The Bernie Fratto Show discusses Luka Doncic's struggles on the Lakers, the Raiders finally entering a full rebuild, and why Miami Ohio absolutely deserves to be in the Tournament.

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You don't listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Well, that's right, you heard the man that time of week.
My name is Bernie Friday. We are comedy live from
the Fox Sports Radio studios here in Las Vegas. We
will take you up to three am Pacific six am Eastern.
There is a catch, as I sit right now in
the Eastern time zone, it's two am and it just

(00:37):
magically turned to three am. It is our once a
year World Wind Daylight Savings, Time Spring Forward show three
hours tonight instead of four. But we'll work hard to
get in just as much stuff. And wouldn't you know it,
in the midst of what I think has been a

(00:58):
sensational world baseball lasting so far, and I know a
lot of the players. Put the kid Dante Noriri, who
hit two of months for Italy. I just spoke at
a high school bank or two years ago. He was
a first round choice of the Affilies. It's a thrill
to see him hit home runs for Italy. He'll probably
start the season in Double A this year. But the
USA is, you know, moving along. Dominican Republic I think

(01:21):
is going to be a bear at Japan. I'm loving
I am loving every bit of this, and I'm Italian,
so I'm happy Dante norriy hit those hit those dinners.
But in the midst of all that, and you know,
we are on the cost really of the NBA playoffs,
and we are certainly on the verge of March madness.
A week from Sunday, week from today. If you are

(01:43):
in the if the clock has already turned Sunday in
your time zone, week from today, it's selection Sunday March Madness.
But wouldn't you know it, in the middle of all
those things, what was the biggest story of the week
that took all the air out of the room, And
that was clearly the Max Crosby trade. As the NFL

(02:03):
does it again, managing to stay in the news even
though it's not football season. In this trade, it was
interesting because what's not been talked about a lot is
one trade like this can have a ripple effect across
the NFL. Picture throwing a pebble into a pond and
watching the ripples. And I'll lay those on for you,

(02:24):
maybe some things you hadn't thought about, because there are
probably some folks who are happy this trade took place
and some folks who aren't as happy. But believe it
or not, the Raiders are happy this trade took place,
not for any reason in the pejorative because Max Crosby
was beloved and no one played harder than Max Crosby.

(02:46):
But now the Raiders are committing their offense and they're
soon to be franchise quarterback Fernando Mendoza, and that's where
their focus is going to be. They need to rebuild
the offensive line, they need to add to the receiver corps,
and they just acquired significant extra draft capital to help
their offensive. Mined coach Clint Kubiak. We'll see where all

(03:08):
of this goes. I do not have eyels for the Raiders.
It's going to be a couple of years. But they're
now admitting, but they haven't admitted for decades. We got
to start over. They kind of faked it back in
twenty eighteen when they let Khalil Mack go because they
would have been a salary cap hell, but they haven't
done much since then. Crosby. Let's not forget Matt Crosby though, Okay,
he helped give the Raiders at least a dominant pass

(03:30):
rush from his side seventy sacks and seven seasons, but
you know what. They were twenty six games under five
hundred in the regular season with Matt Max Crosby in
a lineup through no fault to his The Raiders haven't
reached the Super Bowl in twenty four years. And okay,
blah blah blah, you get all that. I'll tell you
who else is happy about to trade the Baltimore Ravens.

(03:53):
They needed a top pass rusher. Now they're taking an
expensive risk because Crosby has played a base three to
four throughout his career and Jesse minted Baltimore's new defensive
minded coach. I do not believe runs D scheme, but
the Ravens said, we're gonna go aggressive neatly, ignoring it's

(04:13):
their quarterback and their offense. It stinks. Well, their defense
wasn't great either, so but Max Crosby can only help them.
I think it's a good fit for both sides. I'll
tell you who's not happy about the trade again, back
to the rip effect theory, the Cowboys. The Cowboys, we
were told might have had the inside track to acquire

(04:34):
Crosby from the Raiders and make up for the Michael
Parsons trade of the Packers about a year ago. Now
they're back to the drawing board. They want a sack artist.
They need a sack artist. They want to rebuild that defense.
They have a new defensive defensive coordinator by the name
of Christian Parker, no relation to Rob Parker, although for

(04:55):
all I know, he may be related to Rob Parker.
I'll tell you who else is not happy about it.
His trade, O'daffy Oway. Why him? Remember he was with
the Ravens, had a delayed breakout season as a first
round talent because he was traded to jesse Mincher's Chargers
in the middle of the last season. It looked like

(05:16):
he would break the bank, maybe going back to Baltimore
to follow jesse Mincher. That ain't gonna happen now, since
Max Crosby is the one that broke the bank, already
broke the bank, He's got the bag. If they can
get four good years out of Crosby and Baltimore, that's
about the best you can hope for. I'll tell you
who's happy about the trade, Trey Hendrickson. So now you've

(05:38):
got Max Crosby traded before the start of free agency.
Now Trey Hendrickson becomes the top pass rushing target with
a drop off to Jalen Phillips and again Olway as
the next probably the next best edge options available to
be considerable. Now the Bengals, they're a prolific pass rusher. Again,
Trey Hendrickson, anyway he slices it to do, had to

(06:00):
do a huge payday. I'm thinking it might be the Chargers.
I'm thinking we'll see. I'll tell you what this isn't happy,
my beloved Detroit Lions. They're gonna have to work hard
if they want to make a run at Oway or
Henderson or Phillips. They've been rumored so long as one
of the teams to pop perhaps Land Crosby. But again

(06:23):
give it up to Baltimore. The Raiders, I think were
gonna wait till someone offered two first round draft choices,
and they did. But the Lions didn't and the Chargers didn't.
And so we all know that the Lions have been
wanted to get a book and alongside Aiden Hutchinson, and
I guess they felt Crosby was too pricey. But they're

(06:44):
not happy they didn't get them Washington Commanders. They had
hoped to also be a team in the mix that
would not only allow their pass rush to improve markedly,
but they would spoil the Cowboys efforts to land Crosby
because again, like a lot of teams, the command and
needed much needed pass rush help as it were. Now

(07:05):
they're going to be reminded it was the other team
around the Beltway that made the one big move well
six five two fifty five Max Crosby a perfect fit
most likely would have been in dan Quinn's offense Commanders
not that far from Baltimore. It's gonna hurt for them today.
Who else isn't happy? The rest of the AFC North.

(07:26):
The Browns sure they got Miles Garrett that in fifty
million to get you nothing. The Steelers have TJ. Watt
when he's healthy, The Bankers, the Bengals losing Trey Henderson. Crosby.
I think he's not only a great pass rushing equalizer
for the Ravens, he's a great teammate. So I think
the rest of the AFCED North is unhappy. Who is

(07:50):
maybe happy? Well, the rest of the AFC West. Patrick Malmes,
he wouldn't need to worry about Crosby again in that
division coming off as torn acl Justin Herbert, he won't
need to duck behind that Chargers, you know, look out
block pass rush, and I would say that, you know,
even though the Chargers pretty much owned the Raiders, Crosby

(08:13):
could record game, he can record game bo Nix. He's
not going to have any nightmares about Max Crosby anymore
iph he ever did. And I guess even in practice,
Fernando Mendoza won't have to look over his shoulder to
see if Max Crosby's coming after him. Anyway he slice
it. It looks like it's going to be Mendoza's team right
now and not Crosby's. And I think anybody who signs

(08:36):
on the airwaves and questions whether or not Max Fernanda
Mendoza can play, you're first in line for a front
of the botomy. He's got exquisite ball placement, exquisite accuracy
like any rookie, just like Peyton Manning had to, even
Tom Brady had to, all of them. There's going to
be a learning curve and the Raiders need help everywhere

(08:57):
around the field. But to apply that for any reason,
this Fernando Mendoza isn't deserving of his accolades. What he's
accomplished and what the future may look like you're out
of your mind. Now. There is no guarantee of success
in the National Football League. And the truth of the
matter is drafting a quarterback number one overall is risky.
The last quarterback drafted number one overall to win a team,

(09:21):
to win a Super Bowl with the team he was
drafted by, was, of course, the aforementioned Peyton Manning. And
you know what was Manning drafted at ninety eight and
it still took him, you know, eight nine years to
win win with the Colts. So you get my drift,
But that, you know, to second guests and throw cold water.

(09:44):
Just look at the film. Okay, set us. There are
objective truths in our personal feelings. Again two words, ball placement, accuracy.
He's got it in space. And I'm telling you right now,
he's smart, he has aptitude. His his recognition will be fine.
His work ethic is going to be fine. There's no

(10:07):
quarterback you could have put on the Raiders last year,
none that would have won with that team because that
team couldn't block anybody. But just like that, the Raiders don't.
Look now they have a bazillion draft picks and oh yeah,
one hundred and twenty five million dollars in cap space.
Let's see what they do with it. But now you

(10:28):
know why. Back the first week in January, after Black Monday,
I said, of all the openings available, honestly think the
Raiders is the best one. You get to live in Vegas.
There's no place to go. But up at that time
you had ninety five million in cap space and they
got one hundred and twenty five. You got two of
the top fourteen picks this year, a bunch of other

(10:49):
picks I think a total of twelve draft picks this year,
two first round picks in twenty twenty seven. And if
you are the coach that you know restores the Raiders
to what their true glory days were in the commitment excellence.
If you're the one to do that, they will build
a statue for you. And so for all those reasons,

(11:12):
I think the Raiders are going to be very interesting
to watch the next couple three years to see if
they can do it, because the expectations are going to
be there, and the pressure is going to be there. Pressure, well,
as John Wooden once said, causes some people to break
causes others to break records. We'll see what the Raiders
will do, we'll all be watching. By the way, be

(11:34):
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(11:56):
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clock magically turns to three and we'll turn it over
to the Great Andy Furman. We switch things up coming
up a little bit, Diana Magic, NBA lots to talk
about as usual this week, so keep it locked you

(12:18):
listen to the Bernie Frattle Show on Fox Sports.

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Speaker 2 (13:03):
All right, back at the Bernie Final show, Fox Sports
Radio our once a year three hour World Win Spring
Forward Daylight Savings shows. So we make an adjustment. A
gentlemen we usually have on at one am Pacific time.
We move him up because the NBA is important. He's
got his finger on the pulse. Three simple words, it's
that time. Mark Medeina Medina Magic are Fox Sports Radio

(13:28):
NBA Guru. Mark as usual, lots to talk about, but
I wanted to begin with the subject that looked like
it might have had legs earlier in the week, but
I think it turned out to be a big nothing.
And that was the video between Luca and JJ Reddick
on on the sideline. Take its behind the curtain because

(13:49):
my moles tell me they get along pretty good. Such
a record straight.

Speaker 5 (13:53):
Yeah, they do seem to get along pretty good. And
JJ Reddick made it clear when he was asked about
it that he didn't think that it was any thing
other than just two competitors.

Speaker 6 (14:02):
Here.

Speaker 5 (14:02):
Now, what this actually means was, you know, Luka Doncic
was missed a defensive assignment JJ Reddick put Lebron James
in the sub forum. Luca was frustrating because he asked
to continue to play through the rest of the first quarter.
When he subbed out, he looked down trodden. JJ Reddick's
trying to, you know, give him a high five, shake

(14:23):
his hand, and Luca kind of waves him off. JJ
confronts him on the bench and essentially asked like, hey,
what's your deal? And I think there may have been
some expletives yelled there too, and then Luca kind of
took offense to it, and Jared Vanderbilt was staying next
to him and he stood up to make sure make
sure nothing actually happened. But I think that was heat

(14:44):
of the moment. But I don't want to say, Bernie
that it's nothing and oh this happens all the time.
I think that they can get past it, and they
have gotten past it. But does kind of capture the
Luka Doncic coaching experience, because you know, I asked JJ
Reddick yesterday, like what's been his messaging with how Lucas

(15:05):
should handle his fiery emotions, and he made it clear
like he's a special kind of player, special kind of person,
special kind of competitor, and then he gave this money
quote to me. He said, I would much rather have
someone who's trying to go out every night and kill
than someone they have to literally revive with a different
defilip deferbrullitator every other day. So yeah, I mean, that's

(15:29):
that's the Luca Dogrit experience. You mostly appreciate his competitive
intensity and his care factor, but there's obviously times, like
with the technicals, that he'll cross the line.

Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, it sounds like there might have been a couple
even more moving parts. It looked like the end of
the video that Luca kind of regrouped and started to
stick out his hand and then Reddick walked away, But
I was not aware as to what exactly triggered that
whole tet a set And I'm glad you play it
out because it's sort of under scores this narrative now

(16:02):
that's really making its way into the ether, and that
is Luca's a serious liability on defense. And I want
to get your thoughts on Draymond Green's comments this past week,
because not that I'm ever going to defend Raymond, but
it's hard to disagree with the premise of what he
was saying, So, I don't want to steal your thunder.
Why don't you bring the audience up to snuff on
what happened and what your thoughts are.

Speaker 5 (16:24):
Well, Bernie, I have a suspicion that we might reliver
debate last week as it goes. Draymond Green was essentially
saying what you were saying, that we all owe Nico
Harrison apology, and I say to you, and I say, Draymond,
I don't. I'm not apologizing to Nico because the criticism stands.
It's one thing to trade Luca Dancic and agree to disagree.

(16:45):
But if you're going to trade Luca, you got to
get a better return on investment in a better trade package.
But you know, to the point that you're making about
his defense, he's not going to make an all defensive
NBA team at any point in his career. But for
what it's worth, the Lake have seen like good improvement
with his steals, his effort level. You know, he's not

(17:07):
always taking possessions off. It's now just some of the time.
So it's far from a finished product. And the Lakers
have a lot of defensive deficiencies and he's one of
many of them, but it is at least a relative
stuff in the right direction. We look like. It's obviously
clear his value is his scoring. He leads league into scoring,

(17:27):
his passing, his third and assists, and his competitive intensity
when he's not arguing with the reps. The competitive intensity
is good with you know, just the kind of you know,
care that you have to have against your opponent, intimidating them,
galvanizing his teammates. But that's that's the Luca experience. You're
gonna get scoring brilliance, passing brilliance, Okay, not great defense,

(17:53):
competitive intensity that you like, and then competitive intensity that
you don't dislike. And I think it's one of those
things like your sign up for the entire package. And
even though you know obviously everyone should want to be
able to improve, I think essentially that's going to be
the makeup of who he is as a player.

Speaker 2 (18:11):
So, just to set the record straight, digressed to last week,
My reference to an apology was really a rhetorical question.
No one's going to apologize to Nico fore however, how
but it it genders a good conversation that we can have.
And so again just to set the records strate and
to clarify. What I think Draymond Green was implying was

(18:36):
that the there was an irony and that all these
TV experts this is his words, not mine, that we're
questioning Nico's decision at the time, we're now saying basically
these same people the Draymond maintains that Harrison's basketball reasoning

(18:58):
is now really sort of being valid by the very
people who condemned him. And so I questioned it to that,
I said, I'm going to wait three years because I've
been doing this too long to draw any conclusions. Now,
everything you said about Luca's offense is correct, but his
defense is extremely poor. He would make an all defensive
team in the w NBA, I can think. And the

(19:20):
other thing too, is Mark I gotta say this, he's
getting slower, and it's this is not funny to you.
You've got to be a two way player to be
built around to win a championship in the NBA. So
from that context, doesn't Draymond don't Draymont's comments have some merit.

Speaker 5 (19:41):
Oh, without a doubt. I mean, look, I think even
last year when Luka Doncic was traded, I don't.

Speaker 7 (19:48):
I don't.

Speaker 5 (19:48):
I think most people were acknowledging that his conditioning could
be better than that. Yeah, he is uh can be
a defensive liability, and yes he needs to stop yelling
at the refs after every single possession, because one, you
lose a lot of capital that way. In two, he
still gets the free throw line a lot, right, So

(20:08):
I think both things can be true. Those christens a
more valid But then I think where the criticism came was,
is that enough to justify not retaining a player that
has already been on six All NBA first teams, has
led the league in scoring, guided them to the finals
last year, showed that he could coexist pretty well with

(20:31):
Kyrie Irving and had a lot of respect, not just respect,
but beloved by his teammates. That's where the leap of
faith of disagreement goes through. And then the next leap
of faith of disagreement is, Okay, if you're going to
trade him, you got to get the Herschel Walker type
trade in return. You're not going to get an all

(20:52):
star player who's injury pronelike Anthony Davis, a good but
not great rotation player Max Kursy, only one first round pick.
You got to get a bigger haul than that, So
there's obviously a lot of nuance to the conversation. I
think to be clear, no one was ever disputed some
of the shortcomings on Luca. It was more about using

(21:12):
those shortcomings to justify a trading him, knowing all the
other elements that make him such a great player. And
then b if you're trading him, you got to get
something better in return.

Speaker 2 (21:24):
And you talk about him arguing with the rest, would
be nice if he'd stop laying on the floor in
the prone position while he's arguing with the rest, Where
are the team's going the other way while the you
know the opposing team is going the other way in transition,
that's not a good look.

Speaker 5 (21:39):
The other part is not a good look. And look
like he's only one game away from getting a technical again,
and if he does that, one game suspension and Lakers,
you know every game is going to matter from here
on out because they're trying to avoid the play in tournament.
They're trying to hold on to succeeding ideally, they're trying
to move up so they have home court advantage in
the first rout and as we speak, they're only half

(22:02):
a game behind Denver for fifth game, and a half
behind Minnesota for fourth. To think game and a half
behind Houston for third. So you have Luca miss one
of these games because he's getting another technical like that
traumatically changes or could change your playoffs.

Speaker 2 (22:20):
Tod, Let's talk about Luca's contract, because I believe therein
lies the impetus behind why Nico will let him go.
He said, I just I'm not giving this guy a MAX.
I can't do it, and then he proceeded to lose
the weight and he's not really playing very good defense.
So the Lakers agree to a three year extension last August.

(22:41):
So they've got him through twenty eight bucks sixty five.
Now that's going to be here before you know it,
and at the end of that, Luke will have played
four seasons with the Lakers. Do you think it's just
an automatic, no brainer they extend him and pay him
the max. Or do you think there's going to be issues.

Speaker 5 (22:56):
I don't think there's gonna be issues, but nothing's ever
automatic or guaranteed in the NBA. I mean, we've seen
that with Luka Doncic getting traded by the Dallas Mavericks.
So he signed the extension last year. To your point,
this takes him through twenty twenty eight, so I think
it's a little early to start wondering. Okay, Clockett's ticking

(23:17):
out of the Lakers and Luca feel about each other.
How they feel about each other is they're totally fine
and they like the partnership. But there's a lot of
expectations from now until twenty twenty eight on where the
Lakers are with having a championship Calber roster and how
much Luka Doncic is contributing to that. So, you know,

(23:37):
the Lakers are in the middle of this with Lebron
James and they're still in playoff contention. But you know,
if they lose in the first or second round, it's
not great, but it's also not the end of the world.
But I think the biggest pivot point is, Okay, assuming
Lebron James's final season with the Lakers this year, how
do they then transition into the Luka Doctrich era and

(24:02):
if they're you know, misfiring on roster construction and all that. Yeah,
I want to be surprised if Luca has misgivings, if
Luca is not taking his game to another level, I
want to be surprised the Lakers have misgivings. But in
the NBA, it's good to plan ahead, but it's also
good to stay in the moment right now. So much

(24:23):
can dramatically change in three years that you know, we
know the framework, but there's so many things that have
to take place before we really get a pulse on
how either party will really feel moving forward.

Speaker 2 (24:39):
Okay, accept that, but I have three things I'll say,
and you got the last word, and we'll move on.
There are three things that won't change. Well, I acknowledge
Luca is in lead offensive talent. Okay, he is high usage,
he's got you know, he's bal dominant style. He leads
the league in usage rate. It's going to be difficult
for them to build around him and for role players

(24:59):
to get into a rhythm. Secondly, the competition in the
West is only increasing. Oklahoma City is here to stay.
I think Denver's here to stay, and don't let Mauve
here comes San Antonio and Houston's going to be a bear.
So I don't know what happens in the next three years.
I know the Lakers will free up about fifty million
in salary cap next year when Lebron moves on. But

(25:21):
how much can you really do And given those three
constants I gave you, you really believe the Lakers can
defeat those hurdles in the next three years to at
least get to an NBA Finals.

Speaker 5 (25:31):
Well, look, I mean the Lakers are going to try
to get Jonason too, the coumboth that doesn't happen. They
have a lot of cap space otherwise. But I do
agree the Thunder and the Spurs are here to stay.
They already have their young core in place. Victor one
Bandama is a generational talent. Saying they with the chego
just Alexander the Rockets. I mean, you have Kevin Durant
on the team. I don't know when he's retiring, but

(25:53):
it's safe to say like his final years are upon us,
even though he's still playing a high level. And they've
shown that they're very consistent. But I think to your
broader point, I don't know if it's enough to beat
those teams, but they are in the mix. The thing
that I will slightly push back on with Luca is
that even though he's a high usage player, he is

(26:14):
a great passer and he has shown that he can
co exist pretty well with other ball dominant players see
Kyrie Irving, see Austin Reeves. I think really the biggest
thing on the Lakers is you have to have a
consistent center that can thrive in the pick and roll.
DeAndre and ain't cut in and fairness, I don't think

(26:35):
anyone was expecting to cut it because we've seen who
he is as a player, but they have to upgrade
at that position. There also has to be an upgrade
at having more consistent three point shooters and more consistent
perimeter defenders moving the right direction. Gain Luke Canard. He
leads the NBA in three point shooting, but there has
to be others around them that can defend a lot

(26:58):
better beyond just Marcus Smart And look, I'm not saying
the Lakers have to construct a perfect roster. That's impossible
in the NBA, especially with the second April, but you
do have to have those positional needs in order for
Luca to be at his best, and I don't think
that's unreasonable to put that on the Lakers.

Speaker 6 (27:16):
To do that.

Speaker 5 (27:16):
And I think in fairness to Luca, again not a
finished product, but he has shown that you have the
right town around him, he can get to the NBA
Finals like he did in Dallas and give them a
chance to contend for a title.

Speaker 2 (27:30):
Unless we think Giannis Antennakoopo is the savior in LA.
He's been in fifteen playoff series in his life, he's
eight and seven, he's eighteen and twenty four on the road,
and he's one to nine in his last ten playoff games.
So I don't know that he's the answer. But listen,
we're going to just continue to watch this. I probably
wouldn't have opened the door this week except for that
visual video on TV, which I think really really got

(27:53):
a lot of play and it seemed to be sort
of metaphorical for where the Lakers are right now. I
kind of stick up for jj Erretick a little bit.
I think he's done a decent job. But be that
as it may, let's talk about the Boston Celtics. No
one expected him to do, at least I didn't what
they were doing without Jason Tatum. Tatum returns the other night,

(28:16):
starts rough, but finishes with a double double. All of
a sudden, does Boston jump back to the front of
the pack in the East as a favorite to get
back to the NBA Finals?

Speaker 5 (28:25):
In your view, yeah, I'm playing them to get to
the NBA Finals, literally, Burnie. Last week I had skepticism.
But here's a few things. The Pistons, I'm not a
believer in them. They consistent play from Kate Countingham, inconsistent
three point shooting. But I think the bigger thing is
the Celtics have shown this Jalen Brown, he's fourth right
now in my MVP rankings. They're role players, they're better

(28:49):
than just role players. They're not all star players, but
they're very consistent. And Jason Tatum. I thought that this
would be rushing back too soon because usually Achilles injuries
take about a year to heal, and you're never the
same You're very rarely the same player after an Achilles,
unless you're Dominique Wilkins. But look like he showed after

(29:10):
Missy his first six shots that he's good, he's ready
to go, and he doesn't have to be in a
primary role. And I think what's really the telling part,
Bernie is I talked to some outside doctors that you
treat patients with Achilles injuries, and while they, you know,
having treated Jason Tatum, they don't work with Celtics. Their

(29:32):
medical qualifications go beyond staying it the holiday and if
you know what I mean, like their actual doctors and
they all said like, look like, I don't think this
is a huge red flag because advances in modern medicine,
modern technology, the way doctors make sure that you know,
all these athletes are healing every other part of their

(29:52):
body outside of their achilles, so that they don't overcompensate. Like,
it's a lot easier than it was even ten years
ago for players to come back and be maybe not
the same player, but still maintain their level of play.
And I think to be the other thing is he
has another month of minute restrictions, saying go back to backs,

(30:14):
not being the main guy, and that's totally fine because
they've Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown a
showing that they can coexist without any issues. And Jason
Tatum is also shown he's a great playmaker. He really
improved his passing when they got Drew Holliday and chrisoffs
Porzingis during that championship season, and I don't think he's

(30:35):
forgotten how to do that. So yeah, I'm putting the
back into the NBA Finals and we'll see what happens.
I would still favor the thunder, But look, all you
need to do is get to the stage and then
you know, give yourself a shot to compete.

Speaker 2 (30:48):
I think Jason Tatum's a special athlete and people are
marveling that he Some say he came back too fast. Well,
thirty years ago, Dominique Wilkins came back after nine months,
a month quicker than Tatum, unless we forget what fifteen
years ago, Kobe came back in eight months.

Speaker 7 (31:04):
So well, we were go ahead.

Speaker 5 (31:07):
In Kobe's case, I think it was a little too soon,
you know, not from a medical standpoint that no one's
ever going to clear a player, you know, unless they're
actually ready. But for Kobe, he was coming back as
the main guy on the team, and that team was flawed,
and six games later he injures his knee and is
eventually after the season. But in Dominique Wilkins's case, yeah,

(31:30):
he's a success story. His numbers were actually better the
season after he returned. I remember I've talked to numerous
times over the years about like, how on earth did
this happen? And he was just very methodical with his rehab,
got surgery right away, was very disciplined and all accounts
say that Jason Tatum was the same way. The fact
that you got surgery not too long after having the

(31:53):
Achilles injury does a lot of wonders in expediting the
recovery process.

Speaker 2 (32:00):
This thing will make it quick. March tenth is Tuesday.
That's the artificial date the WNBA in the WNBA Players
Association said that if they don't have an agreement by then,
they're going to have to alter the season calendar. Do
they have an agreement by Tuesday.

Speaker 5 (32:16):
I might have to eat crow here. I mean, I've
been telling you, yeah, they're not going to miss the deadline.
They're not going to miss the deadline. But just doesn't
seem like both parties are on the same page. It
doesn't seem like the union is on the same page
with their players, and it's a shame. It's a very
well missed opportunity. I don't fall at either side for obviously,

(32:37):
you know, wanting to make the most amount of money
they can for the you know, especially the fact that
this has been a league that's finally been a lot
more popular than it was over the years, and so
you wanted to divide the revenue accordingly. But we're in
a very short attention span economy, and it was never good.
It's never been good any time of professional sports league

(33:00):
has had a lockout. But I think given the context
of where the w n b A is a woman's
basketball in general, the huge opportunity to miss, and I'm
not as confident as I was before that they all
reach agreement.

Speaker 2 (33:14):
Is fair enough. I thought this was perfectly predictable. I
blame the player, the owners.

Speaker 5 (33:20):
G Now, Bernie, you're the one who called her from
the beginning.

Speaker 2 (33:23):
No no apology necessary. Look, here's the deal, and I'll
get off my horse and we'll we'll look forward to
next week. Let me just say this, Uh, the owners
have said, okay, we're going to increase the salary cap
by five hundred percent. You're gonna have players making a
million a year. We've increased the floor and they play well, well,
we want we want a percentage of the revenue before profits.
Come on. Now, you're now, you're being silly. So let's

(33:44):
just set that aside for now. Mark, good stuff, Thanks
for clarifying the visual between Luca and UH and J. J. J. Redick.
And we'll we'll we'll see the ongoing story. We'll look
forward to next week.

Speaker 5 (33:55):
Mark, okay, well, appreciate you and always fund unpacket.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
All right, thanks a lot, Mark, Mark Medina Medina Magic,
our Fox Sports Radio NBA group. Coming up. We got
three good topics and the midnight hour nineteen minutes away.
It turns midnight here in Lats Vegas literally eight seven
seven nine ninety six six three six nine, but the
midnight hours figurative, which means you get the last word
no matter where you are. Get your fingers radio set up.

(34:20):
The topics coming up, hy Bernie Fraderwick keviedy Lyn from
the Las Vegas Fox Sports Radio Studios. Keep it locked.
You're listening to the Bernie Fraddle Show on.

Speaker 8 (34:27):
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 (34:43):
All right, We're back on the Bernie Frattle Show Fox
Sports Radio. We are comedy line from the Fox Sports
Radio Studios here in Las Vegas. We'll take him to
three am Pacific, six am Eastern. A little tricky tonight
at two am Pacific, the clocks magically turned to three,
so let's get let's get a roll in here, twelve
minutes until the midnight hour. Here in Las Vegas. You

(35:05):
see here in Las Vegas, where I live, the clock
will strike midnight. It will literally be twelve midnight. Perhaps
where you live it will be literally twelve midnight, but
for all of us, it's figuredly twelve midnight. We've had
coals from Japan, London, Ireland, Detroit, you name it, all
around the world. And I look forward to your calls

(35:25):
tonight as you get the last word. That's the idea
behind the minnight hour. All right. I want to piggyback
on a topic Mark Medina and I were just talking about,
and that is Luka Doncic. But from this context, Draymond
Green made some statements this past week. Essentially, what he
was doing was criticizing the zero accountability of various TV

(35:50):
analysts and questioning these very these very people who made
fun of Nico Harrison for the trade and why Nico
made the trade. Luca's was not in shape, doesn't play defense.
I don't think he wanted to pay four to eighty
million dollars. He's going to be very difficult to build

(36:10):
around because of his ball dominance. You see what we see.
You see it, don't act like you don't. And Draymond
maintains that the reasoning now behind Nico Harrison's decision is
now being ironically validated by the very people who condemned him,
and he said not one media person's apologized, Well, you
don't follow me on Twitter, Draymond, and I don't care

(36:33):
if you do. But take a look, because I've been
calling it out. Maybe it's more of a rhetorical question.
Maybe somebody does own Nico an apology. It's his right
to not have to pay a guy who can't play defense.
He can't play defense, doesn't want to play defense. We
know what defense looks like. Defense is desire. Don't act
like you're in denial, don't want to hear from the people.

(36:56):
Does Dramont have a point? What are your thoughts? Am
I full of crap? Luca's going to be fine. He's
gonna bring the Lakers a title eight seven, seven, nine, nine,
six six three sixty nine. So that's our first topic.
Luka within the prism and framework of the comments behind
Draymond Green and how really a lot of media people
are validating what Nika thought, but there's no apology, and

(37:19):
I'm not implying that there needs to be an apology.
I just want to see if people are coming around
to say, well, you know what, we kind of see
what he saw now, or maybe I'm wrong? All right.
The second topic, field goal kickers have become all the
rage now they're getting paid bigs. They should Well, the
United Football League is doing it is making a couple

(37:40):
of pretty significant rule changes this year. Is it prepares
for the twenty twenty six season. I won't go into
all of them about how they're gonna you can you know,
you can get a three or four point play after touchdowns,
or you know, the more space for kickoff returners or
one foot and bounds catching a pass, all that they're
gonna ban the touch push. Here's what I want you

(38:01):
folks to talk about. Starting this season in the United
Football League. They're going to award four points for any
field goal of at least sixty yards. Four points. Paging
Brandon Aubrey, paging Cam Well, never mind, I have been drinking.
There are plenty of good kickers who can kick sixty

(38:23):
yard field goals. Can you imagine how this had changed football?
Instead of kicking a long field goal to go into overtime,
you kick to win, or kick a long field goal.
Perhaps if you're done by four, it's no longer a
two possession game as it were, or not a two
possession game. But you get my point, you gotta score
a touchdown. Would you like to see the NFL do that? Now?

(38:45):
Before you dump cold water on my head, I'm not
advocating they're going to do it anytime soon. There was
a time people might have laughed at the two point conversion. Well,
it's commonplace in the NFL. Now. There are a lot
of things that the NFL has adopted over the years
that the USFL had. So Topic Number one, Luca the
defense traymon? Is he right? Do you agree? Are we

(39:05):
all wrong? Luca's going to learn how to play defense
and they'll build around them. Give us your thoughts. Number two,
would you like to see the NFL award four points
for a field gold made of north of sixty yards? Finally,
this is a throwaway topic, but it doesn't go by
without seeing some bad behavior in airports or airplanes. And
I fly a lot, and my wife and I fly

(39:28):
a lot. You're now seeing people wear pajamas on airplanes,
and I understand the Tampa and Airport, which we were
just in a few months ago, is now banning folks
from warring pajamas to the airport. So what say you, Hey,
I paid my moneys, I take my chances. I can
wear pajamas on a plane. Why does it borrow you?
Or are we losing our sensibilities as a society. Used

(39:50):
to be on TV, you know you'd see people who
are in suits on airplanes. You don't see that anymore.
So pajamas and airports and airplanes? You okay with it
or get the hell out. That's the third topic number one, Luca,
you know where we're going with that. Topic Number two?
Do you think there should be four points allowed are
granted for a field goal of north and sixty yards

(40:11):
in the National Football League like they're doing in the
United Football League? And three? Should people be allowed to
wear pajamas on airplanes? And pajamas and airports? Eight seven, seven,
nine nine six six three six nine, eight seven, seven
nine to nine on Fox Full lines are open. It's
the callers that make this segment so great. I look
forward to hear from you. Eight seven seven nine nine

(40:32):
six six three six nine eight seven seven ninety nine
on Fox. The midnight hour is upon us. We want
to hear from you, Luca, UFL field goals more than
sixty yards and pajamas on airplanes. Listened to the Bernie Yep,
that's right, you heard the man. Bernie Frownle show keeps
rolling right along. My name is Bernie Frattle. We're Keny

(40:55):
Lyon from Las Vegas. Fox Sports Radio Studios will take
you to twelve in Pacific, which was really two am
tonight and six am Eastern. You get the picture. Well, look,
we got to get to the midnight hour stuff. Look
three topics. Phone lines are jammed. I want to get
to all you. Please be patient. You know where I'm
going on the Lucas situation. All of a sudden, now

(41:18):
the very reasoning that Nico Harrison used that reporters dogged
are they're now sort of implying that his reasoning was correct.
So your thoughts on Luca or am I just all wrong?
He's going to figure out to he's going to figure
out how to play defense. Maybe he'll buy a Tomamanski
video or something and not how to play defense. Number two,

(41:39):
These UFL rules where you award four points for a
sixty hour field goal. Would you like to see the
NFL do that someday? And finally, but Jama's on airplanes.
It's Learasi in Tampa not so much anymore. What are
your thoughts? Should people be allowed to do it? Or
come on now, will'll be losing our minds? Well you
already know the answer. It's stafford them in that hour. Alrighty,

(42:11):
without further ado, we got to Boston were joined by
Dan Dan, thanks for your patience, welcome in.

Speaker 9 (42:18):
Thanks Bernie, Hey, real quick, I do love listening to
that Mac Medina. I work nights that I listened to you,
and he's great. He's got really really good I never
know who he is. He's really really good. I like
that long segment you do with him every week.

Speaker 2 (42:31):
Thank you.

Speaker 9 (42:33):
Real quick.

Speaker 10 (42:34):
About Luca, I said this at the time.

Speaker 9 (42:36):
I'm a big time Celtics fan. And when they took
it to Luca two years ago in the final and
he was like winded and he got out and played
by out the players that like ninety eight percent of
the elite the fan base would say that Luca's better
than them.

Speaker 11 (42:52):
Everybody is not.

Speaker 9 (42:53):
Everybody in the media, A vast majority of the media
will say at the time. I don't know if you
remember this, that the backcourt of Luca and Kyrie, he
was the greatest of all time. They played together for
like a year and a half. They were saying this stuff.

Speaker 10 (43:06):
And the point of it is is like, this guy isn't.

Speaker 9 (43:08):
In shape, and then okay, I'll give him a benefit
of the doubt.

Speaker 7 (43:11):
All right.

Speaker 10 (43:12):
He comes back the next year and he's in he's
in not good.

Speaker 9 (43:17):
Shape, and he's some five hundred and he gets traded,
like you think, like and people overrate this guy. Do
you really think like those years like Magic Johnson when
he had those bad games against the Celtics at eighty four,
he dribbled out the clock and you know, didn't get
a shot off, couldn't hit those jump shots, but worthy
missed some frizels.

Speaker 10 (43:36):
Those guys worked on the game. They came back the
next year.

Speaker 9 (43:39):
The Cellas couldn't do that stuff again. Luca did nothing.

Speaker 12 (43:43):
He did nothing.

Speaker 9 (43:44):
He just shows up and it's like, that's fine, Luca,
You're gonna be like this generations George German, Alix English
with the you know, with the big time numbers at
this scoring, that's what I see.

Speaker 2 (43:56):
I see it the same way. Look I I I
don't think Lucas going want a championship and we're an
agreement on that. What are your thoughts? Should the NFL
ever award four points for a sixty yard field goal?

Speaker 9 (44:09):
That is just like you get like this generation is
hooked on gamblings and onsets.

Speaker 6 (44:15):
All that is.

Speaker 9 (44:15):
They have to be titillated and excited on everything. It's
like they can't like people complaining about the Super Bowl,
the game when the Pages played Denver. That's bad football.

Speaker 11 (44:26):
It's just the fans that are just like.

Speaker 9 (44:27):
So desperate for more score and more score and more scoring.
I'm definitely against that.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
All right, fair enough, it's gimmicky and pajamas on airplanes?
Should people be allowed to wear them? Or come on, man,
it's offensive.

Speaker 9 (44:40):
I don't find it as offensive. I just find it awkward,
Like if someone's like you could just like everybody is
a man. You know you like sitting next to a
nice looking woman, you want to talk to her on
the plane. Everybody's been in that situation. Looks good, smells good,
all that stuff you sit next summer with a bath,
Robel slippers and stuff like that.

Speaker 10 (45:00):
I'm all against it.

Speaker 11 (45:01):
People have the right to do it, but you feel
awk with It's just like it is awkward.

Speaker 2 (45:06):
Yeah, very very awkward.

Speaker 9 (45:07):
That's all.

Speaker 7 (45:08):
It is.

Speaker 9 (45:08):
Like you go to a nice board stuff people dress up, lound,
one of the people dress up.

Speaker 10 (45:12):
Then someone shows up with like a mess up hoody and.

Speaker 2 (45:15):
Yeah that's sair. No, that's fair. I think it's a society,
good stuff, Dan all the way around. Appreciate you man,
thanks for checking in. Don't be a stranger. And I
think it is awkward someone wearing a jams on an airplane,
you know, awkward like when Luca dressed to guard somebody.
Oh no, did I just say that Colin Vegas welcome
in but joined the party?

Speaker 6 (45:35):
What Bernie, I.

Speaker 10 (45:38):
Feel like I'm yelling, but I'm.

Speaker 11 (45:41):
Driving right now, hands free. Uh, let's put your tour
real quick, Luca doncics.

Speaker 13 (45:47):
Uh.

Speaker 11 (45:48):
Playing defense is why Tom Thibodeaux winning the championship. Uh
anytime within the next ten years.

Speaker 10 (45:54):
Now, maybe a post who got because.

Speaker 11 (46:00):
To play defense, he needs a defensive minded coach.

Speaker 10 (46:03):
He hasn't had one of those.

Speaker 11 (46:04):
Since he left, uh being overseas, so he doesn't play
the defense that that he's touted to play and that
we know he could play.

Speaker 10 (46:12):
If given he has the right coaches behind him, the
right business.

Speaker 2 (46:16):
I don't know if you can physically do it. I'll
be honest with you, dude, this guy slow.

Speaker 11 (46:21):
A lot of these guys, a lot of them will mellow.

Speaker 10 (46:25):
Uh, you know, Jalen, they can do it if they
have the.

Speaker 11 (46:29):
Defensive minded coaches that pushed.

Speaker 14 (46:31):
That out of him.

Speaker 2 (46:33):
Uh.

Speaker 10 (46:33):
When Derrick Rose came, you know, from from being in
college and they said that he couldn't play defense, and
he got with Josin, all.

Speaker 2 (46:41):
Right, I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what, Kyle.
I will keep an open mind, but you know how
I feel about it. But I really thoughts on the
gowarding the.

Speaker 11 (46:52):
We're not doing that NFL. Please don't, I mean, did
you do that? What's next going off the crap with
the one foot in bounds rule? Like we don't want.

Speaker 10 (47:02):
That, we don't, we don't ask for. It's already got
enough this chant to find what.

Speaker 7 (47:06):
A catch is.

Speaker 9 (47:07):
Let alone.

Speaker 11 (47:08):
We don't need any more. Uh, you know, we don't
need a seventy nine point game in the NFL. It's
already had enough, almost a two hundred point.

Speaker 10 (47:16):
Game NBA games and last.

Speaker 11 (47:19):
Week wearing pajamas on the plane is like going to
Walmart after going to Blood Colou's. See, you'll see the.

Speaker 10 (47:29):
Same people like Golden Clubs.

Speaker 11 (47:30):
You went to Walmart. So now it's khaki. It's disgusting.
Take the bonds off, put on a pair of sweatpants.
Put on the flat outfit. If you want to wear
something that's closely related pajamas, wear a sweatsuit. That's what
they're made for, comfort and leisure. Bardon love you always
a great pleasure.

Speaker 2 (47:47):
Thanks, Cale, appreciate you, Bud, Greg and Texas welcome back in.

Speaker 10 (47:50):
How are you man?

Speaker 15 (47:52):
You're fine?

Speaker 11 (47:53):
Man?

Speaker 15 (47:54):
How about Luca as that first hand experience watching him
for years.

Speaker 6 (48:00):
Right, he had no des But.

Speaker 2 (48:07):
Hey Greg, Hey Greg, can you hear me? Yeah, we're
gonna have any We're gonna have an issue with your phone.
Call right back in. We'll get you right back on. Okay,
get your right back in the queue. I want to
hear what you got to say. Just kind of sounds
like to drive through a Windy's, you know, Call right back, Bud,
uh Spocksweed Norgan. What's up buddy?

Speaker 4 (48:27):
Hey man?

Speaker 16 (48:28):
Hey, I just your last question was the one I
really called in on. But Luca, what I what I'm
interested in is does his offense compensate for his lack
of defense?

Speaker 2 (48:39):
And yes, a lot of the time, but when you
get into the playoffs, it's not going to continue, right.

Speaker 16 (48:46):
So if that's an ultimate negative, then yeah, he needs
he needs to go. And I'm not sure if that's
truly the case. So you know what you've got in Luca.
You either decide to build around knowing that and you
get extra defensive players, or you don't. You know what
I'm saying.

Speaker 2 (49:07):
Fair enough, you know what, here's the beauty. It's going
to be decided on the floor. So well we'll see.
You know, if someone tells me, now you got it
all wrong, Bernie, Luca's gonna win one. Okay, don't tell me.
Show me your thoughts on the UFL rules. Would you
like to see the NFL, you know, award four points

(49:27):
for a sixty yard plus field goal?

Speaker 6 (49:29):
No, I don't.

Speaker 16 (49:30):
I don't think that's the thing.

Speaker 15 (49:31):
UFL can do what they want, TGL can do what
they want.

Speaker 16 (49:34):
Whatever these people want to do. But the NFL is
the NFL. And if you if there's there's people that
are getting better and better and better and kicking all
the time, well, that's great that you use that to
your advantage, get your three points, but don't make it
a special circus Matt. Now, maybe if they want to
do it at seventy or seventy five, just say it

(49:56):
when we get you know, when we get you know,
bionic people to to do this stuff. That's great, we'll
figure that out. But right now, no, I'm a hard
no on that.

Speaker 2 (50:06):
All right, good stuff. Finally, pajamas on airplanes, yes or no?

Speaker 16 (50:11):
Well, I know that if when I fly, people don't
want to even see me in shorts, let alone pajamas,
So you know I wouldn't.

Speaker 15 (50:18):
I wouldn't do that myself.

Speaker 6 (50:19):
But a couple of.

Speaker 16 (50:21):
People already stole my thunder. But as far as I'm concerned,
only hot chicks get to wear pajamas on airplanes, and
and the and the gate attendance and the pilots get
to decide if you're hot enough chick to wear the pajamas.
If not, take them off the plane, and we'll go
to Atlanta or wherever we.

Speaker 15 (50:40):
Need to go.

Speaker 2 (50:41):
Damn, I don't think you'd discriminate like that the spots.
But all good. You enjoy your eating pal and have
fun there. The rest of the weekend, and we'll talk
to you soon. All right, Greg in Texas is back.
Hopefully your phone's better. I want to hear what you
got to say, Greg.

Speaker 13 (50:55):
Yeah, hear me now, I can hear you now, man, yeah, Man.
I went through several years of the first years of Luca,
and I knew his defense was suspect and it was
born five every time they went back down the floor.
I think the decision with with Nico was not a

(51:16):
bad one. They just didn't get a gird or good
or a wide.

Speaker 2 (51:22):
Yes.

Speaker 13 (51:23):
Yes, it just the last remaining bastion they have is uh,
the point guard.

Speaker 2 (51:35):
I can't remember his name now, yep, Kyrie Irving, you're
thinking of probably right, Well.

Speaker 13 (51:42):
We're looking at the guy that's playing right now. Oh
you're talking about Chris Christie Christy. Oh that's the only
thing they've got now this this trade.

Speaker 2 (51:53):
Well, here, here's the thing that the Lakers are a
franchise of eras and now the clown era with Lebron
is ending. But they did get one championship all beating
the bubble. I don't think they're ever gonna win one
with Luca, and it's primarily because he's too ball dominant,
too hard to build around. And this dude ain't is
not gonna play defense.

Speaker 10 (52:11):
So let's see.

Speaker 13 (52:12):
Yeah, we've seen he won't play defense. But again it
comes back down, can you survive four on five on defense?

Speaker 2 (52:22):
Not when you got to beat a playoff caliber team
four times in two weeks?

Speaker 13 (52:25):
No, no, not in my view, he can't resist arguing
with rest. That's another game River saying just don't do
it and we won't mess with you, you know, but
he continues to do it.

Speaker 2 (52:40):
Man, all right, continue on UFL. They're adopting a rule
if you kick a field goal further than sixty yards,
you're gonna get four points. Would you like to see
the NFL have that someday?

Speaker 13 (52:51):
And no, I'm a big no on that because it
detegrates every game winning bill going in the NFL history.

Speaker 2 (53:00):
Fair enough. And now pajama's on airplanes, yes or no?

Speaker 13 (53:03):
If I'm wearing them, they're okay, you know, all.

Speaker 2 (53:08):
Right, thanks a lot, Greg, I appreciate you man, good stuff,
and I know you probably have special opinions on Look. Look,
there are multiple venues, and you know, situations and arrangements
in society where there are dress codes, and I think
they've gone a little too far on airplanes. Listen the
min that hours off and running, Jeff and Denver hollering.

(53:30):
James YouTube are up next. Please hang in there, please
don't go away. Definitely want to hear what you gotta
gotta say. We are off and running, and I want
to remind everybody. For the best pregame show every weekend,
be sure to tune into Fox Sports Radio's Countdown presented
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(53:50):
into Countdown presented by BETMGM every Saturday and Sunday morning
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nine nine six sixty three sixty nine, eight seven, seven
ninety nine on Fox You Know What to Do On
Bernie Fradder, We're Kemedy Lafe in Las Vegas. Fox Sports
Radio Studios. Keep it locked. You're listening to the Bernie

(54:12):
Fraddle Show.

Speaker 1 (54:14):
Don't listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (54:24):
All right, back at the Bernie Frattle Show. Fox Sports
Radio the min at hour is rocking end roller. We
go back out to the phone lines. Jeff in Denver
joins us. Jeff, thanks for your patience. Welcome in Many, Bernie.

Speaker 15 (54:39):
So we'll go to the topics to get just side note.

Speaker 2 (54:42):
So we've started out with the comments by Draymond Green
this week that validate Nico Harrison, getting rid of Luca,
lack of defense, all those things. The second one was
the UFL is introducing a rule where you can get
four points for a few goal north of sixty yards.
Would you like to see the NFL do that?

Speaker 15 (55:03):
Three?

Speaker 2 (55:03):
Should people be allowed to wear pajamas on airplanes?

Speaker 15 (55:07):
Well, Luca's never going to play defense, that's a given.

Speaker 17 (55:11):
See, it's all about it's all about me, me, me me,
So that's ever gonna happen. But the four points per
plus sixty no, I strongly suggest, and I'm still on
my forum about giving one point on the kickoff. If

(55:31):
you can hit it from that far away through the uprights,
you should get one point.

Speaker 2 (55:36):
Okay, Well you'd never know the way. These gur rules
are crazy. What are your thoughts on pajamas on airplanes? Jeff?

Speaker 15 (55:43):
But back up one step.

Speaker 17 (55:45):
That would still the Vegas odds thing. I would love
to see that because you kick off and you nail
it from seventy five yards, that's going to screw with
the point spread.

Speaker 2 (55:59):
I think they got kickers could do it. I mean,
you get a running start at the ball, there's no rush,
there's no you know, you're just teed up for you.
But anyway, I want to try to stay on topic here,
but big fella, because we got a bunch of calls.

Speaker 7 (56:12):
One more thing on that.

Speaker 17 (56:13):
But I think the NFL would be open to it
because it would eliminate the contact and the injuries on
the kickoff because there would be no kickoff returns.

Speaker 2 (56:23):
Yeah, I hate the whole kickoff thing. That's a topic
for a different day. I hate the way they do
it now. There's no gunners anyway. Thoughts on pajamas on airplanes.

Speaker 9 (56:33):
Where whatever you want, you're just going on a flight.

Speaker 2 (56:38):
All right, fair enough, live how you want to live.
Anything else? Jeff, all right, Jeff, appreciate you, buddy, thanks
for taking the time to call in. Holler and James,
what do you got for us tonight?

Speaker 15 (56:51):
Coiler and James on the air a rewhere.

Speaker 2 (57:00):
All right, Howard, James appreciate you.

Speaker 3 (57:02):
Man.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
You enjoy your evening. We'll talk to you next time.
Rick and Louisiana. Where you being, buddy, Yeah.

Speaker 15 (57:09):
I'm here. I've been trying to get some sleep.

Speaker 2 (57:13):
All right, hopefully you got some. You're gonna lose an
hour tonight?

Speaker 4 (57:16):
Yeah?

Speaker 15 (57:16):
Another hell yeah? How are you?

Speaker 2 (57:20):
I'm doing well? Rick?

Speaker 15 (57:21):
Thank you, good good, Thanks for taking my call. As
far as Luca, I just think that that, you know,
if we're focusing on Luca, the one thing Luca's doing
that Street Clothes is not doing is he's playing well, I'll.

Speaker 2 (57:38):
Give him that, and he is scoring points and yeah,
but you know, the ceiling's going to be high for
Luca in terms of demands.

Speaker 6 (57:47):
Rick.

Speaker 2 (57:47):
They're expecting them. The Lakers are expecting him to deliver
a championship.

Speaker 15 (57:53):
And I don't know, no, no, no, I don't see
that because he's still hadn't find an answer for the defense. Okay,
to play the OKC or ant man for that matter.

Speaker 2 (58:05):
Yes.

Speaker 15 (58:07):
The second thing is I think that the NFL should
consider the four points, but any field goal, in my opinion,
that would stop some of this fourth and one and
not and and and right there on the five yard
line and kicking the field goals. So an extra point
may be an incentive for them. It don't have to
be a long field goal, just any field goal, you know,

(58:30):
And they can stop all that other stuff because I
see too many games where they're not kicking field goals
when they should be kicking field goals. Ye, take the point.

Speaker 2 (58:42):
Yeah, we're agree with Rick. Pajamas and airplanes, yeah name.

Speaker 7 (58:47):
They know.

Speaker 18 (58:48):
But I'm also gonna ask you. I'm gonna reverse it
to do you somebody with pajamas on and you in
first class y'alling, scratching and itching and digging next next city,
next to you in first play with the jamazon and yawning.

Speaker 16 (59:03):
In your ear.

Speaker 2 (59:05):
Fortunately that hasn't happened, but now I may have a
nightmare just thinking about that. Rick. You got a very
fertile mind there, my friend. Rick, appreciate you as always. Man.
Thanks for thanks for calling in Bud roll in Los
Angeles Joint. Just welcome in raw.

Speaker 15 (59:22):
Hey.

Speaker 4 (59:22):
What do you say, Bernie?

Speaker 15 (59:23):
How you doing the CV?

Speaker 2 (59:25):
Doing well?

Speaker 4 (59:26):
Okay?

Speaker 18 (59:27):
My brother.

Speaker 4 (59:27):
As far as the Lucatine goes, I think you know
really quick as a quick as side. It just speaks
to what a great job Pop did with all those
European players, how he got them to play defense. And
I think it speaks to the greatness of Papovich as
a head coach.

Speaker 2 (59:45):
For the censure. I mean you you rotate, you switch, Yeah,
you help you you sure, and you got to be
not just an on ball defender, you got to be
an off ball defenders. A good point.

Speaker 4 (59:55):
We'll man and every everybody you know, it's quick to
jump on while the europe players don't play defense, well,
Pop Shure got him to play defense.

Speaker 8 (01:00:02):
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:00:03):
So so there's there's something to be said for that, gentleman.
But as far as Luca goes in particular, I really believe,
and I'm a Lakers fan, man, so you know it
should be told in the spirit of full disclosure. I
think they're gonna really pull together and lock in in
the playoffs, and he's gonna score in the poison. We
gotta we gotta see that. This is a lebron Swan

(01:00:25):
song as a Laker more than likely. And uh, I
think you know he's gonna take it back to the
devil Vedova days, man, when he carried that bomb squad
all the way to the finals. And he's actually got
some help this time, and I think the Lakers are
gonna surprise a lot of people this year in the finals.

Speaker 18 (01:00:41):
So louch.

Speaker 2 (01:00:43):
When the playoffs start, I will give you your props.
I can't say that I'm in agreement, but that's why
they're played. That's but I'll tell you what. Let's hear
from you in April and may. Let's see if you're right.
Uh four are not?

Speaker 4 (01:00:59):
Oh yes, I'm all for it, man. You know, I
really dig I get really loose. I'm a commissioner of
a fantasy football league and we get really we have
a lot of fun with a lot of the points
and stuff, and and I think what It's football league
is doing it is along those lines. And the NFL
is an ever evolving game as we've seen, you know,

(01:01:21):
like it's not the kids changing and stuff. It'sturally changing. Man.

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
So yeah, yeah, it isving. You are not wrong. Uh finally,
pajamas and airplanes were all well yes or no.

Speaker 4 (01:01:35):
So brother, I'm a man of a certain age, and
I don't think you should wear pajamas outside of the house,
you know. So I've seen pajamas in the courthouse and
that blew my mind. You know, I'm just like whoa.
You know, you're getting ready to get in front of
the judge and you're you know, you're not wearing a
shirt and tie like you're already batting from behind, you know.
So as far as leaving the house, I don't think

(01:01:55):
you should pajama should see the outside of the home.
Uh So I'm against it on an airplane.

Speaker 2 (01:02:02):
Yeah, No, great's great stuff. Roll I I mean, I
crims when someone walks out in their pajamas to take
out the trash. I'm trying to look away on that one. Right,
good stuff, my man. Appreciate you Bryce in Texas, welcome
back in and I'll worry brice A, mister Bernie, we
miss you, do Bryce? What do you got for us?

Speaker 14 (01:02:19):
So for the luc of thing, I'm going to take
a question a little literal about uh Draymond saying something
about it. I don't think he's played defense in like
three years, so this is funny for him coming from him.
But for what the Dallas Mavericks got from that trade,
I think it's still a good trade. I don't think

(01:02:40):
that's why anybody's saying anything about the trade. Had they
have gotten the honest which was I don't know how
true it was. They're aiming for you, honest at one point.
I don't think anybody's saying that this is a bad
trade for the Lakers or for the Dallas Mavericks. But
Luca does seem to have like that mixture between James
Harden and Nicholas Krios where he went to play junk

(01:03:02):
ball and just has a bad attitude but he can Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:03:08):
I just don't have high holes for this, and I
think that we are seeing, honestly, what Nico saw with
the conditioning commitment issues that were diet issues, work ethic issues.
He wad up to two seventy. I get it, he's
lost the way, but he's not playing defense. That's just
what my eyes tell me. Four point field goals, yes
or no.

Speaker 14 (01:03:28):
I'm going to say yes on this one. I think
the smartest thing that the college football playoffs or the
college football did was moved to two point conversions after
like the third overtime. I think that the full point
similar is going to entice more teams to go after
two points. So that's going to drastically change some of
these games and make them way more exciting.

Speaker 2 (01:03:47):
All right, thanks, so I appreciate you checking in, and
you're not wrong. I mean, there was a time when
the two point conversion would have been considered heresy in
the NFL. Now it's commonplace. Martin and Orange.

Speaker 12 (01:03:58):
What's happening, Martin, Bernie, Greedy's and salutations?

Speaker 6 (01:04:04):
Now with this whole NFL and.

Speaker 12 (01:04:09):
The four point kick, I'm kind of on the other
side where I think they should just eliminate kickers at all.
We don't need kickers. And in fact, I like the
other rule they have is that, hey, if you're on
your side of the fifty, you can't put the ball,
So let's get rid of kickers punters.

Speaker 2 (01:04:31):
Oh yeah, that's another rule there. That's right, that's another
rule they're talking about. Do you have any thoughts on Luca.

Speaker 16 (01:04:37):
Bernie?

Speaker 10 (01:04:38):
Let me say, Luca for lass and.

Speaker 12 (01:04:42):
If your way, but Jama's on an airplane or grocery
shopping or at a doctor's office. You're just telling the
world what we already know.

Speaker 7 (01:04:51):
But you've given up.

Speaker 2 (01:04:55):
Martin, love it all right, continue on.

Speaker 12 (01:05:04):
Luca Bernie. Let's face that the man's never gonna play defense.
He's never gonna make anybody's All NBA team, but he
will make everybody's all offensive team. What we need to
do is we need to build two way players around Luca,
and maybe it'll get a little bit contagious. When you
talk to those eighty Lakers, they always say.

Speaker 9 (01:05:25):
The same thing.

Speaker 12 (01:05:27):
If you're not playing defense in the games, it's because
you're not practicing defense in practice. Coach Ryos used to
set aside two hours for defensive sets. Coach Carter used
to preach his sister Diane all the time. You know
what I'm talking about, Bernie. Diane was always on this gate,
was always trying to get with them, and he would

(01:05:48):
lock it up. They would lock it up.

Speaker 16 (01:05:50):
And this is what we need to do.

Speaker 12 (01:05:51):
We need the finders. And if you have any faith
in the Dodger ownership they bought the Lakers, this is
no under a mom and punk show. And we will
get that title, Bernie, and hopefully it's six years. You'll
be saying, I knew Luca wouldn't get that title.

Speaker 9 (01:06:09):
We're all be calling.

Speaker 12 (01:06:10):
He was saying, you know what, man, it wasn't Luca.
It was the Great Laguer organization that got another NBA title.
I love you, Bernie.

Speaker 2 (01:06:19):
I now all right, Martin, that would be the story.
If they get a title, I will be the second
one to give him. PROV appreciate you, buddy, man. Weel
any Guardina join the party.

Speaker 4 (01:06:31):
Oh oh, it's magic.

Speaker 6 (01:06:34):
You know it's in the Better Tred.

Speaker 10 (01:06:38):
Oh my man, hey, I love the topics.

Speaker 6 (01:06:42):
So you know I'm a die hard Laker fan.

Speaker 9 (01:06:45):
Yeah, and I have never been a Luca fan. I
don't know, man, I'm not big on the Euros as
it is their whole brand of basketball. But this, you know,
I mean he's great. The problem is, you know, when
you can score forty but give up forty two, you're

(01:07:08):
on the losing end. And that's his biggest problem. You know,
like you said, he plays Matador defense. He just now
figured out how to get into shape. Guy's been a
pro since he's like fourteen. I mean, you think he
would have lie of it.

Speaker 2 (01:07:21):
No, and you know it's it's it's relative shape, man.
I think it's wonderful that he got that, you know,
membership to Orange Eery Fitness, But he's not an NBA
shape in my view. Man. Well, I gotta tell you, man,
he made me kind of in shape compared to what
he was. He's like the after picture, the old Wayne
watchers ad.

Speaker 6 (01:07:38):
You know, yeah, I hear you.

Speaker 2 (01:07:41):
Man, Dude, he is slow. He plays in slow motion. Dude,
get us to God.

Speaker 9 (01:07:47):
And it's the problem. You know, the Laker, he was
a desperation move more than anything might have been.

Speaker 10 (01:07:53):
Might have been right on the wall that the bronze finished,
you know, and they wanted.

Speaker 9 (01:07:59):
To get next superstar. But I don't know, man, I
don't think that they chose right. I have not been
on board with this move. And I do not think
he will bring a ring ever to LA unless they
give him like some All Star team. But Draymond wasn't wrong.

Speaker 2 (01:08:18):
Yeah, I know his point had had Merrit. What are
your thoughts? Should they in someday the NFL copy the
UFL in awarding four points for a field goal.

Speaker 9 (01:08:31):
I think that's overdue. The other thing I think is overdue.

Speaker 15 (01:08:35):
A couple of things.

Speaker 9 (01:08:37):
Take away having to announce the on side kicks, and yeah,
I agree with that game. I don't know what that
clown was talking about getting rid of kickers.

Speaker 7 (01:08:47):
It's football.

Speaker 9 (01:08:48):
Kickers are integral and all of this craft that they've
been doing, taking away all the kickoff stuff, it's a shame, man,
that's football.

Speaker 4 (01:08:59):
The collision you know.

Speaker 9 (01:09:01):
Ten seconds of pure, just unadultera rated pleasure when you
see that guy going ninety nine yards to the house.

Speaker 2 (01:09:13):
All right, my friend thoughts on pajamas on airplanes.

Speaker 9 (01:09:17):
Yeah, I think it's pretty classless, man. I mean, it's
a mark on society as we know it. I'm not
exactly the flashy at dresser there is, but you look
back and just look at a picture from like the
sixties of gunwn.

Speaker 2 (01:09:34):
I talked about that earlier ties.

Speaker 9 (01:09:37):
Yeah, you know, people just dressed way better. I mean
even when I was growing up, when it was more
of like keeys and collar shirts. Now it's all gone
to hell in a handbasket. If you want to be
in your pajama say your accid man.

Speaker 2 (01:09:53):
Good stuff, Martin, appreciate you man, good stuff. Remember tonight,
Joel in Seattle, welcome in. How are you doing, Bernie
good sir? Thank you.

Speaker 6 (01:10:04):
How long do you think it'll take the White House
to invite the Seahawks for their world championship celebration?

Speaker 2 (01:10:14):
Do I want a pizza on my birthday? If they
get the correct answer, I don't have to get back
to you. I guess I wasn't aware of that story.

Speaker 6 (01:10:23):
Well, I'm bringing it up because it's been thirty days
since they won it, all.

Speaker 2 (01:10:32):
Right, I would imagine it will happen, but you caught
me out a left field on that one. Okay, your
thoughts on the internews tonight.

Speaker 6 (01:10:46):
As far as the I think they should stick with
a three point conversion the field goal.

Speaker 2 (01:10:54):
All right. By the way, just for jiggles, there's a
rumor that may have declined one, but coach McDonald stated
that they haven't received an invite, but they believe they
will receive an invite, so I don't know. We'll see
what happens. Something to watch, all right, So fair enough
on the field goal deal. And finally, what are your

(01:11:16):
thoughts to Jewel on pajamas and airplanes?

Speaker 6 (01:11:19):
Well, I don't fly, so, but I wear sweats to
the store.

Speaker 2 (01:11:24):
So sweats are not pajamas though sweat As a matter
of fact, there there are very stylish looking sweats that
you can still wear with a nice golf shirt and
that kind of stuff. Pajamas, yeah, anyway, or anything else?

Speaker 15 (01:11:37):
Jewel?

Speaker 6 (01:11:39):
Yeah, what do you think of the pro part getting
suspended for the second time?

Speaker 2 (01:11:47):
All right, thanks for thanks for calling in, Joel. Well,
look the rules in baseball are are pretty you know.
I mean they all agreed to in the CBA in
terms of peds. Okay, the Jerks and Profar suspension is

(01:12:09):
you know, not good for him, right, So I mean,
what else can you say? I mean, these things are slotted.
He he suspended. He was suspended for eighty games at
the start of the twenty twenty five season because he
had a failed drug test. And after that, once you
start to get into your second and third violation, there's

(01:12:30):
not Franklin, there's just not much sympathy for you. With
all due respect, now, I know he's I know he's
appealing at Jerks and Profar is appealing it. We'll see
where it goes. But I don't I don't have a
lot of a lot of respect for for what's happened.
By the way, I want to read a tweet from
a lefty Phoshizzle. He said, hey, Burnie, a long time,
no chat. The thing he saw about no pajamas in

(01:12:51):
the Tampa airport, that was a joke. They came out
the next day and announced it was a mock letter.
Fair enough, fair enough so that it's that I'm in
agreement with ninety nine percent of the folks tonight, let's say,
you know, we should have some decorum left in society.
A lot of it's gone out the window, but we
should have some decorum left and be at least presentable.

(01:13:15):
If you're going to get it on airplane. Sweats are fine.
There are lots of good looking sweats you can buy
the various stores, and they're not cheap if you buy.
If you buy good pairs. Pajamas aren't the same. That's
not the same. That is like, as Martin said, if
you heard pajamas, you're just singling into the world. You've
given up. We wrap it up on the midnight hour
eight seven, seven nine nine six six three sixty nine.

(01:13:38):
I'll give you my thoughts as as we continue. Good
calls tonight as usual, appreciate the enthusiasm in the In
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(01:14:00):
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I'm Bernie Fraddle. We are comedy live from Las Vegas
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(01:14:24):
magically become three o'clock and we're done for a week.
Back east, the clock change has already happened. I'm Bernie
fraddwor Kemedy live from the Fox Sports Radio Studios. Keep
it locked. You're listening to the Bernie Fraddle Show.

Speaker 8 (01:14:36):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
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listen live.

Speaker 2 (01:14:52):
All right, we're wrapping up on the Mannight Hour Bernie
Fraddle Show, Fox Sports Radio. Back after the phones. We're
joined by Mike here in Las Vegas. Welcome in, Mike.

Speaker 7 (01:15:03):
Yeah, it's great to listen to this conversation tonight. I
would like to talk about Luca first. One thing is
for sure, Luca doesn't know much about the history of
the game, or he doesn't appreciate the great FLA, Walt Frazier,
Jerry west Byrd, Matthew Jordans, you know, Wilson Chamberlain. I
don't think he has respect for history of the game,

(01:15:24):
or he would definitely work out and play some defense
and care about it, Luca. Right now, the best the
leaders can do is probably maybe win one round or
like last year they got beat by Minnesota in the
in the first round. He does not care about the history,

(01:15:47):
and he doesn't care about the the effort to win
a championship.

Speaker 2 (01:15:52):
And I don't disagree with that. And you see it
every night in his body language. Yeah, he's scoring points,
but he's so ball dominant it's difficult to I think.
And you're right about the defense.

Speaker 7 (01:16:02):
Continue on, Mike, Okay, and about the dress code. People
have to use a common sense and don't where John
was on a plane. That is sickening and it shows
no class and no manners at all. Just keep a
normal dress code. Not you aren't going to a pajama

(01:16:25):
party or a slumber party. Have a normal common sense
dress code.

Speaker 2 (01:16:34):
No, that's fair. And then finally, would you like to
see the NFL adopt what the UFL is doing that
is award four points? For a field goals of more
than sixty yards.

Speaker 7 (01:16:44):
Well, I think that's a good idea. These kickers now
are fantastic. Several the teams in the NFL have quality kickers.
You can kick the ball from sixty or seventy yards
for a real goal.

Speaker 2 (01:16:56):
Why not fair enough? Good stuff, don't be a stranger.
We do this every Saturday night, and did Sunday morning
on the Bernie Frattle Show. Ben that hour, thanks to
all the callers. Good stuff tonight, Little humor got a
little excited, and look, just you know, a couple couple
of things to close this down. I trust my eyes

(01:17:19):
to tell me a lot. And what Nico was seeing
about Luca's conditioning and commitment issues I think is reigning true.
He might not weigh two seventy anymore. I don't know
what his diet is. I'm not gonna question his work ethic,
but I do see an inability to play defense at
an NBA defense championship level. I don't know how anybody

(01:17:40):
can disagree with that. I have been around NBA championship teams.
Chuck Day's mantra used to be when he coaches bad
boys Pistons to start with a stop defense was everything
defense leads to offense. Defense. That's the tone for everything.
Defenses basically desire and if you're not willing to play it,

(01:18:04):
or you can't play it, or that's the best you
can play it. With what we're seeing on a Luca,
we already know it because if he's so bald dominant,
he's going to be difficult to build around. And so look,
it's obvious that perhaps Nicos you should have maybe tried
to get back more and the trade might not have
been as scrutinized. I'm sure it would have been. But
he's also trying to avoid a super max risk. I

(01:18:28):
think he was very hesitant to commit to Luca five years,
three hundred and forty five mins supermax extension. They were
concerned if you give the guy a massive contract, combined
with all the new CBA restrictions, it would severely limit
their ability to build a deep championship caliber roster, which
the Lakers may be dealing with. Then again, back to conditioning,
commitment concerns, all that kind of stuff, and look, they

(01:18:49):
got Anthony Davis. That was a fagazy max Christy, Chris Middleton.
You know the old adage, defense wins championships. The reason
that started is because if you get a lead in
the game, whether it be football, whether it be hockey,
whether it be basketball, your defense has to hold that lead.
You got to get stops. So that's how we feel

(01:19:12):
about that. The UFL, the United Football League, to get
ready to start off here, they made a bunch of
rule changes. They're banning the push push, you can't kick
a few, you can't pawn if you're on the if
you're on the older side of your opponent's fifty. There's
going to be all kinds of new ways to go
for a two point three point conversion, maybe even a

(01:19:33):
four point conversion. And one of the things you're adding
is if you kick a field goal of longer than
sixty yards, it's going to be a four point field goal.
Don't be surprised. I'm not predicting it, but don't be
surprised if in fact, the NFL adopts that someday. Am
I predicted it? No, I'm not, so don't listen selectively,

(01:19:53):
but I can tell you there was a time we
were told the NFL would never go for a two
point conversion, and they did finally. Wearing pajamas on airplanes,
Believe it or not. It's kind of as heated ongoing
debate because there are people that say we deserve comfort
on long haul flights, but then there are etiquette concerns, okay,
and the US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has basically said,

(01:20:18):
let's just be respectful. Let's wear respectful attire and maintain civility,
and you can prioritize comfort. People are wearing pajamas more
on flights than ever before. But you know, I think
you're never going to get everybody to agree. They are
going to be people that say, well, flying an airline
now is like being part of cattle, So I'm dressing

(01:20:39):
for survival other people is you know, like one of
the callers said, you shouldn't travel outside your home with pajamas,
all right, just one of those things we have fun
with on Saturday night in our radio topics coming up
with switch Gears, I've got some thoughts on March Madness
coming up and who should get in. That's right, you
heard the man running front of showkey roll them right along.

(01:21:01):
My name is Bernie Frederick Kennedy Lyon for the Fox
Sports Radio studios here in Las Vegas. Thanks so much
to all the callers, take the time, stay on hold
and join them in that hour. Your comments are very
much appreciated, and we'll do it again next week. Tay,
what else we're doing next week? Sunday you'll get your
pens and pencils out, well, you'll get both for a computer,

(01:21:23):
and you'll make your notations in the any of your brackets,
because next Sunday, March fifteenth, is selection. Sunday, March madness
will be upon us, and I hope that will be
the day we finally put together this ridiculous, insufferable a

(01:21:44):
debate about a team that's thirty one to er and
a former coach questions whether or not they should be
getting an invite to the dance. Friday night, Miami over
Ohio beat Ohio ten eight and overtime to move to
thirty one. And oh it was a very thrilling game,

(01:22:04):
and it felt like a playoff game, and it was
a big deal because I think Miami felt the pressure
to win. They want that unblemished record, so there could
be no questions and that should preempt the whole discussion
about Miami and whether in Miami of Ohio that is,
and whether or not they should be confirmed as a
March Badness team. Okay, the right number sixteen. They're the

(01:22:27):
first men's basketball team to finish a Division One regular
season undefeated since Gonzaga did it five years ago. Remember
this is Division One, you go, you wouldn't, by the way,
they were the first team in thirty five years to
start the season thirty and oh, if you're playing Division
one basketball teams, you know it was a single game
in four months. Your Division one. Now they will have

(01:22:51):
the inevitable Cinderella label and the inevitable Cinderella opportunity in March.
Except you know, I know that because of the insufferable
argument about whether or not a non power team with
an exceptional resume should get a chance to be part
of the college football playoff, now that seems to have

(01:23:13):
seeped over into March madness. They'll tell that to Maryland.
Baltimore County, who was the sixteen seed to beat Virginia
went on to win the national championship the following year. Look,
because this is such a well, it lasts eighteen days
or so there about. You could argue that March Madness.

(01:23:36):
The NCAA Basketball Tournament is a sports premier postseason event
because of the length of it, and because you know
of people who watch worldwide and the ability to fill
out a bracket and all that kind of stuff. And
the question was, if Miami loses in their conference tournament
next week, what should the RedHawks be forced to go

(01:23:59):
to the end? Will quote some team from the SEC
or Big Ten, Well, double digit losses takes their slot. Okay,
I think it's doubtful. There are some folks that will
keep arguing it. Okay, Miami wins the MAC Tournament, that
all becomes moot. But the brewing case against Miami is everything.
It flies in the face of everything that people claim

(01:24:22):
to enjoy about college basketball. Okay, there's a conflict of interest.
Bruce Pearl built Auburn into an SEC powerhouse, then retired
just before the season, right before the season, effectively, and
then forced the school to hire his son, Steven to
the head coach. It has. It's not off to a
great start. Auburn was seven to eleven in SEC play.

(01:24:45):
They did lose to Alabama Saturday by nine, so they're
seven and twelve. Yes, they faced a brutal schedule, but
they have not played well. And I think Auburn is
feeling the pressure of being a bubble team being left out,
and the question is would they beat Miami of Ohio.
I don't know, but in the MAC you might get

(01:25:07):
one entrant or two. In the SEC you might get
five or six. I doubt the Auburn wants to join
the MAC in basketball now. It was kind of galling
when Bruce Pearl went on TV last week and to
argue against Miami, which could jump Auburn in the bubble queue.
He basically said, quote, if first selecting the sixty eight
best teams, and Miami's gonna have to win their tournament

(01:25:27):
to qualify as a champion because as in at large,
they are not one of the best teams in the country. Well,
maybe they're not one of the best teams in the country,
but they are ranked sixteen. Then, oh, by the way,
they are also one of the best sixty eight I think.
And Pear later doubled down defended himself, says, there's no
nepotism here, Okay, whatever, I don't want to go down
that road. We've seen this a billion times in football.

(01:25:50):
That's a sport where the power conferences they've tried to
manipulate the playoff format to get as many spots as possible,
and this is after decades of denying monor conferences any
chance at all if something good accidentally happens for a
nonpower team, it seems like, well, the rules change to
serve the powers to be as it were, And I

(01:26:12):
think that flies in the faith affair equitable competition. It's
hard to go and defeat at any sport on any level.
I get it. Miami Ohio, their schedule is not as
strong as aubrets. No one can deny that you could
argue their best winners over Akron, who's rated sixty two.
But we're also finding out that the Miami RedHawks try

(01:26:38):
to schedule multiple Power Conference teams who refuse to play them.
You can only beat who you're asked to play, and
you can't beat who you're not allowed to play. And
the genius of the NCAA tournament is that your opponents
don't have a choice. That's the beauty of March madness.
People love Cinderellis period now, maybe not when they get

(01:26:59):
to the final four, or in the case of George Mason,
that story still resonates twenty years later. And the fact
of the matter is, if people like Bruce Perrow got
their way. The selection committee would more or less just
grab a bunch of five hundred teams based on their
Ken Palm rankings because Aubert is fortieth, Miami of Ohio
is ninetieth, and then turn the tournament into it on

(01:27:20):
paper referendum. And then power conferences will always get their way,
so you have fewer mid majors in attorney, and that
would expand the power conference's financial advantages. So look, the
eye test to me matters all you can The only
thing you can say objectively is Miami won all their games. Okay,

(01:27:43):
I don't want to get into stats roster quality, who's
most deserving achievements? They won all their games. If wins
and losses don't matter, what the hell's the point of
playing the games in Seriously, Miami would tell most of
the Division one there's no point. It would also deny
the chance. Aren't you a little curious to see what
Miami could do in the tournament now? And if they

(01:28:05):
make some noise, God bless them. If they get knocked
out in the first round, and they're most likely going
to be a double digit seed, maybe a nine seed
at best, But I doubt it, then Bruce pro can
say I told you so. But the beauty of it
is it needs to be decided on the floor, all right,
I don't really need to see another I will tell

(01:28:27):
you this, if they made me in charge, any team
that's under five hundred in their own conference would go
to the back of the line. I don't care what
conference you're in. If you can't play five hundred in
your own conference, why do you deserve a bid to
the dance? Really? That one, batman, That's the way I
feel about that. Now, you might not be able to

(01:28:49):
a field of sixty eight if you didn't allow some
of those teams in. Maybe they have a couple of
quad one wins to make out for it. Maybe they're
extenuating circumstances. But the truth of the matter is, why
argue about a team that's thirty one to know in
the regular season as to whether or not they should
be in the dance or that? It doesn't make sense. Now.

(01:29:11):
I get why Bruce Pearl wants that to be talked about.
I get it he has a little different vested interest.
But this is where I become a fan. You and
I we don't. I'd much rather see a team who
worked hard, beat everybody they are asked to play, wasn't
afforded the opportunity to play some of the teams they challenged,

(01:29:31):
they didn't want to play them, and they find themselves
in a situation where they earn the right to prove
what they could do on a bigger stage. When March
rolls around next Tunday, we'll see what we shall see again.
If Miami and the RedHawks win their conference tournament, it's
completely moot. But if they lose a game, okay, I
still say they're in. Nobody's perfect unless you're talking about

(01:29:56):
Bobby Knights nineteen seventy six Indiana Hoosiers. That was a
long long time. I'll go all right, you saw the
trades in the NFL this week. It wasn't just Max Crosby,
DJ Moore among others. So our segment, which is becoming
more popular by the week, And you wait till we
ramp up to the draft, which is August twenty or
April twenty third, and then before you know, there's gonna

(01:30:18):
be many camps and OTA's and yes it'll be July.
You just wait, and you're gonna really want to get
your pens and pencils out because it'll be time for
Brandon's Fantasy Files.

Speaker 8 (01:30:31):
Fantasy Files with Brandon Deutsch, your go to fantasy football segment.

Speaker 2 (01:30:37):
Are you got One?

Speaker 19 (01:30:38):
God?

Speaker 15 (01:30:39):
When?

Speaker 4 (01:30:40):
What is up?

Speaker 19 (01:30:41):
Everybody? It is Fantasy Files on the Bernie Frado Show.

Speaker 2 (01:30:44):
I am Brandon.

Speaker 19 (01:30:45):
Deutsch and we are here today to give you some
Dynasty picks, some free agent projections in terms of what
are the best fits once the legal tampering period begins
Monday at nine A where Alec Pierce guys like that
Romeo Dobbs will go. But first I did want to
discuss the Dj Moore trade because it's really interesting. I

(01:31:09):
am still not a buy on DJ Moore in Dynasty.
I think he's an easy sell. If you can get
somebody that wants to take on him in fantasy, do
it as soon as possible, because we know how this
Joe Brady offense works. We know it's going to be
run heavy, and we know DJ Moore is gonna end
up with the same statistics as he did last season

(01:31:29):
as the wide receiver three virtually in Chicago. And that
doesn't mean he can't be the wide receiver one in Buffalo.
It's just their version of a wide receiver one is
six hundred receiving yards in the season, right like, and
they could still draft a receiver in round one. So
even though they gave up a second third round pick
for him, like, I would just hold off on DJ
Moore's outlook long term. I wouldn't buy him. But a

(01:31:53):
guy to buy in dynasty because of the Dj Moore trade,
even though they could add the receiver is Luthor. I
think his values skyrockets. I know everyone loves him. His
ADP in the early projections is fifty seven. There's no
way he will be available and anybody's draft in round three,
I think he go. I mean past round three. I

(01:32:14):
think that's the that's the floor, the ceiling. Is someone
crazy in your league who's not actually that crazy, He's
gonna take him in round two. I think Luther Burden's
the next Fantasy football superstar. And I think this trade
signifies that they're cool with Luther Burton being the one,
Loveland being basically the wide receiver two even though he's
a tight end in Roman Dunsee being their their third

(01:32:35):
pass catching option there. And you know they still could
use the Zakiis they could get a cheaper guy I
did want to talk about Alec Pierce though, in Wandale
Robinson and these free agents, because Alec Pierce's seen is
the guy, right that's the top free agent guy. And
there's been rumors about the Colts wanting to resign him
before for agency. It didn't happen. There's a team that's

(01:32:57):
the Patriots that really wants to give him thirty million
dollars a year, and that's kind of market price for
this guy. I actually think this, this Pierce steel is
interesting because people remember the Christian Kirk deal and at
that time it was crucified when Jacksonville gave him that
big contract wide receiver three or four in Arizona, and

(01:33:18):
how is this guy going to be as a wide
receiver one in Jacksonville. He did just fine in that
one year one and a half years before obviously the
inevitable injury. Then Brian Thomas Junior comes in screwed everything
up for that fantasy wise, but it was a great contract.
I think this is Alek Pierce wide receiver one thing.
I think this is gonna end up being a steal
because people forget Alec Pierce ran a four to three

(01:33:40):
to three at the combine. He's not just this. Oh
is a vertical threat, you know, but he no, he
can take the breaks off the defense. He can make
everybody honest defensively, like he is a game changer. He
averaged the most yards per catch in the NFL season
with By the way, I know people are giving him
as flowers because of what Stiken did with him last year.

(01:34:01):
I still don't think Daniel Jones the top twenty quarterback.
He did it with Daniel Jones at quarterback, thousand yards,
all these touchdowns. Now, I don't think he's gonna be
a cult next season. And he did finish as the
wide receiver twenty eight and you're looking at like, okay,
well only the twenty one. That's because he missed a
few games due to injury, and he two of his
last three games were twenty five fantasy points twenty nine

(01:34:23):
fantasy points. I think a perfect place for him would
be the San Francisco forty nine ers. They have a
need at wide receiver one. Ricky Pierce Sall is more
of a wide receiver two right now. He hasn't proven
healthy enough and they need a separator in speed and
he brings all of that. So I could see them
going after him, and if it's not the Niners, I
do want to see him with Drake May and the
Patriots because Drake May is obviously a better downfield passer

(01:34:45):
than Brock Purty. So I think those are two destinations
to look out for Alec Pearce. Another guy I love
that I think is getting overlooked is Romeo Dobbs. Now,
he was the wide receiver at thirty seven in fantasy football.
Being a Green Bay Packer wide receiver is never a
good thing, especially in fantasy football. They never rely on
one guy. It seems like Tucker Craft now he's gonna
become an off of injury, but is the number one

(01:35:07):
option in the passing attack when he's healthy. But Dobbs
is now going to get his chance to be a
wide receiver one wide receiver two. San Francisco is another
place I like for him. I think he's a perfect
compliment in a Kyle Shannon system. If they want to
go the cheaper route, I think he's only going to
require thirteen to fifteen million a year versus if they
were to retain Juwan Jennings that would be twenty million year,
or if they signed Alc Pierce tould be thirty million

(01:35:28):
dollars a year. I think Romeo Dobs could also fit
in very well with Pittsburgh considering he is not an
X receiver. He's more of a separator, a guy that
can do a lot, very versatile. I like him alongside
DK Metcalf. Finally, a guy that's getting very overlooked as
well is Wandale Robinson. Now you may think based on
what people are projecting, Alec Pierce was the highest ranked

(01:35:49):
wide receiver in fantasy that's a free agent. It's actually
Wandelle Robinson. He was a wide receiver fourteen last year fourteen.
You know how dominant this guy was once Malik Neighbors
went down slot guy, guy that can get open. I
think he's going to go to the Tennessee Titans for
twenty five million dollars a year, and I think he's
going to be cam Ward security blanket. You're going to
love that guy in fantasy. That's it for today for

(01:36:10):
Fantasy Files. Those are the guys I wanted to highlight
before free agency. You can find me at BSD takes
on X. You can find me at Brandons Deutsch on
TikTok Brandan Deutsch on YouTube and Facebook.

Speaker 2 (01:36:20):
Back to you, Bernie so Brandon real quickly. I want
to circle back to DJ Moore obviously become a parent.
In Chicago, they lack Roma Dunese, Luther Burden and Colston
levelanm better More was expendable. He had his low statistical season,
I think as a pro. But I don't take lightly

(01:36:41):
what you said. But he's going to Buffalo to be
rejoined with Joe Brady, and he's got Josh Allen throwing
to him. And when he was with Joe Brady in Caroline,
he had two very productive seasons. Might he being under
the radar fantasy guy to grab this year?

Speaker 19 (01:36:57):
I think it just depends where he goes. I'm kind
of the reason why I said I would sell him
in Dynasty leagues is because I think people are going
to take a chance on him in round five or six,
and I think that's way too early for him. Khalil
Shakier is still good. They could still draft a receiver.
We know Josh Allen likes to throw the Dalton Kincaid,
so like I don't know, I'm a little I know

(01:37:18):
he had Joe Brady in Carolina.

Speaker 1 (01:37:19):
But Caroline had nobody else.

Speaker 19 (01:37:22):
You know that that was another thing, like they didn't
have anybody, so of course they had to throw to him.
He's not that fast anymore. It's more of a yak guy,
so Shakir, that's what concerns me a little bit about more.

Speaker 2 (01:37:33):
Yeah, I just no, you raised some really good issues.
He became expendable they save from what I'm hearing, and again,
we have to see how this goes. But I am
told he's going to step into the wide receiver one role.
He'll immediately be ahead of Kean Coleman. And you know,
Shakier is a slot guy, so it's a risk. It's

(01:37:57):
a risk, good stuff. So we'll continue this and see
where it goes. Thanks Brandon. Of course, I want to
remind everybody that if you miss any of tonight's show,
you'll want to catch the podcast. Just search Fox Sports
Radio wherever you get your podcasts. Right after the show,

(01:38:17):
Tonight's podcast will be posted. Be sure to follow the
podcast rated five stars. You can even provide a review. Again,
just search Fox Sports Radio wherever you get your podcasts,
and you'll find tonight's full show posted right after we
get off the air. Coming up, the Bernie Frattle Show continues.
We are doing our whirlwind three hour daylight savings time

(01:38:41):
spring forward show, which means we'll be off there in
about forty one minutes because here magically on the West coast,
two am will become three am, as it's already done
most around the country already Back Saturday night next week,
we'll be rare to go for four hours as we
into March Madness Selection Sunday by Bernie. Fridday were Keny

(01:39:04):
Lang from Las Vegas. Fox Sports Radio Studios. Keep it locked.
You're listening to the Bernie Fraddle Show.

Speaker 1 (01:39:10):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (01:39:18):
We're back of the Bernie Fraddle Show, Fox Sports Radio.
I want to remind the folks for the best pregame
show every weekend. Be sure to tune into Fox Sports
Radios Countdown to Kickoff presented by BETEMGM, every Saturday and
Sunday morning from nine am to noon Eastern six to
nine am Pacific. We will count you down to all
the biggest games of the weekend. Tune into Countdown presented

(01:39:39):
by BETMGM every Saturday and Sunday morning right here in
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app. So in
ninety five days. World Cup twenty twenty six will be
upon US forty eight teams in the field, up from
thirty two. Eleven of the game, so eleven of the

(01:40:00):
sites host sites are right here in the United States.
There'll be three in Mexico and two in Canada. And
you know, given the incredible excitement and fanfare involving US
Olympic hockey following up with what I believe so far
has been a very exciting World Baseball Classic, there are

(01:40:22):
four pools ABC and D. Games are being played in
Puerto Rico, Houston, Tokyo, and Miami. And right now teams
are starting to emerge. Puerto Rico's two, and OH Cuba's one,
and Oh Canada's one, and O pool A USA and Mexico.
They are emerging as the two best teams. Likely we'll
see what Italy does, but it's trending. It's trending. Monday,

(01:40:49):
when Mexico faces the United States at eight o'clock Eastern
on Fox, they'll be they'll be sort of the early
battle for Pool B supremacy and they'll go to sleep
on Mexico. They beat the USA in twenty twenty three.
That doesn't mean if you lose a game, you can
still advance out of your pool. My prediction is USA

(01:41:09):
and Mexico will be the two teams advance out of
the pool. Puerto Rico and Cuba, Australia and Japan in
pool Sea and Tokyo, and in Venezuela and the Dominican Republic,
those will be your final eight. I said a week
ago something about this Dominican Republic team. They have tremendous
star power and they are loaded. They may win it.

(01:41:30):
Otani will not be pitching for Japan, but he's started
leading Japan. They're the defending champ. They're off to a
perfect two and Zho start. Otani has homeward and back
to back games, including a grand slam in the thirteen
to nothing win against Chinese Taipei. They should beat South
Korea eight to six, and now that's a high stakes matchup.

(01:41:51):
The USA showing tremendous power. They had kind of an
uneven start. They led Brazil. Brazil doesn't have a single
Major league player on their roster, which is rare for
the tournament, but they hung with the USA for eight
innings and then the US exploded for twelve runs to
win fifteen to five. Aaron Judge. He's making an immediate impact,
hit a four and five foot home run and the

(01:42:13):
first swing of the tournament. So the USA follows up
and be's a pretty good Great Britain team. They weren't
bad nine to one, so they've outscored their first two
opponents twenty four to six. The point is is the
World Cup Classic is really starting to take shape, and
if you haven't had a chance to see it again,

(01:42:33):
the pomp and the circumstance and just the general excitement,
and you know they say styles make fights. The USA
has got all the offensive depth you can ever ask for.
But don't you know, go to sleep on you know,
team teams like Venezuela with Louis Audiatz or obviously the

(01:42:54):
team that I really got my eye on is the
Dominican Republic. So what does that all mean. It means
that given the excitement from US Olympic Hockey and certainly
the World World Baseball Classic, I actually think that the
compdown now or that below one hundred days ninety five
days for the FIFA World Cup twenty twenty six, especially

(01:43:17):
just a lot of the games be played on our soil,
is going to also build to a crescendo and it
will be massive excitements starting June eleventh, which means it's
time for Chris Prohfet's World of Soccer.

Speaker 8 (01:43:33):
The greatest goals, the thrilling finishes, the international drama.

Speaker 16 (01:43:45):
Him.

Speaker 1 (01:43:49):
It's all here in this report from the World of Soccer.

Speaker 20 (01:43:52):
Well, Bernie, the FA Cup still ongoing, and I think
we just had one of my favorite matches of that.
We're going to get to some stuff about international competition
a second, but I do want to start with the
FA Cup match fifth round that we had between Wrexham
and Chelsea. Maybe a preview eventually if Rexham can climb

(01:44:12):
promotion from the Championship to the Premier League, which would
be a Cylinderella story of the highest magnitude for one
that has already amassed a lot of Cinderella stories. Rexham's
position on the table means they will probably be looking
at a playoff for promotion from the Championship as long
as they stay in the eligible window. I do not

(01:44:33):
see them getting that promotion outright at this point in time.
In the Championship, they sit somewhere at about sixth right now,
three four, five and six in the Championship get promotion. However,
at six they are a clear let me make sure
I've got this right, seventeen points behind number one Coventry

(01:44:56):
City and another nine points behind Middlesbrough with the second
place there with sixty six points, a lot to do obviously,
still a lot a few more games to play in
the Championship. But back to the FA Cup. What I
was talking about Wrexham. Wrexham taking on Chelsea. This is
one of those huge matchups that really enthralled everyone for

(01:45:19):
most of the morning where I was because Rexham took
the early lead on a Sam Smith eighteenth minute goal
that had us all dreaming about what could have possibly
come for Wrexham to knock over someone like Chelsea. That
This is a Chelsea that I consider mostly resurgent at
this point. They are top five right now in the
Premier League. They are looking a hell of a lot better.

(01:45:41):
They've added some European accolades and fought very well, so
this was quite the blow. This was kind of fun.
Arthur a Konku then managed to even it up for Chelsea.
They'd go back and forth. Rexham took a two to
one lead in the eighty second minute, Chelsea equalized a
va our review actually took off what could have been

(01:46:02):
a wink goal cell for a Wrexham.

Speaker 1 (01:46:05):
It ends up going to the extra time.

Speaker 20 (01:46:07):
And we get a full one hundred and twenty plus
minutes of this match and Chelsea in the extra time
just wore Wrexham down. The final score for T four
Chelsea the advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The FA Cup continues this weekend. But you know what's
also this weekend. You know it's also been going on

(01:46:29):
my TVs. The World Baseball Classic, and we hear at
the World of Soccer applaud baseball as always when the
World Baseball Classic comes on, because I think it learns
the best lessons from the World Cup. First off, the
time is great too that it is this early in
the year, and I always remember last time we had
the World Baseball Classic on, there was a lot of

(01:46:50):
hemming and hawing about guys getting use and Edwin Diaz
getting hurt playing in the World Baseball Classic. This year,
there's been a lot of consternation about certain Dodgers pitchers
on whether or not they should be pitching for Team
Japan in the World Baseball Classic and how much control
the team actually had over that kind of stuff. And

(01:47:12):
I'm here to tell you something, there's always going to
be that conflict between club or team in the American
parliance and nation. But at the end of the day,
for something like this, nation usually gets to win out.
And you know what I say on that front, that
is perfectly fine. That is perfectly fine because the World Cup,
the Olympics, competing for your country is a force that

(01:47:35):
has led the way for as long as we can
imagine in sports, and for a long time in American
professional sports we've been kind of isolated from that in
a lot of ways. There'd always be, of course, you know,
isolated cases where the NHL players would go over and
represent their countries, such as this last Winter Olympics, or
for the All Star the Nation's challenge that they had

(01:47:58):
at one of the All Star breaks for the end.
And you know, basketball has there's always been the Team
USA element of basketball, but it's not like anyone's really
been competing against the USA since they started putting together
these dream teams and dominating everyone. But for baseball, the
dream of having international competition has always been fraud. It's

(01:48:19):
always was something that they tried with the Olympics, couldn't
get Olympics to really buy players from LB to buy in.
This feels like the perfect format. You can see the
passion out there, and you can see the passion because
all those same guys, all those Dominican players, all those Americans,
Japanese players, even those playing for Great Britain and Italy,
they all watched soccer at some point. They all saw

(01:48:41):
the passion and fury of playing for your country in soccer,
and they wanted part of that for themselves because there's
nothing else to really describe it at the end of
the day. And that's why the World Baseball Classic has
learned very well from the World Cup, because this stuff
is fun.

Speaker 1 (01:48:57):
This stuff is really really fun.

Speaker 20 (01:48:59):
We'll see next time, Birdie, that's all the time we
have on a daylight saving shortened world of soccer.

Speaker 2 (01:49:06):
It is fun. You look at the renewed enthusiasm for
all these players who are representing their countries, the different colors,
the different team uniforms, extremely high level of competition. I
went to the World Cup well when I was living
in Michigan. As with CBS Radio at the time ninety
seven one Detroit, I made a point to fly to

(01:49:28):
southern California to see the World Baseball Classic in two
thousand and six. I wanted to see the Japanese team play,
and I marveled at their preparation and their approach prior
to the game and everything in the way they approach
the game of baseball. But the talent level across the
board twenty years later is incredible. I talked about Team

(01:49:50):
Great Britain, twenty four players on that roster. They've been
to the major leagues. So this is an event that
continues to grow. And again just two years removed from
Olympic Basketball in Paris, the Olympic Hockey just last month.
Now the World Baseball Classic and the World Cup. Same situation.
We can't get enough of it and I am here

(01:50:11):
for it. Coming up, we wrap up the show, and
I want to remember quickly a legend in the world
of college football who passes last week. I'm Bernie Frider.
We're Keveny in Life from Las Vegas. Fox Sports Radio Studios.
Keep it locked. You're listening to the Bernie Fraddle Show.

Speaker 8 (01:50:25):
On 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 (01:50:42):
We're wrapping it up on the Bernie Fraddle Show. Tonight
is our once a year three hour extravaganza. Daylight savings
spring forward in sixteen minutes. It will save two am
for a second, and then it'll be three am here
and we'll turn it over to Ay Firmham. Before I
go any further, though, I want to thank my producers,
Mark and Brandon. Great job as always turning all the dials,

(01:51:06):
keeping his glue together, answering the calls, managing the clock,
all the things, keeping the plan in the air. Cannot
do a radio show without talented producers. Appreciate all the
efforts so Earlier this week, the legendary Lou Holtz, the
only coach head coach in college football history to win

(01:51:27):
a bowl game with six different schools, passed away at
eighty nine. And I don't expect a lot of current
peeps to really know a lot about Lou Holtz other
than he became quite a personality. He resigned from coaching
in nineteen ninety six. This is almost thirty years ago.
But I will tell you they say there's you never

(01:51:49):
have a second chance to make a first impression, And
my first observation and first impression of Lou Holtz was
just prior to the nineteen seventy eight Orange Bowl between
Arkansaw in Oklahoma, and it was a game that had
national implications for Oklahoma, national championship implications for Oklahoma. And

(01:52:10):
prior to the game, there was a dorm incident and
Lou Holtz famously suspended three stars, three of his offensive stars,
all starters, following some sort of incident in the dormitory.
And these weren't just any old players. They had accounted
for just under eighty percent of the team scoring during

(01:52:30):
the regular season. They were Ben Collins, who was the
team's leading rusher and was an All American tailback, Donnie Bobo,
he was the Arkansas's leading wide receiver, and Michael Forrest,
the key starting fullback. Holtz stuck to his guns. He
even got a call leegedly from the Arkansas governor at

(01:52:51):
the time saying, Louis can't do this. Find another way
to discipline them, but let these kids play. The governor,
I believe you may have heard of them, guy by
the name of Bill Clinton. Holtz stuck to his guns
and despite the absence of those three star players, which
accounted for just under eighty percent of Arkansas's offense, which

(01:53:14):
caused the line the betting line to jump from eighteen
to twenty four points in favor of Oklahoma, who was
ranked second at the time. Arkansas and only won the game.
They won it by a stunning score of thirty one
to six. Rolling Sales, a sophomore backup who played very
little throughout the year, started in place of Ben Collins

(01:53:37):
leading rusher, set the Orange Bowl record at the time,
rushing for two hundred and five yards, and the other
players stepped into and the rest is history. That nineteen
seventy eight Orange Bowl turned out to set the tone
for maybe the greatest two year period in Arkansas Razorbacks
sports history. A couple of months later, Eddie Sutton and

(01:53:58):
the Arkansas Razorbacks took his team to the Final Four.
By the way, ye I'll never forget that in March
of seventy eight, they defeated my beloved cal State Fullerton Titans,
where it was matriculating at the time. The following year,
their baseball team went to the College World Series. They
had Johnny Ray, Tim Lawler, Kevin mcrenalds and lost to

(01:54:21):
cal State Fullerton. The point I'm making is Lou Holts
had a massive impact wherever he went. After that, I
started to pay attention to Lou Holtz and his key legacy.
And in addition to being one of the most successful
and most charismatic figures in college football history, his legacy

(01:54:42):
is defined by his coaching career, which was transformative, particularly
at Notre Dame. Now, Holts had a very signature motivational style.
He in fact is perhaps and you can find a
lot of his speeches as it were, or speaking engagements

(01:55:03):
on YouTube. He was brilliant. He carried that motivational style
with his teams and got the most out of people.
And after he was done with coaching, he had a
good decade long presence as a high profile media personality,
mostly on ESPN. You maybe recalled the doctor Low segments.
But the thing that Lou Holtz is most iconic for

(01:55:26):
is he had a tenure of eleven seasons at Notre
Dame from eighty six to ninety six. He completely revitalized
the struggling program. You forget that the five years prior
to that, Notre Dame had been coached by Jerry Faust
and Foles was a good man who'd come from More
High School in Cincinnati straight to Notre Dame. But it
really didn't It didn't work, and Lou Holts had been

(01:55:48):
coaching at Minnesota. But you know, again, it wasn't just
Notre Dame. He turned around North Carolina State, William Mary
and Minnesota. He achieved winning records in Bowlburst every one
of those stops, and then I mentioned Arkansas. He was
sixty to twenty one over seven seasons, the massive upset,

(01:56:09):
and then after leaving Notre Dame, he actually did go
back and coach South Carolina, but his final year was
two thousand and two, where he took the team to
the Outback all Right out Back Bowl. So it's been
twenty five years, but when Lou Hools took over Notre Dame,
the program was a mere shell of what it had

(01:56:33):
grown to be in the decades prior. It only took
him two years win the national championship in nineteen eighty eight,
led the Fighting Average to a perfect twelve to zero season,
their last consensus national title. He achieved over one hundred
victories with the average and set a program record with
nine consecutive Bowl game appearances. And how many times have

(01:56:54):
you seen on film where the team is going out
of the tunnel up the stairs and you see that
sign in Notre Dame Colors says play like a champion today.
That sign he instituted that. Lou Holts instituted that later
in life. Obviously, his legacy was as a motivational speaker
and a public persona. He's got what he called his

(01:57:17):
do rite philosophy three things, do the right thing, do
the best he can, and that wills show people you care. Became,
as I said, sought after a motivational speaker and a
best selling author. I did read his book from nineteen
eighty eight. From two thousand and five to twenty fifteen,
he was a staple on ESPN's college football coverage. He

(01:57:38):
would have lots of I think, very clever and humorous
debates with Mark May and in twenty twenty he was
even awarded the Presidential Medal of Freeman Freedom. Excuse me,
that is obviously the highest award a civilian can get
for contributions to society. Now, lou Holtz was not without controversies,

(01:58:01):
and he was a very complex individual. When he left Minnesota,
Notre Dame, South Carolina. Some of those schools faced nb
NCAA probation for violations that occurred either during or shortly
after leaving his tenure. But making no mistake about it,
Colts was a beloved individual. I heard him talk once

(01:58:24):
in an interview with Joe buck many, many years ago,
and I should also mention this, Lou Holtz was maybe
a little taller than you might expect. He was five
to eleven. I think he weighed about one hundred and
three pounds. I don't know, but he managed to play
linebacker at Kent State, and he was an assistant at
many schools including Ohio State, USC, South Carolina, william and

(01:58:48):
Mary Iowa, all the ones that you said, but I'll
never forget when he talked about opportunity in America, and
he had an interview with Joe buck about ten years ago,
about nine years ago, he just turned eighty, and Joe
Buckett made a statement, well, I understand, Lou. You know
you were born in West Virginia and not under the
best of circumstances. Is it true? You know you grew

(01:59:11):
up in in a one bedroom apartment and he had
to go outside to go to the bathroom and there
were multiple kids in the family sharing a one bedroom apartment,
and new Holt says, well, that may be true, but
I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth
because I was born in the United States of America,
and in America you can do anything. And when he
graduated from high school, he went to Kent State. He

(01:59:32):
walked on the football team. He trained under the US
Army Reserve Officers Training Corps, and he graduated with his
bachelor's in nineteen fifty nine, and then he started coaching,
went to William and Mary, the North Carolina State whenever
it was thirty three and twelve. With North Carolina State.
The only foray into what would have not been considered

(01:59:53):
success was the New York Jets. Holtz resigned ten months
after joining the Jets at three and ten. His parting
shot was God did not put Lou Holtz on this earth,
the coach in the pros when I was nineteen seventy six.
Lou Holtz was only thirty nine years old when he
got hired. Maybe that as it may, whether people like
Lou Holts or not. And I knew know he has

(02:00:15):
his detractors. I think by and large. His imprint and
impact on society, certainly Notre Dame football will be felt forever,
and I recommend anybody who likes a good motivational speech
to check him out on YouTube. I'm sure you could
find it. It's gonna do it for the Bernie Frownle Show.
We'll see you next week, same time, same channel. Key
locked up next, the great Andy Furman

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