December 11, 2025 • 34 mins
Jason Smith and Mike Harmon welcome in Fox Sports NBA Analyst Ric Bucher for all things Lakers, Thunder, Giannis and the NBA Cup!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
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. Let's give this.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Hello, Welcome inside Final Hour tonight the Jason Smith Show
with my bes friend Mike Harmon. And his name is
John c That is not John Cena.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
That is not the John Cena.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
The Battle, the Final Battle coming up against Goonter later
on this week.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Hi Carol, We're John Cena. Uh. The NBA Final four
E Cup teams are set. Your overwhelming favorite, the New
York Knicks, also a favorite, the thunder He Orlando Magic,
and the San Antonio Spurs. The final four of the
E Cup is set. The Knicks the only team to
(01:14):
make to the quarterfinals all three years. Here, they are
two steps away from what would be every bit the
equal to winning the NBA title, the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Joining us now on the Hotline for all the big
news in the NBA, including what's going on with the
honest Fox Sports one NBA insider extraordinaire. Check out the
On the Ball podcast. He is on Twitter at Rick Buker.
(01:37):
It is Rick Buker. What's happening? Man? How are you?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
I am? I'm better than the Lakers right now. Let's
put it that way.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
You have NBA cup fever? Rick, I could tell you
have a cup fever.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
You know what's funny is it's there's something about like
the advertising by uh some by broadcasters, but by everybody. Hey, hey,
you got a chance to go to Vegas. I'm like,
these are NBA players. They don't really need I mean,
(02:16):
Vegas is nice, but they don't need Vegas to have
a good time.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So this is not.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
We're not talking to middle you know, We're not.
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Talking to Joe Schmo in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
It's like, hey, hey, you know, you win this tractor poll,
You're going to Vegas.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
And Joe CLO's gonna be really excited about that.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Daron Fox is like, yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, that'll be fun.
I think the fun The most interesting thing was Ruey
Hatsumura talking about like what he was gonna do with
the five hundred k.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
And one of the options was I was just going
to put it.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
All on black, and then I got nervous. That to me,
that that illustrates to me the difference between lifestyles of
an NBA player and just about anybody else.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
Yeah, I want an extra five hundred K.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
And I thought, you know what, let me roll the
dice on it. Let me just put it on black.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Can we do the show, Rick, that we just roll
guys straight into the postgame show, into the casino.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
You lure them towards the tables. What do you think
you want in sure?
Speaker 4 (03:27):
I'm there.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
I'm there now tonight to talk about Cup action here. Uh,
it really is. I was not surprised at the start
the Spurs had this season, because I knew it sometime
this year Wenby was going to be the best player
in the NBA. But it really shocks me. He's been
out and the Spurs have been just as good and
they just roll the Lakers tonight, Rick, Like, this is
(03:50):
a team. Their supporting cast is terrific. They have young
stars everywhere. I mean, the Wenby era is coming. If
he can stay healthy and get back but and this
is impressive what they're doing.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Yeah, it is. And I but I think a big
part of it is with web Ben Yama. There's so
there for you know, the last couple of years now,
when you prepared for the San Antonio Spurs, you prepared
to face Victor Wembnyama and all that he uh, he
puts in front of you, and then you take him
out of the equation. It's like, what are we preparing for?
(04:23):
I mean some of these guys, you just say, opposing
teams haven't seen a whole lot of and certainly hasn't
seen them playing in primary roles, and so.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
In the regular season that can.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Be a real challenge.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
And then as you point out, like there is talent.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
There and as for tonight, this is just this is
the worst possible matchup that you could ask for with
the Lakers, the Lakers, and it's and it and it,
and it pointed up every single reason why to think
that the Lakers, no matter what lou or Austin Reeves
are doing, or they simply defensively, they can't contend with
(05:06):
the better teams in the league. Everybody is going to
push the pace. Everybody's going to say, you know what, Luca,
you score as much as you want. We're going to
try to stay home on everybody and limit everybody else.
And the other thirty secret is Lebron James coming back
now means less time for Marcus Smart, who's going to
(05:28):
help you Defensively, it diminishes the role that ruly Hatchamura
can play, and it takes the ball out of Austin
Reeves hands to a degree. And so it's weird to say,
but unless Lebron James there was moments in the game
where defensively he got after it or he played with
(05:50):
great energy and transition like that, Lebron James can still
help this team. But Lebron James just kind of being
out there is not it's taking away something. Really, this
is the transition that he has to make. He's a
role player now on this team. It sounds weird to say,
but he's he's a role player on this team and role.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
Players have to play with energy and if he doesn't.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Do that, then, as as strange as it may.
Speaker 5 (06:18):
Sound, I don't know that they're better with Lebron James
on the floor.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
I could see coming through the microphone on that. Wow.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I mean.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
It's it's I mean, this is I think this is
why Rich Paul said what he said about where this
team is. And particularly what I found interesting was Rich
Paul was saying, they're the way they play offensively, I
don't think they can get to the Western Conference finals.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
And I'm like, offensively, what are you talking about?
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Offensively? Defense is the problem with this team. But if
you point to the office, then you're pointing to Lukadancis,
and you're pointing to and you're pointing to Austin Reeves
and a team that is asking Lebron James to be
a complimentary player offensively. Basically, Rich Paul is saying, you
know what, when when Lebron James was the straw stirring
(07:17):
the drink. Not that that I think he's suggesting that
Lebron should still be the primary playmaker on this team,
but I think he's basically saying, hey, you know what,
we were contenders when when Lebron was the main guy.
This Lukadocic thing not quite as good, probably not going to.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Get you as far.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
It's funny to throw that out the Rich Paul.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Other part of it that I found interesting Rick was
he goes they was asked directly, is Lebron going to
finish the season with the Lakers?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
He said, where's he going to go? Where would you
send him? And what would you get back in return?
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Yeah, well, I don't I don't know that you. I
mean with the salary that he's making, I just I
don't know who, and the oxygen that he takes up
in the room, where are you going to send him
for the money that Lebron is making and the pieces
that you would have to give up. I don't know
(08:14):
that place. And certainly there's not a contender that is
looking at what they would have to give up just
in salary in order to get a Lebron. It doesn't
make a whole lot of sense. What I found again,
what I found most interesting is the way Rich Paul
framed it as like Lebron's not going anywhere, as if
(08:36):
Lebron has decided I don't want to go anywhere. It's
just like there was a time where Lebron James was
that powerful. I would say this, if the Lakers could
find someplace to send him, I think they would. It's
just and he doesn't have a no trade so this
really isn't up to Lebron James. It's just the reality.
At this stage, there's not a place for Lebron James
(09:00):
to go stick.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
The Cavaliers are a middle of the pack team. He
could go home and finish, and he could spin it like, hey,
I'm going home to finish. He can go back to
Cleveland in the path of least resistance through the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
I think that Lebron is smart enough to know that
he has a pretty strong legacy in Cleveland and going
back there again for what they'd have to give up financially.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
This is Look, Look, the reality.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Is Lebron James just isn't the same player now that
Father Time isn't, you know, just catching up with them.
Father Time has got his arm around Lebron's neck and saying, brother,
it's been a good run, but I think it's time
that you come with me. Now. That's where we are.
That's where we are. He's still smart enough, he's still
(09:57):
smart enough and savvy enough that he can get numbers
and make it look like he's the same impact player,
but he's simply he's not at this stage. And so
for whatever the East is, and I think you're right,
like the East is very much up for grabs.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
But.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Again, Cleveland's struggling the way they are. Orlando and Detroit
are I would say, better versions of the San Antonio Spurs.
So I don't know that Lebron is going to go
back there and do anything with Cleveland that would change
the direction of this. I said it on my podcast
(10:38):
this week that that Lebron and Chris Paul really find
themselves in a very similar place. The Banana boat crew
is once again doing things together, which is getting ready
to ride off in a sunset.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Rick, Let's go to a guy who's still in the
prime of his career, hotly tested. Now all the chirping
going around, that's Giannis and Tennekopo out for a couple
of weeks with the injury. I can't expect to see
him for another couple of weeks. But how do you
think this all plays out as we get closer towards
the dead Lakers. That's how you make that money work, Rick.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Yeah, yeah, trying to sell Lebron James on broatburst and
beer in Milwaukee is that the only Yeah? I mean
again again, Financially numbers wise, obviously, Janni's has a lot more,
has a lot more value. I Yannis has to decide
(11:43):
what he wants to do. And I think that the
reason that we're getting so many mixed signals out of Milwaukee,
based on having talked to people that were there previously
and and and are there now, is it's not really
clear what Yannis wants. He's obviously up for an extension,
(12:04):
and I do think that he's torn because he he did,
you know, he raised a family in Milwaukee. I do
think that he is very much attached to that city.
But he's also looking at am I going to be
able to contend for a title again anytime soon staying here?
(12:25):
And so he's looking around, and I think that's why
we get these mixed you know, these mixed reports not
just from from reporters and sources, but literally doc rivers
saying he's never asked to be traded. And then we
get a report that he's talked to his teammates and said,
you know, ignore the the trade talks, and Kyle Kuzma
(12:49):
comes out and says, yeah, we never had. He's never
talked to us about that, one way or the other.
And so I think a big part of the confusion
is is that there is confusion on yanis his part
in terms of what he really wants to do and
kind of going back and forth or giving people mixed
signals in terms of where his intentions lie. So for
(13:09):
me to tell you how I think this is going
to end up, I've always felt push comes to shove
that he's going to stay in Milwaukee. But again, you know,
he could reach a point where the Milwaukee Bucks say, hey, look,
this is the timeline we have. We're ready to move
(13:31):
on because we can get a boat load for you,
and maybe they come to an agreement that it's best
that that Giannisco pursue another championship someplace else. I think
that's what it would Ultimately it would take is for
the two sides to sit down and say it would
be in our and the best interest to both of
us if we if we moved on. But I don't
think we're there yet.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
All right. Lastly, Rick, you talk about contending for a championship.
This is what it looked like when the Warriors rolled
through everybody on the way to seventy three wins. What
it looked like for the Bulls when they rolled their
way to seventy two. Oklahoma City just doesn't even seem
like they need to try. Guys don't need to play
thirty minutes. They tie the seventy three win Warriors with
a twenty four to one start. I mean, at this point,
(14:13):
if you told me they would finish seventy eight and four,
I would say sure, because it seems like they could
do it without really trying. It's not like they're saying, hey,
every game is tough, we want to whatevery game. It's
like they're just out everything everybody right now.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
They are, But here's the danger in doing whatever they're doing.
And the Warriors seventy three and nine team is a
cautionary tale because I know that as that team was winning,
there was people inside the organization saying, yeah, you know what,
we're winning and we're blowing people out, but we're are
(14:48):
Our quality of play, the way that we're playing is slipping,
and when we get to the postseason, the way we're
playing and beating people in the regular season is may
not be good enough, and indeed it ultimately costs them.
There was some other things that went awry, but bottom
(15:10):
line is they weren't able to get the deal done.
So I'm not saying that Oklahoma City is going to
face the same fate. But that is the danger in
that when you're just when you have so much depth
and you're so young and.
Speaker 5 (15:26):
You know you can win even when you're not completely healthy.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
When you have that kind of advantage, you can end
up developing bad habits or thinking that you're actually playing
better than you are. And there's still a Denver Nuggets
team out there that I think is a is a
worthy opponent that in a seven game series is capable
of beating Oklahoma City, And so they have to have
(15:51):
it in their minds that we're not trying to win,
you know, have them set the record for most wins
in the regular season. We're trying to gauge our Are
we good enough when we play to take care of
business when we get to the playoffs? Is this is
the level of play good enough? And if it's not,
then they need to focus on that. So I don't
(16:12):
think it's a FATA complete, but I also think it's
you know, it's it's no mirage that they are something
teams the way that they are because they are legitimately
that good and that dominant.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
He's on Twitter at Rick Buker, that is at Rick
Bucker f S one insider extraordinarily on the Ball Podcast,
The Knicks, Well, we'll get to the Rick. The Knicks
have figured out all their early season issues. Now everything
is fine, Everything is good. All I.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
All I know is I want a replica of that
Emirates Cup in the studio when they take it.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
All okay, Yeah, we are going to call you when
when we count down to zero on the clock when
the Knicks beat the thunder one twenty eight to ninety
seven to win the E Cup. We'll call you as
the clock is ticking towards zero.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Yeah, okay, I'll uh.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I don't worry.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
About having my phone on mute if that happened.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What Jrick doing sleeping?
Speaker 1 (17:14):
He's done? See you, buddy. We'll talk to you next week, buddy.
All right, Great stuff from Rith Buker. Yeah, yeah, I
don't want to chicks the Cup. That's fine, that's fine.
Exit up out of Fresco Exit Swelling Dome. Great stuff there,
Lebron James Lakers role player. We got more NBA, We
(17:35):
got a big story from tonight coming up next. Keep
it right here, Jason and Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
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 6 (17:56):
Hey, it's Rob Parker and Calvin 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.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
New YouTube channel for the show.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
That's right, you can now watch The Odd Couple live
on YouTube every day.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
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 (18:29):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with my best
friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
BA Peter Alonzo, you've broken my heart.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
So we'll get to the latest on the University of
Michigan Shawn Moore situation coming up in a few minutes.
My goodness. But you know, tonight was the thirty for
thirty on Stu Scott on ESPN Stuke Scott's life career,
and it's got a lot of attention the last few
days and and and people are just starting to realize
(19:02):
just how tough a time he had at ESPN and
trying to cut through as a as a talent, and
you're seeing some stories there that you know, you had
a lot of suits that didn't really get his act
and what he was trying to do, and it was
really hard for him. And you know, early in the show,
I told, look, I worked with Stu when he first
got to ESPN on Sports Night, the ESPN two Flag
(19:22):
Show that was all about all these crazy sports we
covered and uh, you know, the first like year or
so whatever it was when he was there, we worked
together every day and and I told you that, you
know that the you know, one thing to say about
Stu Scott that people don't realize is that this is
in the mid nineties and he was ahead of his
time when it came to being a personality and he
(19:44):
is is There's a lot of people who owe their
career being able to break through because Stu Scott broke
through for everybody else. You know, the tough times he
went through, Uh weren't weren't great, you know, it was
he was you know, he's he's in there ESPN and
a in the mid nineties African American host hosting a
big flagship show on ESPN two, and he had to
(20:06):
deal with a lot of stuff, a lot of blowback
at ESPN who you know, people who didn't get what
he what he did. And you know, I told you
stories earlier about what it was like to work with
him in the depressions he had back then to say, Hey,
when we do sketches for the show, I want to
get a black person and a woman into the into
the sketch we do. I want to be able to
spotlight them. And this is thirty years ago. He's thinking
(20:28):
about this, right, He's a guy ahead of his time,
but I owe this is always my my favorite story
about him, you know, and and talking with Rick Bucker
and talking basketball. You know what made me think of
it is that you know, and this is the kind
of guy stew was. You're gonna hear guys like Rich
Eyes and tell you stories about you know, and they
were closer with him, and they can tell you really
inside stories. But I'll tell you this, this is the kind
of guy that Stu was. So this is back when
(20:50):
I was hosting All Night on ESPN Radio, and it
was the day of the AFC NFC Championship games, right
Super Bowl forty was coming up, and the Steelers won
and the Seahawks once we're getting Steelers in the Seahawks, right,
So okay, great, I know what my show is gonna
be that night. It's gonna be all AFC and NFC
Championship game. It's gonna be all Super Bowl preview, all
of it. Right. Well, then what happens that night in sports, Well,
(21:13):
a young, enterprising NBA head coach named Sam Mitchell decides
the single guard Kobe Bryant for an entire basketball game.
And Kobe Bryant goes for eighty one points, right, biggest
point total we have seen since Will Chamberlain, A huge,
huge deal. So on the show that night, Like this
is me on ESPN, and I'm saying, boy, you know,
(21:34):
I really I think this is the biggest This is
a bigger story than two teams going to the Super Bowl. Like,
I wonder what Sports centers lead their lead story is, because, yeah,
we saw this the football games earlier in the day.
This is new, this is highlights people haven't seen. This
is eighty one points. Man, you don't see this all
the time. Like, this should be the lead story. And
I think Sports Center led with the football games and
(21:56):
they went to Kobe whatever it was, so I'm doing
this on the air, and it's that's a whole big thing.
And all of a sudden, my producer gets on and says, hey, Jase,
when we come back from break, what's up. Stu Scott's
calling in. He wants to come on the show. And
I'm like, uh, okay, sure, he goes yeah, you know,
because he hosted Sports Center tonight and he wants to
come on, and I'm going okay, And now for the
(22:19):
next like three minutes, what's going through my head is just, oh, man,
I have picked a fight with Sports Center now and
Stu is gonna be mad and awesome. And all I'm
thinking of is that, I mean this years before Pat
mcafe can say things like this executive sucks and this
guy's terrible, this guy's the worst. You know, I'm like going, oh,
my goodness, what's gonna happen? Right?
Speaker 3 (22:38):
I'm sure there were a couple of people in the
building that could have said that. Nobody would have done
anything either.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
And you know, and the other part of it is that,
you know, I didn't know if Stu remembered me because
we worked together in the in the mid nineties for
a while. But then I left and I went and
this is like, you know, eight nine years later. So
I'm like, I don't know if he remembers me, but okay,
you know what. So he comes on and he's awesome,
and he says, oh, Jason, let me tell you the
conversations we had in the newsroom about what to lead with.
(23:03):
We talked about that for seven hours and it was
a phenomenal guest visit with him on the show right
all about what went into it, and we talked. Then
we got into the games and everything else, and I
was like, oh my god, that's amazing. That's amazing. Right now,
I thought here was gonna call and say, hey, man,
who are you going to question what we're doing on sport? Right?
So I'm like, okay, it was a great it was
a great interview. And so I tell my my producer
(23:25):
after I said, wow, that was awesome. Uh, you know, well,
we'll play it back, we'll put it on the website.
All this, I go, hey, do me a favor and
tell them, uh, you know, thanks, and tell them that
thanks from uh from from me. If you're I don't
know if you remembered me, but we I worked with him,
uh at you know, a ESPN on on U on
ESPN two a long time ago. And so he sends
(23:46):
out the text and he goes back, he goes, well,
I got a I got a one line text back
from Stu after I emailed him and I said, I
got to TEXTI I said, Okay, what did he say?
He said, hey, Deuce, family got to take care of
their own and I was like, oh my god. So
he remembered me and he and he called him to
come on. I mean, that's that's the kind of guy
that Stu was, right. He always thought about other people
(24:07):
and his impact and what he could do with other people,
and not in a way where it seemed like I'm
self important. Like that's kind of who Stu Scott was.
And I get that people didn't always completely get him
as a personality back then, but that's what I mean
when I say he was ahead of his time and
and if he came up now, he would be he
would be a huge, big, super duper star and of
(24:28):
all kinds of shows everywhere. But make no mistake, he
blazed that trail for a lot of people to have
the careers they have now. And you know, just that
just to tell you that that's kind of the guy
he was. Haven't seen any of the show obviously, but
I'm hoping you get some more stories like that, which
I'm sure you will on the thirty for thirty.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Yeah. I gotta imagine over the next couple of days
even more war stories come out there, yours one. You
and I have talked to the paths right going on
our years here at Fox Sports Radio together, and you've
always spoken so fondly of Stuart Scott and that and
those interactions because you felt heard, which is something that
(25:06):
you know, we try to be mindful of here. Does
it always work quite so well? You know, and get
up and down the ladder, but certainly that's that's a
big part of his legacy.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Exit out about a Fresca exit, swollen dome, Jason Smith,
Mike Harmon, live from the Fox Sports Radio studios. Just
a bit of kind of who he was. We'll get
back into the biggest story of the day. Oh, I
thought's do it right now. Why not? We got late
breaking news tonight about Sharon Moore and what is happening
right now with the University of Michigan and Moore's situation.
(25:40):
He was fired earlier today after what Michigan said after
a complete investigation, he had an inappropriate relationship with a
staff member. Since then, in the ensuing hours, he was
in custody in a Washingtonaw, Michigan County jail as a
suspect in alleged assault. Police say that it was not
(26:02):
an random incident. He was taken into custody and there's
no ongoing threat to the community. So Charon Moore fired
as head coach by Michigan, taken into custody after an assault.
And there's all kinds of stories out there about what
this could be, and there's different opinions. There's different people
(26:22):
who have been quote identified as this is the woman
in question he had a relationship with, No, this is
the woman in question. What he did to get arrested
for assault, Like, there's a lot of different things out there.
There's been nothing that's been reported that is been one
consistent result. Hey, this has been put out. I assume
in the next twenty four hours we will find out
(26:43):
more information. We'll get to what we'll get to what
it was. By this time tomorrow night, we'll have more
info on what exactly happened with Sharon Moore and what
happened with his assault, how much Michigan knew about it,
That's going to be a big part of this. And
you know they acted today to get rid of him,
but like how much they knew what was going on,
We're going to get all those details. One thing that
(27:04):
really what one Day has done in the sports world
is that from twenty twenty two until today, the Michigan
head coaching job is one of the top three coaching
jobs in the country, right even through the sign stealing
scandal with Harbaugh. In twenty two, Michigan had their first
(27:27):
great team. They won the Big Ten. They beat Ohio
State for the first time in years. The next year
they beat Ohio State again. They win the National Championship.
The next year, not a great year, but they beat
Ohio State again this year a nine win team. Hey,
you bring in Bryce Underwood, you thought he was going
to be great. Wasn't quite what they thought. But Michigan
in any metric you look at the top jobs in
(27:47):
college football, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, these are all that
These are the teams that are up there in one day,
in one day, or really in a week. Because you
want to talk about on the field and off the field,
they've gone from this is the top job in college
football too. They feel like they're back to where they
were now in the aughts, in the early teens, where
(28:10):
they couldn't beat Ohio State. Their run of talent had
really come to an end because really the talent is
not quite there like it was the last couple of years,
and now they're riddled in scandal and they're looking for
a safe hire to come in and kind of right
the ship right back with Okay, now we're going to
Brady Hoak, and Brady Hoak didn't work out, and now
we're now we're going to Jim Harbor. Harbor for the
(28:31):
first few years didn't work out at all, and finally
they figured it out, maybe because Connor Stallion has helped them,
But I feel like in one day, Michigan's gone back
to where they were, where we're looking up at Ohio State.
There's a big talent gap. Now we're looking for another
head coach because we had issues with this head coach
and it didn't work out, and no, we weren't winning
as much on the field this year. Like in one day,
(28:53):
I feel like they've gone back almost two decades to
where they were when it was looking up at Ohio
State trying to figure out their coaching situation.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Well, but all could be done right with the right
head coaching. Higher here you clean out and this gets
some of the last vestiges of scandal and all of
that that went on with the Connor stallions. Well, however
much weight you put on it, it certainly was a
weight around the program and the university, and certainly the
(29:20):
subject of plenty of headlines and one liners along the
way that maybe this is the next step to go
into a new path, depending on how quickly you can
resolve the coaching situation, how much it affects what your
recruiting class has been, because clearly there's been a long
run of how much more had been so instrumental to
(29:43):
a lot of that part of the process. Early odds
Ready to have some fun, sure, all right? Jed Fish
is currently the favorite off of one sports book. Calin
de Bour second, Marcus Freeman, third, Jesse Mint four, current
interim head coach Biff Hoji is fifth, Lincoln Riley finds
(30:08):
his way in here, Joe Brady, and then I wanted
to go deep enough for this name, which is starting
to circulate and I've seen it on my timeline a bunch.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
What about Brian Kelly.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
No, man, what about Lane Kiffin. Lane Kiffin's not on
that list at all. He's not.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
No, I was Lane, You got John Dan Lanning and
then it gets to Signetti and then the field at
plus six fifty Frand Brown would be showered his cigar.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Fran Brown's got enough issues. Let's let him continue to build,
rebuild Syracuse. Signetti's buyouts only fifteen million. You really want
to go, go go take him from Indiana. Go bring
in Kurt Signetti.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
That's what these guys that got extra giant ass novelty
checks after LSU and Penn's state and everybody fired their coaches. Signetti,
he didn't get another giant check slipped under his door
or for Christmas?
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Really, man, you know the people there at the top,
And I told you earlier in the show, I think
Minter is going to be the guy They kind of
need a safe hire someone who look who was their
defensive coordinated when he won the national title, was there
for a couple of years. He's part of the sign
stealing scandal, but it's enough removed from it. Where is okay?
He can come out. Yeah, well, because he wasn't sanctioned,
(31:23):
you know, I mean it was you know, Sharon Moore
was in Harbor. He can come back. And he's someone
that was familiar enough with the recentness of the program.
A terrific coach. Yeah, I think he's probably the leader
in the clubhouse because you don't know what's gonna happen now.
He's really gonna go spend it. You could go spend
a ton of money on a guy, but the whole
thing is to buy out Lincoln Riley and then give
(31:45):
him a contract. I think that's a little too much money.
But somebody like Caylin de Boor who where you know
every week it feels like Alabama loves them where they
can't stand him. Let's see how that next game goes
for Alabama and see how they feel about Kaylen de
Bor after it, because man, I'll tell you what I get.
(32:07):
I get more than a little nervous because there was
a part in the middle of the season where you said, Okay, awesome,
Kaylen de boris right at his ship and everybody loves
him now. But he finishes with that third loss, squeaks
into the playoff. They lose to Oklahoma. I really wonder
if suddenly he doesn't become the odds on favor for Michigan.
(32:28):
I honestly think it if it comes down to that
game and Kaylen de Bor loses, yeah, I think you
got a fifty to fifty shot with him. Yeah, we
saw a shot to get him.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Yeah, in the early odds right after this transpired, and
I saw de Bor's name was the first. Because remember
there was people after their first loss of the season
that we're looking to oust him from everything. So certainly
potential for chaos there. But yeah, I love this list.
And that's the next iteration of this. By all accounts,
(32:58):
there's well and excess of seven hundred thousand Michigan alums
running around. You know this is you know, for just
the price of a cup of coffee, you two can
dot dot dot.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
H I thought you're gonna say there's more than seven
hundred thousand people on this wishlist to be the Michigan
head coach.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Well, I mean there are.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I mean, look, if you went to Michigan, don't you
you know, offer up a little bit to whatever guide
in your universe to say, hey.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
I could be the head coach there.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Okay, sure, sure I could all right, Hey, what I
could be?
Speaker 3 (33:27):
I could get free on Philip Rivers is coming back
to the NFL.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Anything is possible.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
I nominate Lincoln Riley coming up next. Yeah, we'll love
more on Philip Rivers, who may actually play Sunday Plus.
As we told you earlier this week, I got a
sneaking suspicion We're gonna get a sixteen team playoff in
college football next year. We seem to be on the
doorstep of it after what was said earlier today. That's
(33:55):
next Jason and Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
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. Let's give this.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:30):
Hello, Welcome inside Final Hour tonight the Jason Smith Show
with my bes friend Mike Harmon. And his name is
John c That is not John Cena.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
That is not the John Cena.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
The Battle, the Final Battle coming up against Goonter later
on this week.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Hi Carol, We're John Cena. Uh. The NBA Final four
E Cup teams are set. Your overwhelming favorite, the New
York Knicks, also a favorite, the thunder He Orlando Magic,
and the San Antonio Spurs. The final four of the
E Cup is set. The Knicks the only team to
(01:14):
make to the quarterfinals all three years. Here, they are
two steps away from what would be every bit the
equal to winning the NBA title, the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Joining us now on the Hotline for all the big
news in the NBA, including what's going on with the
honest Fox Sports one NBA insider extraordinaire. Check out the
On the Ball podcast. He is on Twitter at Rick Buker.
(01:37):
It is Rick Buker. What's happening? Man? How are you?
Speaker 4 (01:41):
I am? I'm better than the Lakers right now. Let's
put it that way.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
You have NBA cup fever? Rick, I could tell you
have a cup fever.
Speaker 4 (01:54):
You know what's funny is it's there's something about like
the advertising by uh some by broadcasters, but by everybody. Hey, hey,
you got a chance to go to Vegas. I'm like,
these are NBA players. They don't really need I mean,
(02:16):
Vegas is nice, but they don't need Vegas to have
a good time.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
So this is not.
Speaker 4 (02:23):
We're not talking to middle you know, We're not.
Speaker 5 (02:25):
Talking to Joe Schmo in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
It's like, hey, hey, you know, you win this tractor poll,
You're going to Vegas.
Speaker 5 (02:33):
And Joe CLO's gonna be really excited about that.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
Daron Fox is like, yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, that'll be fun.
I think the fun The most interesting thing was Ruey
Hatsumura talking about like what he was gonna do with
the five hundred k.
Speaker 5 (02:49):
And one of the options was I was just going
to put it.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
All on black, and then I got nervous. That to me,
that that illustrates to me the difference between lifestyles of
an NBA player and just about anybody else.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
Yeah, I want an extra five hundred K.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
And I thought, you know what, let me roll the
dice on it. Let me just put it on black.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Can we do the show, Rick, that we just roll
guys straight into the postgame show, into the casino.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
You lure them towards the tables. What do you think
you want in sure?
Speaker 4 (03:27):
I'm there.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
I'm there now tonight to talk about Cup action here. Uh,
it really is. I was not surprised at the start
the Spurs had this season, because I knew it sometime
this year Wenby was going to be the best player
in the NBA. But it really shocks me. He's been
out and the Spurs have been just as good and
they just roll the Lakers tonight, Rick, Like, this is
(03:50):
a team. Their supporting cast is terrific. They have young
stars everywhere. I mean, the Wenby era is coming. If
he can stay healthy and get back but and this
is impressive what they're doing.
Speaker 4 (04:02):
Yeah, it is. And I but I think a big
part of it is with web Ben Yama. There's so
there for you know, the last couple of years now,
when you prepared for the San Antonio Spurs, you prepared
to face Victor Wembnyama and all that he uh, he
puts in front of you, and then you take him
out of the equation. It's like, what are we preparing for?
(04:23):
I mean some of these guys, you just say, opposing
teams haven't seen a whole lot of and certainly hasn't
seen them playing in primary roles, and so.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
In the regular season that can.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Be a real challenge.
Speaker 5 (04:38):
And then as you point out, like there is talent.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
There and as for tonight, this is just this is
the worst possible matchup that you could ask for with
the Lakers, the Lakers, and it's and it and it,
and it pointed up every single reason why to think
that the Lakers, no matter what lou or Austin Reeves
are doing, or they simply defensively, they can't contend with
(05:06):
the better teams in the league. Everybody is going to
push the pace. Everybody's going to say, you know what, Luca,
you score as much as you want. We're going to
try to stay home on everybody and limit everybody else.
And the other thirty secret is Lebron James coming back
now means less time for Marcus Smart, who's going to
(05:28):
help you Defensively, it diminishes the role that ruly Hatchamura
can play, and it takes the ball out of Austin
Reeves hands to a degree. And so it's weird to say,
but unless Lebron James there was moments in the game
where defensively he got after it or he played with
(05:50):
great energy and transition like that, Lebron James can still
help this team. But Lebron James just kind of being
out there is not it's taking away something. Really, this
is the transition that he has to make. He's a
role player now on this team. It sounds weird to say,
but he's he's a role player on this team and role.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
Players have to play with energy and if he doesn't.
Speaker 4 (06:14):
Do that, then, as as strange as it may.
Speaker 5 (06:18):
Sound, I don't know that they're better with Lebron James
on the floor.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
I could see coming through the microphone on that. Wow.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
I mean.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
It's it's I mean, this is I think this is
why Rich Paul said what he said about where this
team is. And particularly what I found interesting was Rich
Paul was saying, they're the way they play offensively, I
don't think they can get to the Western Conference finals.
Speaker 5 (06:52):
And I'm like, offensively, what are you talking about?
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Offensively? Defense is the problem with this team. But if
you point to the office, then you're pointing to Lukadancis,
and you're pointing to and you're pointing to Austin Reeves
and a team that is asking Lebron James to be
a complimentary player offensively. Basically, Rich Paul is saying, you
know what, when when Lebron James was the straw stirring
(07:17):
the drink. Not that that I think he's suggesting that
Lebron should still be the primary playmaker on this team,
but I think he's basically saying, hey, you know what,
we were contenders when when Lebron was the main guy.
This Lukadocic thing not quite as good, probably not going to.
Speaker 1 (07:36):
Get you as far.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
It's funny to throw that out the Rich Paul.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
Other part of it that I found interesting Rick was
he goes they was asked directly, is Lebron going to
finish the season with the Lakers?
Speaker 2 (07:47):
He said, where's he going to go? Where would you
send him? And what would you get back in return?
Speaker 4 (07:52):
Yeah, well, I don't I don't know that you. I
mean with the salary that he's making, I just I
don't know who, and the oxygen that he takes up
in the room, where are you going to send him
for the money that Lebron is making and the pieces
that you would have to give up. I don't know
(08:14):
that place. And certainly there's not a contender that is
looking at what they would have to give up just
in salary in order to get a Lebron. It doesn't
make a whole lot of sense. What I found again,
what I found most interesting is the way Rich Paul
framed it as like Lebron's not going anywhere, as if
(08:36):
Lebron has decided I don't want to go anywhere. It's
just like there was a time where Lebron James was
that powerful. I would say this, if the Lakers could
find someplace to send him, I think they would. It's
just and he doesn't have a no trade so this
really isn't up to Lebron James. It's just the reality.
At this stage, there's not a place for Lebron James
(09:00):
to go stick.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
The Cavaliers are a middle of the pack team. He
could go home and finish, and he could spin it like, hey,
I'm going home to finish. He can go back to
Cleveland in the path of least resistance through the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
I think that Lebron is smart enough to know that
he has a pretty strong legacy in Cleveland and going
back there again for what they'd have to give up financially.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
This is Look, Look, the reality.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Is Lebron James just isn't the same player now that
Father Time isn't, you know, just catching up with them.
Father Time has got his arm around Lebron's neck and saying, brother,
it's been a good run, but I think it's time
that you come with me. Now. That's where we are.
That's where we are. He's still smart enough, he's still
(09:57):
smart enough and savvy enough that he can get numbers
and make it look like he's the same impact player,
but he's simply he's not at this stage. And so
for whatever the East is, and I think you're right,
like the East is very much up for grabs.
Speaker 5 (10:12):
But.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
Again, Cleveland's struggling the way they are. Orlando and Detroit
are I would say, better versions of the San Antonio Spurs.
So I don't know that Lebron is going to go
back there and do anything with Cleveland that would change
the direction of this. I said it on my podcast
(10:38):
this week that that Lebron and Chris Paul really find
themselves in a very similar place. The Banana boat crew
is once again doing things together, which is getting ready
to ride off in a sunset.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Rick, Let's go to a guy who's still in the
prime of his career, hotly tested. Now all the chirping
going around, that's Giannis and Tennekopo out for a couple
of weeks with the injury. I can't expect to see
him for another couple of weeks. But how do you
think this all plays out as we get closer towards
the dead Lakers. That's how you make that money work, Rick.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
Yeah, yeah, trying to sell Lebron James on broatburst and
beer in Milwaukee is that the only Yeah? I mean
again again, Financially numbers wise, obviously, Janni's has a lot more,
has a lot more value. I Yannis has to decide
(11:43):
what he wants to do. And I think that the
reason that we're getting so many mixed signals out of Milwaukee,
based on having talked to people that were there previously
and and and are there now, is it's not really
clear what Yannis wants. He's obviously up for an extension,
(12:04):
and I do think that he's torn because he he did,
you know, he raised a family in Milwaukee. I do
think that he is very much attached to that city.
But he's also looking at am I going to be
able to contend for a title again anytime soon staying here?
(12:25):
And so he's looking around, and I think that's why
we get these mixed you know, these mixed reports not
just from from reporters and sources, but literally doc rivers
saying he's never asked to be traded. And then we
get a report that he's talked to his teammates and said,
you know, ignore the the trade talks, and Kyle Kuzma
(12:49):
comes out and says, yeah, we never had. He's never
talked to us about that, one way or the other.
And so I think a big part of the confusion
is is that there is confusion on yanis his part
in terms of what he really wants to do and
kind of going back and forth or giving people mixed
signals in terms of where his intentions lie. So for
(13:09):
me to tell you how I think this is going
to end up, I've always felt push comes to shove
that he's going to stay in Milwaukee. But again, you know,
he could reach a point where the Milwaukee Bucks say, hey, look,
this is the timeline we have. We're ready to move
(13:31):
on because we can get a boat load for you,
and maybe they come to an agreement that it's best
that that Giannisco pursue another championship someplace else. I think
that's what it would Ultimately it would take is for
the two sides to sit down and say it would
be in our and the best interest to both of
us if we if we moved on. But I don't
think we're there yet.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
All right. Lastly, Rick, you talk about contending for a championship.
This is what it looked like when the Warriors rolled
through everybody on the way to seventy three wins. What
it looked like for the Bulls when they rolled their
way to seventy two. Oklahoma City just doesn't even seem
like they need to try. Guys don't need to play
thirty minutes. They tie the seventy three win Warriors with
a twenty four to one start. I mean, at this point,
(14:13):
if you told me they would finish seventy eight and four,
I would say sure, because it seems like they could
do it without really trying. It's not like they're saying, hey,
every game is tough, we want to whatevery game. It's
like they're just out everything everybody right now.
Speaker 4 (14:28):
They are, But here's the danger in doing whatever they're doing.
And the Warriors seventy three and nine team is a
cautionary tale because I know that as that team was winning,
there was people inside the organization saying, yeah, you know what,
we're winning and we're blowing people out, but we're are
(14:48):
Our quality of play, the way that we're playing is slipping,
and when we get to the postseason, the way we're
playing and beating people in the regular season is may
not be good enough, and indeed it ultimately costs them.
There was some other things that went awry, but bottom
(15:10):
line is they weren't able to get the deal done.
So I'm not saying that Oklahoma City is going to
face the same fate. But that is the danger in
that when you're just when you have so much depth
and you're so young and.
Speaker 5 (15:26):
You know you can win even when you're not completely healthy.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
When you have that kind of advantage, you can end
up developing bad habits or thinking that you're actually playing
better than you are. And there's still a Denver Nuggets
team out there that I think is a is a
worthy opponent that in a seven game series is capable
of beating Oklahoma City, And so they have to have
(15:51):
it in their minds that we're not trying to win,
you know, have them set the record for most wins
in the regular season. We're trying to gauge our Are
we good enough when we play to take care of
business when we get to the playoffs? Is this is
the level of play good enough? And if it's not,
then they need to focus on that. So I don't
(16:12):
think it's a FATA complete, but I also think it's
you know, it's it's no mirage that they are something
teams the way that they are because they are legitimately
that good and that dominant.
Speaker 1 (16:25):
He's on Twitter at Rick Buker, that is at Rick
Bucker f S one insider extraordinarily on the Ball Podcast,
The Knicks, Well, we'll get to the Rick. The Knicks
have figured out all their early season issues. Now everything
is fine, Everything is good. All I.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
All I know is I want a replica of that
Emirates Cup in the studio when they take it.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
All okay, Yeah, we are going to call you when
when we count down to zero on the clock when
the Knicks beat the thunder one twenty eight to ninety
seven to win the E Cup. We'll call you as
the clock is ticking towards zero.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
Yeah, okay, I'll uh.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
I don't worry.
Speaker 4 (17:10):
About having my phone on mute if that happened.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
What Jrick doing sleeping?
Speaker 1 (17:14):
He's done? See you, buddy. We'll talk to you next week, buddy.
All right, Great stuff from Rith Buker. Yeah, yeah, I
don't want to chicks the Cup. That's fine, that's fine.
Exit up out of Fresco Exit Swelling Dome. Great stuff there,
Lebron James Lakers role player. We got more NBA, We
(17:35):
got a big story from tonight coming up next. Keep
it right here, Jason and Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (17:44):
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 6 (17:56):
Hey, it's Rob Parker and Calvin 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.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
New YouTube channel for the show.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
That's right, you can now watch The Odd Couple live
on YouTube every day.
Speaker 6 (18:16):
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 (18:29):
Fox Sports Radio The Jason Smith Show with my best
friend Mike Harmon.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
BA Peter Alonzo, you've broken my heart.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
So we'll get to the latest on the University of
Michigan Shawn Moore situation coming up in a few minutes.
My goodness. But you know, tonight was the thirty for
thirty on Stu Scott on ESPN Stuke Scott's life career,
and it's got a lot of attention the last few
days and and and people are just starting to realize
(19:02):
just how tough a time he had at ESPN and
trying to cut through as a as a talent, and
you're seeing some stories there that you know, you had
a lot of suits that didn't really get his act
and what he was trying to do, and it was
really hard for him. And you know, early in the show,
I told, look, I worked with Stu when he first
got to ESPN on Sports Night, the ESPN two Flag
(19:22):
Show that was all about all these crazy sports we
covered and uh, you know, the first like year or
so whatever it was when he was there, we worked
together every day and and I told you that, you
know that the you know, one thing to say about
Stu Scott that people don't realize is that this is
in the mid nineties and he was ahead of his
time when it came to being a personality and he
(19:44):
is is There's a lot of people who owe their
career being able to break through because Stu Scott broke
through for everybody else. You know, the tough times he
went through, Uh weren't weren't great, you know, it was
he was you know, he's he's in there ESPN and
a in the mid nineties African American host hosting a
big flagship show on ESPN two, and he had to
(20:06):
deal with a lot of stuff, a lot of blowback
at ESPN who you know, people who didn't get what
he what he did. And you know, I told you
stories earlier about what it was like to work with
him in the depressions he had back then to say, Hey,
when we do sketches for the show, I want to
get a black person and a woman into the into
the sketch we do. I want to be able to
spotlight them. And this is thirty years ago. He's thinking
(20:28):
about this, right, He's a guy ahead of his time,
but I owe this is always my my favorite story
about him, you know, and and talking with Rick Bucker
and talking basketball. You know what made me think of
it is that you know, and this is the kind
of guy stew was. You're gonna hear guys like Rich
Eyes and tell you stories about you know, and they
were closer with him, and they can tell you really
inside stories. But I'll tell you this, this is the kind
of guy that Stu was. So this is back when
(20:50):
I was hosting All Night on ESPN Radio, and it
was the day of the AFC NFC Championship games, right
Super Bowl forty was coming up, and the Steelers won
and the Seahawks once we're getting Steelers in the Seahawks, right,
So okay, great, I know what my show is gonna
be that night. It's gonna be all AFC and NFC
Championship game. It's gonna be all Super Bowl preview, all
of it. Right. Well, then what happens that night in sports, Well,
(21:13):
a young, enterprising NBA head coach named Sam Mitchell decides
the single guard Kobe Bryant for an entire basketball game.
And Kobe Bryant goes for eighty one points, right, biggest
point total we have seen since Will Chamberlain, A huge,
huge deal. So on the show that night, Like this
is me on ESPN, and I'm saying, boy, you know,
(21:34):
I really I think this is the biggest This is
a bigger story than two teams going to the Super Bowl. Like,
I wonder what Sports centers lead their lead story is, because, yeah,
we saw this the football games earlier in the day.
This is new, this is highlights people haven't seen. This
is eighty one points. Man, you don't see this all
the time. Like, this should be the lead story. And
I think Sports Center led with the football games and
(21:56):
they went to Kobe whatever it was, so I'm doing
this on the air, and it's that's a whole big thing.
And all of a sudden, my producer gets on and says, hey, Jase,
when we come back from break, what's up. Stu Scott's
calling in. He wants to come on the show. And
I'm like, uh, okay, sure, he goes yeah, you know,
because he hosted Sports Center tonight and he wants to
come on, and I'm going okay, And now for the
(22:19):
next like three minutes, what's going through my head is just, oh, man,
I have picked a fight with Sports Center now and
Stu is gonna be mad and awesome. And all I'm
thinking of is that, I mean this years before Pat
mcafe can say things like this executive sucks and this
guy's terrible, this guy's the worst. You know, I'm like going, oh,
my goodness, what's gonna happen? Right?
Speaker 3 (22:38):
I'm sure there were a couple of people in the
building that could have said that. Nobody would have done
anything either.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
And you know, and the other part of it is that,
you know, I didn't know if Stu remembered me because
we worked together in the in the mid nineties for
a while. But then I left and I went and
this is like, you know, eight nine years later. So
I'm like, I don't know if he remembers me, but okay,
you know what. So he comes on and he's awesome,
and he says, oh, Jason, let me tell you the
conversations we had in the newsroom about what to lead with.
(23:03):
We talked about that for seven hours and it was
a phenomenal guest visit with him on the show right
all about what went into it, and we talked. Then
we got into the games and everything else, and I
was like, oh my god, that's amazing. That's amazing. Right now,
I thought here was gonna call and say, hey, man,
who are you going to question what we're doing on sport? Right?
So I'm like, okay, it was a great it was
a great interview. And so I tell my my producer
(23:25):
after I said, wow, that was awesome. Uh, you know, well,
we'll play it back, we'll put it on the website.
All this, I go, hey, do me a favor and
tell them, uh, you know, thanks, and tell them that
thanks from uh from from me. If you're I don't
know if you remembered me, but we I worked with him,
uh at you know, a ESPN on on U on
ESPN two a long time ago. And so he sends
(23:46):
out the text and he goes back, he goes, well,
I got a I got a one line text back
from Stu after I emailed him and I said, I
got to TEXTI I said, Okay, what did he say?
He said, hey, Deuce, family got to take care of
their own and I was like, oh my god. So
he remembered me and he and he called him to
come on. I mean, that's that's the kind of guy
that Stu was, right. He always thought about other people
(24:07):
and his impact and what he could do with other people,
and not in a way where it seemed like I'm
self important. Like that's kind of who Stu Scott was.
And I get that people didn't always completely get him
as a personality back then, but that's what I mean
when I say he was ahead of his time and
and if he came up now, he would be he
would be a huge, big, super duper star and of
(24:28):
all kinds of shows everywhere. But make no mistake, he
blazed that trail for a lot of people to have
the careers they have now. And you know, just that
just to tell you that that's kind of the guy
he was. Haven't seen any of the show obviously, but
I'm hoping you get some more stories like that, which
I'm sure you will on the thirty for thirty.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
Yeah. I gotta imagine over the next couple of days
even more war stories come out there, yours one. You
and I have talked to the paths right going on
our years here at Fox Sports Radio together, and you've
always spoken so fondly of Stuart Scott and that and
those interactions because you felt heard, which is something that
(25:06):
you know, we try to be mindful of here. Does
it always work quite so well? You know, and get
up and down the ladder, but certainly that's that's a
big part of his legacy.
Speaker 1 (25:17):
Exit out about a Fresca exit, swollen dome, Jason Smith,
Mike Harmon, live from the Fox Sports Radio studios. Just
a bit of kind of who he was. We'll get
back into the biggest story of the day. Oh, I
thought's do it right now. Why not? We got late
breaking news tonight about Sharon Moore and what is happening
right now with the University of Michigan and Moore's situation.
(25:40):
He was fired earlier today after what Michigan said after
a complete investigation, he had an inappropriate relationship with a
staff member. Since then, in the ensuing hours, he was
in custody in a Washingtonaw, Michigan County jail as a
suspect in alleged assault. Police say that it was not
(26:02):
an random incident. He was taken into custody and there's
no ongoing threat to the community. So Charon Moore fired
as head coach by Michigan, taken into custody after an assault.
And there's all kinds of stories out there about what
this could be, and there's different opinions. There's different people
(26:22):
who have been quote identified as this is the woman
in question he had a relationship with, No, this is
the woman in question. What he did to get arrested
for assault, Like, there's a lot of different things out there.
There's been nothing that's been reported that is been one
consistent result. Hey, this has been put out. I assume
in the next twenty four hours we will find out
(26:43):
more information. We'll get to what we'll get to what
it was. By this time tomorrow night, we'll have more
info on what exactly happened with Sharon Moore and what
happened with his assault, how much Michigan knew about it,
That's going to be a big part of this. And
you know they acted today to get rid of him,
but like how much they knew what was going on,
We're going to get all those details. One thing that
(27:04):
really what one Day has done in the sports world
is that from twenty twenty two until today, the Michigan
head coaching job is one of the top three coaching
jobs in the country, right even through the sign stealing
scandal with Harbaugh. In twenty two, Michigan had their first
(27:27):
great team. They won the Big Ten. They beat Ohio
State for the first time in years. The next year
they beat Ohio State again. They win the National Championship.
The next year, not a great year, but they beat
Ohio State again this year a nine win team. Hey,
you bring in Bryce Underwood, you thought he was going
to be great. Wasn't quite what they thought. But Michigan
in any metric you look at the top jobs in
(27:47):
college football, Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, these are all that
These are the teams that are up there in one day,
in one day, or really in a week. Because you
want to talk about on the field and off the field,
they've gone from this is the top job in college
football too. They feel like they're back to where they
were now in the aughts, in the early teens, where
(28:10):
they couldn't beat Ohio State. Their run of talent had
really come to an end because really the talent is
not quite there like it was the last couple of years,
and now they're riddled in scandal and they're looking for
a safe hire to come in and kind of right
the ship right back with Okay, now we're going to
Brady Hoak, and Brady Hoak didn't work out, and now
we're now we're going to Jim Harbor. Harbor for the
(28:31):
first few years didn't work out at all, and finally
they figured it out, maybe because Connor Stallion has helped them,
But I feel like in one day, Michigan's gone back
to where they were, where we're looking up at Ohio State.
There's a big talent gap. Now we're looking for another
head coach because we had issues with this head coach
and it didn't work out, and no, we weren't winning
as much on the field this year. Like in one day,
(28:53):
I feel like they've gone back almost two decades to
where they were when it was looking up at Ohio
State trying to figure out their coaching situation.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
Well, but all could be done right with the right
head coaching. Higher here you clean out and this gets
some of the last vestiges of scandal and all of
that that went on with the Connor stallions. Well, however
much weight you put on it, it certainly was a
weight around the program and the university, and certainly the
(29:20):
subject of plenty of headlines and one liners along the
way that maybe this is the next step to go
into a new path, depending on how quickly you can
resolve the coaching situation, how much it affects what your
recruiting class has been, because clearly there's been a long
run of how much more had been so instrumental to
(29:43):
a lot of that part of the process. Early odds
Ready to have some fun, sure, all right? Jed Fish
is currently the favorite off of one sports book. Calin
de Bour second, Marcus Freeman, third, Jesse Mint four, current
interim head coach Biff Hoji is fifth, Lincoln Riley finds
(30:08):
his way in here, Joe Brady, and then I wanted
to go deep enough for this name, which is starting
to circulate and I've seen it on my timeline a bunch.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
What about Brian Kelly.
Speaker 1 (30:19):
No, man, what about Lane Kiffin. Lane Kiffin's not on
that list at all. He's not.
Speaker 3 (30:24):
No, I was Lane, You got John Dan Lanning and
then it gets to Signetti and then the field at
plus six fifty Frand Brown would be showered his cigar.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Fran Brown's got enough issues. Let's let him continue to build,
rebuild Syracuse. Signetti's buyouts only fifteen million. You really want
to go, go go take him from Indiana. Go bring
in Kurt Signetti.
Speaker 3 (30:46):
That's what these guys that got extra giant ass novelty
checks after LSU and Penn's state and everybody fired their coaches. Signetti,
he didn't get another giant check slipped under his door
or for Christmas?
Speaker 1 (31:01):
Really, man, you know the people there at the top,
And I told you earlier in the show, I think
Minter is going to be the guy They kind of
need a safe hire someone who look who was their
defensive coordinated when he won the national title, was there
for a couple of years. He's part of the sign
stealing scandal, but it's enough removed from it. Where is okay?
He can come out. Yeah, well, because he wasn't sanctioned,
(31:23):
you know, I mean it was you know, Sharon Moore
was in Harbor. He can come back. And he's someone
that was familiar enough with the recentness of the program.
A terrific coach. Yeah, I think he's probably the leader
in the clubhouse because you don't know what's gonna happen now.
He's really gonna go spend it. You could go spend
a ton of money on a guy, but the whole
thing is to buy out Lincoln Riley and then give
(31:45):
him a contract. I think that's a little too much money.
But somebody like Caylin de Boor who where you know
every week it feels like Alabama loves them where they
can't stand him. Let's see how that next game goes
for Alabama and see how they feel about Kaylen de
Bor after it, because man, I'll tell you what I get.
(32:07):
I get more than a little nervous because there was
a part in the middle of the season where you said, Okay, awesome,
Kaylen de boris right at his ship and everybody loves
him now. But he finishes with that third loss, squeaks
into the playoff. They lose to Oklahoma. I really wonder
if suddenly he doesn't become the odds on favor for Michigan.
(32:28):
I honestly think it if it comes down to that
game and Kaylen de Bor loses, yeah, I think you
got a fifty to fifty shot with him. Yeah, we
saw a shot to get him.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
Yeah, in the early odds right after this transpired, and
I saw de Bor's name was the first. Because remember
there was people after their first loss of the season
that we're looking to oust him from everything. So certainly
potential for chaos there. But yeah, I love this list.
And that's the next iteration of this. By all accounts,
(32:58):
there's well and excess of seven hundred thousand Michigan alums
running around. You know this is you know, for just
the price of a cup of coffee, you two can
dot dot dot.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
H I thought you're gonna say there's more than seven
hundred thousand people on this wishlist to be the Michigan
head coach.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Well, I mean there are.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
I mean, look, if you went to Michigan, don't you
you know, offer up a little bit to whatever guide
in your universe to say, hey.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
I could be the head coach there.
Speaker 1 (33:24):
Okay, sure, sure I could all right, Hey, what I
could be?
Speaker 3 (33:27):
I could get free on Philip Rivers is coming back
to the NFL.
Speaker 2 (33:31):
Anything is possible.
Speaker 1 (33:33):
I nominate Lincoln Riley coming up next. Yeah, we'll love
more on Philip Rivers, who may actually play Sunday Plus.
As we told you earlier this week, I got a
sneaking suspicion We're gonna get a sixteen team playoff in
college football next year. We seem to be on the
doorstep of it after what was said earlier today. That's
(33:55):
next Jason and Mike Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (33:57):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific
Hosts And Creators
Jason Smith
Mike Harmon
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.