June 11, 2025 • 31 mins
Rob and Kelvin tell us if the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship window is as wide open as the national media thinks it is, debate whether the New York Knicks deserve to be ridiculed for not having a clear plan in their head coaching search, and explain why it’s starting to feel like many MLB players are jealous of New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcasts.
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
You're listening to the Best of the Odd Couple.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Game three tipping off in about ninety minutes from now.
OKC versus the Indiana Pacers series all tied up at
one in Indiana, and even though Indiana is at home tonight,
Indiana stole home court for the series. According to all
the sports books, all the pundits, OKC is still favored
tonight by I believe five and a half points and
(00:49):
heavily favored to win the series and win the NBA Finals.
I got a message for them ahead, I would love
to well couple that Rob. The last time we saw
a team that was heavily favored in the NBA Finals
and like OKC, was viewed as this is going to
be the team to beat for the foreseeable future, was
(01:09):
last season's champion, the Boston Celtics. Flash forward to UH Wednesday, morning,
Sean Sharanya making the rounds there on ESPN, he said,
you know what, quote essentially everybody not named Jason Tatum
is available for trade this offseason. So that wide window
in Boston that we thought existed maybe slamming shut prematurely.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
And this is why if you're OKAC and you're on
a COSP but maybe winning a championship, you gotta close
the deal, like you think. Uh, if we don't do
it this year, we got a young team. This that
things happen. Ask the Phoenix Suns who were up to
(01:52):
oh in an NBA final. Where are they now? Look
at where they are? How many years ago was that
rob g everybody for right? But they were, they were
crowning everybody.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Chris Paul is one of the top three point guards.
Devin Booker is the new Kobe Bryant. Have you heard
that lately? Uh?
Speaker 5 (02:14):
No?
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Who when you know Giannis when he won he remember
he won the MVP, a couple of m vps, then
they won a championship. Up Chris Middleton and Brook Lopez
and all that it all fits together and all the
stuff to get a team who in the East is
gonna stop yond? Okay, well, they won their one championship
(02:36):
and now look where they are, could possibly be traded.
You look at Denver, had all the pieces to go
along with the big superstar, the best player on the planet,
the walking triple double, all the good stuff, Jamal Murray,
not an all star, but a good robin. You got
a really good coach, Mike Malone. You had everything in place.
(02:58):
Been a couple of years now for them, and now
as we know, we're gonna have because no matter who
wins or win the paces winning six, he'll be seven
different champions and seven years. It ain't that automatic. And
you can't pass up to me. Okayc is an injury
away from not being able to get there again, having
(03:20):
to pay, starting to pay people who are now going
to get cashed out. That's what happened in Denver. You
can't hold onto your bench. Guys want to make their money.
It's nice. I got a ring. I'm not sitting around here.
Oh don't you want to win again? Don't you want
to take a home team discount?
Speaker 5 (03:35):
No, I don't.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I have a ring in my back pocket. So I
do believe like this is their window. It could be
a one off. It really could be and there's a
chance that the West could get better. Luca's playing for
money for a new contract. He gets in shape. Lebron
pays two million dollars to keep itself in shape or
(03:57):
whatever it is, instead of a million dollars extra money.
You know what I mean, to just up it a
little bit, Maybe the Spurs get KD now in the West,
you got a way better team, right.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
And man, you still gotta did the West, and man
ain't going nowhere. I'm just as Memphis making moves a lot,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
So that's why this is imperative for them to win
the championship this year.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
I completely agree with you. I think it's I know, man,
I'm stuck.
Speaker 6 (04:24):
People think they got the wrong radio show.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Hold on, don't turn. I still gotta pivot coming. No,
I agree with you. That's why you want to win
this thing now. And I think what I what I
will say, Rob, is maybe you're leaving short the last
two years, meaning the last two years they won forty games.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
You're like, all right, this little okay. See, remember we thought.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
They were gonna just bottom out, and they never bottomed out,
and then last year they went fifty seven games, they
were like, oh shoot, look at them. So to me,
that's when they started to get in that window. You
win in fifty seven games, you got a guy who's
a running up for MVP.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
You're in. You're in this thing now.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
But the Suns go look at their records. I'm just saying,
I'm gonna try. The Suns were winning a lot of games,
went to the championship, but I'm just saying.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
They couldn't suspend. I'm gonna tell you why. I think
it's a little bit different. So then now after fifty
seven games this year, you go to sixty eight franchise record,
and you've had some heck of a players the last
fifteen years. Franchise record, you have an all time defense,
you have an all time different point differential, and you
have the MVP and who is continuing now to do
MVP like things. Throughout the playoffs and now into the finals.
(05:31):
You got emerging stars in Jalen Williams, J dubb And
and Chet Holmgren. You have an amazing defense, and you
have Sam Presty who's continue this now. I want to
go back to the Celtics for a minute. If the
Celtics say they never went again, right, they just they
never went again. They're good, but they never went again.
I would say they had a run. Then they had
a two thousand and four piston like run. They made
it to five I believe it's five Eastern Conference finals.
(05:54):
They made it to two finals appearances. They won one,
they lost one to the Warriors.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Oh no, you're being con because I think people would
look and say they left some meat on the bone,
like like you can't have it, like like this is
this is where I push back.
Speaker 6 (06:08):
Is no good for Aaron Rodgers to win one super Bowl? Right?
Speaker 5 (06:13):
Some people all he should have won more.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
You can't look at that Celtics team to tell me
that if they don't win again, people in Boston would
be cool. Because that's what I'm saying. And that's what
I'm saying the same thing with Denver Mike Belowe.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
What do you do?
Speaker 1 (06:26):
He only won once? So which one is it? I'm
gonna tell you here's my point. That's why I don't
buy into that. The reason why I buy into it
is because they will have gone to at least two finals.
They won, won, they lost the words they stayed in
the Eastern Conference finals regularly the difference with Denver is
the kind of just emerged one and then they had
a Western Conference I went to the Western CONFERGCE final
on the bubble, I should say, a couple of years later.
(06:47):
They two, three years later they win one and we
haven't heard from him again. So to me, the Celtics
and se.
Speaker 6 (06:54):
Same game seven twice and two years in a row.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Just about the Nuggets, Yes, but I'm saying they voted
saying you didn't hear from they went to game seven.
That's what that's Game seven. They didn't get to the
Western College Finals. And I'm saying the difference is with
that Pistons team. They stayed in the Eastern Conference finals,
they won and oh four, they go back to the
finals to a Game seven, and then they went to
the Eastern College Finals another time or two.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
But there are people who also believe that won another one.
And that's fine.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
But I'm saying that window was there to me, So
if you're the Celtics, they can say, man, we had
a run. We had five Eastern COMERGCE finals appears, two
finals appearances, we won one. We had a finals MVP.
Our guys were all NBA players. We had a run.
And to me, Okasee can minimally hopefully and look at
it as that run where we get to a couple
of finals in five years, we went a bunch of
(07:38):
Western College finals piers, we got an MVP or two.
To me, that can be the window. They have the youth,
the second youngest team. I believe they have the same.
Sam Presty has been spectacular throughout his tenure there, and
they got a guy in that Sya who ain't going nowhere.
So to me, they've just opened the window, and I
believe they have sustainability to have them. Not saying they
go back to the finals next year, but they can
(07:59):
go two or three times in five or six years.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
I'm not saying we had a good run.
Speaker 6 (08:02):
I think this could really be a one off.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
I don't they're too young. I think some of the other.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Teams about other teams being getting better that that what
if the Lakers make a move and they get.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Odd Couple
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Speaker 3 (08:28):
So Guys, yesterday we talked about how the Knicks were
planning on requesting permission to speak to Jason Kid to
be the next head of coach, and the reporting was
that Jason Kidd the the interest was mutual that he
was also interested to do it.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
Flash forward to.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Wednesday, early, early morning, early and the Knicks did formerly
request permission to speak to Jason Kid. They were flatly denied.
The only problem is we found out about an hour
later they had also requested to speak with Chris Fitch
and the Timberwolves denied. They have requested to speak with
the email Doka from Houston denied. And then just before
(09:03):
showtime this evening, they requested to speak with Atlanta Hawks
head coach Quinn Sneyder denied. Why so, guys, they are
now zero for four in their head coaching search. That's
not even counting Jay Wright already formally pulled himself out
of the mix. Danny Hurley the talking point we.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Talked about Jay, Remember what I told you Jay Wright,
comfort Remember that I said he's comfortably retired.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
I don't care he gonna have this whole squad on there.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
He ain't going because when you get out of coaching
like that, you just burnt out, you know, what I mean, because.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
He wasn't like I was right there, I'm good, right,
I'm good.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
I can't do any better than this, and he just
decided you could get a toe for God like that.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
That's why I brought up from the Steel Bill Cower.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Bill Cower is not coaching anymore John John Madden when
he when John Mann was a really good coach when
we went to brookt I'm not coaching like.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
There, guys, Tony Dungeon. We always thought maybe he'd come back,
you'd be a name, you hear, a surface like man,
I'd be a good looking and he just didn't. So
there's some guys who did it. But this I wanted.
This is just simply for me, Rob where I was
were again. My thing was, you know, and I had
been saying for years, even before they got to the postseason.
This goes back even before you and I did this show,
when I was doing other shows at other networks, like
I'm not the biggest time Thibodeau guy per se. I
(10:25):
mean some of the issues that he had historically. They
obviously showed up again with the Knicks not playing the bench,
were playing guys so long that you had the iron
Man of the NBA and Michael Bridges talking about please
give us a break. You know, when you got the
Iron Man complaining for a minute, it's like, ooh so.
But to me, my thing was this is where I
was saying, man, well, sometimes you kind of fall into
(10:47):
something like, hey, this is kind of working out. And
I was saying, well, what are the Knicks doing if
there if Tom's not your guy? And I said that,
and you said, Mike Malone, I said, well who else
is out there? Like what's the game plan? And we
know Jim Dolan came out last couple of month and
he said, one of the things I admit I think
we've done wrong is we've always kind of freaked out
and went for the shiny new thing. Shiny new thing.
This is coming out of James Dolan's mouth, and what
(11:08):
do we need to do? We need we always panic
and we try to go for the next big thing.
And he said, well, maybe we might have something here.
This is out of his mouth. They got a guy
who's won eleven playoff games, who's going back to back
fifty seasons, who got him to the Eastern Conference finals,
and who had something going in. One of the things
I'm big on in all sports is an identity. Rob,
I'm saying, at least if you know, this is what
(11:28):
we hang our hat on, this is what we do,
this is who we are. We knew they play hard,
they never quit, no matter what they were down, they
always found a way to come back.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
They fought hard.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
And you have an MVP caliber guy obviously in Jalen Brunson.
And I was like, all right, fine, you're letting them go.
But now it's confusing, Rob. They let him go, not
with the game plan. They let him go, and everybody
is treating them like the kim Ba Matombo. Can we
talk to Ja kidd Blook? Can we talk to Quinn
Snyder Bluck? And Qwinn Snyder ain't even did nothing. Chris
(11:56):
finch Bluck, he may, I know, was about to get known.
Having a conversation with people don't mean you're gonna hire them.
And my other thing is, you know you talk about
all that.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
The bottom line and the reason that they decided to
fire him is because they expected to go to the
finals when they beat the Celtics and they had home
court and they were playing the Pacers who were underdogs
against Milwaukee who were underdogs it'st Cleveland, and they had
home court, and they lose not only Game one, which
(12:28):
they coughed up one of the greatest chokes in the
history of sports.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
You can't get.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Fired off of that, You'll never get fired. And then
to back it up, they lose Game two at home.
So that's why you got fired. They weren't looking to
fire him, They just gave him a contract extension. But
once you get in and you realize what just happened here,
what happened to our franchise was a catastrophe. We were
(12:54):
supposed to go to the finals, where we haven't been
since nineteen ninety nine. It was singing back then. That's
what they would expecting, and that is what changed.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
They realized this guy, we we had all the same.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
We went out, we gave up five picks for Michel Bridges,
we traded for cat This was our window, this was
our chance, and we didn't get it done. And then
you talk to the players on the exitdent of youew
and some of them probably had stuff to say, and
they looked at everything and they said, you know what,
we need to make a change. This whole idea that
(13:31):
every game and you have time to make a game plan.
Everything is not. My point is they weren't looking. They
shouldn't have had anybody ready to go, because that wasn't
Their original idea was to inspire him.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
But no, let me.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
Just say, once they realized that they needed to make
a change, you make a change, and you figure out
you don't.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
Everything's not buttoned up.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Sometimes things happen and you realize they just gave him
a new three year contract. There's no way they were
honestly thinking that they were gonna fire him, especially if
somebody would have told you.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
They went to the Eastern Conference finals.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
But once they realized this guy is not gonna get
us where we need to go and the players have
some real concerns, that's when they said we're gonna part ways.
Speaker 6 (14:19):
We're gonna move on and then see what happens.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
And that's why I don't have an issue with them.
They can figure this out as they go along. That
was not the playing. Here's my pushback.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
I'm not mad at if sometimes you go, hey, we
just got to make a move, right, But here's why
I'm mad. You can't tell me they expected to get
to the finals when and and that you losing the
one game right in epic fashion, Game one of the
Eastern Conference Finals, when this.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Is the same coach that beat the Ranning World Champions.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
So I can beat the World champions that nobody expected
us to pick, not a single But you can't beat
you can't beat this team, coach the heck out of him.
Down twice by twenty points in the first two games
on the road. We find a way to win coaston
or victory. We beat the Rainy Champs, but then I
lose one random game and all of a sudden, I'm firable.
(15:13):
That's just crazy. I got you past the Rainey Champs.
You didn't expect. No, I'm sure there all right, Well,
we had a good season. At least we got to
play the Celtic. Wait, we won that series, and now
I'm firable. That leaves we know there's something deeper than
this in just x's and oh's, and.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
We cannot because they signed him to a three year contract.
That's what he let me.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
No if he was signed, if he was signed prior
to the obvious to me, that's that I says something
going on.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
This is why I said somebody like I didn't. I
didn't take that.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
I didn't just say that for the if you can't
get fired for choking down that game one and then but.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
I beat the Celtics, No no, no.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
But then game two you couldn't even You don't even
come back and tie the series at home.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
Like a six games youa like they got swept. No no.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So he was a game and a half from saving
his job because they got the they were up they
was in game six.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
That's money Williams where he is in Phoenix. They were
up two on in the NBA finals, Money Williams. They
didn't even want money with both did, but they didn't
want him as my point, and he was up two.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
Ows, so he was So the guy with win the finals,
not in the Eastern Conference final and the final.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
So the guy that we liked last year, we gave
him a contact extension, goes into and overachieves from what
we expected, got us past the world reigning world champs,
got us to a game and a half of the finals,
and now that guy is fire.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
But when he won more games, won more playoff game
and then he didn't want.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Game which okay, fine, you want to fire him, you
fire him, and now you're like, uh, go get the
dart board with some faces on the dark board. Let's
just throw some darts. Jessic Kidd no quin Steer. I
don't even know why we wont quince, but the idea
that they're talking to they're talking to people. That doesn't
mean that he's going to get their job.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Kuinn Snyder was his agent, answered hello, Hey, can we
talk to Quinn Snyder. It's just a conversation. Did you
interview more? They thought they called Brady Quinn. No, that's Snyder.
Speaker 6 (17:18):
Don't matter what names come out, that doesn't mean he
was going to get the job.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
Christ They can't get nobody. And then they had a
Nether call.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
You don't even know if they're talking to those guys
to try to figure out what's what's wrong with this team.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
A lot of times when they interview people.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And I'm just how will you be in fifty years?
I'll be because that's gonna be the next time they
win the championships. You're gonna be years. And we keep
going for the next shiny thing. That's our problem.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Tim hasn't won anything, I mean, so who Tom Thibodau
hasn't want anything.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I mean we want to get.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
He hasn't won anything, and you're making it like they
gave up like some like they gave up John Wooden
or somebody or or top of it, you won five
championships or or pass saying won anything.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
And you ain't got a game plan? We ai John Wooden?
What are they doing?
Speaker 6 (18:10):
You need to do that.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
All they need to do is do their due diligence,
talk to as many people, and then you don't know.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
They might the guy can you coach? I know you
might coach your little daughter's team. Maybe they can call you,
because I don't know who else left to call?
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Rock who you know what they gonna do.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
They gonna go get Mike Woodson because that Mike Woodson
is coached every team. He can come back to the Knicks.
Dye is the bearded up you know? I know, but
you know and call Mike Woodson and believe it is.
You let him go and you ain't got nobody getting
blocked from everybody getting caught. How you getting sent a
voicemail by everybody?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Rob, I don't understand the bottom line is it's not
the process.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
It's who you wind up with. It's not the process.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Well you'll wait and see your whole notion that you
had to coach. You just signed to a new three
year contract. You weren't prepared to fire him. But once
you realize you're not gonna get to where you need
to and that he's part of the problem, I give
an organization credit. All right, When when when the Pistons
got rid of up If you bring up Yes Brown again,
(19:09):
I'm done recall off. Why because all I'm saying is
they went to the second round and done it in
years and they still.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Said, can we can we agree on this? Can we upgrade?
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (19:19):
We can? Can we agree on something something?
Speaker 1 (19:23):
It ain't just ex and os. I think it's something else. Maybe,
like you said, maybe it is maybe players. Hey man,
I'm maybe. Maybe you think it's a maybe what I'm saying.
Maybe Michael Bridges coming remember coming out publicly. Maybe at
the end of the season he brought it back up.
Maybe Kat says, I don't like the way he's not
you know, he sat me out in the fourth quarter
or some big games. It has to be something that
just x's and o's because he got them further than
(19:46):
they've been in quite some time, and it doesn't make
sense to me.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
The Athletic between May and of spring training to May
spoke to one hundred and thirty five anonymous Major League
baseball players to get their thoughts on a series of topics,
and they've been slowly rolling out their answers every couple
of months.
Speaker 6 (20:16):
You know, content is king.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
They talked about stadium, you want to play for, manager,
you want to play for, things like that. Well, this
one was about their peers and two of the questions
that were asked. One of them was which player do
you like to watch the most? Shoe a Otani was
the runaway winner with twenty nine votes. By comparison, Aaron Judge,
(20:38):
who many are calling the best player in baseball this season,
was tied for sixth. Okay, here's another question. If you're
a pitcher, who is the one batter you would least
like to see in Game seven of a World Series? Again,
Aaron Judge, who was batting about four hundred and crushing
home runs out of the stadium like he did last night.
Speaker 6 (20:59):
Almost an I've hun your foot home run last night
in Cansas was a.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Distant third behind former Yankees teammate Juan Soto and Sho
hal Tani.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
So, guys, if we're.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Just gonna believe this anonymous poll, Aaron Judge, despite being
what many call him the best theater in baseball right now,
is not number one overly exciting and number two is
not overly feared by his peers.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
And here's a couple of things. I get it, everybody
has different tastes for stuff. But I do believe, and
I'll say this, sometimes when you ask players to evaluate
each other, there's a slant, there's a hint of jealousy involved,
There's all kinds of stuff that is involved. And that's
(21:46):
why I can't I don't believe you can always get
the most honest response from people. They asked Paul Pierce
for his top ten, Lebron's not in his top ten.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
He ain't top ten player. Right Shack just gave his
top ten. I don't know.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Did he leave Kareem off because he was a center
for the Lakers series that was egregious.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
People used to say the same thing about if Derrek
Ga played anywhere else, he would be I said, the
guy has the six most hits in baseball three ten,
batting average five. Do you know that you've seen it?
Home running, mister November backward flip to the home plate.
D Nail A guy like, like, what are we talking about?
So I think sometimes and we can look at it.
(22:31):
Rob g give me the numbers. Oh, Tony didn't have
a great World Did he have a great World Series?
He did not.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
This was his first postseason run.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
He didn't go to the postseason with the Angels, and
I get it, Judge was starting to hit. Hasn't had
great postseasons. If you want to say that and use that,
that's fine. But to think he's not one of the
most exciting players because he's not just a home run
or nothing. If he was batting two ten, I'm with you.
He's been two ten and he's just swinging for the
(23:03):
fences and he connects forty times a year.
Speaker 6 (23:06):
Right, I'll buy that.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
One of the mostly said, when we walk out of
this room or go to the bathroom or something, right
and he's about to hit, we're gonna stop. We're gonna stop.
I'm sorry, and rob gya give me the World Series stats.
So neither guy played particularly well.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
Now neither one. So Aaron Judge.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
Across five games, hit two twenty two, four hits, a
home run, three RBIs show al Tani one oh five,
two hits, no RBIs score two runs.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Well, I'm not gonna jump in here. A couple so
a couple of things, right, Neither one of them balled out.
But I do think there's this part of the issue,
A couple of things, rob one. I think Aaron Judge
is dealing with a little bit of Dukeism. I think
him being a Yankee. My add to that, some of
these players not even that they hate Judge, I just
hate the Yankees, right, if you're a red Sock, and
let's say, but also.
Speaker 6 (23:55):
The payment what comes with it, which is higher profiles.
Speaker 5 (23:59):
Attention, you're the guy on the Yankee two.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Right, So I think there's a natural Dukeism, you North
Carolinaism or Lakrism, you know, just certain teams people.
Speaker 5 (24:07):
This man here, he come another one of them. Do
you know?
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Aaron Judge always getting in love, so maybe you get
a handful of people there who don't like him, right
because of that. Also, I do think what we just
talked about Aaron Judge at times reminds me of the
James Harden of MLB. James I out of Tartan had
a five six year period where he was absolutely insane,
leading the league in scoring an assists, doing historic things
(24:31):
we'd seen similar to Aaron Judge winning MVPs and top
two of at other times when Harden didn't win it.
But then when we got to the postseason with who
hardened about to cook this year and it just didn't
work out, You're like, Ah, it's always not there, And
maybe there's a little bit of that where it's recency bias.
The last time I saw him, he didn't do anything
or you know what, in big moments he didn't And
(24:53):
I think that might play a little bit as well.
And I think that if you read the article, some
of the love that went to some of the other
plays were a couple of things like this exciting with
junior Man. He's just exciting. He's not even big, he's
just man. He can do everything. He's got power, he's fast,
he can feel, he's just all over the place.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
He's exciting.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
And they talk about show heye man, he might be
the basketball player to ever lived.
Speaker 5 (25:14):
That's just something unique. We never see anything.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
So I think Aaron Judge is also losing some of
the love from being just a model of consistency and
SGA like just putting it up the numbers season after
season of the season. It's not necessarily the most exciting
per se. And you know, but I'm just coming to
work every day and I think maybe that's why. Oh yeah,
we've seen that before. So you just saw Otani. Even
(25:36):
though you've seen him he's been insane with the Angels,
now you just saw him enough higher profile with the Dodgers. Right,
he didn't do anything. Now I'm saying that throughout the season. No,
but that's my issue. Fifty to fifty we never seen
that before. Shut up with the pizza boxes.
Speaker 5 (25:50):
It was coming.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Yes, we got the fifty home runs, we got the
fifty plus steal soling bases. He comes to the Dodgers'
balls out year one and then ultimately wins the World Series.
Think that adds to the lure. Wow, when he's finally
on his big stage playing with the Dodgers.
Speaker 6 (26:03):
Even though he didn't do anything.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
He didn't he didn't do anything.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Freddie Freeman might not be some of these conversations you
know who you fear at back, but I those are
some of the reasons why not that they don't highly
regard it. It's just he doesn't necessarily come top of
mind for some of those reasons.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
Before God, you.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
Talk about something you don't see. You don't see a
guy hit maybe fifty sixty home runs and back close
to four hundred.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Now we both agree, we both sitting here period and
say he's doing.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Every night, we just look up and go, he hit
it out again. No, no, no, it was just a
triple or another hit, another hit. Oh, go th we
hits tonight, like like that is what's strange, And especially
since Otani didn't pitch last year, hasn't pitched this year,
kind of were I get it that he's the first
guy to do it since Babe Rude, So I get
the intrigue.
Speaker 5 (26:51):
I think he never have to.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Do it again, and people are always gonna love that, Like,
he doesn't have to ever pitch again. Obviously the Dodgers
want him to. But he's done it enough that I
think he's now cemented. But I do believe that a
lot of it.
Speaker 6 (27:01):
I do.
Speaker 5 (27:02):
And this is just.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
Not just in baseball, but players in general. There's a
jealousy factor because they have skin in the game, hard
for people to acknowledge or that's why you need outside
people to judge. It's the same thing when they're doing Emmys.
They don't have you know this, They don't have the
people in LA critiquing the other work in LA because
(27:28):
they already know. I can't stand that guy on Channel seven.
I can't stand Kelvin on Spectra. He does something with
his mouth that drives me crazy.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
You can do the greatest story, I'm serious, are you right?
So what do they do?
Speaker 4 (27:40):
Rob g They take the stories outside of the market
to let people who don't know the personalities do it.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Because of that the only but here's the question, why
are people favorable in this? In this a lot of
these questions with Soto and why are they hugely in
favor of o Tani? He blew one of those poles away.
It was like twenty nine votes, in the next one
(28:13):
was like eight or something.
Speaker 5 (28:14):
But I think that's just.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
Strictly, that's just strictly because of he's a two way
player that no one's seen it. And for a lot
of guys who in the major leagues who are picked
either one, they know how hard it is to pitch
in the big leagues and then to play every day
like it is. I'm not going to see her and
act like it's not, because it's it's hard. Most guys
can't even make it on one of them. Let Loan,
you know what I mean, You're doing too at a
(28:35):
high level. So I get that part. But I'm just
saying the idea that Aaron Judges and one of the
most exciting players.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
I just think he is one of It's just you
thought he wasn't a clear cut winner.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
I think that's because I.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
Just know not.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
I just can't believe how low it Wasn't he like
it was lower some of them. He was like five
votes out of that he was like, you know what
I mean, it's for the most exciting. Here's the list
o Tani with Twin.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
I get that, But here's the rest.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
That's what you call.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I get He's behind Bobby Witt Junior, Ronald Cooney, Bobby
Wit Jr. Like Alie De la Cruz, Mookie Betts, and
he's died with Francisco Lindor.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
I'm just saying, like that company there. Can I tell
you this as good as Lindoor is, how many All
Star Games does he make with the Mets, with the Mets,
with the Mets none one zero. Yeah, I'm just he's
a guy or and maybe also team in five years.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
And exciting to the players, not the fans. I'm just
saying the same way. And I'll give you the NBA
equivalent is one one hundred and thirty players in vote
for Lebron for the All Star Game?
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Suppicion that? Am I right? I think about that next year. Okay,
maybe he was too oldy g.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
That number is ridiculous for an All Star game that
not MVP or makes sense to that and you got
that many players.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Okay, they don't like him, that's fine. But to say
you you wouldn't vote for Lebrons only.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
Just an All Star just a shibition? Is he one
of the best players? Really?
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Twenty four player? A you can't name no twenty four
players better than him? But I am blown away though.
To me that Sir Hey will get twenty nine. You know,
I thought it'd be like he get fourteen and Judge
will get eight or nine, and then Sodo might get seven.
Twenty nine and then Judge at five is crazy And
I just think a part of it is, like I said,
the Duke Ism. I just don't like, not as I
(30:24):
don't like the guy the person, but I don't like
him because he's a Yankee and I just can't stand.
I don't disagree, or I don't like all the attention
and attention he gets. Like last year, like they bought
a Bobby Wit. Bobby any other year Bobby Wit would
have won the.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
American League MVP. Aaron Judge had an even better year.
But you know what I mean, Oh, he got it
because he's a Yankee New York.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
They don't give it to it in the small market
Kansas City, and I think he's a lot of that,
and I think it's just again not having that postseason's
success a few times. Oh and I meant to say
this part sandwiched in between Stanton who's doing all world things,
and then Soto, who had a better postseason, who was
making all the clutch hits. So I think sandwiching between
(31:06):
those guys, they're like, you're supposed to be the one
and you ain't showing up. So I do think that
plays a role that when I when they like if
I think of the inks, shoot, I'm more fearful him
or oh shoe Stanton's at the play, I'm more excited
for that in the postseason. Orjan Soto's up and I'm
more excited for that. So I do think that played
a role forgot to mention that earlier, that having those
two guys on the team didn't help
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcasts.
Be sure to check us out live every weekday from
four to seven pm Pacific seven to ten pm Eastern
on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for The
Odd Couple on Fox Sports Radio dot Com, or stream
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
You're listening to the Best of the Odd Couple.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Game three tipping off in about ninety minutes from now.
OKC versus the Indiana Pacers series all tied up at
one in Indiana, and even though Indiana is at home tonight,
Indiana stole home court for the series. According to all
the sports books, all the pundits, OKC is still favored
tonight by I believe five and a half points and
(00:49):
heavily favored to win the series and win the NBA Finals.
I got a message for them ahead, I would love
to well couple that Rob. The last time we saw
a team that was heavily favored in the NBA Finals
and like OKC, was viewed as this is going to
be the team to beat for the foreseeable future, was
(01:09):
last season's champion, the Boston Celtics. Flash forward to UH Wednesday, morning,
Sean Sharanya making the rounds there on ESPN, he said,
you know what, quote essentially everybody not named Jason Tatum
is available for trade this offseason. So that wide window
in Boston that we thought existed maybe slamming shut prematurely.
Speaker 4 (01:32):
And this is why if you're OKAC and you're on
a COSP but maybe winning a championship, you gotta close
the deal, like you think. Uh, if we don't do
it this year, we got a young team. This that
things happen. Ask the Phoenix Suns who were up to
(01:52):
oh in an NBA final. Where are they now? Look
at where they are? How many years ago was that
rob g everybody for right? But they were, they were
crowning everybody.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Chris Paul is one of the top three point guards.
Devin Booker is the new Kobe Bryant. Have you heard
that lately? Uh?
Speaker 5 (02:14):
No?
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Who when you know Giannis when he won he remember
he won the MVP, a couple of m vps, then
they won a championship. Up Chris Middleton and Brook Lopez
and all that it all fits together and all the
stuff to get a team who in the East is
gonna stop yond? Okay, well, they won their one championship
(02:36):
and now look where they are, could possibly be traded.
You look at Denver, had all the pieces to go
along with the big superstar, the best player on the planet,
the walking triple double, all the good stuff, Jamal Murray,
not an all star, but a good robin. You got
a really good coach, Mike Malone. You had everything in place.
(02:58):
Been a couple of years now for them, and now
as we know, we're gonna have because no matter who
wins or win the paces winning six, he'll be seven
different champions and seven years. It ain't that automatic. And
you can't pass up to me. Okayc is an injury
away from not being able to get there again, having
(03:20):
to pay, starting to pay people who are now going
to get cashed out. That's what happened in Denver. You
can't hold onto your bench. Guys want to make their money.
It's nice. I got a ring. I'm not sitting around here.
Oh don't you want to win again? Don't you want
to take a home team discount?
Speaker 5 (03:35):
No, I don't.
Speaker 4 (03:37):
I have a ring in my back pocket. So I
do believe like this is their window. It could be
a one off. It really could be and there's a
chance that the West could get better. Luca's playing for
money for a new contract. He gets in shape. Lebron
pays two million dollars to keep itself in shape or
(03:57):
whatever it is, instead of a million dollars extra money.
You know what I mean, to just up it a
little bit, Maybe the Spurs get KD now in the West,
you got a way better team, right.
Speaker 5 (04:08):
And man, you still gotta did the West, and man
ain't going nowhere. I'm just as Memphis making moves a lot,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
So that's why this is imperative for them to win
the championship this year.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
I completely agree with you. I think it's I know, man,
I'm stuck.
Speaker 6 (04:24):
People think they got the wrong radio show.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
Hold on, don't turn. I still gotta pivot coming. No,
I agree with you. That's why you want to win
this thing now. And I think what I what I
will say, Rob, is maybe you're leaving short the last
two years, meaning the last two years they won forty games.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
You're like, all right, this little okay. See, remember we thought.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
They were gonna just bottom out, and they never bottomed out,
and then last year they went fifty seven games, they
were like, oh shoot, look at them. So to me,
that's when they started to get in that window. You
win in fifty seven games, you got a guy who's
a running up for MVP.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
You're in. You're in this thing now.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
But the Suns go look at their records. I'm just saying,
I'm gonna try. The Suns were winning a lot of games,
went to the championship, but I'm just saying.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
They couldn't suspend. I'm gonna tell you why. I think
it's a little bit different. So then now after fifty
seven games this year, you go to sixty eight franchise record,
and you've had some heck of a players the last
fifteen years. Franchise record, you have an all time defense,
you have an all time different point differential, and you
have the MVP and who is continuing now to do
MVP like things. Throughout the playoffs and now into the finals.
(05:31):
You got emerging stars in Jalen Williams, J dubb And
and Chet Holmgren. You have an amazing defense, and you
have Sam Presty who's continue this now. I want to
go back to the Celtics for a minute. If the
Celtics say they never went again, right, they just they
never went again. They're good, but they never went again.
I would say they had a run. Then they had
a two thousand and four piston like run. They made
it to five I believe it's five Eastern Conference finals.
(05:54):
They made it to two finals appearances. They won one,
they lost one to the Warriors.
Speaker 4 (05:58):
Oh no, you're being con because I think people would
look and say they left some meat on the bone,
like like you can't have it, like like this is
this is where I push back.
Speaker 6 (06:08):
Is no good for Aaron Rodgers to win one super Bowl? Right?
Speaker 5 (06:13):
Some people all he should have won more.
Speaker 4 (06:16):
You can't look at that Celtics team to tell me
that if they don't win again, people in Boston would
be cool. Because that's what I'm saying. And that's what
I'm saying the same thing with Denver Mike Belowe.
Speaker 5 (06:25):
What do you do?
Speaker 1 (06:26):
He only won once? So which one is it? I'm
gonna tell you here's my point. That's why I don't
buy into that. The reason why I buy into it
is because they will have gone to at least two finals.
They won, won, they lost the words they stayed in
the Eastern Conference finals regularly the difference with Denver is
the kind of just emerged one and then they had
a Western Conference I went to the Western CONFERGCE final
on the bubble, I should say, a couple of years later.
(06:47):
They two, three years later they win one and we
haven't heard from him again. So to me, the Celtics
and se.
Speaker 6 (06:54):
Same game seven twice and two years in a row.
Speaker 1 (06:57):
Just about the Nuggets, Yes, but I'm saying they voted
saying you didn't hear from they went to game seven.
That's what that's Game seven. They didn't get to the
Western College Finals. And I'm saying the difference is with
that Pistons team. They stayed in the Eastern Conference finals,
they won and oh four, they go back to the
finals to a Game seven, and then they went to
the Eastern College Finals another time or two.
Speaker 5 (07:14):
But there are people who also believe that won another one.
And that's fine.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
But I'm saying that window was there to me, So
if you're the Celtics, they can say, man, we had
a run. We had five Eastern COMERGCE finals appears, two
finals appearances, we won one. We had a finals MVP.
Our guys were all NBA players. We had a run.
And to me, Okasee can minimally hopefully and look at
it as that run where we get to a couple
of finals in five years, we went a bunch of
(07:38):
Western College finals piers, we got an MVP or two.
To me, that can be the window. They have the youth,
the second youngest team. I believe they have the same.
Sam Presty has been spectacular throughout his tenure there, and
they got a guy in that Sya who ain't going nowhere.
So to me, they've just opened the window, and I
believe they have sustainability to have them. Not saying they
go back to the finals next year, but they can
(07:59):
go two or three times in five or six years.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
I'm not saying we had a good run.
Speaker 6 (08:02):
I think this could really be a one off.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
I don't they're too young. I think some of the other.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
Teams about other teams being getting better that that what
if the Lakers make a move and they get.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Odd Couple
with Rob Parker and kelvin Washington weekdays at seven pm
Eastern four pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (08:28):
So Guys, yesterday we talked about how the Knicks were
planning on requesting permission to speak to Jason Kid to
be the next head of coach, and the reporting was
that Jason Kidd the the interest was mutual that he
was also interested to do it.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
Flash forward to.
Speaker 3 (08:41):
Wednesday, early, early morning, early and the Knicks did formerly
request permission to speak to Jason Kid. They were flatly denied.
The only problem is we found out about an hour
later they had also requested to speak with Chris Fitch
and the Timberwolves denied. They have requested to speak with
the email Doka from Houston denied. And then just before
(09:03):
showtime this evening, they requested to speak with Atlanta Hawks
head coach Quinn Sneyder denied. Why so, guys, they are
now zero for four in their head coaching search. That's
not even counting Jay Wright already formally pulled himself out
of the mix. Danny Hurley the talking point we.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Talked about Jay, Remember what I told you Jay Wright,
comfort Remember that I said he's comfortably retired.
Speaker 5 (09:35):
I don't care he gonna have this whole squad on there.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
He ain't going because when you get out of coaching
like that, you just burnt out, you know, what I mean, because.
Speaker 5 (09:42):
He wasn't like I was right there, I'm good, right,
I'm good.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
I can't do any better than this, and he just
decided you could get a toe for God like that.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
That's why I brought up from the Steel Bill Cower.
Speaker 4 (09:56):
Bill Cower is not coaching anymore John John Madden when
he when John Mann was a really good coach when
we went to brookt I'm not coaching like.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
There, guys, Tony Dungeon. We always thought maybe he'd come back,
you'd be a name, you hear, a surface like man,
I'd be a good looking and he just didn't. So
there's some guys who did it. But this I wanted.
This is just simply for me, Rob where I was
were again. My thing was, you know, and I had
been saying for years, even before they got to the postseason.
This goes back even before you and I did this show,
when I was doing other shows at other networks, like
I'm not the biggest time Thibodeau guy per se. I
(10:25):
mean some of the issues that he had historically. They
obviously showed up again with the Knicks not playing the bench,
were playing guys so long that you had the iron
Man of the NBA and Michael Bridges talking about please
give us a break. You know, when you got the
Iron Man complaining for a minute, it's like, ooh so.
But to me, my thing was this is where I
was saying, man, well, sometimes you kind of fall into
(10:47):
something like, hey, this is kind of working out. And
I was saying, well, what are the Knicks doing if
there if Tom's not your guy? And I said that,
and you said, Mike Malone, I said, well who else
is out there? Like what's the game plan? And we
know Jim Dolan came out last couple of month and
he said, one of the things I admit I think
we've done wrong is we've always kind of freaked out
and went for the shiny new thing. Shiny new thing.
This is coming out of James Dolan's mouth, and what
(11:08):
do we need to do? We need we always panic
and we try to go for the next big thing.
And he said, well, maybe we might have something here.
This is out of his mouth. They got a guy
who's won eleven playoff games, who's going back to back
fifty seasons, who got him to the Eastern Conference finals,
and who had something going in. One of the things
I'm big on in all sports is an identity. Rob,
I'm saying, at least if you know, this is what
(11:28):
we hang our hat on, this is what we do,
this is who we are. We knew they play hard,
they never quit, no matter what they were down, they
always found a way to come back.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
They fought hard.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
And you have an MVP caliber guy obviously in Jalen Brunson.
And I was like, all right, fine, you're letting them go.
But now it's confusing, Rob. They let him go, not
with the game plan. They let him go, and everybody
is treating them like the kim Ba Matombo. Can we
talk to Ja kidd Blook? Can we talk to Quinn
Snyder Bluck? And Qwinn Snyder ain't even did nothing. Chris
(11:56):
finch Bluck, he may, I know, was about to get known.
Having a conversation with people don't mean you're gonna hire them.
And my other thing is, you know you talk about
all that.
Speaker 4 (12:06):
The bottom line and the reason that they decided to
fire him is because they expected to go to the
finals when they beat the Celtics and they had home
court and they were playing the Pacers who were underdogs
against Milwaukee who were underdogs it'st Cleveland, and they had
home court, and they lose not only Game one, which
(12:28):
they coughed up one of the greatest chokes in the
history of sports.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
You can't get.
Speaker 4 (12:32):
Fired off of that, You'll never get fired. And then
to back it up, they lose Game two at home.
So that's why you got fired. They weren't looking to
fire him, They just gave him a contract extension. But
once you get in and you realize what just happened here,
what happened to our franchise was a catastrophe. We were
(12:54):
supposed to go to the finals, where we haven't been
since nineteen ninety nine. It was singing back then. That's
what they would expecting, and that is what changed.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
They realized this guy, we we had all the same.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
We went out, we gave up five picks for Michel Bridges,
we traded for cat This was our window, this was
our chance, and we didn't get it done. And then
you talk to the players on the exitdent of youew
and some of them probably had stuff to say, and
they looked at everything and they said, you know what,
we need to make a change. This whole idea that
(13:31):
every game and you have time to make a game plan.
Everything is not. My point is they weren't looking. They
shouldn't have had anybody ready to go, because that wasn't
Their original idea was to inspire him.
Speaker 5 (13:45):
But no, let me.
Speaker 4 (13:47):
Just say, once they realized that they needed to make
a change, you make a change, and you figure out
you don't.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
Everything's not buttoned up.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Sometimes things happen and you realize they just gave him
a new three year contract. There's no way they were
honestly thinking that they were gonna fire him, especially if
somebody would have told you.
Speaker 6 (14:06):
They went to the Eastern Conference finals.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
But once they realized this guy is not gonna get
us where we need to go and the players have
some real concerns, that's when they said we're gonna part ways.
Speaker 6 (14:19):
We're gonna move on and then see what happens.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
And that's why I don't have an issue with them.
They can figure this out as they go along. That
was not the playing. Here's my pushback.
Speaker 1 (14:31):
I'm not mad at if sometimes you go, hey, we
just got to make a move, right, But here's why
I'm mad. You can't tell me they expected to get
to the finals when and and that you losing the
one game right in epic fashion, Game one of the
Eastern Conference Finals, when this.
Speaker 5 (14:47):
Is the same coach that beat the Ranning World Champions.
Speaker 1 (14:50):
So I can beat the World champions that nobody expected
us to pick, not a single But you can't beat
you can't beat this team, coach the heck out of him.
Down twice by twenty points in the first two games
on the road. We find a way to win coaston
or victory. We beat the Rainy Champs, but then I
lose one random game and all of a sudden, I'm firable.
(15:13):
That's just crazy. I got you past the Rainey Champs.
You didn't expect. No, I'm sure there all right, Well,
we had a good season. At least we got to
play the Celtic. Wait, we won that series, and now
I'm firable. That leaves we know there's something deeper than
this in just x's and oh's, and.
Speaker 4 (15:27):
We cannot because they signed him to a three year contract.
That's what he let me.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
No if he was signed, if he was signed prior
to the obvious to me, that's that I says something
going on.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
This is why I said somebody like I didn't. I
didn't take that.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
I didn't just say that for the if you can't
get fired for choking down that game one and then but.
Speaker 5 (15:50):
I beat the Celtics, No no, no.
Speaker 4 (15:52):
But then game two you couldn't even You don't even
come back and tie the series at home.
Speaker 5 (15:57):
Like a six games youa like they got swept. No no.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
So he was a game and a half from saving
his job because they got the they were up they
was in game six.
Speaker 4 (16:07):
That's money Williams where he is in Phoenix. They were
up two on in the NBA finals, Money Williams. They
didn't even want money with both did, but they didn't
want him as my point, and he was up two.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
Ows, so he was So the guy with win the finals,
not in the Eastern Conference final and the final.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
So the guy that we liked last year, we gave
him a contact extension, goes into and overachieves from what
we expected, got us past the world reigning world champs,
got us to a game and a half of the finals,
and now that guy is fire.
Speaker 5 (16:41):
But when he won more games, won more playoff game
and then he didn't want.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
Game which okay, fine, you want to fire him, you
fire him, and now you're like, uh, go get the
dart board with some faces on the dark board. Let's
just throw some darts. Jessic Kidd no quin Steer. I
don't even know why we wont quince, but the idea
that they're talking to they're talking to people. That doesn't
mean that he's going to get their job.
Speaker 5 (17:05):
Kuinn Snyder was his agent, answered hello, Hey, can we
talk to Quinn Snyder. It's just a conversation. Did you
interview more? They thought they called Brady Quinn. No, that's Snyder.
Speaker 6 (17:18):
Don't matter what names come out, that doesn't mean he
was going to get the job.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
Christ They can't get nobody. And then they had a
Nether call.
Speaker 4 (17:25):
You don't even know if they're talking to those guys
to try to figure out what's what's wrong with this team.
Speaker 6 (17:31):
A lot of times when they interview people.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
And I'm just how will you be in fifty years?
I'll be because that's gonna be the next time they
win the championships. You're gonna be years. And we keep
going for the next shiny thing. That's our problem.
Speaker 4 (17:46):
Tim hasn't won anything, I mean, so who Tom Thibodau
hasn't want anything.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
I mean we want to get.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
He hasn't won anything, and you're making it like they
gave up like some like they gave up John Wooden
or somebody or or top of it, you won five
championships or or pass saying won anything.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
And you ain't got a game plan? We ai John Wooden?
What are they doing?
Speaker 6 (18:10):
You need to do that.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
All they need to do is do their due diligence,
talk to as many people, and then you don't know.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
They might the guy can you coach? I know you
might coach your little daughter's team. Maybe they can call you,
because I don't know who else left to call?
Speaker 5 (18:22):
Rock who you know what they gonna do.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
They gonna go get Mike Woodson because that Mike Woodson
is coached every team. He can come back to the Knicks.
Dye is the bearded up you know? I know, but
you know and call Mike Woodson and believe it is.
You let him go and you ain't got nobody getting
blocked from everybody getting caught. How you getting sent a
voicemail by everybody?
Speaker 4 (18:39):
Rob, I don't understand the bottom line is it's not
the process.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
It's who you wind up with. It's not the process.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Well you'll wait and see your whole notion that you
had to coach. You just signed to a new three
year contract. You weren't prepared to fire him. But once
you realize you're not gonna get to where you need
to and that he's part of the problem, I give
an organization credit. All right, When when when the Pistons
got rid of up If you bring up Yes Brown again,
(19:09):
I'm done recall off. Why because all I'm saying is
they went to the second round and done it in
years and they still.
Speaker 5 (19:16):
Said, can we can we agree on this? Can we upgrade?
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (19:19):
We can? Can we agree on something something?
Speaker 1 (19:23):
It ain't just ex and os. I think it's something else. Maybe,
like you said, maybe it is maybe players. Hey man,
I'm maybe. Maybe you think it's a maybe what I'm saying.
Maybe Michael Bridges coming remember coming out publicly. Maybe at
the end of the season he brought it back up.
Maybe Kat says, I don't like the way he's not
you know, he sat me out in the fourth quarter
or some big games. It has to be something that
just x's and o's because he got them further than
(19:46):
they've been in quite some time, and it doesn't make
sense to me.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
The Athletic between May and of spring training to May
spoke to one hundred and thirty five anonymous Major League
baseball players to get their thoughts on a series of topics,
and they've been slowly rolling out their answers every couple
of months.
Speaker 6 (20:16):
You know, content is king.
Speaker 3 (20:17):
They talked about stadium, you want to play for, manager,
you want to play for, things like that. Well, this
one was about their peers and two of the questions
that were asked. One of them was which player do
you like to watch the most? Shoe a Otani was
the runaway winner with twenty nine votes. By comparison, Aaron Judge,
(20:38):
who many are calling the best player in baseball this season,
was tied for sixth. Okay, here's another question. If you're
a pitcher, who is the one batter you would least
like to see in Game seven of a World Series? Again,
Aaron Judge, who was batting about four hundred and crushing
home runs out of the stadium like he did last night.
Speaker 6 (20:59):
Almost an I've hun your foot home run last night
in Cansas was a.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Distant third behind former Yankees teammate Juan Soto and Sho
hal Tani.
Speaker 5 (21:09):
So, guys, if we're.
Speaker 3 (21:10):
Just gonna believe this anonymous poll, Aaron Judge, despite being
what many call him the best theater in baseball right now,
is not number one overly exciting and number two is
not overly feared by his peers.
Speaker 4 (21:23):
And here's a couple of things. I get it, everybody
has different tastes for stuff. But I do believe, and
I'll say this, sometimes when you ask players to evaluate
each other, there's a slant, there's a hint of jealousy involved,
There's all kinds of stuff that is involved. And that's
(21:46):
why I can't I don't believe you can always get
the most honest response from people. They asked Paul Pierce
for his top ten, Lebron's not in his top ten.
Speaker 6 (21:57):
He ain't top ten player. Right Shack just gave his
top ten. I don't know.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
Did he leave Kareem off because he was a center
for the Lakers series that was egregious.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
People used to say the same thing about if Derrek
Ga played anywhere else, he would be I said, the
guy has the six most hits in baseball three ten,
batting average five. Do you know that you've seen it?
Home running, mister November backward flip to the home plate.
D Nail A guy like, like, what are we talking about?
So I think sometimes and we can look at it.
(22:31):
Rob g give me the numbers. Oh, Tony didn't have
a great World Did he have a great World Series?
He did not.
Speaker 5 (22:38):
This was his first postseason run.
Speaker 4 (22:40):
He didn't go to the postseason with the Angels, and
I get it, Judge was starting to hit. Hasn't had
great postseasons. If you want to say that and use that,
that's fine. But to think he's not one of the
most exciting players because he's not just a home run
or nothing. If he was batting two ten, I'm with you.
He's been two ten and he's just swinging for the
(23:03):
fences and he connects forty times a year.
Speaker 6 (23:06):
Right, I'll buy that.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
One of the mostly said, when we walk out of
this room or go to the bathroom or something, right
and he's about to hit, we're gonna stop. We're gonna stop.
I'm sorry, and rob gya give me the World Series stats.
So neither guy played particularly well.
Speaker 5 (23:23):
Now neither one. So Aaron Judge.
Speaker 3 (23:25):
Across five games, hit two twenty two, four hits, a
home run, three RBIs show al Tani one oh five,
two hits, no RBIs score two runs.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Well, I'm not gonna jump in here. A couple so
a couple of things, right, Neither one of them balled out.
But I do think there's this part of the issue,
A couple of things, rob one. I think Aaron Judge
is dealing with a little bit of Dukeism. I think
him being a Yankee. My add to that, some of
these players not even that they hate Judge, I just
hate the Yankees, right, if you're a red Sock, and
let's say, but also.
Speaker 6 (23:55):
The payment what comes with it, which is higher profiles.
Speaker 5 (23:59):
Attention, you're the guy on the Yankee two.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Right, So I think there's a natural Dukeism, you North
Carolinaism or Lakrism, you know, just certain teams people.
Speaker 5 (24:07):
This man here, he come another one of them. Do
you know?
Speaker 1 (24:09):
Aaron Judge always getting in love, so maybe you get
a handful of people there who don't like him, right
because of that. Also, I do think what we just
talked about Aaron Judge at times reminds me of the
James Harden of MLB. James I out of Tartan had
a five six year period where he was absolutely insane,
leading the league in scoring an assists, doing historic things
(24:31):
we'd seen similar to Aaron Judge winning MVPs and top
two of at other times when Harden didn't win it.
But then when we got to the postseason with who
hardened about to cook this year and it just didn't
work out, You're like, Ah, it's always not there, And
maybe there's a little bit of that where it's recency bias.
The last time I saw him, he didn't do anything
or you know what, in big moments he didn't And
(24:53):
I think that might play a little bit as well.
And I think that if you read the article, some
of the love that went to some of the other
plays were a couple of things like this exciting with
junior Man. He's just exciting. He's not even big, he's
just man. He can do everything. He's got power, he's fast,
he can feel, he's just all over the place.
Speaker 5 (25:10):
He's exciting.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
And they talk about show heye man, he might be
the basketball player to ever lived.
Speaker 5 (25:14):
That's just something unique. We never see anything.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
So I think Aaron Judge is also losing some of
the love from being just a model of consistency and
SGA like just putting it up the numbers season after
season of the season. It's not necessarily the most exciting
per se. And you know, but I'm just coming to
work every day and I think maybe that's why. Oh yeah,
we've seen that before. So you just saw Otani. Even
(25:36):
though you've seen him he's been insane with the Angels,
now you just saw him enough higher profile with the Dodgers. Right,
he didn't do anything. Now I'm saying that throughout the season. No,
but that's my issue. Fifty to fifty we never seen
that before. Shut up with the pizza boxes.
Speaker 5 (25:50):
It was coming.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Yes, we got the fifty home runs, we got the
fifty plus steal soling bases. He comes to the Dodgers'
balls out year one and then ultimately wins the World Series.
Think that adds to the lure. Wow, when he's finally
on his big stage playing with the Dodgers.
Speaker 6 (26:03):
Even though he didn't do anything.
Speaker 5 (26:05):
He didn't he didn't do anything.
Speaker 1 (26:06):
Freddie Freeman might not be some of these conversations you
know who you fear at back, but I those are
some of the reasons why not that they don't highly
regard it. It's just he doesn't necessarily come top of
mind for some of those reasons.
Speaker 5 (26:18):
Before God, you.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
Talk about something you don't see. You don't see a
guy hit maybe fifty sixty home runs and back close
to four hundred.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Now we both agree, we both sitting here period and
say he's doing.
Speaker 4 (26:31):
Every night, we just look up and go, he hit
it out again. No, no, no, it was just a
triple or another hit, another hit. Oh, go th we
hits tonight, like like that is what's strange, And especially
since Otani didn't pitch last year, hasn't pitched this year,
kind of were I get it that he's the first
guy to do it since Babe Rude, So I get
the intrigue.
Speaker 5 (26:51):
I think he never have to.
Speaker 1 (26:51):
Do it again, and people are always gonna love that, Like,
he doesn't have to ever pitch again. Obviously the Dodgers
want him to. But he's done it enough that I
think he's now cemented. But I do believe that a
lot of it.
Speaker 6 (27:01):
I do.
Speaker 5 (27:02):
And this is just.
Speaker 4 (27:04):
Not just in baseball, but players in general. There's a
jealousy factor because they have skin in the game, hard
for people to acknowledge or that's why you need outside
people to judge. It's the same thing when they're doing Emmys.
They don't have you know this, They don't have the
people in LA critiquing the other work in LA because
(27:28):
they already know. I can't stand that guy on Channel seven.
I can't stand Kelvin on Spectra. He does something with
his mouth that drives me crazy.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
You can do the greatest story, I'm serious, are you right?
So what do they do?
Speaker 4 (27:40):
Rob g They take the stories outside of the market
to let people who don't know the personalities do it.
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Because of that the only but here's the question, why
are people favorable in this? In this a lot of
these questions with Soto and why are they hugely in
favor of o Tani? He blew one of those poles away.
It was like twenty nine votes, in the next one
(28:13):
was like eight or something.
Speaker 5 (28:14):
But I think that's just.
Speaker 4 (28:14):
Strictly, that's just strictly because of he's a two way
player that no one's seen it. And for a lot
of guys who in the major leagues who are picked
either one, they know how hard it is to pitch
in the big leagues and then to play every day
like it is. I'm not going to see her and
act like it's not, because it's it's hard. Most guys
can't even make it on one of them. Let Loan,
you know what I mean, You're doing too at a
(28:35):
high level. So I get that part. But I'm just
saying the idea that Aaron Judges and one of the
most exciting players.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
I just think he is one of It's just you
thought he wasn't a clear cut winner.
Speaker 5 (28:49):
I think that's because I.
Speaker 6 (28:50):
Just know not.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
I just can't believe how low it Wasn't he like
it was lower some of them. He was like five
votes out of that he was like, you know what
I mean, it's for the most exciting. Here's the list
o Tani with Twin.
Speaker 5 (29:01):
I get that, But here's the rest.
Speaker 6 (29:03):
That's what you call.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
I get He's behind Bobby Witt Junior, Ronald Cooney, Bobby
Wit Jr. Like Alie De la Cruz, Mookie Betts, and
he's died with Francisco Lindor.
Speaker 4 (29:14):
I'm just saying, like that company there. Can I tell
you this as good as Lindoor is, how many All
Star Games does he make with the Mets, with the Mets,
with the Mets none one zero. Yeah, I'm just he's
a guy or and maybe also team in five years.
Speaker 1 (29:28):
And exciting to the players, not the fans. I'm just
saying the same way. And I'll give you the NBA
equivalent is one one hundred and thirty players in vote
for Lebron for the All Star Game?
Speaker 5 (29:40):
Suppicion that? Am I right? I think about that next year. Okay,
maybe he was too oldy g.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
That number is ridiculous for an All Star game that
not MVP or makes sense to that and you got
that many players.
Speaker 4 (29:53):
Okay, they don't like him, that's fine. But to say
you you wouldn't vote for Lebrons only.
Speaker 5 (29:58):
Just an All Star just a shibition? Is he one
of the best players? Really?
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Twenty four player? A you can't name no twenty four
players better than him? But I am blown away though.
To me that Sir Hey will get twenty nine. You know,
I thought it'd be like he get fourteen and Judge
will get eight or nine, and then Sodo might get seven.
Twenty nine and then Judge at five is crazy And
I just think a part of it is, like I said,
the Duke Ism. I just don't like, not as I
(30:24):
don't like the guy the person, but I don't like
him because he's a Yankee and I just can't stand.
I don't disagree, or I don't like all the attention
and attention he gets. Like last year, like they bought
a Bobby Wit. Bobby any other year Bobby Wit would
have won the.
Speaker 4 (30:36):
American League MVP. Aaron Judge had an even better year.
But you know what I mean, Oh, he got it
because he's a Yankee New York.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
They don't give it to it in the small market
Kansas City, and I think he's a lot of that,
and I think it's just again not having that postseason's
success a few times. Oh and I meant to say
this part sandwiched in between Stanton who's doing all world things,
and then Soto, who had a better postseason, who was
making all the clutch hits. So I think sandwiching between
(31:06):
those guys, they're like, you're supposed to be the one
and you ain't showing up. So I do think that
plays a role that when I when they like if
I think of the inks, shoot, I'm more fearful him
or oh shoe Stanton's at the play, I'm more excited
for that in the postseason. Orjan Soto's up and I'm
more excited for that. So I do think that played
a role forgot to mention that earlier, that having those
two guys on the team didn't help
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