keep our eye on that, all right, Monsey, thank
you very much. All right, coming out with the other side,
we're going to put some thoughts on what to watch

(02:34:22):
tonight in this NBA All Star Game. This is Fox
Sports Sunday, Steve Hartman, Martin Weiss. Yeah, Fox Sports Sunday.
I don't know where the time is gone, but once
again we're live from the tire raq dot Com studios.
Our crew is second to none. Moncey. Yeah, been a

(02:34:44):
remarkable weekend, Monsey. A lot of stuff this week.

Speaker 7 (02:34:46):
Yes, great, I should have just slept here, Martin and I.

Speaker 1 (02:34:49):
Yeah, I mean just basically, you guys just switched seat.

Speaker 7 (02:34:53):
We really did. We really here all day. I'm here
all day today.

Speaker 1 (02:34:57):
We really I've been sitting in this one. See but
yesterday you were sitting where Martin is today, and Martin
is sitting where you are today. You guys just switch seats.

Speaker 7 (02:35:07):
Yeah, we really did.

Speaker 1 (02:35:08):
That's how it happened over these two days. So I
appreciate very much both of you, which you helped me
out over the last couple of days, because let's face
it right now, post NFL football can be a challenge.

Speaker 7 (02:35:19):
Yeah, but you have done by yourself.

Speaker 1 (02:35:21):
See, I can always I could go twenty four hours.
I go twenty four hours by myself most of the
time anyway. All right, so there's both. Of course, our
brilliant producer. Yesterday he was jumping on the chief Span wagon.
Today he's back to his Dodger blues. So there's a
certain level of normality there. That's mean, well, I mean,

(02:35:43):
you're an Eagles guy. And then he was making some
kind of spin on well, you know the chief everyone,
how could you not like the Chiefs? I'm like, very easily,
you know, how could you not love handle, you know,
lovable Andy Reid and you know.

Speaker 8 (02:36:00):
Reconnection, the Indy reconnection is obvious.

Speaker 1 (02:36:02):
Okay, obviously, Yeah, but he didn't win any championships for
you in Philadelia. Still like the guy, yeah, So and Chris,
of course, well very excited. The Montsi brought in some
breakfast this morning. That was a big pocket right now.
So we were, Chris, we were talking about, you know,
teams that are are going to rise from the ashes.

(02:36:24):
The Lions are a team that's going to go into
twenty twenty four with some questions and a lot maybe
has to do with Dan Campbell, you know, after losing
that NFC Championship game, reminding his team that you may
never actually get back here. Sure, so he's realistic about that.
I look at the Packers where they ended up twenty

(02:36:47):
twenty three as basically where the Lions were a year ago.

Speaker 3 (02:36:52):
Right, Yeah, it's it's hard not to look at the
NFC North and see a division. I mean, obviously we
never know until the season, but the Packers are on
the up, depending on what the we're assuming. The Bears
are going to take the best college prospect at quarterback
in a while here in Caleb Williams, and they've already
been retooling some of their defense. When they picked up

(02:37:14):
Monte's sweat middle of the season, we were wondering what
they were doing, and I guess we got to see
what the Vikings do. They're kind of aging, and we
have to figure out Kirk Cousins. But already you're looking
at three teams that they're going to be very competitive
in that division. So yeah, maybe next year, depending on
how things break. The Lions got a little bit of
luck with their health this year as well. Yeah, it's
going to be a much tougher road to get back

(02:37:35):
to where the Lions were this in the NFC championship.

Speaker 1 (02:37:38):
Martin, did you buy into Jordan Love's season and say,
I mean he was second in the league in touchdown passes.
He was, but then he let you know, lit up
the Cowboys and I had a really good good.

Speaker 2 (02:37:49):
The second half of the season. First half of the
season was kind of up and down some of the things.
And I'm not, like, I don't pretend to be like
a quarterback guru whisper or even great evaluator of talent,
but he seems to me like he throws a lot
of fade away jumpers when he throw, like he's always
on his back foot. He's always kind of leaning backwards
instead of standing up in rifling balls in.

Speaker 3 (02:38:10):
And I have to get the numbers, but his touchdown word,
I mean, his turnover worthy play numbers were kind of
dicey sometimes something that kind of.

Speaker 1 (02:38:18):
Works, but I mean down the stretch, I mean, he
had almost no interception.

Speaker 3 (02:38:22):
I know, but this is what he did with Nick
Foles about ten years ago, where Nick Foles and a
lot of turnover worthy plays, but he never turned it over.

Speaker 1 (02:38:29):
And we just assumed that was great until it wasn't. Yeah,
I well, it'll be interested and then that's that's the
beauty of the NFL because there are certain constants. I mean,
we know the Chiefs will be there in some respect
next year, and there's certain teams that always seen him.
But every year, every year, teams just come out of

(02:38:50):
freaking nowhere. The American dreams. If you work hard enough,
you too, all right, So you're gonna leave here, You're
gonna hook up with some buddies, and you're gonna be
hanging out and actually watching the NBA All Star Game tonight.

Speaker 2 (02:39:02):
Again, it'll be like a It'll be like a very
small version of a Super Bowl party.

Speaker 1 (02:39:06):
It will be on in the background. Do you have
a standard fair when you're gathering buddies in terms of
what you're drinking and eating as a standard or it
varies from the event to event.

Speaker 2 (02:39:17):
I mean, Steve, I'm a man, so I go beer
and fried foods. Those pretty much pretty much the.

Speaker 10 (02:39:22):
Fair and leans you name fried, that would qualifies. So
just anything fried then more or less. Yeah, whatever that
say isn't fried though, well you not. Every so often
you have to make an exception.

Speaker 1 (02:39:36):
That's that's very true. I think back to those days. Yeah, yeah,
I wings sound really good to me right now. Man,
because I'm with you. I mean, like you say, the
All Star Game is going to be something you'll be
hanging out talking and look up every once in a while,
maybe a little highlight replay or something along those lights.
All right, we are done for our day, but much

(02:39:58):
more is coming up. So don't go any where because
all the best you're gonna get in sports is right here.
This is Fox Sports Radio.

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Steve Hartman and Martin Weiss talk Super Bowl hangover and NBA All Star!