July 29, 2025 • 40 mins
Mike Harmon and Rich Ohrnberger introduce you to Luka Legend's new chiseled and shredded body. Bryce Harper goes toe to toe with MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. Plus, a look at the NFC West into Rams Camp!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Give this you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Things you thought you'd never see for one hundred Alex Yeah,
welcome in an hour two of the program Jason Smith
Show with Me Mike Harmon. No Jason Smith, He'll be
back on Wednesday. In instead Today, it's our buddy Lineman.
He's leading us through the B gap to greatness. It's
Rich Hornberger. What's going on.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Let's do it. We're rocking and rolling.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
How about a quick visit from Jason Locking for absolutely
Flumbang the Dallas Cowboys in hour one, a collection.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Of indie visuals.
Speaker 5 (01:00):
It's just the perfect summation of what it's been for
Dallas fans for years and years and years, just the
Des Bryan years with you know, Romo and then Dak
and then even the Zeke years with CD towards the
end there, and oh, it's just I mean, it's it's
just been a comedy of errors throughout the years in Dallas,
(01:22):
and they haven't been right since Aikman and Irving and
Smith left well.
Speaker 6 (01:27):
As soon as Jimmy Johnson was.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Extricated from the situation or extricated himself, depending on whose
story you believe, or was it a mutual parting of
the way, because whenever you hear the mutual breakup, you
don't believe it all right, which side called it right?
Speaker 6 (01:42):
Which side? You know the made the call. But ever
since then.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Right you were able to go through the last bits,
you won another super Bowl. Fantastic. Jerry got to pat
himself on the back. The problem is that made him
believe that he was absolutely right in what he was doing.
And then year after year, my ex's father told me
many years ago, residing in the Dallas area, we're never
winning again so long as he's here. Either sell the
(02:11):
team or you know, going to the inevitable end of
things some years later. Either way, it's a great pr
run for us every year here at Fox Sports Radio.
We appreciate the Dallas Cowboys and the Clown Show that
they can be from time to time. But once again,
we're in that usual dance with a superstar that eventually
(02:31):
he's going to get his money. It's just how long
can you draw it out to keep the audiences with you.
It's like the Hey, we have one more episode before
the season finale. Okay, cool, we'll tie it up there
and Michael will get his money. Okay, and now we'll
be ready for football. But another guy who's on the
comeback trail in a reinvention. I believe one of the
(02:53):
Kardashians had the Revenge Bod brand rolling.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
For a while.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
That's Luka Dancts of your Los Angeles Lakers now on
the cover of Men's Health.
Speaker 6 (03:04):
Things that I would have thought I'd only see.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
At a carnival a year ago, right, one of those
things where I could put myself on the magazine cover.
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Here I am the man of the Year for Time Magazine.
Here I am.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
The muscle and fitness superstar. After years of Arnold Schwarzeneger
and Luke Farigno and Lee Haney and all those guys
of yesteryear. No, here's Luka Dancins on Men's Health a
year after Michael Finley. So famously emasculated the man in
front of his dad and took his beer. All these
months later, he's come out the other side and he's
(03:38):
on Men's Health talking about transforming his body, the two
workouts a day, what he's eating, all of these things.
Here he is lifting weights, doing the dead lift. The
road to swol is a real thing, as well as
the next giant contract extension.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
As he takes over La.
Speaker 5 (03:56):
Yeah, I mean it's you know, it's like a beer bun.
It's like seeing a beer belly on on like a
runner on the cover of Runners World.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
It's like naming a turtle lightning.
Speaker 6 (04:11):
It's like actually done.
Speaker 5 (04:13):
You know, Guy Fieri on the cover of Bonappetite magazine.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
It's you know, there's there's certain.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Faces or things in places that don't seem like they
would ever make sense.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
And by the way, that's no shade of Guy Field.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
I was gonna say, you're saying donkey sauce isn't hot cuisine.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Because I've tried.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
I was about to reference that I've tried the donkey sauce,
and I can say with an emphatic two thumbs up,
it is a lead.
Speaker 6 (04:38):
Can you and I meet in Vegas and go to
his place. Have you ever been there?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Absolutely, I've been there more than once.
Speaker 6 (04:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
No, insane is a correct adjective. Flavor town, USA, no
quest So. But but get back to Luca. I mean
it just yeah, it's an oddity to see him on
this track. But here, here's the thing. Here's the thing
about aging superstars. And he's not old yet, but he's aging.
(05:05):
You either age gracefully because you start investing in self
care and you start getting your nutrition right and your
training regime and the massage and the stretch and the
hyperbaric chamber and the science and technology and the lungety,
or you end up aging out.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
And that's the reality.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
And I think actually one of the best things for
Luca was having to look it is so hard to
find reasons to compete at a certain point when you
have mastered something, when you are literally being considered one
of the top in your field, what's left to compete
(05:49):
with other than yourself? I mean, chasing titles, of course,
I get it. Those are highly variable because you're relying
on others, not just yourself. I mean, but he is
one of the best doing it in basketball, So what
motivates you well, getting you know, a swift kick to
the shins and you know kind of you know, thrown
on the next thing, smoking out of town might have
(06:13):
been the motivation that he.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Was looking for.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
And then pair that with being teammates with Lebron James,
who is fastidious about this. He works on his nutrition
and he spends you know, if not a million millions
of dollars on his health. I think all of those
were combining factors to get him on the cover of
(06:35):
ment health and.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Get him to take his body as part of his sport.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
More more seriously, I like you getting the word fastidious
in there. Nicely done, Yeah, Lebron James. Also, you had
some wild speculation by some folks last week. We talked
about it because Arnie Spanier was absolutely enamored with the
idea of off season training regimens and trips and whatever.
You can find the podcast wherever you download your audience
(07:00):
and go back down that rabbit hole. But to your point,
it's been well chronicled. Here's the money spent, some of
the partnerships that Lebron has had in the health and
fitness world with different gadgetary et cetera.
Speaker 6 (07:12):
But for Luka Dongets. It's that point. You know.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
We were talking a couple of weeks ago Scottie Scheffler, right,
and some took the who's this guy?
Speaker 6 (07:20):
You know?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Shut up as you're pondering, you know something beyond golf,
like he's great at it and clearly puts the work in.
But you're always looking for something more. No matter what
your job is, right, you're never satisfied. Right, You either
want to do, if we're in radio, a better show, right,
Be a little funnier, be a little smarter in sharp
(07:42):
using words like fastidious for Luka Daunchets. You're now at
that the top of the heap with a historic franchise.
Not that Dallas hasn't had its moments in the past,
but you know it's apples and oranges. You're a in
glitz and glamour of Hollywood. You've got a guy Lebron, however,
he's your teammate. The expectations get ratcheted up immensely. Not
(08:05):
to mention again, no matter how many times I'll hear
an athlete or anybody in my life tell me they
don't read the comments, We'll do. I try not to.
You get the things about your your appearance like, I
can't tell you I was once The only time I
ever appeared on Barstool Sports was the thing where they
(08:27):
did four guys. This is what I was doing fantasy
full time. It's like who is the most likely to
have female companionship for a night. Now, I was long
married at that point, but it was still the point
of the only time I ever showed up for something
was because of my physicality. Yeah, so immediately it's like, hey,
the road to swoll And we've partnered up and looking to.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
Lean and mean for the cameras these days.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
But it's those kind of things people saying they don't
read them, they don't respond to them. They're lying, right.
It's like no folks in our business claiming they're not fans.
You're still a fan of something, whether you root hard
for the hometown team anymore or not as a whole
other equation, but you're still a fan of sport that
brings in it. For Luca, donc you're gonna read all
(09:10):
those things where people are like, well, he'd be great
if he didn't dot dot. So yeah, you get back
to work.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
I think he knows that a leak.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
Conditioning is the final step between being a superstar.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
And being a legend.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
Because he's witnessing that with Lebron James, I think that
he understands with an aging Lebron and a loaded West,
he's going to need to be at his peak to
help carry the Lakers forward. And that's what he was
traded in order to do. I mean, Lebron James, his
agency represents ad This is a friend or at very's
what we were told was a close friend and ally
(09:47):
of Lebron's that he shipped off to Dallas in exchange
for Luca. And everybody said, Dallas got host. Okay, fine,
but the deal is you're in La now. So however
you got there, your legacy is waiting. This is this
is where you either take the stamp and you fill
it with ink and you start, you know, stamping your
(10:07):
resume for the Hall of Fame, or you start making
the argument for all of those people bellying up to
the bar in ten years talking about the should as
the Kudahs and wood is for your career. And I
think Luca understands that he's at that moment.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
He's at the precipice.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
You're either gonna fall back down the way he came
up the mountain, or you're gonna get over the top
and you're gonna start, you know, heading down toward the
land of milk and honey.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
And I think, I think he again, I.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Think this trade as sour and dour the mood may
have been at first, I think has opened his eyes
to a new challenge. And I think, I again, he's
not old, but he's aging, and I think aging superstars
need to be challenged. And that's exactly what the doctor ordered.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Well, everybody wants to win the breakup Rich, there's no
question about it.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Right.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Quote my sleeping, my body, my everything. I felt more restored. Right,
I'm going along his journey, and certainly you speak to it,
and I'll speak for my colleague off in Detroit, mister Smith. Right,
we've done this thing with work, the PhD weight loss bit,
and I sleep a bit better, my knees don't hurt
(11:23):
as much. I got a better first step when it
comes time to chase down a soccer ball when I'm
fielding for my kids team before a game, so the
ball doesn't fly and screw up somebody else's game. The
way they line up the fields is just asinine, but
that's a whole other thing, but you know, just equating
to it all, Like he mentions in the Men's Health article,
(11:45):
he mentions Kobe and MJ and going down quote obviously
to be the best I could be take care of
myself this year with my team, I think we did
a huge step, but it's just the start.
Speaker 6 (11:54):
I need to keep going. Can't stop.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And he's a guy that I'm recognized. He's either a
haad line or a punchline. What do you want to be?
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (12:03):
And I mean and also the fact that you're you're
alongside guy like Lebron. It is a make or break
moment because like you're getting to see firsthand how longevity
is built through conditioning. You're getting to see firsthand that
the Lakers, I mean really honestly, their window for a
championship is short.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
And he can't be a decided week link in all this.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
I mean, Anthony Davis came in there joining Lebron James
to win a championship. Well, even though a lot of
people don't count it because they were in a bubble
in Orlando.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
It still counts.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
They still have the Larry O'Brien trophy somewhere in that
in that facility.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
And again I think the influence of.
Speaker 5 (12:49):
Not just Lebron, but the relentless LA market, who's decidedly
more of a basketball town than Dallas is is, is
another motivating factor.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
I think it was a.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
Lot louder and more serious of a reaction from fans
in LA when the conditioning was questioned at the midyear
point when he joined the Lakers than it was ever
at any point in his career as a Dallas Maverick.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
And so I think he.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
Had one of those you know, come come, come to
the light moments where he's like, oh boy, if I
want to be taken seriously here, and I do want
to be taken seriously, I better get this right. And
I again, like you said, everyone wants to win the breakup.
I think he wants to make the Dallas Mavericks look
extremely foolish from moving on from him. But again, I
(13:40):
can't deny for a second it may have been the
best thing.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
For his career.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
I will say this.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
You know, I've always you know, been asked because sports guards,
memorabilia abou whole, like, you know, what's the one piece
you want. I think I now have a new leader
in the clubhouse. I want the can of beer that
Finley took out of his hand. Oh yeah, like the
other jury, these bats, all those things are all finding good,
no question about it. But I think that that's what
(14:05):
I want. I want whatever is left of that beer can.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
I think honestly, it's probably a part of like a Toyota,
like a like the hood of a camry.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Now it's been recycled. It's long recital at least one
but yeah, yeah, at least once. Yeah. If not, yeah,
a reliable automobile.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
By the way, well, no question out of ques, you
got it.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, absolutely at Ormburger where you find him on Twitter.
Speaker 6 (14:30):
Find me over at Swallendo.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Jason Smith's show with me Mike Harmon continues coming out
next you take a trip Geords major League Baseball.
Speaker 6 (14:37):
And a little battle in the clubhouse. No it's not teammates.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
We actually have someone shouting at Rob Bamford and he
allegedly shouted back, what's it all about? We'll tell you next.
But remember right after the show the podcast goes up.
You missed any of today's show, be sure to listen
to the podcast All four Glorious Hours search Jason Smith
and Mike Harmon. Parenthetical Rich Rmburger. Wherever you get your podcasts,
sure to follow, rate, review it, give it five stars,
(15:02):
send it to friends and family. Because we're a global
enterprise only devour of worlds, We're like Galactus again.
Speaker 6 (15:09):
Search Jason Smith.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
And Mike Harber where if you get your podcasts, you'll
find today's show in a best of version posted right
after we get off.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Welcome back Fox Sports Radio Jason Smith Show with Me
Mike Harmon, live from there, Los Angeles, Fox Sports Radio Studios.
Thanks to our team making it sound so pretty tonight,
Alex and justin getting it done. Brandon in the back
grabbing cuts, and of course at the news desk you'll
hear from him in a couple of minutes, our guy
Steve Disager, but in Jasonstead tonight, our buddy Rich Hornberger.
(15:49):
As we chop up all things in the sporting universe,
Plenty of NFL questions to try to answer as we
get ready for the Hall of Fame game and the
chaos to come here over the next several months, all
the over unders and all that fun stuff, some of
what he covers on Countdown on Saturday mornings here for
Fox Sports Radio and each and every morning down in
(16:10):
San Diago at Ornberger's where you find them in the
Twitter verse. And I figured this one was one you
would appreciate. We got a lot of labor strife. We'll
do the NFL one because I'm just gonna throw it
up to you and just you can carry that balloon
wherever you want. Next hour, Rich, but major League Baseball,
do we have a little bit of an incident. Longtime hothead,
(16:31):
a guy who said, what kind of clown question?
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Bro?
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Bryce Harper, he stood nose to nose with Rob Manford
reportedly during a meeting last week. As Manford does, he
goes and meets with the team, starts talking about the
different business of baseball, stories, you know, pats him on
the back and all that fun kind of stuff. He
does this every year, just trying to get the pulse
(16:56):
of each squad where the concerns are, labor issues or
whatever they're having with the squads.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
So, you know, not too shabby. It's a good thing.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
And certainly we take our shots at Manford, but I
gotta give them credit, and you go and stand in.
But according to the reports, never use the word salary
cap but started talking about the game's economics as you
look towards the new CBA. We know about the broadcast
deal and the opt out with ESPN and all the
questions of what that's going to look like going forward.
(17:28):
But evidently Harper immediately turned to him and said, get
the blank out of here.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
If you're going to talk about this stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
If you want to speak about that, you can get
the blank out of our clubhouse. Manford said, in the
words of Leo DiCaprio, I'm not blanket leaving see Little
Wolf of Wall Street while we're at it, and said, hey,
it's important to talk about the threats to the business,
the ways to grow the game, and all of those
kind of discussions. You had several teammates who stood forward
(17:58):
and said no, no, no, I still have other stuff to go.
It turned out eventually they would shake hands and agree
to part ways. But Manford in the league office tried
to call Harper the next day and he did not
answer his phone. So there's still more of that to go.
His teammate Nick Castellanos said, quote, that's harp. He's been
(18:19):
doing this since he was fifteen. It's just another day.
I wasn't surprised, so that's pretty good stuff. He didn't
dispute the published accounts before a loss to the White
Sox on Monday. I won't get into the details of
what happened or how I felt or anything like that.
I don't think he does anybody any good for that
to happen. So I'm trying to worry about baseball, trying
to worry about everything in here. But there's always the curiosity.
(18:43):
You know, you don't have a hard cap. You do
have the taxation that goes in and all the complicated
and convoluted rules about that. But we've watched year after
year rich the disparity and the expectations. Just talking with Justin,
you know, before you and I picked up this conversation,
like the Dodgers are only one game away from their
(19:04):
record at this time a year ago, but in Los
Angeles and across baseball, you'd think they were in last
place and just burning money in a giant pile outside
the stadium.
Speaker 6 (19:15):
For folks to watch the Colors.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
By the way it's spin turned between all the injuries,
the inconsistent play, Mookie Betts family issues right, and the
death in the family. But he's been struggling at the
plate and going back to when he got ill before
the trip to Japan, Like, there's just been a lot
of things swirling with this squad all year long.
Speaker 6 (19:36):
But there they are.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
But then you have the national revenue that comes in
off of these giant contracts, and you have teams like
the Pirates that everybody just point and laugh, and every
time he has a good start, Paul Skeins is photoshopped
into another alternate uniform for one of the five or
six highest spending squads. So you have that disparity. I
(19:57):
keep arguing that the floor there needs to be a
giant floor erected, that you have to spend X amount
of dollars, and that needs to keep getting ratcheted up.
But in the interim, it looks like we're desting for
a standoff, and Harper's response may may reflect more of
the Union than anybody's gonna want to believe.
Speaker 6 (20:17):
Right now.
Speaker 5 (20:18):
Yeah, look, I think when you're talking about putting a
limit on how much somebody can earn in any field,
you're you're talking about something that feels uniquely anti American.
I mean, in this country, we've been taught since the
time we're little tots that if you're the best you can,
(20:42):
you can soar all the way to the top of
the mountain and you can claim you know, whatever glitters
and and and you can have your dreams made that.
You know, it's like the American dream, right. You can
pull a kid out of, you know, the most desperate
of situations if he can dream big or she can dream.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
Big, and there's no limit. Well unless you play.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
In the NBA or the NFL, you know, because those
are cap leagues, you know. I mean, at some point
there is a limit because you know, they've got to
share the rest of that money amongst a roster. Major
League Baseball has gotten more creative than some of these
other sports, with deferred payments and things like that.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Show.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Hey, Otani's recent contract is a great example of that.
But even still, the beautiful thing about that sport is
these these salaries can sort high and above what the
rest of our American sports leagues, what the rest of
these athletes, I should say, in these American sports leagues
(21:44):
can earn. And I think we've all been sort of
poisoned by ownership in a multitude of different sports leagues,
whether it be the NHL, the NBA, the NFL, that
you need a salary cap to be competitive or have
a competitive league.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
You don't.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
I mean, there's several soccer leagues that are you know,
that don't have limits and they're competitive. You can change
the league structure to create relegation.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
And you can. You can you can.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
Create more urgency that way. There's a lot of different
ways to create urgency. But if you want to put
more money in your pocket as an owner, you push
upon the general public that these greedy players are the
reason why we don't have a good product.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
It's not the fact that we have owners who are greedy.
Speaker 5 (22:31):
Literally, the Colorado Rockies are just you know, stuffing money
in their pockets while their owner goes on i'm sure
lavish vacations and laughs his whole way to the bank
and spends pennies on his.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Payroll because there's profit sharing.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
So he brings home a two hundred million dollar check
and I mean, I haven't looked, but I'm guessing he's
not even spending eighty million dollars on his payroll. It's
just it's despicable, it's mind games, it's a lie. If
you believe that that salary cap is going to make
for a more competitive sport, you've you've been poisoned. You
(23:07):
can't convince me that that's the path. You know what
would help make these these this league more competitive. Richer owners.
Why aren't we talking about that? How about we kick
out the owners who won't spend? How about that? How
about we get rid of the Colorado the Fisher family
in Colorado, and we get an owner will actually spend
the money that is shared with him through their profit
(23:27):
sharing program. Why doesn't that ever get discussed? Well, it's
because the owners are controlling the narrative. Right now, I
just don't see it. I just don't see it.
Speaker 6 (23:36):
Yeah, as we look at it, here's the disparity.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
The Dodgers and Nets up in that three thirty three
forty range down to the Yankees in two ninety five
is going off spot treck. So we'll take it all
with a grain of salt, rounding errors, of course. Miami
sixty eight million, the Athletics seventy seven million, White Sox seventy.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
Eight, Pittsburgh in eighty eight.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Hey, they're much higher than I thought at ninety Colorado
actually comes in twenty first at least over one hundred
million at one twenty three. But that's still a two hundred,
you know, twenty million dollar gap between what the Dodgers
are spending and what they are. And then you talk
about the national revenue deals, and yes, you have the
competitive balance, you know, the luxury tax kind of situation
(24:21):
that's in there, and you pay into it, and certainly
the deferred payments is a whole other structure. Very few
guys are going to agree to such a deal and
will make you that kind of money, like the show
Heyo Tani deal. I have to believe in my heart
of hearts, with a little bit of proper investment, that
they've already made his salary for the decade right as
(24:44):
as you go through put that NASCAR in a way
it goes. But all of that to say, you know,
you're just in this unique space in Major League Baseball.
And Steph Curry, because we could tie the other one
of the other stories circulating, he had a lot of
things to say in an interview he did, and one
of them was we're probably underpaid. Talking about trying to
get player equity right, the long thing of hey, can
(25:06):
I get a piece of ownership now? The thing people
laughed at when Caleb Williams's dad allegedly asked for that
of the Bears last year. I'm like, why wouldn't you ask?
If the rules are against it, fine, show me the clause.
If it's just generally unaccepted, okay, then let's talk about it.
Like the language that the Bengals just put into Shamar
(25:28):
Stewart's contract. Everybody complains like, why would you have to
do that? It's like, I don't know. It seemed kind
of logical from a pragmatic standpoint of if the guy's
unavailable to me, then yeah, I shouldn't have to pay
him those guarantees.
Speaker 6 (25:40):
Why don't we have that in there?
Speaker 3 (25:42):
And Shamar Stewart took an extra five hundred thousand dollars
of his bonus early and left that in his contract
when it was all said and done. But if you
don't ask, it's like anything if I want an extra
piece of cake for dessert as a kid, my mom may.
Speaker 6 (25:56):
Laugh at me, may shame me. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
But if I don't know, if I don't ask, same
right here, right, and it becomes the same argument of
deferred payments or equity or whatever, or maybe the rules
don't work right. I mean, we had all sorts of
laws that, after looking at them in hindsight or changing society,
get reworked and rewritten.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
Profit sharing amongst owners was supposed to be less about
splitting profits, so to speak, and more about redistributing local
revenue sharing. You know, so like if you're the Yankees
and you make a killing in local revenue marketing advertising
things like that, or the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs,
(26:44):
they crush it in that in that standpoint, like that
local revenue that that that is shared, And what it's
supposed to do is to to stabilize week league wide
finances so that you're not going to have you know,
some of the richest owners being in the biggest markets
and having owners unable to spend in smaller markets. But
(27:08):
what it's turned into is owners in Miami and Oakland
and Colorado and Tampa sitting on their pocketbook or wearing
boxing gloves to the table so they can't fit their
fists in their pocket to pull out the wallet, to
open up the wallet to pay their players, and that
(27:31):
profit sharing has led to or that revenue share has
led to owners getting cheaper with the payment of players
as opposed to becoming more competitive and creating a more
compelling product. That's my big problem with Major League Baseball
is they created a problem with profit sharing that they're
(27:52):
trying to fix by limiting what a player can make.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Look in any field, whether.
Speaker 5 (27:58):
You're a plumber or you're a lawyer, whether you're a
tradesman or you're a white collar office worker, if you're
the best and you're ambitious enough and like you said, Mike,
brave enough to stick your neck out and ask the
right questions at the right time. Hey, can I have
a bigger slice of cake? Well why do you think
you deserve a bigger slice of cake? Well, look at
(28:20):
my performance. And if you don't believe I deserve a
bigger slice of cake, well maybe I'll go to the
next table over and I'll see if they'll give me
a bigger slice of cake.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
No, no, no, no, no, don't go to the next table.
We understand what you're talking about. You stay at this table.
We'll see what we can do with the slice of cake.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
Well, that's how you get paid more imagine if you
went to the table and you said, hey, can I
have a bigger slice of cake? And they went no,
Well why not, Well because you're capped, you've had your
bigger Well I'm the best.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
It doesn't matter if you're the best, you're capped. Well,
I mean I'm the bad that.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Happened once, yeah, years ago, Like, yeah, you're in this division.
This is how you qualify, Like, and we need to
reevaluate what my position is now.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
Don't we. And I went into the media and stopped
doing that job.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
So and and that's and that's the thing, like when
when all of a sudden you run into those those ceilings,
you you get busy trying to find a different path.
And and I look, I mean, do I think it's
going to lead to do I think it's going to
lead to ruin for baseball? Like if they changed to
a salary cap to day and and they continued playing baseball,
(29:29):
I don't think that it would ruin baseball.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
But here's the problem.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
Trying to get a salary cap is going to, I
promise you lead to a protracted labor disagreement that's going
to lead to.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
No baseball for a while.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
And that my friend could ruin baseball, and they may
ruined it for a long time.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Well, we talked about the passing of Ryan Sandberg earlier.
We'll circle back to that at age of sixty five.
But he was one of the guys in that magical
eighty four run that the Cubs had to play the
padres uh and in the playoffs, was coming out of
that eighty one strike labor dispute and trying to reimagine things.
(30:07):
And we talk about nineteen ninety eight, We talk about
all of these different instances, whether it was the home
run chase or what cal Ripken Junior was doing. You know,
the guy that was the blue collar guy showing up
for work every day. Right, You find those heroes along
the way. But certainly, you know, you've got many teams
that just say we're gonna be on the dole more
(30:28):
or less and never put another dime back on the
field if we can help it. So we'll keep watching
that next iteration, But I think, yeah, labor dispute here
is certainly in the offing. Hey, let's start it over
to the news desk now with a legend man who
strides confidently through the studio to.
Speaker 6 (30:47):
Deliver brilliance each and every time. It's Steve de Seger.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
I'm just here hello, and the Mets have won seven
in a row.
Speaker 6 (30:53):
There's no leading with the Mets. He's not here, damn it.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
They won seven in a row.
Speaker 6 (30:58):
It's the longest wis in baseball.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
He can't hear it. He can't hurt you anymore, Steven.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
I just gave him all that love, and then he
gives me a Smith update.
Speaker 7 (31:09):
Proving for the thousandth time, we just deal with facts
here at the news desk, leading with the Nets, who've
won seven in a row, and took the lead with
a grand slam by Mark Fiano's at San Diego. The
Mets lead now five to three over the Padres in
the bottom of the fifth inning. The Red Sox took
the lead for to three at Minnesota top of the ninth,
but before they go to the bottom of the ninth,
(31:31):
a rain to lay still and they're still holding out
hope to finish up that game in Minnesota. Tonight, top
of the ninth inning at Cleveland, Guardians up five to
four over the Rockies. Angels lead the Rangers six to three.
In the top of the seventh Pirates at Giants tied
four to four bottom of the sixth, and the Mariners
are shutting out the A's three nothing in the bottom
of the sixth. Brewers and Cubs were tied for first
(31:53):
in the NL Central. Milwaukee at home beat the Cubs
tonight eight four. The Cubs gave team president Jed Hoy,
You're an extension today. Milwaukee tonight formally acquired backup catcher
Danny Jansen from Tampa Bay baseball's trade deadline as Thursday,
Hall of Famer Ryan Sandberg from the Cubs died at
the age of sixty five. The second baseman won nine
straight Gold Gloves through nineteen ninety one. Washington was a
(32:17):
two to one winner at Houston. That's five straight losses
for the Astros. The Nationals offense went four for thirty
one at the plate with nineteen strikeouts and still won
the game Houston with just four hits. The White Sox
beat Philadelphia six to two, the loss to Christopher Sanchez,
who had been nine and two who wins for Atlanta
and Saint Louis. Tampa Bay ended a four game losing
(32:38):
streak with a victory in New York over the Yankees
four to two. The Dodgers held on five to two
at Cincinnati. The Reds, who had won four in a row,
left bases loaded. In the ninth shoey Otani with a
two run double. Detroit beat Arizona five to one. The
Dbacks au Heennio Suarez left as he was hit by
a pitch on the hand. He said X rays word negative.
Baltimore beat Toronto eleven to Dallas. Cowboys tackle Tyler Geiden
(33:02):
reportedly will miss four to six weeks after an injury
at practice.
Speaker 6 (33:06):
He did not tear his acl though.
Speaker 7 (33:08):
The Colts gave tackle Bernard Ryman a four year extension.
We're sixty million dollars guaranteed. The Broncos gave wide receiver
Courtland Sutton a four year extension. The Titans waved wide
receiver Traylon Burks. He just broke his collar bone over
the weekend while making a diving catch. Return man Corderyl
Patterson says he's been cut by the Steelers. Tampa Bay
(33:29):
reworked the contract of quarterback Baker Mayfield. He now has
thirty million dollars guaranteed for next year. The Rams QB
Matthew Stafford is week to week with his bad back.
He did not return to practice today, and in the WNBA,
New York star Brianna Stewart was out tonight after the
weekend leg injury. At Dallas, the Wings beat the New
York Liberty ninety two to eighty two. Seattle won at
(33:50):
Connecticut one to one eighty five, and La Sparks star
Cameron Brink will finally play on Tuesday.
Speaker 6 (33:56):
She's missed over a year after a torn ACL back.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Thanks so much, Steve Hey, your next success can begin
sooner than you think. And University of Maryland Global Campus
Undergraduate Most graduate classes start on August thirteenth. Apply now
and say with no application fee. Learn more at UMGC
dot edu. Coming up next. We talked about it earlier
and Rich had the little side swipe of that team
that moved from San Diego. What about the other one?
(34:23):
Should they be in panic mode based on a bachiotomy
that needs to happen. Yeah, we'll do that next, Rich Ornberger.
And for Jason Smith on Mike Harmon, be.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show
with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Load Management in the NFL, as we get ready here
for another scintillating conversation Fox Sports Radio Jason Smith Show
with Me, Mike Carmon, No, Jason Smith, it's Rich Ornbergerstead
that is right at Ornberger is where you find him,
Ohrn br g Er. For those new to the program,
(35:01):
you hear him san Diego in the mornings. A lot
of creative chaos. Is that the kind way to say it?
The right way to term it?
Speaker 4 (35:10):
I would I would say that is the perfect way
to phrase it.
Speaker 6 (35:14):
Yeah, there you go. Feel free to use that in
the marketing and advertisement.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
We are occasionally light on sports, but we are all
stocked up on crazy.
Speaker 6 (35:24):
Yeah, that's good, and you're the ringleader, no question about it.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
You hear him also Saturday mornings here Fox Sports Radio
as part of the Countdown crew and joins us as
he does from time to time. We're able to get
him into the big chair. He'll be with me again
tomorrow and night as we continue some of these conversations.
Speaker 6 (35:43):
But we talked about we could talk about the.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Chargers in earnest a little later on in the show
or maybe tomorrow, but as we get ready for the
Hall of Fame game and huge expectations for Harball year two, here, Rich,
But for the Rams side of things, talk load management
and trying to figure out how you navigate a season
with Matthew Stafford Sean McVay talking about his back injury
(36:06):
and ailments and stiffness and all that, and how he
may have been wrong in the way he termed it
earlier as they reported to camp now calling it a
week to week situation.
Speaker 6 (36:18):
I find it.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Good theater because you bring in Devonte Adams and ship
out Cooper Cup so now you got Pukinnakua and DeVante Adams. Well,
DeVante Adams. The most lasting memory of his last stop
was jumping up and down, screaming and cursing all stuff
we can't.
Speaker 6 (36:34):
Play on the air because if you bleep it, you.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Lose all the content being thrown to from Jimmy Garoppolo
and talking about the hits he was taking and the
chances he was taking running his routes well as if
Stafford's sideline number two right now is that very same
Jimmy Garoppolo.
Speaker 6 (36:55):
So it makes for an interesting conversation. Should Stafford's injuries.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
Keeping off the field, Yeah, it's gonna be h It's
gonna be a pretty stunning season to see some of
these different pairings quarterbacks, receivers wise, but I'm I'm particularly
interested in LA I would say from more from the
(37:22):
standpoint as the empire crumbles a little bit, and it's
one that was built up extremely quickly.
Speaker 4 (37:30):
In Los Angeles.
Speaker 5 (37:32):
We went from the less sneed f them picks days
to kind of slim pickings after Aaron Donald retired. Although
they're still finding away, I think the key is and
it will be the key, you know, moving through the
preseason into games that actually matter, is Stafford's health. I
(37:53):
don't think it's deniable, even as good of a quarterback
whisper as I do believe Sean McVay is the Rams.
Their only hope is is Matthew Stafford. I really feel
strongly about that. Unless there's a rabbit yet to be
pulled out of a sleeve that I'm unaware of, I.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
Think that's the ticket to ride.
Speaker 5 (38:16):
So I was bullish on the Rams this preseason until
you know, some of these early injury concerns. But I
don't want to say injury because I don't even know
if that's what we want to characterize.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
It as yet. But it's not good.
Speaker 3 (38:29):
Yeah, it's ease in whatever term you want to use,
he's not on the field and they're using not on
the wheel to describe it.
Speaker 6 (38:36):
Right.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
So while it's good Bright, the other guys getting reps
and we talked about it with the Cleveland situation of
at least you try to get some reps with, you know,
for Shadh or Sanders, whatever meaning you ascribed to them.
It's better than him throwing you an equipment guy or whatever.
The fourth ouction was like they were talking about last
week with all of those guys. But when we look
(38:57):
at the odds for the division, forty nine Ers are
are back as the top squad as it stands with
expectations of a return to health. The Rams second about
two to one Cardinals, and third they're the team I'm
most curious about. When you talk about the retooled defense
and such, and then Seattle, Sam Darnold comes in new
(39:20):
staff and you know, around him to try to push
this thing forward and a change out at the wide
receiver position. But it is curious with Matthew Stafford. Right,
the endgame last year kind of covered up the early struggles.
And I know the wide receivers were hurt, but they
were riding the defense and Kyron Williams for a good
chunk of that run. And now we look at even
(39:42):
the second half, it wasn't like they were a prolific offense.
You know, he was twenty eight, which is fine and respectable,
but far from world beating. A lot of that was
Jared Vers and that young defense coming through. We'll see
if they can repeat.
Speaker 5 (39:57):
Yeah, I agree with every thing he just said. I
think there there are some treacherous teams around this division.
I think the Cardinals are there. It's yet to be
seen if their trajectory is finished or if the growth
potential continues into next season with a healthier Kyler Murray.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
You know, I'm the.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
San Francisco forty nine ers looked strangely mortal maybe is
the right way to characterize it. Last year because Brock
Purdy had hiccups for the first time in his career.
They had so many injuries at so many key positions,
including the defense. I mean that was a mass unit defensively.
All right, let's put a bit in
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Give this you're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Things you thought you'd never see for one hundred Alex Yeah,
welcome in an hour two of the program Jason Smith
Show with Me Mike Harmon. No Jason Smith, He'll be
back on Wednesday. In instead Today, it's our buddy Lineman.
He's leading us through the B gap to greatness. It's
Rich Hornberger. What's going on.
Speaker 4 (00:48):
Let's do it. We're rocking and rolling.
Speaker 5 (00:50):
How about a quick visit from Jason Locking for absolutely
Flumbang the Dallas Cowboys in hour one, a collection.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Of indie visuals.
Speaker 5 (01:00):
It's just the perfect summation of what it's been for
Dallas fans for years and years and years, just the
Des Bryan years with you know, Romo and then Dak
and then even the Zeke years with CD towards the
end there, and oh, it's just I mean, it's it's
just been a comedy of errors throughout the years in Dallas,
(01:22):
and they haven't been right since Aikman and Irving and
Smith left well.
Speaker 6 (01:27):
As soon as Jimmy Johnson was.
Speaker 3 (01:31):
Extricated from the situation or extricated himself, depending on whose
story you believe, or was it a mutual parting of
the way, because whenever you hear the mutual breakup, you
don't believe it all right, which side called it right?
Speaker 6 (01:42):
Which side? You know the made the call. But ever
since then.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Right you were able to go through the last bits,
you won another super Bowl. Fantastic. Jerry got to pat
himself on the back. The problem is that made him
believe that he was absolutely right in what he was doing.
And then year after year, my ex's father told me
many years ago, residing in the Dallas area, we're never
winning again so long as he's here. Either sell the
(02:11):
team or you know, going to the inevitable end of
things some years later. Either way, it's a great pr
run for us every year here at Fox Sports Radio.
We appreciate the Dallas Cowboys and the Clown Show that
they can be from time to time. But once again,
we're in that usual dance with a superstar that eventually
(02:31):
he's going to get his money. It's just how long
can you draw it out to keep the audiences with you.
It's like the Hey, we have one more episode before
the season finale. Okay, cool, we'll tie it up there
and Michael will get his money. Okay, and now we'll
be ready for football. But another guy who's on the
comeback trail in a reinvention. I believe one of the
(02:53):
Kardashians had the Revenge Bod brand rolling.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
For a while.
Speaker 3 (02:58):
That's Luka Dancts of your Los Angeles Lakers now on
the cover of Men's Health.
Speaker 6 (03:04):
Things that I would have thought I'd only see.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
At a carnival a year ago, right, one of those
things where I could put myself on the magazine cover.
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Here I am the man of the Year for Time Magazine.
Here I am.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
The muscle and fitness superstar. After years of Arnold Schwarzeneger
and Luke Farigno and Lee Haney and all those guys
of yesteryear. No, here's Luka Dancins on Men's Health a
year after Michael Finley. So famously emasculated the man in
front of his dad and took his beer. All these
months later, he's come out the other side and he's
(03:38):
on Men's Health talking about transforming his body, the two
workouts a day, what he's eating, all of these things.
Here he is lifting weights, doing the dead lift. The
road to swol is a real thing, as well as
the next giant contract extension.
Speaker 6 (03:54):
As he takes over La.
Speaker 5 (03:56):
Yeah, I mean it's you know, it's like a beer bun.
It's like seeing a beer belly on on like a
runner on the cover of Runners World.
Speaker 4 (04:08):
It's like naming a turtle lightning.
Speaker 6 (04:11):
It's like actually done.
Speaker 5 (04:13):
You know, Guy Fieri on the cover of Bonappetite magazine.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
It's you know, there's there's certain.
Speaker 5 (04:19):
Faces or things in places that don't seem like they
would ever make sense.
Speaker 4 (04:24):
And by the way, that's no shade of Guy Field.
Speaker 3 (04:26):
I was gonna say, you're saying donkey sauce isn't hot cuisine.
Speaker 4 (04:30):
Because I've tried.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
I was about to reference that I've tried the donkey sauce,
and I can say with an emphatic two thumbs up,
it is a lead.
Speaker 6 (04:38):
Can you and I meet in Vegas and go to
his place. Have you ever been there?
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Absolutely, I've been there more than once.
Speaker 6 (04:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
No, insane is a correct adjective. Flavor town, USA, no
quest So. But but get back to Luca. I mean
it just yeah, it's an oddity to see him on
this track. But here, here's the thing. Here's the thing
about aging superstars. And he's not old yet, but he's aging.
(05:05):
You either age gracefully because you start investing in self
care and you start getting your nutrition right and your
training regime and the massage and the stretch and the
hyperbaric chamber and the science and technology and the lungety,
or you end up aging out.
Speaker 4 (05:26):
And that's the reality.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
And I think actually one of the best things for
Luca was having to look it is so hard to
find reasons to compete at a certain point when you
have mastered something, when you are literally being considered one
of the top in your field, what's left to compete
(05:49):
with other than yourself? I mean, chasing titles, of course,
I get it. Those are highly variable because you're relying
on others, not just yourself. I mean, but he is
one of the best doing it in basketball, So what
motivates you well, getting you know, a swift kick to
the shins and you know kind of you know, thrown
on the next thing, smoking out of town might have
(06:13):
been the motivation that he.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Was looking for.
Speaker 5 (06:14):
And then pair that with being teammates with Lebron James,
who is fastidious about this. He works on his nutrition
and he spends you know, if not a million millions
of dollars on his health. I think all of those
were combining factors to get him on the cover of
(06:35):
ment health and.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
Get him to take his body as part of his sport.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
More more seriously, I like you getting the word fastidious
in there. Nicely done, Yeah, Lebron James. Also, you had
some wild speculation by some folks last week. We talked
about it because Arnie Spanier was absolutely enamored with the
idea of off season training regimens and trips and whatever.
You can find the podcast wherever you download your audience
(07:00):
and go back down that rabbit hole. But to your point,
it's been well chronicled. Here's the money spent, some of
the partnerships that Lebron has had in the health and
fitness world with different gadgetary et cetera.
Speaker 6 (07:12):
But for Luka Dongets. It's that point. You know.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
We were talking a couple of weeks ago Scottie Scheffler, right,
and some took the who's this guy?
Speaker 6 (07:20):
You know?
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Shut up as you're pondering, you know something beyond golf,
like he's great at it and clearly puts the work in.
But you're always looking for something more. No matter what
your job is, right, you're never satisfied. Right, You either
want to do, if we're in radio, a better show, right,
Be a little funnier, be a little smarter in sharp
(07:42):
using words like fastidious for Luka Daunchets. You're now at
that the top of the heap with a historic franchise.
Not that Dallas hasn't had its moments in the past,
but you know it's apples and oranges. You're a in
glitz and glamour of Hollywood. You've got a guy Lebron, however,
he's your teammate. The expectations get ratcheted up immensely. Not
(08:05):
to mention again, no matter how many times I'll hear
an athlete or anybody in my life tell me they
don't read the comments, We'll do. I try not to.
You get the things about your your appearance like, I
can't tell you I was once The only time I
ever appeared on Barstool Sports was the thing where they
(08:27):
did four guys. This is what I was doing fantasy
full time. It's like who is the most likely to
have female companionship for a night. Now, I was long
married at that point, but it was still the point
of the only time I ever showed up for something
was because of my physicality. Yeah, so immediately it's like, hey,
the road to swoll And we've partnered up and looking to.
Speaker 6 (08:47):
Lean and mean for the cameras these days.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
But it's those kind of things people saying they don't
read them, they don't respond to them. They're lying, right.
It's like no folks in our business claiming they're not fans.
You're still a fan of something, whether you root hard
for the hometown team anymore or not as a whole
other equation, but you're still a fan of sport that
brings in it. For Luca, donc you're gonna read all
(09:10):
those things where people are like, well, he'd be great
if he didn't dot dot. So yeah, you get back
to work.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
I think he knows that a leak.
Speaker 5 (09:19):
Conditioning is the final step between being a superstar.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
And being a legend.
Speaker 5 (09:24):
Because he's witnessing that with Lebron James, I think that
he understands with an aging Lebron and a loaded West,
he's going to need to be at his peak to
help carry the Lakers forward. And that's what he was
traded in order to do. I mean, Lebron James, his
agency represents ad This is a friend or at very's
what we were told was a close friend and ally
(09:47):
of Lebron's that he shipped off to Dallas in exchange
for Luca. And everybody said, Dallas got host. Okay, fine,
but the deal is you're in La now. So however
you got there, your legacy is waiting. This is this
is where you either take the stamp and you fill
it with ink and you start, you know, stamping your
(10:07):
resume for the Hall of Fame, or you start making
the argument for all of those people bellying up to
the bar in ten years talking about the should as
the Kudahs and wood is for your career. And I
think Luca understands that he's at that moment.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
He's at the precipice.
Speaker 5 (10:25):
You're either gonna fall back down the way he came
up the mountain, or you're gonna get over the top
and you're gonna start, you know, heading down toward the
land of milk and honey.
Speaker 4 (10:34):
And I think, I think he again, I.
Speaker 5 (10:37):
Think this trade as sour and dour the mood may
have been at first, I think has opened his eyes
to a new challenge. And I think, I again, he's
not old, but he's aging, and I think aging superstars
need to be challenged. And that's exactly what the doctor ordered.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Well, everybody wants to win the breakup Rich, there's no
question about it.
Speaker 4 (11:03):
Right.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
Quote my sleeping, my body, my everything. I felt more restored. Right,
I'm going along his journey, and certainly you speak to it,
and I'll speak for my colleague off in Detroit, mister Smith. Right,
we've done this thing with work, the PhD weight loss bit,
and I sleep a bit better, my knees don't hurt
(11:23):
as much. I got a better first step when it
comes time to chase down a soccer ball when I'm
fielding for my kids team before a game, so the
ball doesn't fly and screw up somebody else's game. The
way they line up the fields is just asinine, but
that's a whole other thing, but you know, just equating
to it all, Like he mentions in the Men's Health article,
(11:45):
he mentions Kobe and MJ and going down quote obviously
to be the best I could be take care of
myself this year with my team, I think we did
a huge step, but it's just the start.
Speaker 6 (11:54):
I need to keep going. Can't stop.
Speaker 3 (11:57):
And he's a guy that I'm recognized. He's either a
haad line or a punchline. What do you want to be?
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (12:03):
And I mean and also the fact that you're you're
alongside guy like Lebron. It is a make or break
moment because like you're getting to see firsthand how longevity
is built through conditioning. You're getting to see firsthand that
the Lakers, I mean really honestly, their window for a
championship is short.
Speaker 4 (12:25):
And he can't be a decided week link in all this.
Speaker 5 (12:29):
I mean, Anthony Davis came in there joining Lebron James
to win a championship. Well, even though a lot of
people don't count it because they were in a bubble
in Orlando.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
It still counts.
Speaker 5 (12:39):
They still have the Larry O'Brien trophy somewhere in that
in that facility.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
And again I think the influence of.
Speaker 5 (12:49):
Not just Lebron, but the relentless LA market, who's decidedly
more of a basketball town than Dallas is is, is
another motivating factor.
Speaker 4 (13:00):
I think it was a.
Speaker 5 (13:01):
Lot louder and more serious of a reaction from fans
in LA when the conditioning was questioned at the midyear
point when he joined the Lakers than it was ever
at any point in his career as a Dallas Maverick.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
And so I think he.
Speaker 5 (13:18):
Had one of those you know, come come, come to
the light moments where he's like, oh boy, if I
want to be taken seriously here, and I do want
to be taken seriously, I better get this right. And
I again, like you said, everyone wants to win the breakup.
I think he wants to make the Dallas Mavericks look
extremely foolish from moving on from him. But again, I
(13:40):
can't deny for a second it may have been the
best thing.
Speaker 4 (13:42):
For his career.
Speaker 6 (13:43):
I will say this.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
You know, I've always you know, been asked because sports guards,
memorabilia abou whole, like, you know, what's the one piece
you want. I think I now have a new leader
in the clubhouse. I want the can of beer that
Finley took out of his hand. Oh yeah, like the
other jury, these bats, all those things are all finding good,
no question about it. But I think that that's what
(14:05):
I want. I want whatever is left of that beer can.
Speaker 5 (14:09):
I think honestly, it's probably a part of like a Toyota,
like a like the hood of a camry.
Speaker 4 (14:14):
Now it's been recycled. It's long recital at least one
but yeah, yeah, at least once. Yeah. If not, yeah,
a reliable automobile.
Speaker 6 (14:24):
By the way, well, no question out of ques, you
got it.
Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, absolutely at Ormburger where you find him on Twitter.
Speaker 6 (14:30):
Find me over at Swallendo.
Speaker 3 (14:31):
Jason Smith's show with me Mike Harmon continues coming out
next you take a trip Geords major League Baseball.
Speaker 6 (14:37):
And a little battle in the clubhouse. No it's not teammates.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
We actually have someone shouting at Rob Bamford and he
allegedly shouted back, what's it all about? We'll tell you next.
But remember right after the show the podcast goes up.
You missed any of today's show, be sure to listen
to the podcast All four Glorious Hours search Jason Smith
and Mike Harmon. Parenthetical Rich Rmburger. Wherever you get your podcasts,
sure to follow, rate, review it, give it five stars,
(15:02):
send it to friends and family. Because we're a global
enterprise only devour of worlds, We're like Galactus again.
Speaker 6 (15:09):
Search Jason Smith.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
And Mike Harber where if you get your podcasts, you'll
find today's show in a best of version posted right
after we get off.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
Welcome back Fox Sports Radio Jason Smith Show with Me
Mike Harmon, live from there, Los Angeles, Fox Sports Radio Studios.
Thanks to our team making it sound so pretty tonight,
Alex and justin getting it done. Brandon in the back
grabbing cuts, and of course at the news desk you'll
hear from him in a couple of minutes, our guy
Steve Disager, but in Jasonstead tonight, our buddy Rich Hornberger.
(15:49):
As we chop up all things in the sporting universe,
Plenty of NFL questions to try to answer as we
get ready for the Hall of Fame game and the
chaos to come here over the next several months, all
the over unders and all that fun stuff, some of
what he covers on Countdown on Saturday mornings here for
Fox Sports Radio and each and every morning down in
(16:10):
San Diago at Ornberger's where you find them in the
Twitter verse. And I figured this one was one you
would appreciate. We got a lot of labor strife. We'll
do the NFL one because I'm just gonna throw it
up to you and just you can carry that balloon
wherever you want. Next hour, Rich, but major League Baseball,
do we have a little bit of an incident. Longtime hothead,
(16:31):
a guy who said, what kind of clown question?
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Bro?
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Bryce Harper, he stood nose to nose with Rob Manford
reportedly during a meeting last week. As Manford does, he
goes and meets with the team, starts talking about the
different business of baseball, stories, you know, pats him on
the back and all that fun kind of stuff. He
does this every year, just trying to get the pulse
(16:56):
of each squad where the concerns are, labor issues or
whatever they're having with the squads.
Speaker 6 (17:02):
So, you know, not too shabby. It's a good thing.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
And certainly we take our shots at Manford, but I
gotta give them credit, and you go and stand in.
But according to the reports, never use the word salary
cap but started talking about the game's economics as you
look towards the new CBA. We know about the broadcast
deal and the opt out with ESPN and all the
questions of what that's going to look like going forward.
(17:28):
But evidently Harper immediately turned to him and said, get
the blank out of here.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
If you're going to talk about this stuff.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
If you want to speak about that, you can get
the blank out of our clubhouse. Manford said, in the
words of Leo DiCaprio, I'm not blanket leaving see Little
Wolf of Wall Street while we're at it, and said, hey,
it's important to talk about the threats to the business,
the ways to grow the game, and all of those
kind of discussions. You had several teammates who stood forward
(17:58):
and said no, no, no, I still have other stuff to go.
It turned out eventually they would shake hands and agree
to part ways. But Manford in the league office tried
to call Harper the next day and he did not
answer his phone. So there's still more of that to go.
His teammate Nick Castellanos said, quote, that's harp. He's been
(18:19):
doing this since he was fifteen. It's just another day.
I wasn't surprised, so that's pretty good stuff. He didn't
dispute the published accounts before a loss to the White
Sox on Monday. I won't get into the details of
what happened or how I felt or anything like that.
I don't think he does anybody any good for that
to happen. So I'm trying to worry about baseball, trying
to worry about everything in here. But there's always the curiosity.
(18:43):
You know, you don't have a hard cap. You do
have the taxation that goes in and all the complicated
and convoluted rules about that. But we've watched year after
year rich the disparity and the expectations. Just talking with Justin,
you know, before you and I picked up this conversation,
like the Dodgers are only one game away from their
(19:04):
record at this time a year ago, but in Los
Angeles and across baseball, you'd think they were in last
place and just burning money in a giant pile outside
the stadium.
Speaker 6 (19:15):
For folks to watch the Colors.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
By the way it's spin turned between all the injuries,
the inconsistent play, Mookie Betts family issues right, and the
death in the family. But he's been struggling at the
plate and going back to when he got ill before
the trip to Japan, Like, there's just been a lot
of things swirling with this squad all year long.
Speaker 6 (19:36):
But there they are.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
But then you have the national revenue that comes in
off of these giant contracts, and you have teams like
the Pirates that everybody just point and laugh, and every
time he has a good start, Paul Skeins is photoshopped
into another alternate uniform for one of the five or
six highest spending squads. So you have that disparity. I
(19:57):
keep arguing that the floor there needs to be a
giant floor erected, that you have to spend X amount
of dollars, and that needs to keep getting ratcheted up.
But in the interim, it looks like we're desting for
a standoff, and Harper's response may may reflect more of
the Union than anybody's gonna want to believe.
Speaker 6 (20:17):
Right now.
Speaker 5 (20:18):
Yeah, look, I think when you're talking about putting a
limit on how much somebody can earn in any field,
you're you're talking about something that feels uniquely anti American.
I mean, in this country, we've been taught since the
time we're little tots that if you're the best you can,
(20:42):
you can soar all the way to the top of
the mountain and you can claim you know, whatever glitters
and and and you can have your dreams made that.
You know, it's like the American dream, right. You can
pull a kid out of, you know, the most desperate
of situations if he can dream big or she can dream.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
Big, and there's no limit. Well unless you play.
Speaker 5 (21:05):
In the NBA or the NFL, you know, because those
are cap leagues, you know. I mean, at some point
there is a limit because you know, they've got to
share the rest of that money amongst a roster. Major
League Baseball has gotten more creative than some of these
other sports, with deferred payments and things like that.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Show.
Speaker 5 (21:24):
Hey, Otani's recent contract is a great example of that.
But even still, the beautiful thing about that sport is
these these salaries can sort high and above what the
rest of our American sports leagues, what the rest of
these athletes, I should say, in these American sports leagues
(21:44):
can earn. And I think we've all been sort of
poisoned by ownership in a multitude of different sports leagues,
whether it be the NHL, the NBA, the NFL, that
you need a salary cap to be competitive or have
a competitive league.
Speaker 4 (21:59):
You don't.
Speaker 5 (22:00):
I mean, there's several soccer leagues that are you know,
that don't have limits and they're competitive. You can change
the league structure to create relegation.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
And you can. You can you can.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
Create more urgency that way. There's a lot of different
ways to create urgency. But if you want to put
more money in your pocket as an owner, you push
upon the general public that these greedy players are the
reason why we don't have a good product.
Speaker 4 (22:27):
It's not the fact that we have owners who are greedy.
Speaker 5 (22:31):
Literally, the Colorado Rockies are just you know, stuffing money
in their pockets while their owner goes on i'm sure
lavish vacations and laughs his whole way to the bank
and spends pennies on his.
Speaker 4 (22:42):
Payroll because there's profit sharing.
Speaker 5 (22:44):
So he brings home a two hundred million dollar check
and I mean, I haven't looked, but I'm guessing he's
not even spending eighty million dollars on his payroll. It's
just it's despicable, it's mind games, it's a lie. If
you believe that that salary cap is going to make
for a more competitive sport, you've you've been poisoned. You
(23:07):
can't convince me that that's the path. You know what
would help make these these this league more competitive. Richer owners.
Why aren't we talking about that? How about we kick
out the owners who won't spend? How about that? How
about we get rid of the Colorado the Fisher family
in Colorado, and we get an owner will actually spend
the money that is shared with him through their profit
(23:27):
sharing program. Why doesn't that ever get discussed? Well, it's
because the owners are controlling the narrative. Right now, I
just don't see it. I just don't see it.
Speaker 6 (23:36):
Yeah, as we look at it, here's the disparity.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
The Dodgers and Nets up in that three thirty three
forty range down to the Yankees in two ninety five
is going off spot treck. So we'll take it all
with a grain of salt, rounding errors, of course. Miami
sixty eight million, the Athletics seventy seven million, White Sox seventy.
Speaker 6 (23:56):
Eight, Pittsburgh in eighty eight.
Speaker 3 (23:58):
Hey, they're much higher than I thought at ninety Colorado
actually comes in twenty first at least over one hundred
million at one twenty three. But that's still a two hundred,
you know, twenty million dollar gap between what the Dodgers
are spending and what they are. And then you talk
about the national revenue deals, and yes, you have the
competitive balance, you know, the luxury tax kind of situation
(24:21):
that's in there, and you pay into it, and certainly
the deferred payments is a whole other structure. Very few
guys are going to agree to such a deal and
will make you that kind of money, like the show
Heyo Tani deal. I have to believe in my heart
of hearts, with a little bit of proper investment, that
they've already made his salary for the decade right as
(24:44):
as you go through put that NASCAR in a way
it goes. But all of that to say, you know,
you're just in this unique space in Major League Baseball.
And Steph Curry, because we could tie the other one
of the other stories circulating, he had a lot of
things to say in an interview he did, and one
of them was we're probably underpaid. Talking about trying to
get player equity right, the long thing of hey, can
(25:06):
I get a piece of ownership now? The thing people
laughed at when Caleb Williams's dad allegedly asked for that
of the Bears last year. I'm like, why wouldn't you ask?
If the rules are against it, fine, show me the clause.
If it's just generally unaccepted, okay, then let's talk about it.
Like the language that the Bengals just put into Shamar
(25:28):
Stewart's contract. Everybody complains like, why would you have to
do that? It's like, I don't know. It seemed kind
of logical from a pragmatic standpoint of if the guy's
unavailable to me, then yeah, I shouldn't have to pay
him those guarantees.
Speaker 6 (25:40):
Why don't we have that in there?
Speaker 3 (25:42):
And Shamar Stewart took an extra five hundred thousand dollars
of his bonus early and left that in his contract
when it was all said and done. But if you
don't ask, it's like anything if I want an extra
piece of cake for dessert as a kid, my mom may.
Speaker 6 (25:56):
Laugh at me, may shame me. I don't know.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
But if I don't know, if I don't ask, same
right here, right, and it becomes the same argument of
deferred payments or equity or whatever, or maybe the rules
don't work right. I mean, we had all sorts of
laws that, after looking at them in hindsight or changing society,
get reworked and rewritten.
Speaker 5 (26:19):
Profit sharing amongst owners was supposed to be less about
splitting profits, so to speak, and more about redistributing local
revenue sharing. You know, so like if you're the Yankees
and you make a killing in local revenue marketing advertising
things like that, or the Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs,
(26:44):
they crush it in that in that standpoint, like that
local revenue that that that is shared, And what it's
supposed to do is to to stabilize week league wide
finances so that you're not going to have you know,
some of the richest owners being in the biggest markets
and having owners unable to spend in smaller markets. But
(27:08):
what it's turned into is owners in Miami and Oakland
and Colorado and Tampa sitting on their pocketbook or wearing
boxing gloves to the table so they can't fit their
fists in their pocket to pull out the wallet, to
open up the wallet to pay their players, and that
(27:31):
profit sharing has led to or that revenue share has
led to owners getting cheaper with the payment of players
as opposed to becoming more competitive and creating a more
compelling product. That's my big problem with Major League Baseball
is they created a problem with profit sharing that they're
(27:52):
trying to fix by limiting what a player can make.
Speaker 4 (27:56):
Look in any field, whether.
Speaker 5 (27:58):
You're a plumber or you're a lawyer, whether you're a
tradesman or you're a white collar office worker, if you're
the best and you're ambitious enough and like you said, Mike,
brave enough to stick your neck out and ask the
right questions at the right time. Hey, can I have
a bigger slice of cake? Well why do you think
you deserve a bigger slice of cake? Well, look at
(28:20):
my performance. And if you don't believe I deserve a
bigger slice of cake, well maybe I'll go to the
next table over and I'll see if they'll give me
a bigger slice of cake.
Speaker 4 (28:27):
No, no, no, no, no, don't go to the next table.
We understand what you're talking about. You stay at this table.
We'll see what we can do with the slice of cake.
Speaker 5 (28:34):
Well, that's how you get paid more imagine if you
went to the table and you said, hey, can I
have a bigger slice of cake? And they went no,
Well why not, Well because you're capped, you've had your
bigger Well I'm the best.
Speaker 4 (28:47):
It doesn't matter if you're the best, you're capped. Well,
I mean I'm the bad that.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Happened once, yeah, years ago, Like, yeah, you're in this division.
This is how you qualify, Like, and we need to
reevaluate what my position is now.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
Don't we. And I went into the media and stopped
doing that job.
Speaker 5 (29:07):
So and and that's and that's the thing, like when
when all of a sudden you run into those those ceilings,
you you get busy trying to find a different path.
And and I look, I mean, do I think it's
going to lead to do I think it's going to
lead to ruin for baseball? Like if they changed to
a salary cap to day and and they continued playing baseball,
(29:29):
I don't think that it would ruin baseball.
Speaker 4 (29:31):
But here's the problem.
Speaker 5 (29:32):
Trying to get a salary cap is going to, I
promise you lead to a protracted labor disagreement that's going
to lead to.
Speaker 4 (29:41):
No baseball for a while.
Speaker 5 (29:42):
And that my friend could ruin baseball, and they may
ruined it for a long time.
Speaker 3 (29:46):
Well, we talked about the passing of Ryan Sandberg earlier.
We'll circle back to that at age of sixty five.
But he was one of the guys in that magical
eighty four run that the Cubs had to play the
padres uh and in the playoffs, was coming out of
that eighty one strike labor dispute and trying to reimagine things.
(30:07):
And we talk about nineteen ninety eight, We talk about
all of these different instances, whether it was the home
run chase or what cal Ripken Junior was doing. You know,
the guy that was the blue collar guy showing up
for work every day. Right, You find those heroes along
the way. But certainly, you know, you've got many teams
that just say we're gonna be on the dole more
(30:28):
or less and never put another dime back on the
field if we can help it. So we'll keep watching
that next iteration, But I think, yeah, labor dispute here
is certainly in the offing. Hey, let's start it over
to the news desk now with a legend man who
strides confidently through the studio to.
Speaker 6 (30:47):
Deliver brilliance each and every time. It's Steve de Seger.
Speaker 7 (30:49):
I'm just here hello, and the Mets have won seven
in a row.
Speaker 6 (30:53):
There's no leading with the Mets. He's not here, damn it.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
They won seven in a row.
Speaker 6 (30:58):
It's the longest wis in baseball.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
He can't hear it. He can't hurt you anymore, Steven.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
I just gave him all that love, and then he
gives me a Smith update.
Speaker 7 (31:09):
Proving for the thousandth time, we just deal with facts
here at the news desk, leading with the Nets, who've
won seven in a row, and took the lead with
a grand slam by Mark Fiano's at San Diego. The
Mets lead now five to three over the Padres in
the bottom of the fifth inning. The Red Sox took
the lead for to three at Minnesota top of the ninth,
but before they go to the bottom of the ninth,
(31:31):
a rain to lay still and they're still holding out
hope to finish up that game in Minnesota. Tonight, top
of the ninth inning at Cleveland, Guardians up five to
four over the Rockies. Angels lead the Rangers six to three.
In the top of the seventh Pirates at Giants tied
four to four bottom of the sixth, and the Mariners
are shutting out the A's three nothing in the bottom
of the sixth. Brewers and Cubs were tied for first
(31:53):
in the NL Central. Milwaukee at home beat the Cubs
tonight eight four. The Cubs gave team president Jed Hoy,
You're an extension today. Milwaukee tonight formally acquired backup catcher
Danny Jansen from Tampa Bay baseball's trade deadline as Thursday,
Hall of Famer Ryan Sandberg from the Cubs died at
the age of sixty five. The second baseman won nine
straight Gold Gloves through nineteen ninety one. Washington was a
(32:17):
two to one winner at Houston. That's five straight losses
for the Astros. The Nationals offense went four for thirty
one at the plate with nineteen strikeouts and still won
the game Houston with just four hits. The White Sox
beat Philadelphia six to two, the loss to Christopher Sanchez,
who had been nine and two who wins for Atlanta
and Saint Louis. Tampa Bay ended a four game losing
(32:38):
streak with a victory in New York over the Yankees
four to two. The Dodgers held on five to two
at Cincinnati. The Reds, who had won four in a row,
left bases loaded. In the ninth shoey Otani with a
two run double. Detroit beat Arizona five to one. The
Dbacks au Heennio Suarez left as he was hit by
a pitch on the hand. He said X rays word negative.
Baltimore beat Toronto eleven to Dallas. Cowboys tackle Tyler Geiden
(33:02):
reportedly will miss four to six weeks after an injury
at practice.
Speaker 6 (33:06):
He did not tear his acl though.
Speaker 7 (33:08):
The Colts gave tackle Bernard Ryman a four year extension.
We're sixty million dollars guaranteed. The Broncos gave wide receiver
Courtland Sutton a four year extension. The Titans waved wide
receiver Traylon Burks. He just broke his collar bone over
the weekend while making a diving catch. Return man Corderyl
Patterson says he's been cut by the Steelers. Tampa Bay
(33:29):
reworked the contract of quarterback Baker Mayfield. He now has
thirty million dollars guaranteed for next year. The Rams QB
Matthew Stafford is week to week with his bad back.
He did not return to practice today, and in the WNBA,
New York star Brianna Stewart was out tonight after the
weekend leg injury. At Dallas, the Wings beat the New
York Liberty ninety two to eighty two. Seattle won at
(33:50):
Connecticut one to one eighty five, and La Sparks star
Cameron Brink will finally play on Tuesday.
Speaker 6 (33:56):
She's missed over a year after a torn ACL back.
Speaker 3 (34:00):
Thanks so much, Steve Hey, your next success can begin
sooner than you think. And University of Maryland Global Campus
Undergraduate Most graduate classes start on August thirteenth. Apply now
and say with no application fee. Learn more at UMGC
dot edu. Coming up next. We talked about it earlier
and Rich had the little side swipe of that team
that moved from San Diego. What about the other one?
(34:23):
Should they be in panic mode based on a bachiotomy
that needs to happen. Yeah, we'll do that next, Rich Ornberger.
And for Jason Smith on Mike Harmon, be.
Speaker 2 (34:31):
Sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith Show
with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven pm Pacific.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
Load Management in the NFL, as we get ready here
for another scintillating conversation Fox Sports Radio Jason Smith Show
with Me, Mike Carmon, No, Jason Smith, it's Rich Ornbergerstead
that is right at Ornberger is where you find him,
Ohrn br g Er. For those new to the program,
(35:01):
you hear him san Diego in the mornings. A lot
of creative chaos. Is that the kind way to say it?
The right way to term it?
Speaker 4 (35:10):
I would I would say that is the perfect way
to phrase it.
Speaker 6 (35:14):
Yeah, there you go. Feel free to use that in
the marketing and advertisement.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
We are occasionally light on sports, but we are all
stocked up on crazy.
Speaker 6 (35:24):
Yeah, that's good, and you're the ringleader, no question about it.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
You hear him also Saturday mornings here Fox Sports Radio
as part of the Countdown crew and joins us as
he does from time to time. We're able to get
him into the big chair. He'll be with me again
tomorrow and night as we continue some of these conversations.
Speaker 6 (35:43):
But we talked about we could talk about the.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Chargers in earnest a little later on in the show
or maybe tomorrow, but as we get ready for the
Hall of Fame game and huge expectations for Harball year two, here, Rich,
But for the Rams side of things, talk load management
and trying to figure out how you navigate a season
with Matthew Stafford Sean McVay talking about his back injury
(36:06):
and ailments and stiffness and all that, and how he
may have been wrong in the way he termed it
earlier as they reported to camp now calling it a
week to week situation.
Speaker 6 (36:18):
I find it.
Speaker 3 (36:20):
Good theater because you bring in Devonte Adams and ship
out Cooper Cup so now you got Pukinnakua and DeVante Adams. Well,
DeVante Adams. The most lasting memory of his last stop
was jumping up and down, screaming and cursing all stuff
we can't.
Speaker 6 (36:34):
Play on the air because if you bleep it, you.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Lose all the content being thrown to from Jimmy Garoppolo
and talking about the hits he was taking and the
chances he was taking running his routes well as if
Stafford's sideline number two right now is that very same
Jimmy Garoppolo.
Speaker 6 (36:55):
So it makes for an interesting conversation. Should Stafford's injuries.
Speaker 5 (37:02):
Keeping off the field, Yeah, it's gonna be h It's
gonna be a pretty stunning season to see some of
these different pairings quarterbacks, receivers wise, but I'm I'm particularly
interested in LA I would say from more from the
(37:22):
standpoint as the empire crumbles a little bit, and it's
one that was built up extremely quickly.
Speaker 4 (37:30):
In Los Angeles.
Speaker 5 (37:32):
We went from the less sneed f them picks days
to kind of slim pickings after Aaron Donald retired. Although
they're still finding away, I think the key is and
it will be the key, you know, moving through the
preseason into games that actually matter, is Stafford's health. I
(37:53):
don't think it's deniable, even as good of a quarterback
whisper as I do believe Sean McVay is the Rams.
Their only hope is is Matthew Stafford. I really feel
strongly about that. Unless there's a rabbit yet to be
pulled out of a sleeve that I'm unaware of, I.
Speaker 4 (38:13):
Think that's the ticket to ride.
Speaker 5 (38:16):
So I was bullish on the Rams this preseason until
you know, some of these early injury concerns. But I
don't want to say injury because I don't even know
if that's what we want to characterize.
Speaker 4 (38:27):
It as yet. But it's not good.
Speaker 3 (38:29):
Yeah, it's ease in whatever term you want to use,
he's not on the field and they're using not on
the wheel to describe it.
Speaker 6 (38:36):
Right.
Speaker 3 (38:36):
So while it's good Bright, the other guys getting reps
and we talked about it with the Cleveland situation of
at least you try to get some reps with, you know,
for Shadh or Sanders, whatever meaning you ascribed to them.
It's better than him throwing you an equipment guy or whatever.
The fourth ouction was like they were talking about last
week with all of those guys. But when we look
(38:57):
at the odds for the division, forty nine Ers are
are back as the top squad as it stands with
expectations of a return to health. The Rams second about
two to one Cardinals, and third they're the team I'm
most curious about. When you talk about the retooled defense
and such, and then Seattle, Sam Darnold comes in new
(39:20):
staff and you know, around him to try to push
this thing forward and a change out at the wide
receiver position. But it is curious with Matthew Stafford. Right,
the endgame last year kind of covered up the early struggles.
And I know the wide receivers were hurt, but they
were riding the defense and Kyron Williams for a good
chunk of that run. And now we look at even
(39:42):
the second half, it wasn't like they were a prolific offense.
You know, he was twenty eight, which is fine and respectable,
but far from world beating. A lot of that was
Jared Vers and that young defense coming through. We'll see
if they can repeat.
Speaker 5 (39:57):
Yeah, I agree with every thing he just said. I
think there there are some treacherous teams around this division.
I think the Cardinals are there. It's yet to be
seen if their trajectory is finished or if the growth
potential continues into next season with a healthier Kyler Murray.
Speaker 4 (40:19):
You know, I'm the.
Speaker 5 (40:20):
San Francisco forty nine ers looked strangely mortal maybe is
the right way to characterize it. Last year because Brock
Purdy had hiccups for the first time in his career.
They had so many injuries at so many key positions,
including the defense. I mean that was a mass unit defensively.
All right, let's put a bit in
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