July 27, 2020 • 30 mins
It's The Best Of The Odd Couple with Chris Broussard and Rob Parker! Former NFL offensive lineman and FOX Sports Radio weekend host Ephraim Salaam is in for Rob, and the guys explain why the coronavirus outbreak within the Miami Marlins organization is just the latest example of Major League Baseball dropping the ball on important issues, discuss what the NFL can learn from the inadequate coronavirus protocols in the MLB as their season quickly approaches, and debate whether or not Lou Williams' Magic City adventure is a sign of a bigger problem within the LA Clippers locker room.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Odd Couple podcast.
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(00:21):
s R. You're listening to the best of the Odd
Cup Off with Chris Brush and Rod Harker. There was
a huge story today and it revolved around Major League
Baseball and the Miami Marlins have had what is it now,
(00:42):
fourteen people within their organization test positive for the coronavirus.
We're a weekend, not even were not even a week
ind the baseball and tragedy has struck. So the Marlins
game to has been can't postponed the Yankees and the
(01:03):
Phillies game because the Marlins were just in Philadelphia playing
the Phillies. They were in the clubhouse and all that
and for three games, and so that game has been
postponed as well. And now here's the deal from right now.
Major League Baseball is still full speed ahead. They are
(01:24):
saying that's why they expanded the rosters with the taxi
squads and if push comes to shove, then they will
bring up these players and fill out their roster. And
I agree, I don't think they should be given in yet.
You know, you try everything you can to make it work.
But here's my main takeaway from this from I think
(01:46):
this is yet another misstep from the commission, Rob Manfred,
and I say yet another because this is on the
heels of all these cheating scandals, the Red Socks, of
course the Astros, and they allowed the Astros to keep
the championship. That's no punishment at all. You got rid
(02:07):
of a few manager and a GM. The owner is
fine five million dollars, which is a dropping the bucket
to him, but they get to keep the trophy. So
that was a misstep. And by the way, speaking of
the trophy, you once called it a hunk of metal.
That was a misstep. And now, with months to prepare,
(02:32):
with the NBA setting a great example for you of
what needs to be done, why not have three bubbles,
ten teams in each bubble or something like that. Why
not six bubbles, whatever it is, whatever it's necessary, why
(02:54):
not the pubble. You got baseball players flying, you got
baseball players going home, wives going to the store, kids
hanging out, playing with their friends, all in contact with
the players. So every day they come back to the field,
they might be bringing the virus with them. And so
(03:18):
this is another misstep from Major League Baseball. And if look,
if the NBA can't play it season, I will say,
you know what, they gave it a great try. If
baseball can't finish your season, I'm gonna say, why didn't
they do it in a bubble? Ask me? You know what?
(03:39):
You're right? And the way I look at it is
what what did we hear right? First of all, this
took way too long to get accomplished having baseball back,
which personally, I think they missed out on a great
opportunity for viewerships right. For people were clamoring, I was
clamoring for anything life sport wise off right. So they
(04:01):
had they had a time where they had a jump
on everybody, and they the two sides couldn't get come
together right, So that window of opportunity got smaller and
smaller and smaller. What were the sticking points right? It wasn't,
as far as I've heard, it wasn't about what are
the protocols right? The testing point all of these things, right,
(04:26):
that should be on the forefront. It was about salaries, right, salaries,
how many games are we playing? Right? I want we
want our whole salary. We want this, we want that.
That was the focus. I didn't hear anything about health.
That was the focus, right, and to that point, because
(04:46):
that was the focus, certain protocols and things were not
put into place, are hammered into place, I should say.
And so now like you, you can't. First of all,
I've always said in this situation, especially for a professional
(05:07):
athlete to make a ton of money who are catered to,
I get it. I was one of them. We love it.
We worked hard, we deserve that. You have to be
comfortable with being uncomfortable during this time if you're playing
your game, your sport, during a pandemic, an outbreak, that
we don't have questions or answers. We don't have the
(05:29):
answers for all the questions we have. And then you
have to be okay with being uncomfortable. Right. That means
you can't just hop on the plane. We can't have
everybody at the house, we can't do the pool party,
we can't do that. Right. Look at the NBA, the
(05:50):
NBA was like, look here, y'all, you come in this bubble,
your cousins and little little Boudreau and whoever else they
did not come. I gonna watch you right. Your immediate
family only can come later, but right now, right but
right now, this is what it is. Are you guys
(06:10):
okay with that? If not, we can't do this right right?
We didn't. We didn't hear that on the baseball side,
at least I didn't. So now you're in a situation
where there's too many coming in goings. Can't just keep
dumping people on planes, can't fly everywhere. It was places
in this country where you could create an environment where
(06:34):
the players would have to sacrifice a little bit, not
taking taking mind everyone was at home for five months, yes,
with nowhere to go. Everyone was at home taking care
of their family for five months. You get an opportunity
to come back and play for five months or however alone.
The season is where there has to be some sacrifices.
(06:57):
This is not regular, right, there's not enough sacrifice. I
totally agree with you, man, And look, I get it.
If they were trying to play a one hundred and
sixty two games season, or even if it was one
hundred and twenty or one hundred games, but it's sixty,
so it's not like we're asking you anymore to be
(07:18):
away from your family and your friends and your normal
life for six seven months. Now, it would be essentially
the same amount of time as the NBA players because
they're playing thirty games, well eight, they're playing eight play
eight regular season games, and then of course they got
the playoffs, but they're playing every other day, So it's
(07:40):
it's roughly the same amount of time, maybe a tad
bit longer for baseball. But to your point, you had
to know going into this that this thing was possible,
and even from look, maybe it's possible because obviously this
whole situation has been polarized. Is it possible that maybe
(08:03):
even within the higher realms of baseball, I'm just throwing
it out there that they didn't think it was they
were they were vacillating as to how serious this thing was.
Maybe they felt like, you know, there's still people out
there on the radio, people on television, people in the
(08:23):
White House. Even it seems saying, ah, it's not that
big of a deal. It's the flu. You get it,
you get over it, you're fine. Maybe is it possible
that within the higher realms of baseball they thought that
might be the case. It is possible. It is possible
because it wasn't being addressed like it was the most
(08:46):
important thing happening in the world. It wasn't being addressed
that way, and so at least that's all. Look, everybody
wanted to know about the money. Everybody knows eight against
too many, Like guys didn't want to play that many games.
It was so many things outside of safety and health.
(09:07):
And there were some things put out there, you know,
the protocols, that is what we're gonna have to do.
It wasn't enough, and that's obvious given the outbreak. Right,
So they've created an environment in a world within a
pandemic and the guidelines and restrictions aren't stiff enough. You're
(09:28):
flying all over the country. How was that? How was
that even? Okay? Think about that. Yeah, you're trapped and
an enclosed metal canister that has nothing but circulation. The
circulated there, can't roll the windows down, right, can't roll
(09:49):
the windows down, can't be in a play and roll
the window down. So all it takes, right, everybody on
the entire staff could be completely a negative. The pilot,
the co pilot, Alitekes, is one person on that plane
to have it and have to play. Gonna get it,
you are hitting it on the head. Because the Marlins,
(10:12):
four of the players tested positive Sunday, and they still
played the game. The players didn't. Those four didn't play,
but players who had been exposed to them played. Remember
Juan Soto, one of the stars of the postseason last
year for the Nationals. He tests positive. He practiced for
(10:34):
a day and a half. I think around his teammates.
They still played the game, and so you're absolutely right.
Baseball was more concerned about money from the players to
the owners. Players, more concerned about not letting them get
the best of us, not to set a precedent for
(10:57):
the union and all that for future collective marketing. Their
heads weren't where they should have been. The football players
were like, what's going on, Russell Wilson. My wife is pregnant.
I gotta make sure everything is straight. We might not play.
I may not show up if everything's not straight. We
better get some protocols, some health rules right now. We
(11:20):
didn't hear that from baseball. No, Look what the NBA did.
The NBA said we're going to create our own world,
and within that world, we're going to create the rules
for that world and no other place on the planet.
If you walk into this world, you will buy by
the rules, or we're gonna take some money and we're
(11:41):
gonna kick you out. Yep, that's it. Ye Look, and
they gave you an option to opt out. You don't
have to come do this. If you're worried about family
or whatever it is, you don't have to come m
do this. And some guys opted out. You look at
(12:03):
Avy Bradley right key figure on on on the number
one team in the West. The Lakers like, look, I'm
gonna go do some other stuff yea, and we get it. Look,
I'm I'm yeah, I'm hurt. I'm a Laker fan. I
wish he was there, but I understand right, But that's
the world they created, and without the creation of that world, man,
(12:25):
it'd be a mess at that NBA campus. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris
Brussar then Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app.
You got an issue with lou Blue out there hanging
out at right, right, Lou, trip number number one. Don't
(12:48):
sell us when when lives start coming out and when
story changes before even before twenty four hours even elapses.
Right then then then you know something up right, rappers?
Was the picture out? Oh that's an old picture. I
just missed. My homeboy NBA says, wait a minute, that's
a mass We gave it two days ago before he left.
(13:09):
He has that on and then it comes up Ordinal Entertainers.
There we was just hanging out. Then it comes out
was I was just stopping in to pick up some food.
I wasn't staying. It was real quick in and out.
So much to unpack here. My diverse thing is grow up. Okay,
you're in a we're in a situation. Even if Magic
(13:31):
City was popping and you left your bubble too, you know. Unfortunately,
go to a funeral, you have to understand I can't
go in there as a professional, right, he's not nineteen
twenty years old, Lou, been around for a long time
as a professional. Given the current a situation that you're in,
(13:55):
you can't go in there, no matter what's called and
driving you to go in there, you can't, right exactly,
number two, you went in for dinner. No entertainers there,
Magic City, the deal we have, we settled that, because
that's people are saying we're torn on there. Whether I'm not,
(14:18):
do not think they were, they were there. What strip
club is open without dancers as a restaurant. Is a
Magic City gonna be able to survive as a restaurant.
I only say this, and I and I have no idea.
I've never been in the Magic City. I don't know
what they're doing. What did not I've heard all about it. No,
But what I'll say is this end up in this
situation with the pandemic. Let's say you know they haven't
(14:42):
allowed you to have dancers, yet I could still see
a a strip club saying, you know what, though, we
can make money if we have food, you know, if
people are gonna come. I mean apparently it's bob. We
know Atlanta it's the best food in it. It's not,
but Atlanta is open, right, So those restrictions, Okay, why
(15:06):
wouldn't they have dancers? So why wouldn't they be there?
We know they had them once? You lie forth right.
So what I'm saying is you can't just come out
and start saying random stuff there's no dancers there. We
know there were dancers there, right, I was just stopping
in to pick up food. Well, you had a beer
in your hand and taking pictures. Right. That doesn't sound
like a quick end and out and not been the
(15:27):
biggest problem I have. And I don't care how good
the food is in an establishment, any establishment. If there's
a naked person next to me while I'm eating, it
just doesn't seem very sanitary. I asked you this question earlier.
(15:48):
If you go to cheesecake factory and the waitress is naked,
are you going to feel comfortable eating that food as
she brings it to you. I'm just asking a question.
You make a good point, and I gotta be honest.
I had not thought about it because obviously I heard,
oh the food is great, and and some other people
verified it on Twitter, and it is great. But when
(16:11):
you brought it up earlier, we talked about it, you
make it. You're right, You're right. I don't care how
attractive the waitress is or whatever. If they naked, it's
like something might be you know, I'm like, it's not.
It's a little different. Open genitalia and food to me
don't go together. Nah, everybody in there making the clap
(16:35):
over your wings. What what part of the game is it? Look? Oh, oh,
by the way, we're in a pen, Demick, you're going
to go eat at one of the most unsanitary places
on the planet Earth. Well and here even from Here's
(16:56):
the thing I'm looking. I picked the Clippers out. It
sounds like you picked the Lakers. You're picking the Lake
already know that, all right. I picked the Clippers, and
I still feel very confident. I think they're a better
best team. They have a better team. Yeah, I don't
think they have the best player in LA, but I
think they got the best team. But I gotta be honest, man. Look,
I think I think guys are I think there's more
(17:19):
guys like Lou. I don't know that they're going to
strip clubs, but I think a lot of these dudes
are leaving the bubble to see a woman or women.
I think that's what dudes are doing. They say, hey, yes, early,
I know, I got a quarantine for seven days, ten days,
fourteen days, whatever. If I miss a game or two,
it's no big deal. We were pretty much sat with
our seating. You know, I'll be good And I think dude,
(17:42):
Mintres Harrold is left, Pat Beverley has left, obviously, Lou
Williams left, if if Vika Zubach and Landry Shamman are
just kind of getting there and you know they didn't
go with the team. Like I again, I still feel
confident in the Clippers, but there are signs. Are they
not taking this seriously enough? It seems like it. Yeah,
(18:05):
I'm just you know what I'm saying, Like, what come on, y'all,
guess who is taking it serious? No? He is, but
well but he meant they're gonna miss Avery. You got JR.
Shooting the ball the side of the back of boy,
Well that's what you want to pick that one shot? Man?
He was like five, no, no, wait a minute now,
like it's a love hate with JayR. Let him get
(18:26):
to right, don't let it get too comfortable, man, And
anything can happen. But I tell you, but I'll tell
you what what can happen and what we'll need. We'll
need that game, that tough game where he comes down
and he's a spark. He comes into that second unit
and he can give you ten in the quarter. We
know that we've seen that he's been the league sixteen years,
(18:48):
it's playing one hundred and thirty playoff games. We know
it's gonna come a time. Well, he'll give you ten
in the quarter. That's what we need. If that's what
you're banking on, good luck with that, you really think so? Yeah,
I mean, I look, Jr. Has been had a nice career,
and look, Cleveland does not get that championship without him, right,
(19:09):
he was huge in that third quarter or some big shots,
but that was twenty sixteen, all right, Yeah, I get it.
I just don't know. I mean, I've all even at
his best, Jr. Was exasperating because you know, you never
knew if he was gonna be hot or Cole never knew.
But I just wonder. I don't doubt that he'll hit
a big shot here or there. I just don't want
(19:30):
to be in a position where I'm counting on him.
That's fair. That is fair that, you know what. I
can't even I can't. I can't argue with that. But
he I'll give you. I think he will hit a
you know, it might not be a huge shot. I
think it hit some big shots here there, or a
couple of big shots here there. So I'm fine with that.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
(19:51):
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. Big news of the day
was Major League Baseball. The Marlins in Miami have had
now fourteen people I believe it's twelve players and two
(20:13):
executives or two other members of the organization have tested
positive for the coronavirus. And so their home opener was
tonight that's been canceled, and their next two games have
been canceled. The Yankees and the Phillies game tonight has
been canceled because the Marlins played in Philadelphia over the
(20:35):
weekend opened a season series with them, and so baseball
is really in a bad way right now. They are.
I don't blame them. I think they're smart for trying
to say let's let's push through it. I think that
they made some mistakes. I think Rob Manfred, the commissioner,
(20:56):
made a mistake by not putting them in the bubble.
It could have been three bubbles, it could have been
six bubbles. It doesn't have to be one. Like the NBA.
I get it, you had thirty teams as opposed to
twenty two. With the NBA, you had a much longer,
you know, a longer season for thirty teams, whereas NBA
is gonna be cutting teams out as they go along.
(21:16):
So I get that, but you could have had multiple
bubbles and been much safer. Whereas guys aren't going home,
guys aren't going out to eat. Guys aren't, you know,
encountering family members who have been encountering all types of
other people and bringing that to the ballpark with them.
So I think that they should have taken a page
out of the NBA's book. And I think right now
(21:38):
the NBA is certainly looking much smarter than Major League Baseball.
We got another season though, that's coming up, and that
is the granddaddy of them all, Ephraim. As much as
we love basketball as America, as much as we love
baseball as America, there is nothing nowadays like the NFL.
(22:00):
Everybody from networks to owners, to players, to fans to
gamblers to everybody is hoping that football can play. And
I from I want to ask you, as a former
NFL player, what do you think the league should be
(22:21):
learning from what's happened with baseball. First of all, I'm
a I'm gonna be robbed. Stop it, Chris stop. Baseball
ball is fine. Stoping. That's actually not a bad in preference. No,
I think, Um, I think the NFL is watching. I
(22:43):
think they do understand. The more mobility there is, the
tougher this thing is going to be to control, right,
flying in and out of places, hotels, so on and
so forth. Now, I don't think that's something that the
NFL can rectify, but what they can do is they
(23:07):
can learn from the mistakes and lack of a certain protocols.
Right when guys normally we fly in, we go to
the hotel, we have some downtime, guys go out to eat,
strip club, strip club, to eat whatever, whatever that is,
whatever that is, right, visit people like all of None
(23:32):
of that's gonna have you. So you you really have
to really step up. Well, our dude's gonna hold to
that though where you have to see NBA players or
league we didn't have to and right, but there has
to be a steep penalty to it. Right, So the
biggest thing the NFL the players wanted was safety and protocol. Right,
(23:53):
We're not coming if this isn't you know, if we
don't know what the plan is, right, So you've asked
for it, guys, so now you have to adhere to it,
and if not, it will be a steep fine and
a suspension. It has to be that type of thing
because what you can't do as a business right we
don't know what the ramifications of what you know the
(24:16):
Miami Marlins? What what that? What this is? What this
is gonna turn into? Like in two weeks we could
be saying, man, we baseball had to shut down? Yep, right,
Like in two weeks baseball could be over? Would if
that were to happen? And I know the NFL is
gonna put everything they can in place, and and and
(24:37):
they should keep trying. But honestly, if baseball had to
shut down in a week or two, would you just
be like, it ain't happening. Football is not happening. I'm
sorry because if baseball, I mean socially distance social distancing
is built into baseball for the most part, and yet
(25:01):
they couldn't make it. But football, where you're spitting on
each other yeo, grabbing each other, tackling each other, landing
on each other every single play, it's gonna and they're
more guys twice has mets it once again. None of
these baseball players who tested positive, we're positive coming into
(25:24):
the season. Something has happened, right, Something has happened between
out This is what I'm talking about. We don't know
what that is, but we know something happened right there. Look,
they're the Marlins. We know Florida has been more locked down,
(25:45):
right Florida. They might have got to Philly and been like, yo,
First of all, Florida's not locked down. That's the problem.
Kick Miami's opening up frog Flora, Florida is just that
was their problem. They're on their own, right, They suing
because you know people want to wear They asking people
to wear masks. The wide open out there right right,
(26:09):
So now you can't right going out to eat the
restaurants if we're if we're trying to get a season
going like all of that type of stuff. You got
to you gotta really understand. Look, it's not and they
gotta have they gotta have people come out and talk
to the team's NFL. The NFL is good about that.
(26:30):
But you got but you gotta know the seriousness of it, right.
I'll tell you. I'll tell you what happened right A
few years ago. It was longer longer than that about
you know, a long time ago when I was playing,
we were in Houston. And do you remember when uh
staff infection Marcel. It was an outbreak in Kansas City
(26:52):
in the locker room. Right. The NFL was like, oh, okay, well,
we can't do this. They sent people to test the
facilities and players, right, and I remember they were shutting down.
They shut down the hot tubs, the sauna, all of
this stuff. We went in. We had a meeting, team meeting.
(27:13):
They showed us video. They had a specialist come and
talk to us. Watching that video helped change the way
I interacted in the world. I was already a hypochondriac, right,
I hadn't touched the door knob and over a decade
prior to the pandemic. Wow, wait so so so so
(27:35):
what you do? Right? I would shirt or any like,
I would never put my hand on it. Like if
I'm in the bathroom, I'm not touching nothing. I'm not
touching the faucet. I'm not. You got a mask on
right now? Yes I do, And you're the only one
in the room. Yes I am, Rob keeping, Yes I do.
Rob g keeps trying to come in here and have
a conversation with me. I'm like, oh, I don't use
(27:57):
the orange jumpsuit. I got a hoodie on, I got sweats.
You got over your head. No, it's not over my head. Okay, okay,
but I'm serious about this. But what I but you know,
my point was the NFL did that, and it changed
guy's perception and perspective of what was going on. Nobody
(28:18):
wanted to see what They didn't want what we saw
in that video. I could tell you that nobody wanted that,
and that's what they have to do. They have to
let these guys understand. Look, this is serious. This could
be you, right, That's that's the most important thing. If
you were and I didn't know your hypocontract, if you were,
(28:39):
you know, not like I have a problem. I just
I don't believe in bringing germs into my germaphold. Yes,
So how would you be approaching like, would you look
at maybe sitting out this year if you were still
in the NFL, or how would you approach you? I
would I would need some assurances and I would take
(29:01):
it extremely serious. Like some of the players who've who've
opted out thus far, I take it real serious, because
life is bigger than sport. To have him for us
is amazing, but it's bigger than that. Right, If you
got a new born at home, off you stay, your
mother standing with you. And it's underlying everybody's situation that
(29:22):
people aren't thinking about because they're just saying O. Most
athletes have gotten it. They've been fine. It's no big deal, right,
man has nothing to do with them. On the way
in here, I was listening to Howard Stern and he
had a kid on there whose parents said, hey, look
you if you can't be in Florida, if you're out,
(29:43):
you have to wear a mask. Right, And he didn't
take it seriously. Twenty one year old kid, He didn't
take it serious. His father has diabetes and all of that.
He out at a party, take his masks off. Boombooom.
He gets coronavirus one years old. He was fine with it.
What he did was he brought it home to the
whole family. His father spent two weeks on a ventilator,
(30:04):
and he never thought he was going to see his
dad again.
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
Cup Off with Chris Brush and Rod Harker. There was
a huge story today and it revolved around Major League
Baseball and the Miami Marlins have had what is it now,
(00:42):
fourteen people within their organization test positive for the coronavirus.
We're a weekend, not even were not even a week
ind the baseball and tragedy has struck. So the Marlins
game to has been can't postponed the Yankees and the
(01:03):
Phillies game because the Marlins were just in Philadelphia playing
the Phillies. They were in the clubhouse and all that
and for three games, and so that game has been
postponed as well. And now here's the deal from right now.
Major League Baseball is still full speed ahead. They are
(01:24):
saying that's why they expanded the rosters with the taxi
squads and if push comes to shove, then they will
bring up these players and fill out their roster. And
I agree, I don't think they should be given in yet.
You know, you try everything you can to make it work.
But here's my main takeaway from this from I think
(01:46):
this is yet another misstep from the commission, Rob Manfred,
and I say yet another because this is on the
heels of all these cheating scandals, the Red Socks, of
course the Astros, and they allowed the Astros to keep
the championship. That's no punishment at all. You got rid
(02:07):
of a few manager and a GM. The owner is
fine five million dollars, which is a dropping the bucket
to him, but they get to keep the trophy. So
that was a misstep. And by the way, speaking of
the trophy, you once called it a hunk of metal.
That was a misstep. And now, with months to prepare,
(02:32):
with the NBA setting a great example for you of
what needs to be done, why not have three bubbles,
ten teams in each bubble or something like that. Why
not six bubbles, whatever it is, whatever it's necessary, why
(02:54):
not the pubble. You got baseball players flying, you got
baseball players going home, wives going to the store, kids
hanging out, playing with their friends, all in contact with
the players. So every day they come back to the field,
they might be bringing the virus with them. And so
(03:18):
this is another misstep from Major League Baseball. And if look,
if the NBA can't play it season, I will say,
you know what, they gave it a great try. If
baseball can't finish your season, I'm gonna say, why didn't
they do it in a bubble? Ask me? You know what?
(03:39):
You're right? And the way I look at it is
what what did we hear right? First of all, this
took way too long to get accomplished having baseball back,
which personally, I think they missed out on a great
opportunity for viewerships right. For people were clamoring, I was
clamoring for anything life sport wise off right. So they
(04:01):
had they had a time where they had a jump
on everybody, and they the two sides couldn't get come
together right, So that window of opportunity got smaller and
smaller and smaller. What were the sticking points right? It wasn't,
as far as I've heard, it wasn't about what are
the protocols right? The testing point all of these things, right,
(04:26):
that should be on the forefront. It was about salaries, right, salaries,
how many games are we playing? Right? I want we
want our whole salary. We want this, we want that.
That was the focus. I didn't hear anything about health.
That was the focus, right, and to that point, because
(04:46):
that was the focus, certain protocols and things were not
put into place, are hammered into place, I should say.
And so now like you, you can't. First of all,
I've always said in this situation, especially for a professional
(05:07):
athlete to make a ton of money who are catered to,
I get it. I was one of them. We love it.
We worked hard, we deserve that. You have to be
comfortable with being uncomfortable during this time if you're playing
your game, your sport, during a pandemic, an outbreak, that
we don't have questions or answers. We don't have the
(05:29):
answers for all the questions we have. And then you
have to be okay with being uncomfortable. Right. That means
you can't just hop on the plane. We can't have
everybody at the house, we can't do the pool party,
we can't do that. Right. Look at the NBA, the
(05:50):
NBA was like, look here, y'all, you come in this bubble,
your cousins and little little Boudreau and whoever else they
did not come. I gonna watch you right. Your immediate
family only can come later, but right now, right but
right now, this is what it is. Are you guys
(06:10):
okay with that? If not, we can't do this right right?
We didn't. We didn't hear that on the baseball side,
at least I didn't. So now you're in a situation
where there's too many coming in goings. Can't just keep
dumping people on planes, can't fly everywhere. It was places
in this country where you could create an environment where
(06:34):
the players would have to sacrifice a little bit, not
taking taking mind everyone was at home for five months, yes,
with nowhere to go. Everyone was at home taking care
of their family for five months. You get an opportunity
to come back and play for five months or however alone.
The season is where there has to be some sacrifices.
(06:57):
This is not regular, right, there's not enough sacrifice. I
totally agree with you, man, And look, I get it.
If they were trying to play a one hundred and
sixty two games season, or even if it was one
hundred and twenty or one hundred games, but it's sixty,
so it's not like we're asking you anymore to be
(07:18):
away from your family and your friends and your normal
life for six seven months. Now, it would be essentially
the same amount of time as the NBA players because
they're playing thirty games, well eight, they're playing eight play
eight regular season games, and then of course they got
the playoffs, but they're playing every other day, So it's
(07:40):
it's roughly the same amount of time, maybe a tad
bit longer for baseball. But to your point, you had
to know going into this that this thing was possible,
and even from look, maybe it's possible because obviously this
whole situation has been polarized. Is it possible that maybe
(08:03):
even within the higher realms of baseball, I'm just throwing
it out there that they didn't think it was they
were they were vacillating as to how serious this thing was.
Maybe they felt like, you know, there's still people out
there on the radio, people on television, people in the
(08:23):
White House. Even it seems saying, ah, it's not that
big of a deal. It's the flu. You get it,
you get over it, you're fine. Maybe is it possible
that within the higher realms of baseball they thought that
might be the case. It is possible. It is possible
because it wasn't being addressed like it was the most
(08:46):
important thing happening in the world. It wasn't being addressed
that way, and so at least that's all. Look, everybody
wanted to know about the money. Everybody knows eight against
too many, Like guys didn't want to play that many games.
It was so many things outside of safety and health.
(09:07):
And there were some things put out there, you know,
the protocols, that is what we're gonna have to do.
It wasn't enough, and that's obvious given the outbreak. Right,
So they've created an environment in a world within a
pandemic and the guidelines and restrictions aren't stiff enough. You're
(09:28):
flying all over the country. How was that? How was
that even? Okay? Think about that. Yeah, you're trapped and
an enclosed metal canister that has nothing but circulation. The
circulated there, can't roll the windows down, right, can't roll
(09:49):
the windows down, can't be in a play and roll
the window down. So all it takes, right, everybody on
the entire staff could be completely a negative. The pilot,
the co pilot, Alitekes, is one person on that plane
to have it and have to play. Gonna get it,
you are hitting it on the head. Because the Marlins,
(10:12):
four of the players tested positive Sunday, and they still
played the game. The players didn't. Those four didn't play,
but players who had been exposed to them played. Remember
Juan Soto, one of the stars of the postseason last
year for the Nationals. He tests positive. He practiced for
(10:34):
a day and a half. I think around his teammates.
They still played the game, and so you're absolutely right.
Baseball was more concerned about money from the players to
the owners. Players, more concerned about not letting them get
the best of us, not to set a precedent for
(10:57):
the union and all that for future collective marketing. Their
heads weren't where they should have been. The football players
were like, what's going on, Russell Wilson. My wife is pregnant.
I gotta make sure everything is straight. We might not play.
I may not show up if everything's not straight. We
better get some protocols, some health rules right now. We
(11:20):
didn't hear that from baseball. No, Look what the NBA did.
The NBA said we're going to create our own world,
and within that world, we're going to create the rules
for that world and no other place on the planet.
If you walk into this world, you will buy by
the rules, or we're gonna take some money and we're
(11:41):
gonna kick you out. Yep, that's it. Ye Look, and
they gave you an option to opt out. You don't
have to come do this. If you're worried about family
or whatever it is, you don't have to come m
do this. And some guys opted out. You look at
(12:03):
Avy Bradley right key figure on on on the number
one team in the West. The Lakers like, look, I'm
gonna go do some other stuff yea, and we get it. Look,
I'm I'm yeah, I'm hurt. I'm a Laker fan. I
wish he was there, but I understand right, But that's
the world they created, and without the creation of that world, man,
(12:25):
it'd be a mess at that NBA campus. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris
Brussar then Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio app.
You got an issue with lou Blue out there hanging
out at right, right, Lou, trip number number one. Don't
(12:48):
sell us when when lives start coming out and when
story changes before even before twenty four hours even elapses.
Right then then then you know something up right, rappers?
Was the picture out? Oh that's an old picture. I
just missed. My homeboy NBA says, wait a minute, that's
a mass We gave it two days ago before he left.
(13:09):
He has that on and then it comes up Ordinal Entertainers.
There we was just hanging out. Then it comes out
was I was just stopping in to pick up some food.
I wasn't staying. It was real quick in and out.
So much to unpack here. My diverse thing is grow up. Okay,
you're in a we're in a situation. Even if Magic
(13:31):
City was popping and you left your bubble too, you know. Unfortunately,
go to a funeral, you have to understand I can't
go in there as a professional, right, he's not nineteen
twenty years old, Lou, been around for a long time
as a professional. Given the current a situation that you're in,
(13:55):
you can't go in there, no matter what's called and
driving you to go in there, you can't, right exactly,
number two, you went in for dinner. No entertainers there,
Magic City, the deal we have, we settled that, because
that's people are saying we're torn on there. Whether I'm not,
(14:18):
do not think they were, they were there. What strip
club is open without dancers as a restaurant. Is a
Magic City gonna be able to survive as a restaurant.
I only say this, and I and I have no idea.
I've never been in the Magic City. I don't know
what they're doing. What did not I've heard all about it. No,
But what I'll say is this end up in this
situation with the pandemic. Let's say you know they haven't
(14:42):
allowed you to have dancers, yet I could still see
a a strip club saying, you know what, though, we
can make money if we have food, you know, if
people are gonna come. I mean apparently it's bob. We
know Atlanta it's the best food in it. It's not,
but Atlanta is open, right, So those restrictions, Okay, why
(15:06):
wouldn't they have dancers? So why wouldn't they be there?
We know they had them once? You lie forth right.
So what I'm saying is you can't just come out
and start saying random stuff there's no dancers there. We
know there were dancers there, right, I was just stopping
in to pick up food. Well, you had a beer
in your hand and taking pictures. Right. That doesn't sound
like a quick end and out and not been the
(15:27):
biggest problem I have. And I don't care how good
the food is in an establishment, any establishment. If there's
a naked person next to me while I'm eating, it
just doesn't seem very sanitary. I asked you this question earlier.
(15:48):
If you go to cheesecake factory and the waitress is naked,
are you going to feel comfortable eating that food as
she brings it to you. I'm just asking a question.
You make a good point, and I gotta be honest.
I had not thought about it because obviously I heard,
oh the food is great, and and some other people
verified it on Twitter, and it is great. But when
(16:11):
you brought it up earlier, we talked about it, you
make it. You're right, You're right. I don't care how
attractive the waitress is or whatever. If they naked, it's
like something might be you know, I'm like, it's not.
It's a little different. Open genitalia and food to me
don't go together. Nah, everybody in there making the clap
(16:35):
over your wings. What what part of the game is it? Look? Oh, oh,
by the way, we're in a pen, Demick, you're going
to go eat at one of the most unsanitary places
on the planet Earth. Well and here even from Here's
(16:56):
the thing I'm looking. I picked the Clippers out. It
sounds like you picked the Lakers. You're picking the Lake
already know that, all right. I picked the Clippers, and
I still feel very confident. I think they're a better
best team. They have a better team. Yeah, I don't
think they have the best player in LA, but I
think they got the best team. But I gotta be honest, man. Look,
I think I think guys are I think there's more
(17:19):
guys like Lou. I don't know that they're going to
strip clubs, but I think a lot of these dudes
are leaving the bubble to see a woman or women.
I think that's what dudes are doing. They say, hey, yes, early,
I know, I got a quarantine for seven days, ten days,
fourteen days, whatever. If I miss a game or two,
it's no big deal. We were pretty much sat with
our seating. You know, I'll be good And I think dude,
(17:42):
Mintres Harrold is left, Pat Beverley has left, obviously, Lou
Williams left, if if Vika Zubach and Landry Shamman are
just kind of getting there and you know they didn't
go with the team. Like I again, I still feel
confident in the Clippers, but there are signs. Are they
not taking this seriously enough? It seems like it. Yeah,
(18:05):
I'm just you know what I'm saying, Like, what come on, y'all,
guess who is taking it serious? No? He is, but
well but he meant they're gonna miss Avery. You got JR.
Shooting the ball the side of the back of boy,
Well that's what you want to pick that one shot? Man?
He was like five, no, no, wait a minute now,
like it's a love hate with JayR. Let him get
(18:26):
to right, don't let it get too comfortable, man, And
anything can happen. But I tell you, but I'll tell
you what what can happen and what we'll need. We'll
need that game, that tough game where he comes down
and he's a spark. He comes into that second unit
and he can give you ten in the quarter. We
know that we've seen that he's been the league sixteen years,
(18:48):
it's playing one hundred and thirty playoff games. We know
it's gonna come a time. Well, he'll give you ten
in the quarter. That's what we need. If that's what
you're banking on, good luck with that, you really think so? Yeah,
I mean, I look, Jr. Has been had a nice career,
and look, Cleveland does not get that championship without him, right,
(19:09):
he was huge in that third quarter or some big shots,
but that was twenty sixteen, all right, Yeah, I get it.
I just don't know. I mean, I've all even at
his best, Jr. Was exasperating because you know, you never
knew if he was gonna be hot or Cole never knew.
But I just wonder. I don't doubt that he'll hit
a big shot here or there. I just don't want
(19:30):
to be in a position where I'm counting on him.
That's fair. That is fair that, you know what. I
can't even I can't. I can't argue with that. But
he I'll give you. I think he will hit a
you know, it might not be a huge shot. I
think it hit some big shots here there, or a
couple of big shots here there. So I'm fine with that.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
(19:51):
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. Big news of the day
was Major League Baseball. The Marlins in Miami have had
now fourteen people I believe it's twelve players and two
(20:13):
executives or two other members of the organization have tested
positive for the coronavirus. And so their home opener was
tonight that's been canceled, and their next two games have
been canceled. The Yankees and the Phillies game tonight has
been canceled because the Marlins played in Philadelphia over the
(20:35):
weekend opened a season series with them, and so baseball
is really in a bad way right now. They are.
I don't blame them. I think they're smart for trying
to say let's let's push through it. I think that
they made some mistakes. I think Rob Manfred, the commissioner,
(20:56):
made a mistake by not putting them in the bubble.
It could have been three bubbles, it could have been
six bubbles. It doesn't have to be one. Like the NBA.
I get it, you had thirty teams as opposed to
twenty two. With the NBA, you had a much longer,
you know, a longer season for thirty teams, whereas NBA
is gonna be cutting teams out as they go along.
(21:16):
So I get that, but you could have had multiple
bubbles and been much safer. Whereas guys aren't going home,
guys aren't going out to eat. Guys aren't, you know,
encountering family members who have been encountering all types of
other people and bringing that to the ballpark with them.
So I think that they should have taken a page
out of the NBA's book. And I think right now
(21:38):
the NBA is certainly looking much smarter than Major League Baseball.
We got another season though, that's coming up, and that
is the granddaddy of them all, Ephraim. As much as
we love basketball as America, as much as we love
baseball as America, there is nothing nowadays like the NFL.
(22:00):
Everybody from networks to owners, to players, to fans to
gamblers to everybody is hoping that football can play. And
I from I want to ask you, as a former
NFL player, what do you think the league should be
(22:21):
learning from what's happened with baseball. First of all, I'm
a I'm gonna be robbed. Stop it, Chris stop. Baseball
ball is fine. Stoping. That's actually not a bad in preference. No,
I think, Um, I think the NFL is watching. I
(22:43):
think they do understand. The more mobility there is, the
tougher this thing is going to be to control, right,
flying in and out of places, hotels, so on and
so forth. Now, I don't think that's something that the
NFL can rectify, but what they can do is they
(23:07):
can learn from the mistakes and lack of a certain protocols.
Right when guys normally we fly in, we go to
the hotel, we have some downtime, guys go out to eat,
strip club, strip club, to eat whatever, whatever that is,
whatever that is, right, visit people like all of None
(23:32):
of that's gonna have you. So you you really have
to really step up. Well, our dude's gonna hold to
that though where you have to see NBA players or
league we didn't have to and right, but there has
to be a steep penalty to it. Right, So the
biggest thing the NFL the players wanted was safety and protocol. Right,
(23:53):
We're not coming if this isn't you know, if we
don't know what the plan is, right, So you've asked
for it, guys, so now you have to adhere to it,
and if not, it will be a steep fine and
a suspension. It has to be that type of thing
because what you can't do as a business right we
don't know what the ramifications of what you know the
(24:16):
Miami Marlins? What what that? What this is? What this
is gonna turn into? Like in two weeks we could
be saying, man, we baseball had to shut down? Yep, right,
Like in two weeks baseball could be over? Would if
that were to happen? And I know the NFL is
gonna put everything they can in place, and and and
(24:37):
they should keep trying. But honestly, if baseball had to
shut down in a week or two, would you just
be like, it ain't happening. Football is not happening. I'm
sorry because if baseball, I mean socially distance social distancing
is built into baseball for the most part, and yet
(25:01):
they couldn't make it. But football, where you're spitting on
each other yeo, grabbing each other, tackling each other, landing
on each other every single play, it's gonna and they're
more guys twice has mets it once again. None of
these baseball players who tested positive, we're positive coming into
(25:24):
the season. Something has happened, right, Something has happened between
out This is what I'm talking about. We don't know
what that is, but we know something happened right there. Look,
they're the Marlins. We know Florida has been more locked down,
(25:45):
right Florida. They might have got to Philly and been like, yo,
First of all, Florida's not locked down. That's the problem.
Kick Miami's opening up frog Flora, Florida is just that
was their problem. They're on their own, right, They suing
because you know people want to wear They asking people
to wear masks. The wide open out there right right,
(26:09):
So now you can't right going out to eat the
restaurants if we're if we're trying to get a season
going like all of that type of stuff. You got
to you gotta really understand. Look, it's not and they
gotta have they gotta have people come out and talk
to the team's NFL. The NFL is good about that.
(26:30):
But you got but you gotta know the seriousness of it, right.
I'll tell you. I'll tell you what happened right A
few years ago. It was longer longer than that about
you know, a long time ago when I was playing,
we were in Houston. And do you remember when uh
staff infection Marcel. It was an outbreak in Kansas City
(26:52):
in the locker room. Right. The NFL was like, oh, okay, well,
we can't do this. They sent people to test the
facilities and players, right, and I remember they were shutting down.
They shut down the hot tubs, the sauna, all of
this stuff. We went in. We had a meeting, team meeting.
(27:13):
They showed us video. They had a specialist come and
talk to us. Watching that video helped change the way
I interacted in the world. I was already a hypochondriac, right,
I hadn't touched the door knob and over a decade
prior to the pandemic. Wow, wait so so so so
(27:35):
what you do? Right? I would shirt or any like,
I would never put my hand on it. Like if
I'm in the bathroom, I'm not touching nothing. I'm not
touching the faucet. I'm not. You got a mask on
right now? Yes I do, And you're the only one
in the room. Yes I am, Rob keeping, Yes I do.
Rob g keeps trying to come in here and have
a conversation with me. I'm like, oh, I don't use
(27:57):
the orange jumpsuit. I got a hoodie on, I got sweats.
You got over your head. No, it's not over my head. Okay, okay,
but I'm serious about this. But what I but you know,
my point was the NFL did that, and it changed
guy's perception and perspective of what was going on. Nobody
(28:18):
wanted to see what They didn't want what we saw
in that video. I could tell you that nobody wanted that,
and that's what they have to do. They have to
let these guys understand. Look, this is serious. This could
be you, right, That's that's the most important thing. If
you were and I didn't know your hypocontract, if you were,
(28:39):
you know, not like I have a problem. I just
I don't believe in bringing germs into my germaphold. Yes,
So how would you be approaching like, would you look
at maybe sitting out this year if you were still
in the NFL, or how would you approach you? I
would I would need some assurances and I would take
(29:01):
it extremely serious. Like some of the players who've who've
opted out thus far, I take it real serious, because
life is bigger than sport. To have him for us
is amazing, but it's bigger than that. Right, If you
got a new born at home, off you stay, your
mother standing with you. And it's underlying everybody's situation that
(29:22):
people aren't thinking about because they're just saying O. Most
athletes have gotten it. They've been fine. It's no big deal, right,
man has nothing to do with them. On the way
in here, I was listening to Howard Stern and he
had a kid on there whose parents said, hey, look
you if you can't be in Florida, if you're out,
(29:43):
you have to wear a mask. Right, And he didn't
take it seriously. Twenty one year old kid, He didn't
take it serious. His father has diabetes and all of that.
He out at a party, take his masks off. Boombooom.
He gets coronavirus one years old. He was fine with it.
What he did was he brought it home to the
whole family. His father spent two weeks on a ventilator,
(30:04):
and he never thought he was going to see his
dad again.
Hosts And Creators
kelvin washington
Rob Parker
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