January 2, 2026 • 40 mins
Adam Ausland continues his Week 18 Power Rankings including the battle for the AFC North between the Ravens and Steelers and why it doesn't really matter who gets in, why he's tired of Draymond Green, drama with Anthony Edwards, and more!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the air everywhere our four I'm at a maslin
in for Big Men mallor.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
We're sponsored by tire Iraq.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
For over forty years, tire Iraq has been helping customers
find the right tires for the how, what and where
they drive, shipped fast and free, backed by free road
hazard protection, with convenient installation options like mobile tire installation,
tirerack dot Com. The way tire buying should be. All right,
(00:30):
coming up, I'm gonna inviscerate Draymond Green here in a
little bit, not even because of what he said about
how you know we're the only ones that have to
work on Christmas? It's like, are you?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Are you a real person? Are you? Are you a
real human being?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Think about that comment. Do you think hospitals close? Do
you think you know firemen, policemen aren't working. Do you
think there are convenience stores still opening on open on Christmas?
Do you think broadcasters take Christmas off? You think we
didn't have stuff going here at Fox Sports Radio? My god,
(01:08):
what a fool.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
But I'm not here to talk about him.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
I don't want to talk about him yet. I do
want to talk to Marcel calling from Brooklyn because I
just want to say where Brooklyn?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Where Brooklyn? At Marcel? What's up?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
You're on with Adam Osland on Big Ben Mahler on
Fox Sports Radio. Marcel, Marcel, Marcel, justin, justin, Marcel, Hey, good.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Morning, Adam, Happy new Year as always.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Happy here see.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
You Lorena and Koch de Loup as well.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I'm Marcel.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Good morning, Happy new year both. Oh what a great
tradition that is? Oh do I mention it? How what's
the picks for the first picks of twenty twenty six? Well,
you know what, Let's do it, shall we? Because of
the dudes. It is a new day and it is
a new years around. So instead of Adams Malan militia,
(02:09):
how about to say this, let's get into it with
some Friday food picks as well. And as a matter
of fact, the lines are waiting, if not the three
of them, or shall I say, the girl and the
guys will play along with me. Let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Happen Marcel's running things now, it's Marcelles world.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
We're just living in it. No, I like this. This
is good. We're guessing what you hate?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Oh yeah, this is what a break foot picks tradition
looks like all right.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
All right, uh calling from Brooklyn. I mean I hear
the piece is pretty good.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
There couldn't you as one of those big slices I've
seen the Ninja Turtles movie. The New York sizes are
built different.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Oh you know what, my friend, the pizza it is
just like Big Ben does. And I give you the
guarantee of the mixed match.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
It is, I guarantee it.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
I'm gonna go in honor of big Ben Maller. You
had chicken strips.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Well that's not a mixed match. It is my friend Loreena,
but not.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
A mixed match.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
No, all right, Ruthie Lope, go right ahead, buddy. This
is a chance to say pizza double alert.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
If you get this correct, Marcel match.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Alert double will come your way or trouble.
Speaker 6 (03:33):
You won't believe this, but I'm gonna go with pizza.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Oh that means that means mixed match? You okay? What
happens that? I'm so confused, just like mine.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
As well, big shot. It is from last year.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
You and I want Adam. Oh we won nothing. What
do we get the mix match?
Speaker 1 (03:59):
We won? The mix it is and the prize is
what I need some ride?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
What else do you need.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
You know what I did lose that in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Now I'm back in. I got my pride back.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Oh yes, it is my friend. Yes, it is my friend.
And for a special bonus wherever one big fan says,
let's get into it and in the air everywhere, I
guarantee it just like you and everyone else does. So
congratulations to Adam and Coopie Loop as well as mine.
(04:39):
They have a great weekend enjoying the rest of the
big hour of the show. I hope Ben Maller is
back on Monday, so.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I'll see you then, all right, Marcel myself esteem'd.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Absolutely sir? Uh well, yes, sound drops, Yes, okay.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
He has like a sound board.
Speaker 6 (05:05):
He's a he's a four time caller of the year.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Oh my god, let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I mean we could have just played this.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Why do we even take the call let's play? Is
that his only games?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
No?
Speaker 7 (05:20):
We do?
Speaker 6 (05:21):
We do TV picks on on Wednesdays. I believe what
he watched on TV recently the night before? Yes, correct, does.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Marcel have an inflated ego of like everybody's concerned with
what Marcel's up to?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Don't worry it's just top.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
How come we couldn't have had like an overtime game
there where we guess the toppings of the pizza and
therefore one of us.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Was the true winner.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
I just it's knowing Marcel just just cheese, just cheese.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Okay, you know what?
Speaker 1 (05:53):
That is an underrated pizza because we get topping so often.
It's like when you just get a cheese pizza. Now
it's almost something different.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I like that.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
I like, hey, I don't I don't hate on just
the cheese pizza pizza.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I still need some ranch with that just cheese pizza.
But that just me because I'm like Ali guy Brooklyn.
People will probably be upset with that, all right.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
I got like ranch. Just so you guys know. Ben
does not like ranch with anything or with just pizza.
Speaker 6 (06:21):
No, he calls it the devil's blood.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
But he also has blood.
Speaker 6 (06:25):
He also has the palette of a five year old,
so he eats his steaks well done.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Has he ever had Brian Semen on the show before?
And that's that's not a Mala militia nickname. That's a
real name. Brian Seemen, the voice of the Clippers on
FanDuel TV, also probably cuts up his hot dogs and
puts him in ketchup and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Also has the palette of a child.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Ye, definitely been acquired. Taste apparently isn't for everyone. There
are some people that just never grow up. They'd rather
have the gerber apples or something like that for dessert too. Yeah,
all right, I need to pay something off finally here
and I need to hear from Ben Mallory do this right.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
The Autumn Wind is a pirate blustering in from sea
with a rollicking song. He sweeps along, swaggering boisterously. His
face is weather beaten. He wears a hooded sash with
a silver hat about his head and a bristling black mustache.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, and no one else is good ranch as you tried,
big man. My third best game of the weekend for
me personally is the Packers at home against the Vikings
in week eighteen. Why because it's a game no one
else cares about. So I will exercise my new Year's
resolution and be nicer and show some compassion and give
(07:51):
this game some love. As Jordan Love probably shouldn't play,
I don't think he is, because the Packers are locked
into that seventh seed in the NFC. They're taking on
whoever is the number two seed. Between the Bears and
the Eagles. This could be one of the most forgettable
contests ever between two rivals, and the Packers and the Vikings.
(08:13):
But we don't know who's going to be at quarterback.
Is it gonna be JJ McCarthy. He could play if
Kevin O'Connell lets him play with that fractured hand, like
it's a hand issue. I don't think it's that serious. But
they need data on JJ McCarthy. They need more reps
(08:35):
with him. They need to see why they let Sam
Darnold walk and go to Seattle. I know partially it
was because of the money, and they drafted JJ to
be that future stud that has not happen yet. It's
not looking good for him right now. JJ looks like
he might have benefited from that whole sign stealing scandal
(08:57):
at Michigan. Like there have been some bad signs with
his NFL plays so far, like holding onto the ball
for way too long, almost like he no longer knows
what the defense is going to do pre snap like
he did at Michigan. The Vikings they may be a big,
fat phony at least when it comes to JJ McCarthy
(09:20):
and drafting that guy.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Like a bill of goods. I don't know. I hope
he plays.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
That would be the most intriguing part of the game.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
The second best game of the weekend is of course,
in Pittsburgh, home of the late great Mac Miller, who
had a mixtape called Best Day Ever. And it will
be for whoever wins between the Steelers and the Ravens
Best Day Ever.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
But you gotta win.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
This is good, This is a rivalry, this is legit.
These two teams hate each other. But the reason it's
not my number one game to watch this weekend is
because neither of these teams can get to the super Bowl.
Whoever wins is either losing to the wild card team
or you know.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
The divisional round, second round.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
I guarantee it.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
They're not getting far.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Is Lamar even playing, Okay, he's practicing, he's playing.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Is Aaron Rodgers even good anymore?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
It wasn't very good against Cleveland the Steelers. They could
have won that game and wrapped up the division already.
The Ravens just had an all time rushing game by
the way from Derrick Henry and some could say that
they've had a disastrous season and a win might save
John Harbaugh's job. Tomlin, though he could be out too
(10:40):
one of these guys. Maybe both they get fired.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I could see it happening.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
This game really isn't about this season so much, because
I don't think either as a contender. It's about who's
more likely to have an era come to an end,
Tomlin with the Steelers or Harbaugh with the Ravens. But
that's interesting enough. Finally, you already know what it is.
The top game in my matchup power rankings goes to
(11:10):
the forty nine Ers and the Seahawks.
Speaker 8 (11:14):
One Shall stand One show.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Fall that takes place on Saturday night.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Winner doesn't just get the NFC West, but the number
one seed in the NFC and number one all important
vibes like she knew what was coming. It's the second
game of this sort of magnitude in the year two.
Was Sam Donald switching to a new team. He just
did this last year with the Vikings. He had to
(11:41):
play a Lions team under similar circumstances. Winner got the
division and the number one seed, and spoiler alert, he
did not play well in that game and the Vikings
did not win that game. He did, though Sam Donald
got a huge victory over the Rams.
Speaker 7 (11:59):
Or he was.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
It's not perfect, but he's got enough help.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
They helped put him in a position to win and
have conference supremacy. Now you trust Rock Purty more in
these spots than Sam Darnold. He's led the Niners to
a super Bowl. He's playing great. He was a player
two away from beating Mahomes in that Super Bowl that
went to overtime. I can't believe the forty nine ers
(12:24):
are in this position, by the way, with all the
injuries they have had this season, to have the number
one seed in the NFC, that did not seem possible.
There's no way it's happening. And here's part of the
reason why loser doesn't drop to the number two seed.
By the way, that's not how this works with the
(12:46):
divisions in the NFL. You dropped to number five. If
the Seahawks lose, you for sure are dropping a five.
But if the Niners lose and the Rams win, they
could drop to the sixth seed. You do not want
to be in the sixth spot because that means you're
going on the road to Chicago or the Eagles.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's tough.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
You're in the five spot. You gotta take on Carolina
or Tampa. That's much more favorable. And people are confused
about this and how the tie breakers work. And I
was too, because you look at the standings and it
says like head to head, your division record, your conference record.
What it doesn't tell you is record against common opponents.
(13:33):
And that's how a lot of this stuff gets sorted out.
And that's what's happening with the Rams and the forty
nine ers. The forty nine Ers ended up beating the Jaguars,
who the Rams lost to, the Texans, who the Rams
lost to. I think that's what it comes down to.
And by the way, Sam Darnold has enough pressure on
him in this game, not just to become the number
(13:55):
one overall seed, but there's two million dollars on the line.
I want to hot it and fifteen thousands slightly more.
Darnold is within striking distance of a two million dollar
incentive laden contract bonus if he hits these milestones twenty
(14:16):
eight touchdowns, four thousand passing yards, completes sixty seven and
a half percent of his passes, a passer.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Rating of one hundred.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
He needs three touchdown passes, one hundred and fifty passing yards,
a point three completion percentage increase, and a point eight
passer rating increase to hit all those bonuses, it could happen.
It really is gonna go find a cash machine two million.
(14:47):
That's higher than anybody else's bonus and incentives. So yeah,
it's probably not gonna go. Well, there's way too much
pressure on him. The forty nine ers handle this stuff better,
at least rock Perty does. The other guy in the division, though,
who I do want to talk about here is Matthew Stafford.
As I've gotten through my matchup rankings, but Stafford now
(15:09):
has dropped down to being uh number two in MVP
odds when he was number one and minus two twenty
is the betting favorite going into that game against the Falcons,
and then things went horribly wrong. Drake May has overtaken
him as the MVP front runner. At least according to
(15:32):
the betting odds. He's now at minus three thirty. Stafford
h he's at plus two point fifty. That's a huge
difference in one week. Things turned around like that. I
just was I don't think so. I don't think Stafford
was throwing those picks on purpose against Atlanta. But everybody
(15:53):
was watching that game, and yes, it hurt his chances,
interestingly enough, and it's third by a mile. Trevor Lawrence
has the third best odds to win the MVP. Why
because they could still end up the number one overall seed.
The Jaguars they need a lot of help. They need
to win. They need Denver and the Patriots to lose.
(16:15):
It's not gonna happen million. But he's plus twenty thousand.
That might be worth putting twenty bucks on just in case.
I don't know a lot of this season, though, the
Rams felt like the best team in the league. They
were everyone's pick to win it, and then they lost
(16:35):
to Carolina my Panthers. Now they lose to the Seahawks
and the Falcons the last few weeks. They're gonna be
the fifth of the sixth seed in the NFC. So
everybody's jumping off of Matthew Stafford. Oh, he can't be
the MVP. Now, it's ludicrous. I'm not saying Drake may
isn't worthy. He is, but you're penalizing Matthew Stafford because
(16:58):
he plays in a much better division where you could
have three teams win twelve plus games and all make
the playoffs. That's how good the NFC West is. Despite
what the Arizona Cardinals are up to the Patriots and
Drake May, they have beaten one team with a winning record,
(17:18):
the Bills. They've also lost to the Bills. They've had
the easiest schedule in the league. That should matter when
you look at the stats and put things into context
between him and Matthew Stafford, and I just don't like
this recency bias. Drake May had the big game against
the Ravens. Matthew Stafford had the bad game at the
(17:39):
end of the season against the Falcons. So what about
earlier in the season, and those games should matter just
as much. It shouldn't just be about what have you
done for me lately? The Rams schedule is infinitely tougher
than the Patriots. I'm sorry you put Drake Man in
the NFC West. I don't know if they're making the playoffs.
(18:03):
Even the Bills, who are good, they're getting in in
the AFC East, they have a ton of loss Take
out the recency bias. Insert who plays in the much
tougher division. Think about it this way, what if the
Rams had these losses late in the year earlier, but
the big wins later. Matthew Stafford definitely would be ahead
(18:27):
of Drake May.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
You have to think of it.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
It's a cumulative thing. It's seventeen games. It can't just
be about what happens at the very end of the season.
I would still vote for Matthew Stafford as the MVP.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
It's close.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Drake May is deserving, but it's the totality of the season.
This is like Notre Dame's losses. You don't get to
escape those losses, those two losses, just because they happened
early in the year. I look at games earlier in
the season he's in this being just as important as
games later in the season. Now we have some games
(19:05):
with stakes, like the number one seed on the line
between the forty nine ers and the.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Seahawks, But the MVP.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
This shouldn't be about who has more momentum going into
the playoffs. In my mind, it's cumulative. Matthew Stafford, I'd
still give him the edge. Even though the Falcons do suck.
They're in the NFC South. I know that division well
and I was surprised he played that poorly.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
It's still a chance to win late.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I'm at a Moslin in for Big Ben Mallard here
on Fox Sports Radio. Coming up next, I got a
dossier on one of the most hated players in the NBA,
and I'm gonna get after him a little bit. You're
listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 8 (19:53):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Maler
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 9 (20:05):
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire
with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing
the same tired narratives down your.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Throat every day.
Speaker 9 (20:15):
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at
the sportsbook.
Speaker 8 (20:22):
And all the best guests.
Speaker 9 (20:23):
Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with
Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
God, I miss mac Miller. This pulls up my heartstrings
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I can't finish the show.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Do you need a tissue?
Speaker 1 (20:45):
How dare you Lorena minimize his death like this? Even
though it's been like ten years. He was just entering
his prime. I'm out of Moslin trying to enter mine.
In for Ben Maller here on Fox Sports Radio, like
Swimming so good, he was becoming more mature as an artist.
But I do love the Kids mixtape. That's what got
(21:07):
me into him in the first place. And then I
learned about Easy Mac and all this other stuff. The
mixtape game is crazy.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
This reminds me of driving through the mountains in Oregon.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Okay, fair enough, good stuff. Man, Hey there's Bigfoot.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Let's go to Mike the Leprechaun. Mike, I'm out a Moslin's.
You're on Fox Sports Radio. What's up, Mike?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Good morning?
Speaker 7 (21:32):
What's your name? Adam?
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Who cares? It's Adam Auslin?
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Adam?
Speaker 4 (21:36):
So you haven't been listening to the show, of course,
not just playing with your chicken?
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Was that like a clock? Knows?
Speaker 6 (21:44):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (21:45):
A whoope? Cushion?
Speaker 1 (21:46):
What is that.
Speaker 7 (21:49):
The chicken?
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Okay, it sounds.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Like the horn on an old What are those bikes
called swiss? A swim a swim bicycle?
Speaker 7 (22:00):
Twin? Now twins at c h W I N N.
I used to have a twin and I'm gonna call
him a twin.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
A twin.
Speaker 7 (22:08):
Hey, are you in Los Angeles? Adam? Are you in
Los Angeles?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I am?
Speaker 7 (22:12):
I'm oh, how's the rain?
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Well, actually it stops justin town for the Rose Bowl?
Worked out nicely for Indiana.
Speaker 7 (22:20):
I was watching. They had a great win. I loved
was a great day and they were mopping up the
rain with the with the fungers.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Did you see that?
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I did a great job because Kurt Signetti he deserves it.
All people waiting on hid and foot for him.
Speaker 7 (22:34):
He's the first Cuban American to ever win the Heisman,
and he deserved it. And he had a single mother,
I believe. I'm not sure about that, but he's a
role model first, and I'm sad that Notre Dame didn't
make the cutoff.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Oh you're talking about Fernando Mendoza. I was talking about
his head coach and Kurt Signetti, who is a monster.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
But you're right.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Fernando Mendoza more of a boy scout and seems like
a pr not nightmare or dream with the way he
answers the questions.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
But I love him, I love Indiana.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
But my ducks are gonna have to take him out
next week.
Speaker 7 (23:09):
Oh my duck has to go anyway. So Marcel is
a terrible caller, just so you know that. For the
record only the foot picks. How would you write?
Speaker 1 (23:19):
How would you rate your calls?
Speaker 7 (23:21):
I'm the worst collar of the year by far. In fact,
somebody nominated me for the worst caller of all times.
But I was the rookie caller of the year last year.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Oh so this is the second more slump for you
last year.
Speaker 7 (23:38):
It's better to get the worst collar than the best caller.
And I have to disagree with you even though you
use the fancy word. You use the word dot ca,
which is fancy, that's French. It's how you finished the
season that matters.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Okay.
Speaker 7 (23:52):
People who pick up the people who pick up the
trophy are not the ones who lost the fourth two
games of the season, like the Patriots. But maybe what
they do at the end.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, but it's a.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Hold on, hold on, Mike. It's a regular season award.
Like nothing is determined with the Rams, and if they
could win the Super Bowl, that should be held against uh,
Matthew Stafford rabbit all day rabbit.
Speaker 7 (24:16):
All right, So Drake May is the obvious number one
m VP. Number two, Stafford is good and number three it's.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
A surprise, Yeah, Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 7 (24:28):
Number three it's blind Scott.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
I'm sorry, blind Scott.
Speaker 7 (24:33):
Blind Scott.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Blind Scott called in last night.
Speaker 7 (24:40):
Who cares anyway? So did you watch the ball drop
in New York?
Speaker 1 (24:45):
I watched Ryan Seacrest balls drop in New.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Can I ask you a question, would you like Mike
the Leprechaun teach your children?
Speaker 2 (24:54):
No, he's a teacher. Oh I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Uh no, obviously he knew, but ossier was as frenchier
lord children public.
Speaker 7 (25:05):
Let me do you know any French?
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Do you have ten your mind?
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Because I heard teachers really pack it in once they
get that tenure.
Speaker 7 (25:12):
Okay, oh yeah, on top top of the morning. I
forgot to say top of the marnsweet anyway, the Waterford
by the way, the ball that they drop is about
five thousand pounds and it has twelve thousand pieces of
water for crystal shipped directly from Waterford City in our
all right, the fact you're.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Mike the leprechan So I'm gonna take you at your
you have okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Mike, can we palm?
Speaker 5 (25:42):
All right?
Speaker 2 (25:43):
I tried?
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I was patient, like teachers have to be with their students.
He's really Are we sure?
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Is that verified? Is it a real thing? Okay, now
I have.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
To get back to my NBA story because I've been
hating and I've been simmering about this player for a while.
But Draymond Green, you may have noticed, had quite the
blow up last week, an emotional outburst. It happened courtside.
It was between him and Steve Kerr, whose hair got
a little bit whiter. And I understand he's the modern
(26:18):
Dennis Rodman. Draymond wants to be Bill Lambier. He's more
skilled than both. You could say I need a beer
every time I see his antics though out there on
the court, like when he's kicking someone in the nuts,
stomping on their chests, arguing with his own teammates, getting
after it with Kevin Durant, and now he's doing this
(26:39):
with his head coach and Steve Kerr. He is one
of those guys that comes across as so extremely unlikable.
When you're going against him, I guess you hate him
even more.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
But some of those guys where when he's on your team,
you love him. Do they do? Golden State fans still
like Draymond Green.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Is is it really like that still or is it
just they know they can't trade him, they have to
deal with him. They accept him because of that. He's
getting a triple single. As Charles Barkley would say, he's
averaging eight, six and five. The Warriors are around five hundred.
I know with Draymond it's more than just the numbers.
(27:21):
You look at the plus minus. He still is an impactful,
overall positive player. He's also thirty five. They were seven
points better per one hundred possessions last season with him
on the floor. That's significant. This year they're one point
better with Draymond on the floor. He's not exactly pulling
(27:42):
his weight like he used to. So how much is
you gonna put up with? I know they apologized. Steve
Kerr felt.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Like he was in the wrong. Draymond thought he was
in the wrong.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
But this petulant behavior, it's a pattern. This isn't a
one time thing, and he gets by because he's one
of the toughest competitors out there. Like, that's what this is.
You want to go to war with somebody like Draymond Green.
He has a big part of why they won four championship.
There's poor championships in Golden State. There's no doubt. There's
(28:14):
also injury luck, a fluky cap spike that got them
Kevin Durant. There's a lot that goes into it, a
lot of good fortune when it comes to winning. He's
making twenty five million this year. Draymond I just it's
crazy to me the least that he gets because he
is a legacy player with Golden State. But they're losing
(28:40):
and things get worse with Draymond in situations like this.
They want him to finish his career with Golden State.
Steve Kerr said, quote, I want him to finish his
career with the Golden State Warriors.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Unquote.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
That probably means things were teetering the other way in
the cooler heads prevailed, But having to say that means
it's bad enough that people were actually wondering if that's
going to happen now, Like it's in doubt to some
degree that he'll finish his career as a member of
the Golden State Warriors. Steve Kerr felt like he needed
(29:18):
to make it clear that's the position they're at now
with him, but that's just for now. Things are still
bubbling beneath the surface. They got real issues. They have
the toughest schedule remaining in the NBA, and they're struggling already.
I just don't know if this fading dynasty is Steve
(29:41):
Kerr put it is long for having a guy that
is an irritant to this degree, not just with the
opponents anymore, his own teammates, his head coach. Like I know,
Steph Curry got hurt in that second round series against Minnesota.
Maybe they win if he doesn't, but they're not a
(30:03):
contender anymore. They're not close. If everything breaks their way
in Golden State, they could win a round. I think
that's about as far as their ceiling goes. This fading dynasty.
I don't know if they want to put up with this.
Nothing ends unless it ends badly, otherwise it wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Whatever that's saying is, I think I bushered it?
Speaker 5 (30:27):
Do you speak it?
Speaker 1 (30:29):
I just know this Golden State Warriors run this era.
It's getting close to being over Steph Curry. Is he
okay with just being competitive in a first round maybe
a second round? The thing is he kind of runs
things there understandably. It's Steph Curry. I think he's the
(30:49):
top five player. Ever, as long as he likes Draymond,
as long as he likes Steve Kerr, nobody's going anywhere.
And I'm not even saying Draymond is a bad player
or a bad guy, but he's also the type of
guy that's not gonna go well, it's not gonna be
pretty with how this thing ends. If the dynasty is fading,
(31:12):
if it's dying out, he's not gonna let it go
without a fight.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
He's going out swinging.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Ask Steven Adams, asked demonts a bonus, Yusuf Nurkic, Rudy Gobert.
They can't beat the other teams anymore, and that's when
typically there's more infighting. Draymond's already fought a teammate in
Jordan Poole. That was just months after they had won
(31:41):
the championship. That was back in twenty twenty two, So
things could get that toxic that quickly after winning. How's
it gonna look when they really start losing and going
into a tailspin?
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Yo, I don't think.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
They're that far away from that. And to me, the
way they've handled Raymond Green, I think it emboldens him.
I think it leads to more of this type of behavior.
They won't suspend him, Like, why would his actions ever
change if they don't correct it or discipline him. Golden
(32:20):
State is part of the problem now, Draymond he is
a Hall of Famer, he's great, and those guys get favoritism,
preferential treatment. That is nothing new. If you're talented enough,
you can get away with more. But the threshold he
gets seems unusually high for how far he can take
things with his team, with his organization on the court,
(32:44):
with officials. I can't believe how many things he can
get away with, barkinghet officials.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
He doesn't get a technical.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
It has to get so bad for him to get
a technical where somebody else would have got one under
much lesser behavior. People have called him a manchild. It's bad.
It's gonna get worse. And by the way, that game
where he just left and went to the locker room
(33:11):
as he and Kerr were arguing it was a close
game against Orlando, and then they ended up blowing them
out Without Draymond Green, he just gets away with stuff
though no one else would. No one puts baby in
the corner, no one puts day day in the corner,
whatever you want to say. Eventually the act will get
(33:32):
tired when his name no longer matches the game and
his talent is not worth the headache.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
I'm just monitoring this. I got cousins up in NorCal,
still big Golden State Warriors fans, and even they say sometimes, yeah,
he's a clown. And that was before he made that
comment about nobody has to work on Christmas except us.
Nobody works on Christmas. Why should we have to play games? Okay,
I'm paraphrasing, but it was bad, and so is the
(34:02):
situation with Golden State. I'm at am oslin in for
Ben Maller here on Fox Sports Radio. We will close
things out next. There's another guy who just left his
team and went to the locker room who's much more
talented and much younger than Draymond Green, and I think
might be on the outs with his team at least
in the next two years. And this is just the
(34:24):
start of what's soon to come with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 8 (34:31):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsportsradio dot
Com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to listen live.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
I'm sorry I wasn't listening, Adam Ashley.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
It's Fox Sports Radio. I'm at a Oslin in for
Ben Mallor. Brought to you by tyre Rack. For over
forty years, ty Iraq has been helping customers find the
right tires for how, what and where they drive, chipped
fast and free, backed by free road hazard protection with
convenient installation options like mobile tire installation tire rack dot Com.
(35:09):
The way tire buying should be. Before I get out
of here?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
What was that about?
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Oh be peeling out going away back to Burbank from
Sherman Oaks. I would never do that, although I do
have some turbo with my car. It may be a Kia,
but it's fast. I swear I could probably do some burnouts,
some doughnuts in the parking lot.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
I filled in for Ben mall Or. It's a K five,
all right.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
It's like the model below the Stinger, but it's above
the K four of it works that way sometimes. But
it's black and I ordered it from Florida. It was
a special model. How was that racist?
Speaker 2 (35:56):
If anything? If it was white, maybe you could say that.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
If it's Gray. Am I not on either side? How
does this work?
Speaker 2 (36:04):
My god, My closest friends are African Americans. Okay, I'll
have you know.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Anyways, enough car talk one am I Adam Carolla. Here,
I gotta talk about another player who left the bench
recently who's much better than Draymond Green. Anthony Edwards, who
Anti Claus whatever you want to call him in those
Mountain Dew commercials. I They would end up losing to
the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, one twenty six to one
(36:33):
oh two Minnesota. And uh, while guys were getting benched
because the game was over and starters were out, well,
there were seven minutes and fifty two seconds remaining, and
it appeared that Edwards disagreed with Chris Finch, his head coach,
about pulling the starters when the Hawks were up one
(36:54):
oh nine to eighty. And uh, he just said peace out,
like he just walked into the locker room. I guess
if he's gonna take us out, I might as well
hit the showers. Edwards had thirty points in the ballgame.
He is a top tier talent, one of the best
players in the NBA, the best American born player right now.
(37:17):
He's next. He could be the face of the league.
He could He's still very young. Here's the problem, and
here's what I'd be concerned about. And if Scott Shapiro's
listening to this, I apologize because I know it's his team,
But I don't know if aunt is long for being
a Minnesota Timberwolf. I would be concerned about the makeup
(37:40):
of this roster, about the construction of the team in
where they're going now. I don't want to be an alarmist.
There's sixth right now in the Western Conference. They're twenty
one and thirteen, six and four in their last ten games.
They're only three and a half games out of being
the two seed held by San Antonio Dire.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
It's not a crazy situation.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
But the problem in Minnesota is with the Anthony Edwards
getting frustrated multiple times as he was ejected in overtime
against Denver on Christmas. If you remember, that was a
hell of a game. I don't know if they're going
to get to the Western Conference finals again. In fact,
(38:24):
I wouldn't guarantee it, but I'm pretty confident that's not
happening this season.
Speaker 5 (38:30):
I guarantee it.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
I'm not taking it that far. I'm just confident it's
not happening. They have put themselves in a position, the
Minnesota Timberwolves, where they could be a victim of their
own success, where anything less than a conference finals appearance
because they've done it the last two years, looks bad.
They're supposed to break through now and get to the
(38:53):
NBA Finals. But what if it goes the other way
and they lose in the first round and it looks
like they're regressing and going backwards and not getting better,
even though Ant looks better than ever. If the team
isn't if they're not constructed well enough to compete at
the highest level. And I know he's under contract for
(39:13):
a few more seasons, but that could get dicey in
a small market like Minnesota, and the buzzards could be circling,
the vultures could be out. Teams could be asking about
Ant making some godfather offers, and if he isn't that
gung ho about being a Minnesota Timberwolf long term, that
(39:33):
could get nasty in a hurry. I just know, well,
they're good, they're not a contender. Still, they don't have
enough scoring around him. He is asked to do far
too much. The usage rating is far too high, and
I don't know how they fix it because I'm not
a big Julius Randall fan. And that shake up with
(39:54):
Karl Anthony Towns. Look, they went back to the Western
Conference finals. Things broke their way. You could say they
won the trade. You could say it's short sighted. I
just don't love Julius Randall as his number two.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Who does number two work for?
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Why am I thinking of Austin Powers right now?
Speaker 2 (40:11):
It must be getting late.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
I'm just saying Anthony Edwards might have a wandering eye
in looking for greener pastures at some point. If you're
a Minnesota Timberwolf fan, beware, trust me, I'm.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
Out of Oslin.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
This has been The Ben Maller Show is a pleasure
filling in. Thanks to Lorena, Thank you, Justin. This is
Fox Sports Radio.
In the air everywhere our four I'm at a maslin
in for Big Men mallor.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
We're sponsored by tire Iraq.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
For over forty years, tire Iraq has been helping customers
find the right tires for the how, what and where
they drive, shipped fast and free, backed by free road
hazard protection, with convenient installation options like mobile tire installation,
tirerack dot Com. The way tire buying should be. All right,
(00:30):
coming up, I'm gonna inviscerate Draymond Green here in a
little bit, not even because of what he said about
how you know we're the only ones that have to
work on Christmas? It's like, are you?
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Are you a real person? Are you? Are you a
real human being?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Think about that comment. Do you think hospitals close? Do
you think you know firemen, policemen aren't working. Do you
think there are convenience stores still opening on open on Christmas?
Do you think broadcasters take Christmas off? You think we
didn't have stuff going here at Fox Sports Radio? My god,
(01:08):
what a fool.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
But I'm not here to talk about him.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
I don't want to talk about him yet. I do
want to talk to Marcel calling from Brooklyn because I
just want to say where Brooklyn?
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Where Brooklyn? At Marcel? What's up?
Speaker 1 (01:22):
You're on with Adam Osland on Big Ben Mahler on
Fox Sports Radio. Marcel, Marcel, Marcel, justin, justin, Marcel, Hey, good.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Morning, Adam, Happy new Year as always.
Speaker 2 (01:38):
Happy here see.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
You Lorena and Koch de Loup as well.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
I'm Marcel.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
Good morning, Happy new year both. Oh what a great
tradition that is? Oh do I mention it? How what's
the picks for the first picks of twenty twenty six? Well,
you know what, Let's do it, shall we? Because of
the dudes. It is a new day and it is
a new years around. So instead of Adams Malan militia,
(02:09):
how about to say this, let's get into it with
some Friday food picks as well. And as a matter
of fact, the lines are waiting, if not the three
of them, or shall I say, the girl and the
guys will play along with me. Let's get into it.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Happen Marcel's running things now, it's Marcelles world.
Speaker 2 (02:33):
We're just living in it. No, I like this. This
is good. We're guessing what you hate?
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Oh yeah, this is what a break foot picks tradition
looks like all right.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
All right, uh calling from Brooklyn. I mean I hear
the piece is pretty good.
Speaker 1 (02:49):
There couldn't you as one of those big slices I've
seen the Ninja Turtles movie. The New York sizes are
built different.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
Oh you know what, my friend, the pizza it is
just like Big Ben does. And I give you the
guarantee of the mixed match.
Speaker 5 (03:03):
It is, I guarantee it.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
I'm gonna go in honor of big Ben Maller. You
had chicken strips.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Well that's not a mixed match. It is my friend Loreena,
but not.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
A mixed match.
Speaker 3 (03:19):
No, all right, Ruthie Lope, go right ahead, buddy. This
is a chance to say pizza double alert.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
If you get this correct, Marcel match.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
Alert double will come your way or trouble.
Speaker 6 (03:33):
You won't believe this, but I'm gonna go with pizza.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Oh that means that means mixed match? You okay? What
happens that? I'm so confused, just like mine.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
As well, big shot. It is from last year.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
You and I want Adam. Oh we won nothing. What
do we get the mix match?
Speaker 1 (03:59):
We won? The mix it is and the prize is
what I need some ride?
Speaker 2 (04:09):
What else do you need.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
You know what I did lose that in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Now I'm back in. I got my pride back.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Oh yes, it is my friend. Yes, it is my friend.
And for a special bonus wherever one big fan says,
let's get into it and in the air everywhere, I
guarantee it just like you and everyone else does. So
congratulations to Adam and Coopie Loop as well as mine.
(04:39):
They have a great weekend enjoying the rest of the
big hour of the show. I hope Ben Maller is
back on Monday, so.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
I'll see you then, all right, Marcel myself esteem'd.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
Absolutely sir? Uh well, yes, sound drops, Yes, okay.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
He has like a sound board.
Speaker 6 (05:05):
He's a he's a four time caller of the year.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Oh my god, let's get into it.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I mean we could have just played this.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
Why do we even take the call let's play? Is
that his only games?
Speaker 3 (05:20):
No?
Speaker 7 (05:20):
We do?
Speaker 6 (05:21):
We do TV picks on on Wednesdays. I believe what
he watched on TV recently the night before? Yes, correct, does.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Marcel have an inflated ego of like everybody's concerned with
what Marcel's up to?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Don't worry it's just top.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
How come we couldn't have had like an overtime game
there where we guess the toppings of the pizza and
therefore one of us.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Was the true winner.
Speaker 6 (05:46):
I just it's knowing Marcel just just cheese, just cheese.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
Okay, you know what?
Speaker 1 (05:53):
That is an underrated pizza because we get topping so often.
It's like when you just get a cheese pizza. Now
it's almost something different.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
I like that.
Speaker 6 (06:02):
I like, hey, I don't I don't hate on just
the cheese pizza pizza.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
I still need some ranch with that just cheese pizza.
But that just me because I'm like Ali guy Brooklyn.
People will probably be upset with that, all right.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
I got like ranch. Just so you guys know. Ben
does not like ranch with anything or with just pizza.
Speaker 6 (06:21):
No, he calls it the devil's blood.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
But he also has blood.
Speaker 6 (06:25):
He also has the palette of a five year old,
so he eats his steaks well done.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Has he ever had Brian Semen on the show before?
And that's that's not a Mala militia nickname. That's a
real name. Brian Seemen, the voice of the Clippers on
FanDuel TV, also probably cuts up his hot dogs and
puts him in ketchup and stuff like that.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Also has the palette of a child.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Ye, definitely been acquired. Taste apparently isn't for everyone. There
are some people that just never grow up. They'd rather
have the gerber apples or something like that for dessert too. Yeah,
all right, I need to pay something off finally here
and I need to hear from Ben Mallory do this right.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
The Autumn Wind is a pirate blustering in from sea
with a rollicking song. He sweeps along, swaggering boisterously. His
face is weather beaten. He wears a hooded sash with
a silver hat about his head and a bristling black mustache.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
That's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Yeah, and no one else is good ranch as you tried,
big man. My third best game of the weekend for
me personally is the Packers at home against the Vikings
in week eighteen. Why because it's a game no one
else cares about. So I will exercise my new Year's
resolution and be nicer and show some compassion and give
(07:51):
this game some love. As Jordan Love probably shouldn't play,
I don't think he is, because the Packers are locked
into that seventh seed in the NFC. They're taking on
whoever is the number two seed. Between the Bears and
the Eagles. This could be one of the most forgettable
contests ever between two rivals, and the Packers and the Vikings.
(08:13):
But we don't know who's going to be at quarterback.
Is it gonna be JJ McCarthy. He could play if
Kevin O'Connell lets him play with that fractured hand, like
it's a hand issue. I don't think it's that serious. But
they need data on JJ McCarthy. They need more reps
(08:35):
with him. They need to see why they let Sam
Darnold walk and go to Seattle. I know partially it
was because of the money, and they drafted JJ to
be that future stud that has not happen yet. It's
not looking good for him right now. JJ looks like
he might have benefited from that whole sign stealing scandal
(08:57):
at Michigan. Like there have been some bad signs with
his NFL plays so far, like holding onto the ball
for way too long, almost like he no longer knows
what the defense is going to do pre snap like
he did at Michigan. The Vikings they may be a big,
fat phony at least when it comes to JJ McCarthy
(09:20):
and drafting that guy.
Speaker 2 (09:23):
Like a bill of goods. I don't know. I hope
he plays.
Speaker 1 (09:27):
That would be the most intriguing part of the game.
Speaker 2 (09:29):
Now.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
The second best game of the weekend is of course,
in Pittsburgh, home of the late great Mac Miller, who
had a mixtape called Best Day Ever. And it will
be for whoever wins between the Steelers and the Ravens
Best Day Ever.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
But you gotta win.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
This is good, This is a rivalry, this is legit.
These two teams hate each other. But the reason it's
not my number one game to watch this weekend is
because neither of these teams can get to the super Bowl.
Whoever wins is either losing to the wild card team
or you know.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
The divisional round, second round.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
I guarantee it.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
They're not getting far.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Is Lamar even playing, Okay, he's practicing, he's playing.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Is Aaron Rodgers even good anymore?
Speaker 1 (10:16):
It wasn't very good against Cleveland the Steelers. They could
have won that game and wrapped up the division already.
The Ravens just had an all time rushing game by
the way from Derrick Henry and some could say that
they've had a disastrous season and a win might save
John Harbaugh's job. Tomlin, though he could be out too
(10:40):
one of these guys. Maybe both they get fired.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
I could see it happening.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
This game really isn't about this season so much, because
I don't think either as a contender. It's about who's
more likely to have an era come to an end,
Tomlin with the Steelers or Harbaugh with the Ravens. But
that's interesting enough. Finally, you already know what it is.
The top game in my matchup power rankings goes to
(11:10):
the forty nine Ers and the Seahawks.
Speaker 8 (11:14):
One Shall stand One show.
Speaker 2 (11:17):
Fall that takes place on Saturday night.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Winner doesn't just get the NFC West, but the number
one seed in the NFC and number one all important
vibes like she knew what was coming. It's the second
game of this sort of magnitude in the year two.
Was Sam Donald switching to a new team. He just
did this last year with the Vikings. He had to
(11:41):
play a Lions team under similar circumstances. Winner got the
division and the number one seed, and spoiler alert, he
did not play well in that game and the Vikings
did not win that game. He did, though Sam Donald
got a huge victory over the Rams.
Speaker 7 (11:59):
Or he was.
Speaker 2 (12:00):
It's not perfect, but he's got enough help.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
They helped put him in a position to win and
have conference supremacy. Now you trust Rock Purty more in
these spots than Sam Darnold. He's led the Niners to
a super Bowl. He's playing great. He was a player
two away from beating Mahomes in that Super Bowl that
went to overtime. I can't believe the forty nine ers
(12:24):
are in this position, by the way, with all the
injuries they have had this season, to have the number
one seed in the NFC, that did not seem possible.
There's no way it's happening. And here's part of the
reason why loser doesn't drop to the number two seed.
By the way, that's not how this works with the
(12:46):
divisions in the NFL. You dropped to number five. If
the Seahawks lose, you for sure are dropping a five.
But if the Niners lose and the Rams win, they
could drop to the sixth seed. You do not want
to be in the sixth spot because that means you're
going on the road to Chicago or the Eagles.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
That's tough.
Speaker 1 (13:09):
You're in the five spot. You gotta take on Carolina
or Tampa. That's much more favorable. And people are confused
about this and how the tie breakers work. And I
was too, because you look at the standings and it
says like head to head, your division record, your conference record.
What it doesn't tell you is record against common opponents.
(13:33):
And that's how a lot of this stuff gets sorted out.
And that's what's happening with the Rams and the forty
nine ers. The forty nine Ers ended up beating the Jaguars,
who the Rams lost to, the Texans, who the Rams
lost to. I think that's what it comes down to.
And by the way, Sam Darnold has enough pressure on
him in this game, not just to become the number
(13:55):
one overall seed, but there's two million dollars on the line.
I want to hot it and fifteen thousands slightly more.
Darnold is within striking distance of a two million dollar
incentive laden contract bonus if he hits these milestones twenty
(14:16):
eight touchdowns, four thousand passing yards, completes sixty seven and
a half percent of his passes, a passer.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
Rating of one hundred.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
He needs three touchdown passes, one hundred and fifty passing yards,
a point three completion percentage increase, and a point eight
passer rating increase to hit all those bonuses, it could happen.
It really is gonna go find a cash machine two million.
(14:47):
That's higher than anybody else's bonus and incentives. So yeah,
it's probably not gonna go. Well, there's way too much
pressure on him. The forty nine ers handle this stuff better,
at least rock Perty does. The other guy in the division, though,
who I do want to talk about here is Matthew Stafford.
As I've gotten through my matchup rankings, but Stafford now
(15:09):
has dropped down to being uh number two in MVP
odds when he was number one and minus two twenty
is the betting favorite going into that game against the Falcons,
and then things went horribly wrong. Drake May has overtaken
him as the MVP front runner. At least according to
(15:32):
the betting odds. He's now at minus three thirty. Stafford
h he's at plus two point fifty. That's a huge
difference in one week. Things turned around like that. I
just was I don't think so. I don't think Stafford
was throwing those picks on purpose against Atlanta. But everybody
(15:53):
was watching that game, and yes, it hurt his chances,
interestingly enough, and it's third by a mile. Trevor Lawrence
has the third best odds to win the MVP. Why
because they could still end up the number one overall seed.
The Jaguars they need a lot of help. They need
to win. They need Denver and the Patriots to lose.
(16:15):
It's not gonna happen million. But he's plus twenty thousand.
That might be worth putting twenty bucks on just in case.
I don't know a lot of this season, though, the
Rams felt like the best team in the league. They
were everyone's pick to win it, and then they lost
(16:35):
to Carolina my Panthers. Now they lose to the Seahawks
and the Falcons the last few weeks. They're gonna be
the fifth of the sixth seed in the NFC. So
everybody's jumping off of Matthew Stafford. Oh, he can't be
the MVP. Now, it's ludicrous. I'm not saying Drake may
isn't worthy. He is, but you're penalizing Matthew Stafford because
(16:58):
he plays in a much better division where you could
have three teams win twelve plus games and all make
the playoffs. That's how good the NFC West is. Despite
what the Arizona Cardinals are up to the Patriots and
Drake May, they have beaten one team with a winning record,
(17:18):
the Bills. They've also lost to the Bills. They've had
the easiest schedule in the league. That should matter when
you look at the stats and put things into context
between him and Matthew Stafford, and I just don't like
this recency bias. Drake May had the big game against
the Ravens. Matthew Stafford had the bad game at the
(17:39):
end of the season against the Falcons. So what about
earlier in the season, and those games should matter just
as much. It shouldn't just be about what have you
done for me lately? The Rams schedule is infinitely tougher
than the Patriots. I'm sorry you put Drake Man in
the NFC West. I don't know if they're making the playoffs.
(18:03):
Even the Bills, who are good, they're getting in in
the AFC East, they have a ton of loss Take
out the recency bias. Insert who plays in the much
tougher division. Think about it this way, what if the
Rams had these losses late in the year earlier, but
the big wins later. Matthew Stafford definitely would be ahead
(18:27):
of Drake May.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
You have to think of it.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
It's a cumulative thing. It's seventeen games. It can't just
be about what happens at the very end of the season.
I would still vote for Matthew Stafford as the MVP.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
It's close.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
Drake May is deserving, but it's the totality of the season.
This is like Notre Dame's losses. You don't get to
escape those losses, those two losses, just because they happened
early in the year. I look at games earlier in
the season he's in this being just as important as
games later in the season. Now we have some games
(19:05):
with stakes, like the number one seed on the line
between the forty nine ers and the.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
Seahawks, But the MVP.
Speaker 1 (19:16):
This shouldn't be about who has more momentum going into
the playoffs. In my mind, it's cumulative. Matthew Stafford, I'd
still give him the edge. Even though the Falcons do suck.
They're in the NFC South. I know that division well
and I was surprised he played that poorly.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
It's still a chance to win late.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I'm at a Moslin in for Big Ben Mallard here
on Fox Sports Radio. Coming up next, I got a
dossier on one of the most hated players in the NBA,
and I'm gonna get after him a little bit. You're
listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 8 (19:53):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Maler
Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 2 (20:03):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 9 (20:05):
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire
with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing
the same tired narratives down your.
Speaker 2 (20:14):
Throat every day.
Speaker 9 (20:15):
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at
the sportsbook.
Speaker 8 (20:22):
And all the best guests.
Speaker 9 (20:23):
Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with
Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
Or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (20:35):
God, I miss mac Miller. This pulls up my heartstrings
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
I can't finish the show.
Speaker 4 (20:43):
Do you need a tissue?
Speaker 1 (20:45):
How dare you Lorena minimize his death like this? Even
though it's been like ten years. He was just entering
his prime. I'm out of Moslin trying to enter mine.
In for Ben Maller here on Fox Sports Radio, like
Swimming so good, he was becoming more mature as an artist.
But I do love the Kids mixtape. That's what got
(21:07):
me into him in the first place. And then I
learned about Easy Mac and all this other stuff. The
mixtape game is crazy.
Speaker 4 (21:15):
This reminds me of driving through the mountains in Oregon.
Speaker 2 (21:18):
Okay, fair enough, good stuff. Man, Hey there's Bigfoot.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Let's go to Mike the Leprechaun. Mike, I'm out a Moslin's.
You're on Fox Sports Radio. What's up, Mike?
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Good morning?
Speaker 7 (21:32):
What's your name? Adam?
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Who cares? It's Adam Auslin?
Speaker 3 (21:35):
Adam?
Speaker 4 (21:36):
So you haven't been listening to the show, of course,
not just playing with your chicken?
Speaker 2 (21:43):
Was that like a clock? Knows?
Speaker 6 (21:44):
What is that?
Speaker 2 (21:45):
A whoope? Cushion?
Speaker 1 (21:46):
What is that.
Speaker 7 (21:49):
The chicken?
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Okay, it sounds.
Speaker 1 (21:52):
Like the horn on an old What are those bikes
called swiss? A swim a swim bicycle?
Speaker 7 (22:00):
Twin? Now twins at c h W I N N.
I used to have a twin and I'm gonna call
him a twin.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
A twin.
Speaker 7 (22:08):
Hey, are you in Los Angeles? Adam? Are you in
Los Angeles?
Speaker 2 (22:11):
I am?
Speaker 7 (22:12):
I'm oh, how's the rain?
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Well, actually it stops justin town for the Rose Bowl?
Worked out nicely for Indiana.
Speaker 7 (22:20):
I was watching. They had a great win. I loved
was a great day and they were mopping up the
rain with the with the fungers.
Speaker 3 (22:26):
Did you see that?
Speaker 1 (22:28):
I did a great job because Kurt Signetti he deserves it.
All people waiting on hid and foot for him.
Speaker 7 (22:34):
He's the first Cuban American to ever win the Heisman,
and he deserved it. And he had a single mother,
I believe. I'm not sure about that, but he's a
role model first, and I'm sad that Notre Dame didn't
make the cutoff.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Oh you're talking about Fernando Mendoza. I was talking about
his head coach and Kurt Signetti, who is a monster.
Speaker 2 (22:54):
But you're right.
Speaker 1 (22:55):
Fernando Mendoza more of a boy scout and seems like
a pr not nightmare or dream with the way he
answers the questions.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
But I love him, I love Indiana.
Speaker 1 (23:06):
But my ducks are gonna have to take him out
next week.
Speaker 7 (23:09):
Oh my duck has to go anyway. So Marcel is
a terrible caller, just so you know that. For the
record only the foot picks. How would you write?
Speaker 1 (23:19):
How would you rate your calls?
Speaker 7 (23:21):
I'm the worst collar of the year by far. In fact,
somebody nominated me for the worst caller of all times.
But I was the rookie caller of the year last year.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Oh so this is the second more slump for you
last year.
Speaker 7 (23:38):
It's better to get the worst collar than the best caller.
And I have to disagree with you even though you
use the fancy word. You use the word dot ca,
which is fancy, that's French. It's how you finished the
season that matters.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Okay.
Speaker 7 (23:52):
People who pick up the people who pick up the
trophy are not the ones who lost the fourth two
games of the season, like the Patriots. But maybe what
they do at the end.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
Yeah, but it's a.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
Hold on, hold on, Mike. It's a regular season award.
Like nothing is determined with the Rams, and if they
could win the Super Bowl, that should be held against uh,
Matthew Stafford rabbit all day rabbit.
Speaker 7 (24:16):
All right, So Drake May is the obvious number one
m VP. Number two, Stafford is good and number three it's.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
A surprise, Yeah, Trevor Lawrence.
Speaker 7 (24:28):
Number three it's blind Scott.
Speaker 2 (24:31):
I'm sorry, blind Scott.
Speaker 7 (24:33):
Blind Scott.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Blind Scott called in last night.
Speaker 7 (24:40):
Who cares anyway? So did you watch the ball drop
in New York?
Speaker 1 (24:45):
I watched Ryan Seacrest balls drop in New.
Speaker 4 (24:49):
Can I ask you a question, would you like Mike
the Leprechaun teach your children?
Speaker 2 (24:54):
No, he's a teacher. Oh I'm sorry.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Uh no, obviously he knew, but ossier was as frenchier
lord children public.
Speaker 7 (25:05):
Let me do you know any French?
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Do you have ten your mind?
Speaker 1 (25:08):
Because I heard teachers really pack it in once they
get that tenure.
Speaker 7 (25:12):
Okay, oh yeah, on top top of the morning. I
forgot to say top of the marnsweet anyway, the Waterford
by the way, the ball that they drop is about
five thousand pounds and it has twelve thousand pieces of
water for crystal shipped directly from Waterford City in our
all right, the fact you're.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Mike the leprechan So I'm gonna take you at your
you have okay, okay.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Mike, can we palm?
Speaker 5 (25:42):
All right?
Speaker 2 (25:43):
I tried?
Speaker 1 (25:44):
I was patient, like teachers have to be with their students.
He's really Are we sure?
Speaker 2 (25:49):
Is that verified? Is it a real thing? Okay, now
I have.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
To get back to my NBA story because I've been
hating and I've been simmering about this player for a while.
But Draymond Green, you may have noticed, had quite the
blow up last week, an emotional outburst. It happened courtside.
It was between him and Steve Kerr, whose hair got
a little bit whiter. And I understand he's the modern
(26:18):
Dennis Rodman. Draymond wants to be Bill Lambier. He's more
skilled than both. You could say I need a beer
every time I see his antics though out there on
the court, like when he's kicking someone in the nuts,
stomping on their chests, arguing with his own teammates, getting
after it with Kevin Durant, and now he's doing this
(26:39):
with his head coach and Steve Kerr. He is one
of those guys that comes across as so extremely unlikable.
When you're going against him, I guess you hate him
even more.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
But some of those guys where when he's on your team,
you love him. Do they do? Golden State fans still
like Draymond Green.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
Is is it really like that still or is it
just they know they can't trade him, they have to
deal with him. They accept him because of that. He's
getting a triple single. As Charles Barkley would say, he's
averaging eight, six and five. The Warriors are around five hundred.
I know with Draymond it's more than just the numbers.
(27:21):
You look at the plus minus. He still is an impactful,
overall positive player. He's also thirty five. They were seven
points better per one hundred possessions last season with him
on the floor. That's significant. This year they're one point
better with Draymond on the floor. He's not exactly pulling
(27:42):
his weight like he used to. So how much is
you gonna put up with? I know they apologized. Steve
Kerr felt.
Speaker 2 (27:49):
Like he was in the wrong. Draymond thought he was
in the wrong.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
But this petulant behavior, it's a pattern. This isn't a
one time thing, and he gets by because he's one
of the toughest competitors out there. Like, that's what this is.
You want to go to war with somebody like Draymond Green.
He has a big part of why they won four championship.
There's poor championships in Golden State. There's no doubt. There's
(28:14):
also injury luck, a fluky cap spike that got them
Kevin Durant. There's a lot that goes into it, a
lot of good fortune when it comes to winning. He's
making twenty five million this year. Draymond I just it's
crazy to me the least that he gets because he
is a legacy player with Golden State. But they're losing
(28:40):
and things get worse with Draymond in situations like this.
They want him to finish his career with Golden State.
Steve Kerr said, quote, I want him to finish his
career with the Golden State Warriors.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Unquote.
Speaker 1 (28:56):
That probably means things were teetering the other way in
the cooler heads prevailed, But having to say that means
it's bad enough that people were actually wondering if that's
going to happen now, Like it's in doubt to some
degree that he'll finish his career as a member of
the Golden State Warriors. Steve Kerr felt like he needed
(29:18):
to make it clear that's the position they're at now
with him, but that's just for now. Things are still
bubbling beneath the surface. They got real issues. They have
the toughest schedule remaining in the NBA, and they're struggling already.
I just don't know if this fading dynasty is Steve
(29:41):
Kerr put it is long for having a guy that
is an irritant to this degree, not just with the
opponents anymore, his own teammates, his head coach. Like I know,
Steph Curry got hurt in that second round series against Minnesota.
Maybe they win if he doesn't, but they're not a
(30:03):
contender anymore. They're not close. If everything breaks their way
in Golden State, they could win a round. I think
that's about as far as their ceiling goes. This fading dynasty.
I don't know if they want to put up with this.
Nothing ends unless it ends badly, otherwise it wouldn't.
Speaker 2 (30:24):
Whatever that's saying is, I think I bushered it?
Speaker 5 (30:27):
Do you speak it?
Speaker 1 (30:29):
I just know this Golden State Warriors run this era.
It's getting close to being over Steph Curry. Is he
okay with just being competitive in a first round maybe
a second round? The thing is he kind of runs
things there understandably. It's Steph Curry. I think he's the
(30:49):
top five player. Ever, as long as he likes Draymond,
as long as he likes Steve Kerr, nobody's going anywhere.
And I'm not even saying Draymond is a bad player
or a bad guy, but he's also the type of
guy that's not gonna go well, it's not gonna be
pretty with how this thing ends. If the dynasty is fading,
(31:12):
if it's dying out, he's not gonna let it go
without a fight.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
He's going out swinging.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
Ask Steven Adams, asked demonts a bonus, Yusuf Nurkic, Rudy Gobert.
They can't beat the other teams anymore, and that's when
typically there's more infighting. Draymond's already fought a teammate in
Jordan Poole. That was just months after they had won
(31:41):
the championship. That was back in twenty twenty two, So
things could get that toxic that quickly after winning. How's
it gonna look when they really start losing and going
into a tailspin?
Speaker 2 (31:57):
Yo, I don't think.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
They're that far away from that. And to me, the
way they've handled Raymond Green, I think it emboldens him.
I think it leads to more of this type of behavior.
They won't suspend him, Like, why would his actions ever
change if they don't correct it or discipline him. Golden
(32:20):
State is part of the problem now, Draymond he is
a Hall of Famer, he's great, and those guys get favoritism,
preferential treatment. That is nothing new. If you're talented enough,
you can get away with more. But the threshold he
gets seems unusually high for how far he can take
things with his team, with his organization on the court,
(32:44):
with officials. I can't believe how many things he can
get away with, barkinghet officials.
Speaker 2 (32:49):
He doesn't get a technical.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
It has to get so bad for him to get
a technical where somebody else would have got one under
much lesser behavior. People have called him a manchild. It's bad.
It's gonna get worse. And by the way, that game
where he just left and went to the locker room
(33:11):
as he and Kerr were arguing it was a close
game against Orlando, and then they ended up blowing them
out Without Draymond Green, he just gets away with stuff
though no one else would. No one puts baby in
the corner, no one puts day day in the corner,
whatever you want to say. Eventually the act will get
(33:32):
tired when his name no longer matches the game and
his talent is not worth the headache.
Speaker 2 (33:40):
We'll see.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
I'm just monitoring this. I got cousins up in NorCal,
still big Golden State Warriors fans, and even they say sometimes, yeah,
he's a clown. And that was before he made that
comment about nobody has to work on Christmas except us.
Nobody works on Christmas. Why should we have to play games? Okay,
I'm paraphrasing, but it was bad, and so is the
(34:02):
situation with Golden State. I'm at am oslin in for
Ben Maller here on Fox Sports Radio. We will close
things out next. There's another guy who just left his
team and went to the locker room who's much more
talented and much younger than Draymond Green, and I think
might be on the outs with his team at least
in the next two years. And this is just the
(34:24):
start of what's soon to come with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 8 (34:31):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsportsradio dot
Com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to listen live.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
I'm sorry I wasn't listening, Adam Ashley.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
It's Fox Sports Radio. I'm at a Oslin in for
Ben Mallor. Brought to you by tyre Rack. For over
forty years, ty Iraq has been helping customers find the
right tires for how, what and where they drive, chipped
fast and free, backed by free road hazard protection with
convenient installation options like mobile tire installation tire rack dot Com.
(35:09):
The way tire buying should be. Before I get out
of here?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
What was that about?
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Oh be peeling out going away back to Burbank from
Sherman Oaks. I would never do that, although I do
have some turbo with my car. It may be a Kia,
but it's fast. I swear I could probably do some burnouts,
some doughnuts in the parking lot.
Speaker 2 (35:36):
I filled in for Ben mall Or. It's a K five,
all right.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
It's like the model below the Stinger, but it's above
the K four of it works that way sometimes. But
it's black and I ordered it from Florida. It was
a special model. How was that racist?
Speaker 2 (35:56):
If anything? If it was white, maybe you could say that.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
If it's Gray. Am I not on either side? How
does this work?
Speaker 2 (36:04):
My god, My closest friends are African Americans. Okay, I'll
have you know.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Anyways, enough car talk one am I Adam Carolla. Here,
I gotta talk about another player who left the bench
recently who's much better than Draymond Green. Anthony Edwards, who
Anti Claus whatever you want to call him in those
Mountain Dew commercials. I They would end up losing to
the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, one twenty six to one
(36:33):
oh two Minnesota. And uh, while guys were getting benched
because the game was over and starters were out, well,
there were seven minutes and fifty two seconds remaining, and
it appeared that Edwards disagreed with Chris Finch, his head coach,
about pulling the starters when the Hawks were up one
(36:54):
oh nine to eighty. And uh, he just said peace out,
like he just walked into the locker room. I guess
if he's gonna take us out, I might as well
hit the showers. Edwards had thirty points in the ballgame.
He is a top tier talent, one of the best
players in the NBA, the best American born player right now.
(37:17):
He's next. He could be the face of the league.
He could He's still very young. Here's the problem, and
here's what I'd be concerned about. And if Scott Shapiro's
listening to this, I apologize because I know it's his team,
But I don't know if aunt is long for being
a Minnesota Timberwolf. I would be concerned about the makeup
(37:40):
of this roster, about the construction of the team in
where they're going now. I don't want to be an alarmist.
There's sixth right now in the Western Conference. They're twenty
one and thirteen, six and four in their last ten games.
They're only three and a half games out of being
the two seed held by San Antonio Dire.
Speaker 2 (38:01):
It's not a crazy situation.
Speaker 1 (38:04):
But the problem in Minnesota is with the Anthony Edwards
getting frustrated multiple times as he was ejected in overtime
against Denver on Christmas. If you remember, that was a
hell of a game. I don't know if they're going
to get to the Western Conference finals again. In fact,
(38:24):
I wouldn't guarantee it, but I'm pretty confident that's not
happening this season.
Speaker 5 (38:30):
I guarantee it.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
I'm not taking it that far. I'm just confident it's
not happening. They have put themselves in a position, the
Minnesota Timberwolves, where they could be a victim of their
own success, where anything less than a conference finals appearance
because they've done it the last two years, looks bad.
They're supposed to break through now and get to the
(38:53):
NBA Finals. But what if it goes the other way
and they lose in the first round and it looks
like they're regressing and going backwards and not getting better,
even though Ant looks better than ever. If the team
isn't if they're not constructed well enough to compete at
the highest level. And I know he's under contract for
(39:13):
a few more seasons, but that could get dicey in
a small market like Minnesota, and the buzzards could be circling,
the vultures could be out. Teams could be asking about
Ant making some godfather offers, and if he isn't that
gung ho about being a Minnesota Timberwolf long term, that
(39:33):
could get nasty in a hurry. I just know, well,
they're good, they're not a contender. Still, they don't have
enough scoring around him. He is asked to do far
too much. The usage rating is far too high, and
I don't know how they fix it because I'm not
a big Julius Randall fan. And that shake up with
(39:54):
Karl Anthony Towns. Look, they went back to the Western
Conference finals. Things broke their way. You could say they
won the trade. You could say it's short sighted. I
just don't love Julius Randall as his number two.
Speaker 2 (40:08):
Who does number two work for?
Speaker 1 (40:09):
Why am I thinking of Austin Powers right now?
Speaker 2 (40:11):
It must be getting late.
Speaker 1 (40:12):
I'm just saying Anthony Edwards might have a wandering eye
in looking for greener pastures at some point. If you're
a Minnesota Timberwolf fan, beware, trust me, I'm.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
Out of Oslin.
Speaker 1 (40:29):
This has been The Ben Maller Show is a pleasure
filling in. Thanks to Lorena, Thank you, Justin. This is
Fox Sports Radio.
Host
Ben Maller
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Bobby Bones Show
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.