Tracy Sandler & Steve Hartman React to Luka's Extension, Micah's Trade Request & More!

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

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hello and welcome to Fox Sports Saturday. Good afternoon, It
was a good morning in Los Angeles. I am joined
by the great Steve Hartman. So much to discuss today, Steve,
But first and foremost, how was your week?

Speaker 3 (00:18):
Tracy? As always very very busy. I've been, you know,
watching NFL Network day and night, obviously to keep up
to date on all the training camps and everything else.
So I figured, yeah, you know, we're all ready to
get into a lot of NFL talk today and boom,
big story coming out today.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Huge story. Good morning, Los Angeles. I personally opened my
phone and squealed. My dogs were kind of frightened, but
it was it was a squeal of excitement. Luka Doncik
signing a three year, one hundred and sixty five million
dollar contract extension with the Lakers. My Luca's here to stay.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
He is here to stay. And the thing about it is, Tracy,
give the Lakers credit. They've done everything right since they
made this deal, because from day one they made it
clear this is no longer Lebron James's team. That's true,
this is Luka Doncic's team, and we're gonna build around
Luka Doncic, and you know, he gets Ayton, who is

(01:13):
in the same draft class as him. They had forged
a relationship going back to their draft day. Obviously Marcus Smart.
This was a big part of him really stepping in
and getting Marcus Smart to sign on with the Lakers.
So he feels very comfortable that this is the organization
that hopefully he'll play the rest of his career with.
On top of the fact, like he's like this fitness

(01:34):
guy all of a sudden, I mean, did you see
those pictures?

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Oh yes, I most certainly have seen those pictures and
those videos. It's funny. A few weeks ago, Alex and
I were like, there was a random post of Luca
and we were like, wait, what happened here? He looks incredible,
But I mean that as an athlete, he's done all
those criticisms from the Mavericks. Look at what he did.

(01:58):
I mean, it's it's just you got a toxic X.
You take care of yourself, you got yourself into good shape,
and they just face.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
I like, how you say that, because you know it's
exactly you know, it's so funny. I was just thinking
about my oldest son who's training to be a firefighter now.
But in his early twenties he had a really sweet girlfriend,
but he started getting a little out of shape. He
was an athlete in high school, played water polo, which
is a very strenuous and he started packing on pounds

(02:27):
and eventually he got dumped. And now, of course he's
a big fitness guy. He's never looked better than he
is right now. So it's amazing. Like you mentioned, the
X can suddenly really inspire you. Whatever the inspiration is.
Luka Doncic to fulfill his promise, and I said this
locally here in Los Angeles when Lebron James came to

(02:47):
the Lakers. You have to understand that the bar has
been set. Obviously, if you don't deliver a championship, your
run is an F.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (02:54):
You know. Kobe Bryant used to share that with everybody where.
He would say, they're really only two grades to a season, A,
meaning you won a championship or F if you didn't.
Even if you got to the NBA Finals and lose,
that's still an F because you failed to do what
you set out to do, and that's win a championship.
So I think Luca understands that he is surrounded obviously
with the history of the Lakers. He can see all

(03:16):
those you know, Larry O'Brien trophies lined up and he
wants to add to that. So this is great news
for the Lakers because now you don't have to worry
about any possible run into free agency after this season.
Lucas here, and by the way, it also makes it
easier for Rob Polenka and his group to reach out
and bring in other players, saying all right, well we're
building around this guy who's twenty six years old. This

(03:40):
is the right way to go. So great news for
the Lakers, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
And I think this is not a huge thing, but
I think after what happened for Luca, he was so
embraced by the organization and by the fans from the
second he got to Los Angeles, and it was really,
as we all know, very upsetting for him what happened
with the Mavericks. And I think there's a little something
to that to kind of go from feeling not wanted

(04:04):
at all to just belove the second you get somewhere.
And I do think that that made a big difference.
And I felt when they made this trade it's like
this trade is going to get them farther this year
than they would have. But this trade really is for
the future and to build the team around him, and
that is what they're doing. Oh, it's so exciting.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
It's exciting. But also there's been a bit of a mystery.
So Lebron James, yes, exercise his player option for fifty
two point six million to return, and we've heard plenty
from you know, Rich Paul, his group and everything about that.
You know, has made no announcement about his contract status.
That would be the Lakers. Yes, that is the Lakers

(04:40):
have not even acknowledged publicly about him picking up his
player option for the upcoming season. And I think part
of that was is that we have got to make
sure that we have Luca under locking key before we
then look at the Lebron situation. So now that Luca

(05:02):
is officially signed and extended at least a player option
coming up in twenty twenty eight, you can breathe for
the next several years. Now they're going to address the
Lebron situation. Is Lebron going to actually play for the
Lakers this year? Is he going to be dealt He
keeps throwing out these hints that you know, maybe he
wants to be he was working at the Clippers, you know,

(05:23):
that's all. But I mean, he you know, when you've
been the guy, obviously on every team he's played for
since he stepped on a high school basketball court, to
not be in that position for the first time in
your life has got to be, you know, new territory
for Lebron. Maybe he doesn't know how to react to it.
But we should now look at the next step for

(05:45):
the Lakers, and that is, can they make a deal
that makes sense for a guy who has an expiring
contract at the end of the year obviously still has
market value, or are you just going to play out
one more year with Lebron and then say goodbye the
end of the year. I think these are huge questions,
especially with the season not that far away.

Speaker 2 (06:05):
They are huge questions, and what I like is that
we get to just talk about them and we are
not in charge of answering them, because that is a
lot of pressure. I just had a thought as you
were talking that do the tables turn. Is Luca now
the guy calling Lebron and being like, we really want
you back. You know, Lebron's done that with people. We
really want you back, we want you part of this team.
It's just this is Luca's team.

Speaker 3 (06:25):
Now, oh one hundred percent. And at the very least,
you know, Lucas sits down with Lebron and say, you know,
last year, obviously Lebron did the right thing. He told
basically the team, hey, this is our guy, blah blah blah.
So he did hev everything right a year ago. Obviously,
I still go back to their playoff demise as on
JJ Reddicks shoulders. I mean, he made some horrific coaching

(06:47):
decisions in that series, and hopefully for Lakers he'll learn
from that. But yeah, I think if you're Luca right now,
with the new contract extension in hand, I want a
one on one with Lebron, And I'm just going to
add a soltly say, look, Lebron, you know how I
feel about you. I don't have to say or do
anything to state your case in terms of the landscape

(07:10):
and the history of the NBA. That being said, these
are the things I'm looking for from you. Can you
deliver that? Are you comfortable with that role in what
I envisioned for my team moving forward? I think that
that is definitely something that Luca not only should address,

(07:32):
I think Luca will address.

Speaker 2 (07:33):
I think so too. This year for Luca, I think
he also matured a lot the trade the trade and
for him. I don't want to call it a wake
up call because I still don't understand what the Mavericks
were thinking, but I think it did humble him on
some level, and it did make him mature. We saw
what he's done, and I think Lebron had a real
effect on the body change. I mean it was something

(07:54):
Lebron talked about from the time Luca got there. And
I say all that to say, I think he's matured
into a true leader and someone a year ago, two
years ago would if he had had that conversation Lebron James,
I don't think so. But I think he has matured
into a true leader. And he looks at now that
he's the face of the Lakers, the face of la
and I think he likes that role. You can kind
of see it even in his body language, the revenge

(08:16):
body aside, his body language is different, and I would
love to be a fly on the wall in that conversation.
I mean that would be spectacular.

Speaker 3 (08:25):
Again, I look at it, I would imagine that in
that conversation between the two of them that Lebron is
going to be very honest as well. I mean, again, here,
here's the thing that I always say about Lebron James.
Lebron James isn't going to finish out a season and
then after the season announced that was my last year.

(08:46):
There's no way. I mean, Lebron wants to get the
victory Tour, Yeah, that other superstars of the NBA have
been afforded over these many many years. He's not going
to walk away from that. And the really only two
teams that he would do that with. It's either with
the Lakers or it's going to be with the Cavaliers.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
Once again, everyone googling how do I unburn a jersey?

Speaker 3 (09:07):
Yeah, So, so if it's going to be this year,
because the Lakers are pretty clear to Lebron this is it. Yeah,
this is your last year as a Laker. Is he
going to make some announcement before the season, maybe after
a conversation with Luka Doncon saying you know, I've decided,
you know, this will be my twenty third year. I mean,

(09:29):
it's all kinds of records. He has continued to have
set for his longevity and the but you know, the
idea of playing with his son on his farewell tour
or does he say, you know what, I think I
would have a better opportunity in Cleveland to get to
the NBA Finals. That was the one seed in the East.
The East is au ch easier path to get to
the NBA Finals to the West and sort of return

(09:50):
home for his farewell tour. So I again, a lot
of this has got to come up either this month
or next month as we get ready for the new season.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
It's a lot of question marks. And you bring up Bronnie.
That's a part of it too. I mean, if Lebron
is not a Laker, is Bronni still a Laker? So
there's it's not just him, And you know, there's something
special about it, and I know that everybody has very
mixed feelings on it, but I think it is cool
that in our lifetime we are seeing one of the
greatest of all time playing with this So I think

(10:20):
that is a cool thing. But that is something that
I'm sure he will consider as well. It's just can
he be He's still Lebron no matter where he goes,
He's Lebron but can he be in a physician where
he's not the guy. He could still be that guy,
but he's not the guy.

Speaker 3 (10:35):
Well and also getting back to the possibility of a
farewell tour, does Luca really want to be part of
a farewell tour this year for Lebron James? I mean,
where does that put Luca? Because the spotlight would be
on Lebron, right. I mean, so it's his last trip
to Madison Square Guard and last trip year or wherever,
and he's getting all this attention, all these accolades. If

(10:57):
this is Luca's team, how comfortable is he with that?
I mean he might say, well, you know what, I
owe it to him. I mean, if he's decided this
is it. You know, I've got a many years hopefully
for my future in the NBA. But you don't want
to throw away a year with the Lakers. I mean,
you want You're trying to win a championship every single year.
So there's a lot on the plate here that still

(11:19):
has to be decided. But at least they checked the
big box.

Speaker 2 (11:22):
They did.

Speaker 3 (11:23):
The key box was to get that extension to Luca.

Speaker 2 (11:26):
And I think in terms of a farewell tour for
Lebron and Luca. I mean, Luca may also feel like
I get it, Like you said, I owe it's him.
And also my play will be the story if I
play to the level that I have been signed to
play for and so they can go on a farewell tour.
It could be his last day at Madison Square Garden.
But if Luca comes out has a great day after,

(11:46):
the story is going to be Luca. And I think
that they could work around that.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
I do.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
I could be wrong about that, because you know, I'm
not super close to either of them or close to
them at all, but I do think that they could
figure out a way to work around that. I personally
would love to see Lebron finish his career in Los Angeles.
I think it would just be cool. It makes a
lot of sense for him. But I get it. But
you're right, it's the Lakers or the Calves. So which

(12:15):
one is it going to be? If you had to
pick right now? Is Lebron James the Laker next season?

Speaker 3 (12:21):
I say yes? Now, it's interesting. Last year during the season,
Tracy I literally said when they lost their playoffs series
that you have seen the last of Lebron in a
Laker uniform. Okay, And now all of a sudden, you know,
people when he picked up his offs say you're wrong.
Then all of a sudden, all these trade rumors said,
they said, you might actually be right. But I'm going
to say to right now, my gut feeling tells me

(12:44):
that much like Luca reached out to help with the
Aton situation, and also Marcus smart that he wants Lebron here,
he knows that we're not going to get anybody in
return that's going to help us win a championship to
the level that a Lebron James can still so im
And if Luca is begging him to stay instead of

(13:05):
opting out and going to Cleveland wherever, I think that
Lebron will listen to that. So my guess is he
will be a Laker for one more year.

Speaker 2 (13:14):
I agree with you one hundred percent. Coming up next,
we have different kinds of contract status to talk about
in the NFL. This is Fox Sports Saturday.

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Speaker 2 (14:39):
Hello, welcome back. We are gonna be talking all things
Micah Parsons. But first be sure to subscribe to the
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(15:00):
Fox Sports Radio on YouTube. Steve, I don't want to
shock you because it never happens like this there, but
we got some dramaa with the Cowboys. Massive drama.

Speaker 3 (15:12):
You know, sometimes you have to wonder what exactly is
the mindset of Jerry Jones. Understand this, We're talking about
an organization Tracy that has not only not won a
Super Bowl in thirty years, they haven't even been to
the conference championship game in thirty years. I mean, this
is the longest draught of just about every team in

(15:35):
the league without at least getting to the conference championship game.
Think last year, right, the Commanders, Yes, we're in the
conference championship game. The Cowboys haven't been there in thirty years,
So how do they stay relevant? How do they maintain
their status as America's team? Well, a lot of it
just has to do with Jerry Jones' assistance of keeping

(15:56):
himself in the news. The way they're handling this Michael
Parsis situation really makes absolutely no sense, no.

Speaker 2 (16:03):
Sense at all. It's worse. Frankly, I think how they
handled Dak Prescott and Ceedee Lamb I could, which is
saying a lot because I kind of think they handled
those pretty value. But it's unbelievable. Michael Parsons takes to
social media yesterday, I no longer want to play for
the Dallas Cowboys. My trade request has been submitted to
Stephen Jones personally, and I don't blame him. This is ridiculous,

(16:27):
and the ridiculous comments Jerry Jones made, like, oh the
pay mic a chance, we're not as loud as the
pay CD champs. What are you doing?

Speaker 3 (16:34):
Okay here, I'll give you the little bit of the
mindset of Jerry Jones, please. So you made Dak Prescott
the highest paid quarterback in the league last year m HM,
coming off a ear where he was runner up for
most valuable player. Yeah, and then he missed six games. Yeah,
And so Jerry Jones is like, all right, So I
went out, you know, and we'd had three very solid seasons.

(16:55):
Decided to retain my coach, even though we had a
disastrous playoff loss of the Packers a couple of years
years ago, and I made my quarterback the highest paid
quarterback in the league at least at the time, and
then our season completely caved in and my quarterback was
standing on the sidelines. So now you're asking me to
make that commitment again. Understand this about Micah Parsons. They

(17:16):
don't have to trade him. They can control him for
the next several years. If they want a franchise tag him,
they can hold him hostage. Yeah, and there's nothing he
can do about it. He can say I want to
get traded, and they're like, no, you're not going to
get traded, you know. You know, if worse comes to worse,
we'll franchise tag you, and then you have the option

(17:38):
of forfeiting the money or plane. I mean. And so
this is so it's not like they're not in a
position where they can force his hand. But it really
isn't even necessary because the way this league works, it's
very simple. His agent said from the beginning, let's wait
a little bit, because they were going to negotiate a
deal last year. But let's see how the chips fall.

(17:59):
For a lot of guys that are you know, it's
like it's like the comps in your neighborhood when you're
trying to sell your house. Let's see how the comps look,
and then we'll get a deal done. And that's exactly
what they were hoping to do. And I just don't
get it, Tracy, because the way the salary cap works
in the NFL, the salary cap is set basically as

(18:22):
a wash with the equal distribution of the network television money,
so none of that really is out of pocket.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
Right.

Speaker 3 (18:29):
It becomes a part of your capologist to have to
figure out how the pieces all fit.

Speaker 6 (18:33):
Right.

Speaker 3 (18:35):
But there is a way, obviously, to keep a Micah Parsons.
And so I the delay makes no sense.

Speaker 2 (18:41):
It makes no sense, and it's just the drama. And
you're right, it's the only way they seem to stay
relevant is to have drama. And I just think you
don't want drama year after year, especially when you see
what it does. And I get it. Yes, Dak Prescott
was hurt, but also sorry, Jerry Jones, that's football, like
welcome to the NFL. That happens sometimes, that happens. It's

(19:01):
it's just unbelievable to me. I guess it shouldn't be,
but that we are at this point and it's ridiculous
and Ceedee Lamb waited and said, never fails. Just pay
them like it's It's just it's enough. And it's not
the only contract drama in the NFC East right now.
You have Terry McClure and has now asked for a trade.
But I don't think they're trading him either. But how

(19:24):
are we getting to this point? Just figure And I
know it's not so easy. I do know that obviously
I covered NFL team. It is not so easy to
just pay the person. There's a lot to figure out.
But how are we getting to this point of disgruntledness
like team after team?

Speaker 3 (19:39):
Well, I mean part of it, obviously, the biggest part
of this is the cap Okay, and I've said this before, Tracy,
that the most important member of your front office is
your capologist. I mean, it is a jigsaw puzzle, and
this is why a lot of times they'll sign players,
re sign, review their contracts, give them money up front,

(19:59):
pro rates some of their contract again to make all
the pieces fight. And we've seen franchises. This is what
happened in New England. They just kept kicking the can
down the road until they couldn't play anymore and you
couldn't see it complete collapse. Years ago, it happened the
forty nine ers. They had a run of like fourteen
straight years of double digit wins and they could only
kick the can down the road so many times, and

(20:20):
then they had a payoff and they had a dump
players and they went right into the toilet and had
to start all over again. So this is something that
every team has to face, and the Cowboys are no different. Again,
you gave when you're giving that percentage of your cap
to your quarterback, it makes it difficult to keep everybody happy.
What doesn't make sense with the mclauren situation is you

(20:43):
have a quarterback on a rookie deal. He's not gonna
make anybody. Yeah, I mean that they they don't have
any money tied up, you know, seventy million dollars a
year in their quarterback, that's that's gonna be several years
down the road, and what better situation. I mean, here's
a guy that he was basically carrying this franchise when
they had no quarterback, nothing to really scream about. They

(21:03):
were bad teams, and now finally they're relevant and you
want out. I mean, I get it. You want more money,
but it will come if you can prove that last
year wasn't a flul if you guys can follow it up,
do it again. I mean, that's the way I would
handle it. As ownership is said, Look great, great job guys,
I mean, far exceeded expectations, but you got to do

(21:26):
it again before I say, yeah, let's sign on for
the long term.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
I see both sides of it.

Speaker 3 (21:32):
For sure.

Speaker 2 (21:32):
I don't think he truly wants out. It feels a
little bit more like a tactic in theory on that one.
I think Michael Parsons truly wants out. But I don't know.
We just it just feels like there's a lot of this,
and maybe there's a lot of it every year and
we just forget kind of our memories get a raise
from year after year. But you have Trey Hendrickson. We
talked a lot about that last week he's reported to camp,

(21:52):
but he wants a new contract. It's just it's a
lot you know who's been given out contracts though. The
Broncos they're like, we will love to pay you and
Sutton this week and then today Zach Allen four years,
one hundred and two million dollar extension.

Speaker 3 (22:05):
Well, and again the beauty is you have a rookie
carter back pad tract. When you have that, now similar
with the forty nine ers. Now now now all of
a sudden, you had this golden opportunity for a couple
of years where you're paying the seventh draft pick, last
pick of the draft, minimum wage at quarterback and getting
MVP level performances. But now you got to pay him.

Speaker 2 (22:25):
Now you got to pay And they missed their window
on that one, I think, and then that's you know,
maybe a new window opens. But will be interesting to
see how this one all plays out. I just know
one thing, there'll be a lot more drama. We are
going to be talking to John Machota from the Athletic
who covers the Cowboys. But first we're going to go
to someone who's not dramatic at all. See what's trending

(22:46):
with mart Whitey not dramatic at all.

Speaker 3 (22:49):
It depends on who you ask. I guess said that
you've launched it just now.

Speaker 7 (22:52):
The Broncos and defensive line with Zach Allen reached a
was reached a four year, one hundred and two million
dollar deal, and the Los Angeles Lakers and Luka Doncics
have agreed to a three year, one hundred and sixty
five million dollar maximum contract extension that will include a
player option in twenty twenty eight, keeping him out of

(23:12):
free agency. This upcoming this upcoming summer Pro Football Hall
of Fame class so twenty twenty five has been announced
with defensive end Jared Allen played played a majority of
his career in Minnesota. Defensive back Eric Allen, wide receiver
Sterling Sharp Fitzpacker's career was cut short due to injury.

Speaker 3 (23:29):
Steve, I bet you know this, Yes, you ready for this.
I'm ready.

Speaker 7 (23:32):
Sterling Sharp in the time that he played, they think
seven year career, yes, second in the NFL, Jerry Rice go,
I'll tell you what, boy, call that man the book
right there. And you know, obviously the first two brothers
to go into the Hall of Fame in the NFL.
Sterling and Shannon sharp.

Speaker 3 (23:48):
Yeah, and Shannon's one hundred percent right. And Sterling was
a much better player than Shannon. He has conceded that
of his brother. Remember, Shannon was a seventh round pick, absolutely,
and Sterling was the seventh overall pick in the draft
and absolutely superstar, great guy, long overdue. His short career
should not have cost him this long wait. But finally
he had his day. And by the way I watched
his speech, phenomenal.

Speaker 7 (24:08):
Yeah, he campaigned Channon did for a decade. At least
I was front row seat for him, campaigning for Thrilling
to get in. I'm glad he was able to.

Speaker 3 (24:17):
And the ultimate trivia question.

Speaker 7 (24:19):
Now, the only Pro Football Hall of Famer to never
have played college.

Speaker 3 (24:22):
Football, Yes, the great Antonio Gates exactly the way. Wasn't
just a player at Kent State basketball player. He was
their leading scorer. They went to the Elite eight. But
good player. Yeah. They never played it down a football,
never played it down to college football. So there you go.

Speaker 7 (24:38):
That's your bar trivia, final jeopardy question going forward. But
in Major League Baseball, the Cubs have a three nothing
lead over the Oriols top of the eighth inning and
top of the six the Blue Jays lead the Royals
three to nothing. Also top of the sixth, the Piates
with a four nothing lead over the Rockies, Phillies and
Tigers scoreless in the bottom of the second, Brewers with

(24:59):
a three nothing lead on the Nationals, and the top
of the second. Bottom of the first the Astros doubling
up with the Red Sox two to one, scoreless, between
the Twins and the Guardians, and also between the Yankees
and the Marlins, and the Mets lead the Giant three
to nothing bottom of the first.

Speaker 2 (25:16):
Any back to you, guys, Thank you Martin. With the
iHeartRadio app, you can stream us wherever you happen to be.
Catch us in all of our Fox Sports Radio shows
live twenty four to seven in the new and improved
iHeartRadio app. Just search Fox Sports Radio the app to
stream us live all day every day, and be sure
to select Fox Sports Radio as one of your presets
in the iHeart app so we'll always pop up at

(25:38):
the top of your screen. Our first guest today is
Tatum Everett Vikings, team reporter, telling us all the things
about JJ McCarthy and other things too. Tatum, Welcome to
the show.

Speaker 8 (25:51):
Thanks guys, Thank you so much. He's actually under center
right now out at practice. So Tracy Youth, you loving this.
I know your Michigan heart can't wait about JJ.

Speaker 2 (26:01):
You know what, my mission cannot wait to talk about JJ.
I also think we really need to talk about the
Vikings defense, but let's start with JJ since he's under center.

Speaker 3 (26:09):
Good.

Speaker 2 (26:09):
What have you seen so far from basically a rookie
quarterback in this camp?

Speaker 1 (26:14):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (26:14):
I love that you mentioned that it's a rookie thing
because he is looking good out there and even justin
Jeffersons and watching closely from the sidelines right now during camp.
But the thing is, he said, you down to be
patient with the guy. You know, he's technically getting into
his first year of playing despite being on the team
last year. I think that he's making some good decisions.

(26:36):
I feel like whenever you see a mistake, he's learning
from that. And he told me that he finds those
moments a blessing because he's able to make these mistakes
and like OTAs and MINTI camps and learn from them
and try and get out there and have a better
rep the next time. So, you know, all it's good here.
It's so hard to tell sometimes until things go live.

(26:58):
There's a Monday night practice to hear a team stadiums
that were really excited about but can't wait to see
him in one week against against the Texans.

Speaker 3 (27:07):
Tatum Steve Harbin here. You know the thing about it is,
I've been looking at you know, the preseason over unders.
This is a division ad. The Lions won fifteen games,
the Vikings won fourteen games, the Packers won eleven games.
The Lions over under this year is ten and a half.
The Vikings are at nine and a half. The Packers

(27:27):
are at nine and a half. And I would imagine
that's because this division looked awful in the playoffs last year.
All three teams disappointed in the postseason. Is there a
sense right now that maybe some of the success that
this NFC North had a year ago was a little overinflated,
or is there good reason to believe that what we
saw a year ago will carry over in twenty twenty five.

Speaker 8 (27:52):
You know, I think from the Vikings perspective, I believe
that that have not changed. They're still as confident as ever,
and in fact, they realized from that experience last season
that more is required. It's something that Jonathan Gernard outside
linebacker Pro Bowl last year kind of came up with
and then team has really adopted that mantra that more

(28:13):
is required because they know where they fell short in
that final game. They were, you know, playing for the
number one seed against the Lions and then they had
to go on the road and lost in the playoffs.
Those two games really tough to watch, but they have
learned from them and they're introducing that around the facility
is something to build upon for this year. I see

(28:35):
the rest of the NFC North, you know a lot
I think a lot of people right, you know, the
way that they are those preseason odds are said, is
a lot to do with consistency and when you were
able to consistently keep the same coordinators like the Vikings have,
when you have a lot of the instrumental pieces there
and you get a lot of free agency pieces that
are on the line of scrimmage. They added two defensive linemen,

(28:57):
interior defensive linemen that they are really about, and Jonathan
Allen and Javon Hargrave. But then you've got you know,
the Ryan Kelly and Will Fries from the Colt Christian
Darrisaw returns on the off all in the offensive line.
They're so excited about that part of the game because
that's where they feel like maybe they left off last
year what they could have improved. So I think that consistency,

(29:18):
to your point, is the reason why, you know, those numbers,
did it change too much? And the odds are high
heading into twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (29:27):
One thing that has been extremely consistent on this Vikings
team is the defense, and all reports coming out of
camp is that they've picked up right where they left off.
You just talked about the additions that they made. But
is how is it looking? I mean I'm hearing like
dancers are choreographed, everybody looks absolutely amazing. But is this
defense potentially better than it was last year?

Speaker 3 (29:48):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (29:49):
I mean I do feel like they are so extremely
confident right now. This group is a lot of the
same guys as I mentioned a second ago. The dances
are still here. You know, Jim Biden did leave for
the cold this offseason, so unfortunately it might not be
as elaborat or choreographed, but they are celebrating, which is
something you'd like to see, you know, translate with your

(30:09):
defense that this group still has that chemistry and some
of what so much of that is from Brian Flores
being in her tree.

Speaker 3 (30:16):
A lot of these.

Speaker 8 (30:17):
Cornerstone pieces like Fyron Murphy Junior in the secondary, Harrison
Smith safety. You've got Ivid Paced inside linebacker, alongside Blake Cashman,
Andrew Van Diigel and Jonathan Garnard outside linebackers, all guys
who are now even more comfortable in Brian Flora as
the system. And you can just see that translated camp.

(30:37):
I mean even using Jonathan Gernard as an example. Coach
Floras even said today he's taken it to a whole
nother level and he made the Pro Bowl last season.
So they're super confident. They're guys the new ones that
are learning, but also in the guys that are now
even more comfortable under Brian Flores the team.

Speaker 3 (30:57):
Kevin O'Connell, I, believe it or not, I'm always dating
myself here, Datum, I do this a lot. I actually
I actually saw him play in high schoolt LaCosta Canyon.
I was living in Incinitas, California at the time. We
had a neighborhood kid that was his teammate. Then, of
course he went to San Diego States. I've been aware
Kevin O'Connell for a long, long time, and you know

(31:20):
what he has done. What he did a year ago
with Sam Darnold is nothing short of a miracle. I mean,
he resurrected his career and he had a legit Pro
Bowl level season. But these playoff losses, you know, losing
that first year at home to the Giants and then
you know, a really rough loss on the road to
a Rams. Does he talk about, you know, sort of

(31:41):
still learning on the job. Obviously he's just turned forty
years of age, so he's still a very young coach.
But has he talked about some of the evolution and
what he's learned now going into his fourth season as
head coach of the Vikings, Yeah, he does mention.

Speaker 8 (31:55):
It a few times, Steven. So it's interesting because he
is heading into his Spots season, made two playoff appearances,
and while they have not been incredible, you know, they
have not gone the way the Vikings wanted. He is
one of them. Has one of the best winningest records
here in Viking head coaching history. I mean, he's had
a thirteen win season, a fourteen win season, and that

(32:17):
one sandwiched in between was the year that Kirk Cousins
got hurt and there was that huge quarterback shuffle, and
it even despite the shuffle, when you look at what
he was able to do with the guys that were
filling in, what's still impressive in and of itself. He
does talk a lot about the evolution and the growth.
I think that he's a guy that is constantly learning

(32:39):
and getting better on It's all about collaboration here. He
tries to bring in the right guys that they have
all the right people at the right positions. They're very
intentional with that. There's not too much talk about like, oh,
what can we do differently in the playoffs? Publicly, I
don't think that's something they focus on because I think
they believe that when it all comes together, those types

(32:59):
of moments won't be as will be too big for them.
But I really haven't heard him talk too much about that.
But I do think that he's a very open minded coach.
Where his style has changed over the last three seasons.

Speaker 2 (33:13):
I would say, Tatum, before you let you go, who
is a player at Vikings camp right now that maybe
isn't getting a lot of press or publicity, but that
you think people should be looking out for. I always
like to knowing.

Speaker 8 (33:26):
Okay, no, that's a good one. That's a good one.
I would say. Defensively, I'd say i'd keep your eyes
on Ceo Jackson. He is a safety who the Viking
has picked up off the Titans practice squad as a
rookie in twenty twenty two and they have been high
on him ever since. They think that whenever he's around
the ball, he gets straight to it and makes a play.
The only thing with Ceo is that he was behind

(33:48):
Harrison Smith cam buying them. Josh mattelis The's now household
name that football fans are aware of, and so with
Cam buying them leaving to the Colts, this gives Theo
an amazing opportunity to up his game and get more snaps.
He's had an interception and he's in the past two
seasons while playing only two hundred and twenty two snaps
on defense, which isn't too much each steven. So you know,

(34:11):
I think look for big things from him because the
Vikings are going to ask a lot of him. Brian
Flores likes to use the like C three safetyes on
play at a time, not too often, but I do
think that when they use three safety. CEO be right
there alongside the hitman and Josh Mattelis, And so that's
someone I think you guy should keep your eye on.

(34:31):
That's a really impressive interception so far to kind of
continue the Vikings notoriety for taking the ball away as
they hied for the lead last year in defensive takeaways
and led the league get interceptions. So you might be
hearing THEO Jackson's name a few times this year he
picks a couple of quarterbacks off.

Speaker 2 (34:48):
Do you think he's ready to fill in on the dances?

Speaker 8 (34:51):
Oh, you know, I don't know if i'd count on CEO,
but I do think that Josh Mattelis will still have
the move another Michigan guy.

Speaker 2 (34:57):
Yes, we love it. Go Blue. All right, thank you
so much for joining us today. Have a great rest
of your day at camp. Coming up, we have the
dues and the don'ts. This is Fox Sports Saturday.

Speaker 1 (35:11):
Don't listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
We are coming to you live from the Fox Sports
Radio studios Tracy Sandler and Steve Hartman, and it is
time for the dues and the don'ts.

Speaker 1 (35:24):
Highlighting the du I love that putting a spotlight on
the don't.

Speaker 2 (35:29):
The subject brings me no joy.

Speaker 3 (35:32):
That's insane. It's time for the dues and the don'ts
in sports.

Speaker 2 (35:36):
All right, See, would you like to go first?

Speaker 3 (35:39):
I would like to go first? Here a Tracy. Now
I'm learning along the way with about the dues and
the don'ts. And last week I sort of had a
do an a done. I did it again today, so
I have a new anadote. So today was induction day
for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And by the way,
I thought all four were very deserving. One guy in

(36:00):
particular that I was extremely excited for was Eric Allen.
Some of them I've gotten to know over the year.
Is one of the great guys, a guy thought might
play under the radar because he didn't win a Super Bowl,
but he got his just due today and Jared Allen, Antonio, Gates, Sterling, sharp,
Paul very deserving. Here's my due for next year. As
far as the Hall of Fame. If you want to

(36:20):
bet right now, okay, put money, maun do bet on
two guys that I guarantee will be first ballot Hall
of Famers next year, and that is Drew Brees and
Larry Fitzgerald. You can bet the bank on both of
those guys being a first ballot Hall of Famer if
you want to don't And if I had done dues

(36:43):
and don'ts last year, I would have told you don't
bet on Eli Manning to make the Hall of Fame
this year or anytime in the near future. Eli Manning.
And by the way, I got to meet Eli Manning
once at the Manning House and he's exactly who he is.
Unlike his brother Peyton, is a very manufactured character that

(37:04):
creates on television. Elis Eli super guy, love love love Eli.
He's not a Hall of Fame quarterback. Sorry, you don't
think he's ever getting No, I mean to me Hall
of Fame Drew Brees setting records. Yes, you know a
Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers that level. If you've never
been considered at the very least the top three at
your position at some point of your career, how can

(37:27):
he be a Hall of Famer? And certainly Eli, who's
never led the league in anything other than I intercept.
Are you on two Super Bowls? Well so did a
guy I know, Jim Plunkett want two Super Bowls with
the Raiders, and he's not in the Hall of Fame either.
So those are the dudes. Yeah, bet the bank on
Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald. But don't even consider that

(37:47):
Eli Manny will be a Hall of Famer anywhere, not
just next season, but anywhere in the near future.

Speaker 2 (37:52):
When Eli Manny really endeared himself to me, and this
is definitely not going to get him in the Hall
of Fame. But when they moved on from Tom Coughlin
at that press conference and Tom said to him, it's
not your fault and Eli was crying, I was like,
oh my god, that's so sweet. But that's not going
to get him into the Holly.

Speaker 3 (38:06):
He's a super guy. I mean, love, love, love Eli.

Speaker 2 (38:10):
All Right, I have a du do be Brenda's song.
The actress from Running Point did the Rams schedule Lisa
earlier this year, and she was great. She went to
Bram's training camp this year this week and she was
just a full on fan, so excited to meet these players,
to meet the guys that she roots for. And then
it was really cute because they too were fans and
it was like who was a bigger fan of who?

(38:32):
But it just it reminds me, obviously of Timothy Shallaman,
The Knicks, and you know, celebrities are fans too. Celebrities
are people too, and I appreciate in both the people
not acting too cool for it but being the full
on fan, like she's in training camp and she's so
excited to meet these guys. So that was my dude,
do be Brenda's.

Speaker 3 (38:51):
Song, Tracy.

Speaker 4 (38:52):
I also have to say, she's not just from Running Point,
She's from Sweet Life of Zach and Coda, on the
show that I grew up on.

Speaker 3 (38:57):
So I had to make the shout.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
Out, I'm glad that you brought it up, because I
know the show exists. I was not an avid watcher
and I actually was thursday years old when i learned
that she was on that show. So I'm really glad. Yeah,
I'm really glad that you got that in because I'm
sure many of our listeners are like, oh no, Sweet
Life and Zack and Cody Brenda.

Speaker 3 (39:19):
All right. So, because I'm of a certain generation, I
take it that was a Nickelodeon show. It was.

Speaker 2 (39:28):
A Disney show that I did know.

Speaker 3 (39:29):
Okay, So I'm gonna I'm gonna be honest with you.
On these shows I'm actually familiar with the show that
you're talking about, whoh, which is interesting because you're saying, well, what,
let me do the math. If you were watching that show,
that makes you really creepy. But I wasn't creepy. I
just sort of I started, well, I had kids at
the time, and so they're watching and then he started,

(39:52):
you know, like anything, you sort of get hooked into
the characters. It was like SpongeBob SquarePants. I mean, are
you kidding me? I was like, there was so much
innuendo and that show. I was laughing. My another great show, Unbelievable.
I mean it started with my boys were young and
I hear them laughing their heads off, like what are
you watching? And I'm watching the show and I'm like, wow,
there's a lot of innuendo and this.

Speaker 4 (40:13):
Yeah, you can enjoy it as a kid, and then
you grow up and there's stuff that went over.

Speaker 2 (40:16):
Your head and you still and as a parent, as
an aunt, as a grandparent, you could watch these shows
with kids, nieces, nephew's grandchildren and be like, I can
enjoy this because of the innuendo and the things they're
not getting, and so it's really it's family fun, fun
for the whole family. So honestly, I think The Sweet
Life of Zach and Cody has gotten a tremendous amount

(40:37):
of airtime York, and I would imagine to see a
bump in like the Netflix.

Speaker 3 (40:42):
Well what you people will say, I never heard of it.
I gotta watch it.

Speaker 8 (40:46):
Here we go.

Speaker 2 (40:46):
You gotta find welcome.

Speaker 3 (40:48):
I don't know where either its streams.

Speaker 2 (40:50):
Shari, if Brenda gets some residual checks in the next
few weeks, I would like a thank you note, or
actually really ian you to get a thank you note
for making sure that everybody knew where the song was
in the Sweet Life of Zach and Cody. And I'm
just gonna go with one more. Do lock up your

(41:10):
best players. We talked about it earlier the Lakers lock
it up Luka Doncic, because that's really what you should
do when person is going to be the face of
your team. You guys, coming up, we're going to be
talking MLB trade deadline. This is Fox Sports Saturday.

Speaker 1 (41:27):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Speaker 3 (41:30):
Hello.

Speaker 2 (41:31):
We are broadcasting live from the Fox Sports Radio studios.
I am Tracy Sandler joined by Steve Hartman. It has
been a very fun show so far, but we have
not talked about something that was a really big deal
this week, and that is the Major League Baseball trade
trade deadline. See now it's real. It's All Star game
is over, the trade deadline is coming gone. Now every

(41:51):
single game matters. I don't want to be dramatic, but
they do everyone well.

Speaker 3 (41:56):
And there were more trades than normal. There was a
lot of trades. We just didn't see a lot of
huge names involved in these trades. So insure volume Tracy, Yeah,
there We're a lot of deals being made by a
number of teams. You know, one guy that I've gotten
to know over the years is Aj Preller down in
San Diego. So this guy, he is, he's notorious. I mean,

(42:20):
he just he wants to make deals. Like this guy
lives and he's one of those savant guys. Like baseball
writers that covered they love this guy, okay, because he's
a true savant. I mean there literally is nothing else
in this guy's life than this whole mindset of trying
to make deals and make the pieces fit and everything else.

(42:41):
And obviously in recent years, the Padres, with their late
great owner Peter Sidler, was able to open up the pocketbooks,
you know, buy a Manny Machado and you know some
other pieces that have obviously made the Padres contenders right now.
But this guy goes back and forth in terms of,
you know, basically gutting his farm system to bring in
players now, which is exactly what he did at the

(43:02):
trade deadline this time. And then you got a hope
that it actually works out because then he backed yourself
in a corner. He did this a few years ago
when they acquired Matt Camp and Craig Kimberle. They tried
to go all in and it blew up in their
face and then they had to dump everybody to try
to recover all that talent. So I like it when
you know dias are made. But yeah, there was a

(43:23):
lot of trades, but not a lot of huge names involved.

Speaker 2 (43:27):
No, definitely not. You did mention Manny Machado, and so
every time I hear that name, I have to say
that Manny Machado is my nemesis. He does not know it,
but he is my nemesis.

Speaker 3 (43:36):
Is this because of the Pedroia situation that he took
out and basically ended Ustin Pedroia's career, or is because
he had a bad half season with the Dodgers, and
they still bow him out of town because you understand
that Manny Machado is well on his way to a
spot in the Hall of Fame.

Speaker 2 (43:51):
I do understand that, and I am not going to
stop it. Obviously, I couldn't if I wanted to buy
Monk a shop.

Speaker 3 (43:56):
It.

Speaker 2 (43:56):
No, it's because it started with the half season with
the Dodgers. It wasn't it was bad. I just felt
like he kind of lolly gagged around the field with
the Dodgers and now with the Padres. He's at third
base and someone hits a ball to like left center
field or right or right field, and he's like running
across the field to get it, and I'm like, you
didn't you didn't do with the Dodgers. Then you know,
he says things and I just he's my nemesis. He

(44:19):
doesn't know it. Well, if he's listening, he now knows it.
But he's my nemesis.

Speaker 3 (44:22):
I understand what Dodger fans is saying. And it was
not an easy situation. And by the way, they did
get to the World Series, they did lost to a
team that the Red Sox were just a better team.
They were one hundred and eight win team that year.
But since he came to San Diego and I was
in the San Diego market for several years, he really
became a team leader. I like, there's a certain I mean,
he got into the Majors at a very young age

(44:43):
with the Oreos, was an instant star in the league,
but he has matured over the year. So I think
if you sat down one on one with Manny, you
may not be maybe not a fan, but maybe less
harsh on him.

Speaker 2 (44:56):
Well, I did see him at the All Star Game,
and this is put me into a bit of like
an existential crisis. He was asked about Shoho Tani and
he had really glowing things to say about Shoho Tani
and then I was like, well, now you're kind of
my front of it, my friend missus.

Speaker 3 (45:11):
Well, and by the way, you mentioned that, because I
know you're a big show hey fan, you know how
close he came to San Diego. Aj Preller learned how
to speak Japanese.

Speaker 2 (45:21):
That is impressive.

Speaker 3 (45:22):
He actually learned how to speak Japanese. And the funny
thing was the angels are never in the mix. It
seemed like the Patres had the ability to bring in show. Hey,
everyone knew the Dodgers were in a situation and then
out of nowhere, he ends up with the Angels. But yeah,
that's true. AJ Preller is still the current general manager
of the Padres or president of Baseball Operations learn Japanese,

(45:46):
hoping to convince show Hey to be in a Potter's uniform.

Speaker 2 (45:49):
I have to respect that. Yeah, that is a commitment.
That is that is definitely a commitment. Okay, let's talk
a little bit about some of the ones that you're right,
not huge names, but interesting. The Mariners they improved. You know,
I think the American League is kind of anyone's league
at the moment, like it's kind of all over the place.
So we'll see. But the Mariners certainly improved. The Astros

(46:11):
I think improved. They bring back Carlos Korea. He's not
the Carlos Korea who was there, but he can he
can still swing it back. They get Hey, sus Sanchez.
There's talk now these guys the teams to beat are
in the Al West. They improved. I don't disagree that
they are. They are teams to beat, but I don't
know if they're the teams to beat. The American League

(46:31):
is just it's a little funny.

Speaker 3 (46:33):
Well, I mean, look at that Seattle lineup.

Speaker 2 (46:35):
I mean, well, it's it's tremendous.

Speaker 3 (46:37):
I mean, you get Suarez, by the way, I love
seeing his first name. So you look at that name
andrez you like Eugenio, and you find out it's a Unio.
Oh it is, yes, a u n e.

Speaker 2 (46:48):
Oh I've learned not today, you're so I didn't.

Speaker 3 (46:51):
Even know this, right, So you see you're like Eugenio, right,
it's spelled Eugenio eu g ea and io. Right, it's
a unio A like.

Speaker 2 (47:01):
The e is like a and then and then oh
now batting for the Seattle marriage.

Speaker 3 (47:06):
So I had to learn that because you know, so
aeni o and you know you're talking about I got
what thirty six home runs already. Yeah, and you know
he's obviously joining forces with the number one home run
hitter in Major League Baseball right now. So that's that's
that's pretty impressive.

Speaker 7 (47:23):
This this was my trick for au henny O Suawez,
who I covered when he came up with the Tigers,
because it does look.

Speaker 9 (47:30):
Like Eugenio, right right, Genio yeah right, So remember the
hey you guys, Yeah, so I just kind of like
remember that it's kind of the same sound like going
in like a you like A but.

Speaker 2 (47:42):
Then I think you have to say his name like
that A you and I want to be the Mariners
in game now, but I imagine you could do that
all I could have now batting for the Seattle Mariners at.

Speaker 3 (47:55):
Remember this when Sho Tani maybe they weren't sure. They
just say, showed me the money. Sure, know, so show
me the money heny o. Sorry au any oh, so
I was right about that. That's that's how it's pronounced.

Speaker 2 (48:07):
Well, I'm going to sing it myself every time.

Speaker 3 (48:10):
Now you're gonna know. But yeah, I mean I here's
the other thing though, then you had the Angel situation.
So the Angels, this was this was the question we
had Tracy, and we could go like who is actually
a contender and who's who's a buyer and who's a seller?
And I think for the again, the Angels have kidded

(48:30):
themselves to think that somehow they were buyers. Yeah, and
I'm sorry they're not. They've overachieved. They had Ron Washington,
obviously for health purposes, been sholved for the rest of
the season as their manager. But they kidded themselves and
they went out, they got a couple of players, and
I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, you should have

(48:51):
been so I mean, they should have been a seller
with show Hey two years ago.

Speaker 6 (48:55):
I mean you know that.

Speaker 3 (48:56):
Yeah, and they didn't. And they lost seven straight games
after the trade deadline, and they, you know, watched us
the biggest star in baseball walk away and they got
nothing in return. So that was that was the interesting thing.
How certain teams are still sort of hanging on to
hope that they're actually contenders and made a few deals.

Speaker 2 (49:14):
Well, I'm gonna bring up a team that we talked
a little bit about last week. They were on a skid,
done a little better, the Tigers, And this is a
team that I think could have been all in, but
I don't know if they made the moves to be
all in. And it's interesting, you have like the best,
one of the two best pitchers in baseball, and no,
they did not. They did not do enough to be

(49:36):
all in. But this is what's so great about baseball.
We saw with Raphael Devers, everybody he goes to Giants,
there was like, oh, now they're gonna be hitting, They're
gonna be contenter. The Giants ended up not being buyers
at all, and you just never know, like these guys
could come to different teams and they may be great,
they may not be. You're hoping they will be, but

(49:56):
I don't know. I don't think the Tigers. I think
the Brewers, and it sortly the Brewer don't do a lot.
They're currently playing like the best team in baseball, but
at the end of the day that it's not going
to be enough for the playoffs.

Speaker 3 (50:07):
Well, you mentioned the Giants. Let's call it for what
it is. Buster Posey's been a disaster.

Speaker 2 (50:12):
It's not been great.

Speaker 3 (50:13):
He's been a disaster. I mean, Buster Posey will be
in the Hall of Fame someday as a player, but
as a generalman, he's been a disaster. I mean the
Verlander deal, oh yeah, was you know, a disaster and
the Devers deal. Devers was a guy. The reason that
the Red Sox felt that Mookie Bets was expendable because

(50:34):
they didn't want to sign him long term is they
had Devers and Devers has never come close to being
Mookie Bets, not even in the same vicinity. And Devers
now is shown with the Giants that he is a
He's a solid guy. He's not a star by any
stretch of the imagination. So now the Giant's completely fallen
out of things. So all of a sudden, they were

(50:55):
sellers after making the Devers deal early. And this is
the problem again when you have someone that is not
that far removed from the game, only a few years
removed from playing. So a lot of these are personal
decisions where he's familiar with the player, played against a player,
and maybe still sees a player for what they were

(51:15):
in twenty twenty or twenty one and not what they
are in twenty twenty five. And it's been a disaster
because the Giants look like they could be contenders the
whole way, and now they're completely fallen off.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
The map completely. They're so I've stopped checking. So every
day I was checking did the Giants win? And did
the did the Padres win? Well, now I don't even
pay attention to Dodgers. I mean to I'm sorry, the
Giants guard a lot of attention.

Speaker 3 (51:39):
You mentioned the Dodgers. I want to get your thoughts
because look, they decided that. I mean, they made a
couple of minor deals, but they decided because they were
being asked for essentially gutting their yeah, you know, and
they were like, all right, so Blake Snell and Rokie
Sasaki are coming back. Snell pitch really well today. He
gave up a couple of home runs.

Speaker 2 (51:57):
In a minor league ballpark.

Speaker 3 (51:58):
But the keys at him today eight strikeouts, zero walks. Yeah,
I mean that's always the question was now can he
throw strikes? So he looked good today. A couple of
bad pitches, a couple of home runs. Dodgers offense didn't
show up today, So that that's sort of where you
have to weigh it. You know, if you've got a
guys on the injury list, you know, what are the
chances they're actually going to come back and play and contribute.

(52:19):
So the fact that the Dodgers sort of played it
close to the vest I know they went after Kwan, yeah,
but the scene price from the Guardians was way out
of line.

Speaker 2 (52:28):
And they bring in brock Stort, who will be a
solid addition to that bullpen. Alex call a good guy rotation.
He's batting better than the other utility players they have
right now in the rotation. I think the Dodgers were
super aggressive in the off season, yes, and they were
super the off season, so they didn't have to get
their entire farm system at the trade deadlight.

Speaker 3 (52:48):
And look at this they get. They get rid of Autman,
who was hitting one O three afterting one was a
one year wonder. Yes, that was it. And you actually
got someone in return for a guy batting one three.
And as far as Dustin May missed all of last year,
he was trying to come back for Tommy John, he's
not going to be the same player. So you've got
two guys that you know, three years ago looked like

(53:10):
they would be cornerstones for the Dodgers, in dust Of
May and James Altman, and now reality is set down
on both those guys, and they actually got something in
return for both of them.

Speaker 2 (53:22):
So that's pretty good, and it's funny they bring up
Alex Freelan, who's actually he's hitting really well and which
just shows how good the fart system is. But they
might they feel comfortable. They feel comfortable with who they
got who's coming back from injury. The thing with the
Dodgers is it's the offense. If the offense does show up,
they are the best team at baseball.

Speaker 3 (53:42):
What do you do with Mookie right now? I mean
he is in an absolute free fall, and you keep hoping.
I mean, Dave Roberts is going to show him due respect.
He put him at the top of the lineup. Today
they got shut out by the Rays. It was zero offense.
Dodgers have been striking out hit two hundred and the
month of July. I mean, MOOKI is a Hall of Famer.
He's a Hall of Fame player and my son's personal

(54:04):
favorite player. We were there for the well, we went
out to the Mookie The only Dodger game I went
to this year was the Mookie Jersey Night. So yeah,
we got the Mookie jerseys. But yeah, I just that's
going to be a big question. I mean, is it
the beginning of the end. You know, he got sick
before the season began, and he just doesn't look right.

Speaker 2 (54:23):
No, he doesn't. He doesn't look right. His body language
is off. He said, you know, a couple of games
here and there, Well he'll get a couple of hits, like, okay,
it seems like he's funny. You know, Freddie Freeman went
through this and he's he's back.

Speaker 3 (54:35):
He's back, he's back.

Speaker 2 (54:36):
But it just it looks it looks different with Mookie.
I don't know what they do because they can't have
him striking out at the top of the line up.

Speaker 3 (54:46):
Well, that's the problem. He's a shortstop. Well right to
more shortstops bad in a lineup eighth the nine, And
maybe do you do that to Mookie Bets?

Speaker 2 (54:56):
I think maybe you do. I mean one thing I
think about Mookie Bets and this be the fan of me,
but I do think Mookie Betts is a team first
kind of guy.

Speaker 3 (55:03):
Maybe you do.

Speaker 2 (55:03):
Maybe he gets his confidence as a swing back if
you bat him eight or ninth, because then and then
you put show Hey back at lead off. I don't know.

Speaker 3 (55:11):
Well, that's the thing. Let's say you bat him ninth, right, Well,
he would still be hitting in front of show Hey.
If show he's batting except for the very first inning,
so the rest of the game, he would still have
show Hey hitting behind him. So that would make a
lot more sense to me. Right now, I agree than
in lead it.

Speaker 2 (55:29):
I could not agree with you more. Coming up next,
we have more NFL to talk about. This is Fox
Sports Saturday. We are coming to you live from the
Fox Sports studios Tracy Sandler and Steve Hartman for the
best pregame show every weekend. Be sure to tune into
Fox Sports Radios Countdown presented by MGM every Saturday and

(55:50):
Sunday morning from nine am to noon Eastern six to
nine Pacific. We will count you down to all of
the biggest games. Tune into Countdown presented by bet MGM
every Saturday and Sunday morning right here on Fox Sports
Radio and the iHeartRadio app. You look like you have
something to say, sty Well.

Speaker 3 (56:07):
I mean, like I said, I had been glued to
the TV NFL network, any NFL news. You know, you
get into the training camps right now. We have the
Hall of Fame game. By the way, I know you
have something to say about that Hall of Fame game.
I do what stood out about that Hall of Fame
game for you?

Speaker 2 (56:28):
Okay, So Trey Lance stood out, But you got to
remember that I was covering. I mean, I covered Trey
Lance this whole thing, the trade, the beginning of the
end of his career, I mean the beginning it was.
You know, it was a mess.

Speaker 3 (56:43):
Well, let's pull back the curtain here, okay, Tracy, because
I think a lot of people are curious the whole
Trey Lance situation. He played one year as a starting
quarterback at at FCS school, which had By the way,
North Dakota State is like an FBS school playing FCS football.
They've dominated that division forever. He had an insane year.
He didn't throw a single interception the entire season. It

(57:04):
was crazy the numbers he put up. And then came
the COVID year where he only actually played one game. Yes,
and then the forty nine ers made the deal to
move up to to get this guy third overall pick
in the draft, and the only thing that saved him
is last pick of the draft to get Brock Purty.

Speaker 2 (57:19):
So that is that is very much correct.

Speaker 3 (57:21):
But what happened there, I mean, I mean, they obviously
felt that he had the tools, and I certainly trust
Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch recognizing his talent from what
you saw up close and personal. What happened to him
in San Francisco, well, I.

Speaker 2 (57:37):
Think it was a weird situation to begin with, because
essentially it felt a little bit of kind of got
not overreaction, but they're coming off the COVID year, which
is a weird year, a year where Jimmy Garoppolo was
injured a lot and it derailed their season, and that
had already happened to them in twenty eighteen. Then the
year before that, they go to the Super Bowl and
Jimmy Garoppolo has a not amazing Super Bowl and they lose,

(58:00):
and I think there was this feeling of we got
to move on, we got to get somebody else. There
is this quarterback draft, let's move up to get a quarterback.
But I don't believe that they knew exactly who they
wanted when they made that move. They just knew they
were going to get a quarterback. So they bring in
Trey Lance, and you have Jimmy Garoppolo, who's still going
to be the starter that year, so Trey's going to

(58:22):
be his backup. But every day, every time both of
them are talked to, and we didn't talk to Trade
that much that year, they get asked about it. Is
it weird? What's it like? Is Jimmy been a teacher
to you? Do you like trade? Like? Every And I
know they say they don't pay attention to that stuff,
but they are human, so of course they pay attention
to that stuff. Then you go into the next season

(58:44):
and there's all these questions that marks about Trey Lance
and Jimmy Garoppolo in training camp is running on the
side because he'd had surgery and they had to be
able to trade him and all of that, and they
push comes to shove. They sign him at the end
of the prese and they say, well, you know, we
got a good deal and we know Jimmy and he's great.
They sign up because they see Trey Lance is not

(59:07):
it and that he does not have it and he
ends up getting hurt. If memory serves, it was game
two of the season. Jimmy comes in, So now Trey
Lance is now in his second year and he's injured,
so he misses that whole year and Brock Purty emerges
at the end of that season, and that's what happened
to Trey Lance. So then he comes back and he
doesn't make He's not going to be their second string quarterback.

(59:29):
He's not going to beat out Sam Darnold. So he
wants to be traded, not in a dramatic way, but
he wants to trade it. He goes to the Cowboys,
where he basically was in the same position he was
going to be with the freyd nine Ers. So I
think what's actually happened here major overreaction would be like,
oh my god, Trey Lance is amazing and he's going
to be incredible. But what has happened for him is
this is the first place where he probably has gotten

(59:49):
some real reps and is getting to play football for
the first time in really years. So there's my very
long answer.

Speaker 3 (59:57):
Well, I think that Jim Harbor is a perfect situation
for him. You know, Jim obviously a former quarterback, and
he understands that we need a quality backup. Eastern Stick
was not the answer for the Chargers the.

Speaker 8 (01:00:09):
Way I know.

Speaker 3 (01:00:10):
It's a god of State guys, but of a far
difference in their talent. So yeah, I mean again, you're
you're playing against Detroit Lion players, half of which will
be working at the local Walmart here in a couple
of weeks, so they I mean, so it's you don't
never buy into anything you see in a preseason game.
In terms of that, the thing I did see out

(01:00:30):
of of him was the fact that it just seemed
like he had sort of gotten his confidence back, right,
He's feeling comfortable. He wasn't rushing things, you know, he
was sort of thinking out on the field, you know,
because really, when it comes down to playing quarterback. There's
two things you have to have if you're going to
be an effective quarterback in the NFL. A you got

(01:00:51):
to throw the ball accurately. That's that's a big part
of it. The second part is quick decisions. It is
that split decision that you have to make every quarterback
go on almost every play, unless it's a handoff where
if you're back to you know you throw it away,
you're checking down your receivers. Do I eat it? Do
I run? I mean these are all split second decisions

(01:01:13):
that have to be made, and the quarterbacks that do
that best are the most successful. Yes, And for Lancey,
he was one of those quarterbacks that you could see
was struggling where maybe he was taken off too soon
really not, you know, going through the progression of receivers,
especially in a Kyle Shanahan offense. I mean that must
that drove him crazy. I mean that's what brock Perty
does well. Yes, but that was the difference between a

(01:01:36):
four year starter in college of brock Perty and a
guy that started one year at FCS school where they're
playing overmatched opposition every single week. So yeah, I think
Trey lance is in a great situation with the Charges.
He's not going to be the starting quarterback, but they
do need a young, effective, emergency backup quarterback and I
certainly think he could do that.

Speaker 2 (01:01:56):
I think he can do that too. And you're right,
he looked comfortable because in training camp, practice, I covered
him in the couple games he did play, and he
never looked like that. He never looked comfortable. He never
looked confident in what he was doing. Just even as
he was his posture was of aodic leg. She just
looked comfortable, confident. I will say he's such a great

(01:02:16):
person and a really nice person that it would I
would love to see him be successful. And even if
successful means he's a very successful backup quarterback, that would be.

Speaker 3 (01:02:27):
If you're getting a paycheck in the NFL. There are
no matter better jobs than being a backup quarterback. Some
guys have made a living out of it for decades.
It's crazy, how I mean. I remember, you know, Ti
Deptmer won a Heisman Trophy at BYU. He was a
small guy. His game was never going to translate into
the NFL. Played fourteen years in the NFL because his

(01:02:48):
brain was off the charts. You know, guys like Brett
fav work with him and said, this guy is a
freaking genius. It's going to have him on the sideline.
So yeah, I hope it works out for Trey Lance.

Speaker 1 (01:02:59):
And I don't know.

Speaker 3 (01:03:00):
The Chargers are just a whek. There are so many
teams we talk about right now. Everyone's optimistic at this point,
Tracy obviously, but we'll see how we will see how
it goes.

Speaker 2 (01:03:12):
We are going to talk to John Machato about the Cowboys,
but first someone we're always optimistic about, Martin Wise.

Speaker 7 (01:03:21):
The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of twenty twenty
five has been announced defensive end Jared Allen, defensive beck
Eric Allen, wide receiver Sterling Sharp, and tight end Antonio Gates.

Speaker 3 (01:03:30):
Going into Canton.

Speaker 7 (01:03:32):
The Lakers and Luka Doncic have agree to eate three year,
six hundred and sixty five million dollar maximum contract contension
that includes a player option at twenty twenty eight, and
the Broncos and defensive lineman Zach Allen have agreed to
a four year, one hundred and two million dollar deal.

Speaker 3 (01:03:47):
Major League Baseball.

Speaker 7 (01:03:48):
Going into the ninth inning, the Blue Jays lead the
Royals four to two. The Pirates and Rockies, Colorado with
the seven or four league that's in a rain delays
stuck on the top of the eighth inning, there Tigers
with a two nothing margin over the Phillies. In the
bottom of the sixth, top of the six the Brewers
with a five to two lead over the Nationals. Red
Sox with a six to two lead over the Astros.

(01:04:10):
Top of the fifth. Also on the top of the fifth,
the Twins leading in Guardians three to two despite trading
on there basically the entire roster. The top of the
fifth inning, the Marlins with a two to nothing lead
over the Yankees. The bottom of the fourth Mets Giants
tied fo a piece, and the Rangers and the Mariners
Texas with a two nothing lead over Seattle. In the

(01:04:31):
top of the sixth inning, Steve, what'd you make of
it when you saw Minnesota making all those trades?

Speaker 4 (01:04:38):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (01:04:39):
Wow? Well, I have a friend of mine that is
a diehard Twins fan, and obviously he was in a
state of shock. Do team won one hundred and one
games in twenty nineteen. Just shows you the more things change,
you know? Yeah, there you go, so yeah, very quickly
back to you guys, at least they admitted they were

(01:04:59):
dumping the season. That's okay. Well, you know, everything's looking up.
Everything's looking good in Minnesota with the new quarterback. And
JJ McCarthy told you, well, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:05:08):
You guys know I could talk about it around.

Speaker 3 (01:05:10):
All these JJ McCarthy fans. You're not the only one, by.

Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
The ways, Tracy, Oh, that's because JJ's amazing. But if
you missed any of today's show, you'll want to catch
the podcast. Just search Fox Sports Radio wherever you get
your podcasts. Right after the show, it'll be posted. Be
sure to follow the podcast, rate it five stars, and
you can even provide a review. Again, just search Fox
Sports Radio wherever you get your podcasts and you'll find
today's full show. Post it after we get off the air.

(01:05:35):
But first we are going to bring on our guests,
John Machoda from The Athletic covering the Cowboys. John, it
feels like you've had a bit of a week over there.

Speaker 6 (01:05:46):
Oh yeah, no, it's gets fun times over here. Like
this beat is not for everybody. I'm going to tell you,
if you have a family and several kids and things
like that, this would not be for you at all.
But me, I kind of love it. To be honest
with you, I'm.

Speaker 2 (01:05:58):
Sure it gives you so much talk about our let's
what are the vibes? What is going on over there?
If you've seen Michael Parsons, did he say goodbye to you?
What's been going on?

Speaker 6 (01:06:09):
Oh yeah, he's out here. He's holding up his end
of the bargain. I'm saying that he would still be
going to practices, and he was out there today. He
didn't really do much. He kind of stood off to
the side. But yeah, no, he's still continuing to do
what he said he was going to do. But he
didn't talk to reporters when he left the field, but
Jerry Jones did for about fifteen minutes, so we got

(01:06:31):
Jerry's side of the story today. But yeah, no, the
vibes are they're pretty interesting because I'll also add in
there the pretty good crowd for especially you know, it'd
be in a Saturday training camp practice and it's the
most vocal I've heard Cowboys fans in a negative way
at training camp. Usually they're really positive because it's a
positive time of year and new season starting, but a

(01:06:51):
lot of chance of pay Micah and we want Micah
and signs that said as much as well. And so
that's just that is very uncommon for out here this
time of year, and being in a contract negotiation with
star players is not uncommon for the Cowboys. So you
can tell the frustration from fans is about its highest.
I mean, it's the highest I've ever seen a covering
team the last fifteen years.

Speaker 3 (01:07:12):
All Right, well, I'm not going to profess to be
any big Jerry Jones fan, but let's let's let's think
about this for a second. I mean, they're coming off
a horrific season that completely went sideways, coming off three
successful years. And I say that because I was one
of those people who really thought this might be the
year last year for the Cowboys. And you made at
least temporarily Dak Prescott the highest paid quarterback in the league,

(01:07:34):
and then he sat six games, and all of a sudden,
you're sitting there with Michael Parsons and you're going to
offer him all this guaranteed money and everything else. But
you also have the option of not giving him any
deal and just franchise tagging him for a couple of years.
So you mentioned that Jerry Jones spoke his piece. What
is that update from Jerry Jones.

Speaker 6 (01:07:55):
Well, Jerry's the biggest thing in Jerry had to say
is that it really is that he's you know, it's
such a concern for everybody on the outside, but not
for him, that this is all part of negotiations and
he's used to this type of stuff. The only area
on that I'll push back on is that I'm sure
players have told him individually that okay, well if you
don't want to get a contract done, then then then
just trade me. But we've never heard anything like that publicly.

(01:08:19):
So Michael Parsons is the first player that I know
of that, you know, especially a star player, they don't
usually say they want to leave the Cowboys. It's never
I can't even think of a time where it's ever
been said with a star player or even any player
said that he wants to be traded from the Cowboys.
So that's the that's the key thing in here that's
so much different than any of these other you know
in the past, ceede Land, Dak Prescott, as Brian is

(01:08:40):
EGI old Zach Martin like, it's never gotten to that point.
And but Jerry's trying to say that this is similar
to those so he might feel that way, but I
know on the outside a lot of people are like
this certainly seems like it's souring down and going down
a path where these two sides might it might get uglier,
and then what is MCA going to set out games?
You know, I'm sure Jerry would say, well, I don't

(01:09:02):
think he wants to give up game checks, but you're
right they can. Technically. He still has one year left
on his rookie deal, so that was that's this year,
and then they could franchise tag him the next two years.
And I don't think that that's what it will come to.
I think ultimately both sides will come to an agreement.
Maybe it's a week before the opener, maybe he does
miss a game or two, and then finally both sides

(01:09:23):
come together. But it's not going to happen. I don't
see it happen anytime soon. And the reason I say
that is because you know, when Micah puts that out
there that he wants to be traded, if Jerrie was
all of a sudden find a way to get a
deal done right now, that would set a bad precedent
for the rest of other players in the future to
go Okay, Well, if it really gets bad, just say
that you want to be traded and you'll get that

(01:09:45):
worked out. And Jerry is just too sad. You have
a businessman to do that. And so when I saw
that tweet yesterday, I was like, well, I still think
they ultimately get something done, but this is pushing it
back at least a couple more weeks.

Speaker 2 (01:09:57):
It's given me Brandon Ayuk vibes different because because Brandon
wasn't quite I don't want to be here at all
of that, but it's giving a little bit of those vibes.
I have a question for you, and I covered an
NFL team too, and everyone's really good about saying it's
not really a distraction for us, for the people inside
the building. However, this can't be not a distraction. It's
just not possible. Do you think it is affecting the

(01:10:19):
rest of the team.

Speaker 6 (01:10:21):
I think it is to a certain extent, very very
very low extent right now, because they're not playing games,
and you know, guys are out here trying to make
the team and they're trying to, you know, worry about
their own careers. So not so much right now. But
if you got into the season and then it turns
into Okay, you know, guys are getting asked all the

(01:10:42):
time about it. They're not winning games, the defense isn't
playing as well. Obviously he's their best defensive player. I
think that could really change things. But yeah, it would
be it would be a lie to say that if
this keeps going on longer and longer, that it's not
going to affect the team. And let's be honest, there's
there's a new head coach, Brian Schynon Resid head coached before,
and so there's a lot in his play to deal
with that as well, not just with the team but

(01:11:04):
also obviously with media obligations and things like that. This
is going to be, you know, a big story until
a contract is done. And that's that's the part that's
interesting about the Cowboys because Jerry Jones is great with
this stuff. I mean, you know, he's in his eighties,
he's been doing business deals that I'm sure things have
gotten way uglier than this ever has, and he's fine

(01:11:25):
with it, and he's got a This is almost like
a comfort level for him. But even though you might
be comfortable in this, that doesn't mean everybody else around
you is comfortable. And so at some point, I think
that it gets to a level to where there's some
type of communication, and I think once that communication happens,
I think it comes together pretty quickly. But as of today,
you know, Jerry Jones still hasn't talked to David Mulligata,

(01:11:48):
Michael Parson's agent, and he hasn't talked to Michael Parsons
since Michael Parson's request of the trade.

Speaker 3 (01:11:54):
Ryan Schottneimer getting an opportunity to be a head coach,
give us a early i won't say report card, but
an earlier review of what you see because obviously he
spent a long time assistant his father, obviously one of
the most successful coaches in NFL history. What do you
see in Brian now that he is the head guy.

Speaker 6 (01:12:13):
You know, he reminds me a lot of Pete Carroll,
and he reminds me a lot of Dan Quinn, who
obviously was here as a defensive coordinator when Brian was
on staff, and so they know. Both those guys know
Brian well, and Brian has talked many times glowingly about
their impact on him, and you can just it's just
a very positive vibe, like moving around practice constantly, all

(01:12:36):
around different groups and things like that. Just high energy,
very very positive. He's not you know, he's not really
going to scream at you and do a lot of
negative stuff. He's trying to lift you up and and
have a lot of energy, positive vibes that practice and
up to this point, that's great, and that stuff it's
going to work in training camp. Like, there's nothing you
can be critical about in training camp. The thing is, though,

(01:12:57):
is if they don't have success on Sundays, then you
come back to some of that stuff and you're like, well,
maybe it was too much of that, maybe they needed
more discipline.

Speaker 2 (01:13:05):
You know.

Speaker 6 (01:13:07):
It's obviously Pete Carroll's had a lot of success coaching
that way, and dan Quinn has had a lot of
success as well too, and so I think that that
is more of the path that he would be on.
Then let's say Mike McCarthy or his dad, Marty Schottenheimer,
or even a Steve Spurrier who other mentors for him. Obviously,

(01:13:27):
you know, he played at Florida. So I would say
the closest comp I can give you without actually seeing
him coach a game on Sunday would be Pete Carroll
or Dan Quinn.

Speaker 2 (01:13:37):
He had said earlier in the spring that Dak Prescott
was in a developmental phase, and I know that got
a lot of press and he maybe didn't mean it
that way. However, how have you seen them interact and
what does their relationship seem like so far?

Speaker 6 (01:13:49):
Oh, yeah, they're really close. I don't think that Brian
Schoenheimer gets that job if it's not a good relationship
with Dak. Now, yeah, I think that thing was taking
a little bit out of context just because that Dak
hasn't had, you know, the playoff success and it's been
now almost thirty years since the Cowboys have had playoff success,
and so he takes a lot of brunt to that.
But Brian was just meaning that Dak is still he's

(01:14:10):
still improving in areas like he's not a finished product
as he's in his entering his tenth season, and so
I think that's more of what he meant there. But no,
they're really close, you know. I Again, I just I
can't see when they were kind of putting a spot
where Jerry thought for a while there after the season
ended that he'd end up going forward to Mike McCarthy
as head coach, and then when that ended up kind

(01:14:32):
of falling apart there. I just think when those talks
with Bran shain Emmer, it never would have elevated to
him being the head coach if he didn't have a
good rapport with Dak Prescott, who's obviously not just their
highest paid player, but the highest player paid player in
the NFL.

Speaker 2 (01:14:47):
Well, a lot of drama over at Cowboys camp. Would
be interesting to see how this unfolds. John really appreciate
you joining us and your insight. We will be coming
up with your feel good stories of the week. This
is Fox Sports Saturday. We are coming to you live
from the Fox Sports Radio studios Tracy Sandler with Steve Hartman,

(01:15:08):
and we have come to a lovely part of the show.
We've had a really big show. There's been so much
to talk about, and I love it.

Speaker 3 (01:15:17):
It feels like we literally just started the show.

Speaker 2 (01:15:20):
It really does. This has flown by and flown by
to the feel good stories of the week. So would
you like to start it? Would you like me to start?

Speaker 3 (01:15:28):
Well, I don't know what you have, but I'll start
with what I thought was a really good feel good
story because this time last week there was a report
it could be a very sad story. But I'm talking
about the Dion Sanders story as it was now revealed
and he had doctors there that he was diagnosed with
bladder cancer. I'll say this about Dion Sanders. I mean,

(01:15:52):
he's a very controversial figure because of his larger than
life personality. He was one of the greatest players in
the history of football. And not only that, he's the
only one ever to play in a Super Bowl and
a World Series. He was more than a marginal baseball player.
He could actually play at a high level. So we're
talking about one of the most remarkable athletes we've ever seen.

(01:16:15):
But the whole idea of him getting into the coaching
situation to be with his sons essentially was it. And
obviously at Jackson Stave and obviously moving on to Colorado.
I just want to see what he can do after
shudor after Travis Hunter, and see is he really legit,
Like can he build a career. I felt like he

(01:16:36):
wanted to reach out and help his sons, which is great.
As a dad, I can one hundred percent back that up.
But if you're going to continue to be a coach
and your sons have moved on now in their lives.
Can you still get done? We still have that motivation
to coach high level. So I was concerned a week ago,
like is he going to step down? We don't know
really what's up. Doctors are going to be at this

(01:16:57):
press conference. So for him to say that he's gotten
through this latest health crisis, keep our fingers crossed. I'm
just excited that he's going to get that opportunity to
continue his coaching career. I'm very anxious to see what
he'll do next.

Speaker 2 (01:17:12):
I'm too. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be fun
to see, all right, mine, I'm going a little backstory
stems back to some friends from Iowa State, Brock Purty
and Tyrese Halliburton, very good friends from Iowa State, each
of them having a pretty big week. Brock Purty and
his wife Jenna welcome their first child this week, a daughter,

(01:17:33):
and Tyrese Halliburton got engaged. So a big week for
the close friends and their friendship's been fun to watch.
And you know, when brock Purty was starting, Tyre's Halliburton
had a game against the Warriors and texted him, here
are you coming to the game. In fact, all the
fen and Air's rookies were going to that game, and
he said, are you going to be there? And he said, dude,

(01:17:55):
I can, I'm starting now I have to. And I
think that was the exact text, Dude, I can and
I'm starting. So it's pretty incredible to obviously see what's
happened to Brock between then and now and for Tyrese Halliburton.
So I thought it was kind of fun that the
besties both had a pretty good week.

Speaker 6 (01:18:11):
Well.

Speaker 3 (01:18:11):
I like stories like that because you talk about two
guys that no one was projecting to be All Star
Pro Bowl level players when they ventured into the professional ranks.
You know they'll be guys, you know, good players. You know,
maybe they have a chance to contribute. So the fact
that they share that, you know, ability to get to

(01:18:32):
the top or close to the top.

Speaker 2 (01:18:34):
Yeah, it's really And actually both of them met their
significant others at Iowa.

Speaker 3 (01:18:38):
State and Iowa State and Ames Iowa, yep, Ames Iowa.
Now my sister, My sister has lived in Iowa for
over forty years. The valley girl who moved to Iowa
what part Iowa right out of Cedar Rapids?

Speaker 2 (01:18:52):
Okay, George Kittles from Iowa he loves Iowa and he
went to Iowa.

Speaker 3 (01:18:56):
Well, and a ken When do you think about a
guy like Kurt Warner at the quarterback went to Northern
I was started one year and then the rest all
the way to the Hall of Fame. But well, the
thing about you, Tracy is you're going to be heading
back to the Bay Area?

Speaker 8 (01:19:08):
Are you?

Speaker 3 (01:19:09):
I sure?

Speaker 2 (01:19:09):
I am sure I'm going to be heading back tomorrow.

Speaker 3 (01:19:11):
So what is the buzz? That is a team that
I'm trying to really get a read on is the
forty nine Ers. I've said this. I mean I was
asked yesterday on a radio show. I was appearing on
the host of the show, a big forty nine Er fan.
I know that, and I said my takeaway was simply this,
If Christian McCaffrey is healthy, they'll be fine. Yes, if

(01:19:32):
he's not, they're in trouble.

Speaker 2 (01:19:34):
I would agree with that. I would say the same
thing for Trent Williams. That's going to be a big one.

Speaker 3 (01:19:40):
That's well, how many years can Trent Williams play Well.

Speaker 2 (01:19:43):
That remains to be seen. But they are still on
that offensive line. It basically a Trent Williams injury away
from it all being over similar to Christian McCaffrey. So
I think you are correct about that. This is a
team that's very young. Now they got their core and
they still have a decent part of that Kark. Kyle
use Check said that earlier this week, because we still
have a lot of our core, and they do. But

(01:20:06):
they have a lot of young guys on this team
and a lot of guys fighting for roster spots, which
is good. It's created quite a bit of competition. But
they have a lot of question marks. When will Brandon
i Yuk be back. Juwan Jennings who wanted a new
deal and reportedly requested a trade but formerly has not.
He's injured now he's dealing with a calf injury he's reaggravated.

(01:20:26):
So they have a lot of question marks. I think
this team will be better than they were last year.
I think they want to follow the Rams model of
last year, is that they have this core and as
the season goes on, these young guys get better and better.
I will say, Mikael Williams, their first round draft pick,
is tremendous and in my time covering football, certainly one
of the best rookies I've seen. So if he is

(01:20:48):
able to stay healthy and really be who they need
him to be. It's going to be tremendous for the defense.
He's a heck of a football.

Speaker 8 (01:20:54):
Well.

Speaker 3 (01:20:55):
I think Sla is going to bring a lot to
the defense. I don't think that's any question about that.
But you need game brand makers. You know, Deebo Samuel.
For a couple of years, there was that well dynamic
where teams had to just you know, to figure him out.
And that's that's the missing They're not in.

Speaker 2 (01:21:11):
Theory, it's Christian, but they're not. This is not a
team that's going to a super Bowl. But that being said,
I've had a really good time with you today. Coming
up next to Jason Fitz and Buck Reesing, we are
Fox Sports Saturday

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