Steve Hartman & Martin Weiss Break Down the Eastern Conference Finals, Talk OKC's Ascension & More!

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Fox Sports Really Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
All have the dream once again here on a fully
loaded Sports Saturday. This is Fox Sports Saturday, and we
are broadcasting live from the Fox Sports Radio studios. We
are a couple hours away at tip off Game six
Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks trying to stay alive, needing
a road victory against those Indiana Pacers. We're gonna be

(00:25):
talking to our NBA insider, Mark Medida coming up at
the bottom of this hour. Coming up in the next hour,
Adam Kaplan, our NFL insider.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Will join us.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
We got a lot of NFL news to get to
as well. But here we are Martin on the final
day of May. Here in twenty twenty five, which, by
the way, is also my younger son, Garrett's birthday. He
is twenty seven years old today, twenty seven years old.
It was a good age, really good age. Yeah, you

(00:54):
sort of really kick it into gear. I think by
you know, you pass twenty five, twenty seven, that's a
good age.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
I feel like twenty six is when most men realize
that you are now legally functioning adult. Yeah, twenty seven
is almost like year one of Adulthood's good.

Speaker 5 (01:08):
Good for him.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah, good for him.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
By the way he shares his birthday, I want to
mention three people that share the birthday with my son.
One of them is the manager of the Dodgers. Happy birthday,
Dave Roberts today he is fifty three years of age.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
The great Dave.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Roberts also age eighty two today. Joe Willie Namath Joe
Namath's birthday today. And by the way, if I hear
one more person talk about how Joe Namath is one
of the most overrated quarterbacks of all two going through
fifty more interceptions in his career, then touchdown passes. Shut

(01:47):
up because you don't know what you're talking about. I
know Joe Namath from his day. In his heyday, he
was a trendsetter. He was ahead of his time, the
only quarterback by the way, to pass over fourths in
a fourteen game season. If you don't understand the impact
that Joe Namath had on professional football, don't pretend that

(02:07):
you know football. You know nothing. Joe Namath was one
of the most talented quarterbacks. He was saddled with a
bad Jets team for most of his career. Oh that's right,
he had two bad knees. He had major knee surgery
when they didn't even understand knee surgery back in the
mid sixties. Be ever before he ever even put a
foot down in professional football. I am defending Joe Namath

(02:30):
as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
Of the game.

Speaker 4 (02:34):
I love that Joe Namath was starring in the NFL
at the time. They weren't even sure where their knee
was and he had two major knee surgeries. They were
attached ankle to knees back in Joe Namath's day.

Speaker 5 (02:45):
They didn't even have to.

Speaker 3 (02:46):
I mean, they didn't even know what knee surgery is about.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
This guy was hobbling the second he walked on at
professional FOOTBALLFELP.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
I'll say this, the amount of time I've start watching
Joe Namath.

Speaker 4 (02:55):
Play football live is zero because I'm thirty five, correct, right,
I'm looking at the picture of him on Wikipedia.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
It's in black and white. Yes it is.

Speaker 4 (03:03):
Show you nineteen sixty five Joe Namath, this rookie year
with the Jets. But this is what I'll say, because
you know, Steve as I liked as a radio guy.
I feel like you have to be somebody who knows
the highlights and hits of every single decade.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Rank you.

Speaker 4 (03:16):
Joe Namath is the reason why we care about quarterbacks
in the way we do, period, point blank. That's the
only way to describe it.

Speaker 3 (03:23):
Joe Namath is the if Kennedy was the first television president,
Joe Namath was the first television quarterback. Broad Way.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Joe, I mean, when you think about a kid that
grew up in Pennsylvania and then took his game to
Alabama of all places, right, I mean he admitted in
the three years that he played for Bear Bryan, he
never understood a single word that Bear Brian ever said
to him. He couldn't understand the guy with his thick
Southern accent.

Speaker 3 (03:51):
And then he ends up in.

Speaker 2 (03:52):
New York, perfect quarterback, perfect time, and he had the
biggest victory in Super Bowl history where the Jets did
to the favorite Colts and super Ball three. Now, one
other non sports person I want to wish a happy
birthday too. Happy ninety fifth birthday today to Clint Eastwood.

Speaker 3 (04:09):
That's crazy. I had no idea that to say. It
was Clinty. I used him an analogy just the other day.
I think I saw he's directing a new movie.

Speaker 2 (04:16):
Yeah, he's still working ninety five years old today.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
Clint Eastwood, that's the way to go.

Speaker 4 (04:25):
I went down so again, thirty five years old, so
I wasn't exactly around for the good demand and the ugly.

Speaker 3 (04:31):
Or first full of dollars. But you've seen him.

Speaker 4 (04:34):
I'm telling you my old radio station overnight there was
a technical engineer who was like seventy years old and
for FU to let me leave the building until I
watched these movies. Still one of the coldest scenes of
all time movie history when Clint Eastwood walks down tells
the coffin man, I need three coffins, goes.

Speaker 3 (04:51):
Bah bump, turns back, says make it four.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
Yeah, I mean, I mean, let's put it this way.
If it weren't for those movies, you would never have
heard of Quentin Tarantino, because Tarantino has basically said, those
are the movies that inspired him.

Speaker 3 (05:05):
Okay, that's what he wanted.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
I want to make movies like that, those great spaghetti westerns.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
You've now made me.

Speaker 4 (05:12):
Now go back down to my I think the first
injustice in NFL football history. Steve, you tell me if
this is true to you, all right, and if the
Super Bowl era. Max McGee should have been the MVP
of Super Bowl one.

Speaker 3 (05:25):
Should not have been close. Absolutely, it starts.

Speaker 4 (05:28):
It starts the path of the league down paying over
attention to quarterbacks, which then three years later, Broadway Joe says,
we're gonna beat the Baltimore Colts. They got nothing coming
for us. I don't know here, we're under dogs, exactly
what he said. But then after that it was over with.
And that's why you see all the MVP quarterbacks and
so on and so forth. And that's why brock Party
could be the last picking the draft and I make

(05:49):
all his money.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
And does anyone that he's actually be Eli Manning was
the MVP of either one of those Super Bowl wins.
He was voted the Super Bowl MVP, but was he
really Wasn't it the Giants defense shutting on?

Speaker 3 (06:00):
Tom Brady was the MVP.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
And by the way, speaking of Joe Namath, he was
the MVP of Super Bowl three. It should have been
Matt's now the running back thirty Carris one hundred and
twenty one yards and the only touchdown that game. We're
going down a rude.

Speaker 3 (06:10):
But Broadway Joe guaranteed the win ahead of time.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
Why was that pinache. Yes, and so happy birthday at
everybody today that is celebrating a birthday, all right, we
have We're getting ready for the Knicks and the Pacers
coming up here Game six of the Eastern Conference Finals.
And I've been saying this now for the better part
of a week, as you know.

Speaker 3 (06:31):
And we've said this before, no team in.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
The history of the NBA playoffs in the Best the
Seventh series has lost the first two games at.

Speaker 3 (06:42):
Home and come back to win the series. It has
never happened.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
That's what the Knicks are trying to do in the
Eastern Conference Finals, lose the first two games at home
and then come back to win a seven game series.
And right now the pressures on a team called the
Indiana Pacers. Now, people get angry at me, Martin when
I hint of conspiracy theories, But it just seems there
are so many coincidences, if you want to call them that,

(07:10):
in the NBA over tracing the history of the NBA,
where certain things seem to happen that are in favor
of the league. Okse has earned their spot in the finals.
Team was the best team in the NBA. They won
sixty eight games. They are dominating in terms of point
differential in this postseason like no team we've ever seen before,
and they did it all season long, But for them

(07:31):
to take on the Indiana Pacers.

Speaker 3 (07:33):
Would be a yawn.

Speaker 2 (07:34):
The Knicks. Oh, that's a whole different game. If the
Knicks were to make history by coming back to beat
the Pacers after losing two games at home. Now you've
got a huge storyline going into the NBA Finals.

Speaker 3 (07:47):
Oh, and that's right, the young.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
Ok seed team, the team of the future of the
league taken on the legendary New York Knicks.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
Why am watching Harry you about this New York Knicks
team besides the same you have, no, no, no.

Speaker 4 (08:01):
There's literally nothing legendary about this next team.

Speaker 3 (08:04):
You don't think Jalen Brunson has that kind of panaj.

Speaker 4 (08:07):
I think Jalen Brunson is a star in this league.
But you just said legendary. There is nothing legendary about
this Knicks team that has won what one, two, three,
four playoff series in the last two seasons right in
the five. No, I'm not going there like, and I
also reject on premise on face that watching the Indiana

(08:27):
Pacers is yawn unless you just literally are only watching
the name on the front of the jersey.

Speaker 3 (08:33):
And if you want to.

Speaker 4 (08:34):
Say that Indiana is a boring place, you won't find
much argument for me. I'm not vacationing in Indianapolis. No
offense to anybody, But to say the Pacers player boring
brand of basketball, steam isn't it's.

Speaker 3 (08:47):
Saying that's for decay.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
It's not about a boring brand of basketball. The Indiana
Pacers are a deeper team than the Knicks.

Speaker 3 (08:55):
They're a better team than the Necks.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
And you can make the argument that when the Knicks
are playing the Pacers, Tyres Halliburn is the best player
on the court.

Speaker 3 (09:05):
Sure you can make that argument.

Speaker 4 (09:07):
I would argue, I think that's clearly between he and Brunson, right,
And I think it kind of is what you like better?
Chocolate vanilla? Do you starberry your Superman flavored ice cream?

Speaker 3 (09:16):
Okay?

Speaker 2 (09:16):
But the bottom line is that the league needs the Knicks.
They desperately need.

Speaker 4 (09:20):
The next Why I love to Steve when it because
the league just because it's billion to.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
Be honest with you, I don't think either the Knicks
or the Pacers are competitive against okayc So didn't we
say all season long. The Western Conference is so vastly
so great.

Speaker 4 (09:36):
So your only thing is you would rather watch the
Knicks be the punch do You'd rather than see an
orange and blue punching bag than a yellow and blue
punching bag For the Western I think.

Speaker 2 (09:44):
The league would rather see there will be more eyeballs
on the Knicks and the Pacers, and what I believe
is going to be a one sided NBA Finals, regardless
if it's the Knicks or Pacers, if it's got I
don't think either one of these teams could win more
than one game against Oka, because now OKC has gotten
to that final hurdle of getting to the NBA Finals.

Speaker 3 (10:05):
You know, that was the question about OKC why everyone
was back in ah.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
Oh No, No, it will be the Lakers, it's going
to be Golden State, it's gonna be Denver. Teams that
have the experience. You're gonna see OKC get exposed. And
they were wavering for a little bit. They're not wavering anymore.
Now they got their feet under them and they are
in full throttle right now. So again, which one of
these two teams is a more attractive sacrificial lamb? Which
is exactly what it's going to be going up against

(10:30):
OKAC and the answer is the New York Knicks, Especially
if they win this series and make history by doing
something that's never been done in postseason hit.

Speaker 4 (10:41):
That would be fascinating and it also would add to
a massive, massive referendum type of conversation around Tyrese Halliburton,
who was choke.

Speaker 3 (10:54):
Signed in game one, Game four doing.

Speaker 4 (10:56):
Jalen Bruns's three point sign just to be sitting on
the couch for the final, that's would be nuts.

Speaker 3 (11:02):
But just in terms of matchup, I think that while
we may be.

Speaker 4 (11:05):
Talking about what's the difference between a five game ass
whooping and the seventh game ass whooping, I do think
that Indiana gives Oklahoma City the most trouble When I
look at the way that Indiana plays, the depth that
Indiana has, Tyrese Haliburton's seemingly aversion to turning the ball over,
I think Indiana, I'm sorry, sorry, I think Oklahoma City

(11:27):
feasts off of turnovers in a way that we have
not seen.

Speaker 3 (11:31):
NBA teams do in recent history.

Speaker 4 (11:33):
Tyre's Halliburton on the flip side turns the ball over
in a way we have not seen primary point guards
do in a while in recent NBA history, that would
be more interesting to me than it would be to
watch Jalen Brunson dribble the air out of the ball
for eighteen seconds, turnover Nicks and then it ends up
being three thirty point Oklahoma City wins on the way
to a four or you don't say, a five game sweep.

(11:54):
I think that Indiana will be able to play them closely,
but I'm not sure though, because no one in Indiana
has taken the sub way before, and the rent in
Indiana is only a thousand dollars, not four thousand for
US a one bedroom, and there's not eighteen million people
who live in Brooklyn that who are just dying when
living and dying on the New York Knicks and Timothy
Shalame and Spike Lee. It's all one Oh I got

(12:14):
is Mike keeps in Indiana. So it may not even
be worth playing the finals. According to you guys, I saw.

Speaker 2 (12:21):
And McAfee is like a pacers guy. He didn't he
call out everybody, you know what? And then Stiller said,
I'll be honest, I really don't know him, but I
found out he was a punter.

Speaker 4 (12:33):
I'd see that's kind of that's kind of where you know,
kind of kind of where I think the Indiana Superstars
kind of land. Yeah, Ben Stiller is is it Ben Stiller?
The guy behind Severance on Apple TV? That's True's Ben Stiller?

Speaker 1 (12:47):
Right?

Speaker 6 (12:47):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yeah? And Mike keeps is doing Friday. Yeah, yeah, don't
I like him both? All right?

Speaker 2 (12:52):
Coming up on the other side, if we're going to
talk a little bit about this OKAC team, because this is.

Speaker 4 (12:57):
Jerry even the market size, they're only the fiftieth market sized,
all right?

Speaker 3 (13:01):
Does it even exist? Okay?

Speaker 2 (13:03):
OKC is the new San Antonio Spurs, the San Antonio
Spurs who won five NBA championships right with Pop and
Tim Duncan and then of course not all of them
had Jenobi, Lee and Parker. But you know what I'm
talking about, that dynasty that never won back to backs.
That's or looking at it, Okase, how dominant will the
thunder be? I got some alarming news for the rest

(13:24):
of the league. Break it down.

Speaker 3 (13:25):
This is going to be a huge.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
Day today again one forty five away, our forty five
away Game six of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Speaker 3 (13:34):
This is Fox Sports Saturday.

Speaker 1 (13:38):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to
listen live.

Speaker 2 (13:50):
Steve Harvin, Martin Weiss. Here Fox Sports Saturday. Once again
we're live from the Fox Sports Radio studios. Hey, be
sure to check out the Fox Sports Radio YouTube channel.

Speaker 3 (14:01):
Ton of great.

Speaker 2 (14:02):
Videos for many of our Fox Sports Radio shows. Just
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video highlights from our shows, and be sure to subscribe
so you always have instant access to our Fox Sports
Radio videos on YouTube. Mary mac doing what he does best.

(14:22):
I have no idea what I'm listening to.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
Martin.

Speaker 5 (14:24):
You don't know this song? See this song?

Speaker 3 (14:27):
All right? You know how you felt about Joe name
It in nineteen sixty five.

Speaker 4 (14:30):
Yes, this is how people and when when I was
in high school felt about this song on month tables,
it like this was it?

Speaker 3 (14:37):
This beat right here, boom, it's great love it.

Speaker 4 (14:42):
I'll tell you what the right with the right mechanical pencil,
you could really cause a lot of damage on that
last table.

Speaker 2 (14:49):
All right, I want to I want to point out
something for NBA fans. Uh, And I know there's a
lot of NBA fans listening right now, and if you're
an NBA even ignore a lot of the noise coming
out of my mouth when I talk about, you know,
what is the more attractive team? In turns the ratings,
because if you're an NBA fan, you really don't give

(15:10):
a rats ass who's in.

Speaker 3 (15:12):
You want to just see.

Speaker 4 (15:13):
And we've seen some of the record step the faith okay, excellent,
and we have seen some very entertaining games in this
NBA postseason.

Speaker 2 (15:22):
But the one team that doing the most damage obviously
is Oklahoma City Thunder. Think about this for a second.
They lost the one game to Minnesota by forty two points,
and they still set a record for the biggest point
differential in a conference finals despite losing one game by
forty two points. That's how dominant the Thunder were. Now,

(15:44):
keep this in mind. The Oklahoma City Thunder average age
the second youngest team ever to get to the NBA Finals.
The only team younger was in the nineteen seventy six
seventy seven Portland Trailblazers led by the late great Bill Walton,
and they won the NBA Championship that year. And by

(16:06):
the way, the next year, they were fifty to ten
to start the season, looked like they were going to
dismantle the league. Walton got hurt, never played another game
for the Trailblazers. That ended it for them. But with
Oklahoma City, we know about the trade. We're not going
to relive the Paul George trade over and over again.
That Landedham, Shay Gildess, Alexander, and more first round picks

(16:29):
than you can count. But Martin, I'm looking at their
future picks over the next five drafts. They have ten
first round picks. They have five first round picks over
the next two years. They have two first round picks
this year, and they have three first round picks in
twenty twenty six. So when you look at the guys

(16:52):
they already acquired through the draft. When you're talking about it,
Jaylen Williams, when you talk about chet Holm, Grin, and
then on top of that Shay Gilgess, Alexander. This is
a team with an average age of twenty five point
six years, again, the second youngest team ever to get
to the NBA Finals and obviously a prohibitive favorite to

(17:13):
come away as NBA champions. It's almost scary how good
this team will be I'm not gonna say it can be,
because they're already great. They had a sixty eight win
season and they're steamrolling to an NBA championship. But this
idea that we are gonna have our seventh different NBA
champion over the last seven years, that is over.

Speaker 3 (17:36):
Oh no, it's used to it.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
Oklahoma City is going to add talent, They're going to
get better, They're going to gain from the experience of
winning a championship this year. The Oklahoma City Thunder are
going to take over the NBA for the balance of
this decade.

Speaker 4 (17:52):
You know, if I rewind to about three hundred and
forty five days ago, it was do the Boston Celtics
win back to back? Are three of the next four
NBA championsh that for me? And then you rewind about
seven hundred and twenty days ago and it's like, who

(18:13):
in the world is gonna stop Nikola Jokic from dominating
the NBA now that he's finally raised that championship trophy.
And I'll tell you who's gonna stop it? Just fate
the rest of the rest of the league. Ched Holmgern
missed what twenty five games this year mm hm, and
he still won sixty eight right, and he's also still
but he's still what one hundred and forty five pounds,

(18:34):
so can we I'm just saying this. We have seen
I say this, We've seen in Oklahoma City in particular,
team that had three guys, two of whom who looked
like could be, you know, a perennial MVP type of
players at the time, And honestly, the other one is
the guy that got more MVP looks than.

Speaker 3 (18:55):
Russell Westbrook did in James Harden.

Speaker 5 (18:57):
Right.

Speaker 4 (18:58):
I'm not saying that Jay Dubb and ched Holm, grantiche,
Gilgess Alexander are the next version of Kevin Durant, Russell
Westbrook and James Harden. But what I am saying is this,
we talk about all these picks, Nicole of Topic still
doesn't even play for them, right, talk about these moves.
I bet you those three will be signed up long term,

(19:19):
but you gotta fill it out around the margins. Other
teams in the NBA are going to get better, like
the Minnesota Timberwolves have been in back to back Western
Conference finals and are.

Speaker 3 (19:27):
Clearly shown that they are not.

Speaker 4 (19:29):
There's a step to be taken there they're gonna take
swings the teams Like the Lakers, They'll be taking swings teams.

Speaker 3 (19:36):
So I say all this to say.

Speaker 4 (19:40):
The second Apron has made it as such that while
Oklahoma City will have a twenty four month runway, I
think but the idea that anybody is running the NBA
for the next half a decade is short sighted.

Speaker 2 (19:54):
Well, injuries can be a possibility, I acknowledge that, But
the kind of depth that they are building up on
this OKC team, which is why they're so dominant when
they when they focus on shutting down players. Look what
they did to Ant Look what they did. I mean,
I mean the Julius Randall situation was ridiculous, completely shut
them down. Coming off that forty two point loss. I

(20:15):
mean you had to think in your head, right, you
lose a game by forty two points, it's got to
cast a little doubt in your mind, maybe we're not
all that if we can get run off the court, and.

Speaker 3 (20:27):
They flipped it the very next game.

Speaker 2 (20:31):
They go on Minnesota's home court, dominate Game four, and
then finish them off in record style in Game five.
I just see a certain temperament and this is you know,
when we talk about Ant.

Speaker 3 (20:42):
He's a great player.

Speaker 2 (20:44):
But I'm gonna ask you right now, if you could
start a franchise with a choice of ANT or SGA,
which way would you go?

Speaker 3 (20:51):
Anthony Edwards without a doubt?

Speaker 2 (20:53):
Really Sunday, really thinking, why is it that you don't
like about a guy that's averaged thirty points a game
each of the last three seasons and we saw what
he did stepping up in the daytime.

Speaker 4 (21:07):
Let's rewind because the way you phrase the question, you're
leading the witness and the objection you're on it. I
don't have too much of a big beef for Jay
Gildish Alexander. It's just that in the first five years
of Anthony Edwards career, the only two.

Speaker 3 (21:19):
People comparable is Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Speaker 4 (21:23):
I mean Lebron James and Kobe Bryant in terms of
playoff appears his wins and numbers like, that's it.

Speaker 3 (21:29):
That's the list. And you're giving me a primary.

Speaker 4 (21:31):
Primary offensive scorer who also can turn the water off
from the best scorer on the other team three years old.
But yes, I'm building my franchise around answer.

Speaker 3 (21:40):
Here is what And again no knock on Anthony Edwards.

Speaker 2 (21:42):
But I'm beginning to understand did we set the ceiling
too high on him? In other words, the idea that
he is going to be that generational talent he's going
to be. I mean, we heard Jordan comparisons. He's not
Michael Jordan at twenty three years old. Michael Jordan wasn't
Anthony Edwards. First of all, he didn't get it, have
to he hit play three years of college. But no,

(22:04):
he was. He was a superstar, superstars this and he
got in the league. All right, So take the three
years out they didn't have to support cast around.

Speaker 3 (22:12):
Well, I think that's where we're at.

Speaker 4 (22:13):
But if you begin for he was the league NBP
twenty three years old versus the other guys at his age,
sign me up for the rest of that one hundred percent.

Speaker 3 (22:23):
I'm not looking back. I'm not taking any questions.

Speaker 4 (22:26):
I'm not look And a lot of people just said
about Luca Nachez, they called the timberwolves. The Mavericks called
the timberwolves and said, what's the cost for Anthony Edwards?
They said, you know what, there is no cost?

Speaker 2 (22:36):
All right, Well, I'm guilty of one of those people
that may be underestimated just how good shake Gilgess Alexander is.

Speaker 3 (22:42):
I don't doubt him anymore. Okay, you know what, Let's
do this update and I want to bring this back
all right.

Speaker 2 (22:47):
So we got Medina coming on, so he got a
lot of time here. But first let's find out what
is trendy right now. And Martin Weiss is here.

Speaker 3 (22:57):
To update us on everything. The Baltimore Orioles.

Speaker 4 (23:01):
Running Jackson holiday home run with a four to two
lead over the Chicago White Sox bottom of the eighth inning.
Bottom of the eighth Also the Brewers with a laugher
on FS one fifteen run difference to seventeen to two
over the Phillies Cardinals with the two run lead over
the Rangers bottom of the ninth inning. Bottom of the seventh,
the Guardians have tied it up with the Angels five
to five. End of the eighth inning. The Rockies added

(23:22):
a run, but it's still eight to two. New York
Mets top of the ninth inning. The Rays have a
fourteen to three lead over the Astros. Earlier today we
saw the Cubs beat the Reds two to nothing, Blue
Jays over A's eight to seven. The Braves beat the
Red Sox five to nothing and the Marlins blank. The
Giants won and nothing. Same with the Royals and the

(23:43):
Tigers that run being scored late and the I think
was actually a walk off for that game there and
then see where else do we have in the n FL.
Mark Murphy will be stepping down as the CEO team
president of the Packers July twenty fifth, he hits the
mandatory retirement age of seventy on those Yeah, it leaves
nearly after eighteen years on the job. Mookie Betts is

(24:05):
going to be out for at least this weekend series,
but hopes to be back in a few days after
that fracturing I'm sorry, after fracturing the tip of his
second left to at home Wednesday night while walking to
the bathroom in the dark. Florida Panthers forward Aj Greer
status for the serious opener against the Oilers uncertain, per
head coach Paul Maurice.

Speaker 3 (24:23):
He missed Game four of the Eastern Conference Final.

Speaker 4 (24:26):
He only played four minutes and twenty two seconds of
Game five in the Eastern Conference Final.

Speaker 3 (24:32):
Back to us, all right, Martin, thank you very much.

Speaker 2 (24:35):
By the way, we are coming to live from the
Fox Sports radio studios. By the way, you can also
stream this show and all of our Fox Sports Radio
shows live twenty four to seven in the new and
approved iHeartRadio app. Just search Fox Sports Radio on the
app just stream alive, and one of the newest features
in the app is he can select Fox Sports Radio
is one of your presets. You don't like the presets
on your radio dials, so be sure to preset Fox

(24:56):
Sports Radio in the iHeartRadio app. It will always pop
up at the top of your screen. All right, let's
talk a little bit more about the potential matchups in
the NBA Finals. What's going to go on tonight Game
six of the Eastern Conference Finals. Our NBA insider Mark
Medina is joining us right now, Mark, So I'm gonna
start with this. Is it unreasonable to say that Oklahoma City,

(25:20):
coming off of season which they've won sixty eight games,
setting wreckers for point differential in the postseason obviously will
be prohibitive favorites, whether it's the Knicks or Pacers in
the NBA Finals. A team that has five first round
picks over the next two years ten in the next
five years, second youngest team ever to get to the
NBA finals. Is it unreasonable to think that they will

(25:44):
dominate the rest of this decade in the NBA?

Speaker 6 (25:49):
Well, Stave, I couldn't help but feel excited, asking if
there's a conspiracy theory that the Knicks are still.

Speaker 3 (25:54):
In the Oh no, no, I'll get to that later.

Speaker 6 (25:58):
I think the next decade strongly because at some point,
players like Channel Williams and chet Holmgren, they'll be up
for extensions. And that's where you know, the rubber will
meet the road, with the Thunder being the latest team
to have to face, you know, the second Apron concerns
and how you prioritize spending versus retaining championship team. But
I think they have a championship window obviously this season.

(26:20):
I think the next two seasons after that and whether
they face the Pacers or and probably the next I
think this is a wrap of a series. It's gonna
be over in four games, five games. It's gonna, I think,
bring a lot of reminders of the Spurs Nets in
two thousand and three or the Spurs Cavs in two
thousand and seven. What I'm getting at, Steve is that

(26:42):
the separation is very steep and it might make for
a very low rated NBA Finals series because the competition
isn't going to be that much.

Speaker 4 (26:53):
Mark, you missed this last So me and Steve we
do this pretty much once a week now, where it's
like the come off after a truly inflammatory opinion. Apparently
Steve thought it was absurdity that I said I would
prefer based off the length of the NBA careers we
have seen thus far, I would start my franchise with

(27:15):
Anthony Edwards as opposed to SGA. Your thoughts and why
is it, Anthon, I'm.

Speaker 3 (27:19):
Just your thoughts.

Speaker 6 (27:21):
Wow, you know what. I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have
to take Steve's side here. I would choose SG. I mean,
obviously he has an edge right now in the current
moment because he has a few years older than Anthony Edwardsville. Well,
I think we've seen so far in both players' careers.
Is a SJ. He is a more complete player. I mean,

(27:42):
he is a more dominant scorer. He knows how to
get to the foul line. Whether you like his craftiness
and acting as well as his shrewd useman of angles.
But he's an improved playmaker. He's an improved shooter. I
think Anthony Edwards has improved in those categories as well.
But I think the other thing that's suparating is leadership. Now,

(28:03):
you know, maybe SJA has it a little bit by default,
again because of age difference, but I think it goes
beyond that. I think it's also demeanor. SGA is very calm,
he doesn't try to create too much attention for himself,
but he's also very good with empowering teammates. And I
think with and it's mostly good, like teammates love his

(28:24):
infectious enthusiasm, positive personality, and he is a good worker.
But I think that there is sometimes some immaturity that
creeps in, whether it's you know, trash talking and getting
some unnecessary texts with because of interactions with the fans
or officials. And I think the other part is consistency.

(28:45):
We saw this playoffs last year's playoffs. There's games that
he would lay an egg, partly because he's not used
to getting so much defensive attention on the scattering report,
where with SGA, I'm not going to say he has
a perfect fastball every time he throws down the late,
but he's been more consistent. So sorry Martin, but I'm
with Steve on this one, I'd choose us Shie.

Speaker 2 (29:05):
Well Martin, And I remind you again, no one knows
the NBA like Mark Medina and he just proved it
again once again. All Right, Mark, let's let's talk about
what the NBA is looking at as we go into
Game six. I agree with you one hundred percent. It
really doesn't matter which one of these two teams faces. Okay, see,
they'll be lucky to win a game in the NBA Finals.
That being said, if the Knicks were to come back

(29:28):
to win this series, they make history. They'd be the
first team ever in any series that goes seven games
to lose the first two at home and come back
to win a seven game series. It has never happened
in NBA history. So you can imagine if the Knicks
were to force that Game seven win at the Garden,
there would just be a whole much interest in the

(29:48):
New York Knicks. It would be exposed in the NBA Finals,
but at least you would get that kind of momentum.

Speaker 3 (29:54):
If the Pagers close it out.

Speaker 2 (29:55):
Tonight, we are literally limping into the NBA Finals. So
I've been saying for even after the Knicks lost the
first two games, there are going to find a way
to win this series. That being said, how do the
Knicks win the game tonight?

Speaker 6 (30:12):
Well, I think that the way the Wick Knicks win
the game tonight are is a familiar formula. I mean,
Jalen Brunson has to play at his absolute best and
be that clutch closer that he is. He usually has
done that, but there's other things that haven't always been guaranteed.
Color Anthony Towns has to play an all time level.
He has to limit his foals. We've seen that go
up and down. They also need to tap into what

(30:35):
makes them a good team. They're very resilient that are
very competitive win or lose. They're always bringing that lunch
pale mentality. But they also have to hope that Indiana
doesn't have the kind of intensity that they had in
the previous games that they closed out. They also have
to bank on Kyries Halburn and Aaron Nasmith not shooting
the ball well again, and I don't think that's going

(30:57):
to happen. Both those players lay in eight in Game five.
But I think what you're going to see with Indiana
is technically it's game six, but they're going to treat
it as if you know what, if we lose this game,
it may as well be a Game seven, because we
don't want to, you know, put the possibility of giving
the next confidence for a game seven at the guard,
and I think they're going to go all out with

(31:17):
Tyree Saliburn trying to carry the road both as a
passer and score, and every other player Pascal Siakam, Aaron Natesmith,
Miles Turner defend at a high level so that there's
no chance the Knicks come back. So I think the
Pacers close it out. But if the Knicks somehow do,
it won't be surprised, only because the Knicks have always
been competitive and too steve. As you often allude to,

(31:39):
sometimes the NBA can get a message across today, let's
help a big market team out to prolong the series
to help our bottom line.

Speaker 4 (31:49):
You know, I'm kind of hoping the Knicks make it
us have of the game series and actually advance to
the finals, because there's reports the finals make it canceled
if it's between markets Oklahoma City. But I will say
this in terms of the matchup, just talk about the
because I think we have I'm assuming let's just assume
the Pacers advance into the NBA Finals and they're playing

(32:11):
Oklahoma City Thunder. It seems to be very much what
is it rock and whatever? I can't think of the
phrase the thunder one to force a ton of tonovers
the Pacers don't turn the ball over. Which side of
that of those of that dichotomy would win out in
your mind?

Speaker 6 (32:28):
I ain't a thunder even though both teams have a
lot of depth. I think the Thunder would just run
away with it because shake Gilles Alexander. When you compare
him to Tyris Alburn, He's a much much better scorer now.
Tyres is a better passer, but I think SJ has
improved as a passer. He also has a lot of
great balance. Shlan Williams has become a much more reliable

(32:49):
secondary score. He has a lot of pick and roll
options with chet Holm, Grin and Isaiah Harden. Seeing as
big man so offensive depths, they can go toe for
toe with Indiana defensively. I think is where their calling
card really lies because they have so many of those
hustle and tangible type wing players. You know, think Alex Caruso,

(33:11):
challeng Williams, lou dort Case and Wallace they're all wing players,
but they all have different dimensions. Lou Dor, you know,
real physical type of guy, Alex Caruso a scrappy type
of guy, and Jalle Williams and Case and Wallace in between.
And so they're going to be able to kind of
slow down the Pacers with their pace, but also use
their defense to generate a lot more offense beyond just

(33:34):
SGAs scoring brilliant and the fact that they have other
great shooters and post players around them. So I think
when you add all that up, it's going to be
five maybe six game series, only because there might be
a game or two that the Thunder don't bring the
necessary intensity because they feel comfortable. But I think we're
we've seen the playoffs, and what we'll continue to see

(33:55):
is Oklahoma City is just buying away a much better
team than the entire rest to the field.

Speaker 5 (34:00):
Well, the way I.

Speaker 2 (34:01):
See a mark as far as tonight, the Knicks pull
out a miracle, that's one option, like you're like.

Speaker 3 (34:08):
What happened here? They won the game?

Speaker 2 (34:11):
Or or it's an absolute Pacers blowout and you know,
click click click go. The television sets in major cities
around America. But that's Okay, that's okay. What the best
teams there? I think any DA is a better team
than the NIX right now. If they get there, they
deserve it. Mark, thanks so much, And I really personally
appreciate showing off your expertise for Martin.

Speaker 3 (34:32):
I really really appreciate that.

Speaker 6 (34:35):
Hey, Steven, Martin, Steve, this time I agree with you.
But I think the thing is I always try to
be authentic and if I disagree, not afraid to share.
That's what makes for great sports talk. Greats. You guys
are doing great.

Speaker 3 (34:46):
Thanks so much. We always appreciate it, Mark Medina.

Speaker 2 (34:48):
There are NBA insider here at Fox Sports Radio all right.
Coming up on the other side, a rule change, a
real change that does not make any sense.

Speaker 3 (35:00):
We'll explain. This is Fox Sports Saturday. You're listening to
Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (35:10):
Yeah, you bet, Fox Sports Saturday. Steve Harbin, Martin Weiss
with you. We're live from the Fox Sports Radio studios.

Speaker 5 (35:19):
All right.

Speaker 2 (35:19):
Before I get to this rules change, I want to
give you an opportunity, Martin, for your report of what
I was being said in defense of the consistency of
an SGA over the often immature antics of in it

(35:44):
pretty much the way he explained it.

Speaker 3 (35:46):
Because here's it, when you have when we're having.

Speaker 4 (35:49):
These conversations, and it's not just Mark Medina or you,
Steve Hartman, it seems to be the entirety of the
NBA discourse from from Kendrick Perkins on down. It seems
that everyone has forgotten that Anthony Edwards is at least
three years younger than all of the people that we
are comparing him to. And if you scale back to

(36:12):
three years ago, for all of these people, they were
not nearly in the level of conversation where they were now.
Three years ago, Shake gilds Alexander played fifty games the
year before that, thirty five Shake gives Alexander did not
start to score more than twenty five points a game
until last year.

Speaker 2 (36:30):
Like that, is he on a hell of a run? Absolutely?
All right, I'm at my one question. Then I'll get
to this rules change. Do you believe that Anthony Edwards
made a step up in his game this year from
last year?

Speaker 3 (36:44):
Absolutely? Okay, that's all I want to hear. All right, he.

Speaker 4 (36:47):
Went he went from being an average three point shooter
to leading the league and makes.

Speaker 3 (36:52):
All right, So there you go. So it's about trajectory.
That's why I say it's shady Guildens.

Speaker 2 (36:57):
Alexander SGA look at the trajectory of his career, and.

Speaker 4 (37:01):
What I'm saying is the early years, and said Gildes,
Alexander's career, he was a throw in in a trade.

Speaker 2 (37:05):
Well, we're sitting here three years from now, will you
could have the last laugh or Marko Medina and I will.
All right, here's a rules change that I do not get.
So you know, Martin, that I have an obsession with
college football, so much so that the two most significant
days on my calendar in sports.

Speaker 3 (37:24):
One of them will be Monday.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
The other happens on the day of the National Championship
Game in college football, but it has nothing to do
with the National Championship game. That is the day they
announced the new class of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Same day, what's coming up on Monday they will announce
the ballot, the final ballot for the class of twenty
twenty six for the College Football Hall of Fame. So,

(37:49):
needless to say, I have a very very distorted obsession
about the college Football Hall of in because I love
college football.

Speaker 3 (37:58):
But there was a lot.

Speaker 2 (37:59):
Of noise about my Leach when he passed away untimely
a few years ago and people found out he wasn't
eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame with a
five ninety six career winning percentage. Why because he had
rules saying to be eligible, you have to had at
least a six hundred winny percentage. Oh and by the way,
you must have coached at least ten years. So the

(38:21):
College Football Hall of Fame announced, well, we're going to
lower it from six hundred to fifty nine to five.
Now that you're rounded up to six hundred, which, by
the way, not only makes Mike Leach eligible, Les Miles,
how about Kirk Farrence also suddenly becomes eligible down the
road if he maintains the same pace, you know.

Speaker 3 (38:41):
He's still not eligible.

Speaker 2 (38:42):
Pete Carroll nine years at US, he's not eligible for
the College Football Hall of Fame. So here's what I
suggest for the College Football Hall of Fame. Stop with
the idea that you have to have standards to decide
whether or not somebody is a Hall of Famer. Howard
Schnellenberger laid the groundwork for the University of Miami to
become one of the dominant forces in college football of

(39:05):
all time. He was the one that put it in
motion winning that first national championship. His winning percentage is
nowhere near six hundred. He belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Pete Carroll belongs in the Hall of Fame. You've got
guys in the Hall of Fame that don't deserve to
be in the Hall of Fame. And so I would
say the same thing with college the players, you have

(39:26):
to be on at least one first team All American.
I don't know if you remember Drew Brees back in
his days Purdue breaking all kinds of NCAA records. It's
not eligible for the College Football Hall of Fame because
he didn't make a first team Hall of Fame. These
are rules that need to be eliminated. A Hall of
Famer is a Hall of Famer. Forget any kind of
preset rules.

Speaker 4 (39:45):
The one that I do like is the coach at
least one hundred games or coach for ten seasons. Why
just simply because I feel like if you only like
Ford like, there could be an argument Deon Sanders maybe
should be in the College Football Hall of Fame because
of the impact. I think when you get into impact
versus actual winning and losing it gets rough, all right.

Speaker 2 (40:03):
We got a lot of NFL news we're gonna get
to coming up in the next hour, breaking it down
right here.

Speaker 3 (40:07):
This is Fox Sports Saturday. Please, you're listening to.

Speaker 2 (40:12):
Fox Sports Radio Radio, rolling along here on another huge
sports Saturday, Fox Sports Saturday. We are broadcasting live from
the Fox Sports Radio studios. We're gonna check in with
our NFL insider Adam Kaplan coming up here in about
twenty minutes. You got a lot of NFL news, big
trade talk involving the forty nine Ers and the Eagles.

(40:34):
We're gonna share that, coming up with Adam Kaplan.

Speaker 3 (40:37):
A little bit later on.

Speaker 2 (40:39):
Of course, we are in our way of tip off
here between the Knicks and the Pacers, and I just
believe in my soul that some way, somehow, the improbable
is gonna happen. The Knicks are going to steal one
in Indiana, go back to the Garden, get into the
NBA Finals where they'll get blitzed by ok Ac, but

(41:01):
it won't matter because there'll be a lot of interest.

Speaker 3 (41:03):
In New York.

Speaker 2 (41:04):
Are you are you a conspiracy guy at all at all?

Speaker 3 (41:09):
Martin?

Speaker 2 (41:10):
Or do you see things happen that defy explanation other
than they are a predetermined situation.

Speaker 4 (41:18):
I am not a conspiracy theorist, but it's I think
it goes the opposite way. I don't think that I
don't have enough trust and faith in humanity and the
powers that be in the wheels that could screw the
the or the you know, the wheels that could to
push the screws, so to speak, to be able to
make it. There's too it's too big, there's too many.

Speaker 2 (41:40):
But how many times do you watch an NBA game
and you're screaming about a foul or a non foul
or you know, it happens every game? Right, I mean
you're like, what are you looking at? What's happening here?

Speaker 5 (41:51):
Right?

Speaker 3 (41:51):
But I okay, so like would you?

Speaker 4 (41:52):
I don't also don't think that there's a grand conspiracy
that people are trying to, you know, causing car accidents.
But I just think that often more off than not,
you end up with some a lot of bad drivers,
saying the same concept. In the NBA, a lot of
bad referees, all.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
Right, So you don't see any favoritism to individuals or
teams with the NBA officiating.

Speaker 4 (42:11):
Right, But do you ask me if I believe in conspiracy.
I think conspiracy is different than like the conspiracy is
there is a message from on high to say this
has to happen. Like when I see that Draymond Green,
for example, gets the leeway of a million, gets the
leeway of any six NBA players after you get this
first technical foul, is that a conspiracy or is that

(42:34):
I don't buy that conspiracy. I don't think that there's
a message coming down from Adam Silver saying you have
to keep Draymond Green in the game, Like that would
be conspiracy to me.

Speaker 3 (42:44):
A couple early fouls on a key player.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
I mean, like you know, you could call two quick
fouls on Halliburton all of a sudden, He's sitting on
the bench for the rest of the first quarter.

Speaker 3 (42:53):
Nicks piled up a double digit lean.

Speaker 4 (42:54):
So honestly, the game that was a Game four of
the Western Conference Finals, that one that was kind of close.
Anthony evergs and take a ton of shots in the
first that game fo him three those game four. So
in that after game three, I was talking with a
buddy of mine, like, what do you do shake gildas
Alexander keeps getting this whistle? I said, I would put
Anthony Edwards on him for the prime most of the time,

(43:17):
I would force the referee to say, no, you're fouling him,
because I get what you're saying.

Speaker 3 (43:22):
It's like, but I think it's also a level of.

Speaker 4 (43:25):
We see how adept a person is at drawing these fouls, right,
So then my natural inclination is when he does fall
down or does something and to embellish what should be
a call or what he feels like to, you know,
to basically trick the refreaeson too making a call.

Speaker 3 (43:42):
It becomes do I want to be wrong here?

Speaker 4 (43:45):
I think happens much more than I need to make
sure this outcome happens here.

Speaker 3 (43:49):
Here's here's Here's.

Speaker 2 (43:50):
The thing that makes me believe that they could get
away with it if they're going to go in that direction,
is they've allowed these playoff games this year in the
ENDBA to be very physical. I mean we're seeing a lot.
I mean you're watching guys body up on guys and
there's nothing, no calls, guys swiping away. I mean they've
been really allowing them to get away with a lot,

(44:12):
which I don't mind. By the way, let them play,
let the players decide the outcome of the game, sure,
but as an official, you could flip that in a second.
You could say, all right, you know, no, no, no,
you did a little too much, like what who what?

Speaker 3 (44:23):
What happened here?

Speaker 2 (44:24):
I've been doing this for you know, the whole series,
and now you're gonna call the foul, Well, it's a foul.

Speaker 4 (44:29):
I do think there's a level of inconsistency from game
to game that bothers people. But I think what I'm
especially hearing from the Western Conference side of things, which
to me was a little more physical than these from
conference side of things, that things were breaking down. You
heard it a lot from Steve Kerr when they were
still alive. You heard it from Chris Finch as they
were going along.

Speaker 1 (44:47):
It.

Speaker 3 (44:48):
To me, I think the.

Speaker 4 (44:49):
Biggest issue with officiating in the postseason is inconsistency throughout
the game. If you're gonna call a very physical game
in the first quarter, it should be very like there's
no touch fowls on the fourth quarter. Then if there's
touch fowls in the first quarter, okay, then everything is
a touch foul, right, And I think that's where you
see guys who are truly getting upset. I think that's honestly,

(45:09):
some of what plays in with shake yogis Alexander. He gets,
I think a grander whistle in part because he will
embellish those touch fowls a little more.

Speaker 3 (45:17):
All Right, Well, much more on that game as we
get a little bit closer.

Speaker 2 (45:20):
I wanted to talk about something that we've been talking
about Martin over the last couple of weeks, and that
is the decision by the NFL to allow players to
participate in the flag football competition in the twenty twenty
eight Olympics. And you know, once again you're reminded we
already have a USA flag football team. The coach, Darryl

(45:43):
d said, is sitting there, going what's happening here. We
have players that have been participating in this sport for
years who could not have been more elated to find
out that they're actually going to get an opportunity to
compete in the Olympic in a sport they have been
committed to. And now you're telling us none of them

(46:05):
will be on the team, that you're going to replace
all of them with NFL players, many of which have
never played flag football in their entire life. He's been
trying to explain to people. If you think you can
just put the flags on and understand this game, you
don't know flag football. There is a bigger strategy in

(46:26):
not getting tackled and not getting your flag pulled, or
conversely tackling somebody and pulling a flag. They take two
different skill sets. Can you imagine if we sent our
NFL stars in the Olympics in flag football and they lost.
This isn't like basketball, where there is a game it's

(46:48):
the same game, all right. Basketball is basketball. You put
the best basketball players on the court, like we did
with the Dream Team, they're going to win. This is
not even the same sport. The only comparison they use
a football in the sport. Does the NFL run the
risk of actually losing at the Olympics with players that
have never really played the sport going against players that

(47:11):
have played the sport for years and really undermine their goal,
which is to somehow get that international stage to sort
of put American football on the map. Would they be
better served that they just allowed the best flag football
players in the United States to participate in the Olympics.

Speaker 3 (47:31):
What's going on here? What are we doing? You don't
believe in this, You don't believe they're two different sports.

Speaker 4 (47:37):
Sure, there are two different sports, but no, I mean,
even if they are two.

Speaker 3 (47:41):
Different sports, flag football is not tackle foot. But you
know what it is. It's seven on seven and actually
it's five on five in the Olympics. Okay, well, it's
seven on seven everywhere else in.

Speaker 4 (47:50):
All high school football and the springball and all of that.
That's what all these kids go up playing. Every quarterback
that you've seen now under thirty grew up playing seven
on seven. Every defensive back and wide receiver that you
see now under thirty grew up playing seven.

Speaker 3 (48:05):
They were kids, not as an adult.

Speaker 4 (48:07):
Right, But you know what the reality is, Steve, By
the time that this Olympus happens in twenty twenty eight,
Pat Mahomes will be thirty something.

Speaker 3 (48:15):
He won't be playing Your boy due settle be forty five.
So let's say it will be Jayde and Daniels as
your quarterback. All right, he might not even be playing.
He'll be alright for three years.

Speaker 4 (48:24):
He three years maybe, but we'll see in three years potentially.
But even then, Jayde and Daniels is a seven on
seven quarterback. He grew up playing that function and playing
that Sanders. Okay, okay, you know what he'll find, they'll
be the best quarterbacks out there. And the reality of
it is, unless it's such a different football game that throwing.

Speaker 2 (48:46):
Look a five on five, that's that's the formats five
on five. You have a center, you have two receivers,
a quarterback, and then sort of a wild card guy.
He'd be a running back and another receiver. Same thing
on defense, we have one rusher of the quarterback. And
you're gonna go against countries with teams that have obviously
inferior athletes but actually know how.

Speaker 3 (49:06):
To play the sport. Steve, you're running at risk.

Speaker 4 (49:11):
The Yeah, the risk is that somebody goes out there
and pops in achilles or terrists in acl But the
reality of the situation is, is it the rule? Do you
have to be seven yards back to blitz every time
you want to blitz? All right, fine, as soon as
you come, I'm sending somebody on. I'm sending Tyreek Hill
or whoever. The equivalent is that eight years from now
on a slant behind you and you're.

Speaker 3 (49:32):
Hitting my head.

Speaker 4 (49:33):
I'm hitting my head on the goalpost. Because you know
it sounds cool. The whole Oh you gotta really start
get tackled, you know, the keid to not getting tackled
in the NFL running faster than everybody. And you know
what you're gonna find here, literal guys who if they
weren't so short or muscular or whatever, probably some of
them could have tried out for Olympic trials and sprinting.

(49:55):
Would they have made it, No, but they could have
tried out for it. You're telling me these are some
of the fast people on in the planet. Like this,
like the idea that it's I'll tell you what.

Speaker 3 (50:06):
It's real cute. It's really cute. It's it's really cute.

Speaker 2 (50:09):
And so what do you say to those members of
the team USA that have played for years with the
hopes of someday having an opportunity to play in the
Olympics or sport is finally tabbed to play in the Olympics.

Speaker 3 (50:18):
Olympics and they're saying, now, take a seat. I was tay,
congratulations you walk so authors can run? All right, Well,
let's say I'm just saying now that it's gonna be interesting.

Speaker 2 (50:26):
But the venues, by the way, you think this guy
that is the current USA flag football he's a quarterback.

Speaker 3 (50:33):
This guy you said, he's not the coach, he's actually
a quarterback.

Speaker 2 (50:36):
He's like, playing quarterback in the NFL is not the
same thing as playing quarterback in flag football.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
That's cool, two different things. That's cool, that's awesome.

Speaker 4 (50:44):
All right, good for him, But you know what, I
have a feeling in the NFL quarterback. I'll put it
like this, Playing quarterback in the NFL not the same
as playing flag However, if you were to ask me
which one was gonna have the better crossover.

Speaker 3 (50:56):
Success, the answer is easy. All right, we'll find out
on the road. All right.

Speaker 2 (51:00):
Coming up on the other side, there's a big trade
in the works around the NFL. We're gonna get to
We're gonna check in with our NFL insider, Adam Kaplan.
This is Fox Sports Saturday, Steve Harvin, Martin Wise here
Fox Sports Saturday. We're coming live from the Fox Sports
Radio studios for the best pregame show every weekend. Be
sure to tune into Fox Sports Radio's Countdown, presented by

(51:23):
bet MGM every Saturday and Sunday morning from nine am
to noon Eastern six to nine am Pacific, gonna countdown
all the biggest games there's no better place to prime
you for all the playoff games than right here. Tune
into Countdown presented by bet MGM, every Saturday and Sunday morning,
right here on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

(51:44):
All Right, NFL is three sixty five, and the man
lives at three sixty five?

Speaker 3 (51:50):
Is the man joining us right now?

Speaker 2 (51:52):
Our Fox Sports Radio NFL insider Adam Kaplan. So, Adam,
Obviously there's a lot of buzz right now of a
potential trade with the forty nine Ers and Eagles involving
Bryce Huff. Yeah, and I have to admit, you know,
I remember a couple of years ago with the Jets.
He was sort of like this breakout guy, and I
remember thinking, like, why haven't I heard of this guy?

(52:13):
He was undrafted out of Memphis. He basically played a
multitude of positions. You know, it was just the fact
that he made the Jets team said something, He's playing
a little linebacker, a little defensive end. And then in
twenty twenty three, he's got ten sacks, by the way,
didn't start a single game, and then the Eagles rewarded
him with this huge contract and he completely disappeared for

(52:37):
the Eagles a year ago, and now all of a
sudden people are saying, wow, is this the trade that
could put the forty nine ers over the top. And
I'm like, what exactly? Okay, tell us because I know
no one falls the Eagles like you do. Who is
Bryce Huff and is he a guy that potentially could
have a big impact for the forty nine ers if
this deal gets done.

Speaker 7 (52:58):
It steals getting done long as he passed the physicals.
So this is what happens. So Bryce Off, Okay, this
is Steve. I'm going to take what you said and
take it even farthest. So here this is how little
Bryce South had interest around the college football. Bryce Off
is from Mobile, Alabama. Right, he doesn't even get invited
to the Senior Bowl, which is in Mobile, Alabama. Okay,
that tells you that he was on anyone's red. He

(53:20):
was not drafted, So the Jets bring him in because
he's got athleticism, makes the roster as a rookie works
his way up, becomes arguably in twenty three the NFL's
best subpackage rusher.

Speaker 5 (53:33):
Okay, best ed rusher coming off the bench. Okay.

Speaker 7 (53:36):
He signed a three year, fifty one million dollar deal
first two years full of guaranteed.

Speaker 5 (53:41):
He comes in. Now.

Speaker 7 (53:43):
The part of why he struggled with Eagle Steve is
the scheme that the Jets run their front is is
the wide nine, where the ends play outside the tackles
and they can get a feel like they they're running
joke as they play the run on the way to
the quarterback, like they're just there to get to get
to the quarterback. So it didn't work here, vic Fangio
stands up his edge rushers. He was a hand in

(54:03):
the dirt pass rusher for the Jets. It didn't work
with the trade and then the Eagles paying part of
his salary. He'll essential has made twenty six million dollars
for one season with the Eagles. It's got obviously some embarrassing,
but the Eagles moved on the Niners. Now he's reunited
with Robert Salah, his head coach with the Jets. That's
part of it, obviously because he is intimate knowledge of Huff.

(54:27):
And then the other part of it is Chris cu Sarah,
the defensive line coach for the forty nine ers. He
runs the wide nine. So it's a great match now. Well,
it helped him sure they're really light. They missed badly
on Drake Jackson the Niners did. It was a second
round edge rusher from a couple of years ago out
of USC He just never contributed.

Speaker 5 (54:43):
They cut him. He had a knee injury.

Speaker 7 (54:45):
He'll be able to play again, but they cut him.
They weren't going to use him, so that was a
bad mess of second rounder. They drafted mike L Williams,
an edge rusher from Georgia, who was their first round pick,
and then of course got Bosa next to him.

Speaker 5 (55:00):
They had like no depth at edge and this is kind.

Speaker 7 (55:03):
Of a one year situation where he could certainly help
him that with the Ford Steve, they know they had
to get another edge rusher and that's why the Niners
did this.

Speaker 4 (55:11):
Adam, I want to change gears here to the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 3 (55:15):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (55:15):
Brian Schottenheimer was asked about Joe Milton and it became
a talking point about Dak Prescott and his development.

Speaker 3 (55:22):
Now I get that shot. He's been in the league
for quite some time.

Speaker 4 (55:25):
But is this like a the way it came out
talking about how Dak is you still work in development
things with Dak? Is this kind of a I don't
want to say, a sign that he's in over his head,
but a sign that maybe he's not exactly aware of
just how much weight the words.

Speaker 3 (55:41):
He says as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys
as Yeah.

Speaker 7 (55:43):
It did come make It's funny you brought that one
up because the media blew it up.

Speaker 5 (55:48):
Face blew it up.

Speaker 7 (55:49):
Because you know, when you put something on social media,
you can't get contacts ever on social media.

Speaker 5 (55:54):
It's like next impossible exactly. So yeah, it just didn't
come out right. Shot Himer knew that.

Speaker 7 (55:59):
I mean, it's just yeah, I was by the way,
Joe Milton, Joe Milton, if he could ever find any accuracy.
I mean, the kids got a major arm. I mean
I saw sustuinabwl. But he's actually horrendous and that's why
the Patriots who draft him had no use for him. Look,
they're expecting him to be the backup quarterback, and as
you know, guys, the backup quarterbacks one gingery way.

Speaker 5 (56:21):
This kid, though, has got an unbelievable arm.

Speaker 7 (56:24):
But there was a reason why the Patriots who drafted
him said, you know what, we'll just take what we
can get, which is a late round pick. They got
rid of him after one season, so that does tell
you a lot.

Speaker 2 (56:34):
One of the big mysteries to me from the last
season twenty twenty four was what happened to Tyreek Hill.

Speaker 3 (56:41):
I mean, I know they have.

Speaker 2 (56:42):
Injuries at quarterback, but this is a guy coming off
back to back seventeen hundred yard receiving years in Miami,
and last year he didn't even have a thousand yards average,
less than twelve yards a catch, only six touchdowns, only
fifty six yards a game, and he started every game,
And it was like, what happened? I mean, we see
guys get old. It was the first season that he

(57:04):
did not make the Pro Bowl. And now all of
a sudden there's some hint that the Dolphins might be
interested in moving him. I know, the GM sort of
kiddingly said, yeah, sure, they give me a couple of
number one picks, but you know, the way his contract
is structured, they may be moving him as we get
close to June first, June second.

Speaker 3 (57:24):
If so, would that be a good move for Miami?

Speaker 2 (57:27):
And what kind of market, if any, right now is
there for Tyreek Hill?

Speaker 7 (57:31):
Not much right now. Here's the problem. Okay, a couple things.
First of all, he's coming off of risk surgery. Okay,
he was clearly hampered. In fact, he heard it in August, Steve,
he heard it in a joint practice with Washington, and
he was never the same. He struggled with it and
then obviously to it with his injuries. But it was
really it's really a Hill's wrist injury, which he played

(57:53):
through to his credit, and then he woind up having
surgery after the season.

Speaker 5 (57:57):
So that was a problem.

Speaker 7 (57:59):
Now let's look at kills contract because you always have
to talk about money when you talk about trading a
player who's an older player. Now, tyryk Kill worst time gone.
He's he's now thirty one years old. The problem is
his contract after the season. Well, first of all, the
total cash this season is over twenty eight million. It
makes it very untradable. The season after that, the total
cash is thirty six million. It's an untradeable contract, folks.

(58:21):
He's it's just like, you know what's interesting, Steve is
and I was like, most people won the Chiefs trade.

Speaker 5 (58:27):
I'm like, how are they going to overcome this?

Speaker 3 (58:29):
Right? You and I both said that, Yeah, I'll admit
I was wrong.

Speaker 7 (58:33):
And I remember Joe Banner, the former Eagles president telling
me that that people are going to be wrong about
this and he will find a way to manufacture offense
that he did and they've not really won much. I mean,
they did the playoffs with Tarry Kill, but they haven't
gone anywhere. I understand why they did it. When a
guy you're talking about, one of the best receivers in
the NFL over the last twenty years, you can get him,
you make the trade for him, but he's in his thirties.

(58:54):
In the contract, by the way, they're fiercely trying to
trade Jalen Ramsey. They're going to get this done. They're
trying to get a team to take a chunk of
the contract.

Speaker 3 (59:03):
So are the Rams going to get him back?

Speaker 7 (59:05):
I mean, well, the Rams want him, but you know,
Dallas has some interests. The Rams are the one that's
they've made it clear they want them, but they're not
taking on the bulk of the contract. And that's the
problem is when you have guys in their thirties and
you've made it clear that you don't want them and
they don't want to be there a you lose leverage
and then you have to figure out, well, okay, well,
if we're going to trade for this player. No, he's

(59:27):
in his thirties and he maybe only have two years left.
We're not going to type a lot of cash with
his player. And it's it's not easy. This isn't baseball, folks,
When pitchers could pitch into the mid to late thirties,
it's hard.

Speaker 5 (59:40):
Man. Once you get in the early thirties, they're pretty
much done.

Speaker 4 (59:43):
Uh that's true for I think for a lot of
skilled position guys. But Joe Flacco at forty years old,
is not driving a carpool anymore. We're still out there
in Cleveland, right. But Yeah, he had an interesting quote.
He said it a few different times as he's kind
of been in this older vet in the locker room
position about do you want to be a mentor? He
says being a mentor is not my main focus. I

(01:00:04):
want to play football, which that is his job. Hard
to knock him forward, but it seems to me that
there's stories and reports and everything coming out of Cleveland
have been since the draft, like since the week after
the draft at least been very very pro shador. What's
your take on that or just how your opinion on it?

Speaker 3 (01:00:22):
How that?

Speaker 7 (01:00:22):
Yeah, just listen, just you know covering these OTAs and
for twenty seven years, I mean, really nothing in the
off season.

Speaker 5 (01:00:29):
It's it's nice of it.

Speaker 7 (01:00:31):
As I'm told privately that Shadora has done everything they've
asked them to do, which is a great thing. That's
the stuff that matters. I could care less how it
looks on the field. It doesn't matter to me. It
only matters to me in training camp. I've learned my
lesson of making a big deal of off season practices
and T shirts and shorts. There's no physicality. You can't
bump a corner. Corner can't bump a receiver. Running Backs

(01:00:53):
are not touched. And by the way, OTAs are passengers.
It's pretty much flag football. There's no passionsh It's all
about where they at from a metal standpoint, how they
learning and everything I'm told it's good. I've known Joe,
by the way, since I'm going to say, oh seven
or eight. This is the way that Joe is. He's
never going to give up that he can't start. He's

(01:01:15):
been disrespected over his career, sometimes warned, sometimes not, and
he obviously had one of the best all time runs
in NFL history for the playoffs. A twenty twelve. Joe
is just look, Brett farre said it with Rogers ironically.
This just kind of funny how that works out. He's
a competitor. Now, it doesn't mean he's not going to
help the player, but I know what he meant. This
is not the first time he said that. By the way,

(01:01:36):
with Lamar Jackson, he wasn't going to do it, and
that was different. He knew Lamar was drafted to take
his job. He knew that was going to happen. You know, Look,
it's it's no different when Kurt Warner knew when the
Cardinals drafted Matt Liinert and then how did that work
out for the Cardinals. Kurt Warner took his job at
Kurt Worker kept the job. So you just never know
how it's going to work out.

Speaker 3 (01:01:55):
All right, I'm going to give you a date. It
was August eighteenth. Hey, that's the date. I give you
the year, but it's a giveaway.

Speaker 2 (01:02:03):
But August eighteenth was the date that Brett Farv signed
with the Minnesota Vikings back in two thousand and nine. Remember,
after his one year with the Jets, he waited till
August eighteenth, and then proceeded to have one of the
best years of his entire Hall of Fame NFL career.

Speaker 5 (01:02:22):
How old was he, by the way, do you know.

Speaker 2 (01:02:24):
Let's see in August eighteen, two thousand and nine, he
at that point it was almost forty.

Speaker 3 (01:02:29):
He was going to turn forty in two months, all.

Speaker 2 (01:02:31):
Right, So he waited till August August to sign that
deal with the Vikings and then had a phenomenal year
that year with the Vikings coming up a game.

Speaker 3 (01:02:38):
Short and going to the Super Bowl.

Speaker 5 (01:02:39):
Eighteez?

Speaker 3 (01:02:40):
Can you believe it? And that's that's why I kept believe.

Speaker 2 (01:02:43):
I keep going back to the Aaron Rodgers situation, like,
I mean, he's well aware of Brett Farv's you know, career.
Do you think he's like, if Brett Farvkin waited out
that long, I can do the same.

Speaker 7 (01:02:55):
Well, the Steelers are not, I'm told. I'm telling you
because they told me. They're not under that impression he's
waiting till August. They they don't have an exact time
frame when he's going to tell them whether he's playing
or not.

Speaker 5 (01:03:07):
They still think he is. He's not giving an indicationion
that he's not.

Speaker 7 (01:03:10):
Now I don't again, as I've told you throughout the
last two months said it's not out there. I don't
know what the personal issue that he's dealing with with someone.

Speaker 5 (01:03:16):
Who's inner circle. I don't know. It's just it's kind
of weird.

Speaker 7 (01:03:23):
Coaches will tell you it's always good when you have
your starting quarterback in trying to get the timing down.

Speaker 5 (01:03:29):
Now.

Speaker 7 (01:03:29):
I know he did work out with George Pickens excuse me,
DK Metcalf in the off season.

Speaker 5 (01:03:34):
That's great, but you really want him there with the Steelers. Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:03:39):
The far thing is, Look, that's so rare though, Steve,
I'm glad you brought that up. That look we have
that happened, but it's hard. And by the way, we
have no idea what he's really doing physically right now.
And by the way, again, as I told you, he
had two pretty bad injuries.

Speaker 5 (01:03:54):
I know he played through them.

Speaker 7 (01:03:56):
Rogers last season with the Jets, but I know from
talking to the Jets they knew he was he was
doing the best he could to play through it and
it just didn't work out well. So the fact that
to finish this, the fact that the Sears thickies their
savior is kind of scary to be honest with you.

Speaker 2 (01:04:11):
All right, Well, I tell you what, It's going to
be an interesting run as we continue on. We got
OTA's going on and he camps, all the other stuff
going on around the NFL, and the Man's going to
keep us updated on all of that. The great Adam Kaplan, Adam,
we always appreciate your time, love every second of it.
We'll talk again next week. That is Adam Kaplan, our
NFL insiders. So yeah, that is remarkable, though. I had

(01:04:33):
to look it up because in my head, I was like,
didn't far like sign late with the Vikings in two
thousand and nine August mid August and then had a
Pro Bowl season.

Speaker 3 (01:04:43):
All right, let's find out what is trending right now.

Speaker 2 (01:04:45):
The man wears a multitude of hats here in these
Fox Sports Radio studios.

Speaker 3 (01:04:49):
Is the one, the only, mister Martin Weiss.

Speaker 4 (01:04:51):
We got the Dodgers and the Yankees World Series rematch
right now. Bottom of the first inning this game on Fox.
The Dodger with the two to nothing lead over the Yankees.
First inning, Aaron Judge grounded into a double play, Max
Munsey knocked in sho Hey Otani and Max Munsey and
Will Smith both at RBIs with Monsey knocked at Otani

(01:05:13):
for the Dodgers to have a two to nothing lead
here in Minnesota and Seattle scoreless in the second inning,
bottom of the first for that, Yankees and Dodgers.

Speaker 3 (01:05:22):
Still we have two games left on.

Speaker 4 (01:05:24):
The slate, the Pirates and the Padres and the Nationals
and the Diamondbacks National Diamondbacks.

Speaker 3 (01:05:28):
On FS one.

Speaker 4 (01:05:29):
Earlier today we saw the Cubs beat the Reds to nothing,
Blue Jays eight to seven over the A's, Orioles four
to two over the White Socks with the Jackson Holiday
home run. Brewers poured it on the Philly seventeen to seven,
two to nothing to score the Rangers beat I'm sorry,
the Cardinals beat the Rangers. Guardians come from behind, beat
the Angels seven to five, Braves five nothing over the

(01:05:49):
red Socks. The Mets beat the Rockies eight to two,
Marlins one nothing over the Giants. Same store for the
Royals over the Tigers. Then he passed Guentino where they
go ahead RBI single. That was the difference between Kansas
City and Detroit. Today, the Rays beat the eight Astros
sixteen to three. Speaking of the Astros, yard on Alvarez,
they found a small fracture in his right hand that

(01:06:11):
is currently sixty percent healed. He's missed the last twenty
five games due to a muscle strain in that same
right hand. Astros GM Danna Brown says that the imaging
says he should return into the near future. Dodgers Mookie
Bets going to be out for at least this weekend series,
hopsed to be back in the next few days. Fractured
the tip of his second left toe at home on
Wednesday night walking to the bathroom in the dark, which

(01:06:34):
Steve begs the question, when's the worst time you stubbed
your toe? And why do you remember exactly where you
were and what had happened? Because that pain is unimaginable,
all right.

Speaker 3 (01:06:43):
So it wasn't that. I will tell you this. I
was in my mid thirties.

Speaker 2 (01:06:48):
I was down in San Diego and I was doing
the morning show in those days with the late Greade
Chet forty and we were on from five hour morning show,
how about that six to eleven before there was in
the internet way back in the day.

Speaker 3 (01:07:01):
So it was huh, that's pretty much all we had.

Speaker 2 (01:07:05):
We had the ap wire, right, So what I would
do is I'd take a little nap after I was done,
you know, with my show, and I got up from
my nap and I put my foot on the ground.
I was on a couch and I had this incredible
pain in the joint of my right big toe.

Speaker 3 (01:07:22):
I literally thought, did I break my toe? I didn't
know what. It was so painful.

Speaker 2 (01:07:27):
I could not walk on that foot, and so I
went down to the doctor immediately because I thought I'd
fractured my toe. I was, you know, going through my
head like where did I did I he and he's
he's doing these blood tests and everything. He goes, dude,
you have gout, yo, And I'm like what, he goes.

Speaker 3 (01:07:45):
You know, I wasn't a big meat eater.

Speaker 2 (01:07:47):
I wasn't a big you know, drinker, And he goes,
You're just retaining uric acid.

Speaker 3 (01:07:51):
The pain I couldnot describe to you.

Speaker 2 (01:07:55):
So and if you have fractured anything involving toes, toy
is incredible.

Speaker 5 (01:08:00):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:08:00):
I was introduced to alapurinol, which I've been taking for
thirty years, so I don't get any gout anymore. But
I can only imagine that I had what I thought
was about that for a while.

Speaker 4 (01:08:11):
It ended up being plantar fascy itis mixed with a
little bit of it all. But to your point, the
first few steps in the morning, it was like walking
on nails that were lit on fire. It is the
most painful thing you will like. It hurts, by the way,
so bad.

Speaker 2 (01:08:28):
I was introduced to There was one time. What happened
was when I first started getting Albert. You know, I'd
take it, it would go away, and I'm like, why, I
don't want to take a pill. I not any any pain, right,
But every once in a while I get a flare
up again. One time I had a flare up so
bad that my wife rushed me to the emergency room
and you know what they did.

Speaker 3 (01:08:47):
They shot me up with demerol.

Speaker 2 (01:08:49):
I remember I was laying down and the pain in
my foot it was so bad I could barely and
I just felt like this wave literally going through my
body of just numbness and like I was floating on
I mean.

Speaker 3 (01:09:06):
It was like I was literally like floating.

Speaker 2 (01:09:08):
I didn't feel any pain. I'll never forget that anyway.
So we'll see about Mookie. Let me let me ask
you this. I was asked by radio show that I
appeared on. The host had asked me right out, it's Steve,
Is it too early to say that show Hey, O
Tony is the greatest baseball player of all time? And
I said, well, here's what I will say. He is

(01:09:29):
in many ways the most unique baseball player of all
time because he's done things that have never been done before.
He is certainly the greatest hitting pitcher of all time.
I don't think there's any question about that. But it's
hard for me to tag him as the greatest baseball
player of.

Speaker 3 (01:09:43):
All time when he doesn't play in the field.

Speaker 2 (01:09:46):
I mean, Willie Mays was a five tool player who
played at the highest level in every aspect of the game,
whether it was hitting for average, hitting for power, stealing bases.
This is the guy that led the Nation League and
stole basis four times and at home runs four times.

Speaker 3 (01:10:02):
And oh that's right.

Speaker 2 (01:10:03):
He was the greatest defensive center fielder in the history
of the game, not only catching the ball but throwing
the ball.

Speaker 3 (01:10:09):
And so it's.

Speaker 2 (01:10:10):
Hard for me to put Showhey in that category because.

Speaker 3 (01:10:15):
He's a DH and he's a starting pitcher.

Speaker 4 (01:10:19):
Well, I think my thing is this, he was on
track if you because I agree with you in that
when you look at just the honestly, just the uh.
It's kind of like why you see very rarely pitchers
winning MVP awards because they only play once every five days. However,
when you're like Cy Young level, all right, the argument

(01:10:39):
to me is falling off there, you know what I mean, Like,
you're the best of the best at that spot. We're
gonna have to knock you. I'm not knocking you because
you only pitch for so often. But here's the thing.
He ain't pitched in it quite some time. And I
get the recovery and all that, but if he's not
pitching at the level that he was when he was
an Anaheim Angel, then I think the idea of show

(01:11:00):
hey potentially being the like the the best is gonna
be rough now, most entertaining, most all Like we could do.

Speaker 3 (01:11:08):
A whole lot of other platitudes that still qualified.

Speaker 4 (01:11:10):
Because I am watching the Dodgers to watch Joeo Tani
go up there in bat and then when he gives
a second base do that little thing they do with
the hips and the elbows and all of that.

Speaker 3 (01:11:19):
I'm locked in.

Speaker 2 (01:11:20):
I mean, last night was insane. So Aaron Judges betting second.
By the way, I love the fact that they were
allowing their big hitters to hit higher in the lineup
because you know, here's the thing they were talking about
this in the game, you know, you settle in your seats,
you're ready to go, and the best hitter is not
hitting till the second inning, right because they might be
batting fourth or whatever. And so you had Aaron Judge
hit an absolute bomb like four fifty dead center, just ridiculous,

(01:11:45):
and bottom of the first, leading off Otani first pitch
boom home run left center. I mean, it's unbelievable watching show.
Heyotani play, But again, can I say he's a better
all time baseball player then Willie mays, No, Yeah, he
doesn't play the field. He's a DH and he's the

(01:12:07):
starting pitcher part time.

Speaker 3 (01:12:09):
So yeah, I agree with you.

Speaker 2 (01:12:11):
Though, if he comes back and dominates as the starting pitcher,
and by the way, he's on track to return sometime
after the All Star break on the mound, But if
he returns to that kind of dominance on the mound,
then we can renew this conversation.

Speaker 3 (01:12:22):
By the way, don't forget after the show.

Speaker 2 (01:12:24):
Podcast is going up, So if you miss any of
today's show, check out the podcast. Just search Fox Sports
Radio wherever you get your podcasts. Sure to follow, review
the podcasts and give it five stars.

Speaker 3 (01:12:34):
Again.

Speaker 2 (01:12:35):
Just search Fox Sports Radio wherever you gets your podcasts.
You'll see today's show. Post it right after we get
off the air. All right, we're in the Fox Sports
Radio studios. Get a little preview of tonight's Game six
Eastern Conference Finals Knicks Pacers?

Speaker 3 (01:12:49):
Who will win? Will we move on to the NBA Finals?
Are we going Game seven? At the Guard? And we'll
break it down. This is Fox Sports Saturday.

Speaker 2 (01:13:01):
Steve Harvey, Martin Wise, here Fox Sports Saturday. We're coming
alive from the Fox Sports Radio studios. Well, thank our
crew today, starting with Martin Weiss. Double thanks. Is always
the man City in two seats every Saturday here in
the show, as always, that's the way it should be,

(01:13:22):
you bet Mary Mack. The diversity in musical selections today
phenomenal as always. And then there's a Yes, the rising
star here at Fox Sports Radio, who try to throw
at me just because he's an sc guy, Okay, and

(01:13:42):
I'm a UCLA guy and he's trying to throw at
me just how much better USC football is than us?

Speaker 3 (01:13:48):
And we're not at well it wasn't out of the
blues because you were talking smack about baseball.

Speaker 2 (01:13:53):
Well, I mean we got usc usc under Rod Dato
was the most dominant baseball program and then nation for years.
I got to meet Rod Data on several occasions. He
was a very dear friend of Tommy. Was sworded back
in the day. But we'll see about your football dominance.
All I hear is us trying to eliminate Notre Dame
from their schedule because their schedule's too tough playing in

(01:14:17):
the Big Ten much. Oh, by the way, you see
that plays the same.

Speaker 3 (01:14:20):
Big Ten schedule, So to see how that plays on.

Speaker 2 (01:14:23):
By the way, show hey Otani. We're one inning in
for the Dodgers. He's one for two hitting. Dodgers scored
four runs in the first inning against the Yankees. They
are like owning the Yankees right now, show hey, let
off with a single. By the way, the one record
he could set this year Martin is run scored. The

(01:14:45):
record was set by Babe Ruth in nineteen twenty one
one hundred and seventy seven runs. Right now, Otani's on
pace for one hundred and seventy five runs scored this year.

Speaker 3 (01:14:55):
It's pretty good. I mean, he's on pace for like
sixty home runs as.

Speaker 2 (01:14:58):
Well, but he could set a major league record that
has been on the books for overall hundred years for
most runs scored in a season.

Speaker 3 (01:15:08):
See.

Speaker 4 (01:15:08):
This is part of the kind of the reason why
it's like, if he's just a serviceable pitcher, I'm here
for the greatest of all time conversations.

Speaker 3 (01:15:15):
He's knocking the hell out the ball. It's unbelievable what
this guy does, Absolutely incredible.

Speaker 2 (01:15:19):
All right, let's get deep into the game coming up
here in about ten minutes, tip off Game six Eastern
Conference Finals, Pacers trying to eliminate the Knicks, Nicks trying
to stay alive. Send it back to the garden. As
we met to with Mark Mendin, I see two possible scenarios,
and you could say, yes, won the Knicks win, and
when the Pacers win, not quite that way. If the

(01:15:40):
Knicks win, it's going to be one of those late
game heroics Brunson hits a three. Something miraculous happens at
the end of the game where the Knicks pull it out.

Speaker 3 (01:15:51):
If the Pacers win this game, in my book, it's
going to be a blowout.

Speaker 2 (01:15:54):
And when I say blowed fifteen plus an easy win
for the Pacers on their home Let me ask.

Speaker 4 (01:15:59):
You a thirty point game that gets cut to fifteen
or a seven to ten point game, I.

Speaker 2 (01:16:06):
Would say, I would say it would be like twelve
to fifteen point lead at the half and the Knicks
really make no debt in it, and then the Pacers
it's garbage time at the end. That could go either way,
but it's never in doubt. Let's put it this way.
Second half would never be in doubt. That's the other Sonario.
But if it's if it's a close game, if this

(01:16:27):
literally comes down to the last minute of the game,
I will tell you right now, the Knicks win this game.

Speaker 4 (01:16:36):
Just is it just the the clutch nature of Jalen Brunson, Well,
he was.

Speaker 3 (01:16:41):
Voted the clutch Player of the NBA.

Speaker 2 (01:16:43):
Yes, absolutely, I mean think about think about Jalen Brunson's
star power. Already, right you're playing for the Knicks, which
gives you a leg up on other players playing in
smaller markets. But if he were to pull out a
game like tonight, you know, season on the line, and
you know hits a three point shot late to win
the game, and then goes back to the Garden and

(01:17:05):
has like a thirty five point game in the Knicks,
you know, win that game to head to the NBA five.
I mean, the momentum for the NBA would be huge,
even though on paper it would still be a mismatch
between the Knicks and Okac. So I always look at
what is the best possible scenario for the league? Yeah,
we know, and I just laid it out for you.

Speaker 3 (01:17:26):
We know.

Speaker 4 (01:17:27):
But I also think, honestly, I think you're undercutting Tyrese
Halliverton's potential to be a lightning rod type of player.
I think that when we talk about these faces of
the league type personalities, one of the things that's understated
is you have to make me feel some type of
way when I watch you play, right, And I think

(01:17:49):
shake gil z Answer does fall in that because he
makes a lot of people upset when he watched the play.
But people either want to see Tyre's haliburtons succeed or
they want to see him fail because of all the
dancing around the and the big ball celebration and the
choke and everything. Like, He's got a lot of personality there,
and I think it, you know, it's silly me. He
does play for Indiana, though, so what can you do?

Speaker 2 (01:18:12):
I mean, if you're looking for a storyline about Indiana,
you know, like if you're still trying to you know.
And again, this is a team that was in the
Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, so it's not like
the Pacers came out of nowhere this year. But what's
interesting about this team is, when you think about it,
their roster is basically a collection of rejects. These are

(01:18:32):
a lot of guys that were rejected or traded away
by other teams and.

Speaker 3 (01:18:38):
They end up in Indiana.

Speaker 2 (01:18:39):
You know, well exactly so you Halliburton, Siakam turn I mean,
go down the list.

Speaker 3 (01:18:46):
Turner's actually been there the longest.

Speaker 2 (01:18:48):
And but they have a lot of guys on this
roster that were deemed expendable by other franchises. And let's
and let's let's let's let's mention they have a pretty
good coach as well.

Speaker 3 (01:19:00):
I mean, I think that's another thing.

Speaker 4 (01:19:02):
I think that we have kind of over underrated the
coaching mismatch here to look at the way the challenges
have gone, especially in the early games in this series,
that I think that the tyres Haliburton the Tyres Haliburton
game with a head off the back room went way
up in the air. Carlisle won two challenges late in
that fourth quarter. Otherwise he wouldn't have had enough possessions

(01:19:24):
for that shot to even happen. Right, you see that,
You see Tibbs and now he's got people are clapping
for him. If he's playing a deeper bench, that's because
Jalen Brunson at four fouls in the second quarter, he
had to play a deeper bench. Right he stumbled across something.
Carlisle to me seems like he's pulling the levers a
lot better.

Speaker 2 (01:19:41):
I mean, Rick Carlisle, if you think about it, obviously
he won a championship with Dallas.

Speaker 3 (01:19:45):
I mean, is this a Hall of Fame coaching career?
Would you say?

Speaker 4 (01:19:49):
I think if he gets if he gets another championship,
this will be many couple conference finals.

Speaker 2 (01:19:54):
He had back to back fifty win seasons his first
coaching job in Detroit. Then he had the first run
with Indiana, had a sixty one win season all those
years in Dallas. Uh and now returns to Indiana get
the team a little bit better every year. I'd say
he's hall of Fame to be honest with.

Speaker 3 (01:20:08):
You, knocking on the door.

Speaker 2 (01:20:09):
Look for at Knicks victory tonight. My final prediction, keep
it there. This is Fox Sports Radio.

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