May 25, 2022 • 31 mins
Chris and Rob discuss Colin Kaepernick’s tryout with the Las Vegas Raiders and explain why they’re hopeful that this is a legitimate opportunity to get back into the NFL and not a PR stunt, discuss why Kyrie Irving getting an All-NBA vote from Jalen Rose is further proof that current and former players shouldn’t vote for things like that, tell us why they would never offer Kyrie a long-term deal even if it means alienating Kevin Durant, and debate whether or not college football would be better with a salary cap in the NIL era.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday from seven
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(00:21):
s R. You're listening to the Best of The Odd
Couple with Chris Brush and Rob Harker. Big story coming
out of the NFL. Long time coming. Some thought you
never even get to this point. We'll see what it
leads to, if anything, but Colin Kaepernick. Rob finally has
(00:46):
a workout with an NFL team, the Las Vegas Raiders.
The workout is today. I don't know, Rob, g is
it taking placetter? It's it's scheduled for today. I don't
know if it's later today obviously, even on the West coast. Yeah,
(01:06):
the story just says he scheduled to work out Wednesday,
so that's today. But it's for the Raiders. Rob. Now,
remember he played his college ball at Nevada, so the
Raiders in Vegas, of course. And I don't know if
there's some connection there. But Mark Davis, the owner for
the team. Remember he said a few weeks ago that
(01:27):
he would be open to Kaepernick, you know, either if
not joining the team, then getting certainly a chance to
make the team. He said, he give his blessing to it.
And you know, Rob, Mark Davis, you know Al Davis,
his dad was, you know, the first one in the
NFL owner to hire a blackhead coach. He was were
(01:48):
ahead of his time. Yeah, yeah, first well to hire
a woman chief executive and so also the first to
draft a black quarterback in the first Brown and the
second owner to hire Hispanic head coach, Tom Flores. So,
like you said, he was ahead of his time. And
Mark Davis, you know, I salute him because Rob, and
(02:10):
I'm not trying to rip anybody, but Pete Carroll just
talked a lot, gave a lot of lip service even
being in need of a quarterback. Oh, he he should
get a look. I hope he gets a look. And
you need a quarterback, and you didn't even get him
a look, right, and Mark Davis, Rob, they don't need
(02:33):
a quarterback. Derek Carr just signed an extension. They've got
two other quarterbacks on the rosters. They have three on
their roster. They got in addition to car Jared Stidham
of course from New England and Nick Mullins and so
you know, he's giving him a look and I think
that's good. That's a lot better than just saying the
(02:55):
nice thing, saying the right thing, saying something you might
think might indeed or you to some players or fan base,
and actually giving him a shot. Right. Absolutely. My only
concerned Chris would be is this real or is this
uh uh you know, sizz a Lean? Is this real bacon?
Or is this sizz Lean? If this is real, then
(03:17):
I'm all for it. Let him come compete. He's a
young how old is he thirty two? He's a young
thirty four because he hasn't been beat up and hasn't
played for four years or whatever it is now Chris,
so so I think um, and people go, well, you know,
they don't. He ain't got an overdue because he can't play.
(03:37):
And I'm like, dude, you know how many players have
on NFL uniforms who can't play, who are backup, quarterback stopping.
All you people with that nonsense in garbage that that
was the reason he was out of the league was
because he can't play stop. He's not true starter anymore.
But he certainly could have been a backup for me. Yes,
(03:59):
who needs to come men, Chris, And maybe a starter
gets banged up for a game or two. Can he
do that? Absolutely he can. So if this is real,
I'm all in, and I applaud the Las Vegas Raiders
for making it. I agree, Pete Carroll, you swung, you missed,
you struck out, Sit down on a bench. I don't
want to hear from you anymore. Please just stop it. Stop.
(04:21):
I'm with you because I mean because again, the Raiders
don't need a quarterback. And here's one of my concerns. Rob.
We heard Kaepernick on the im Athlete podcast. I don't
know a month or so ago, right, say, you know,
I go in as a backup, but I he was
good backup for long. He was good, but there were
no follow ups. I'm sorry, cut and he right right,
(04:44):
but he's got Now. Look, I don't even know if
they have a spot. And your point is I think
your point is well taken, just because it seems like
they've got three quarterbacks on the rosters. So are they
even going going to They're clearly not looking for a starter,
So are they even you know, does even have a
(05:06):
chance to make the roster. I think rob worst case
scenario is that at least this is an NFL team
giving him a trial, and maybe that would open it
up to other teams that you know, just in terms
of him feeling okay, hey the Raiders did it, it
was no big deal. We actually need a backup, right,
(05:29):
you know, so let's let's give him a shot. You know,
at the very least, maybe it could do that. And
I'll say this, and you brought up their history or whatever.
The Raiders have always been the renegades or you know,
going against the grain in the league, starting with Al Davis,
who Chris sued the NFL a million times. They hated
Al Davis and he used to beat them in court
(05:49):
all the time on issues. So this would be against
the fray as well. Finally, and it probably makes sense
Mark Davis the Sun probably following in his dad's footsteps
and said why not? But why not? We need to
We need to get over this whole thing and give
(06:10):
this man an opportunity. Chris, if he can't play, he
gets cut like everybody else. If he can play, what
are you are you hurting your team by having somebody
who can play. This guy went to the Super Bowl.
If he looks great in the warm, in the workout, right,
then he's got to then convinced them that he's content
(06:32):
being a backup, right, because you don't say any controversy.
You don't even I mean again, you want your backup.
Everybody to be confident. Everybody wants to play. So that's right,
that's get that. But you can't stink, no stak, don't
make a stink when you if you when you talk
to the media, you know, hey, and I think he's
(06:54):
smart enough clearly to go in there all he's been through.
Say anything about I would be you know, hey, I'm
here to start, I'm here to play. Derek Carr. Can't
hold my job, Derek Carr. Derek Carr. What was he
doing when I was leading to the Niners to the
Super Bowl? Yeah, exactly, just be cool. He was thrown
(07:15):
to Davante Adams in college and they weren't winning any
games all right, Right, But I do think Rob, I
don't know that there's a slot for it. Like I said,
they got three quarterbacks. Yeah, but but you never know
sometimes you know, like and and we always go back
to what I know it's kind of a crutch for us.
But Matt Flynn signed a big contract with Seattle too,
(07:36):
and at some point they just said, well that's nice,
we're gonna make a change here, and the other two
guys on my hell bent on them like like, there's
no way you can make a move. I'm sure they're
not making that much money. Chris, you know these other
two guys. So if they had to decide and go,
you know what, what are we doing here? Let's make
him our backup quarterback and get rid of one of
these guys, I think they'll do it. Be sure to
(07:58):
catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris Brussard
and Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app. Hey,
it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Maller,
along with my trustee sidekick David Gascon. Would meet a
lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey.
You're asking one in God's name? Is the Fifth Hour?
(08:20):
I'll tell you it's a spin off of that Ben
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Picture if you will A world. Will we chat with
captains of industry in media, sports and more every week Explorer,
some amazing facts about a human nature and more. Let'sten
to the fifth hour with Ben Maller on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Before we
(08:41):
get into the meat of the discussion, Rob, you and
I talk a lot, and you know, we we hear
from the fans because you're a Hall of Fame voter
for baseball. Ye, I'm a an NBA Awards voter for basketball,
and I voted on all these postseason awards, all NBA
teams and everything. And we const tell people that the
(09:02):
media is the best group of people to vote on
these awards. They're not perfect. We're not perfect. Yes, it's
not always right, but they are and some do have biases.
But I would say the media is by far the
most unbiased group of people to vote on these awards.
(09:23):
We got no skin in the game, Chris none, No.
And players often talk about they want to vote and
we don't. We don't know what they're talking about, right,
And um, we have said we've pointed out all Star
voting in twenty seventeen, one hundred and twenty some odd
(09:44):
players didn't vote for Lebron James, one hundred and fifty
some id didn't vote for Kevin Durant lunacy lunacy lunaiculous.
And we have another example. And this is a guy
that both you and I know and we like um
and he's done a fantastic job making a career for
himself after a really good basketball career too. But Jalen Rose,
(10:06):
Rob somebody it was. It was a shock this morning
when we found out that someone voted for Kyrie Irving,
who played twenty nine games this season, twenty nine out
of eighty two, someone voted for him to make third
(10:30):
Team All NBA. We were shot. I mean we we
we we. We talked about the first things. First, Kevin
Wilds thought it had to be a mistake. I said,
the only justification, I said, it's hard to make a
mistake with the way they do the voting. But I said,
the only thing I could see, Rob, is that someone
just felt like, you know what, Kyrie's one of the
(10:51):
best six guards in the league, and I don't care
how much he played. I'm voting right. You could put
Kawhi Leonard on there. You were Damion Lettle know he
didn't play a bet, right, he didn't play a minute, right,
And and and we were I was looking for who
in the world is I never would have guessed it
was Jay len Rose. I'll tell you that I did think.
(11:14):
Know what I thought, Rob, I wouldn't have bet on it,
but I did. I thought best bet it. Probably I
thought was maybe a local beat writer, like a NETS
beat right, you know how sometimes right the local guys
feel compelled. You know what we had We had that
who I can't remember who it was, had a chance
(11:34):
to be unanimous. Lebron was and before for MVP and
Gary Washburn, friend of the show, great great NBA reporter.
He voted for Carmelo. Yeah, but there was also Yeah,
there was another one too, back when I was covering
the Nets and and they said that David voted for
(11:55):
it was Rookie of the Year David. But that's what
they said. They said, David voted for Chris Morris. Remember
Chris Morris with the nuts, Okay for Rookie of the Year,
Like he had a Rookie of the Year voter and
everybody's like Chris Morris. And when they said David, David
Steele the writer was on the beat, so they thought
it was David Steele, but you know who it was.
(12:16):
It was Howard David, the broadcaster for the Nuts. Howard
David happened what I mean? Ye where a team broadcaster
Chris will want to pick somebody. They took the vote
from a lot of those guys, right, because they watched
those guys every day, right, right, But they were for
the team Homers like they but they feel more they themselves, Rob,
(12:37):
you know this, They kind of view themselves more as
a part of the team. Then the writers do. A
beat writer, at least one in his right mind, does
not view himself as part of the team that they
might look at that, but you don't, you know, you
just like I'm objective and then they might view you
as the enemy. But the broadcasts, you know this, Rob,
(12:59):
they kind of you know, they're on the flights a
lot of times, they're on the bus with the team
and they you know, they do they are homers when
you listen to call the game. But I agree with
you on Jalen, like this is the surprise, Oh my gosh, yeah,
this was like what are you really thinking about this?
And I think your explanation excuse me, what was probably
(13:22):
where he was going. Kyrie is better than these guys.
Whether he played way, it's just not no way, because
like you said, you are, like I said, you could
put you could if that's your reason, you could legitimately
put Kawhi Leonard on there. Absolutely, even though he played
one game, twenty nine game. Rob, I don't care if
he averaged fifty points and eleven assists in twenty nine
(13:47):
games by your own volition or of your own volition. Right, No,
there's no way. Um. But speaking of Kyrie, and this
is what we really wanted to get into and what
we'll get into with Christian Whiten, the Winfield wrote a
story in the New York Daily News saying that the
(14:07):
NETS brain trust, according to a source, is outright against
paying Kyrie irving a long term contract extension. And Rob,
I agree with that. I mean, Kyrie, we all know
he's a very good player. He is an exceptionally skilled player.
(14:31):
He's your favorite player's favorite player because he's got the handle,
he's got the finishing ability, he's got the jay like.
His skills are second to none. But Robbie played twenty
games his first year with the Nets. He played fifty
ish his second year with the Nets, in large part
(14:53):
because he took off some time for January sixth personal reasons.
And it's like today, Rob in that case, and we're
all broken up. I mean, Rob, We've had several tragedies
in the last few weeks. We had what happened in
(15:15):
Buffalo awful. Recently of course had yeah, this this massacre
and twenty one people, nineteen children killed in Texas. So
we've all and then there's more I didn't even mention,
but we as no matter how badly you feel, no
matter how hurt you are, no matter how much you
(15:36):
think about your own kids and your own family members
being in that situation or being afraid that, you know,
at their school or whatever their place of employment, something
could happen. We had to get up and go to work.
And if Kyrie can take off of January sixth, why
(15:58):
can't he take off for this? You know, like that's
the type of thing you have to think about if
you're gonna pay him a long term deal. And so
I'm with the NETS, Rob or not paying him long term.
If I'm the NETS, I would be trying to reach
out to Kyrie. And I don't know why. In the world.
(16:19):
I couldn't get him. I'm his employer, I'm paying your bills.
Answer the phone. I mean you know, like I mean,
my gosh, it's just rob. Sometimes I don't get it.
But Kyrie opt in because we're not giving me a
long term and I'm not gonna say it with attitude.
But after what we've been through, Kyrie, we just can't
(16:41):
and put it if the owners should say, put it
on me, right Joe Side, Joe Side is just not
willing to go there right now. We want you, We
believe in you, and we think we have a great
year this year where U K D and Ben Simmons
leading away. So let's go out and have that year,
and you play as much as you can, give us
the right attitude and man, well we'll lock you up
(17:05):
after we win this chip, so come back, you know
what I mean that type of thing. No, I don't
know what contract he could expect, anybody could expect. I
don't think that this is shocking at all. I think
this is makes common sense. You can't, uh, you can't
(17:27):
what's the right word, Chris um give somebody who hasn't
been available and reward them. You can't reward him with
some deal. I just it's just not no matter how
talented he is, I need to get a full season
next year and have this guy ball out and have
give them a chance to come out of the East
(17:48):
and a chance at a championship. They got a lot
of pieces. Joe Harris will be back next year, maybe
Ben Simmons, like Chris, they got pieces. They're gonna be
in the mix if they're healthy. And but you need,
you need a Kyrie's gonna be there and being available
and being locked in and being a good teammate is important,
(18:10):
even as as much as just having raw talent, which
we know. I mean, it's just it just is because
if you're not there, having all that talent doesn't mean anything.
It just doesn't. And Rob, I don't think Kyrie has
any leverage. The only teams with cap room are Detroit,
(18:30):
San Antonio, Indiana, Indiana, Portland, and Orlando. Good luck right,
none of them are very good teams at this point.
None of them are desirable places you're gonna want to
go if you're a veteran who has won a championship.
And I don't think any of them are gonna would
even really go after Kyrie and so where are you going?
(18:52):
Everybody knows you want to stay in Brooklyn. You've said it.
People in the league knew it before you said it,
but you said it after Game four. Ye, and you've
been wishy washy on your availability in Brooklyn where you
want to be? What in the world would you be
like something you know with your partner that you wanted,
you know what I mean, Like like Katie, let's go
(19:14):
to Brooklyn. The Knicks were available, there was other places
they could have easily have been, like, no, let's just
go to the Knicks and play to Garden. Let's just
do that. No, let's go to Brooklyn. I was grew
up in Jersey. I was a Nets fan. The Nuts
are in Brooklyn and they kind of got a different
little vibe yes to not the Knicks. But then again,
whether the Knicks one Chris in the last forty years
(19:36):
like zero, Absolutely I get it. And so I don't
think he has leverage. However, this depends on Kevin Durant.
That could be great leverage. You don't have leverage, I
don't think, basketball wise. But if Kevin Durant is like
like you said, that's why Durant is in Brooklyn. If
(19:58):
Kyrie had been like, let's go to New York. I
firmly believe Rob k D would have been in New York.
Agree it was a package deal. They were gonna go
together and play together, and that's what it was. Yep.
And so if k D, if they don't give him,
Let's say Kyrie opts out and they don't give him
the long term deal and are open to letting him
walk and maybe go somewhere signing trade whatever, and Kate
(20:22):
Kate D, what would you do if kay? Here's all
I look at it, Rob, because obviously, if I want
Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant is still I don't think he's
the best player in the world. I think it's Janice.
But it's arguable. If somebody wants to argue Kevin Durant,
I mean they got an argument, I'm gonna say, it's
impossible exactly. That's not your rocker by any stretch. Um.
(20:48):
And so I want Kevin Durant. I think he's hungry
to win the championship, might even be hungry with the
success Golden States happened this year without him, But he
and Robbie's locked up for the next four years, right
So what if Kevin Durant is like, Hey, I came
here to play with Kyrie, So if you don't sign him,
(21:10):
trade me. Yeah, you know what, I hear you, Chris.
I just can't see KD. His reputation is on the line,
his legacy is on the line. He's got to want Kyrie.
We're cool, we're boys, but I can't take the not
another waste another year or two, like, like, you're getting older, right,
(21:33):
there's a window that's definitely there. If I'm him, I'm like, dude,
I need you, like like what I can't. I can't.
You can't do this anymore. I want to play with you.
I think we compliment each other. We could have something good.
But I can't do this. I just so you wouldn't
attach yourself, like if I might have came here with you.
(21:53):
But but but when we all talked about it and
you said you're gonna get vaccinate, then you backed out.
Why am I being loyal to you? Right? I agree?
I just can't he would do that, But you are, Rob,
that's what you should do, right, And Rob, even if
we're gonna be loyal or whatever. And me and you
were doing a radio show together and we say we're
gonna do something, and then I can't count on you.
(22:15):
Chris like, right a while, I'm gonna be like, you
know what, I wanted to do the show with you,
but you know, absolutely I can't count on you. Yeah,
absolutely right. And even Rob if KD was like, you
know what, trade me? First of all, I'm the nets,
I'm like, all right, we got you locked up for
the next four years. You're not Anthony Davis where you
(22:37):
can afford to essentially throw a year away, you know,
age right, So one, we want to keep you. Second
worst case scenario, if I trade Kevin Durant, Rob, I
think I'm getting back a haul. Now, I get it.
He would probably only go to a really good team.
So what are they gonna have. Are their draft picks
(22:59):
go to be They're not gonna be lottery picks? Um
are they gonna give up? And they're not gonna give
up some of their core if they're trying to win it,
because KDE would be a part of that. But I
don't know. I just think I would be able to
get a lot for him in some form or fashion,
whether it's a three or four team deal, and I
wouldn't just give him away. If I can't trade you,
(23:21):
I'm not trading. You can't walk away like you said
Robert his age. He can't just walk away from a season.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports
Radio dot com and within the iHeart Radio app. Search
f SR to listen live. But speaking of football, Lane
(23:43):
Kiffin coach at Old Miss, now been in the NFL,
been at several stops in college football. He Robs spoke
to Sports Illustrate long interview about name, image and likeness,
and his attitude was pretty refreshing. I got me. He
was like, look, is here to stay. I'm not gonna
be one of those guys that's, you know, complaining about
(24:05):
it and trying to figure out, you know, what can
be done to stop it or this or that. But
he said, it is here to stay. So I'm just
going to try to figure out a way to do
well by it, right, do well in this system. And
he has some interesting points. Rob He talked about, you
(24:26):
know the boosters, rob because the nil money is going
to come from the boosters, right, and boosters give a
ton of money to colleges through donations, and that is
typically what at least contributes to the head coach's salary
and helps build the facilities that they have. And you know,
some of these college facilities are off the chain, and
(24:49):
now some of that money is going to go to
players with name, image and likeness. And he was saying,
he brought up a few things, one of which was
these boosters robed will in a sense could become like
owners in professional sports, where if they're paying a guy
a certain amount of money, they're gonna want to see
(25:12):
him play. And if you're a coach and you're like, look,
he's not ready, so and so it's better, it could
get sticky. That's one situation he brought up. And he
brought up another rob in which he said there could
be issues where these say a high school kid gets
(25:35):
a huge n IL to come to your school, and
not a few of them say, and now now they're
making all this money and the vets aren't getting much.
Could that cause a problem And he kind of equated
it to the NFL. And baseball's got a system I
don't know how long that's been in place where you know,
(25:56):
they're they're young hotshots, don't get the most money. And
now all the sports do, but the NFL and NBA
didn't always have that. Robbie, you remember the NBA. It
was a mess because the guy would get drafted and
hold out until he got a huge contract, and he'd
go to a team unproven and be the highest paid
(26:16):
player on the team or one of the highest paid.
And they obviously dealt with that with the rookie scale,
which I thought was good, but he said that could
be an issue. He said, Rob a hundred percent of
the players now now Maye. Is that an exaggeration maybe,
but he said, all the players coming out of high
school now, the blue Chippers. He said, they're going wherever
(26:39):
the money is. And he was like, I don't blame him,
he said, but that's what they're doing. He said, There're
been guys signed without visiting schools. There're been guys signed
without really meeting the head coach just because the nil
money was going to be great. And so it was
a really interesting article. He brought up some interesting points
(27:02):
and Robbie all led to him saying he thinks the answer,
if you will is a salary cap. Your thoughts, you know,
him against it. I just salary cap. No, I'm just
this is a free market system, and all they ever
(27:22):
want to do is control what people earn. Let's have
a coach's cap. How about that? How about a coach's cap, Chris,
you can't make more than a million dollars to be
a top notch college football coach. Let me hear that.
You think that would work? Kiffin? Hell no, it wouldn't
work and guys would quit tomorrow. I hate it. No, no,
(27:48):
damn cap. You don't have a cap. Why should the
kids have a cap? You think it's a yes, I
don't know what If Lebron was making fifty minute, it's fine.
He's working whatever someone's willing to pay him. Is making
a million whatever he they're willing to pay him. I
don't think it would work out like that, Chris, because
(28:08):
the system always corrects itself and works out the way
it can. I'm just saying I'm not with it. Yeah,
it does. Baseball have been doing it for ye Baseball
has been doing and a few other teams buy the
hot and the Yankees havn't won a World Series since
two thousand and nine. The Atlantic the Atlanta the Atlanta
Braves had a middle of the role pay roll. They
(28:31):
won the Tampa Bay Race went to the World Series.
All right, Why I'm not buying? What do you mean,
why don't It's the nature of the sport. That's why
no and the Nicks and the Knicks have the The
Knicks have the year after year to say the big
markets that pay all the money are the best teams. Okay,
may not win that. They may not win the World Series.
(28:52):
You could go to better teams year after year. You
could go look Yankees, Red Sox, Astros. No, that's not true.
Kansas City won the World Series. Christ's twenty fifteen. No
what they won. They lost, but they won. You can
win without paying it. You're right, that's what you can do. No,
(29:13):
I di the NFL. The Jets have the same paper
that the Lions have the same exact chance because of
it's supposed to be a salary cap makes it a
level playing field. The Lions have one playoff win since
nineteen fifty seven. So tell me it's fair because everybody
(29:33):
has the same money. If I have a bad I
have a bad if I have a bad GM, it
doesn't matter what the money is. That it doesn't work
that you just got miss Kansas City didn't win a
Super Bowl for fifty years, they just won. Buffalo hasn't won.
I could go on and on and on. The Jets
haven't won. New Orleans has won one championship in the
(29:54):
last fifty years. I could go on and on. The
salary cap stony and only for owners to control what
the players make. I'll never sign off on it. Now.
Key to a salary cap, I don't mind a salary cap.
The key is that it's fair. And that's what the
(30:14):
fear would be in college is would the owner, the boosters,
and the coaches conspire the NCAA all that to put
in an unfair salary cap. I'm totally with you there,
But in the NBA they've they've gotten anywhere from fifty
to sixty percent roughly of the revenue generated by the sport.
(30:39):
And so as long as it's fair, I think a
cap is good. But it has to be fair, and
that's where you don't trust the nc DOUBLEA, and I
get that. But it's interesting. I mean, I'm not saying
they have to. We'll see, we'll see how this works.
But I'm not just philosophically against salary caps because it's
(31:02):
sports and you want competition and you want to give
everybody a fair shot, and I think they have a
fair shot. I think it's just that some teams are
mismanaged by bad leadership.
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcast.
Be sure to catch us live every weekday from seven
pm to ten pm Eastern four to seven Pacific on
Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for The Odd
Couple at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us
live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching f
(00:21):
s R. You're listening to the Best of The Odd
Couple with Chris Brush and Rob Harker. Big story coming
out of the NFL. Long time coming. Some thought you
never even get to this point. We'll see what it
leads to, if anything, but Colin Kaepernick. Rob finally has
(00:46):
a workout with an NFL team, the Las Vegas Raiders.
The workout is today. I don't know, Rob, g is
it taking placetter? It's it's scheduled for today. I don't
know if it's later today obviously, even on the West coast. Yeah,
(01:06):
the story just says he scheduled to work out Wednesday,
so that's today. But it's for the Raiders. Rob. Now,
remember he played his college ball at Nevada, so the
Raiders in Vegas, of course. And I don't know if
there's some connection there. But Mark Davis, the owner for
the team. Remember he said a few weeks ago that
(01:27):
he would be open to Kaepernick, you know, either if
not joining the team, then getting certainly a chance to
make the team. He said, he give his blessing to it.
And you know, Rob, Mark Davis, you know Al Davis,
his dad was, you know, the first one in the
NFL owner to hire a blackhead coach. He was were
(01:48):
ahead of his time. Yeah, yeah, first well to hire
a woman chief executive and so also the first to
draft a black quarterback in the first Brown and the
second owner to hire Hispanic head coach, Tom Flores. So,
like you said, he was ahead of his time. And
Mark Davis, you know, I salute him because Rob, and
(02:10):
I'm not trying to rip anybody, but Pete Carroll just
talked a lot, gave a lot of lip service even
being in need of a quarterback. Oh, he he should
get a look. I hope he gets a look. And
you need a quarterback, and you didn't even get him
a look, right, and Mark Davis, Rob, they don't need
(02:33):
a quarterback. Derek Carr just signed an extension. They've got
two other quarterbacks on the rosters. They have three on
their roster. They got in addition to car Jared Stidham
of course from New England and Nick Mullins and so
you know, he's giving him a look and I think
that's good. That's a lot better than just saying the
(02:55):
nice thing, saying the right thing, saying something you might
think might indeed or you to some players or fan base,
and actually giving him a shot. Right. Absolutely. My only
concerned Chris would be is this real or is this
uh uh you know, sizz a Lean? Is this real bacon?
Or is this sizz Lean? If this is real, then
(03:17):
I'm all for it. Let him come compete. He's a
young how old is he thirty two? He's a young
thirty four because he hasn't been beat up and hasn't
played for four years or whatever it is now Chris,
so so I think um, and people go, well, you know,
they don't. He ain't got an overdue because he can't play.
(03:37):
And I'm like, dude, you know how many players have
on NFL uniforms who can't play, who are backup, quarterback stopping.
All you people with that nonsense in garbage that that
was the reason he was out of the league was
because he can't play stop. He's not true starter anymore.
But he certainly could have been a backup for me. Yes,
(03:59):
who needs to come men, Chris, And maybe a starter
gets banged up for a game or two. Can he
do that? Absolutely he can. So if this is real,
I'm all in, and I applaud the Las Vegas Raiders
for making it. I agree, Pete Carroll, you swung, you missed,
you struck out, Sit down on a bench. I don't
want to hear from you anymore. Please just stop it. Stop.
(04:21):
I'm with you because I mean because again, the Raiders
don't need a quarterback. And here's one of my concerns. Rob.
We heard Kaepernick on the im Athlete podcast. I don't
know a month or so ago, right, say, you know,
I go in as a backup, but I he was
good backup for long. He was good, but there were
no follow ups. I'm sorry, cut and he right right,
(04:44):
but he's got Now. Look, I don't even know if
they have a spot. And your point is I think
your point is well taken, just because it seems like
they've got three quarterbacks on the rosters. So are they
even going going to They're clearly not looking for a starter,
So are they even you know, does even have a
(05:06):
chance to make the roster. I think rob worst case
scenario is that at least this is an NFL team
giving him a trial, and maybe that would open it
up to other teams that you know, just in terms
of him feeling okay, hey the Raiders did it, it
was no big deal. We actually need a backup, right,
(05:29):
you know, so let's let's give him a shot. You know,
at the very least, maybe it could do that. And
I'll say this, and you brought up their history or whatever.
The Raiders have always been the renegades or you know,
going against the grain in the league, starting with Al Davis,
who Chris sued the NFL a million times. They hated
Al Davis and he used to beat them in court
(05:49):
all the time on issues. So this would be against
the fray as well. Finally, and it probably makes sense
Mark Davis the Sun probably following in his dad's footsteps
and said why not? But why not? We need to
We need to get over this whole thing and give
(06:10):
this man an opportunity. Chris, if he can't play, he
gets cut like everybody else. If he can play, what
are you are you hurting your team by having somebody
who can play. This guy went to the Super Bowl.
If he looks great in the warm, in the workout, right,
then he's got to then convinced them that he's content
(06:32):
being a backup, right, because you don't say any controversy.
You don't even I mean again, you want your backup.
Everybody to be confident. Everybody wants to play. So that's right,
that's get that. But you can't stink, no stak, don't
make a stink when you if you when you talk
to the media, you know, hey, and I think he's
(06:54):
smart enough clearly to go in there all he's been through.
Say anything about I would be you know, hey, I'm
here to start, I'm here to play. Derek Carr. Can't
hold my job, Derek Carr. Derek Carr. What was he
doing when I was leading to the Niners to the
Super Bowl? Yeah, exactly, just be cool. He was thrown
(07:15):
to Davante Adams in college and they weren't winning any
games all right, Right, But I do think Rob, I
don't know that there's a slot for it. Like I said,
they got three quarterbacks. Yeah, but but you never know
sometimes you know, like and and we always go back
to what I know it's kind of a crutch for us.
But Matt Flynn signed a big contract with Seattle too,
(07:36):
and at some point they just said, well that's nice,
we're gonna make a change here, and the other two
guys on my hell bent on them like like, there's
no way you can make a move. I'm sure they're
not making that much money. Chris, you know these other
two guys. So if they had to decide and go,
you know what, what are we doing here? Let's make
him our backup quarterback and get rid of one of
these guys, I think they'll do it. Be sure to
(07:58):
catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris Brussard
and Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app. Hey,
it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Maller,
along with my trustee sidekick David Gascon. Would meet a
lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey.
You're asking one in God's name? Is the Fifth Hour?
(08:20):
I'll tell you it's a spin off of that Ben
Maller show, cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen?
Picture if you will A world. Will we chat with
captains of industry in media, sports and more every week Explorer,
some amazing facts about a human nature and more. Let'sten
to the fifth hour with Ben Maller on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Before we
(08:41):
get into the meat of the discussion, Rob, you and
I talk a lot, and you know, we we hear
from the fans because you're a Hall of Fame voter
for baseball. Ye, I'm a an NBA Awards voter for basketball,
and I voted on all these postseason awards, all NBA
teams and everything. And we const tell people that the
(09:02):
media is the best group of people to vote on
these awards. They're not perfect. We're not perfect. Yes, it's
not always right, but they are and some do have biases.
But I would say the media is by far the
most unbiased group of people to vote on these awards.
(09:23):
We got no skin in the game, Chris none, No.
And players often talk about they want to vote and
we don't. We don't know what they're talking about, right,
And um, we have said we've pointed out all Star
voting in twenty seventeen, one hundred and twenty some odd
(09:44):
players didn't vote for Lebron James, one hundred and fifty
some id didn't vote for Kevin Durant lunacy lunacy lunaiculous.
And we have another example. And this is a guy
that both you and I know and we like um
and he's done a fantastic job making a career for
himself after a really good basketball career too. But Jalen Rose,
(10:06):
Rob somebody it was. It was a shock this morning
when we found out that someone voted for Kyrie Irving,
who played twenty nine games this season, twenty nine out
of eighty two, someone voted for him to make third
(10:30):
Team All NBA. We were shot. I mean we we
we we. We talked about the first things. First, Kevin
Wilds thought it had to be a mistake. I said,
the only justification, I said, it's hard to make a
mistake with the way they do the voting. But I said,
the only thing I could see, Rob, is that someone
just felt like, you know what, Kyrie's one of the
(10:51):
best six guards in the league, and I don't care
how much he played. I'm voting right. You could put
Kawhi Leonard on there. You were Damion Lettle know he
didn't play a bet, right, he didn't play a minute, right,
And and and we were I was looking for who
in the world is I never would have guessed it
was Jay len Rose. I'll tell you that I did think.
(11:14):
Know what I thought, Rob, I wouldn't have bet on it,
but I did. I thought best bet it. Probably I
thought was maybe a local beat writer, like a NETS
beat right, you know how sometimes right the local guys
feel compelled. You know what we had We had that
who I can't remember who it was, had a chance
(11:34):
to be unanimous. Lebron was and before for MVP and
Gary Washburn, friend of the show, great great NBA reporter.
He voted for Carmelo. Yeah, but there was also Yeah,
there was another one too, back when I was covering
the Nets and and they said that David voted for
(11:55):
it was Rookie of the Year David. But that's what
they said. They said, David voted for Chris Morris. Remember
Chris Morris with the nuts, Okay for Rookie of the Year,
Like he had a Rookie of the Year voter and
everybody's like Chris Morris. And when they said David, David
Steele the writer was on the beat, so they thought
it was David Steele, but you know who it was.
(12:16):
It was Howard David, the broadcaster for the Nuts. Howard
David happened what I mean? Ye where a team broadcaster
Chris will want to pick somebody. They took the vote
from a lot of those guys, right, because they watched
those guys every day, right, right, But they were for
the team Homers like they but they feel more they themselves, Rob,
(12:37):
you know this, They kind of view themselves more as
a part of the team. Then the writers do. A
beat writer, at least one in his right mind, does
not view himself as part of the team that they
might look at that, but you don't, you know, you
just like I'm objective and then they might view you
as the enemy. But the broadcasts, you know this, Rob,
(12:59):
they kind of you know, they're on the flights a
lot of times, they're on the bus with the team
and they you know, they do they are homers when
you listen to call the game. But I agree with
you on Jalen, like this is the surprise, Oh my gosh, yeah,
this was like what are you really thinking about this?
And I think your explanation excuse me, what was probably
(13:22):
where he was going. Kyrie is better than these guys.
Whether he played way, it's just not no way, because
like you said, you are, like I said, you could
put you could if that's your reason, you could legitimately
put Kawhi Leonard on there. Absolutely, even though he played
one game, twenty nine game. Rob, I don't care if
he averaged fifty points and eleven assists in twenty nine
(13:47):
games by your own volition or of your own volition. Right, No,
there's no way. Um. But speaking of Kyrie, and this
is what we really wanted to get into and what
we'll get into with Christian Whiten, the Winfield wrote a
story in the New York Daily News saying that the
(14:07):
NETS brain trust, according to a source, is outright against
paying Kyrie irving a long term contract extension. And Rob,
I agree with that. I mean, Kyrie, we all know
he's a very good player. He is an exceptionally skilled player.
(14:31):
He's your favorite player's favorite player because he's got the handle,
he's got the finishing ability, he's got the jay like.
His skills are second to none. But Robbie played twenty
games his first year with the Nets. He played fifty
ish his second year with the Nets, in large part
(14:53):
because he took off some time for January sixth personal reasons.
And it's like today, Rob in that case, and we're
all broken up. I mean, Rob, We've had several tragedies
in the last few weeks. We had what happened in
(15:15):
Buffalo awful. Recently of course had yeah, this this massacre
and twenty one people, nineteen children killed in Texas. So
we've all and then there's more I didn't even mention,
but we as no matter how badly you feel, no
matter how hurt you are, no matter how much you
(15:36):
think about your own kids and your own family members
being in that situation or being afraid that, you know,
at their school or whatever their place of employment, something
could happen. We had to get up and go to work.
And if Kyrie can take off of January sixth, why
(15:58):
can't he take off for this? You know, like that's
the type of thing you have to think about if
you're gonna pay him a long term deal. And so
I'm with the NETS, Rob or not paying him long term.
If I'm the NETS, I would be trying to reach
out to Kyrie. And I don't know why. In the world.
(16:19):
I couldn't get him. I'm his employer, I'm paying your bills.
Answer the phone. I mean you know, like I mean,
my gosh, it's just rob. Sometimes I don't get it.
But Kyrie opt in because we're not giving me a
long term and I'm not gonna say it with attitude.
But after what we've been through, Kyrie, we just can't
(16:41):
and put it if the owners should say, put it
on me, right Joe Side, Joe Side is just not
willing to go there right now. We want you, We
believe in you, and we think we have a great
year this year where U K D and Ben Simmons
leading away. So let's go out and have that year,
and you play as much as you can, give us
the right attitude and man, well we'll lock you up
(17:05):
after we win this chip, so come back, you know
what I mean that type of thing. No, I don't
know what contract he could expect, anybody could expect. I
don't think that this is shocking at all. I think
this is makes common sense. You can't, uh, you can't
(17:27):
what's the right word, Chris um give somebody who hasn't
been available and reward them. You can't reward him with
some deal. I just it's just not no matter how
talented he is, I need to get a full season
next year and have this guy ball out and have
give them a chance to come out of the East
(17:48):
and a chance at a championship. They got a lot
of pieces. Joe Harris will be back next year, maybe
Ben Simmons, like Chris, they got pieces. They're gonna be
in the mix if they're healthy. And but you need,
you need a Kyrie's gonna be there and being available
and being locked in and being a good teammate is important,
(18:10):
even as as much as just having raw talent, which
we know. I mean, it's just it just is because
if you're not there, having all that talent doesn't mean anything.
It just doesn't. And Rob, I don't think Kyrie has
any leverage. The only teams with cap room are Detroit,
(18:30):
San Antonio, Indiana, Indiana, Portland, and Orlando. Good luck right,
none of them are very good teams at this point.
None of them are desirable places you're gonna want to
go if you're a veteran who has won a championship.
And I don't think any of them are gonna would
even really go after Kyrie and so where are you going?
(18:52):
Everybody knows you want to stay in Brooklyn. You've said it.
People in the league knew it before you said it,
but you said it after Game four. Ye, and you've
been wishy washy on your availability in Brooklyn where you
want to be? What in the world would you be
like something you know with your partner that you wanted,
you know what I mean, Like like Katie, let's go
(19:14):
to Brooklyn. The Knicks were available, there was other places
they could have easily have been, like, no, let's just
go to the Knicks and play to Garden. Let's just
do that. No, let's go to Brooklyn. I was grew
up in Jersey. I was a Nets fan. The Nuts
are in Brooklyn and they kind of got a different
little vibe yes to not the Knicks. But then again,
whether the Knicks one Chris in the last forty years
(19:36):
like zero, Absolutely I get it. And so I don't
think he has leverage. However, this depends on Kevin Durant.
That could be great leverage. You don't have leverage, I
don't think, basketball wise. But if Kevin Durant is like
like you said, that's why Durant is in Brooklyn. If
(19:58):
Kyrie had been like, let's go to New York. I
firmly believe Rob k D would have been in New York.
Agree it was a package deal. They were gonna go
together and play together, and that's what it was. Yep.
And so if k D, if they don't give him,
Let's say Kyrie opts out and they don't give him
the long term deal and are open to letting him
walk and maybe go somewhere signing trade whatever, and Kate
(20:22):
Kate D, what would you do if kay? Here's all
I look at it, Rob, because obviously, if I want
Kevin Durant, Kevin Durant is still I don't think he's
the best player in the world. I think it's Janice.
But it's arguable. If somebody wants to argue Kevin Durant,
I mean they got an argument, I'm gonna say, it's
impossible exactly. That's not your rocker by any stretch. Um.
(20:48):
And so I want Kevin Durant. I think he's hungry
to win the championship, might even be hungry with the
success Golden States happened this year without him, But he
and Robbie's locked up for the next four years, right
So what if Kevin Durant is like, Hey, I came
here to play with Kyrie, So if you don't sign him,
(21:10):
trade me. Yeah, you know what, I hear you, Chris.
I just can't see KD. His reputation is on the line,
his legacy is on the line. He's got to want Kyrie.
We're cool, we're boys, but I can't take the not
another waste another year or two, like, like, you're getting older, right,
(21:33):
there's a window that's definitely there. If I'm him, I'm like, dude,
I need you, like like what I can't. I can't.
You can't do this anymore. I want to play with you.
I think we compliment each other. We could have something good.
But I can't do this. I just so you wouldn't
attach yourself, like if I might have came here with you.
(21:53):
But but but when we all talked about it and
you said you're gonna get vaccinate, then you backed out.
Why am I being loyal to you? Right? I agree?
I just can't he would do that, But you are, Rob,
that's what you should do, right, And Rob, even if
we're gonna be loyal or whatever. And me and you
were doing a radio show together and we say we're
gonna do something, and then I can't count on you.
(22:15):
Chris like, right a while, I'm gonna be like, you
know what, I wanted to do the show with you,
but you know, absolutely I can't count on you. Yeah,
absolutely right. And even Rob if KD was like, you
know what, trade me? First of all, I'm the nets,
I'm like, all right, we got you locked up for
the next four years. You're not Anthony Davis where you
(22:37):
can afford to essentially throw a year away, you know,
age right, So one, we want to keep you. Second
worst case scenario, if I trade Kevin Durant, Rob, I
think I'm getting back a haul. Now, I get it.
He would probably only go to a really good team.
So what are they gonna have. Are their draft picks
(22:59):
go to be They're not gonna be lottery picks? Um
are they gonna give up? And they're not gonna give
up some of their core if they're trying to win it,
because KDE would be a part of that. But I
don't know. I just think I would be able to
get a lot for him in some form or fashion,
whether it's a three or four team deal, and I
wouldn't just give him away. If I can't trade you,
(23:21):
I'm not trading. You can't walk away like you said
Robert his age. He can't just walk away from a season.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports
Radio dot com and within the iHeart Radio app. Search
f SR to listen live. But speaking of football, Lane
(23:43):
Kiffin coach at Old Miss, now been in the NFL,
been at several stops in college football. He Robs spoke
to Sports Illustrate long interview about name, image and likeness,
and his attitude was pretty refreshing. I got me. He
was like, look, is here to stay. I'm not gonna
be one of those guys that's, you know, complaining about
(24:05):
it and trying to figure out, you know, what can
be done to stop it or this or that. But
he said, it is here to stay. So I'm just
going to try to figure out a way to do
well by it, right, do well in this system. And
he has some interesting points. Rob He talked about, you
(24:26):
know the boosters, rob because the nil money is going
to come from the boosters, right, and boosters give a
ton of money to colleges through donations, and that is
typically what at least contributes to the head coach's salary
and helps build the facilities that they have. And you know,
some of these college facilities are off the chain, and
(24:49):
now some of that money is going to go to
players with name, image and likeness. And he was saying,
he brought up a few things, one of which was
these boosters robed will in a sense could become like
owners in professional sports, where if they're paying a guy
a certain amount of money, they're gonna want to see
(25:12):
him play. And if you're a coach and you're like, look,
he's not ready, so and so it's better, it could
get sticky. That's one situation he brought up. And he
brought up another rob in which he said there could
be issues where these say a high school kid gets
(25:35):
a huge n IL to come to your school, and
not a few of them say, and now now they're
making all this money and the vets aren't getting much.
Could that cause a problem And he kind of equated
it to the NFL. And baseball's got a system I
don't know how long that's been in place where you know,
(25:56):
they're they're young hotshots, don't get the most money. And
now all the sports do, but the NFL and NBA
didn't always have that. Robbie, you remember the NBA. It
was a mess because the guy would get drafted and
hold out until he got a huge contract, and he'd
go to a team unproven and be the highest paid
(26:16):
player on the team or one of the highest paid.
And they obviously dealt with that with the rookie scale,
which I thought was good, but he said that could
be an issue. He said, Rob a hundred percent of
the players now now Maye. Is that an exaggeration maybe,
but he said, all the players coming out of high
school now, the blue Chippers. He said, they're going wherever
(26:39):
the money is. And he was like, I don't blame him,
he said, but that's what they're doing. He said, There're
been guys signed without visiting schools. There're been guys signed
without really meeting the head coach just because the nil
money was going to be great. And so it was
a really interesting article. He brought up some interesting points
(27:02):
and Robbie all led to him saying he thinks the answer,
if you will is a salary cap. Your thoughts, you know,
him against it. I just salary cap. No, I'm just
this is a free market system, and all they ever
(27:22):
want to do is control what people earn. Let's have
a coach's cap. How about that? How about a coach's cap, Chris,
you can't make more than a million dollars to be
a top notch college football coach. Let me hear that.
You think that would work? Kiffin? Hell no, it wouldn't
work and guys would quit tomorrow. I hate it. No, no,
(27:48):
damn cap. You don't have a cap. Why should the
kids have a cap? You think it's a yes, I
don't know what If Lebron was making fifty minute, it's fine.
He's working whatever someone's willing to pay him. Is making
a million whatever he they're willing to pay him. I
don't think it would work out like that, Chris, because
(28:08):
the system always corrects itself and works out the way
it can. I'm just saying I'm not with it. Yeah,
it does. Baseball have been doing it for ye Baseball
has been doing and a few other teams buy the
hot and the Yankees havn't won a World Series since
two thousand and nine. The Atlantic the Atlanta the Atlanta
Braves had a middle of the role pay roll. They
(28:31):
won the Tampa Bay Race went to the World Series.
All right, Why I'm not buying? What do you mean,
why don't It's the nature of the sport. That's why
no and the Nicks and the Knicks have the The
Knicks have the year after year to say the big
markets that pay all the money are the best teams. Okay,
may not win that. They may not win the World Series.
(28:52):
You could go to better teams year after year. You
could go look Yankees, Red Sox, Astros. No, that's not true.
Kansas City won the World Series. Christ's twenty fifteen. No
what they won. They lost, but they won. You can
win without paying it. You're right, that's what you can do. No,
(29:13):
I di the NFL. The Jets have the same paper
that the Lions have the same exact chance because of
it's supposed to be a salary cap makes it a
level playing field. The Lions have one playoff win since
nineteen fifty seven. So tell me it's fair because everybody
(29:33):
has the same money. If I have a bad I
have a bad if I have a bad GM, it
doesn't matter what the money is. That it doesn't work
that you just got miss Kansas City didn't win a
Super Bowl for fifty years, they just won. Buffalo hasn't won.
I could go on and on and on. The Jets
haven't won. New Orleans has won one championship in the
(29:54):
last fifty years. I could go on and on. The
salary cap stony and only for owners to control what
the players make. I'll never sign off on it. Now.
Key to a salary cap, I don't mind a salary cap.
The key is that it's fair. And that's what the
(30:14):
fear would be in college is would the owner, the boosters,
and the coaches conspire the NCAA all that to put
in an unfair salary cap. I'm totally with you there,
But in the NBA they've they've gotten anywhere from fifty
to sixty percent roughly of the revenue generated by the sport.
(30:39):
And so as long as it's fair, I think a
cap is good. But it has to be fair, and
that's where you don't trust the nc DOUBLEA, and I
get that. But it's interesting. I mean, I'm not saying
they have to. We'll see, we'll see how this works.
But I'm not just philosophically against salary caps because it's
(31:02):
sports and you want competition and you want to give
everybody a fair shot, and I think they have a
fair shot. I think it's just that some teams are
mismanaged by bad leadership.
Hosts And Creators
kelvin washington
Rob Parker
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