6-14-24 Hour 3

Albany Firebirds broadcaster Andrew Santillo
Albany Firebirds head coach Damon Ware
"AFL" expert, MLB insider and Locked on Guardians podcast host Justin Lada 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It's Levak and guys on ninety fivenine Fox Sports Radio. We are joined
by, you know, the responsiblemember of the Albany Firebirds broadcast team,
Andrew Santillo, the guy I cancount on for games. Uh, and
I'm very excited for end here.And you've you've been doing the call for
us for a while, whether itwas the Empire or the Firebirds. I'll

(00:22):
just start with this and then I'lllet the irresponsible member of your broadcast team
ask questions. Andrew, what whatdo you see in this? I feel
like this is the most special groupwe've elvery put together. What do you
think? I mean, I thinkthis is, you know, first of
all, thanks a guys, guysfor having me. You know, I
think this is, you know,an outstanding group that's been put together by
Damon Ware. You know you oftenoftentimes refer to him as the professor,

(00:48):
the general manager. I mean,he's really done a tremendous job kind of
putting this team together, you knowfor iron man type football, even though
the rules kind of changed a fewweeks back. You know, this this
group seems to have all of theweapons. I mean, they've been able
to win close games, They've beendown in games. You know, the
first game of the season against Orlando, Who's who they'll play this weekend,

(01:11):
they didn't lead until the last playof the game in overtime. I mean,
they've dealt with their fair share ofadversity. There's been injuries. I
mean, I think, I guessI would have to agree with you.
I mean, there's been some prettygood teams that have come through the last
handful of years. I mean,a couple of championship teams in twenty one
and twenty two. But this seemslike a group that maybe hasn't even hit

(01:33):
its stride yet and is seven tozero and just continues to play outstanding football.
Yes, yes, all these thingsare I feel bad because I'm leaving
Andrew. I'm leaving them this weekend. For those who don't know, I
have a wedding this weekend. I'mthe best man in a wedding. My
buddy Darren and his wife test aregonna get married. So I have friends.
Man, I can't Brian Manriano theCloser, really living up to his

(01:57):
nickname, is going to be doingcolor commentary with Andrew this weekend, and
you can want the broadcast live onYouTube on the Almedy Firebirds channel. But
we hope that you can go outto MVP area with kickoff set for seven
o'clock in this matchup. Uh levecwe can do this because there's a little
awkward feel this. You're supposed tobe done. It's a Friday, So
coach Ware is gonna join us inabout fifteen minutes. But these questions I'm

(02:19):
gonna ask, I feel like mightannoy you as the team press. Ye,
it's kind of weird for being Hey, Andrew, what's our weakness?
I can't like. That just doesn'twork for me. So I'm gonna go
get a coffee. I'm gonna excusegods will do some work for a change,
excuse Levac for this interview. Toavoid any more awkwardness of this interview.
So and now it's just me andyou in the Catholic region talking about
this team. Aren't they the huntedteam? Now, Like, there's been

(02:39):
a lot of close games, andyou and I have covered some of these
where it's a play goes in theopposite direction. West Texas is gonna win
the game, but play goes inthe opposite direction. Orlando wins that game.
It feels as if we already knewgoing into the season the Firebirds we're
gonna get eybody's best test, buteven more so now with so many close
victories, it feels like at onepoint this is gonna break the other way

(03:00):
and someone's gonna clip this team andpull the upset. Yeah, no doubt.
I mean I think you know,three of the wins that the Firebirds
have had have been by a combinedseven points. You know, I mentioned
the Orlando game that they didn't leadthe entire regulation, they won the game
in overtime. That seemed like certainlya game they could have lost. A
couple This most recent game against WestTexas, they had a huge lead.

(03:23):
You know, West Texas comes backand then you know they're able to win
in overtime. So you've got twoovertime wins. Then you've got the West
Texas game in Albany about a monthago, where they had a furious comeback
and scored eleven points in the lasteleven seconds. So is there's probably one
of the greatest comebacks you know thatArena football has ever seen. You know,

(03:45):
with the four point play, Andagain that goes back to coach where
knowing the playbook and inside and out, and but yeah, I think these
this team is seven and zero,but they certainly could be five and two
or six and one. And andthe fact that they've run into some advert
city I think is actually going tohelp them in the long run, because
you know, they they've been downin games, right. I mean sometimes
when you're seven and oh and youhaven't been tested. Then you get in

(04:09):
the playoffs or you're getting the postyou know, late season game and and
you've met a little bit of adversityand you don't respond. But coach Where,
to his credit from week one,has basically said the way that these
guys have handled adversity, and that'syou know, with the veterans that this
team has, that's obviously no surprise. But when you're down, you know,

(04:29):
twenty points at halftime in the seasonopening game against Orlando, you know,
to come back and win that gameand then just to continue moving along,
you know, whether it be onthe road, whatever adversity you find
yourself in. You know, it'sjust a credit to this group of players
and the way they've kind of youknow, dug out and basically played every
game as if it's the scoreboard doesn'treally matter. You know, and it's

(04:54):
just it doesn't really matter who's outthere on the field. I mean a
few you know, about a monthago against against so off West Kansas,
you know the most of this,I say, the starters, but a
lot of the premier players. You'reJake Medlockedarius Prince only played the first half
because there's a big lead. Wellguess what happened. Evan Lewandowski comes in.
He throws four touchdowns in the secondhalf. So not only that,

(05:15):
I mean there's really no drop off. And that game was kind of the
coming out party for Darien Townsend,who has really emerged as a receiving threat.
So you know, this team justcontinues to kind of impress me and
the fact that it just feels likethey're gonna win, right, some teams
just have that feeling like this team'sgonna win. These guys know how to
win, and this is a groupthat kind of epitomizes that. You're thinking,

(05:38):
Okay, they're down eleven points upto West Texas about a month ago,
as I said, and they somehowjust win the game. I mean,
it just it's incredible what this teamhas been able to do. And
it kind of goes back to youknow, back to those championship teams in
twenty twenty two and twenty twenty one. If you look back in the last
three years where Albany has completed theseason, and obviously this season isn't complete,

(06:00):
but we anticipate it will. TheAlbany Football Indoor Arena football team is
twenty six and five with two titles. I mean, that's eighty four percent
win percentage. So you know,a lot of these guys have been a
part of those teams, whether itbe back to twenty one, back to
nineteen when they were you know,when they were in the AFL the most
recent time before this year. SoI mean, this is a group that

(06:23):
you know is really experienced and knowswinning. And sometimes, you know,
you could have two talented groups andif one team just knows how to win,
that's usually what makes the difference inthese close games late in the season.
He is one half of the voiceof the Albany Firebirds broadcast team Anderson
until it joints again. Kick offset for tomorrow inside MVP Arena as the

(06:44):
Firebirds finish off their regular season homeslate of games. You mentioned a lot
of players there from Darius Prince toJake Bedlock and more and how the rosters
and how the rules have changed andAFL fans have had to go through the
adjustment. Let's go through this.And I'm not sure how often you are
on so media over the course ofthe last week plus with the news of
Malika Henry getting signed by the AlbanyFirebers, No Metlock's there, Lewandowski Henry

(07:09):
again, you're not coach ware.I feel bad because coach were scheduled to
Jode the next ten minutes, sohe probably would have been able to answer
this better than you as he getsclose to kickoff. But we'll ask this
instead. When you saw and heardthe news of Malik Henry, your initial
reaction was what I mean, Ithink you know, I guess maybe surprised
a little bit, but that's onlybecause of the way that Jake Medlock has

(07:31):
played. You can never have toomany good players, right. We always
analyze the quarterback position and overanalyze it, right because only one quarterback is out
there on the field. And theold saying is, if you you know
you have two quarterbacks, you havezero quarterbacks because you know that's a position
where stability is really key, andyou know you need a guy who basically

(07:53):
can just you know, keep theflow moving. And when you look at
what Jake Medlock's done this year,you know, why would you need to
bring somebody in, right, Soyou look at it from that standpoint,
Dake Medlock's thrown for over twelve hundredyards in the six games, you know,
obviously the one forfeit. He's gotthirty three total touchdowns. So you
know, from that standpoint, whydo you have to bring somebody in.

(08:15):
Well, at the same time,you know, Malie Henry was going to
be the quarterback that we thought allbut he was going to bring into the
season because he signed, you know, initially with the with the Firebirds and
then ended up taking another opportunity withthe CFL, you know, in this
past or this January, and that'swhen kind of coach where had to look

(08:37):
elsewhere and bring somebody else into thefold, And that's when when Jake Medlock
came in. But so I guessI'm not surprised because Henry was here.
Well when I say here, hewas signed with the Firebirds, So I'm
not surprised from that standpoint. Butyou know, all credits of what Jake
Medlock's been able to do. Imean, this thirty two year old quarterback
who hadn't played since twenty nineteen.I would say, you know, is

(08:58):
playing it MVP type level through thefirst better part half plus of the season.
Again, thirty three touchdowns, youknow, twelve hundred yards and his
season takes a toll on you.You know, the wear and tear of
this season. You know, it'sit's never a bad thing to have a
lot of good players on your roster. You know, we've seen what Evan

(09:22):
Lewandowski has been able to do inone half of football. He looked excellent
eight of ten one hundred and fiftyyards and four touchdowns in that game against
Southwest Kansas. But a guy bringingback, a guy like Malik Henry,
who has had a lot of successin the indoor football world in the arena
football world, you know, Iguess doesn't surprise me. It'll be interesting
though, to see how coach wherenavigates these last few weeks and then goes

(09:46):
into the postseason and who is thequarterback. I mean to me, Medlock
has certainly done everything to win thejob and to keep the job, and
he's playing, as I said,at an MVP level. But you know,
this again is a roster where oneplay happens, Medlock gets injured,
someone else gets injured, you know, so having you know, some insurance

(10:07):
there at that position especially is certainlyimportant. It's year four with you and
I working together, and I lovethat sometimes our minds are thinking the same
things when it comes to storylines orprojections or how the season may play out.
Because in that answer you had there, you drop the famous word that
media members like you and I liketo talk about MVP. And then when
you're the best quarterback of the bestteam, you're more than likely going to

(10:28):
get those MVP potential considerations and votes. And by the way, Levac,
I don't know if you could stillhear us somewhere. We would like to
be the selected media members this year, one of us, Andrew or I
to maybe offer up some votes forthe injury back. Do you know who
votes for the end of the seasonawards that still coaches and executives or media
members like us get't vote. That'sa question for Gary Compton, the new

(10:48):
head of football operations for Lease.Well, I'd like to say is a
very good looking person. He's veryin shape. Andrew and I have always
been fans of mister compon, butit feels like the next two weeks if
Jake Bedlock, for whatever reason,isn't the starting quarterback. I just got
a test from Ben our media guy. Yeah, uh, what kind of
loser chooses going to a wedding overan undefeated ALBNY Firebirds season. That's not

(11:11):
nice, That's not Is Darius Princethe MVP if he plays well here the
next two weeks, Andrew, ifyou had to reveal your vote and ignore
Ben Nelson, Yeah, well,I think you know, Prince is,
you know, unquestionably, I thinkthe best receiver in Arena football. You
know, thirty four years old,but he hasn't lost a step. Fifty
two receptions, sixteen touchdowns this year. I mean, this guy just puts

(11:35):
up video game numbers. And Ithink I said on the broadcast a few
weeks ago, you know, Ithink we've just kind of come to take
this for granted, this type ofyou know, performance from a guy like
Darius Prince. I mean, thisguy catches everything. I mean there was
a picture in one of the localnewspapers a few weeks back of him catching

(11:56):
a one handed touchdown. I mean, he just makes it look so easy,
and he's got to make a quarterbacksjob that much, you know,
that much easier because of the wayhe plays this game. I mean,
coach Where said it a couple ofweeks ago. He's the toughest receiver in
the game right now in the arenagame, and no one attacks the ball
like he does. And it's justtrue. I mean, Darius Prince is

(12:18):
open even if he's not open.And the problem is sometimes he's actually open
and he just makes highlight real playsand when he's you know, he's a
guy. You know, we talkedabout winners, right and just guys who
have that innert, you know,ability to win games. And it doesn't
matter if they catch five balls orone hundred ball. You know, it's

(12:39):
he He does the little things right. He you know, when when Ironman
Football was was going, he wantedto cover the other team's best receiver and
you know, when the team's down, he wants to return kicks and he
he just wants to do everything hecan to make this team a winner.
And it just shows on the field. And I'm you know, I'm impressed

(13:00):
by him every single time we areable to watch him go out there and
play and again, this is whyI said it. You know, at
thirty four years old, you knowhow many more seasons does he have left?
So I would say all many fanscome out to the MVP Arena for
this game and for postseason. Imean, you know, again, this
guy puts up one thousand yard seasons. You know, Hunt, you know,

(13:22):
the last full season he played inAlbany, one hundred and one catches,
thirty nine touchdowns. I'm looking atthe stats right here, over thirteen
hundred yards. That was in twentytwo. He's on pace to go over
one thousand yards again here you know, as I said, closing in on
twenty touchdowns in just six games.The guy just does all of the little
things. And then he's a greatleader, right I mean you talk to

(13:46):
you know, Levac and the ownersof this team and coach where and he's
even better guy off of the field. So you know, it's it's hard
to say enough good things about DariusPrince, but you know, he's just
an outstanding receiver. And again hemakes makes you, you know, he
makes you in awe of the thingshe can do on the football field and
what he's able to do for aguy who's really not that big, right,

(14:07):
I mean he's listed at six one, two hundred pounds. He's not
a big guy. And he justis able to do some incredible things out
there. He's a heck of aleader. He's I've seen him grow as
a leader too. It's it's impressive. And you know, coach where and
and Darius will tell you that becausehe didn't play college football. He played
college basketball. He's a very youngthirty four. He hasn't taken the beating.

(14:30):
He hasn't taken the beating, right, and and and somebody whose blood
type is a gave. I mean, it's it's impressive what he can do.
He's he he's just well, he'sit's a young thirty four, lac
am I not a young thirty four. No, you're not. I mean
physically speaking, can you do anyof the things he can do. You

(14:50):
can't even you can't even straighten yourfingers. No, He's like, yeah,
Andrew, you're dead on. He'she's great. Like I've When I
first first met him, he waswith Philladelphia, and I think he was
that guy who will go up tothe quarterback like I was open. Now
he's the guy who's with the quarterbackand goes, great play by the way,
I was open, But no,tell what a what a You know

(15:15):
I can count on him, Ireally can. That's you know, he's
the Darius Prince of our broadcast booth. Then there you go. Thank you
for doing this. Have fun withcloser. You guys do great. Good
luck to Bow the crew. Youguys do a fantastic quiet down Aaron Rodgers
of our broadcast team. All right, good bye, Andrew, have fun
tomorrow. Man. I really,I really do look forward to this,
and again, if I could justsay, I mean people really should come
out to this game, I meanagain, Orlando the opponent, and you

(15:37):
know we've had a lot of goodgames against Orlando. Two of the last
three games this season will be againstOrlando, So this should be a fun
one and I'm really looking forward toit. That's Orlando team i've seen since
ninety nine. In my humble opinion, they're really good, really really good.
Andrew, appreciate it. Man.We'll talk again soon and hopefully for
the postseason when we see what thatschedule looks like a little bit. You
and I will get back together.Andrew, Andrew you Saturday, Andrew,

(16:00):
good pie. You know, Ithought I was gonna enjoy having you on
a Friday show. Usually you're anenervp arena. I don't know if I've
enjoying this as much as I thoughtI would. Well wait till tomorrow.
Oh wait, you won't be here, you know. Uh, Coach Whar's
joining us at about five minutes.I love Coach where he'll be there,
he'll be He'll be hope, thepresident accounted for as always, he lives

(16:23):
for the game. Uh, youknow, I I was just talking to
one of our one of our teamowners will also be there, Andy Gelcher,
who is also the man over atMohawks Chevrolet. Togethers's driving mawkchev where
they always go out of the wayto please you, and the the selection
and everything. I think one ofthe reasons that you get the amazing selection
that you have at Mowawks Chevrolet.If you haven't gone and driven a lot

(16:45):
or walked a lot, you're you'rejust not seeing it. It's amazing how
many vehicles they have there. It'samazing the selection and the fact that they
are the uh, the only certifiedGM dealer to be to have the the
rights to carb Bravo in this market. I mean like he's he gets all
that because he does such a bigjob for GM as a whole. Like

(17:06):
I'll talk I'll be talking to Andyin person Saturday and then Sunday morning,
I'll call him and be like,what do you need I'm in Michigan,
Like you know what I mean.He's like like General Motors loves him,
Chevy loves him. He's and whathe does for this community is amazing.
And that trickles right through the entiredealership at Mohawks Chevrolet. When you got
Andy Gelcher and Jeff Herron at thetop, you got General Manager Travis Horne,

(17:29):
Assistant GM Katie Duncan, and itjust the great people all the way
through that building. It's the perfectplace to get your new vehicle, whether
you're looking for pre owned, brandnew truck car, SUV, maybe not
even a Chevy Car. Bravo.Mohawk Chevrolet is the place financing is gonna
be there to help you through thewhole process. It's amazing. It's my
favorite place to go and just likedrool over cars and what do you see

(17:53):
what the upgrades that are coming forScar Joe, my beloved Silverado, my
black Widow. She's about she aboutto be the meanest thing on the road.
I can tell you that right now. But you oh it yourself.
You're looking for a vehicle. Youdon't love what you're driving. You gotta
go to MALWK Chevrolet. Actually twelveoff the North Way together, let's driving
MAALLK Chevy. But they always broughtother way to please you. The Man,
the myth, the legend, theProfessor, the general manager, head

(18:15):
coach of your Albany Firebirds, DamonWare joins us next on Fox Sports Radio
ninety five nine and nine eighty guyson the Voice of the Capitol Regions Sports
Fan Fox Sports ninety five nine andnine eighty joined now by the head coach,
general manager of the Professor himself atDamon Aware and uh, coach,
I'm gonna I'm taking off the teampresident hat and I'm putting on the fan

(18:37):
radio host hat real quick. Youguys just don't like to win, easy
man. You know, at theend of the day, I don't care
if we win by point zero zeroone points. The winners of win and
I just don't care the way weplay and the way we close games out.
I don't care if we're blowing teamsout. I'll leave that for other
people to worry about. All Icare about is that we get wins.

(18:59):
And we've done that. And youknow, again, we've got the toughest
schedule in the league by far,and so all these are our juggernaut games
and so we're battle tested, we'reready. You know, we clinch the
playoff spot, obviously, so we'reexcited about that. It's obviously, you
know, one of the goals haschecked off is that we're in the second
Dance and the rest of that stuffdoesn't matter us. We just care about

(19:21):
winning. And you know, someof these games have probably taken five years
off of my life, but that'sokay as long as we keep winning.
As we get deeper and deeper intothe regular season, what's the most challenging
part for you as both the coachand the GM. Is it coming up
with new plays as you played teamsmultiple times? Is it adjusting the roster?
Is it a little bit of everything? Keeping guys fresh, take us

(19:41):
through the challenges of a head coach. Is to get deeper and deeper into
a season, I mean, it'sall that. It's you know, this
has been a weird schedule just becausewe were supposed to be on NFL Network
and playing these short weeks. Thoseshort weeks put takes a toll on your
body, so it's getting ready forgames and short week it takes a ton

(20:02):
of time to prepare yourself for goodopponents, which we've had all of So
all of these things are tough.Keeping the roster intact, it's keeping everybody
healthy, it's making adjustments to theroster as you need to, and with
injuries. All these things play ahuge part through the course of the season.
And like I said, when youdon't get a lot of time off
and you play a lot of weirdweeks, it's it's been challenging. But

(20:25):
I think we've done a great job. Our organization does a great job of
just keeping everybody in the moment,and our team's been staying in the moment,
and that's all we care about.And we'll we'll go through any challenges
that we need to to get tothe other side and ultimately bring another ring
in a championship to the Capitol Region. Coach davinwhare with us right now on
Fox Sports Radio ninety five. Youknow, dare I say a breakout game

(20:48):
for the offense. We've had We'vehad good games with the offense and especially
Mark Rosco with the with the kicksjust amazing. Like you got to,
you know, say what you willabout how everything goes down. The fact
you've put seventy three points of boardagainst a very a very tough West Texas
team, you gotta feel real goodabout that. Yeah, we uh,
you know, we had a coupleof tough offensive games, but those are

(21:08):
part of the ebbs and flows,and it's really tough when you when you
play such a hard schedule. Andyou know, I've said it to the
to the league obviously we'll take onanybody that they want to put on our
schedule, and I I just whichultimately that that everybody had to go through
the same challenges. But uh,you know, right now we're just fighting
for a playoff spot. We're youknow, we're fighting to be the team

(21:30):
that we want to be in excutingdown the seats the stretch and you know,
it's been a it's been a toughseason and uh you know, but
like I said, our guys arestaying in a moment. We got a
bunch of great kids, We're havinga good time and uh, you know,
this is a tougher part of theseason with with just all the road
games we've got as well, sothere's a lot playing against us right now.
But uh, ultimately we're excited forOrlando to come in. We had
a great game with them the firsttime around, and and we just want

(21:52):
to execute better obviously, both offensivelyand defensively. Our special team has been
doing a pretty solid job and justwant to keep improved. The name of
the game is play your best footballthe end of the season and getting ready
for the playoffs. You're listed onthe iHeart, but maybe in across the
Capitol Region ninety five nine to nineeighty one, O three to one,
sh HD two the podcast side usuallycoach joins us on a Wednesday's joining us

(22:12):
on a Friday now, and don'tforget block University back to its regular time
at nine o'clock Fox Sports ninety fivenine and ninet eighty. I bring that
up because Coach, I'm not sureif you've had the opportunity to see some
of the local coverage involving Firebird fansand the flock and the coverage they got
over the week, take us throughif you've had an opportunity to see that
coverage and what it means to seethat of support throughout the season from the

(22:34):
local community and fans. Yeah,I saw the article this morning on flock
support and just all that they dofor our guys, and it's just a
great thing. I mean, youknow, these kids leave their homes and
some of them have ever been awayfrom home and they come to these you
know, in different cities that they'venever been and get thrown right into the

(22:57):
fire, right into training camp andthey don't really have a moment's piece and
so obviously, you know, again, anything that we can do for our
guys to make them feel better,make them feel more at home, obviously
we want to do. And sowe've got a great support system here in
the Capital region. WAT Sports donea wonderful job. They helped it to

(23:17):
try out, They've helped with anything, anything that we've asked them to be
a part of, they've been happyto do so and so absolutely happy to
have those guys on board. It'sit's another part of a great organization and
the championship Vine. Then, Coach, when you were talking about you know,
how you get banged up and youknow, in the beginning of the
year, we're like oh, it'sa ten game sprint. But you were

(23:37):
I remember your voice being very clear, like, we need to have special
things in place to make sure theseguys get through this year. How are
we health wise? Anything we cantalk about, and how do you keep
everybody upright and moving? Yeah,like I said, we've gone through a
tough stretch of games, so justbeing beat up, the regular beat up,
you know, bumps and bruises andscrapes and scratches and birds, you

(24:00):
know, those basic things. Andthen you know, we've had a little
more of the mild injury types.And so you know that's a good thing
about us is you know, wehave a twenty four man roster and so
you know, all twenty four playersof ours could start for anybody. And
so the great part about us iswe can really rotate those three guys that
don't playing games and give guys breaks. And so that's how I've managed,

(24:22):
you know, our roster is justyou know, hey, guys that gets
that are banged and bruised and needsome time off again, I'll push them
on and let them take a breaka week while I play somebody else.
And we've been really successful with that. So we've We've ran with a lot
of different lineups this year ultimately forthe game, and it's been an exciting
time and you know, we wereable to manage it pretty well. So

(24:42):
you know, when you have reallygood players, obviously, you know all
twenty four of those guys by totalmed at the beginning, All twenty four
of you will matter. All twentyfour of you guys are going to be
important to us winning. And nowthat they've seen it, you know,
everybody's ready to go at every time. And that's just it's a fun thing
to watch this guy step up,play in big games and make place for

(25:04):
us. So it's been an excitingseason. It can always be tough to
reflect on have pride of things you'reaccomplishing during the season while you're actually in
the season. Usually that's postseason.He can look back and say, look
what we've done in twenty twenty four. But we've touched on the victories,
the support locally, the continued improvementfrom players out on the turf and making

(25:25):
place. One thing we really haven'ttouched on a lot is really how fresh
and new year coaching staff is now. These are guys who have opportunities in
the past and playing, but coachI think maybe another sense of pride this
season is watching the development of coachHollis and coach Cesay and others. Take
us through what you've seen through thegrowth of your coaching staff, and how
much pride you've already felt. Andthese guys developing his coaches in a year

(25:45):
one in their careers. Yeah,I you know, they were handticked for
the job. And you know Iwouldn't hired him if I didn't believe they
could get the job done. Andyou know the thing about being a young
coach, and I went through it, well, it's it really comes down
to who's your first mentor. Yourfirst mentor is either going to make your

(26:06):
job way harder or make your jobway easier and teach you a whole bunch.
And I take pride in helping youngercoaches. You know, that's why
we have our internship program and alwaysbring in young in terms and try to
help them, you know, getto pay jobs and those kinds of things.
And so you know, we've gotsome great smart kids and some guys
that obviously played a long time thereyou know again top nobile talent, and

(26:27):
so you've got that now you justget you know, coaching is a different
animal though it's not the same asplaying. It's you know, people always
talk about, you know, anybodythat played can make a good coach.
It really isn't like that. It'syou have to you have to like some
very indifferent things. And you know, again, you've got to want to
go through the grind. And that'snot something that the players that used to

(26:47):
do, you used to doing ita certain way at a certain time,
and doing it as a coaching way, it's I mean, it's really it's
it's doing it all day, everyday, seven days a week, being
there for you guys. And soyou know, I've been able to help
manage, you know, that processwith these guys and teach them, you
know, the best way to dothings and and how to process things and
all those things. And so Itake really good pride in madam. So

(27:07):
uh, you know, you alwayswant to leave that legacy on when it's
my time where I can sit backwhen I'm retired and watch, you know,
these young guys out there coaching anddoing their thing. That'll be an
exciting time and both these kids willwill definitely make great coaches. And when
that time comes, coach, there'llbe a lot more golf in your future.
Whenever that day of retirement comes,you can spend more time on the
links, which, by the way, just this conversation, hearing your voice

(27:29):
and hearing you go through a lotof these things, you seem a lot
more common, relaxed. I knowyou're not a yeller screamer like other coaches
in football in comparison to earlier.You don't want to hear it. I
don't want to hear it because Iheard some of the you know what lo
hact. Credit to you for makingsure coach didn't get fined over some officiating.
More this seems more on character forcoach. About what you're smiling at
me. You did a good job. Coaches fired last week that I I

(27:55):
didn't know what to do. Iwas fired up. Yeah. I won't
even go back to id me andwant to remember that time. But we're
here in the Capitol region. Thisis our last regular season home game before
the playoffs. We want to packthe house. We want to get ten
thousand people in the doors to cheerthis on. It's going to be another
great football game. If you haven'tbeen out, you've missed a bunch of

(28:17):
exciting games. Every game we playedhas been exciting, it's been fun,
Our atmosphere has been wonderful, andobviously we're a Saturday town, so this
is only our second Saturday game.So we want to get everybody out there
and really just showcase you guys asfans. We want you to feel special
and feel like you know this isyour team. And so get your tickets,
get on out, come and seethis last home game before the playoffs,

(28:37):
and you know, let's have agreat time. Black party, be
outside. Weather it's supposed to benice. I mean, it's going to
be a great time. So getall your family, friends, you know,
any people you don't know, getthem out to the game. Let's
have a good time, and let'scelebrate having a great football team to get
in the Capitol. Coach, Ilove everything. Just one more before we
before we let you go. Ithink the biggest selling point for me on
this game in particular is every everyteam seemed to try to find a way

(29:02):
to avoid coming to Albany. Orlandoraise their hand, What does what does
that mean to you? I mean, obviously there are rivals, but they're
willing to come back up here inplace again. What does that mean to
you? Yeah, Like I saidthis leading into the season, there was
some rivalry. There was just someunfinished emotional business that needed to be tended
to. But at the end ofthe day, that game is over.

(29:23):
You know, I respect their headcoach, I respect plenty of the people
that play on their roster. Uh, you know, that's die down.
I think we just needed to havethat that first game. It was the
perfect game for the perfect time.But so, like I said, they're
a good football team. They're comingin. You know, they've been sitting
around for a couple of weeks,so I know they're gonna have fresh legs

(29:44):
and come out and give us theirbest. But you know, I do
appreciate them. You know, therewas a lot of teams that were ducking
us, and they actually were like, hey, we'll take it. I
can't respect them anymore at this moment, and so we're excited they're coming up.
You know, like I said,we're gonn to be gracious host and
let the game speak for itself.Love it. Yeah, I just I

(30:04):
think it's it's a good They're avery good team obviously, but the fact
that they're willing to come up hereand get in the ring with us when
no one else really seems to bewilling to do so. I have a
lot of respect for that as well, so but Coach, where obviously most
respect for you and the guys lovethis squad. Everybody who doesn't have tickets
yet doesn't isn't ready to go tothe I love New York block Party,

(30:26):
Transfinder field. It is going tobe a battle and we're gonna do I
just I can't wait to see whatyou put on the field for us.
Coach. Absolutely, don't be afun time. Just like I said,
get your tickets, gets your popcorn ready, don't be another exciting game.
And if you've missed any of ourhome games, you've missed super exciting
games. And I don't think thiswill be any different. You'll have a
great time again. I'm willing tobet people that if you come to a

(30:48):
game, you'll have a fun timeand and yeah, let's let's go.
And hey, I'm ready for somemore golf too. So winning helps me
take take an afternoon off early inthe week and play some golf. So
we just got to keep winning.That is his happy place. He is
the head coach, General manager Damonware Albany Firebirds coach. We appreciate you
as always and can't wait for Saturday'sgame. Alrighty, we'll see there,

(31:14):
backing guys on the Voice of theCapitol Regions sports fan Fox Sports ninety five
to nine and nine eighty On Fridaysfor home games for the Albany Firebirds,
it becomes the Arena Football League takeoverin the five o'clock hour. I mean
again Arena Football League AFL. Butsomehow, someway, this man is in
fil traded the hour he heard AFLand thought it was something else. He

(31:37):
is the host of Lockdown Guardians podcast. He's our Major League Baseball insider.
He's a friend of the show.Of course. Our guy Justin Ladda joins
us, are you happy you infiltratedthe AFL talk for the wrong abbreviations?
Though I won't be happy until ita full hour from Arizona, when I'm
in Arizona giving you play by playfrom an Arizona Fall League game. Although

(32:00):
it's kind of hot in the daythere, so I don't know. You've
accomplished half of your goal AFL coverage, just not at Arizona. Were slowly
crawling our way towards more Arizona FallLeague coverage. My goodness, let's talk.
Let's talk about the Yankees. Tolead this off, we'll talk more
American League, We'll talk more aboutthe But the Yankees have been on fire.
They're playing incredible baseball right now.What has made this New York Yankee

(32:24):
team so strong already a few weeksin the season, Well, I mean
they have them will survive with agood bulltime. We talked about this last
time, right the bullpen has beenfantastic for them overall. Able to survive
without Garrett Cole, that's been incrediblefor them. But I mean it's a
deep land. They take their walks. They're one of the best teams in

(32:44):
baseball in terms of patients and workingwalks. And when you can work pitchers
like that the way they do,it's incredibly deep. No, not a
lot of teams out there this yearpitching. Everyone's hurt into pitching. When
you're getting into teams bullpens early inthe game because your working counts, that's
going to do a lot of damage. Obviously, I've got a lot of
power. I mean, Carl Stan'snot hitting for a high average, He's

(33:07):
not getting on base, but obviouslyyou can hit a ton of home runs.
Aaron Judge has been great since Apriland then you know he got I
know one SODA's missed the last severalgames. He's been hurt. But you've
got the top of the order thatthat does the things that they can do,
like Vaulty and Stanton and Judge.It's very tough to deal with for
any pitcher. So that's why they'vebeen able to get where they have been

(33:29):
so far. And over the nextfew months the talk will be about what
the future of Juan Soto will be. It feels so unique just to baseball,
and even as a prepping to askthis question, it feels like it's
rooted wrong. But if one Sotoplays this consistently well when he's healthy,
is he almost working himself into onlyplaying for the Yankees? You know,
Naylor Sport, the more you play, the more bidders, the more recruiting

(33:51):
needle hand for your services. Butis there really anybody else going after Wan
Soto if he almost prices himself outthis high with this good of a season.
Yeah, it's the Yankees and theDodgers. I don't know. You
can't count the Dodgers out from doinganything. I mean, I know they've
they've got a deep team, andthey spent last year on Shootana, they
spent on Yoshiyamamoto, But I don'tknow. You just can't count them out.

(34:15):
They do a lot with the moneyover there. It's I would never
count them out. And even withtaxes in California, guys still signing there.
So I mean, I'm sure theywould love to have an outfield of
movie bets. You know, they'replaying shortstop this year. They don't have
a good outfield over there, tobe honest, So I would not count
them out. So the Yankees betterbe prepared to open the checkbook if they

(34:37):
want to keep or Juan Soto inNew York next year. You can't count
out the Dodgers when it comes tospending money and finding impact players across their
lineup. It feels like, now, can we count out the New York
Mets as a playoff contender? Foryou? Are the Mets completely out of
it now in the National League?Yeah? I mean, look, the

(34:59):
Phillies have taken off in the AlEast. They've got a huge cushion.
They're not as good as the Braves, even though the Braves struggled lately.
The Nationals have been really surprising,and I know the wild cards really open
in the NL. You know,you've got teams in the central that are
all hovering five hundred. Anybody whohas like one good week is essentially back
in the playoff picture or is evenin the driver's seats in that last wildcard

(35:22):
spot. I just don't see themthat's having the pitching to survive that at
this point. I mean, Sengahas been hurt all year, right,
he's not coming back. Probably ifhe does, then who knows what he's
really going to do. Their bestpitcher, you know, is probably a
trade asset. At Sevarino and Manaya. They want to trade those guys because
they're one year in rentals, andthen Tyler McGill is probably their best long

(35:45):
term guy honestly in that rotation atthis point. So yeah, they're better
off just just going out and sellingthe pieces they have. You know,
even if you trade Pete Anzo wetalked about this last time, you can
trade him that you can sign themto come back next year. I don't
know what the feelings will be ifthey do that, but you can sign
them next year. Even though I'mnot sure I love get the idea of
getting him a huge contract. Butyeah, their best assets are all guys

(36:06):
that are trade assets. I meanOttavino and Severino and and I Jad Martinez,
Peter Lonzol, all those guys.They not be there next year,
So no, I don't see themcoming back in this race. He is
our Major League Baseball insider Justin Landecan check out his work Cleveland Guardians locked
on podcasts. So at times Levaclikes messing with me, shocking for the

(36:27):
three hours and as long as we'vebeen together. But one of the things
that drives me crazy as power rankis especially you can get to the NFL
of what teams where because how peopleview the league can be so quick to
react. I say all that askingyou this question now as someone who covers
the Guardians, Let's look at thetop five in the American League, especially
off this series with Kansas City,where Kansas City look to be a contender,

(36:49):
but the Yankees have pounded the Royalsin the series. Top five.
Your take? Who are the bestfive teams in the American League right now?
In American League? I guess you'dhave to go with the Yankees because
they have the offense and again they'veplayed really well and they've survived without Garret
Cole and Ook say they're going toget him back. So I guess I

(37:12):
have to put the Yankees one.I put the Orioles too, They've got
I think the Oriols have the deepestteam in the American League. They've got
a good bullpen. They're going toadd to it. They've got I know
they've They've suffered a few injuries tothe rotation that are pretty devastating, but
they have the farm system to goout in trade for that. I think
they have the best farm system inthe American League. So that plays in
the meat for the power rankings becauseI think that's going to allow them to

(37:34):
dress any holes they have on thatteam. And then I guess after that,
I'd have to go with the Guardians. Yeah, I think the Guardians.
Again, starting pitching has been abit of a weakness for them,
but their offense finds a way.They've got the best bullpen I think in
the American League, maybe in allof baseball. So I think that's number
three, and then the Royals probablyare number four because they're starting pitching.

(37:57):
I know, it hasn't been greatin New York, but it's tough to
pitch that Yankee lineup, and it'stough to pitch in that stadium, as
you guys know, I'd still haveto go with them for number four.
I think they still have a lotof holes to address too. And then
oh, after that, it's hardto pick a fifth. I mean,
the Rangers have been kind of messy. The Mariners, I don't really know
if I believe in the Mariners atthe wrong term. It's a pretty clear

(38:17):
top four in the American League.I think you can make an argument for
a lot of teams at number five. I'm very interested about that fifth answer
there, especially out of the AmericanLeague West, because the West has the
defending World Series champions and the Rangers. The uh, the Mariners pitching has
been pretty good, at least itlooked really good against the Yankees in their
most recent series. Houston's done,like iss, Houston have no chance to

(38:38):
come back as the story finally endedfor the Astros. They've just lost so
much pitching. I mean, theyhave Verlander obviously, who's still really good,
but you know, they just losttwo guys to Tommy John last week.
They don't have a great farm system, so that it's gonna be harder
for them to go out and tradefor guys at the deadline. You know,

(38:59):
Kyle tok is coming back for them, I think soon. He's been
really good. But even despite that, their offense has really struggled. They've
they've had a hard time plugging guysin. I mean, first base has
been just an absolute zero for themthis year and they're still paying jose A
Brahu for for nothing. Bragman's gottenbetter lately, but I don't want to
say they're out of it because theAL West really is kind of the leakest

(39:20):
division this year. They're kind ofwhat we thought the AL Central should be.
Right, it was going to beI joke, I said, first
team to go five hundred and thenthe AL Central is going to win the
division, And now it looks likeyou might have two ninety one teams out
there. The AL West is messy. The Rangers should get Max Scherenzer back
and that that might help them aton. Their offense is underperformed. I
think there's a chance the Rangers getreally hot offensively and scare people, But

(39:45):
you know, only eight and ahalf games separate the Mariners and the Rangers
or the Astros from the third spot. So all it takes is going,
you know, six and two oneweek and or you know six and one
one week and you're back in therace. So yeah, I guess the
Astros aren't done, but it's goingto to be tough for them. One
thing I haven't factored in when itcomes to the American League playoff format,
it's still relatively new when we talkabout six teams coming from each league.

(40:07):
Now is that let's play this outfor your Guardians, your team. By
the way, is it weird thatwe still call the Guardians. I've known
you for so long and you've beensuch an Indians fan, it's Guardians.
You've accepted it now that's it's notthe Cleveland baseball team. Do you actually
still call them the Indians? I'veI've I think I've had one slip up
and like this is the third yearof the Guardians. Part of the one

(40:30):
I had, I've probably done aone once or twice. Honestly, No,
it's it's been pretty natural, andI think the most important part for
majority of people is they're still playingbaseball in Cleveland, So as long as
they're winning, I don't think peoplereally care. There you go, Okay,
so Cleveland, the Guardians are winning. So just from the format perspective,
if let's say the Yankees finish withthe best record in the American League,
let's say because they're the division winner, they'd be the two seed.

(40:51):
They'd be the second best record fora division. Let's say Baltimore finishes in
second, Baltimore would be in thatmix there for four or five basically in
that opening round of the playoff format. I bring all this up because there's
a scenario that could potentially play outwhere Cleveland, because of the bracket,
could be the representative in the ALCS, facing off against either New York or

(41:13):
Baltimore. Now, although you mighthave them ranked as three, they might
have the chance to punch their ticketto the World Series. So, as
you mentioned, you think Baltimore couldbe active because of the farm system,
it is the Yankees because of howmany trade deadlines in a row. If
we've seen the Yankees be active otherorganizations in the al Central, whether that's
the Minnesota Twins that have gone tothe posts and others have not gotten over

(41:35):
the hump, is it almost reactiveto, Hey, we know the Yankees
and Orioles are going to be veryaggressive. Does Cleveland just react to that
and potentially put that franchise in abetter spot when August and September, October
rolls around for Cleveland, I mean, they're never reactive to what other people
do. They're only very focused onwhat upgrades they can make and how they

(41:55):
can control things. So whatever theOrioles and Yankees do, or anybody else
in the American League for that matter, is unfortunately, it's not going to
impact them at all. They're sucha measured team in terms of how they
approach things to the deadline. Thelast year at the deadline, they were
I think a game or two out, and they still traded essentially the guy
who was their best starter, AaronSavali, to Tampa Bay. They traded

(42:17):
Josh Bell to Miami, and alot of people thought, why aren't they
adding their game or two out becausethat team never showed the ability to really
overcome their issues and didn't look likelegitimate contender. This year is very different.
They do look like legitimate contender.They had a great bullpen, the
offense has been a little deeper thisyear and they've survived without their Ace,
and they've got a couple of startingpitchers that are starting to emerge in the

(42:40):
rotation. So they're definitely going toadd, but I don't think they'll be
reactive in terms of what the Oriolesand Yankees do. And also they don't
have as deep a farm system asif the Orioles do. The MLB draft
will change that a little bit becauseI would say the first pick, but
I don't think they'll react that inthose things. They'll look to address the
holes on their roster, but they'renot going to blow up their farm system

(43:02):
and they're certainly not going to makea big swing just because the Yankees of
the Orioles do. See you said, Unfortunately, there's probably some people fist
pumping in their cars across the Capitolor regencying yes, Cleveland won't be active.
Good it makes it a little easierpotentially for the Bronx Bombers or even
if there's Oriel fans in the fivewhat eat they might have been excited about
that take by you. He isjust the land up. By the way.

(43:23):
Make sure to follow him on Twitterat x at Jail Underscore Baseball,
the co host of Lockdown Guardians podcast. He's doing all things when it comes
to Major League Baseball. Don't forgethe's got. Is that a mock draft
I see for the upcoming Major LeagueBaseball Draft later this summer. You've got
some prospect takes some more. I'vegot two mock drafts out now, working

(43:45):
on a third. Yeah, soI'll have another mock draft out before the
end of the month, or atleast the week leading up to the MLB
Draft next month. We're getting closerand closer. This is the Arena Football
League takeover on a Friday home game. It is not the years in a
fall league takeover, but he's somehowfound his way into this. Justin,
I appreciate you as always, myfriend. Next time we'll Evac will be
on this interview. Maybe we coulddo just eight minutes of Yankees and Arizona

(44:07):
fall league talk. But thank youfor doing this on a Friday. We
will bump into each other again soonand keep up the great work, my
friend. Thanks many. I'll talkto you from Arizona next time. No,
you won't. Goodbye, there hegoes our friend Justin Lanna, one
of our favorite people to have onthe show. He might now hold the
distinction. I coach Waers in themix. We've had a lot of players
from the Patroons in the Valley Cats, Matt Callahan and the fire Wolves.

(44:31):
Justin Lanta might be going for thetop most appearances on the Lufacing Guys Show.
Give him a follow at Jail UnderscoreBaseball. We always appreciate him.
What a packed show we've had today, guest wise Justin Lanne coach Damon Where
Andrew saying till Michael Trecaraco. Ifyou missed any of those interviews, check
it out on Apple Spotify at theiHeart app and do not forget Tomorrow the

(44:51):
Albany Firebirds are back in action atMVP. Are Wena go out and support
the team. Don't forget about FlockUniversity Aaron right here on Fox Sports ninety
five to nine and nine eighty nineo'clock the audio only version. If you've
missed it from this past week whenit aired on the Firebirds social media channels
levac enjoy yourself, have a greatday. Thank you for checking out early
Andrew Santillobrian Mario, I don't haveyou covered for the call on Saturday night.

(45:14):
We are back on Monday. Washyour hands, don't touch your face.
It's Fox Sports ninety five, ninenine eighty. I'll hit the button.