06-18-24 Hour 1 of Broncos Country Tonight

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to it Broncos Country Tonight,Benjamin Albright here with you. Short show

(00:04):
Post Rockies Edition five six six ninezero is the text line. Programming Note
Tomorrow there will be no BCT.It is Juneteenth, which is a company
holiday, so I will be offtomorrow, so just a heads up on
that. And then Thursday there willbe a full live show right here on

(00:25):
KOA. Steve Atwater will join mein studio working on a mystery guest.
I think I talked to you guysabout that briefly yesterday. No Nick ferguson
on Thursday, but it'll be myselfSteve Atwater for the first hour and then
we are working on some other funthings for you. We'll see if we
can land the plane on that.Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't,

(00:45):
but looking forward to that again.Five six six nine zero is the text
line. Congratulations to the Boston Celticsor is it Celtics. I don't know
who won the NBA Championship. Theyare actually people, by the way,
who text me every time on this. I know it's the Cellics. It's
a bit. It's a bit we'vebeen doing for like a decade now,
so please don't think that I'm anidiot. Well, you're welcome to think

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of an idiot, just don't thinkof an idiot on that. Congratulations of
the Boston Celtics, congratulations to congratulationsto Coach Pagano, who is a huge
Boston Celtics fan. Actually, uhtexted, texted me what was it this

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morning at about nine thirty Banner eighteentattoo coming, So, Coach, what
I think we should do is Ithink we should have people design a tattoo
for coach to get in honor ofthe Celtics winning that one. And I
feel like that we should design thattattoo and then coach has to get it.

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That's what I feel like. Ifeel like we're entitled to that.
But I texted him about that.We'll see if he uh, we'll see
if he gets back to me onthat one. That one feels like it's
a big maybe. I feel likethe listeners should. I feel like the
listeners are owed this this stretch ofcanvas on Coach Pagano's skin to be able
to be able to put this tattooup. So you guys, you guys
want to design some send your designsto myself and Nick Ferguson on Twitter.

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You can find me in all brightNFL. Nick's like underscore Nick Ferguson twenty
five I think, and you canfind us both on Twitter. C see
us both and make sure you putthat a picture in there of what you
think coach Pagano's tattoo should be.Now, keep in mind, he does
have to celebrate the Celtics because that'shis team. So even though we're Nuggets
fans here, we got to comeup with something that celebrates that that he

(02:35):
can tattoo. But I'm trying tocome up with something here, so I
appreciate I would appreciate the suggestions.One of the things that was excuse me.
One of the things that was pointedout to me today was over the
last four years, somebody asked mewho has attempted the most passes per game
in the NFL? And I guessedincorrectly. I did not know the answer

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to that right off the bat.You guys would probably googling it right now,
or you know, some of youmay have known, but I you
know, for me, thinking aboutwho has attempted the most passes in the
league, it sort of jumps outat you that Matt Stafford would probably be

(03:21):
up there. Patrick Mahomes would probablybe up there, things like that.
But no, the answer is actuallyChargers quarterback Justin Herbert thirty nine point one
passing attempts per game over the lastfour seasons at absurdly high number. An
absurdly high number, And so nowyou know, of course Justin Herbert is

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playing for a head coach and anoffensive coordinator who since their arrival, have
talked extensively about emphasizing the run game. Herbert last week was quoted as saying
selfishly, as a quarterback, I'dlove to throw the ball every time,
but if we throw it one time, we throw it one hundred times long
as were winning in finding a wayto do that, it's good with me,
which is the right way to approachit. Right, As a quarterback,
you want to throw, but atthe same time, if that's not

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the best interest of the team,then there you go. Chargers wrapped up
their three day mini camp back inCoasta, Mesa last week. Horborne met
with local media for the first timesince the team Herbert, excuse me,
met with local media for the firsttime since the team brought in Harbor and
Roman and the new regime, whichalso has general manager Joe Horritz reshaped the

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roster to become more powerful than physical, and Roman spent several weeks introducing an
offense designed to operate from the groundup. Chargers new addition includes running back
Gus Edwards, who is known forhis downhill approach, and JK. Dobbins,
whose explosiveness has resulted in a percarry career average of five point eight
yards, both previously with the BaltimoreRavens. Herbert said, we don't have

(04:49):
the pads on, so you can'treally feel the impact of the run game
right now, but you can sortof feel the juice the energy they bring
it. The overall theme has beento establish run past balance, which is
a clear departure from how the Chargershave played offensively since Herbert took over as
a starter in week two of hisrookie year. Herbert has been through multiple

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offensive coordinators, including Shane Steichen,who was probably the best with him,
and then you had you know,Joe Lombardi, who is here as the
offensive coordinator now and I think weall saw how that looked, and Kellen
Moore it didn't really look a wholelot better with him running it last year.
Meller is now with the Eagles.Steiken, of course, the head

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coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Herbertsays that the way we've instolled everything,
we want to be able to doeverything. Herbert has attempted at least twenty
four passes in each of his careerstarts, with the lone exception being the
Chargers Week fourteen loss to Denver lastyear, where Herbert left the game early

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because of the finger injury and EastonStick, of course, took over.
Along the way, Herbert has setnumerous franchise and league records. He made
the Pro Bowl in twenty twenty one. Harror Ball this week noted the velocity
that he can generate throwing the ball. But the Chargers are thirty and thirty

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two and Herbert starts, they playedone postseason game with him at quarterback and
are coming off a five win finishthis past season that led to all the
leadership changes. So it's not difficultto believe Herbert when he says winning is
more significant to him, even whenjoking that when it comes to passing the
ball, the more the better.But in his conversations with Greg Roman,

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Herbert has said the message has beento involve the playmakers, take care of
the ball, and if the defensehas a decided advantage or there's risk of
a turnover, punting is not theworst case scenario, although I tend to
disagree in the sense that punting isa turnover. When all is said and
done, it's just a long interceptionon fourth down in terms if we view

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it pragmatically. So the ultimate goalof the offense, as Herbert explained,
is to produce completions, explosive plays, touchdowns, whatever. But the Chargers
this year are not going to forcethe passing game. Horrorball spent fourteen years
as in the NFL. As aplayer. He started games quarterback for Chicago,
Indie Baltimore and the Chargers. Herbertsaid his head coach brings a great

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perspective each time he sits in thequarterback meetings. Similarly, Horrorball spent several
minutes during the recent media sessions praisingeverything from Herbert's physical skills to his mental
capacities, overall leaderships and quote,nobody in this organization has played quarterback at
the high level he has. There'san expertise there. There's been extremely valuable

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when the Chargers met on the fieldfor the final time before breaking the start
of summer. Herbert was the player. Horball tab to address the group.
He said he spoke about the importanceof not allowing offseason program to go to
waste and encourage his teammates to remaindiligent in their preparation for training camp,
which it's on late July. DerwinJames, whether the Chargers acknowledged leaders,
spoke publicly for the first time inmonths, saying the renewed atmosphere feels like

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Christmas. James called Horball the mostpowerful leader I've seen, highlighted his ability
to command a room just by walkingthrough the door, and like several of
his teammates this offseason, he said, the mood is different. The Chargers
figure to be a much improved teamthis year, and they are going to
be a team that relies on theground game to set up the pass as

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opposed to the other way around thatthey've been in recent years. And you
know, they've obviously changed personnel therein addition to the coaching, and so
you know, it's been interesting becausethe Broncos have sort of had the Charger's

(08:48):
number over the last couple of years. I'm not so sure that's a gimme
anymore. This division got tougher byhaving Horrball walk into it, and the
Broncos, who haven't beaten the Raiderssince they were in Oakland, they have
one win against the Chiefs in theirlast teenth tries, and you know,
the Chargers has sort of been theteam they could count on. It creates
a problem for the never Broncos.I mean, this is a tougher division

(09:13):
than it was before he was hired. And so to me, it's gonna
be interesting to sort of see,you know, exactly how this plays out.
I suspect the Chargers will be goodvery quickly. The question is whether
the Broncos continue to get better asthey move on from Russell Wilson and into

(09:35):
the Steadham Nicks Wilson Zach Wilson era. You know, whether that they can
continue to improve and and sort ofmatch that. And we'll see Austin Eckler,
who is now with the Washington Commanders. You know, people I think

(09:58):
thought h discontent with his contract wasthe reason that he left the Chargers,
but as as he tells it,it was it was something else. Eckler
was on fan duel TV's Up andAtoms with k Adams on Monday yesterday,
and he said, quote, theywanted a guy that can hand the ball
off two three hundred times a year, and look, I haven't had the

(10:20):
capacity to do that. That's notmy game. That's not how Austin Eckler
is going to be the best onthe field. So there was just a
misalignment there which no harm, nofoul. I'll go somewhere else where.
Austin could be the best version ofmyself out there. And aside from talking
about himself in the third person,he makes a very cogent point there is
said, Austin Eckler is not GusEdwards. He's not Derek Henry. He's
not a between the tackles three hundredcarries a season type of running back.

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He is a versatile chess piece thatyou can move around. And I guess,
you know, he looked at whatthey wanted to do on offense,
didn't feel he was a fit forthat. And you know, good for
him for recognizing that. Rather thantry to, you know, squeeze money
and put a square peg in around hole, the charger probably aren't likely
to have a three hundred carried tailbackin with Dobbins and Edwards to presumably share

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the load. You know, Dobbins, who's recovering from a torn achilles signed
a one year, one point sixmillion dollar deal. Edwards has a two
year six point five million dollar contract. He get dinged up a little bit
of be ready for camp. Ecklerin content in contrast to that, signed
a two year eight point four tothree million dollar deal, and so you

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know, and he'll he'll work inconcert with with Brian Robinson JUNR. But
the Chargers here are looking to getproduction production at reduced costs. Basically,
they got Gus Edwards and JK.Dobbins UH for eight point one million over
two years. Now. Dobbins isa one year deal, but you get
the idea. Eckler's two year eightpoint four three million dollars. So at

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the end of the day, theChargers saved money, saved cap space,
and got two backs instead of onewho they feel are a better fit for
what they do now. Both thoseguys have injury concerns, although they are
familiar with the offense, having workedwith the Ravens before when Greg Roman was
the offensive coordinator in Baltimore. Soyou know Eckler, who has been a

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Fantasy football darling, and to mychagrin, last year was not his year,
as I drafted him very high.His touches have only crossed three hundred
one time. That was in twentyeighteen, So you know, I don't
I don't really understand, excuse me. Was in twenty twenty two and twenty

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eighteen one hundred and six carries,thirty nine receptions. Twenty nineteen it was
one hundred and thirty two carries ninetytwo receptions. Twenty twenty one hundred and
sixteen carries fifty four receptions. Twentytwenty one, two hundred and six carries
seventy receptions. Twenty twenty two wasthe closest he ever came to the you
know, sort of workhorse category.He had two hundred and four rushing attempts
one hundred and seven receptions, butthen last year that fell off to one

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hundred and seventy nine carries fifty onecatches. So it'll be interesting to see
what Eckler does in DC, whatDobbinson Edwards do for the Chargers. Chargers
certainly seem very committed to running theball, as we noted before more than
they ever have in the hopes ofgetting even more out of the passing uh
out of the passing game and theirpassing attack. And you know, Broncos

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fans, I think have an eyeon what exactly this metamorphosis for the Chargers
is going to look like. Youknow, that's something that we're going to
do on this show is sort ofmore preview the indivision opponents a little bit
stronger. You know, this offseason, we've talked a lot about Kansas City's
off field distractions. We'll talk alittle bit more about what they want to
do sort of on the fields,you know, as time permits down the

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line. And then of course theRaiders, they've realigned their coaching staff after
the firing of McDaniel's midseason last year, Pierce took over. Now they've kind
of got their their preferred coaching staffin place. Luke Getsy will be running
the offense and so it'll be uh, certainly interesting to see, you know,
kind of how he he runs thatoffense versus what Josh McDaniels ran,

(14:03):
which you know, McDaniel's that justdid not did not work. So it's
you know, it's it's kind ofinteresting speaking of Luke Getzi, who was
the offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bearswhen Justin Fields was there. Fields,

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of course, is now in Pittsburgh, and the reports out of there are
bad for Justin Fields. You know, he did not receive rave reviews on
any of the spring performances. Helooked inaccurate, lacked ball placement. That's
a quoting to rayfat Apaldo the PittsburghPost Gazette. These aren't new criticisms,

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of course, they were the sameones he had in Chicago. But Fields
was not nfl accurate in college reallyeither. He had a seventy percent completion
rate, but was throwing to incrediblyopen receivers a lot. Among the many
not surprised by Fittpaldo's report is LashawnMcCoy, former pitt and Eagles running back,
saying, quote, everybody can getbetter, but I just think that's
who he is. You know,Fields is going to back up Russell Wilson

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this year and that doesn't appear likelyto change. He does have tremendous athleticism,
but most people at this point believehe just lacks basic passing skills.
You know, and including Leshawn McCoy, suggest he needs an offense built for
him to have a chance at succeeding. And that's part of the reason a
lot of teams didn't want to tradefor him. He didn't want to back
up whose skill set doesn't mirror yourstarter that you have to change your entire

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offense for just to get anything outof him. Yeah, McCoy said of
Justin Fields, I don't want youreading a lot. I don't want you
throwing the ball a lot, suggestingthat an offense that did run for Lamar
Jackson or Colin Kaepernick I e theGreat Roman offense, but suggested that only
is the most plausible scenario, saying, quote, let's stop acting like we're
expecting this guy to go out thereand be a super great quarterback. That's

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not in his future. That's nothis plan. You can tell me how
bad he looked when he played here, and then tell me, on the
other hand, you know, buthe could be really, really good.
That doesn't even add up. He'snot a good quarterback. The Steelers explored
a trade for Fields after Kenny Pickettrequested a trade. Then Pickett took issue
with the team's direction. If you'resigning Russell Wilson, so we'll end up

(16:17):
seeing Picket of course, went tothe Philadelphia Eagles, so and his reviews
so far have have been pretty good. So you know, we'll we'll see
how it all shakes out and howit all goes, and I keep track
of that. It's not me tryingto celebrate anything or anything else. Just
update to you guys on the theJustin Field situation. Who will see the
Pittsburgh Steelers in week two? Herein Denver, you are listening to Broncos

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Country tonight right here on Kaway.I'd say fifty a ninety four one FM
News Talk Sports. Welcome back toit, Broncos Country Tonight. Benjamin Albright
here with you five six six ninehere oh, of course of the text
line short show again tonight post Rockiesedition. We already told you guys tomorrow
there will be no Broacos Country Tonight. Juneteenth. It's a company federal holiday,

(17:04):
so we'll be off Thursday, willbe a full live show right here
on k Be myself, Steve atwaterright, Michael, and we're again got
a mystery guest. We're trying toland. We'll see see if we can
land the plane on that one.If if we can we can make that
happen, but that'll be a fullshow. No Nick ferguson on Thursday.
He's off this week. Next weekhe'll be back just in time for the

(17:27):
start of training camp, so that'llbe good good for him to get some
some rest in and all that kindof stuff. And of course right Edwards
will Jonas on the show on Fridayas well, the Og triple Og the
Godfather, Comrade Edwards. So justa little programming note for for BCT throughout
the week. Congratulations to the BostonCeltics for winning the NBA Championship, dominating

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one six eighty eight. Closing winin Game five of the NBA Finals Championship.
Is a banner number eighteen that willhang in the rafters, breaking a
tie with the Los Angeles Lakers,who also hang in season tournament banners.
Apparently, you know the game wasit was a coronation, but one that

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was earned very much so. Talkingto people there, there was a distinct
smell of cheap champagne and cigar.It was sort of unavoidable that perhaps was
nauseating two years ago when when StephCurry in the Warriors finished them off in

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Game six in the Garden. Lastyear, of course, the Celtics had
an embarrassing game seven loss to theeight seed of Miami Heat in the Eastern
Conference Finals before the Nuggets went onto win the championship. There, Boston
battled back from a three to zerodeficit, threatened to make real history before
you know, being eliminated by theHeat was almost poetic that the Celtics sort

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of exercise those demons in their ownbuilding. And when they lost to Dallas
the game before for the sweep thatI was like, Okay, they're just
trying to win this thing at homeand do all that. That seemed that
seemed sort of to be the waythat they were going. It's the demanding

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and unreletting fans up there. Theyhad a belief, you know, in
that team, and it was matchedby expectations. They thought their two best
players couldn't do it as headliners,let alone together when you look at the
national media. But you know,there was Tatum facilitating rebounding, making up
for a subpar shooting series, finallybreaking loose to score thirty one with eleven

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assists and eight boards. Yeah,Brown, who won the finals MVP by
seven to four margin. In thevotes over, Tatum scored twenty one six
assists, eight boards, and houndeda wounded Luka Doncic all night, wearing
him down and having him looking overhis shoulder even when nobody was there,
like he was seeing ghosts out there. Celtics are all too familiar, perhaps

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with the ghosts of the past settingthe expectations. Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce,
who's departure from from Boston to Brooklynset this night in motion ten years
ago. You're a fan. Tatumand Brown in the locker room with brown
cradle underneath Tatum's arms. Tatum downasedhis teammates with Champagne and both of them
bouncing up and down like middle schoolers, finally able to release up some pent

(20:27):
up emotion. I thought the Celticswere relentless on wavering dropped what three games
through the playoff run, and itfelt like the sky was falling, So
you know, I had congratulations tothem. Tatum said it was a surreal
feeling that hadn't really kicked in yet. He was just trying to enjoy the
moment. Last seven years, Ibeen a roller coaster up and down.

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I had to listen to all thebleep that people set about me and tonight
it was worth it. Oh mygod. Usually demure Tatum kind of how
old multiple times, while Brown stayedtrue to his demeanor but smiled pretty wide.
Brown said, We've thought a lot. We've been through a lot,

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through the losses, the expectations,the media have said all types of different
things. We can't play together,We're never gonna win. We hurt it
all. We just blocked it out. We just kept going. I trusted
him, he trusted me, andwe did it together. The duo you
couldn't trust became the ones who liftedeach other in the moments of strife.
And this endured because they endured,and that seems to be a necessary attribute
in today's NBA, despite the structurecalling for constant change. When Durant asked

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out of Brooklyn the first time,the Celtics were on his list of teams,
but to make a deal work meantsacrificing Brown, and they did not
do it, and it paid off. I think they knew what they had,
Jay Ruh Holliday said, they knewthat they had gold, and it
was a matter of time before asituation like this would have happened, where

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we'd get a ring and hopefully moreto come. It's no guarantee, but
if you look at recent champions,they all share an organizational stubbornness which sort
of sets an ethos sticking to theplan and being pliable in moments arise.
For the Denver Nuggets, it wasmaking sure Nicoll the Yokic had the right
pieces around him for the Golden StateWarriors, a dogged belief that Curry could

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lead with Clake Thompson and Draymond Greenas sidekicks for the Milwaukee Bucks, riding
the relentless energy of Jannis and tukompolI always murdered that last name, and
adding the right guy at the righttime in holiday, never buckling when the
calls for change became louder. TheCeltics had a little bit of all of
that, of course, in theirDNA, even if they don't possess a

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super nova, a singular talent thaterasist mistakes, but employee one of the
best six man rotations in the NBAhas got to count for something, and
leaning into the bath of the daysays, shooting more threes and defending at
a high level means you'll run awayand hide at the first moment of opposition
slippage. Hell true, it's beena Rubik's Cube for this franchise over the

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last several years, swapping out pointguards like Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker,
Morcus Smart now Holiday, bringing inthe often injured Christap Sportsingis this season,
knowing his medical chart and having itflare up, but being good enough to
a stand it, having Brad Stevensas a coach, and then unexpectedly going
to the front office hiring Imo Dookawho took him to the finals, but

(23:26):
those fired for interoffice misconduct. Andthen you have a young Missoula step in
weeks before last season began, andal Horford being a mainstay and then leaving
and then ge back again being ableat age thirty seven to kind of man
the middle. Until Monday, alHorford had played the most playoff games without

(23:47):
a title, and Brown and Tatumwere close to leading the dubious list of
teammates with extra years a playoff experienceon a ledger without a ring, but
those moments are now obviously evaporated asthe Celtics win. It wasn't quite Kevin
Garnett's anything as possible, but Tatum'slifting his son dous Up will live on,

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I think in Celtic's low forever.When then general manager Danny Ainges shipped
Garnet and Pierced to Brooklyn, oneof the pieces he received in return was
the draft capital to select Brown backin twenty sixteen, then Tatum a year
later thanks to some more draft KnightThievery and so those two cheat those two

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teams are sort of transactionally bonded together. I think in a certain way.
Whether or not the Celtics are ableto repeat will remain to be seen.
We'll keep an eye on that obviouslynext year. Conversely, on the other
side, and under heartbreak, theMavericks made it to the finals by showing
their muscles only to fade with awhimper against the Boston Celtics showed very little

(24:56):
fight in the NBA Finals process finalslaw us will undoubtedly sit firmly on the
team's mind for the rest of thesummer. But there are positive takeaways from
the season, you know, winningthe West in a year where the field
of competitors was one of the strongestin years, Dallas sohai team led by
Doncic and Irving could fare with moretime together, and the MAVs found a

(25:17):
playing style that seems sustainable for atleast the next few years. After Dallas
acquired PJ. Washington and Daniel Gaffordat the trade deadline, the franchise started
playing a new brand of physical bullyball, punishing teams inside on the glass
while providing Doncicic with more passing targets. Formula very obviously needs some tweaking for
future seasons, but it's a blueprintthat brought them together further than ever in

(25:41):
the Don Cicic era. I thinkthere's plenty of reason to run it back.
Mavericks did see multiple role players witherAway in the finals, Josh Green,
Maxic Kleeber, Tim Hordaway Junior notmaking strong cases for themselves to the
future. All three are under contractfor next season, accounting for over thirty
nine million, and it's reasonable towonder if any of them return next season

(26:02):
or if they'll be moved in theoffseason. The Mavericks are sort of on
the clock. I guess they don'twant to make this a one off experience,
and that means identifying new role playerswho fit the makeup of the team
better and understand how to optimize themselvesnext to both Duncicic and Irving for next
season. While Irving still has someyears left in his prime, it's worth

(26:23):
mentioning he's thirty two, probably won'thave another five years left to make his
mark. If anything, his ageis an incentive to get things moving quickly,
which could signal an active summer forthe Mavericks. Three and D players
are what they need regardless of position, who are willing and capable of shooting
and immediately off the catch. Mavericksjust just they have too many timid players

(26:44):
who aren't ready to pull the triggerwhen they're open, and that's that's sort
of got a change. The Maverickshave the last pick in the draft after're
doing well. Last year they gotthe Derek Lively, so maybe an older,
more experienced player at the back ofthe round, Houston's Jamal Sheard or
Virginia's Reese Speakman, that might besomebody to look at. In terms of

(27:07):
the salary cap, they're a smidgebelow the first tax apron, so if
the MAVs want to give themselves somewiggle room pivoting off of Green cleeber Hardaway
in return for less salary could bea way to achieve that, although it's
unlikely all three are taken into capspace, so they're probably looking at taking
back smaller deals. A key freeagent, I think is Derek Jones Junior.

(27:29):
So we'll see if the MAVs areable to challenge again in a tough
West next year. In football Newestoday, the Comeback Player of the Year
criterion is going to emphasize overcoming injuryor illness. The Associated Press is clarifying
that the criterion for the NFL ComebackPlayer of the Year award to emphasize that

(27:53):
the winner should be a player whoovercame injury or illness, and not just
a player who followed a bad yearwith a good year. The spirit of
the AP Comeback Player of the Awardis to honor a player who has demonstrated
resilience in the face of adversity byovercoming illness, physical injury, or other
circumstances it led him to missing playingtime the previous season. Voters for the

(28:15):
award will be told as their guidancefor voting on the award, and that's
according to AP senior NFL writer RabMaddie, who oversees all pro and NFL
Awards voting, and he sought someinput of some of the AP voters,
including Carrie Williams and Pro Football TalksMike Florio before finalizing the new guidance for
the award. Changing the criteria ofthe war began to gain some momentum after

(28:40):
Geno Smith won Comeback Player of theYear in twenty twenty two. Smith play
well that year and after having beenmostly a backup the year before, but
he wasn't overcoming an injury or illness. Same could be said for Joe Flacco
this past year, who won theaward twenty twenty three, but was coming
back only from a career decline forthe twenty twenty four season. The new

(29:00):
guidance would seem to help the chancesof players like Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow,
cousins Santhia Richardson, or Nick Chubbto win the award after their injuries
last year. Russell Wilson, whowas benched here in Denver last year and
is the projected starter in Pittsburgh,would seem less likely to have a chance
at Comeback Player of the Year tothe new guidance, although to be honest,

(29:21):
I'm not sure that Russ shouldn't havebeen Comeback Player of the Year last
year. Even though he got benched, he was top five in the NFL
and you know in touchdowns at thetime his benching versus the year before underneath
Hackett where have been an abject disaster. So we'll find out if the twenty
twenty five NFL honors when Comeback Playerof the Year and other NFL awards are
announced the week before the Super Bowl. But now they're trying to provide some

(29:44):
clarity on how they want that comebackand what they're coming back from to sort
of be in other dudes. Hallof Famer wide receiver Michael Irvin revealed that
his his wife, Sandy, hasAlzheimer's. Michael and Sandy are about fifty
eight years old. Michael told ClarenceE. Hill of The Star Telegram that

(30:08):
Sandy has been suffering from the diseasefor five or six years and now requires
twenty four hour care and they havea living caretaker. Irvin said a text
to the Star Telegram quote, ifanyone has earned the right to stay in
our house, my wife has thatI shall honor no matter what it takes.
Michael and Sandy began dating when hewas playing college football at Miami.

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They got married in nineteen ninety,which was his second year in the NFL,
and will celebrate their thirty fourth anniversarythis month. According to the Alzheimer's
Association, younger onset Alzheimer's is muchless common, but the disease does strike
many people in their fifties and evenin their forties. Irvin played his entire
NFL career for the Cowboys, wasa first round draft pick in nineteen eighty

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eight and retired in nineteen ninety nine, winning three Super Bowl rings during his
time with the Dallas cow Boys,and we of course wish them well.
Our thoughts are with Irvin and hiswife, and we hope that with that
disease they are able to live theirlife as comfortably and as happy as possible.

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And here's hoping we find a curefor that devastating and debilitating injury,
well illness, not injury, overthe course of the next few years.
Speaking of the Cowboys, they aredoing a sponsorship deal with a slot machine
company, Jerry Jones, helping theone Arm Bandit pick his customers pockets.
As the Dallas Morning News is reportingthat the Cowboys have done a sponsorship deal

(31:38):
with Aristocrat Gaming. The slot machinecompany will have promotional materials throughout AT and
T Stadium and show in game adson the JumboTron during Cowboys games. While
slot machines aren't even legal in Texas. The goal will be to get fans
to make the short trip to Oklahomawhere NFL theme slot machineans are sitting there

(32:00):
waiting for them to play. Froma business perspective, the Cowboys proximity to
Oklahoma is really important to us.Chief marketing officer of Aristocrat, Mark Wadley
was quoted a lot of the fanbase that goes to win Star and other
casinos in Oklahoma come from Dallas,so the opportunity to communicate with them as
they are making their trip to thosecasinos is really important to us. Aristocrat

(32:22):
has partnered with a family of fourteams in the nfls not just the Cowboys,
the Raiders, Patriots, and Saintsare also partnered. It is believed
that the Texans spend roughly five billionthe Texans, not the Houston Texans.
Texans as in, residents of Texasspend roughly five billion per year on gambling

(32:44):
and neighboring states, along with eightbillion on illegal gambling in Texas. Amazingly,
Texas can't find a way to legalizegambling and take a major cut of
the money casinos and sports books inevitablywin from the people that play them.
That's one of those things I'll neverunderstand is sort of like with the legalized

(33:04):
marijuana things, State saw how muchmoney they were making and just chose not
to partake in that money, leavingtheir that revenue to go to other states.
Finally, Drake London says, KirkCousins is going to help me learn
the game on a bigger scale.Could Receiver Drake London has been solid in
his first two seasons, but hisproduction's sort of been limited by Atlantas spotty
quarterback play. That should change ina significant way with Kirk Cousins behind center

(33:29):
for twenty twenty four. In arecent interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio,
London says he's expecting Cousins to improvehis game, saying, I quote,
I will say it does feel differenthaving Kirk here. He's a veteran guy
who's been there now going through histhirteenth year, so learn from him is
a really cool thing. London cidedCousins attention to details a factor that's set
up a part at a tool thatshould aid him in getting better. The

(33:52):
quote, he does take that veryseriously, and then he's seen a lot
of pictures in his day playing football, so to be able to go out
there and key those help us seeit, it's a huge thing. I
think I've learned the most. Inthirty three games over the last two years,
London has caught one hundred and fortyone passes seventeen seventy one yards,
six touchdowns last year former number.Overall, I've caught fifty nine passes,

(34:13):
nine hunder five yards and only apair of touchdowns, which if you're me
and had him on your fantasy footballteam, well you were hoping for,
I guess a little bit more productivityout of him. So we'll see if
he's able to get that this year. With Kirk Cousins at the Helm.
You're listening to Broncos Country tonight righthere on KAWA eight fifty am ninety four

(34:35):
point one locally here in Denver,News Talk Sports