March 5, 2026 • 33 mins
Jason and Make give out their take aways from Aaron Rodgers appearance from earlier today!
1) He's 100% playing in '26. He would've retired already if he was going to.
2) His "I don't have a contract offer from the Steelers" is him telling Pittsburgh, "I'm not playing for free this year."
Plus, the Jets are doing their homework on Tua!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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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 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Okay, final hour of the show. Yeah, and uh, Monci
Bolano's really entertaining herself with that update a few seconds ago.
Just started laughing for no reason in the middle of
the update, Like, and it's not like I'm gonna say, oh,
You're gonna find out you were doing something I was doing. No,
(00:49):
none of us were doing anything. You just started laughing
and lost control in the middle of the.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Update because I had my notes and then I like
took off all of the screens with those scores, and
I realized as I'm reading my notes that I never
wrote down the score.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Well, I don't have time to go.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Look it up now.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I don't know what the scores are. The Islanders snapped
the five go.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
To the review on this one Islanders.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Something I'll score the Highlanders Islands. I won five in
a row, loose edge of the crack and three to two.
A lot people got the Highland, the Highlanders. It's a
lot better than on yourself.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
So funny something something I don't have it.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I don't have it.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
And I knew we were coming to the end of
the minute, so I knew I didn't have time to
go look to go get it, you know, to pull
it up again, because I I just taking off the tabs.
So like I clearly was trying to like finish for
our news feed that I have to send. I didn't.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Good times. Five to one was the score. Bial So
that's that's what it was, you know, the Highlanders, the Highlanders. Yes,
we are the Highland. The Highlanders are a new team.
By the way, I just joined the NHL. They cut
off the heads of five people, did, right, because that's
(02:14):
how that's how you kill the Highland there in the end,
there can only be one. Yeah, yeah, okay, right, very
good good stuff. I amn't asked me I am. I
am Highlanders. That was the initiative. That was the first
name of the Yankees, I think they were. It was, Yeah,
that is nineteen.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Hundred all right something. Basically the final score.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Was something something something. It's like, I don't I don't
have it. I don't know, I don't have it. That's
that's I don't have it. I gotta tell you to
be honest. Thanks Watson. Now we'll get to Aaron Rodgers
in a second, but just something really, you know we're
talking about Lou Holtz a few minutes ago. Look one
of those famous games in college football history, the rocket
(02:53):
iss male punt returned for a touchdown against Colorado and
the final minute of the national championship game in nineteen
ninety one, a very questionable call on the clip that
if it let it stand, likely Notre Dame wins a
national championship. Again, it does not stand, Colorado wins it,
right because that happened in the final forty five seconds
(03:14):
of the game. But like to understand how how big
a deal rocket Ismael was in that he was the
best offensive player, most exciting offensive player in college football
and it wasn't close, and we came in second in
the Heisman Trophy race hy Dettmer won that year BYU.
But the big thing about rod like, imagine something like
this happening now, right, Ismail was like, oh my god,
(03:36):
number one overall pick in the draft. He was gonna
be the guy nobody could wait. Rocket was the biggest
star a big football family. His brother Kadre played at
Syracuse uh the same time I was there, And right
before the draft, Rocket Ismael decides to sign a record
contract with the Argonauts in the CFL. Yeah, okay, like,
(03:58):
imagine that happening now. I remember ripping CFL cards. Imagine
Fernando Mendoza right before. I want to avoid the Raiders
so much yet, No, I'm going to the CFL. I'm
gonna go play for the Argonauts. I'm gonna play for
the Rough Riders. I'm gonna go play for you know,
the blue butt whatever. I'm gonna go play in the CFL.
Can you imagine? Can you imagine the CFL having the
(04:18):
money to be able to say, yeah, here's a record
breaking contract for you, Fernando Mendoza, come play here with us.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
It's just amazing because you do the math on this, right,
go into his career four years, eighteen point two million
dollars as the highlight, defying, you know, defining player of
a of the league. He later signed a deal with
the Cowboys seven years, twenty one million dollars. Think think
(04:46):
about that in today's dollars for the National Football League
or at that point, the CFL. Here's your top pick,
your top guy, four years, eighteen million dollars. Here he
is coming into the.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
NFL seven years million and surprise, surprise, how this ended
with Rocket is smile finally getting to the NFL. Surprise.
The CFL and the Argonauts had money trouble. This is
the team that was backed by Wayne Gretzky Bruce McNall,
and the Raiders had taken him in the fourth round,
so they had his draft rights. They decided, well why not,
(05:18):
I mean, at some point he's gonna come to the NFL, right,
So they take him in the fourth round. And when
the CFL needed to get out from under that money
that they had to pay Rocket, he left and went
to the NFL and the Raiders wound up getting him.
So they take that fourth round pick and after a
couple of years, hey, guess what it's working out for us.
Not that you couldn't see that coming. Oh, the CFLs
having financial trouble because they paid money to a guy
(05:40):
that they don't have. Okay, then ah, we'll see you
in the NFL in a couple of years.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Raiders, Panthers and Cowboys did play near to ten years
in the league, but never achieving the consistency of the expectations,
as exemplified by that called back return.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Now, speaking of returning, Aaron Rodgers is out of the darkness.
Is his wife with him?
Speaker 5 (06:06):
Come out?
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Or no? No, we have not seen his wife. His wife,
I wonder why he talked about her today. I haven't
seen her. Doesn't like the spotlight, he wants to Aaron Rodgers,
I mean, she's not real. Aaron Rodgers wants to live
his life privately. He said against Pat McAfee, how about
you don't the guy they play in the NFL, that's
what you wanted to, the guy that had a camera
crew following him around a year ago to document his season,
(06:28):
A guy that goes on television to talk about his career,
A guy that is has has spent every moment just
gleaning the spotlight away the last couple of years. Says,
I ready to live my life in a uh in
a little bit more of a private Oh oh okay, yes,
because you're doing that now, You're you're doing that now? Well,
but it is the kind of thing though, that you
(06:51):
choose the spotlight doesn't mean that your spouse, significant other
or your children do. He look, he is. He blamed
his exes today for the attention, you know, the Instagram
stuff and on social media, and that's not me.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
Yeah, I mean you saw Dana Ka Patrick's not returning
for F one coverage.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, okay, dude. Let me just say, when you say
your private life, you ready for your private life, which
is what he said today on Pat McAfee show. That
means no attention, not just oh I just want attention
on the football field. No private life means no attention,
not just but football is different. No, it's the same thing.
It's it's still attention. You're still getting attend you still
have a camera crew following you. The rumors about you
(07:30):
being a vice presidential candidate off RFK Junior ran a
couple of years ago. Now, you're still enjoying the spotlight.
You're still enjoying that you do.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
But there are certain things that you know you don't
want out there. You don't want to air it everywhere.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeah, No, there are things. But he is living a
very public life. He justly likes the fact that people
want to talk to him and you talk about stuff. Sure,
I mean again, I'll have a camera crew following me
around to document a whole season. Oh okay, but but
I want to live a private life.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
To this point, he hasn't had them following around with
his with his missus or any right.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Well maybe now, but maybe now it's different because he's
coming off a successful season a quarterback, which hadn't been
the case the last couple of years.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Well, now he's back and ready and loaded for bear
here in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
So here is Rogers from today, emerging from his darkness
retreat that I believe contain no soap and no indoor plumbing. Okay,
I believe that that was the case. A choice probably smell.
It's like going camping's.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Yeah, I mean it's he just wanted to rustic camp
that's not smelling.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So you know that's a choice. You're gonna hear Aaron
Rodgers big statement from today and from this I will
tell you exactly if he's going to play in the
NFL and what the whole takeaway from Rogers returning to
the public eye is here. He is talking earlier on
ESPN about how hey everything is great. Nothing imminent with
(08:56):
me and the Steelers. But we're talking.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Poop again.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
That sounds about right, Might might be some of that. Yeah,
after that, what else do you think is going on
in the darkness?
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Retain? After that, he went on with Pat McAfee and said.
Speaker 6 (09:12):
That I've talked to Mike, I've talked to Omar. There's
been no deadline that's been you know, that's been put
in front of me. There's no contract, you know, offer
or anything. So there's nothing that I'm you know, having
to debate between I'm uh, you know, free agent and
you know again, I'm I'm enjoying my time with my
(09:32):
wife and enjoying this part of the off season, and
and you know, I think there's conversations to be had
down the line, but right now, I'm not not There
hasn't been any progressive conversations.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
No progressive conversation. So he's not with flow from progressive.
He's not doctor Rick, he's not a young homeowner turning
into his parents is Ian.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
He's not insurance free agent too. Does he still have
the endorsement deal?
Speaker 1 (09:59):
As he said there, I don't have a contract in
front of me. I don't have a contract from the Steelers.
So what to make of Aaron Rodgers. Number One, He's
absolutely playing again this year. If he wasn't, he would
have retired. He stars don't get to a point in
their career where they're gonna risk losing control over the narrative.
(10:20):
He wants to pick when he retires. He's not gonna
be told when he when to retire. If he was
gonna retire, he'd have done it already, right, we know
he would have done it already. He wouldn't go through
this whole thing. But he wants to say, I'm gonna
play another year. I had a pretty good year last year,
and so I'm ready to play again. Now likely it's
gonna be with the Steelers. Mike McCarthy is there. Of
course he's going back to the Steelers. McCarthy wants him.
(10:42):
Anything the Steelers do quarterback wise is going to be
a quarterback of the future. They're not gonna go sign
Kygler Murray or trade for Kirk Cousins. If we're going
one forty year old guy, it's gonna be Aaron Rodgers.
But his thing when he said I don't have a
contract in front of me or anything, This is Aaron
Rodgers telling the Steeler I ain't playing for free like
(11:02):
I did last year, coming off what was a down
couple of years with the Jets and one injury. What
did he say, Hey, I just want to play. I'm excited.
I don't need a bunch of money. He played for
one year and fourteen million dollars. Right, you got Aaron
Rodgers at a bargain, had a pretty good year. Right,
Everything went went as good as you could expect for
Rogers and the and the Steelers and so they you know,
(11:22):
playoff team. He's telling the Steelers, you're gonna have to
give me some cash. If Justin Fields can get bleep
in two years and forty million with the Jets, the
guy that I deposed, I need something like that, And
that's probably what he's gonna get.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
Like.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And he's the point now where after last year it was, hey,
he could sign a two year deal. It could be
thirty million dollars guaranteed, you know of his contract. He's
telling the Steelers you're not getting me for free. That's
the whole purpose of him getting on television and saying,
because why are you saying I don't of have a
contracted Prime. All you have to say is, yeah, we're talking.
Things are great. We're not a deadline right now, so
(12:01):
we're seeing how it goes. Why would you worry about
a deadline? Why worry about a deadline? Are you really
coming back?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Are you not?
Speaker 1 (12:07):
There is the drama part of it that Aaron Rodgers
loves again, the whole thing about no, I want to
be a private guy. Dude, you love the drama. But
the whole thing is that that was the shot across
the bow. I ain't playing for free. You're gonna give
me a deal that's gonna respect me, and it's gonna
be something at least twenty million dollars a year if
I'm gonna do this again. Maybe it's a and maybe
he even has enough cachet to say it's a two
(12:29):
year deal is what we want to do. But that's
what he's going to do. He's telling the Steelers, Okay,
this is Aaron negotiations beginning. I don't have a contract offer,
but I ain't playing for free.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah. Intended air yards was a paltry six per pass
attempt last year average. Well, he was about sixty six
percent completion rate, twenty four touchdowns, seven picks and you
look at some changes. They've got a lot of money
to spend. I think he's looking over at Daniel Jones,
who came in on a one year deal about the
same amount of money last year, nineteen touchdowns, eight interceptions,
(13:00):
coming back off a big injury, yet he got the
transition tag of thirty eight million dollars. So I think
Aaron Rodgers looking over there, mentioned your guy justin Field.
Justin Field was the guy that replaced him, so they
overpaid based on the expectation that he would be better
than what you were, Aaron Rodgers. The other is, if
he ain't coming back, there's no point in talking to
(13:22):
him right now, because well, we're in the silly season,
we're ready for free agency. He's got he's got no
juice unless it is to kind of goose and he
spin the wheels. And he's not mad at the Steelers. Friend,
it's not like the Jets own his rights. Like, he's
not mad at them. He's not just gonna string them
along at the end, say no, this is part of
his negotiation. Yeah, place for free talk glowingly about training
(13:45):
camp and playing for those fans, and like I said
a little earlier, in the show. Going out to La
trobe a fun little journey. The fact that they still
practice in front of fans, which is something a lot
of teams don't even bother doing anymore. So you get
that experience. And I know, Pittsburgh's a pretty cool place
to go hang out. So he seemed to like his
time there. He's got his coach put in. I mean,
(14:06):
Mike McCarthy wasn't exactly number one on everybody's list, and
yet there he is. So uh yeah, Aaron Rodgers back.
It's just a matter of cost and how quickly they
can get things together.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Exit ou about a Fresco exit swollen dome. Jason Smith
Mike Harmon Live from the Fox Sports Radio Studios. Coming
up next. Two things Lou Holtz gets and needs to
get absolute incredible credit for that. He doesn't one thing.
Maybe you know one thing, maybe you don't. That's next.
We remember a legend right here, Jason and Mike Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
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 5 (14:50):
Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from The Odd
Couple on Fox Sports Radio and in addition to hearing
us live week nights from seven to ten pm Eastern
on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand
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All you gotta do search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube
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Speaker 1 (15:21):
Now I want to go watch the full Monty Good movie.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Hell us.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Jason Smith Show with my best friend Mike Harmon. Big
quarterback story coming up in a few minutes, But Jets
are getting it is a Jet story haha. But uh look,
today we lost Lou Holtz, legendary college football coach and
(15:48):
ESPN analysts, passed away at the age of eighty nine.
And you see what players have been saying about him
throughout their the day. On social media, people in posting
videos of speeches. Lou Holtz gaven one speech where he's
talking about don't listen to what writer's saying. He's ripping
up a newspaper and at the end, like the newspaper
is back together, like he's a magician, like you see
stuff at what's being said about Lou Holtz, and all
(16:10):
of these stories are all true. The influence he had
on college football is immense. What he doesn't get enough
credit for are two things is that Notre Dame is
where it is right now in twenty twenty six because
of Lou Holtz. Right Notre Dame enjoys that status of
(16:31):
the number one independent. We get a berth in the
national champion in the playoff because we're Notre Dame and
we're in the top sixteen and we're in the top twelve,
we're guaranteed of birth. They enjoy that lofty status because
of Lou Holtz. Low Oltz came in to coach the
team in eighty six. They were coming off the Jerry
Faustiers where they were barely five hundred. Notre Dame was
(16:52):
off the national map in college football. They'd won the
title in seventy six. I believe we're seventy seven under
Dan Devine years they were awful, like they were not
No Tre Dame anymore. They were just hey boy, they
were a great program once upon a time, and now
look where they are. But Lou Holtz comes back and
within two years, has them in a bowl game, and
(17:14):
then has them winning the national Championship, Like it's wow year,
how does he do this? In his third year, they
win the national title and since then Notre Dame has
been Nore Dame. They became once again the modern day
rock stars of college football. All the players going through
there going to the NFL, whether it was Rick Meyer,
Jerome Bettis, we talked about rocket ismail. This was a
(17:38):
level of excellence that continued on and on into the
two thousands and where they are now into Brian Kelly
and playing for the National championship. Notre Dame is what
it is now because Lou Holtz brought it back. He
doesn't get enough credit for that, and he should because
it wasn't just hey, he was a great coach. No,
he brought Notre Dame back to relevancy.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Oh, there's no question about it. I mean, you look
at the bit on NBC all these years. When did
that deal first get brokered nineteen ninety now polarizing guy. Certainly,
there's a lot of other angles to the Lou Holtz
the man. For the purpose of the conversation, we're talking
about college football and the changing landscape think about that
initial broadcast deal, a national entity every week, Notre Dame
(18:24):
in your home. It's great for recruiting. A lot of
recruiting you didn't have to do except for the camera
found you on the sideline. Yep, right, So, and all
those players going on to prominence in the college collegiate world,
and then we're talking about moving on into the pros
and saying, look what I can do for you here,
and all those winning seasons, the level of dominance that
(18:47):
they achieved. To your point, all of those players, Tim Brown,
Jerome Bettis, all of those guys lined up today, had
multiple missives on social media and for all these years
talking about their experience and how the family atmosphere was
under Lou Holtz. But that deal in nineteen ninety doesn't
(19:07):
happen if they don't start having immediate dominant success the
way they did.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
The other thing he doesn't get enough credit for is
college football on ESPN, and whatever you say, you know,
it's easy to take shots at ESPN and certainly other
things happen. Their level of excellence their college football college
basketball coverage is they've built the sports over the course
of the past thirty forty years. What they've done. Look
(19:34):
and Fox has caught up very quickly in the last
few years without what we put on, you know, you know,
big big Saturday, big nude kickoff. But ESPN College Football
college basketball been masters at it. And two people need
more credit for bringing the sport along. And that's Lee
(19:55):
Corso and Lou Holtz, the two people that you tuned
into ESPN pregame in all Day on Saturdays to see, right.
Lee Corso obviously he retired a year ago, and and
and and the the history of him putting on that
the helmet or the mask of the other team and
the head dressing and picking teams like he became an
(20:16):
industry in and of itself. But the chemistry he had
with he and Fowler and Kirk hurb Street Lee Corso phenomenal.
But what Lou Holtz did for a pretty much a
two decade period, the College Football Final there's people now
who are you know, millennials who have come up on
college football. That was such a big day, the College
(20:38):
Football Final day with with all with with all Day
being Lou Holtz and Mark May and Chris Fowler and
Rehese Davis. When they were on the bits, they would do.
It was almost like you watched inside the NBA for
college football, and it was the era before you could
get every college football game. Everywhere you want to see something,
I'll turn and find it where you turn to see
(20:59):
what are Lou Holtz and Mark May and Reese Davis
talking about? What are they saying about this? And lou
Holtz was always very polarizing what he would say about
a team. He was very strong what he said. But
they did fun bits like I saw today. Making the
rounds was one bit where was Mark May and Lou
Holtz like making the a jury or a courtroom argument
for their Heisman trophy and Reese Davis's dressed as a judge,
(21:21):
like this is stuff they did. And for college football
final there was something everybody watched all day when you
were watching college football, whenever your game was over, before
your next game, let me go over and see what
they're saying. Let me go over and see what lou
Holts and Mark May are talking about on ESPN because
they're in between games, and it would be they be
on from like noon until midnight, right like you know
(21:41):
you get you know Lee, you know Lee and and
and foul everybody. Yeah, they're doing the big long pregame
show in the morning, but college football final like for
twelve hours, Like it's hey, this game's at halftime, and
now after this game and now we have a half
hour till our next game year, Now we're gonna do this,
go into this and and just what lou Holtz is
able to bring you watch that you watched all day
(22:02):
for twelve hours on and off, going back to it
because you knew if there was a big thing happening big,
we're going to talk about it. What did Lou Holts
have to say about it? Like that was so underrated
And that should get a lot more credit for ESPN,
keeping with the credit they get for their college football coverage,
because it's not just about the games. It's about putting
on a show. And I mean it was like inside
the NBA for college football.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Well, and we look at where college football is now
and lawlessness and whatever. We get a lot of headlines
about the way the game has evolved. But you go
back in time when Lou Holtz and obviously Lee Corso
the monster that those properties have been. It was also
(22:47):
we didn't have forty seven streaming services. You needed highlights.
It's like we show reverence to the George Michael sports machine, right,
it's like you'd get your clips. But here you had
between Corso and the Holts, two guys that kind of
cut to the chase about the good, the bad, the
ugly of the game, decisions that were made. And as
certainly as he got older, he was even more critical
(23:09):
of coaches and their decisions and how tough they were
or weren't and all of those looking squarely at at
the big ten there. But when we look at it,
it was also college football was at a different level,
at least to my estimation.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Right.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
The NFL is now the eight hundred pound gorilla that
everybody's chasing and the biggest thing on the block for
us growing up, college football held a lot of that regard, right,
So you were looking to the authorities to fill in
the gaps on the games you didn't see. And Lou
Holtz was one of the pre eminent voices there.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
An incredible life, incredible career for him, both on the
sideline and in the studio. Lou Holtz passing away today
at the age of eighty nine. Time now to find
out what's trending in the wide world of sports. From
Monci Bolangos, who has everything. We don't need the results
the Thunder Nick game. Everybody knows. You could just skip
by that and go on. You know what, I think
they cheated the Thunder. Yeah, I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Yeah, I don't know how.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah it was something.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, something happened that I I I
think they cheated.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
You're right, okay, very good. I don't know if anyone's.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Gonna believe us, no, especially especially like the standings.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
But if I throw it out there, maybe someone will
believe it's okay. Maybe maybe.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
But the Thunder did survive one of three to one
hundred against the Mix at Madison Square Garden Shake Gilles
Alexander d dropped twenty six points and eight assists, one
hundred and twenty four consecutive games for SGA with twenty
or more points.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
That's why you get to wear a fox coat like that,
is why you can act like that exactly. That's why
you can wear like that. Unlike what's that guy?
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Max?
Speaker 1 (24:44):
No, what's the Max headroom?
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Max Clark?
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Is that the name of the prospect for the Tigers
has the five chains and fly balls and left field
for the Tigers training well played.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Yeah, so it's one of the it's one of those.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Carl Anthony Towns did fell out with three minutes left
to that one. He did end with seventeen points and
seventeen rebounds. Kawhi Leonard had twenty nine points as the
Clippers roll past the Pacers one thirty to one on seven.
In La Benettict Maathern off the bench twenty three points
and eight rebounds against his former team. The Hornets have
won six in a row. They defeated the Celtics in Boston,
won eighteen to eighty nine. LaMelo Ball eighteen points, seven rebounds,
(25:20):
four assists, seventy six Ers outscored the Jazz one oh
six to one oh two. Hawks have won five in
a row after beating the Bucks one thirty one to
one thirteen and the Trailblazers top the Grizzlies went twenty
two to one. Fourteen True Holiday thirty five points and
eleven assists in the win. In men's college hoofs, number
seven Houston was down ten but came back to defeat
Baylor seventy seven to sixty four, and number fifteen Produce
(25:42):
survived seventeen to sixty six against Northwestern at the World
Baseball Classic. Pool play began and Australia shout out Chinese
Taipei three zero. USA is going to begin their poll
play on Friday at eight pm Eastern Time against Brazil.
In the NHL, the Golden Knights beat the Red Wings
four to three in overtime. Devil's top the Maple Leaves
(26:03):
four to three in a shootout. Maple Leaves have lost
five in a row. The Hurricanes defeated the Canucks six
to four. Ducks outscored the Islanders five to one, snapping
New York's five game winning streak in the NFL. In
case you have missed the news, on Wednesday, Patriots are
releasing four time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The
Chiefs traded all Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams
(26:23):
for four draft picks, including a first rounder. The Vikings
are expected to release defensive tackle Jonathan Allen. Steelers are
releasing tight end John news Smith and the Chargers have
released offensive lineman Mackai Becton and tight end Will Disley.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Guys, it's been fun.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
Thank you very much mine, Thank you bye, do great
things you too.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
So Jet, Joe get ready for free agents. Hate to say, Jack,
he might have grated the photo shot. I think the
Jets are going to get Derek Carr into a Uh.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
That's good. That's as good as Sanchez versus t Though
back in the day, a couple of NFL inside and
including Mike Rouffalo, reporting today that the Jets are doing
their homework.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
On t a tongue of Iloa, who is expected to
be released by the Dolphins before the start of the
league year. Now that's going to happen. The big question
for Miami is do they eat all the money this year?
Do they spread it out of it two years? But
two is gone and the Jets are doing their homework. Okay,
let me just really, they're really pushing my my es
(27:35):
don't do homework. No, no, they're really pushing my my
my philosophy of I can get excited about every quarterback
because if Sam Darnold can win the Super Bowl, anybody can.
Because the only homeworking you know about, too is Okay,
we're gonna take the guy with the weakest arm in
football and we're gonna put him in a stadium with
swirling wins. How is that going to work. It's gonna
(27:57):
be like me throwing a whiffle ball lefty in one
of those money machines where all the air goes shooting
out the bottom and you gotta grab whatever money you
can on some kind of crazy game show. That's the
only homework you need to do about too. Can he
throw the ball five yards?
Speaker 4 (28:12):
And you've also played this guy two times a year
for the last half a decade. I know his injury history,
you know his inability to really connect on anything off
script or downfield.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
I said the other day, we talked about there's destinations
for everyone, and the destination for Tua was Minnesota. Why
did I say this? I said this because he needs
to a get off the map for a little bit,
needs to get out out, get go off radar, and
(28:50):
give time to just hang out, learn a system, and
tackle it in the fall when you find out JJ
McCarthy stinks. Also, he needs to be able to be
in anvironment where, hey, when I throw the football, nothing's
gonna happen to him. Playing in a dome eight nine
games a year, that will happen. The Jets are one
hundred and eighty degrees from both of those things. Forget
(29:13):
about Oh, Tua goes from Miami to New York. Forget it.
Oh throwing the ball in those swirling wins, forget it.
I mean, I know he's had good game against the Jets. Okay,
that's great. Now he's gonna be playing four the Jets,
the games won't be as great, right, I mean, really, again,
I want to be excited about him, because again, you
can get excited about almost anybody, because Sam Darnold won
(29:34):
the Super Bowl and it's not like he was even
looked at as being a starting quarterback up until he
went to the Vikings. Right, he had flamed out of
a bunch of teams. Okay, there are places for Tua,
but wow, man, the Jets aren't one of them. The
only thing that the silver lining and all of this mic,
and I'm being honest with you, is that if the
Jets signed Tua, I know they will be close closer
(29:56):
to tanking next year than they ever have been and
have a better shot at getting Arch Manning or Dante
More with the number one overall pick in the draft
the number two overall pick in the draft. Right, I
know that if they signed to a it's not gonna
be a great year. He's not someone that's gonna be
able to succeed. I will, like Garrett Wilson, fantasy wise,
is gonna throw them the football five thousand times. But
(30:16):
I know he can't win. He can't win in Miami.
He's not gonna be able to win it. He's not
gonna be able to do it. Him playing football in
the cold is not a good thing.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Man.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
It's not gonna happen, but it will help the Jets tank,
and it will help the quote March for Arch next year.
And maybe we couldn't get Peyton Manning twenty five years
ago and he said, no, no, I'm staying in college football
because Bill Parcells won't guarantee me the number one overall pick,
or I just want to avoid the Jets. Maybe, Hey,
twenty five thirty years later, Arch Manning will wind up
(30:46):
being a Jet. They will be closer to tanking if
they signed over jas. Of course they will, because it's
like Jeff Lawrence. Of course, it's the one game that
they never should have been in business. The Dolphins rowing seventeen,
the Jets pick second at one in sixteen. Hey, congratulations, Yeah,
Mason Taylor's stock goes up as well, right, the over
the middle. If Twood actually goes there. Look, Minnesota, you
(31:07):
and I have very do on that one. I think
it'd be a hot seat because everybody cares and either
loves or hates JJ McCarthy. So if you wanted to exile. Unfortunately,
Jacoby Brissette has that one year deal which paying him nothing.
Because Arizona's about as far off the NFL radar as
you can go. U. The only other place that is
(31:27):
it could be is Atlanta, But I think they want
to win, so I don't think they're gonna bring him
in there. But the photoshop of to with the Captain
c don't forget that. Oh yeah, yeah, no, I love that.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Thing that he comes in and he becomes the leader.
Yeah good, not great. You're you're running in place like
we talked about being a hamster on a wheel earlier.
It's kind of where you're going here. And for the Jets,
if you're really going down the road of hey, we're
gonna give Aaron Glenn the best chance to succeed, is
that really it? No, But you also have to have
(32:04):
somebody that wants to come and take your money.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Well, that's the thing is that you only go to
the Jets if you have no other options? What did
I say? The Jets aren't getting Kyler Murray because he's
gonna have options to him may not have as many options,
Which is what scares me about this, that this actually
might could happen.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
Because Derek Carr is not a free agent.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
We could we can wind up getting Derek Carr and
because he's not gonna have options either. I mean I could.
What well, Derek Carr and too are gonna No, Geno's
actually no, no, Geno's got more options than you think
because there's a lot of teams in the NFL that say, oh,
it was a Raiders system that screwed him over last year.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
So he's got off leave that. I think that's coming
from him, him and his agent. He's got off the
fact that Chip Kelly got an as he's got options. No,
Derek Kelly didn't throw the ball into triple coverage multiple times.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Derek carran to Tumbelowa might not have options. The Jets
might get both of them. They're not getting Malik Willis why,
because he's got options. He's got plenty of day. Not
getting mac Jones why he's got options, and the Niners
don't want to trade him, but no to and Derek Carr.
Oh yeah yeah, get ready, get ready, good luck, Thanks
appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Yeah, wait for the offseason. What you're over under on wins?
Like five but again five and a half. But again,
if we get arch Manning in a year, I'm all
in on that.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
I'm all in on it.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Yeah, he's gonna end up somewhere else. I'm going to
force the hand in a trade.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific
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 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Okay, final hour of the show. Yeah, and uh, Monci
Bolano's really entertaining herself with that update a few seconds ago.
Just started laughing for no reason in the middle of
the update, Like, and it's not like I'm gonna say, oh,
You're gonna find out you were doing something I was doing. No,
(00:49):
none of us were doing anything. You just started laughing
and lost control in the middle of the.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Update because I had my notes and then I like
took off all of the screens with those scores, and
I realized as I'm reading my notes that I never
wrote down the score.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Well, I don't have time to go.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
Look it up now.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I don't know what the scores are. The Islanders snapped
the five go.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
To the review on this one Islanders.
Speaker 1 (01:17):
Something I'll score the Highlanders Islands. I won five in
a row, loose edge of the crack and three to two.
A lot people got the Highland, the Highlanders. It's a
lot better than on yourself.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
So funny something something I don't have it.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
I don't have it.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
And I knew we were coming to the end of
the minute, so I knew I didn't have time to
go look to go get it, you know, to pull
it up again, because I I just taking off the tabs.
So like I clearly was trying to like finish for
our news feed that I have to send. I didn't.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Good times. Five to one was the score. Bial So
that's that's what it was, you know, the Highlanders, the Highlanders. Yes,
we are the Highland. The Highlanders are a new team.
By the way, I just joined the NHL. They cut
off the heads of five people, did, right, because that's
(02:14):
how that's how you kill the Highland there in the end,
there can only be one. Yeah, yeah, okay, right, very
good good stuff. I amn't asked me I am. I
am Highlanders. That was the initiative. That was the first
name of the Yankees, I think they were. It was, Yeah,
that is nineteen.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Hundred all right something. Basically the final score.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Was something something something. It's like, I don't I don't
have it. I don't know, I don't have it. That's
that's I don't have it. I gotta tell you to
be honest. Thanks Watson. Now we'll get to Aaron Rodgers
in a second, but just something really, you know we're
talking about Lou Holtz a few minutes ago. Look one
of those famous games in college football history, the rocket
(02:53):
iss male punt returned for a touchdown against Colorado and
the final minute of the national championship game in nineteen
ninety one, a very questionable call on the clip that
if it let it stand, likely Notre Dame wins a
national championship. Again, it does not stand, Colorado wins it,
right because that happened in the final forty five seconds
(03:14):
of the game. But like to understand how how big
a deal rocket Ismael was in that he was the
best offensive player, most exciting offensive player in college football
and it wasn't close, and we came in second in
the Heisman Trophy race hy Dettmer won that year BYU.
But the big thing about rod like, imagine something like
this happening now, right, Ismail was like, oh my god,
(03:36):
number one overall pick in the draft. He was gonna
be the guy nobody could wait. Rocket was the biggest
star a big football family. His brother Kadre played at
Syracuse uh the same time I was there, And right
before the draft, Rocket Ismael decides to sign a record
contract with the Argonauts in the CFL. Yeah, okay, like,
(03:58):
imagine that happening now. I remember ripping CFL cards. Imagine
Fernando Mendoza right before. I want to avoid the Raiders
so much yet, No, I'm going to the CFL. I'm
gonna go play for the Argonauts. I'm gonna play for
the Rough Riders. I'm gonna go play for you know,
the blue butt whatever. I'm gonna go play in the CFL.
Can you imagine? Can you imagine the CFL having the
(04:18):
money to be able to say, yeah, here's a record
breaking contract for you, Fernando Mendoza, come play here with us.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
It's just amazing because you do the math on this, right,
go into his career four years, eighteen point two million
dollars as the highlight, defying, you know, defining player of
a of the league. He later signed a deal with
the Cowboys seven years, twenty one million dollars. Think think
(04:46):
about that in today's dollars for the National Football League
or at that point, the CFL. Here's your top pick,
your top guy, four years, eighteen million dollars. Here he
is coming into the.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
NFL seven years million and surprise, surprise, how this ended
with Rocket is smile finally getting to the NFL. Surprise.
The CFL and the Argonauts had money trouble. This is
the team that was backed by Wayne Gretzky Bruce McNall,
and the Raiders had taken him in the fourth round,
so they had his draft rights. They decided, well why not,
(05:18):
I mean, at some point he's gonna come to the NFL, right,
So they take him in the fourth round. And when
the CFL needed to get out from under that money
that they had to pay Rocket, he left and went
to the NFL and the Raiders wound up getting him.
So they take that fourth round pick and after a
couple of years, hey, guess what it's working out for us.
Not that you couldn't see that coming. Oh, the CFLs
having financial trouble because they paid money to a guy
(05:40):
that they don't have. Okay, then ah, we'll see you
in the NFL in a couple of years.
Speaker 4 (05:43):
Raiders, Panthers and Cowboys did play near to ten years
in the league, but never achieving the consistency of the expectations,
as exemplified by that called back return.
Speaker 1 (05:57):
Now, speaking of returning, Aaron Rodgers is out of the darkness.
Is his wife with him?
Speaker 5 (06:06):
Come out?
Speaker 1 (06:06):
Or no? No, we have not seen his wife. His wife,
I wonder why he talked about her today. I haven't
seen her. Doesn't like the spotlight, he wants to Aaron Rodgers,
I mean, she's not real. Aaron Rodgers wants to live
his life privately. He said against Pat McAfee, how about
you don't the guy they play in the NFL, that's
what you wanted to, the guy that had a camera
crew following him around a year ago to document his season,
(06:28):
A guy that goes on television to talk about his career,
A guy that is has has spent every moment just
gleaning the spotlight away the last couple of years. Says,
I ready to live my life in a uh in
a little bit more of a private Oh oh okay, yes,
because you're doing that now, You're you're doing that now? Well,
but it is the kind of thing though, that you
(06:51):
choose the spotlight doesn't mean that your spouse, significant other
or your children do. He look, he is. He blamed
his exes today for the attention, you know, the Instagram
stuff and on social media, and that's not me.
Speaker 4 (07:05):
Yeah, I mean you saw Dana Ka Patrick's not returning
for F one coverage.
Speaker 1 (07:09):
Yeah, okay, dude. Let me just say, when you say
your private life, you ready for your private life, which
is what he said today on Pat McAfee show. That
means no attention, not just oh I just want attention
on the football field. No private life means no attention,
not just but football is different. No, it's the same thing.
It's it's still attention. You're still getting attend you still
have a camera crew following you. The rumors about you
(07:30):
being a vice presidential candidate off RFK Junior ran a
couple of years ago. Now, you're still enjoying the spotlight.
You're still enjoying that you do.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
But there are certain things that you know you don't
want out there. You don't want to air it everywhere.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeah, No, there are things. But he is living a
very public life. He justly likes the fact that people
want to talk to him and you talk about stuff. Sure,
I mean again, I'll have a camera crew following me
around to document a whole season. Oh okay, but but
I want to live a private life.
Speaker 4 (07:57):
To this point, he hasn't had them following around with
his with his missus or any right.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
Well maybe now, but maybe now it's different because he's
coming off a successful season a quarterback, which hadn't been
the case the last couple of years.
Speaker 4 (08:10):
Well, now he's back and ready and loaded for bear
here in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
So here is Rogers from today, emerging from his darkness
retreat that I believe contain no soap and no indoor plumbing. Okay,
I believe that that was the case. A choice probably smell.
It's like going camping's.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Yeah, I mean it's he just wanted to rustic camp
that's not smelling.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
So you know that's a choice. You're gonna hear Aaron
Rodgers big statement from today and from this I will
tell you exactly if he's going to play in the
NFL and what the whole takeaway from Rogers returning to
the public eye is here. He is talking earlier on
ESPN about how hey everything is great. Nothing imminent with
(08:56):
me and the Steelers. But we're talking.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Poop again.
Speaker 4 (09:02):
That sounds about right, Might might be some of that. Yeah,
after that, what else do you think is going on
in the darkness?
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Retain? After that, he went on with Pat McAfee and said.
Speaker 6 (09:12):
That I've talked to Mike, I've talked to Omar. There's
been no deadline that's been you know, that's been put
in front of me. There's no contract, you know, offer
or anything. So there's nothing that I'm you know, having
to debate between I'm uh, you know, free agent and
you know again, I'm I'm enjoying my time with my
(09:32):
wife and enjoying this part of the off season, and
and you know, I think there's conversations to be had
down the line, but right now, I'm not not There
hasn't been any progressive conversations.
Speaker 1 (09:47):
No progressive conversation. So he's not with flow from progressive.
He's not doctor Rick, he's not a young homeowner turning
into his parents is Ian.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
He's not insurance free agent too. Does he still have
the endorsement deal?
Speaker 1 (09:59):
As he said there, I don't have a contract in
front of me. I don't have a contract from the Steelers.
So what to make of Aaron Rodgers. Number One, He's
absolutely playing again this year. If he wasn't, he would
have retired. He stars don't get to a point in
their career where they're gonna risk losing control over the narrative.
(10:20):
He wants to pick when he retires. He's not gonna
be told when he when to retire. If he was
gonna retire, he'd have done it already, right, we know
he would have done it already. He wouldn't go through
this whole thing. But he wants to say, I'm gonna
play another year. I had a pretty good year last year,
and so I'm ready to play again. Now likely it's
gonna be with the Steelers. Mike McCarthy is there. Of
course he's going back to the Steelers. McCarthy wants him.
(10:42):
Anything the Steelers do quarterback wise is going to be
a quarterback of the future. They're not gonna go sign
Kygler Murray or trade for Kirk Cousins. If we're going
one forty year old guy, it's gonna be Aaron Rodgers.
But his thing when he said I don't have a
contract in front of me or anything, This is Aaron
Rodgers telling the Steeler I ain't playing for free like
(11:02):
I did last year, coming off what was a down
couple of years with the Jets and one injury. What
did he say, Hey, I just want to play. I'm excited.
I don't need a bunch of money. He played for
one year and fourteen million dollars. Right, you got Aaron
Rodgers at a bargain, had a pretty good year. Right,
Everything went went as good as you could expect for
Rogers and the and the Steelers and so they you know,
(11:22):
playoff team. He's telling the Steelers, you're gonna have to
give me some cash. If Justin Fields can get bleep
in two years and forty million with the Jets, the
guy that I deposed, I need something like that, And
that's probably what he's gonna get.
Speaker 5 (11:39):
Like.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
And he's the point now where after last year it was, hey,
he could sign a two year deal. It could be
thirty million dollars guaranteed, you know of his contract. He's
telling the Steelers you're not getting me for free. That's
the whole purpose of him getting on television and saying,
because why are you saying I don't of have a
contracted Prime. All you have to say is, yeah, we're talking.
Things are great. We're not a deadline right now, so
(12:01):
we're seeing how it goes. Why would you worry about
a deadline? Why worry about a deadline? Are you really
coming back?
Speaker 3 (12:06):
Are you not?
Speaker 1 (12:07):
There is the drama part of it that Aaron Rodgers
loves again, the whole thing about no, I want to
be a private guy. Dude, you love the drama. But
the whole thing is that that was the shot across
the bow. I ain't playing for free. You're gonna give
me a deal that's gonna respect me, and it's gonna
be something at least twenty million dollars a year if
I'm gonna do this again. Maybe it's a and maybe
he even has enough cachet to say it's a two
(12:29):
year deal is what we want to do. But that's
what he's going to do. He's telling the Steelers, Okay,
this is Aaron negotiations beginning. I don't have a contract offer,
but I ain't playing for free.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
Yeah. Intended air yards was a paltry six per pass
attempt last year average. Well, he was about sixty six
percent completion rate, twenty four touchdowns, seven picks and you
look at some changes. They've got a lot of money
to spend. I think he's looking over at Daniel Jones,
who came in on a one year deal about the
same amount of money last year, nineteen touchdowns, eight interceptions,
(13:00):
coming back off a big injury, yet he got the
transition tag of thirty eight million dollars. So I think
Aaron Rodgers looking over there, mentioned your guy justin Field.
Justin Field was the guy that replaced him, so they
overpaid based on the expectation that he would be better
than what you were, Aaron Rodgers. The other is, if
he ain't coming back, there's no point in talking to
(13:22):
him right now, because well, we're in the silly season,
we're ready for free agency. He's got he's got no
juice unless it is to kind of goose and he
spin the wheels. And he's not mad at the Steelers. Friend,
it's not like the Jets own his rights. Like, he's
not mad at them. He's not just gonna string them
along at the end, say no, this is part of
his negotiation. Yeah, place for free talk glowingly about training
(13:45):
camp and playing for those fans, and like I said
a little earlier, in the show. Going out to La
trobe a fun little journey. The fact that they still
practice in front of fans, which is something a lot
of teams don't even bother doing anymore. So you get
that experience. And I know, Pittsburgh's a pretty cool place
to go hang out. So he seemed to like his
time there. He's got his coach put in. I mean,
(14:06):
Mike McCarthy wasn't exactly number one on everybody's list, and
yet there he is. So uh yeah, Aaron Rodgers back.
It's just a matter of cost and how quickly they
can get things together.
Speaker 1 (14:17):
Exit ou about a Fresco exit swollen dome. Jason Smith
Mike Harmon Live from the Fox Sports Radio Studios. Coming
up next. Two things Lou Holtz gets and needs to
get absolute incredible credit for that. He doesn't one thing.
Maybe you know one thing, maybe you don't. That's next.
We remember a legend right here, Jason and Mike Fox
Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
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 5 (14:50):
Hey, it's Rob Parker and Kelvin Washington from The Odd
Couple on Fox Sports Radio and in addition to hearing
us live week nights from seven to ten pm Eastern
on Fox Sports Radio, we are excited to announce brand
new YouTube channel for the show.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
That's right, You can now watch The Odd Couple live
on YouTube every day.
Speaker 5 (15:10):
All you gotta do search Odd Couple FSR on YouTube
again YouTube, Just search Odd Couple FSR. Check us out
on YouTube and subscribe.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Now I want to go watch the full Monty Good movie.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
Hell us.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Jason Smith Show with my best friend Mike Harmon. Big
quarterback story coming up in a few minutes, But Jets
are getting it is a Jet story haha. But uh look,
today we lost Lou Holtz, legendary college football coach and
(15:48):
ESPN analysts, passed away at the age of eighty nine.
And you see what players have been saying about him
throughout their the day. On social media, people in posting
videos of speeches. Lou Holtz gaven one speech where he's
talking about don't listen to what writer's saying. He's ripping
up a newspaper and at the end, like the newspaper
is back together, like he's a magician, like you see
stuff at what's being said about Lou Holtz, and all
(16:10):
of these stories are all true. The influence he had
on college football is immense. What he doesn't get enough
credit for are two things is that Notre Dame is
where it is right now in twenty twenty six because
of Lou Holtz. Right Notre Dame enjoys that status of
(16:31):
the number one independent. We get a berth in the
national champion in the playoff because we're Notre Dame and
we're in the top sixteen and we're in the top twelve,
we're guaranteed of birth. They enjoy that lofty status because
of Lou Holtz. Low Oltz came in to coach the
team in eighty six. They were coming off the Jerry
Faustiers where they were barely five hundred. Notre Dame was
(16:52):
off the national map in college football. They'd won the
title in seventy six. I believe we're seventy seven under
Dan Devine years they were awful, like they were not
No Tre Dame anymore. They were just hey boy, they
were a great program once upon a time, and now
look where they are. But Lou Holtz comes back and
within two years, has them in a bowl game, and
(17:14):
then has them winning the national Championship, Like it's wow year,
how does he do this? In his third year, they
win the national title and since then Notre Dame has
been Nore Dame. They became once again the modern day
rock stars of college football. All the players going through
there going to the NFL, whether it was Rick Meyer,
Jerome Bettis, we talked about rocket ismail. This was a
(17:38):
level of excellence that continued on and on into the
two thousands and where they are now into Brian Kelly
and playing for the National championship. Notre Dame is what
it is now because Lou Holtz brought it back. He
doesn't get enough credit for that, and he should because
it wasn't just hey, he was a great coach. No,
he brought Notre Dame back to relevancy.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Oh, there's no question about it. I mean, you look
at the bit on NBC all these years. When did
that deal first get brokered nineteen ninety now polarizing guy. Certainly,
there's a lot of other angles to the Lou Holtz
the man. For the purpose of the conversation, we're talking
about college football and the changing landscape think about that
initial broadcast deal, a national entity every week, Notre Dame
(18:24):
in your home. It's great for recruiting. A lot of
recruiting you didn't have to do except for the camera
found you on the sideline. Yep, right, So, and all
those players going on to prominence in the college collegiate world,
and then we're talking about moving on into the pros
and saying, look what I can do for you here,
and all those winning seasons, the level of dominance that
(18:47):
they achieved. To your point, all of those players, Tim Brown,
Jerome Bettis, all of those guys lined up today, had
multiple missives on social media and for all these years
talking about their experience and how the family atmosphere was
under Lou Holtz. But that deal in nineteen ninety doesn't
(19:07):
happen if they don't start having immediate dominant success the
way they did.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
The other thing he doesn't get enough credit for is
college football on ESPN, and whatever you say, you know,
it's easy to take shots at ESPN and certainly other
things happen. Their level of excellence their college football college
basketball coverage is they've built the sports over the course
of the past thirty forty years. What they've done. Look
(19:34):
and Fox has caught up very quickly in the last
few years without what we put on, you know, you know,
big big Saturday, big nude kickoff. But ESPN College Football
college basketball been masters at it. And two people need
more credit for bringing the sport along. And that's Lee
(19:55):
Corso and Lou Holtz, the two people that you tuned
into ESPN pregame in all Day on Saturdays to see, right.
Lee Corso obviously he retired a year ago, and and
and and the the history of him putting on that
the helmet or the mask of the other team and
the head dressing and picking teams like he became an
(20:16):
industry in and of itself. But the chemistry he had
with he and Fowler and Kirk hurb Street Lee Corso phenomenal.
But what Lou Holtz did for a pretty much a
two decade period, the College Football Final there's people now
who are you know, millennials who have come up on
college football. That was such a big day, the College
(20:38):
Football Final day with with all with with all Day
being Lou Holtz and Mark May and Chris Fowler and
Rehese Davis. When they were on the bits, they would do.
It was almost like you watched inside the NBA for
college football, and it was the era before you could
get every college football game. Everywhere you want to see something,
I'll turn and find it where you turn to see
(20:59):
what are Lou Holtz and Mark May and Reese Davis
talking about? What are they saying about this? And lou
Holtz was always very polarizing what he would say about
a team. He was very strong what he said. But
they did fun bits like I saw today. Making the
rounds was one bit where was Mark May and Lou
Holtz like making the a jury or a courtroom argument
for their Heisman trophy and Reese Davis's dressed as a judge,
(21:21):
like this is stuff they did. And for college football
final there was something everybody watched all day when you
were watching college football, whenever your game was over, before
your next game, let me go over and see what
they're saying. Let me go over and see what lou
Holts and Mark May are talking about on ESPN because
they're in between games, and it would be they be
on from like noon until midnight, right like you know
(21:41):
you get you know Lee, you know Lee and and
and foul everybody. Yeah, they're doing the big long pregame
show in the morning, but college football final like for
twelve hours, Like it's hey, this game's at halftime, and
now after this game and now we have a half
hour till our next game year, Now we're gonna do this,
go into this and and just what lou Holtz is
able to bring you watch that you watched all day
(22:02):
for twelve hours on and off, going back to it
because you knew if there was a big thing happening big,
we're going to talk about it. What did Lou Holts
have to say about it? Like that was so underrated
And that should get a lot more credit for ESPN,
keeping with the credit they get for their college football coverage,
because it's not just about the games. It's about putting
on a show. And I mean it was like inside
the NBA for college football.
Speaker 4 (22:24):
Well, and we look at where college football is now
and lawlessness and whatever. We get a lot of headlines
about the way the game has evolved. But you go
back in time when Lou Holtz and obviously Lee Corso
the monster that those properties have been. It was also
(22:47):
we didn't have forty seven streaming services. You needed highlights.
It's like we show reverence to the George Michael sports machine, right,
it's like you'd get your clips. But here you had
between Corso and the Holts, two guys that kind of
cut to the chase about the good, the bad, the
ugly of the game, decisions that were made. And as
certainly as he got older, he was even more critical
(23:09):
of coaches and their decisions and how tough they were
or weren't and all of those looking squarely at at
the big ten there. But when we look at it,
it was also college football was at a different level,
at least to my estimation.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
Right.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
The NFL is now the eight hundred pound gorilla that
everybody's chasing and the biggest thing on the block for
us growing up, college football held a lot of that regard, right,
So you were looking to the authorities to fill in
the gaps on the games you didn't see. And Lou
Holtz was one of the pre eminent voices there.
Speaker 1 (23:45):
An incredible life, incredible career for him, both on the
sideline and in the studio. Lou Holtz passing away today
at the age of eighty nine. Time now to find
out what's trending in the wide world of sports. From
Monci Bolangos, who has everything. We don't need the results
the Thunder Nick game. Everybody knows. You could just skip
by that and go on. You know what, I think
they cheated the Thunder. Yeah, I'm with you.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Yeah, I don't know how.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah it was something.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Yeah yeah, yeah yeah, something happened that I I I
think they cheated.
Speaker 1 (24:15):
You're right, okay, very good. I don't know if anyone's.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
Gonna believe us, no, especially especially like the standings.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
But if I throw it out there, maybe someone will
believe it's okay. Maybe maybe.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
But the Thunder did survive one of three to one
hundred against the Mix at Madison Square Garden Shake Gilles
Alexander d dropped twenty six points and eight assists, one
hundred and twenty four consecutive games for SGA with twenty
or more points.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
That's why you get to wear a fox coat like that,
is why you can act like that exactly. That's why
you can wear like that. Unlike what's that guy?
Speaker 4 (24:44):
Max?
Speaker 1 (24:44):
No, what's the Max headroom?
Speaker 2 (24:46):
Max Clark?
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Is that the name of the prospect for the Tigers
has the five chains and fly balls and left field
for the Tigers training well played.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Yeah, so it's one of the it's one of those.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Carl Anthony Towns did fell out with three minutes left
to that one. He did end with seventeen points and
seventeen rebounds. Kawhi Leonard had twenty nine points as the
Clippers roll past the Pacers one thirty to one on seven.
In La Benettict Maathern off the bench twenty three points
and eight rebounds against his former team. The Hornets have
won six in a row. They defeated the Celtics in Boston,
won eighteen to eighty nine. LaMelo Ball eighteen points, seven rebounds,
(25:20):
four assists, seventy six Ers outscored the Jazz one oh
six to one oh two. Hawks have won five in
a row after beating the Bucks one thirty one to
one thirteen and the Trailblazers top the Grizzlies went twenty
two to one. Fourteen True Holiday thirty five points and
eleven assists in the win. In men's college hoofs, number
seven Houston was down ten but came back to defeat
Baylor seventy seven to sixty four, and number fifteen Produce
(25:42):
survived seventeen to sixty six against Northwestern at the World
Baseball Classic. Pool play began and Australia shout out Chinese
Taipei three zero. USA is going to begin their poll
play on Friday at eight pm Eastern Time against Brazil.
In the NHL, the Golden Knights beat the Red Wings
four to three in overtime. Devil's top the Maple Leaves
(26:03):
four to three in a shootout. Maple Leaves have lost
five in a row. The Hurricanes defeated the Canucks six
to four. Ducks outscored the Islanders five to one, snapping
New York's five game winning streak in the NFL. In
case you have missed the news, on Wednesday, Patriots are
releasing four time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs. The
Chiefs traded all Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Rams
(26:23):
for four draft picks, including a first rounder. The Vikings
are expected to release defensive tackle Jonathan Allen. Steelers are
releasing tight end John news Smith and the Chargers have
released offensive lineman Mackai Becton and tight end Will Disley.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Guys, it's been fun.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
Thank you very much mine, Thank you bye, do great
things you too.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
So Jet, Joe get ready for free agents. Hate to say, Jack,
he might have grated the photo shot. I think the
Jets are going to get Derek Carr into a Uh.
Speaker 4 (27:00):
That's good. That's as good as Sanchez versus t Though
back in the day, a couple of NFL inside and
including Mike Rouffalo, reporting today that the Jets are doing
their homework.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
On t a tongue of Iloa, who is expected to
be released by the Dolphins before the start of the
league year. Now that's going to happen. The big question
for Miami is do they eat all the money this year?
Do they spread it out of it two years? But
two is gone and the Jets are doing their homework. Okay,
let me just really, they're really pushing my my es
(27:35):
don't do homework. No, no, they're really pushing my my
my philosophy of I can get excited about every quarterback
because if Sam Darnold can win the Super Bowl, anybody can.
Because the only homeworking you know about, too is Okay,
we're gonna take the guy with the weakest arm in
football and we're gonna put him in a stadium with
swirling wins. How is that going to work. It's gonna
(27:57):
be like me throwing a whiffle ball lefty in one
of those money machines where all the air goes shooting
out the bottom and you gotta grab whatever money you
can on some kind of crazy game show. That's the
only homework you need to do about too. Can he
throw the ball five yards?
Speaker 4 (28:12):
And you've also played this guy two times a year
for the last half a decade. I know his injury history,
you know his inability to really connect on anything off
script or downfield.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
I said the other day, we talked about there's destinations
for everyone, and the destination for Tua was Minnesota. Why
did I say this? I said this because he needs
to a get off the map for a little bit,
needs to get out out, get go off radar, and
(28:50):
give time to just hang out, learn a system, and
tackle it in the fall when you find out JJ
McCarthy stinks. Also, he needs to be able to be
in anvironment where, hey, when I throw the football, nothing's
gonna happen to him. Playing in a dome eight nine
games a year, that will happen. The Jets are one
hundred and eighty degrees from both of those things. Forget
(29:13):
about Oh, Tua goes from Miami to New York. Forget it.
Oh throwing the ball in those swirling wins, forget it.
I mean, I know he's had good game against the Jets. Okay,
that's great. Now he's gonna be playing four the Jets,
the games won't be as great, right, I mean, really, again,
I want to be excited about him, because again, you
can get excited about almost anybody, because Sam Darnold won
(29:34):
the Super Bowl and it's not like he was even
looked at as being a starting quarterback up until he
went to the Vikings. Right, he had flamed out of
a bunch of teams. Okay, there are places for Tua,
but wow, man, the Jets aren't one of them. The
only thing that the silver lining and all of this mic,
and I'm being honest with you, is that if the
Jets signed Tua, I know they will be close closer
(29:56):
to tanking next year than they ever have been and
have a better shot at getting Arch Manning or Dante
More with the number one overall pick in the draft
the number two overall pick in the draft. Right, I
know that if they signed to a it's not gonna
be a great year. He's not someone that's gonna be
able to succeed. I will, like Garrett Wilson, fantasy wise,
is gonna throw them the football five thousand times. But
(30:16):
I know he can't win. He can't win in Miami.
He's not gonna be able to win it. He's not
gonna be able to do it. Him playing football in
the cold is not a good thing.
Speaker 3 (30:25):
Man.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
It's not gonna happen, but it will help the Jets tank,
and it will help the quote March for Arch next year.
And maybe we couldn't get Peyton Manning twenty five years
ago and he said, no, no, I'm staying in college football
because Bill Parcells won't guarantee me the number one overall pick,
or I just want to avoid the Jets. Maybe, Hey,
twenty five thirty years later, Arch Manning will wind up
(30:46):
being a Jet. They will be closer to tanking if
they signed over jas. Of course they will, because it's
like Jeff Lawrence. Of course, it's the one game that
they never should have been in business. The Dolphins rowing seventeen,
the Jets pick second at one in sixteen. Hey, congratulations, Yeah,
Mason Taylor's stock goes up as well, right, the over
the middle. If Twood actually goes there. Look, Minnesota, you
(31:07):
and I have very do on that one. I think
it'd be a hot seat because everybody cares and either
loves or hates JJ McCarthy. So if you wanted to exile. Unfortunately,
Jacoby Brissette has that one year deal which paying him nothing.
Because Arizona's about as far off the NFL radar as
you can go. U. The only other place that is
(31:27):
it could be is Atlanta, But I think they want
to win, so I don't think they're gonna bring him
in there. But the photoshop of to with the Captain
c don't forget that. Oh yeah, yeah, no, I love that.
Speaker 4 (31:42):
Thing that he comes in and he becomes the leader.
Yeah good, not great. You're you're running in place like
we talked about being a hamster on a wheel earlier.
It's kind of where you're going here. And for the Jets,
if you're really going down the road of hey, we're
gonna give Aaron Glenn the best chance to succeed, is
that really it? No, But you also have to have
(32:04):
somebody that wants to come and take your money.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Well, that's the thing is that you only go to
the Jets if you have no other options? What did
I say? The Jets aren't getting Kyler Murray because he's
gonna have options to him may not have as many options,
Which is what scares me about this, that this actually
might could happen.
Speaker 4 (32:20):
Because Derek Carr is not a free agent.
Speaker 1 (32:22):
We could we can wind up getting Derek Carr and
because he's not gonna have options either. I mean I could.
What well, Derek Carr and too are gonna No, Geno's
actually no, no, Geno's got more options than you think
because there's a lot of teams in the NFL that say, oh,
it was a Raiders system that screwed him over last year.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
So he's got off leave that. I think that's coming
from him, him and his agent. He's got off the
fact that Chip Kelly got an as he's got options. No,
Derek Kelly didn't throw the ball into triple coverage multiple times.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Derek carran to Tumbelowa might not have options. The Jets
might get both of them. They're not getting Malik Willis why,
because he's got options. He's got plenty of day. Not
getting mac Jones why he's got options, and the Niners
don't want to trade him, but no to and Derek Carr.
Oh yeah yeah, get ready, get ready, good luck, Thanks
appreciate that.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Yeah, wait for the offseason. What you're over under on wins?
Like five but again five and a half. But again,
if we get arch Manning in a year, I'm all
in on that.
Speaker 1 (33:20):
I'm all in on it.
Speaker 4 (33:21):
Yeah, he's gonna end up somewhere else. I'm going to
force the hand in a trade.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
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