NFL Head Coach Hirings, Jimmy Butler, Tre Johnson SEC Freshman Of The Week, Jerry Jones

On this episode of The Craig Way Show, guest host Andrew Zimmel talks about the NFL Head Coach hiring talks, Jimmy Butler's drama with the Miami Heat, Texas basketball player Tre Johnson being the SEC Freshman of the Week, and Jerry Jones doing even more damage to the Cowboys brand. It's all right here on The Craig Way Show!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's a six man from San Antonio.

Speaker 2 (00:01):
Andrew Zimmolfillion for the legendary Craig Way as Craig and
Cameron D. Parker travel today as Texas and Old Miss
get ready to do battle on the hardwood tomorrow. But
don't worry, Craig will be on the show tomorrow. We'll
have him give us an update on how things look and.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
How the team looks.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
But man, do we have a lot to get into
in today's show.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
Of course this hour, we have.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Inconceivable coming up around two thirty four, and I have
a story for you later in the show that feels
inconceivable as well. Joe Lagardy gave an update on his
bracketology earlier today on Twitter.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
We'll get into that.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Tray Johnson sec Freshman of the Week and Madison Booker
was the Natesmith Trophy Player of the Week for the
women's side of the things for the Longhorns as well.
So a lot going on on the forty acres. But
the story that has taken the entire sports world by
storm is that Jerry Jones press conference yesterday. Now we're

(01:09):
gonna play it later in the show because I have takes,
I have thoughts, on Sebadiah Jones. I have thoughts on
what the GM and owner of the Dallas Cowboys is
doing to what was once a proud franchise, and what
is going on in dig D Dallas is nothing short

(01:32):
of a dumpster fire. We'll get into all of that.
But there were other coaching hires as well, and some
of them are not getting nearly the conversation that they
should be getting. Okay, So we're gonna get into that
in this hour right now. So yesterday there was announcements

(01:54):
across the board, and this all came to fruition to me.
And this whole idea came because I heard something that
Cameron said last week on the show talking about the
bleakest five years for NFL franchises, and as there was
six head, I was tired. I thought myself, let's go

(02:15):
through some of those bleak franchises because I'm gonna give
Cameron a little bit of hope. I think let's start
here with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Liam Kohane, Okay, he
was hired yesterday. Now, I think the Jaguars in my
lifetime have been one of the more forgettable franchises.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
And I was correct.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
I looked it up teams with the worst winning percentage
over the last ten years. Jacksonville is Numero uno number
one worst franchise over the last ten years, fifty five
and one to oh nine in that ten year stretch.
And then I said to myself, well, okay, what is
ten years.

Speaker 1 (02:55):
Let's go back twenty.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
In the last twenty years, the Jacksonville Jaguars have the
second correction, the third worst winning percentage one twenty and
two oh four in a twenty year span. That's a
three seventy winning percentage. The Jacksonville Jaguars have been nothing
short of abysmal. They hope to turn things around with

(03:20):
Liam Cohane. Here, let's play that Jacksonville the community Duvall.

Speaker 1 (03:27):
So that caught my attention immediately, right.

Speaker 2 (03:29):
So, first off, for those of you not quite sure
what Duvall means, I've had a couple of friends ask me, Hey,
you're a sports guy.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
What does that mean, zim? Well, what does Duval mean?

Speaker 2 (03:40):
Well, they play Jacksonville plays in Duval County, So when
they do the Duval thing, it is supposed to be
kind of like a shout out to the home home field,
home county of Jacksonville. And the problem is is that
Cohane did it in such a way. It reminded me
of a politician right and reminded me of God, who

(04:00):
is just trying to fit in. It didn't feel it
didn't feel right. And then on top of that, you
have to think he goes in state rival. Now, Jacksonville
and Tampa Bay, by no means are divisional rivals. There
are no means conference rivals. One plays in the NFC,
one plays in the AFC, but they are state rivals.

(04:23):
When you think about the three teams, it's hard to
believe three teams playing in Florida, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, and Miami.
Miami clearly the organization that runs the state. The Dolphins
are the premier franchise, and then it's these other two franchises.
Tampa Bay has won recently, Jacksonville has never won. So
for Cone to leave Tampa Bay to go to Jacksonville,

(04:44):
you would think, Hey, you know, maybe the fans in
Tampa Bay are okay with that. Not so fast, not
exactly thrilled. However, Fox Sports and USA Today ranked the
higher an A minus.

Speaker 1 (04:56):
I wouldn't go that high.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
I would say Cone, who is done a good job
in Tampa Bay turning around Baker Mayfield. He's turned Baker
into a very respectable quarterback. When since Baker has gotten
to Tampa Bay, I give the hire a B plus.
I think Jacksonville, if you go through the next five years,

(05:18):
to go off of what Cameron Parker said, they have
of course the belice five years, I'm not going up
and saying that Jacksonville will have the bleakest five years.
They have a top five pick in this year's draft
as well. So let's talk about the Las Vegas Raiders,
who also made a higher my mind, the best higher.
Now the last ten years, the Raiders have been the

(05:40):
eighth worst team in the NFL seventy ninety two. Over
the last twenty years, however, they have done a little
bit better. So I look at it and I say
to myself, why hire Pete Carroll? Why go after a
guy who's seventy two years old, who had struggled in

(06:00):
Seattle in the last couple of years the team had
fallen apart post Legion of Boom. They moved off of
Russell Wilson. He was going to have to go through
an entire rebuilding process in Seattle. So he decides to
go to the front office and then ultimately leave the organization.
Why hire somebody like that, Well, it makes a ton

(06:22):
of sense for the Raiders. This is a franchise that
needs an identity. They need to find an identity, They
need to find what they're going to do well. And
the thing that Pete Carroll has done well wherever he
goes is bring the energy.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
With the Raiders and this opportunity. I feel like I've
been there before and I'm going to bank on that
and I'm going to follow my instincts and support with
John and to as we extend to ownership in a
way that we're going to be proud of. I'm so
proud to be part of that and recognizing that we

(06:58):
get to represent are following and here in Las Vegas
to do it in this setting right here where people
can't wait to come see us, they can't wait to
see what we're all about. Wherever our fans come from,
we do want to fill our stadium up with our guys.
I know that we have a good draw for people
from out of time. There you go, there you go.
That's what I'm talking about. Hey, Mark settle down a

(07:19):
little bit.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
Now, what's funny is that you hear that Raiders in
the background, that's actually Marshawn Lynch. You would wonder how Marshawn,
who is a former Raider, and Pete Carroll, who was
his head coach in Seattle. Maybe the most famous non
call in NFL history was when the Seattle Seahawks goal
line situation with Beast mode decide not to run the ball.

(07:41):
You'd wonder how their relationship is. Clearly it's good enough
for Marshawn to be at the introductory press conference. Pete
Carroll brings energy. He might be seventy two, but he
acts like he's fifty two. He also has a unique
connection to Southern California. And I know, as an NFL
head coach, you're not necessary really having to recruit anymore. However,

(08:03):
it is nice to have a connection to USC, to
Southern California, to some of those players. He Carroll is
still this is the only knock I have on this higher.
According to reports, he was teaching a class on leadership
in football at Southern California. Instead of canceling that class,

(08:26):
they're going to let him continue to teach it through
the spring. That is my only big knock on this higher.
I don't know what Mark Davis is thinking, letting his
head coach also trying to teach a college class on
the side. But if you're a student at USC, are
you even getting real credit? You're learning anything from Carol
teaching a football class. I'm not entirely sure. Let's hear

(08:49):
Mark Davis. Why was this? Why this higher makes sense
for the Raiders from the owner of the Raiders, Pete.

Speaker 4 (08:55):
You know, I've watched Pete for a number of years
of watching the USC and where I really.

Speaker 5 (08:59):
Watched it with one host in Seattle competing with the
forty nine ers.

Speaker 4 (09:03):
And the Niners.

Speaker 5 (09:03):
Quick bully on the block in Seattle actually was one
of the one teams that figured out how to beat him,
being three damn day.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
So I was impressed with Pets again.

Speaker 6 (09:11):
He reached the more competitiveness and I think that showed
us throughout his career.

Speaker 7 (09:16):
He's a football guy.

Speaker 5 (09:17):
He loves football, and he wanted to be a Raider.

Speaker 2 (09:20):
Well, if you think about it too, that Seattle Seahawks
team with Russell Wilson, with the legion of Boom, they
had a great rivalry with San Francisco. What rivalry do
the Raiders currently have, Well, they play in the toughest
division maybe in the sport between the Super Bowl bound

(09:40):
Kansas City Chiefs, the Denver Broncos with Bownecks, who is
a potential Rookie of the Year candidate, and the LA
Chargers with Jim Harbaugh, by the way, the former coach
of the San Francisco forty nine ers, and Justin Herbert,
a guy who's universally recognized as a top ten quarterback
in the NFL. Pete Carroll makes uniquely, uniquely make sense

(10:04):
for the Raiders. So that's another team that I scratch
off the list of teams who could have the most
abysmal dreary five years.

Speaker 1 (10:14):
Now.

Speaker 2 (10:14):
Finally, I want to hear from Cameron Parker. Now, this
is from earlier last week where he gave out his
take on the Dallas Cowboys and where he thought the
next five years, We're going to go for the Cowboys.

Speaker 8 (10:25):
Who are the worst teams to be a fan of
for the next five years? Next five year outlook, who
would be the worst teams to root for? I think
if the Cowboys do hire Schottenheimer, either they hire Kellen
Moore or Joe Brady, I think the Cowboys are in
the top five of that list. I think you go
with what Jacksonville because I don't think Jacksonville's going to
make a good head coaching move. Probably Cleveland, just because

(10:46):
Cleveland just cannot seem to get over the hump and
Deshaun Watson contract.

Speaker 7 (10:51):
Is so bad. But I think the Cowboys are in
the top five.

Speaker 8 (10:53):
I would argue there right now, if you're a Dallas
Cowboy fan, the next five years look bleak.

Speaker 2 (10:58):
I'm going to zag very hard on our friend Cameron.
I love Cameron Parker. I think he does actually incredible
job with Craig every day on this program. I'm zaging hard.
Look at the teams who are drafting at the top
of this year's NFL draft, Tennessee, Cleveland, the New York Giants,
the Jacksonville Jaguars, who I'm gonna believe in, mister Duval,

(11:18):
that I believe in Liam Comee. Those teams to me
are the dreary ones. When it comes to that top
or five worst top five, most disappointing leads or most
disappointing futures, I would say New Orleans has to be
in that conversation as well, Miami isn't working with TUA.

(11:41):
Indianapolis Cowboy fans, relax, Jerry Jones might be ruining the franchise.
I don't think that you have a top five worse
future headed your way. All right after, when we come back,
we're talking UT men's basketball freshman Trad Johnson had media
available abillity today. What did he say? I'll tell you

(12:03):
he's not afraid to pump the weights. We'll come back
with more in a minute. On The Craig Way Show.
Andrew zim Will filling in for Craig on Sports Radio
AM thirteen hundred The Zone. Andrew Zimbil filling in for
Craig Way this afternoon. Hopefully you guys are having an
excellent one as we work our way through the work
week together.

Speaker 1 (12:22):
Well.

Speaker 2 (12:22):
SEC Freshman of the Week it was Trey Johnson this week.
It got announced yesterday. It marks the second weekly league
honor he has won. During the two contests last week,
Johnson average team best twenty one points, three assists, and
two and a half rebounds, including playing twenty minutes in
the second half of Saturday's victory against Texas A and M.

(12:46):
Johnson helped the Longhorns rally from twenty two point deficit
with seventeen left in the game. It tied the program's
largest comeback of victory since the ninety eight ninety nine season.
He scored four points in the second half. Trey Johnson
has been everything as advertised, and he spoke with the

(13:08):
media earlier today, So yeah, it was asked a lot
of questions. We're gonna get into as many of this
as much of his audio as we can. The first
question he got asked was the biggest adjustment to his
game going from high school to college.

Speaker 6 (13:27):
Biggest adjustment being a better same defender. I feel like
over the years, I've always been able to progress as
an on ball defender, but also just being in shape
and being strong enough of my legs to play both
sides of the ball for forty minutes if I have
to now.

Speaker 2 (13:44):
And that's something that was talked about as he came
to the University of Texas when he joined the program.
Was yes, we know that he's an incredible scorer, but
can he play defense? And he has been proven or
he's shown that he can do that. Then he was
asked the biggest piece of advice he's got, I didn't
from an older teammate, not necessarily a teammate on his

(14:04):
team currently, any older teammate that he.

Speaker 1 (14:07):
Might have gotten.

Speaker 7 (14:08):
I just keep working no matter what I achieved.

Speaker 6 (14:11):
I got there from one of my teammates back when
I was at Lake Collins just always told me to
keep working.

Speaker 7 (14:16):
And that's something that's kind of stuck with me because
I had.

Speaker 6 (14:18):
A lot of great achievements and just keeping those in
the rear view after they passed and just focusing on
my main goal has been great, great advice for me.

Speaker 1 (14:28):
Now.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
Obviously, the best twenty minutes of basketball for this program
this year might have been those twenty minutes to rally
back against rival A and M this past weekend. Was
that the best twenty minutes that Johnson has felt this year.

Speaker 7 (14:46):
I wouldn't say that's the best I felt.

Speaker 6 (14:47):
I just said that's the most I've exerted myself actually
just going out trying to make things happen.

Speaker 7 (14:54):
I usually just play and go with the flow of
the game.

Speaker 6 (14:58):
And I feel like just knowing that we was twenty,
we already lost by twenty one time, so they can't
get no worse. So my trying to do something to
help change the game maybe coming out of halftimes on
my mind.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
Now, if you've watched Trade play, whether it be at
the Movie Center or on ESPN or wherever, or listen
to it right here on the Zone or kvat FM,
you know that he plays with passion and emotion. He's
somebody that's not afraid to get loud. So he was
asked the emotion, Are you yelling at yourself as a
motivation or are you talking to somebody else on the court?

Speaker 6 (15:34):
Now, it's mainly if I'm yelling, it's mainly at myself
because there's a lot of mistakes and things that I
make throughout the game, and that a lot of just
little things that nobody else sees but only I know
that I'm messed up on. So it's just really, if
I'm yelling, it's mainly at myself, just to be better
or focusing more on lit stuff.

Speaker 2 (15:51):
The Mamba mentality, getting excited, talking to yourself. That's what
we love to see out of Trade. Johnson one of
the best players in the SEC, coming off of SEC
Freshman of the Week that was awarded yesterday. Now, he
was asked about his thirty point game and if it
raises the bar for himself, but also maybe the expectations

(16:14):
around this team.

Speaker 6 (16:16):
I don't know if it raises the bar if anything
like that. I'm just excited for the win. I don't
think it had anything to do with the points I
always said when I was coming, I was trying to
get wins and play defense, and I did a good
job of that on whatever day we played them. And
that's my expectations that I've been trying to keep push
forward to that now.

Speaker 2 (16:36):
Rodney Terry is a motivator. He's somebody that's not afraid
to give you a pound in the back, but he's
also the type of coach that will let you know
what you need to do better. What was something that
coach Terry said after the game to Johnson?

Speaker 6 (16:52):
Just my defense and how locked locked in I was
on the shouting report.

Speaker 7 (16:55):
Those are the main things that I was told after
the game.

Speaker 2 (16:59):
So not the Scott report says that Trey Johnson needs
to play good team defense, and that's exactly what he did.
So followed up with the playing with the right type
of emotion, right, He's somebody that always plays with emotion,
But how you always played with that type of emotion.

Speaker 7 (17:20):
I would say all of my teammates.

Speaker 6 (17:22):
It has never been no, just one person, but it's
just little bits and pieces that about, little bits and
pieces of advice that guys on the team that gave me,
and then just having older guys on my team always
looking out for me and my best interest has always
been good for me.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
Which leads us into your teammates. They all speak very
highly of you. We're talking about Trey Johnson, the SEC
Conference Freshman Player of the week. They all speak very
highly of you. Is there somebody who in the program
has kind of helped you in the right direction, lead
you in the right direction?

Speaker 7 (17:56):
I would say all of my teammates.

Speaker 6 (17:57):
It has never been no just one person, but it's
little bits and pieces that are about that, little bits
and pieces of advice that guys on the team that
gave me, and then just having older guys on my
team always looking out for me and my best interest
has always been good for me.

Speaker 2 (18:11):
Now and how much of that leadership has helped you
on the court, That's what Tray Johnson got asked.

Speaker 6 (18:18):
It's big having my teammates trust and believe me, because
you can always have guys talking to you in the court,
but it's going through one ear one and out the
other because you don't have that same faith that they
know what they're talking about. And just it goes to
show that I'm not just leading by talking. I'm also
trying to lead by example on defense, so I can't
be out there messing up and try and coach somebody
else by someone else else, and then just having teammates

(18:41):
that like to have an open ear and listen and
take advice and criticism just like I, just like I
do now.

Speaker 2 (18:47):
The UT schedule this season for the long run man
has been very, very difficult, especially when you get into
conference play. They drop their first two conference games against
Texas A and M and against number two at the
time Auburn, and then against Tennessee as well. Before they
were able to kind of write the ship against Missouri
and Texas A and M in the past couple games.

(19:08):
Had the early SEC schedule helped this team for what
now comes up in this later side of the schedule,
especially against Old miss tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (19:19):
I feel like that was good just learning, especially the
first few games hard schedule conference games that.

Speaker 7 (19:26):
We had, going on the road and at home.

Speaker 6 (19:28):
I feel like they were good to show us how
much how much harder we got to go just to
win a game, how hard we got to play on
both ends, and how long we got to play for
forty minutes to just win a game.

Speaker 7 (19:38):
And they were also learning how to win.

Speaker 6 (19:39):
Games and close out games, so that's really been big
for us.

Speaker 2 (19:42):
We're hearing from freshman Trey Johnson as Longhorns get ready
to take on Old Miss tomorrow. And finally, the question
is how big of a difference is the physicality between
AAU and high school ball and then this first season
and maybe the most physically dominating conference the SEC.

Speaker 6 (20:01):
UH, I don't really feel like the physical aspect unless
somebody's just holding me, or unless I gotta go box
somebody out.

Speaker 7 (20:08):
Or that's the only case.

Speaker 6 (20:09):
But don't I don't even be thinking that guys are
as old as they usually are. I be thinking they
still saying age as me because I always been skinny
growing up, so guys have always been stronger than me,
so it ain't been nothing different for real. But just yeah,
I just feel like plus just having to play defense
on stronger defenders they like to use their size and strength,
and having to do that over forty minutes can when

(20:30):
we're in tearyn you soon. That's just still being in
shape and still being strong enough to endure that.

Speaker 2 (20:35):
I guess we'll hear more from Shrey Johnson later in
the show. Craig Waves Show andrews On filling in for
crag Ut and Old Miss battle tomorrow on the hardwood.
You can hear that game right here on the Zone
KVED FM one O three one as well. That's eight
pm Wednesday night. Juli Nardi from ESPN has Ut as

(20:55):
the last four in currently in his conference breakdowns. We'll
get more into that as well as the show continues.
But next up, it's inconceivable that is right? Is it
inconceivable for the Kandasy Chiefs to go to the Super
Bowl again?

Speaker 1 (21:12):
I guess not.

Speaker 2 (21:13):
We'll have more in a moment on The Craigway Show
on Sports Radio AM thirteen hundred of the Zone, Andrew
Zimmel filling in for Craig Way as Craig and Cameron
both on travel today going to Old Miss as the
University of Texas men's basketball team takes on the ReBs tomorrow.
You can listen to the game right here on the

(21:33):
Zone as well as on KVETFM and one O three
to one as long as well as on the Longhorn
Radio Network lot.

Speaker 1 (21:41):
Going on in hour number two of the program.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
If you missed any of it, go back and listen
to the podcast on the Free iHeartRadio app, the new
and improved Free iHeartRadio app. We'll get back to that
in a second lot going on this hour, Where oh
Where will Jimmy Butler Go? And UT Men's baseball ranked
fourteenth in the Baseball American preseason poll, along with xaker

(22:05):
Worthy having some words for the Buffalo Bills and the
NFL after that AFCED championship win. We'll get into all
of that, but we start our number two with Madison Booker,
who was named the Nasmith Trophy Player of the Week
on Monday. Booker started the week scoring twenty eight points

(22:25):
to help the Longhorns in an eighty nine to fifty
one win over number eight Maryland. In the Credit Scott
King Classic. Against Tennessee, Booker had her ninth twenty point
game of the season with twenty six and made a
key stealing layup to lift Texas for an eighty seventy
six win over Number seventeen Tennessee. This past weekend, Booker

(22:46):
went home to Mississippi and playing in front of over
thirty friends and family, she'd go ahead jumper for Texas
with twenty five seconds left to eke out a sixty
one fifty eight win. Overall, miss Booker again made key
defensive plays down the stretch, with three blocks in the game.
For the week, Booker average twenty two points on fifty

(23:06):
two percent shooting from the field. For the season, Booker
is shooting nearly forty nine percent from the field, which
is unheard of, and forty three percent from three point range,
along with eighty five percent from the charity stripe. Next
up for the long Horns is Missouri Thursday at eight
pm at the Moody Center. So you do a little research,

(23:27):
You do a little bit of digging even the service level,
digging into the SEC. We talk at nauseum about the
men's side of the bracket and the men's side of
college hoops, and how the SEC has far and away
become the best basketball conference. Now you said that to
somebody ten years ago, they probably would disagree with you.

(23:48):
They'd say the ACC, the Big East, the Big Ten,
the PAC twelve. The SEC has been on the rise
over the past five years, and with the addition of
the Texas Longhorns whole have they jumped ahead of the
rest of the league's the women's side of the bracket,
I would argue even tougher than the men's side. What

(24:10):
do I mean by that, Well, there are five twenty
win teams currently in women's hoops at the collegiate level,
five teams with twenty wins or more this season, and
three of them are in the SEC. Those three teams
being South Carolina who's a knowing conference play at number
two in the rankings, LSU who's six and one in

(24:34):
conference and twenty one wins on the season, and then
number five Texas at six and one as well, and
they are twenty and two on the season. Incredible, And
then you go through the amount of teams who have
single digit losses in the conference, and you go through
the amount of teams who are just they're out of
this world. It is far and away the best basketball

(24:58):
conference on either sid men's or women's and with mattis
to Booker leading the way, this has turned into a
dominating team. This is something that we want to keep
our eyes on as the season continues, and they're putting
out bracketology on ESPN already for where they think some
of these SEC teams are going to shake out. And

(25:21):
right now in Region one, the Spokane region is what
they're calling it. Right Texas would be the two seed
in that region in the Austin area. So again early,
we're only in late January, but it is time to
start gearing up for March Madness. It feels like it

(25:41):
begins earlier and earlier every single season, but here we are.
We are getting to the point where we are gearing
up for March Madness. And so Thursday night's game at
the Movie Center against Missouri, that'll be Roger Wallace on
a call. You can listen to that game on one
of three to one. Well, so women's basketball this season

(26:04):
has been and I think of the two programs are
the betting favorite to make a deep postseason run in
the SEC tournament. But also into the month of March.
Last year's team we were talking about with different people
behind the scenes and it was okay, well, how are

(26:25):
we going to Because again I don't want to give
away all of our radio magic over here on the zone,
but I will take you behind the curtain a little bit.
There's only so many hours in the day. There's only
so many bodies in the building. How do you make
sure that all of these games get on the air
at the same time? And when you look at the
women's basketball team, you say to yourself, well, this is

(26:45):
a team that is going to make a deep postseason run.
How do you make sure that all of those games
get on the air?

Speaker 1 (26:52):
How do you make sure you have.

Speaker 2 (26:53):
A board op and somebody running all those games? Along
with a baseball and softball program that have continued to
dominate and going into the SEC will continue to try
to make those type of moves. The rest of the
schedule for the women's team is good.

Speaker 1 (27:12):
Do not get in twisted. This is a very good.

Speaker 2 (27:17):
Stretch of games coming up as we go into early February.
The game, though, that I have circled on my calendar
is that February sixteenth matchup against LSU. That game is
at the Moody Center, the last time these two teams.
I believe this will be the first time, you know,
this will be the first and only time that these

(27:38):
two teams will play. That game is scheduled currently two
pm on ABC and also on the Long Court Radio Network.
LSU this season with Kim Mulki have been exactly what
you expect them to be, six and one in conference,
but a game back again, game back from South Carolina.
We go through the great coaches in women's hoops, the

(28:04):
Genos of the world, the Kim Molkeys of the world,
the Don Stanleys of the world. And we're getting into
this spot now when we talk about Vic Schaeffer, the
head coach of the Longhorned women's basketball team, that he
has a team that is going to put himself. I
think he's already in some women's basketball circles in those conversations.

(28:25):
But the way that this team is set up, and
again on the shoulders of Madison Booker, the way this
team is set up to make a deep postseason run,
it will be helping propel Vic Shaeffer into those type
of conversations.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
Tomorrow. Don't forget.

Speaker 2 (28:41):
I want to remind you Texas men's basketball on the
air right here on thirteen hundred Zone as well as
on CAVET FM and on one O three to one
as they take on Old Miss number twenty three Old
Miss eight PM. Craig Way will be on the call
for that one. We're gonna take a who We're gonna
end this segment a little early here, Ronald. I'm trying

(29:03):
to help our guy out here. We're gonna wrap this
up a little early. We're gonna do a little bit
more on the back end because I have a lot
to say about where Jimmy Butler may or may not
end up. It has been ugly this divorce between the
Miami Heat and Jimmy Butler. Where will he end up?
Will he end up where he wants to go? We'll

(29:25):
have all that for you next on The Craigway Show.
Andrew zim will filling in for Craigway on Sports Radio
AM thirteen hundred zone.

Speaker 1 (29:33):
I am Andrew Zimmel.

Speaker 2 (29:34):
You can follow me on social media on all platforms
at Andrew Underscore.

Speaker 1 (29:39):
Zimmele. That's m M E. L.

Speaker 7 (29:42):
Well.

Speaker 2 (29:42):
He was one of my favorite players growing up and
now he's turning into maybe the biggest villain in the NBA.
It's Jimmy Butler. Butler was a guy. He's a Houston,
Texas guy. He's a Texas guy. He goes to Chicago
and he's on those very good Derrick Rose Bulls teams.
When Rose gets hurt, he was one of those guys

(30:04):
that stepped up and helped the Chicago Bulls continue to
be a successful organization. When he left for Minnesota, that
organization went in a complete tailspin. If you remember, the
trade that sent him to Minnesota brought back Zach Lavine,
who has been a very exciting player to watch, but
not exactly a winning player. Jimmy Butler then forces his

(30:28):
way out of Minnesota, gives Karl Anthony Towns and Andrew
Wiggins the stamp of disapproval, says that these guys are
soft goes to Philadelphia and if not for a Kawhi
Leonard three in Game seven, we might be talking about
the Philadelphia seventy six ers and trusting the process working.
He then signs with Miami, and after this stint in

(30:50):
Miami with Heat culture and pat Riley and Eric Spolstra
and not one but two trips to the NBA Finals,
including going as an eight seed, It's a messy, messy divorce.
I have not seen the likes of this type of
divorce probably.

Speaker 1 (31:09):
In my life. It feels like unreconcilable.

Speaker 2 (31:15):
And now it is being reported that he is being
suspended for a third time from the Miami Heat organization,
which again, what is going on in South Beach now.
Brian Windhors very connected when it comes to all things NBA.
Brian Windhors one of the trusted insiders for ESPN. He

(31:38):
was on ESPN earlier today talking about Jimmy Butler in
this situation.

Speaker 1 (31:44):
Jimmy Bully is going to get traded.

Speaker 9 (31:46):
I wasn't sure about that maybe seven to ten days ago.
I really am more sure than everything that's going to happen.
The Heat are trying to make it happen. They have
backed down on their asks to teams that they had
two three weeks ago when this whole saga really started.

Speaker 1 (32:01):
They're willing to do more. And I think that.

Speaker 9 (32:03):
There is really a chance now that more teams I
think are going to wide in here because the price
on Butler is going to be lower than just the
Phoenix Suns, which is the way it's been.

Speaker 2 (32:13):
So Originally, I was a big Jimmy Butler fan, and
I was a proponent living in San Antonio covering the
Spurs for the Spurs to make a move. Every one
of my Spurs friends threw it in my face, they
said this isn't the right move. I looked at it
as hey Defensive Player of the Year Victor Webbin Yama,
aging vent Chris Paul Harrison Barnes has been pretty good

(32:34):
for the Spurs.

Speaker 1 (32:35):
Why not take a flyer on Jimmy Butler?

Speaker 2 (32:39):
And then he was suspended for a second time, and
I said, oh, you know, maybe I might be in
the wrong here now a third suspension. I don't really
want anything to do with Butler. And he is a
distress asset. And pat Riley, for the first time in
his career as a front office manager, as a general
manager of the Miami Heat, has to make a decision

(33:02):
with a distress asset, if you think about it, in
his tenure in Miami, he's never had to deal with
somebody like a Jimmy Butler. The best player that he
ever signed was Lebron James. Lebron James kind of ghosted
him when he went back to Cleveland. And according to
Dan Lebttard, who from the Dan Lebotard Show is the

(33:23):
Miami Harold columnists for years, he went on his platform
talking about how and again Lebotard very connected to South Beach,
very connected to the Miami Heat organization. He went on
his podcast talking about how that pat Riley since the
divorce from Lebron in twenty fourteen, and that summer when
he went back to Cleveland and returned home, eventually winning

(33:45):
a championship with his original home franchise and the Cavaliers.
That ever since then, the way that pat Riley views
players has kind of changed. He doesn't look at it,
he doesn't look at free agency, he doesn't look at
player empowerment the same way that he did back in
twenty ten. Ironically, when it is working to your advantage,

(34:07):
you tend to like a little bit more than when
it is hurting your franchise or hurting you individually. Now,
the Miami Heat twenty three to twenty two on the season,
they're right now the sixth seed. They're on the cusp
of being a play in team. When you look at
those other teams who would be seven through ten through
Orlando Magic, Palo Bancaro comes back, they feel like they

(34:29):
are a team set up to compete in the East.
The Detroit Pistons with Kate Cunningham, the Atlanta Hawks with
Trey Young, and then there's the Chicago Bulls, who I
would anticipate being a seller here at the deadline as well.
Team not in there the seventy six ers. They are
on the outside looking in. Currently, if the playoffs start
today in the Eastern Conference, Weinhor said something interesting. He

(34:52):
said that the price for Butler is coming down. Originally
it was going to be Butler's saying I want to
go play for thirty one of the other organizations. He
does not care where he goes. He just doesn't want
to be in Miami. I tend to believe that that's
not actually the case. If you are a thirty five
year old, former All Star, thirty five year old who

(35:15):
has competed in the NBA finals, I don't really think
you want to end up in Detroit. I don't think
Jimmy Butler really wants to end up in Toronto. If
I was a betting man, you probably want to go
to the Phoenix Suns, who are again pushing all the
chips in the middle of table with Kevin Duran and
Devin Booker to try to make something happen. Now, the
problem is the distress asset on the Suns. The piece

(35:40):
that the Suns desperately want to move off of is
Bradley Beal, who has a no trade clause, so you
have to sell Bradley Beal on the Miami Heat. And
it doesn't really help when you're GM and you're president
of Basketball and the guy who is called the guy
Father when it comes to all things NBA and pat Riley,

(36:04):
it does not help that this divorce is so messy.
The optics for the Miami Heat currently are very bad
around the league. There are other players and again us fans,
we don't look at it as the Miami Heat doing
anything wrong. I guarantee you, though, there's conversations behind closed

(36:27):
doors amongst players that even though Jimmy Butler may be
making himself look a little bit like a fool and
maybe a players around the league, and I imagine the
Players Association does love that he walks out of practice
after being told he's not going to start anymore for
the Heat. I imagine that there's a lot of players
who get the sentiment of Butler, who's a thirty five

(36:51):
year old who's due to make fifty million dollars, but again,
he wants a long term commitment from Miami. Now, this
is where a zebra does not change his stripes is
out how the phrase goes. The Miami Heat had one of,
if not the signature player in their franchise in Dwayne Wade.

(37:13):
Dwayne Wade an aging superstar. I would argue ninety nine
percent of the league would give their franchise star, their
marquee guy, the guy who had won them multiple championships,
a farewell contract. We'll say, guys like Kobe Bryant have
gotten it. Guys like Shaquille O'Neal have gotten it. Dwayne

(37:34):
Wade thought he was going to get it from the
Miami Heat.

Speaker 1 (37:38):
Not so fast.

Speaker 2 (37:39):
My friend pat Riley does not give farewell contracts. Call
it good gmianship, call it good management, or, as Dwayne
Wade looked at it, kind of a slap in the face.
I brought all of this success to your organization, and
this is how you treat me. Jimmy Butler, to a
lesser extent, feels a similar way as Dwayne Way did

(38:00):
about a decade ago when he had to leave Miami
to go to Chicago to try to go get paid.
I got you to the NBA Finals in a bubble
that was absolutely It sounds like it was like mad
Max in that bubble. All the players who were in
the COVID bubble playing for that championship act like this

(38:21):
was like a third world country. They say that it
was the most stressful time of their lives playing in
this bubble.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
Jimmy Publy looks.

Speaker 2 (38:28):
At that and says, hey, not only did I start
a coffee brand that got us incredible publicity on social
media and made the organization look really good, but also
I got us to the championship. I beat the Boston Celtics.
And you look around this team and yeah, Jimi Hotkiz

(38:48):
is cool, and yeah Bam man Byo was good, and
Tyler Hero is a serviceable player. But these are not
that good of players like Bam is good, Tyler Hero good.
But you go around in the league and you look
at some of the running mates that Jannis out Totakupo has,
You look at the running mate that Jason Tatum has

(39:09):
in Boston, or even what the Knicks have done bring
in karl Athy Towns, and you say to yourself, Okay, well,
you're not going to pay me what I want, which
is a contract that's going to ensure that I'm here
to end my career in Miami. I'm thirty five years old.
If you're Butler, I want to be here long term.
Give me that contract, show me that loyalty, but you're

(39:32):
also not able to make the deals done, to get
the deals done to make me an actual contender. That
I think is where these these wires get crossed. Pat
Riley was never ever going to pay for a player

(39:52):
who had a good past.

Speaker 1 (39:53):
He looks at the future.

Speaker 2 (39:54):
He looks at what are you going to do for
me in the coming seasons, not what you did for
me in the bubble, what you did for me to
get me to the NBA Finals. He's paying for future,
not for the past. And Jimmy Butler has done this
everywhere he's gone. He wasn't happy in Chicago and he
blew the whole thing up. He wasn't happy in Minnesota

(40:19):
and he blew the whole thing up again where he
calls Rachel Nichols and does a sit down interview. A
zebra does not change his stripes. These are two individuals,
and pat Riley and Jimmy Butler who were never ever
going to make this inamicable divorce. This is essentially where
you have your friend who you know can get a

(40:42):
little crazy, a little rowdy, and you see his girlfriend
and you've been out with her and you know she
can be a little crazy, a little rowdy. And you
know when these two break up, it's not going to
be over at a therapist couch that this marriage is annulled.
This is gonna be on the street, yelling and screaming.

(41:02):
And that's what's happening currently in South Beach. It's a
yelling and screaming and all out brawl. So the Miami
Heat have to move off of Butler, and according to reports,
there's of course the Phoenix Suns who have been linked
closest to him. But again, they have to make the
money work. They don't have a ton of draft stock.
They have a lot of picks. They traded for three

(41:24):
first from the Utah Jazz for they're thirty to thirty one. First,
they're trying to get some sort of collection, going to
move and make a move, to make a move, but
again you have to convince Bradley Beal to opt out
of that no trade clause in his contract. I don't
think that the deal is gonna get done with the

(41:45):
Phoenix Suns. However, the team that is now being connected,
and honestly it makes a ton of sense, is the
Memphis Grizzlies. Think about the grit, the grind, the hustle
that Jimmy Butler plays with that this is a guy

(42:05):
who's undersized. The guy who went in the second round,
didn't go to a big school, went to Marquette, not
a not a premiere star in this league until he
was already well into his prime. Memphis is the three
seed currently in the West at thirty one and sixteen.
The team's ahead of them the Houston Rockets and the

(42:28):
Oklahoma City Thunder. I like Oklahoma City SGA is my guy.
I think he's an MVP candidate. And Houston has done
it a marvelous job at a rebuild with imy A
Dooku and Amen Thompson and that and Jalen Green.

Speaker 1 (42:42):
Great rebuild.

Speaker 2 (42:44):
But in a playoff series, if you're looking down the
pipeline and you got Jahn Morant and Jimmy Butler and
then in the back Jalen Jackson Junior and Zach Edy,
that's a very physical team. That's a team that you're
not going to want to put or try to get
into a rock fight with. In this trade scenario, this

(43:06):
is what ESPN has kind of laid out. Memphis would
move off of Marcus Smart, Brandon Clark, and John Kocher
and a top twenty twenty five eight round or top.

Speaker 1 (43:17):
Eight protected pick.

Speaker 2 (43:18):
So you'd send a pickoff, Memphis would receive Jimmy Butler
and Josh Richardson a little bit more help in that
on the wings again, Butler does not want to be
in Miami anymore. Send it to Memphis makes sense. And
then the third team in this trade to make the
money work, Luke Cunard goes to Washington for a twenty

(43:38):
twenty six second round pick and cash. That's currently right
now what ESPN is reporting as the most likely situation
for Jimmy Butler, which tells me all I need to
hear from what Brian Windhorse said that this is an
open market now for Butler, that the asking price for
the distress asset has lowered. In fact, earlier breaking news

(44:01):
from ESPN, the Kings are expected to be open talks
for the Aaron Fox. So as the February sixth trade
deadline approaches, I imagine a lot of these stars or
guys who are going to be looking for those next
big contracts are going to be available, all right when
we come back. Schlostagel first year at the Helm for

(44:23):
the University of Texas baseball program. It's not a rebuild,
it's a reload. UT Baseball rank fourteenth in the Baseball
America preseason poll.

Speaker 1 (44:32):
We'll get into it. Next to the Craigway Show.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
I'm Andrew Zimbile filling in for Craig Way on Sports
Radio AM thirteen hundred Zone. I am Andrew Zimble filling
in for Craig Way as Craig and Cameron travel to
Old Miss UT men's basketball on the air tomorrow night.
The Zone, KVET FM and one O three one are
where you can listen to the game or on the
Longhorn Radio Network eight pm. Wednesday night tip so UT

(44:57):
baseball new era underway with head coach Jim Slashsnankele. University
of Texas was ranked this past week in the preseason
Top fifteen, number fourteen in Baseball America's preseason poll. The
University of Texas baseball team collected its third preseason Top

(45:19):
twenty five ranking Monday, checking in at fourteen. UT was
previously slotted seventh by Perfect Game and nineteenth by D
one Baseball. Texas is one of nine programs from the
SEC listed in D one Baseball's Top twenty five joining
number one Texas A and M, number two, LSU, number three, Tennessee,

(45:40):
number four Arkansas. So your top four teams all playing
in the SEC. Number eleven Georgia, number fifteen, Vanderbilt, number
eighteen Mississippi State, and number twenty Kentucky. The Longhorns begin
their first campaign under the direction of head coach Jim Slowsnangle.

Speaker 1 (45:59):
He's a mass a nine to.

Speaker 2 (46:01):
Forty six and four point fifty five record over his
previous twenty three seasons as a collegiate manager. That includes
an eighteen year stint at TCU and three seasons at
Texas A and M, where he finished as a runner
up for the College World Series. The ABCA Hall of
Fame coach was advanced to the College World Series seven

(46:23):
times and reached the nca NCAA Tournament nineteen times. And
this is what's really big is the return of two
outstanding preseason All Americans in Max Blue and Jalen Flores.
They collected their second preseason All American honors earlier last week,

(46:44):
earning third team distinctions from Division One Baseball last Tuesday.
Blue and Flores also garnered first team from Perfect Game
Earlier in the offseason Following the twenty twenty fourth season,
Blue was tabbed as the Big twelve Player of the Year,
merging as one of the top hitters in the country.
As a sophomore, Blues slashed a three twenty nine, four,

(47:05):
twenty three, six sixty seven with eighteen round trippers and
fifty three RBIs. Six foot two, two ten outfielder paced
the long horns and slugging in ops while matching Flores
in home runs. The consensus All American a year ago,
Flores cemented himself as one of the best offensive shortstops nationally.

(47:27):
This is a position that the University of Texas has
been very good at over their history. Flora tallied a
team high twenty two RBIs and fifty six or twenty
two doubles and fifty six RBIs, while leading the club
in home runs and total bases with a one hundred
and fifty eight. Of course, he's a native of my
hometown in San Antonio, Texas. He made guided Texas to

(47:50):
their sixty third NCAA tournament appearance. Now Jim Slosnagle was
on MLB's hot stove earlier this month. This is from
January seventeenth, talking about taking over the University of Texas
baseball program and some of the expectations for said program.

Speaker 5 (48:09):
Yeah, I mean this is a place that Texas is,
you know, kind of like the Yankees. I think have
been in the most Major League World Series. Texas has
been to omahall thirty eight times, which is I think
twelve or thirteen more than the next.

Speaker 7 (48:20):
Close to school. I think I'm the sixth or.

Speaker 5 (48:24):
Seventh coach in the last one hundred years, and four
of those guys are Hall of Fame coaches and one
and have won national titles. So David Pierce, the coach
before me, did a great job. I think if you
take out Covid, he went to Omaha three times in
six or seven years. So this isn't obviously a rebuild
when you're at Texas, but the standards are high.

Speaker 7 (48:46):
Texas hasn't won a national title.

Speaker 5 (48:47):
Since Houston Street and his team in two thousand and
five in Augie, Grito, and so it's just an honor
to be here and try and get Texas back to
Omaha and to the final game and finally win that thing.
And that's the standard here. Obviously, college baseball has changed
so much just in the last five years. I think

(49:09):
we're in the golden age of college baseball with the
limited draft and limited minor league teams, so the level
of play is so high, and so the water is very,
very deep.

Speaker 7 (49:20):
And this is also our first year in the SEC, so.

Speaker 5 (49:23):
That's a new challenge and an exciting thing to take
Texas into the SEC in the very first year.

Speaker 2 (49:30):
So a lot to get into there. I want to
start with the comparison to the New York Yankees, which,
let me tell you, as a Yankee fan, I love
to hear that. I love when anybody is compared to
the Yankee. So this is the standard of excellence.

Speaker 1 (49:43):
I love that.

Speaker 2 (49:43):
But for college baseball, that really means something. Now, going
off of coach Lashnagle's point that this is the golden
age of college baseball, it's a very interesting take when
you look at nil and you look at the amount
of extra eligible guys potentially could have now, especially with
the new junior college rule that that does not necessarily

(50:06):
take a knock on your eligibility, you really could be
creating true minor league baseball teams at the collegiate level.
When you look at the amount of guys who could
start at the University of Texas when they're let's say,
eighteen nineteen twenty years old. Now you're going to have
spots across the board at different universities where we don't

(50:29):
really need an eighteen nineteen twenty year old. We have
a twenty three year old shortstop who has a lot
of nil money.

Speaker 1 (50:35):
We will see.

Speaker 2 (50:35):
Time will tell when it comes to if this truly
is the golden age of college baseball. I'm going to
hold judgment until we have a season of this underneath
our belt.

Speaker 1 (50:46):
Maybe we need more than just one.

Speaker 2 (50:47):
We might need two or three seasons to truly know
where college baseball is going. Finally, though, I do want
to point out that the SEC again, when the University
of Texas made the decision to jump to the SEC
to join the Southeastern Conference. Obviously, obviously it was a

(51:07):
good decision, But man, oh man, is this turned into
the best collegiate athletic conference in college sports? Like, no question,
no doubt about it. How good of a just from
top to bottom across men's and women's sports. I want

(51:28):
to repeat though Division one again, preseason rankings they're just
preseason rankings. There's something you put on the bulletin board
if you're not ranked in that top twenty five, but
to have four of the top five teams come out
of the Southeastern Conference and like seven of the top
twenty five teams come out of the SEC, including the
University of Texas, that is truly the most impressive. I

(51:52):
think stat and I think that that says tells the
whole story for where this conference is, especially on the
baseball side. All right, when we come back, xamvier Worthy,
they don't want me or they didn't want me. We
will go through some of those rookie wide receivers who
Xavier Worthy outpaced this year with the Kantasy A Chiefs

(52:13):
as his Chiefs go to the Super Bowl.

Speaker 1 (52:15):
Next.

Speaker 2 (52:15):
In the Craigway Show, Andrews will fill you in for
Craig Way on sports Radio AM thirteen hundred The Zone.
I am Andrew Zimmel filling in for one Craig Way.
You can follow me on all the socials, all of
the socials, Andrew Zimmel z I M M E L
even on Blue Sky in threads. Yeah, I'm one of
those early adapters. I'm everywhere all right, Hour three jam Packed.

(52:40):
Trey Johnson SEC Freshmen of the Week spoke with the
media today talked a lot about his weightlifting. Funny enough,
you know a lot of people don't think basketball players
lift weights. Check yourself at the door because these guys
getting in the gym getting the pump. Sim Also, where
oh where will Jimmy Butler go? As the saga continues

(53:04):
and we see more and more NBA superstars on the
market end, we got to talk about the big d
Dallas Cowboys, and that's where we're gonna start our number three.
Jerry Jones had one of the best toys in the sport,
the Dallas Cowboys, bought them and has since probably wants

(53:27):
to replace them and return them because he has broken
the toy and I'm wondering if he's broken it beyond repair. Now,
I do want to point this out and put a
medical warning label on Jerry Jones, because at some point
we need to have the tough conversation about Jerry Jones'

(53:48):
mental capacity or has made mental capabilities here as the
owner of the Cowboys, Jerry Jones currently eighty two years old,
right around the same time that we took the keys
from my grand I look at Stephen Jones as well.

Speaker 1 (54:02):
He's not a spring chicken either.

Speaker 2 (54:05):
I'm worried about where this organization is and the leadership,
and I'm not the first person, and it feels like
we're kind of going in circles when it talks about
the Cowboys, because we can complain and we can talk,
and we can do all this stuff and nothing really
will change. Unless you're Jeff Bezos or Mark Zuckerberg and

(54:25):
you want to make a bid for the Dallas Cowboys,
you're not really gonna do anything different. You really can't
change how this organization is functioning. So because you can't
get off the ride, you just got to enjoy it.
And I want to start with this quote from the
press conference yesterday, arguably my mind, the funniest of the

(54:46):
quotes that you could possibly give if you are Jerry
Jones and the Dallas Cowboys.

Speaker 1 (54:52):
Here it is Jerry One. Here's the cut.

Speaker 10 (54:55):
As a matter of fact, I wanted to be a coach,
except I wanted to live better than I thought coaches lived.
I wanted to drive a little bigger car, and I
wanted to fly in an airplane. Had I known what
I'm paying him now to have been a damn coach.

Speaker 2 (55:11):
See that's the part to me that it is just
the funniest part because it really gets down to the
root of the issue. If you go back and you
read any of the books written about this time period
when Jerry Jones bought the team, fires Tom Blandry, hires
his buddy Jimmy Johnson out of Miami, you read any
of the books that it was a very good marriage,

(55:31):
and well, let's say it was a marriage of opportunity, right,
Jimmy Johnson wanted to be an NFL head coach and
Jerry Jones wanted to own an NFL team, and he
needed to have somebody coaching on the sideline. So it
was almost a marriage of convenience between two guys. And
the marriage started to fall apart when Jerry wanted to

(55:52):
have a little bit more of the football than he
probably originally told Jimmy jo he was gonna have, which
has led now to twenty nine years of missing the
NFC Championship game. That to me, and again there's much
to be said about Dallas Cowboys, that to me is

(56:13):
like the most glaring thing because if you said, hey,
it's been you know, thirty years since the Cowboys have
played for a Super Bowl, I would say, you know what,
that is a tough spot. But there's a lot of
organizations who are in similar votes. There's a lot of
organizations who are in similar situations that. Yeah, they're proud organizations.
They're organizations who have won and competed for championships. But

(56:34):
think about the degree BIA Packers. Packers won the title
in twenty eleven haven't been back to the Super Bowl since.
There is a lot of organization, a lot of teams
who are Title town USA that don't get back to
even having a chance to play for a super Bowl.
But not even having a chance to play for an
NFC title, that is unacceptable.

Speaker 1 (56:58):
That is the biggest issue.

Speaker 2 (57:00):
Now. Many have said that Jerry Jones needs everything to
be set up for him, that he does not want
to be uncomfortable, and he put all of those rumors
to rest.

Speaker 10 (57:12):
Now I get my verbial ass kick over needing people
in my comfort zone without this thing being about me
in any way. If you don't think I can operate
out my comfort zone, you're so wrong. It's unbelievable. This
is as big a risk as you could take, as
big a risk as you could take. No head coaching

(57:32):
experience that let me share something with you with all
of that you've just heard him reference his osmosis, his family.
Anybody in this room that doesn't believe the apple doesn't
go far from the tree has missed it someplace down
the road, especially if there was an effort to make
it that way, and there was an effort. But then
you go around to the countless numbers of coaches that
Shody has served on staff with and been around the

(57:54):
countless players. How often do you have someone that has
twenty five I want to say twenty five. It may
be twenty six of years of working through the human
relationship and working aspiring to learn of his ears and
eyes wide open and looking for techniques and looking for
things that coaches better.

Speaker 2 (58:17):
So, first off, I don't want to make this about me,
and then proceeds to make it about himself. Nothing new
from Jerry Jones, That's fine. Also shotting he might be
a because we all know where this is going. I
think anybody with a juvenile sense of mind, juvenile sense
of humor knows exactly where the New York posts, where

(58:41):
some of those tabloids will go. The minute of the
Dallas Cowboys have one poor performance, we all know where
this was going. I don't need to say it. Brian
Schottenheimer needs to come up with a better nickname. He
needs to do something really cool, maybe like Falcon or
Eagle or something. He can't be Ranger even he cannot

(59:01):
go by Shoddy as the nickname for your head coach. Also,
I'm okay with taking being out of my comfort zone.
I'm okay with making a risk. I heard this comparison
yesterday and I really really like it. Firing Mike McCarthy,
you're not firing him, but allowing him to walk out
the door, not giving a contract extension to your former

(59:24):
head coach, a head coach who, statistically speaking and going
off wins, was one of the more winning coaches in
Cowboys history, and one of the more winning coaches during
this Jerry Jones era of owning the team. Mike McCarthy was, again,
you take the name off, and you take the success.
You take all of the stuff, all the baggage off,

(59:46):
and you only look at the wins and losses. He
wasn't a bad head coach for Jerry Jones era. So
Tom Landry is no Jimmy Johnson, not even really Berry Switzer.
But he's still in that conversation, you can still make
a case he would be a top five coach in
the Jimmy or in the in the Jerry Jones era.
But what you did when you got rid of Mike McCarthy,

(01:00:07):
the guy who built this entire staff, who got the
playbook together, who influenced a lot of the personnel decisions,
when you got rid of him, it's essentially like going
to a restaurant and buying a restaurant and firing the
head chef and then making the sioux chef the head chef.

Speaker 1 (01:00:24):
Well, why did we get rid of the guy.

Speaker 2 (01:00:27):
Who built this entire staff, who created all the ingredients,
who made all the plays. We got rid of that
guy and we brought the second guy up.

Speaker 1 (01:00:38):
Okay, got it, Jerry, Okay, it makes sense. Uh huh,
that's fine.

Speaker 2 (01:00:41):
And uh, when when does the pudding come to the room,
because that's what it feels like. Finally, Jerry talks about
the risk that he took. Now again he said earlier,
He's okay getting out of this conference zone. He's okay
taking risks. He says he took a big risk with Schottenheimer.

Speaker 10 (01:00:59):
I've read where I don't have a pension for risk taking.
If you really knew my score sheet, you would see
that I've taken more risk in the last five years
than the rest of my life put together. And sometimes
I don't know when I look down mirrorand why the
risk is taken with it there, let me say this,
it was a huge risk to get involved with the

(01:01:20):
Dallas Cowboys, huge and a lot of people that quote
unquote didn't understand or feel like.

Speaker 7 (01:01:28):
It could be done.

Speaker 10 (01:01:30):
I spent a nice part, Jim Calishaw, you remember it.
I spent a nice part of my early four or
five years with the Dallas Cowboys defending why not coach
Landry and defending why Jimmy would make a good coach.
I think one time I said, these worth five Heisman
Trophies to.

Speaker 1 (01:01:47):
Be a good coach? Did I know?

Speaker 7 (01:01:50):
No? But I knew Jimmy.

Speaker 1 (01:01:52):
Okay.

Speaker 10 (01:01:52):
Had I interviewed countless thousands of coaches?

Speaker 7 (01:01:55):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:01:56):
No, not at all. So what I'm here to tell.

Speaker 10 (01:01:58):
You is this was a thorough, thorough process.

Speaker 1 (01:02:04):
It was a thorough, thorough process.

Speaker 2 (01:02:06):
As I hired somebody who was in the building with me,
who was with the team the whole season, who I
saw up close and personal. For my press box, what
this team was now to be fair to Brian Schottenheimer.
He seems like a nice enough guy to be fair
to the Dallas Cowboys. This season, they were without Dak Prescott,
and whether you're a Dak Denier or a Dak Truther,

(01:02:29):
you will agree that not having your starting quarterback kind
of a big deal in the NFL. But Jerry said
something very interesting there. He said that he's taken a
lot of risks over the last five years, and I
would like to know. I wish he would have expounded
on what those risks were. I would like him to
point out the risk. Was it a risk to draft

(01:02:52):
running back in the first round in twenty sixteen with
Ezekiel Elliott? Was it a risk to hand and the
reigns over to d Cooda Prescott Dak Prescott a fourth
round draft pick his rookie year. Or is he talking
about the risk of not keeping some of those guys
in house and the risk of not giving Dak the

(01:03:14):
protection that he really needs and letting that team age
out when it comes to the most important positions, the
offensive and defensive line. I would like to know the
risks that he was taking, because there's a lot of
very questionable decisions that any other general manager might not
keep his job for.

Speaker 1 (01:03:33):
Are those the.

Speaker 2 (01:03:34):
Risks that Jerry Jones is speaking of? Could that be
the risk? And to that lane, I would say, sometimes
it's better to be smart as a general manager. It's
better to be risk avert as a general manager. Take
the best available player if you will, or not try
to make a big, splashing free agent signing this organization.

(01:03:58):
The Dallas Cowboys are currently ranked the most profitable, the
most valuable North American franchise. But I tell all of
my cowboy friends this, it's a new day in America.
There is a new generation of sports fans out here,
and it's not a guarantee that you will continue to

(01:04:21):
be the most valuable franchise if you do not win anything.
The kids like a winner. The kids like the Kandasine Chiefs.
The kids like the New England Patriots. The kids do
not like a team that finishes five and eleven every year.
And we will see what Schottenheimer's the first season looks like.
But I will say, for an introductory press conference, felt
like a five and eleven type of season. When we

(01:04:44):
come back. Trey Johnson, SEC Freshman of the Week, talked
to the media. We will play that audio for you
next to the Craigway Show. I'm Andrew zim Will filling
in for Craig Way on sports Radio AM thirteen hundred
The Zone. I am Andrew zim will filling in for
Craig Way and Cameron Parker this Tuesday Day afternoon.

Speaker 1 (01:05:01):
I will be honest with you.

Speaker 2 (01:05:02):
When they gave me the schedule for men's basketball, I
was saying to myself, like, oh, okay, well, Craig and
camera out on Wednesday and they're playing Old Miss.

Speaker 1 (01:05:12):
Okay, so today's Wednesday.

Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
I completely skipped over Tuesday, completely skipped over. I wrote
some checks today and put the twenty ninth. I thought
today was Wednesday the entire day. So hopefully you were
having a more put together Tuesday than I am having
this Tuesday.

Speaker 1 (01:05:29):
So let us talk about it.

Speaker 2 (01:05:30):
So Trey Johnson sec Freshman of the Week no surprise
here after the freshman guard had one of his best
games of his collegiate career this past weekend. Played all
twenty minutes of the second half of Saturday's victory over
Texas A and M, where Tray Johnson helped the Longhorns
rally back from a twenty two point deficit with seventeen

(01:05:54):
minutes remaining in the game. It tied the program's largest
comeback victory since at least the start of the ninety
eight to ninety nine season.

Speaker 1 (01:06:03):
Retorted twenty four points.

Speaker 2 (01:06:05):
In that second half and on the season, Johnson leads
the SEC in scoring, has posted six twenty point games
this season. But the University of Texas currently sits in
the middle of the SEC conference right so three and
four in conference fourteen and six overall currently unreanked out

(01:06:25):
of the top twenty five. The teams ahead of them, oh,
just Auburn, Alabama, Missouri, Florida, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Texas
A and M old miss and Kentucky.

Speaker 1 (01:06:37):
It is a long jam in the SEC.

Speaker 2 (01:06:41):
And nobody would know better than ESPN bracketologist Joe Lonardi,
who has or has a ut currently as his last
four in on his conference breakdown that he put out
on X earlier today. Now, Lenardi was on ESPN's College
basket Ball Show, and you talked about Texas being one

(01:07:02):
of the last four. And now remember this audio is
prior to the win against Texas A and M. So
it's going to sound a little dated, but the facts
are still the facts here.

Speaker 4 (01:07:14):
I've been keeping my eye on Texas.

Speaker 1 (01:07:16):
It's hard not.

Speaker 4 (01:07:18):
To keep your eye on these quote unquote down ballot
games in the SEC because there's so many good teams.
Texas one of the last four in As. We start
a very busy Saturday, and they won't hold that spot
unless they're able to win at home. A and M
pretty good road trip thus far, escaping Ole miss the

(01:07:40):
other night and cementing for themselves a top four seeds,
so that among many if you can't decide which channel
to watch on a busy Saturday, the SEC is probably not.

Speaker 7 (01:07:53):
A bad place to start.

Speaker 2 (01:07:55):
Now again, I say the SEC jam packed, log jammed,
however you want to say it. In this conference the
best basketball conference in the country. Lenardi was asked about
the SEC potentially breaking the Big East records for the
number of bids potentially in March madness. I think it is,

(01:08:17):
and I understand all of the beating one another up
and taking on extra losses, but the committee has proven
that in evaluating quad one records of teams, there is
much interested in quantity as quality. You know, we once
saw Trey Young and Oklahoma get in with a four

(01:08:41):
and eleven record in Quad one and a seven and
eleven record in the Big Twelve, So I don't think
that's going to be a problem for most of the
middle teams in the SEC.

Speaker 4 (01:08:52):
Texas is actually the thirteenth team in the field as
we begin play today. Now, I don't think it's going
to be that high, but I do think it will
tie or crack the record of eleven teams from the
Big East back in twenty eleven and down. I'll just
say this, you know, I don't think Texas is a
Final four team, but they have players.

Speaker 7 (01:09:15):
And if you're.

Speaker 4 (01:09:16):
The thirteenth best team in the league as Texas, it's
a pretty good league.

Speaker 2 (01:09:21):
Yeah, no kidding, speaking of a pretty good league in
the University of Texas men's basketball team takes on Old
Miss tomorrow. That's another top twenty five team for you.
They're coming off of two wins, a win against Missouri
again a top twenty five team, and a win against
Texas A and M. Going into this Old Miss game tomorrow,
and freshman SEC player of the Week Trey Johnson got

(01:09:45):
asked about that and about the coming off these two wins.
The sense of confidence do you feel more confident. Does
the team feel more confident coming into this last stretch
of games in the month of January.

Speaker 7 (01:09:58):
I don't.

Speaker 6 (01:09:59):
I don't think the confidence ever left us left us
as a team.

Speaker 7 (01:10:02):
I feel like we just know how to win more.

Speaker 6 (01:10:04):
We just know what's going to take and what we
have to do, and we know our identity better now
from our few games, knowing that we got to play
defense to what we've been playing lately if we want
to shot at winning. So I feel like our confidence
has always been there. We just know different things and
how to approach the game better.

Speaker 2 (01:10:21):
Now they're gonna have to come with confidence because after
Old miss it go to bat and rouge to take
on LSU at home against Arkansas. But that's really when
this conference schedule gets difficult. Games in Nashville, games at
home against Alabama and Kentucky. This is not a schedule
that you want to turn your nose up at all.

(01:10:41):
By the way, in between all those yet John calap
Party's Arkansas team comes to town, this is going to
be a bloodbath down the way. The thing though, is
it's not only difficult for the University of Texas, It's
going to be difficult for everybody going forward.

Speaker 1 (01:10:56):
So it's good that Johnson and co.

Speaker 2 (01:10:58):
Feel like they have confidence going into this last stretch
of games before we get into March madness. Sow, the
question was asked, how excited are you to go play
Old Miss tomorrow.

Speaker 6 (01:11:11):
We're very excited to go down there and play just
because the next game, we know the relationship between both programs,
and we know that they came off a few losses,
that they're gonna be kind of a desperate team trying to
get back going and get started, and plus.

Speaker 7 (01:11:23):
It's kind of like a rivalry game.

Speaker 6 (01:11:25):
I could say, just being ready to go down there
and know that there's gonna be punches and run their
home floor so we might not get calls, and being
ready to go through any type of adversity.

Speaker 1 (01:11:35):
Which is partly true.

Speaker 2 (01:11:36):
And that has been a big conversation not only about
the Longhorns basketball program, but across the board. It feels
like there's more and more fans who really put the
fan in fanatic. They get the tenfoil hats out and
they want to dissect every single play. Was really cool.
I don't think all right, let me rephrase that. I

(01:11:57):
think it's cool at any point when an idol or
an alumni reaches back out, it doubles when that alumni
is Kevin Durant, a multi time MVP, a multi time
champion and gold medal winner, and arguably the best player
to come through the University of Texas basketball program. He

(01:12:17):
was asked Trey Johnson, did you see Durant's post? And
have you talked to him at all this season?

Speaker 7 (01:12:25):
I saw somebody had a sentence to me. I talked
to him. I talked to him.

Speaker 6 (01:12:29):
Whenever I reach out, I would say, like, if I
reach out, here respond back. I haven't reached out this
season though, just because we're both in season, and plus
I really ain't gotten to to talk about.

Speaker 2 (01:12:40):
I love that I got nothing to talk about. Look,
this basketball team could have a lot to talk about
come March. At that point I imagine that he will
be talking to Kevin Duran a little bit more. The
follow up question though, to Johnson, when you saw the post,
what'd you think?

Speaker 6 (01:12:56):
I just thought it was cool to see him still
having a busys when he got still in tune with
game college basketball games. He'd be watching the girls games too,
So I feel like that's really cool off him as
an NBA player having a busy schedule still being able
to watch college basketball.

Speaker 2 (01:13:13):
Now, it's been said the freshman wall is a real thing.
You got guys who are eighteen years old, nineteen years old,
play a good AAU schedule, play a very good high
school schedule, but it's a different grind in the SEC.

Speaker 1 (01:13:25):
Have you hit the freshman wall?

Speaker 6 (01:13:28):
We too deep into the season to be trying to
find the wall, So I hope I'm not gonna see
no wall no time soon. But I just feel like
I haves mumpson downs throughout the season.

Speaker 7 (01:13:37):
I don't think it will be I don't think.

Speaker 6 (01:13:39):
About hitting the wall because I just know there's so
many other things I could be doing. So even if
I am hitting the wall with any aspect of my game,
just still doing other things to help win games or
help the team better be my main thing.

Speaker 2 (01:13:52):
And finally, Kirk Bowls, longtime reporter covering the University of Texas,
asked maybe my favorite question this athletic season. Do you
lift weights? And how about that bench? Let's hear from
Kirk here.

Speaker 6 (01:14:08):
I do like lyfting weights. That was I used to
lift a lot growing up. We'll not growing up, but
like in high school. I used to I used to
lift a lot. I do intoor lifting weights.

Speaker 1 (01:14:17):
What's your bench what's your bench press?

Speaker 7 (01:14:19):
That's one thing I don't like getting up under. I
don't like getting up under.

Speaker 1 (01:14:21):
That bitch, I love it.

Speaker 2 (01:14:25):
That's again, it's been a criticism of basketball players since
the beginning of time about lifting weights and then getting
on that bench press. Look, I understand Trey Johnson. I'm
not a big bench guy either myself. But I will
tell you who is Kirk Balls on the Zoom call
during the media he showed us the pythons do not
mess with him.

Speaker 1 (01:14:43):
He is.

Speaker 2 (01:14:44):
He looks like he goes to the gym multiple times
a day. Giant guy. All right, So when we come back,
we will talk about the saga of Jimmy Butler. Where,
oh where will Jimmy Butler land? The Miami Heat superstar
going through a nasty divorce? But what do you expect
anything different from South Beach? Next on the Craigways Show,

(01:15:05):
I'm Andrew Zimbol filling in for Craig on Sports Radio
AM thirteen hundred Zone. Andrew Zimbol filling in for Craig Way.
As we continue with our three of the program. If
you've missed any of the Craig Ways show, or maybe
you miss a show earlier this week, do not fret.
You can go back and listen to the podcast version.
We do a good job of chopping it up for

(01:15:25):
you on the free and newly improved I Heart Radio app.
Let me tell you, I have been using the iHeart
Radio app now for the past couple of years and
it is a life sent I absolutely love. What I
do is I play a radio roulette. I go to
the different radio dials and I listen to different sports
talk shows from different markets. And what I've currently been doing,

(01:15:47):
my favorite little pastime is I listen to postgame coverage
for teams that lose. So I wanted to hear recently
the Denver Nuggets and I was able to on the
iHeart Radio app. I was able to listen after their
loss on Saturday to the Minnesota Timberwolves. I got to
listen to their postgame guys try to copy them the
loss out and oh, you know we're gonna be okay.

Speaker 1 (01:16:08):
We have Jokic.

Speaker 2 (01:16:10):
So on the NBA scale, Jimmy Butler is essentially the
most distressed asset in the world. He has been now
suspended two three different times now for the Miami Heat organization,
and they are trying to find a trade partner to
send him on his merry way to get him out
of South Beach in what has been a very ugly way.

Speaker 1 (01:16:34):
To do things right.

Speaker 2 (01:16:35):
So first you got the Miami Heater suspending him because
he's walking out of practice, and then Jimmy Butler is
taking all these side shots, and then the entire time,
teammates are going on social media kind of having fun
with it because they know that it's a little bit
of a circus that they've walked themselves into. You got
Kevin Love on Instagram posting memes and posting different things.

(01:16:56):
This entire situation is so opposite of what Miami Heat
culture is supposed to be that is again turned into
a caricature of itself. But during the show, while we
were talking Jimmy Butler, news broke that darn Fox is
potentially open for talks and the Kings are open for

(01:17:19):
talks to move him by that February sixth deadline. According
to Shams earlier today, Fox twenty seven has one year
left on his contract before he hits free agency in
twenty twenty six now again All Star, a guy who
has played very well. He was a Clutch Player of
the Year a couple of years ago. There'll be plenty
of suitors for Fox, who made an All NBA appearance

(01:17:39):
in the twenty two to twenty three season. But it's believed,
and this is what's interesting, that the San Antonio Spurs.
The San Antonio Spurs are atop his list of but
Therred landing spots. According to league sources, Fox's representation, Clutch
Sports and Rich Paul have a target destination head of

(01:18:01):
his free agency, those sources say.

Speaker 1 (01:18:04):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:18:04):
The Kings fired their head coach Mike Brown last month
after the team appeared to be falling short of expectations.
Since then, the Kings have won eleven of their past
fifteen games under interim coach Doug Christi. Now the Miami
or the Sacramento Kings. Former coach Mike Brown has a
unique connection to Greg Popovich, as he was on the

(01:18:28):
Popovich staff for a while. That kind of makes me
scratch my head a little bit. And then there's also
reports coming out of San Antonio that it's again reported
that there might have been a Popovich sighting at the
practice facility What could all this mean? Could there be Tawks?
Could there be a trade in the works to bring

(01:18:49):
the Aaron Fox to San Antonio. Currently, the Kings are
the tenth seed in the West twenty four and twenty two,
thirteen and a half games back of the number one
team in the West, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs
sit at twenty and twenty three. There are sixteen games back.
You're really playing a dangerous game if you're San Antonio
with how much do you really want to push the

(01:19:11):
chips in the middle of the table and go after
a guy like the Aaron Fox. However, that's one side.
On the other side, there's not a lot of guys
who when they put out there preferred destinations for a trade,
put San Antonio at number one on those preferred lists.
So if you have a guy who wants to be

(01:19:32):
in San Antonio, I think by all means, you gotta
make it happen. But an interesting tweet that I saw
during the break was that if you are San Antonio
and you know that Daron Fox wants to come to
your organization, do you wait for free agency? Do you

(01:19:56):
just kind of sit this one out and let another
team trade for him in hopes that when he becomes
a free agent in two seasons that you can go
after him. Sham's reporting that, yes, darn Fox is believed
to be moved before the trade deadline. Again, he's a

(01:20:16):
free agent in that twenty twenty six class, so something
to keep your eye on. And again, if san Antonio
does decide to go make a move for Fox, that
true to me, it proves that the Spurs are willing
to push chips in the middle of table knowing what
they have. I said for a while. When you get
a guy like Victor wiman Yama, you're in a unique position,

(01:20:38):
not only because he's a generational talent, future face of
the league, a guy who can do a little bit
of everything. Put all that aside, if you can. You're
in a unique situation because you're not gonna be bad
enough to go get him other pieces to put around him.
The teams that are able to rebuild have to do

(01:20:59):
a year over year every year and go in the
lottery and hope that those lottery picks hit and then
you can hopefully get one guy who might be a
generational star, and then you get a couple other good
role players and then you're competing for a title, and
because of the new CBA, those teams tend to fall
apart very quickly. The new CBA, with the different apron

(01:21:20):
levels and how much you can pay your homegrown stars,
Adam Silver has done everything in his power to try
to handicap teams from becoming dynastic. He's doing everything in
his power to make sure that we do not have
a situation like we had in twenty sixteen where Kevin
Durant can join the Warriors, or a situation like in
twenty ten when Lebron James can join the Miami Heat.

(01:21:41):
They're trying to make it so where there are fewer
of those dynasty type teams seems that can win year
over year over year. We're seeing the Denver Nuggets already
start losing pieces. Oklahoma City in the next couple years
is gonna have to start losing pieces when SGA is
up for that massive contract.

Speaker 1 (01:21:58):
You have a title window.

Speaker 2 (01:22:00):
Currently, when you have a guy like Wimby Yama under
a rookie contract, we're moving closer to the model that
the NFL has built with Hey, if you want to
try to win a Super Bowl, the best time to
do it is when you have a young, good quarterback
a lah Russell Wilson when he was in Seattle, you
want to go try to push those chips in the

(01:22:20):
middle of table and maybe make a push for a
playoff appearance early now with the Spurs.

Speaker 1 (01:22:26):
In Wimby's second year.

Speaker 2 (01:22:29):
I don't necessarily hate the move for a guy like
the Aaron Fox, prime of his career, a younger point guard.

Speaker 1 (01:22:37):
The only thing is who do.

Speaker 2 (01:22:39):
You move off of if you try to go get him,
because the Kings aren't gonna just take pennies on the
dollar for a guy like Fox, especially if he says, hey,
my preferred spot is san Antonio.

Speaker 1 (01:22:52):
Now they have all the leverage.

Speaker 2 (01:22:53):
Now, they have all of the chips to deal with
when it comes to trying to make a deal with
san Antonio. So we'll see how this whole thing plays
out again to Aaron Fox, potentially on the trade market.
The King's looking to move off of their young point
guard san Antonio allegedly the top of his list when
it comes to destinations. All right, when we come back,
we wrap up the Craig Waves Show. Next hour three

(01:23:16):
continues in a moment on sports Radio AM thirteen hundred,
The zone,