Coldplay Sounds The Same, Astros Better Have The Same Second Half

Wex, AC and Cole Thompson are back together and the Astros are back on the road with a chance to build their lead over Seattle in the AL. The boy also talk about the Coldplay Incident and evade conversations of college football despite Cole's pestering

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
You two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Raised my
Earl Nolan multed by the magnificent roller coaster ride that
is Houston Sports. Chill lge down for the only homegrown

(00:29):
afternoon team is Talking your Teams. Adam Clinton and Adam
Wexler are the A team.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
A two to one here in Houston, Texas.

Speaker 3 (00:55):
It is the A team Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (00:58):
We will begin the simulcast our now, but it's just
us radio guys for the first sixty minutes or so
of this program. Welcome into a Friday edition of the show. Now,
this time of year, Friday editions are my favorite editions
because it's the weekend. I will admit WEX that later
on in the fall when the football begins. Sometimes I

(01:18):
will never admit it, but sometimes Monday editions of the
program are my favorite. I know those are your favorite
year round because you're like, it's been two days without
working and talking about sports. Finally, that's WEX every single
Monday at two o'clock. But for me, this time of year,
Friday editions are the best because this Friday, this one,
this particular Friday, July eighteenth, twenty twenty five, the Astros

(01:42):
baseball schedule finally resumes. We are mere hours away from
the big dumper being handed as first l of the
proverbial second half, and I for one cannot wait to
see it happen tonight.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Late late, late out on the West Coast.

Speaker 5 (01:57):
He'll be catching Luis Castillo tonight, post All Star Break
opening starter for the Mariners. Astros will counter with Brandon Walter,
why because they can? I don't like that they did
have options, and we'll hear more about it. Joe Spotta
and assorted Astros will meet with the assorted media there

(02:18):
in Seattle and kind of give an explanation on maybe
why they decided to go Walter McCullers Valdez to kick
off the post All Star Break portion of their schedule.
Final final sixty six games of the season. Baseball for
Everybody returns today, all thirty teams in action a few
minutes from now. The post All Star breaks schedule actually

(02:38):
start with the Cubs and the Socks, so got something
to pay attention to, in addition to the rainy conditions
overseas for the guys with the flat stick and stroking
balls all over Ireland, which we will also keep an
eye on here.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
On day two at the Open, Kyle Tucker is already
leading Alex Bregman three nothing.

Speaker 3 (02:57):
It was a one star date. I just wanted to
put a given update. That's all. Thank you.

Speaker 5 (03:03):
So we got those two things on tap for us
a weekend where we're almost going to be into football
season while it is not football season here just yet.
With three more teams saying hello to their training campers
and reporters, that means Friday, Saturday, Sunday, well, we only
have to wait until Wednesday for practice for your Houston Texans.

(03:24):
The last few items that we can throw at you
as here's what you need to be looking for at
Houston Texans training camp over the next several weeks. The
three opponents they'll face, the two joint practices that they'll have,
the seven open practices that they'll have for their fans,
and for those of you that thought, yeah, go ahead,
I'll make the trip up to the Greenbrier for the
four practices they will have up there in advance of

(03:44):
their game against the Vikings. So lot on the Texans
agenda for us, in addition to kind of seeing how
other teams feel about them. The contracts that were handed
out this week and how they impact Houston and others
find it very interesting for the nineteenth consecutive offseason, the
Cowboys had a player that it would have made sense
to come to a contract extension agreement with, and they're

(04:08):
going to wait until everybody else at the position gets
a contract signed, so then they could be the ones
paying the most money for their player, which is almost
in place for Micah Parsons after the TJ. Watt deal
was agreed to yesterday forty one million dollars on average
annual value, though as an extension it's not what he's
getting on an average basis over the next four seasons
under which he's contracted for. Still have the Trey Hendrickson

(04:31):
situation also lingering out there, and while this may be
more money than either the Bengals or Cowboys wanted to spend, well,
when you wait for somebody else to spend their money first,
when you obviously have to work with that and the
agents get to work with that.

Speaker 3 (04:46):
If you had an.

Speaker 5 (04:48):
Agreement or close to it negotiating with Henderson and you
were gonna say, hey man, we're gonna give you thirty
eight million dollars a season, that's more than Daniel Hunter
just got I mean, this is an incredible deal, and
I really appreciate you finally coming around and giving me
what I'm worth. But just wait a minute and wait
a minute, and they probably never even got there anyway,
And now thirty eight is three million dollars less than TJ.

Speaker 6 (05:11):
Watt.

Speaker 5 (05:11):
So we'll see what the Bengals and Cowboys decide to
do on those respective fronts, and obviously focus a little
bit back on getting the baseball back. The Summer League
play for the Houston Rockets not quite over yet, but
it's been over since before it began. You got about
fifty some odd minutes from Reed Shepherd and really nothing
else of value from this Summer league session. Played their

(05:33):
fourth game yesterday or handed their fourth loss yesterday. Again,
they're playing with players who will not impact the Rockets
this year or maybe any NBA team any year. They
will get a fifth game. Everybody plays five games, their
four teams advance to what will be called the playoffs,
and everybody else plays a consolation game. There's will be
tomorrow afternoon, and then they will be away from each
other unless they decide to work out together until basically

(05:56):
they get together and go through their first training camp
with Kevin Durant old number seven, a Houston Rocket, old
number seven, old number seven.

Speaker 3 (06:07):
That's nobody's gonna call him that, and nobody ever has
called him that.

Speaker 5 (06:10):
Kevin Durant number seven as a Houston Rocket. All right,
I'll take that. Yeah. I saw a post of his
actually on Instagram or earlier way KD active on social media.

Speaker 4 (06:23):
I don't get out because I feel like, and I
could be wrong, I can't help himself.

Speaker 5 (06:28):
It's awesome. This is definitely gonna be a new segment
on the show. What did kat say today?

Speaker 3 (06:32):
Best of kt? It's unbelievable. Well, he usually.

Speaker 4 (06:36):
You're right, he is active, but typically, and again I
could be wrong on this, but I'm pretty sure that
this is kind of his mo Instagram. Yeah, but he's
still more of a X slash Twitter kind.

Speaker 5 (06:49):
Of guy because on X people say, hey, man, Katie
is a loser, and he doesn't stand for that. He
was like me three or four years ago, Hey Katie's
not as good. Hey, everybody hates Phoenix. C Bradley Beal
gave him deuces and Katie liked it. Wait what culture?
He did that just yesterday?

Speaker 4 (07:04):
Back in the day, I would be tweeting with some
idiot with two followers and I would get a text.
My phone would go off and it would be WEX,
what are you doing?

Speaker 6 (07:13):
So?

Speaker 3 (07:13):
What did you get hacked? Why? Why are you no?
You know who is me? Why are you going back
and forth with this person?

Speaker 5 (07:22):
I finally, I can't wait to see what the egg
says back to you.

Speaker 4 (07:26):
You know, I am the guy, maybe like KD and
many others before us, that you have to learn lessons
either the hard way or you more more likely you
have to be the one to make that determination.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
I'm done.

Speaker 4 (07:42):
It's i's got better things to do with my time.
It took me a few years, but I'm there. But yeah,
Kevin Durant on social media and I'll I'll go ahead
and put this out there. I won't name any names,
but I had conversations about this happening as far back
as before the trading deadline, but it was this last season.

(08:02):
I'm like, because you know, we've talked about this. I
thought this was going to happen all along some way,
shape or form, even at the times where I didn't
want it to happen. I'm back in the fold now.
I'm very on board pro Kevin Durant a member of
the Rockets because of what the deal was. But I
was just like, you know, you, this is gonna be awesome,
and more than one person was like.

Speaker 3 (08:21):
It will.

Speaker 4 (08:22):
But that aspect of his persona is going to be
something to at least deal with or keep an eye
on at the very very least. That stresses people out
in organizations you play for sometimes.

Speaker 5 (08:36):
I doubt it in this case though, he's not even
the person on the X platform that stresses this organization
out the most.

Speaker 4 (08:45):
Who is Torismo? Oh gosh, I totally forgot about that.
But that doesn't really count, does it. It's not a
member of the team.

Speaker 3 (08:53):
It's close.

Speaker 4 (08:54):
Well, she's not on the roster. Her last name is Yeah.
I said this last year. As they get better, that's
going to become more of whatever it's going to become,
like I.

Speaker 3 (09:08):
Want, I want.

Speaker 5 (09:09):
I want to say, it's going to become exactly what
it is currently.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
It's not the thing, you know how I know this?
Who else is mom?

Speaker 4 (09:18):
Very prominent because her baby boy is actually more way
more demonstrative than Tari Easton, but also one a lot
well her Draymond Green's mom was a thing.

Speaker 5 (09:31):
For a while there, I thought you were still talking
about the Rockets. There was a very prominent mom with
the Rockets not too long ago. No, the one who
was the agent for their best player, James Harden.

Speaker 3 (09:43):
That's what I said, Jimithy, Jimothy's mom.

Speaker 5 (09:46):
Don't think of James Harden as Jimothy. She was to
use Jimothy for somebody else.

Speaker 4 (09:50):
Jimithy she was. She wasn't on social media, and she
also was not negative in any way in that front.
That was all internal stuff.

Speaker 3 (09:58):
She was the anti uncle.

Speaker 5 (09:59):
Went to get games all the time like a regular fan.
It was perfectly saw.

Speaker 4 (10:02):
Sat on the baseline farthest from the Rockets bench. But
the iHeart media seats there you go.

Speaker 3 (10:07):
They're great.

Speaker 4 (10:08):
If you can never sit in them, I would highly
recommend them. Good luck with that, though we'll never get them.
We'll have to ask first yeah, and then you'll be
told no, you ever try to get seats to a
Rockets game with our seats, You ever already.

Speaker 3 (10:20):
Get to half of them?

Speaker 5 (10:22):
Good job, you're not sitting down there, though sometimes I
get to more. Well, I'm working.

Speaker 3 (10:26):
Our seats are good.

Speaker 5 (10:27):
I would love to broadcast the game from the iHeartRadio seats.

Speaker 4 (10:30):
I would love to broadcast the game from you know,
press row, but those are now half sold on fans.
There's no such thing. It's unbelievable. How did they get
that seat because they paid for it? Oh okay, So
you're saying that people paying us as opposed to us
paying them is a better setup for us being the
Houston Rockets.

Speaker 3 (10:48):
Yes, I am all right.

Speaker 4 (10:49):
So clearly we have a lot to get to on
a Friday edition of the program. We will get into, obviously,
the proverbial second half of the Astros season and the
fact that it's going to start with Brandon Walter. The
Astros are gonna throw him. It's it's no, it's not
an insult to him. It's just that it's not the
best option. Yeah, they got a three game series. They're

(11:11):
throwing one of their three best pictures in it. It's fine.

Speaker 3 (11:14):
When are they throwing him?

Speaker 5 (11:15):
He's throwing tonight. He's one of their three best pictures.
That's mean but true.

Speaker 4 (11:20):
All right, So we'll get into that when we come
back as what did you mention Chandler Rome yet I checked?

Speaker 5 (11:24):
Jerome will join us at five o'clock. Astros trade Deadline News,
Hunter Brown News, Mariner's News, You got it All.

Speaker 3 (11:30):
It's all coming up on a Friday edition of the.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
Show The Eight on Sports Talk seven ninety's.

Speaker 3 (11:41):
Season grass a.

Speaker 4 (11:42):
Dame you, Well, we should probably welcome back Cole. He's
been out the last couple of days, and in that
vein we should probably ask him his thoughts very briefly
on the most memed.

Speaker 3 (11:59):
Concert capture the Affair of all Time? What'd you think?

Speaker 7 (12:04):
Cole?

Speaker 8 (12:05):
One of the most underrated bands was one of the
most underrated memes to ever come out in the last
twenty five years.

Speaker 6 (12:10):
I love it.

Speaker 3 (12:11):
I can take or leave cold Play. Oh, I can't
leave cold Play. I can't quit. It's like a two
am cigarette. I love her play.

Speaker 4 (12:19):
Have you ever had a two am cigarette? Wex Nope,
much earlier, much earlier. Yeah, I don't smoke cigarettes at
two am.

Speaker 3 (12:26):
When do you smoke them? Let's see.

Speaker 5 (12:29):
The last cigarette I had was probably smoked in maybe
May nine thirty ten o'clock, and it was wobbably Let's see,
I would have been.

Speaker 3 (12:40):
It's probably nineteen eighty seven, nineteen eighty eight. Are you
trying your first one?

Speaker 6 (12:45):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (12:47):
How old were you? Fifteen?

Speaker 9 (12:49):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (12:49):
My maybe you're a loser, uh Mary's dads doctor.

Speaker 3 (12:54):
Yes, and you grew up in a house.

Speaker 5 (12:56):
Oh, it's pure pressure, you know, high school kids, Okay,
And it was very easy to not do it ever again,
and I barely did it to begin with.

Speaker 4 (13:04):
I am dumbfounded that you, of all people, succumb to
peer press.

Speaker 5 (13:08):
Is summertime. Nobody tells you what to do for anything.
We're busting around. One of those tours I took, I
don't remember who was an East Coast tour, a Texas tour,
probably the East Coast hotel room. Whoever I was in
that room with that night, Hey, let's go. I was
with an older group of people.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
Hanging out behind.

Speaker 5 (13:28):
So these people are like, they were smokers, but they
had it, so they did it, and they tried to
get the young kid to do it with them, and
I did refually. I mean that was maybe a puff,
two puffs? Maybe you did most?

Speaker 3 (13:42):
Yeah I smoked in college.

Speaker 5 (13:44):
Yeah, far less than I've had of the other items
of the like.

Speaker 4 (13:47):
I'll reiterate at this point in time that I looked
down on smokers as third world citizens and always will.

Speaker 5 (13:52):
This vacation was a good, a good example of how
I look at them. Most of the time, you're not
usually allowed to smoke in most places. So usually if
you do like to smoke, and it's not two am
and you're not thinking about cold play, you're right outside
the entrance to wherever you work or eat or are
enjoying your day. So you're trying to ruin everybody else's
day because it's very difficult for them to get in

(14:14):
unless they also have become a smoker, because that's where
you're standing in smoking. So we'll be walking down the
street and I know we're going to pass this person
who is smoking and blowing their smoke in every single
person's face but their own, and I will intentionally take
the most ridiculous path around them so it could not
be missed by the person smoking.

Speaker 4 (14:33):
How many times have you done that and the person
has responded in some.

Speaker 5 (14:36):
Way, No, never a verbal response.

Speaker 3 (14:39):
You get a dirty look.

Speaker 5 (14:40):
I mean, I don't usually look back because I'm not
looking to fight him. I'm just not I don't want
the smoke. He's just moving on time, like we didn't
want to smoke. The absolutely opposite of what is going
on in twenty twenty five, especially in sports.

Speaker 3 (14:51):
I didn't want the smoke? Is that where it comes from?
X wants all the smoke? No, I don't.

Speaker 5 (14:56):
I don't want any of the smoke. The literal smoke
is what I do not want.

Speaker 3 (14:59):
I don't want.

Speaker 5 (15:00):
Keep it to yourself, Yes, I don't want it at all. No,
it's it's painful. You know, not a huge fan of
coffee or coffee, and it's obviously much much much worse
for smoke.

Speaker 4 (15:11):
So today, are you having the best show of the
week because I decided to not get my daily coffee
and pick it up.

Speaker 5 (15:16):
No. When you come in with your coffee, we're outside
at our work table, and that's when I smell it.
By the time we get in here, this smell is gone.

Speaker 4 (15:22):
But I bring it in here and drink most of
it in here because I'm a woos and it doesn't
get when it will down two.

Speaker 5 (15:28):
One in the afternoon. You've had that coffee for how long?

Speaker 4 (15:33):
What time?

Speaker 5 (15:34):
If it's right at the beginning of the show, probably
a half hour, right half an hour after you've gotten
it from your preferred coffee maker.

Speaker 3 (15:41):
It's not really preferred.

Speaker 5 (15:43):
It doesn't have the aroma that I would prefer to
do with that it's gone by.

Speaker 4 (15:46):
That and it's convenient because I can order it ahead.
That's the only reason I do it there. You know,
it doesn't even taste good.

Speaker 5 (15:51):
Yeah, so I didn't want the smoke, if that's what
you want to call this segment. We got lots more
from the Coldplay concert and incident coming up in Best
of X.

Speaker 3 (16:03):
It's probably the most memed events since the last one.

Speaker 8 (16:06):
It's fantastic. I'm not gonna lie. It was one of
my favorite things I saw on Twitter.

Speaker 5 (16:09):
I mean the timing of it also adds to it
if this happened, Like, think about US sports and where
this really blows up is social media, and from our
standpoint on social media, we do a segment every day
on social media that is strictly about sports. Well, there
isn't any There isn't any sports to take people away
from the best thing going on. This bird app now

(16:30):
known as ex.

Speaker 4 (16:31):
Dave picks the worst possible time to get caught for them,
best for us, at.

Speaker 8 (16:35):
The one place to where honestly, you probably didn't think
you were gonna get caught, a Coldplay concert of all locations.

Speaker 5 (16:41):
I can't believe I got caught in public hugging on somebody.
I shouldn't be that's crazy. I can't believe that happened
at a Cold Play concert and wherever you are, you're
out in public PDA ing can't believe you got caught.

Speaker 3 (16:53):
Tell my kids that was Urban Meyer.

Speaker 5 (16:55):
Well that's one of the memes that was out there.
For sure he did. He was what is he doing
in public at his own establishment? The same thing? Basically
a little PDA with a little bit more a little
bit more of a rando than this, clearly, but probably
not where the Jacksonville Jaguars head coach needed a female
his lap.

Speaker 3 (17:14):
Is he a dirt bag too?

Speaker 5 (17:16):
Yes, I mean I don't want I almost wanted to
like push that aside, like you're calling him a dirt
bag for that, which is but my gosh, the guy's
got a closet full of dirt bag activities.

Speaker 8 (17:29):
Chapter one at a bar, Chapter two in the Jacksonville
Jaguars locker room, Chapter three in Columbus's locker room.

Speaker 3 (17:37):
Which chapter would you like to read it?

Speaker 5 (17:39):
Yeah, it's a never ending supply, so I'm sure we'll
hear more. Like, consider some of the people that end
up in very prominent TV roles and who they work with.
You know, we have a new addition to the set
last couple of years on Game Day with Pat McAfee
coming in and then a new edition with Nick Saban
coming in. They're working with Kirk, Herb Street, Rhys Davis,

(18:00):
and Desmond Howard and to a lesser extent, Lee Corso.
And unfortunately that all comes to an end after this
first game of the year between Texta and Ohio State.
But my point is if there were issues in Pat's
past or issues in Nick's past, well, Desmond, Kirk and
Reese aren't going to be bringing them up on the
air and needling you for it. And Irban Meyer is

(18:22):
in a similar situation to Nick. He is part of
the Fox Noon kickoff, and mark Ingram is there, and
Matt Liinert is there, and Rob Stone is there and Fortnoy.
There's nothing to concern yourself with. These guys aren't going
to say anything about that to you. It's not gonna
come up to them on air to needle you in
that way, even though I'm sure they do it NonStop

(18:42):
to him off the air. And as Cole just mentioned
there as I was running through the past hosts, because
they haven't done a show with this new host, yet
their partnership with Barstool, which brings Dave Portnite onto their
set and onto whatever role it is he ends up
playing with that.

Speaker 3 (18:55):
Show, which I'm sure will be pretty large.

Speaker 5 (18:57):
I do think that door is open for both Portnoy's
filter does obviously not exist, and Urban Meyer's closet full
of skeletons is massive. So I think it will happen
on air during the season at some point where Dave
will say something and Urban will bristle mightily and it
will cause problems.

Speaker 3 (19:19):
I love it. It doesn't mean it needs to.

Speaker 5 (19:21):
It's not what they want because sometimes when you're second
to the number one and you feel like there's an
opportunity for you to gain traction. I also think just
adding that entity and Big Cat and everything they're going
to end up doing with their other programming TV and
radio wise, I completely understand why they're doing it. It's
definitely a little bit of a change in, you know,
big media, mainstream media philosophy, but it's a one that's

(19:44):
they believe very strongly, and I don't doubt their belief.
It's going to bring eyeballs, it's going to bring people
to their new content, which is the barstool content.

Speaker 3 (19:53):
Yeah, and look, that's that is, That's what it's about.

Speaker 4 (19:56):
Because far be it from me to sit here and say, oh,
I'm a huge, huge Dave Portnoy fan, like I love
everything he does. He's a blowhard, but he does do
that one thing better than a lot of people out there,
and certainly better than the people who were on that
slot before him. But as far as the Urban Meyer,
when you say it's going to cause problems, to find problems,
maybe for Urban.

Speaker 5 (20:16):
Dude, that's what I mean. Maybe these are five people
that work on a show together. You don't necessarily want
drastic disharmony between them. And I don't know that that's
what's going to happen, but I do believe there's a
really good chance that, you know, Urban, I don't know
if he ultimatum is it or it just I mean,
I'm going way out there, like, maybe nothing happens and
it's very harmonious and they all lovey dovey and it

(20:36):
creates great chemistry and.

Speaker 3 (20:37):
How many people.

Speaker 5 (20:38):
But you might have a group of people in studio,
five of them they're set that don't like each other
and don't want to work together to that point.

Speaker 4 (20:46):
How many people tune into any ensemble cast to see
any but just fill in the blank that's not inside
the NBA. In other words, how many people tune in
to see Urban Meyer each and every week?

Speaker 3 (20:57):
Nobody.

Speaker 8 (20:58):
There's a lot of people that tune in to see
Pat mac every week, which is sad much the reality
of it, But that again.

Speaker 4 (21:04):
He is a Dave Portinoy type where Pat McAfee, where
he has used new media to get a type of following,
where people will I think, tune in because he told
them to on that other platform, right, not Urban Meyer.

Speaker 8 (21:18):
Now, what I will say is that you got to
remember that Dave Portnoy is a huge Michigan fan, and
I can only imagine the banter that's gonna go on
when Ohio state where Urban won a national title and
is probably best known for, that happens, and that leads
to some arguments because of again, Dave as no filter.
He's gonna a lot of flying that's gonna lead to
a lot of problems.

Speaker 3 (21:36):
I've been give the set could be. Yeah, I can
see that happening, and I'm fine with it.

Speaker 4 (21:41):
It's Urban Meyers, just like one of the most least
likable figures in all of sports.

Speaker 5 (21:47):
He's also the least important person on the show, just
if you've watched it, and how much input he has
and how much analysis he gives. It's you know, Lionerd,
Ingram and I'm sure Dave now will all have louder,
more important.

Speaker 4 (21:59):
Voices that people are interested well right now MLB studio
show for like the World Series? Who do you have
but Poppy, A Rod and Jeter? Okay, if you took
a Rod off that set, it would still be fantastic.

Speaker 3 (22:10):
Nobody would miss it.

Speaker 5 (22:11):
But he does bring something to it. What that everybody
his two studio hosts that well, because it brings It's
the same one. Why do people listen to you on
the radio, Well because they want to hear what you
have to say next to you. Because they like you
or because they hate you, yes both. Why do people
watch Notre Dame Football? They either like you or they

(22:31):
want to watch you lose. I actually think what I'm
talking about on set is it's good for the group
because Poppy wants to needle a Rod, Jeter wants to
needle a Rod, and obviously Poppy and Jeter needle each other.
For Boston New York reasons, but not for personal reasons.
I don't think it comes across as personal when they
do that, but I think it's it's not a terrible

(22:54):
person to have for this reason, and he also is
as much as people want to dislike the person, maybe,
I mean, it's not as a baseball player and as
somebody who should know what they're talking about. That's a
pretty prominent, longtime, superstar caliber player, and there's not that
many players that are more well known because the guy's
been in the public eye for a long for the

(23:16):
moment he retired till today, he's never been out of it.

Speaker 3 (23:18):
But I'm just trying to remember the last thing that
A Rod say.

Speaker 4 (23:21):
If you took away the hate love thing mostly hate,
and you were just like strictly on analysis or even
humor or witty banter, what what's the last time you said?

Speaker 3 (23:32):
Oh yeah, do you hear what A Rod had to say?

Speaker 4 (23:34):
Now, I'm not saying Jeter does that, because he's pretty
vanilla copies that Charles Barkley of the group, But those
two interacting with each other would be enough for me.

Speaker 3 (23:45):
You could save a ton of money if you were following. Look,
here's the deal.

Speaker 8 (23:47):
If you switch out Jeter and a Rod, I would
agree with you, the show would not miss a beat.
I think if you take out a Rod just for
the fandom of people hating on him, including his two
co hosts, that takes away a little bit of an element.

Speaker 3 (23:57):
I'm gonna hit you with Best of X next.

Speaker 5 (24:00):
If you've hated it in the past, if you're sick
of that stupid song that we play at two thirty
every day, too bad, You're really gonna hate today's episode
of Best of X.

Speaker 1 (24:08):
So I do not apologize the age on Sports Talk
seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (24:19):
Did you all see this?

Speaker 9 (24:20):
Were putting out between five and fifteen.

Speaker 7 (24:22):
Posts a day.

Speaker 3 (24:23):
Four hundred people were arrested for things of day seven.

Speaker 10 (24:26):
On social media, History repeats itself type bang, you'll succeed.
Never doubt that you're the one who put no one
will the league.

Speaker 3 (24:36):
You're the best of X. Nothing's gonna ever talk.

Speaker 5 (24:41):
You know you're the best of it X posting ever
seen day and you're.

Speaker 10 (24:47):
The best of X breaking the entire enginet. It's been
all over the place.

Speaker 5 (24:57):
You could not possibly have missed it, talked about it
like yesterday, and so is everybody else on social media
and in their respective programs, and at the water cooler,
and on the roadways and in the streets and in
the cafes and at the concerts, the two presumed wrecked households.

Speaker 3 (25:15):
We don't know that yet, and maybe we won't.

Speaker 5 (25:17):
Maybe people will move on from this more quickly than
it seems they will. But cozying up at the Coldplay
concert and ending up on screen as Chris Martin accurately
questioned whether they were having an affair or not, we
think and the assorted other people involved, the presumed co

(25:37):
workers that were there on site with them and smiling oddly,
those who have come to our place here best of X.
All over social media meme city comments that go on
for days and days and days. I mean, I could
have probably kept everybody up all night if I just
would have posted them out there. You guys have seen

(25:59):
the meme of people, the older folks at the casino
sitting at the slot machines just mashing the button over
and over again with the caption appropriate to this. This
is me liking every single tweet about hashtag coldplaygate. And
I did that a little bit today, so there's quite
a few out there. I'll throw a social media post

(26:20):
up about that. A lot of sports related memes on
that front. The screen cap of the CEO and the
head of h R with sports related graphics placed on
each of them, like the Miami Heat logo on the
CEO's face and the play in tournament on the main

(26:40):
Squeezes waist, which is comped. Three different sports teams took
to social media and posted something, the sugar Land Space
Cowboys among them. The caption reads, were just happy to
be back. And it's the same screen cap of the
two arm in arm at the Coldplay concert. The man

(27:01):
has the word us on his face and the woman
has John Singleton's.

Speaker 3 (27:05):
Face on her face.

Speaker 5 (27:07):
Wow, We're just happy to be back, John Singleton coming
off of back to back five RBI games for the
Space Cowboys in front of their couple of days off.

Speaker 3 (27:16):
Why do what missus Singleton thinks of that?

Speaker 5 (27:18):
I mean, it's pretty funny, so I imagine she would
be down with it, I suppose. So the Raptors are
playing in Summer League, the Toronto Raptors, the actual NBA outlet,
and they won their game and they posted Raps win
and then they quote tweeted their own post and it says.
The caption reads, four and oho since changing our logo,

(27:40):
and the picture they've used is that same screen cap,
except they've chosen a different portion of the picture to highlight.
It's the woman who also purportedly works in hr at
Astronomer with the bleep eating grin on her face. You're
all familiar with her, so it's a screen cap of
her and the aptors fake pixel art logo saying we

(28:03):
knew this would happen. Four and oh since changing our logo?

Speaker 3 (28:06):
What did they change their logo to? They didn't, okay,
it was it was a joke.

Speaker 5 (28:11):
They actually did a handle says that covers the SEC says,
did I do this right? Screencap man and the woman.
The man is SEC fans, the woman is Quality Losses.
But they're clutching too.

Speaker 3 (28:24):
Wow.

Speaker 5 (28:24):
So there's so many, so so many. The Saint Louis
Cardinals were the other sports team to go the Coldplay route,
and it says when Coldplay starts playing your song, and
the screen cap is a picture of Adam Wainwright being
hugged by Albert Poohols.

Speaker 3 (28:39):
I like that both of them are.

Speaker 5 (28:40):
Smiling and happy together. So there's a bunch like again,
I could go on and on and on and on,
but I did specifically choose three other posts on social
media on the X platform to help highlight what we've
all gotten to enjoy. And honestly, at these two poor
families and this very poor company's expense, we feel really
really bad for the company these times when they've generated

(29:01):
all this interest in their company that nobody knew about before.
Now they all know what they do. Even you never
know bad pr PR someone at and remember this is
best of X. You hear the parody song every day
at only Stuff I like. I'll read that because that's
his handle, I won't read the name he goes by.

Speaker 3 (29:20):
He writes.

Speaker 5 (29:21):
And all three of these posted by three totally different
random people. They went the same route. I found out
I was cheated on at an Areo Speedwagon concert.

Speaker 3 (29:31):
I heard it from a.

Speaker 5 (29:32):
Friend who heard it from a friend who heard.

Speaker 3 (29:36):
It from another.

Speaker 5 (29:36):
She'd been messing around and Blake tweets at Big Red Machine.
I found out my wife was cheating on me at
a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert.

Speaker 3 (29:48):
And I don't ever.

Speaker 5 (29:49):
Want a feelock I did that day, Jolie posts on
social media. I found out my husband was cheating on
me at a li Think in Park concert.

Speaker 3 (30:01):
Oh my gosh, let's hear your Chester.

Speaker 5 (30:03):
We tried so hard and got so far, but in
the end it didn't even matter.

Speaker 3 (30:11):
These are good. That's it, Just those three. You missed
a big one.

Speaker 5 (30:14):
I don't read what isn't there. I don't make these
up on my own. I don't display any creativity in
Best of X. I leave it to social media to
produce the content, and that was what is produced today.

Speaker 3 (30:25):
What you miss? What do you miss?

Speaker 8 (30:27):
Red hot chili peppers? My wife cheat on me in
a concert.

Speaker 5 (30:30):
She just give it away, Give it away, give it away,
give it away, give it away. Now it's the endless
Old play hasn't made a single in years.

Speaker 3 (30:39):
Last night they made two. That's messed up.

Speaker 4 (30:43):
And by the way, were you aware you may or
may not have been that. Chris Martin continued.

Speaker 5 (30:49):
I know that more people showed up there, and each
time they did, if they were a couple, he would
ask them if they were legit.

Speaker 4 (30:55):
Basically, I did not know that until I was listening
to my wife on the air today at the house,
just you know, talking about that.

Speaker 5 (31:03):
I'm like, what I said, I didn't know that yeah,
he really, I think. I mean again the reaction. There's
one other thing that all of this did produce. I'll
get to that at the bend of Best of X
ending here in just a minute, but a couple more memes.
A former NFL backup quarterback decided to use that screen
cap and meme it up Tom Brady's backup. Tom Brady's

(31:25):
back up one who started for him the final fifteen
games of the season that Bernard Pollard took out Tom Brady,
Matt Castle at Castle that season. He was very good.
They nearly made the playoffs. They won eleven games. And
the meme and words he's used. He puts the picture
up of the two of them arm in arm me.

(31:46):
That's the CEO. That's who Matt Castle says, that's me.
And then the other part of the caption reminding people,
I made the Pro Bowl in twenty ten.

Speaker 3 (31:54):
That's good.

Speaker 5 (31:55):
So there's a lot of a lot of sports related
ones out there. The comment earlier this week about Texas
A and M and eight and four, that was there,
but there was one that was identical to it, except
with two different numbers and a different team. It was
Texas Tech and seven and five those are all over
the place too, if you want to go sports related. Lastly,

(32:15):
our good friends over at the official account for Netflix,
they posted their own meme because The Quarterbacks is now airing.
In one of those Quarterbacks is or has been released
is Kirk Cousins, and in the series he's quoted as saying,
I like Coldplay. One of the best concerts I've ever

(32:36):
been to was Coldplay.

Speaker 3 (32:39):
Nobody says that and means it, though, right.

Speaker 5 (32:41):
Last thing from this incident, and many people have suggested it,
we didn't say anything about this possibility yesterday. We will
today something that very very easily could have changed the
entire narrative on this entire scenario. If you believe it
to be true, if this could have happened, we'll tell
you about that.

Speaker 1 (32:59):
Next the eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety try.

Speaker 4 (33:17):
Oh dear, Hey, there's more on this later on the show.
I promise it's the story that won't go away. Yesterday
wex you had mentioned and we did a little comparing
contrasting the bank accounts of the Watt brothers in question.

Speaker 3 (33:31):
You remember when you were talking about.

Speaker 4 (33:34):
How TJ had made in one deal more than JJ
made basically in his entire career.

Speaker 5 (33:39):
One hundred and twenty three on the extension JJ about
one hundred and twenty nine total.

Speaker 4 (33:44):
There was a graphic that the NFL on CBS's account
put up there and it says, sometimes being the younger
brother pays off, and they tagged both JJ and TJ,
and they showed a graphic with the career earnings twelve years,
one hundred twenty nine point seven as you mentioned, three
years one twenty three on the new extension for TJ.

(34:06):
The X account at JJ Watt took note of this quote,
tweeted it and said, I swear if this guy even
lets me begin to reach for my wallet at dinner
dot dot, they'll be paying for a lot of dinners,
I think, and he is a reason that I think. Again,
I'm gonna keep saying it until proven otherwise. The Pittsburgh

(34:26):
Steelers will make a little bit noise this year.

Speaker 5 (34:28):
I love what they've done their offseason, except they just
still have the main problem they did before. I really
think they've they've had one of the best off seasons
in the NFL if things work out the way they
hope they do. And I tend to believe that most
of those moves will, but they still are relying on
something that's unlikely. Their teams probably just like it's been
the last couple of years, and maybe it's a little
bit better, And that's can we find a way to

(34:51):
win even though our quarterback is awful, even though our
offense is exceptionally underwhelming. Can we figure out a way
to still win games? They've done it for every year
of Tomlin post Ben Roethlisberger, and I mean, I shouldn't
doubt that they can this year, but the AFC is
still very, very difficult, and I think there are a
few more teams that could get in their way the

(35:13):
last couple of years. Last year was the first real change.
I don't want to take anything away from Kansas City
because I think they've been awesome throughout, but their division
was not and last year showed that. Last year and
now moving forward it likely will be very difficult. I
still think they're the best team, still think they're going
to win it, but there's three teams in that division
that made the playoffs last year, and there should be
three teams in that division that make the playoffs again

(35:34):
this year. Plus Buffalo plus Baltimore plus Houston. Well, that's six.
That means there's one wild card spot left.

Speaker 3 (35:42):
Do you know who?

Speaker 4 (35:43):
And I know that the first game doesn't determine the
rest of the season, but you know who they played first,
the Pittsburgh Steelers. Clud do the Pittsburgh Steelers play for
They play on the road, which is difficult, of course,
then more so than playing at home. They're going to
play at MetLife Stadium against the Jets. It's not a
bad first opponent if you're looking to get off to

(36:03):
a good start, if you consider yourself better than them
with you employing their old quarterbacks.

Speaker 5 (36:08):
Similar matchup on both sides. Best part of the Jets
team is their defense, best part of the Steelers team
is their defense.

Speaker 3 (36:14):
And they each get to go against.

Speaker 5 (36:15):
A quarterback that might have gotten used to playing with
them on the field Aaron Rodgers throwing against the Jets
defense at practice for a year and change, and Justin
Fields is the former Steelers quarterback. So it's a very
very interesting opening matchup.

Speaker 4 (36:31):
I just think it's gonna be a fascinating season, or
I don't. I think we're gonna know pretty early on
with the Steelers one way or the other.

Speaker 5 (36:38):
Well, I mean, last year is like the incomplete opposite
of that statement, and that they got off to a
great start with Fields, winning four out of six. They
continued that on an even better role, essentially winning everything
with Russell Wilson, until they lost everything. They lost each
of their last four games. They look bad at the
end of the season in doing it, and then they
lost their only playoff games. So they essentially head into
this year on a five game skiin with bad vibes,

(37:01):
knowing they had to make major changes, and they did.

Speaker 4 (37:04):
Yeah, I uh, if if Rogers is playing well out
of the gate, let's just say the first four games
of the year, and I didn't look beyond the Jets game.
I don't know if their schedules, like I don't know
the difficulty and all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 3 (37:20):
But that's starting on the road.

Speaker 4 (37:21):
You get a win with the Jets if he's playing,
If he plays well in that game, and he's playing
well early on, barring injury, why would we think that
he's going to just tail off because he's old.

Speaker 5 (37:33):
Will tail I mean all this everything, the entire Rogers
conversation is all relative. Like he's not a good quarterback.
It doesn't mean you can't win games. So them Steelers
just did that from back to back years. With not
good quarterbacks. You can still win football games, but he's
not going to go out there and win them for you.
I know there's no reason to think that just I
think their number one wide receivers pretty clear. It's dk Metcalf.

(37:54):
I think their number two wide receiver is fairly clear,
and it's Calvin Austin, and then it's probably Robert Woods.
That's probably their next best receiver, could be one of
their younger players, and maybe it turns out it will be.
I think they are lacking weapons. I think they have
question marks in the backfield because instead of having both
Harris and Warren, now they only have Warren. He's gonna
play behind a better offensive line than he was playing

(38:16):
behind in New York. But they're competing with the Jets
week one. I don't think they're competing with the Jets
the rest of the season for a playoff spot. They're
competing with the maybe the Dolphins, maybe the Patriots. I
really do believe that, and certainly inside their own division
with the Cincinnati Bengals. I bet you the Colts and
Jaguars believe that there's at least eight wins in their season.

(38:38):
If it's nine or ten, then a wild card's bought
could be had. That's what the Steelers are up against.
To me, yeah, it would be nice for them to
get that presumed victory. They'll they're the better team. That
doesn't mean they're gonna win the game on the road
in New York.

Speaker 8 (38:51):
Steelers versus Jets, Seahawks, Patriots, Vikings, Browns, short week against
the Bengals are the first six games.

Speaker 5 (38:59):
I mean, I don't think the Steelers are average. I
think that's fair. You know, fourteen teams make the playoffs.
They're on the cusp of the playoffs. That means they're
an average team. That's who they are. Could they beat
a team they shouldn't be, Absolutely, They did that last year,
they did that the year before. Are they going to
lose games to lesser opponents among those first six opponents
they have some lesser opponents, Yeah, they can. I do

(39:22):
think there is a chance though, that they got better
everywhere else. I mean I pointed out some potential offensive inefficiencies,
but I mean their defense was awesome. No reason for
it not to be at least as good, but probably better.

Speaker 3 (39:39):
Well, how many games did TJ. Watt miss last year
due to injury.

Speaker 5 (39:42):
He didn't play healthy for the whole season, but he
didn't actually miss a lot of games completely.

Speaker 3 (39:47):
That's what it was. I knew there was something off about.

Speaker 5 (39:48):
His Why added Harmon somewhat to kind of balance that out.
They brought Darius Slay in. Obviously, they traded for Jalen Ramsey.
They still have Thornhill. Porter Junior is excellent. He was
one of the top ten corners in that list that
Fowler produced. From a word of execs and scouts and coaches,
they're obviously Alex Heismith's awesome. This team is great defensively.

(40:10):
They could easily be a better defense this year than Houston. Ooh,
I just Houston's a great defense. It doesn't mean there
aren't other great defenses.

Speaker 4 (40:19):
Well, if what I'm going to say is true, I
think it's going to be largely dependent upon that.

Speaker 3 (40:23):
Even if Aaron Rodgers doesn't have a disaster, he's.

Speaker 5 (40:25):
Also get to use statistics to grade out defenses. And
the Texans will play six games against Well, two against Ward,
two against Lawrence, and two against Richardson Jones.

Speaker 3 (40:36):
I don't know who the.

Speaker 5 (40:36):
Colts are gonna playing Steelers will play two games against
awful Cleveland and then two games against Burrow and two
games against Jackson.

Speaker 3 (40:44):
Whatever, dude, Shader Sanders and his non nepotism are going
to light.

Speaker 5 (40:47):
The lad Shuder Sanders is gonna not have a good year,
even if he's the starter. It's not his fault. He's
just not the kind of rookie with that team that's
likely to do anything great. He might win the job
and totally play in that regard well enough to keep
it and earn it. Thirty two teams, they're gonna have
one of the ten to twelve worst.

Speaker 3 (41:03):
Quarterbacks Johnny Manziel in twenty fourteen. Uh, he could be
better than that.

Speaker 4 (41:09):
I just decided to pick another Cleveland Browns quarterback since
we were talking about that franchise. All right, three o'clock
hour the simulcast starting next. I'm not optimistic about what
the Astros are doing with their rotation going into a
very important series.

Speaker 3 (41:23):
We'll discuss next.

Speaker 9 (41:26):
The A teen on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (41:28):
Ninety two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam talking your
team is.

Speaker 11 (41:39):
Adam Clinton and Adam Weckler are the eighteen.

Speaker 4 (41:48):
Three o'clock hour underway here on Sports Talks seven to
ninety and now Space City Home Network. It's our number
two of the program as we take you up until
six o'clock tonight, wex AC and Cole Thompson and along
with you until then a little bit later, it'll be
Astros and Mariners to start the post All Star.

Speaker 3 (42:07):
Game portion of the calendar.

Speaker 4 (42:09):
Astros with a five game lead, which was bigger before
that last week before the break. Obviously, they did not
like how that home stand went, winning all of two
games out of the six that they played.

Speaker 3 (42:21):
No, I'm sorry, one game out of the six they played.

Speaker 4 (42:24):
I gave them a game against Cleveland that I shouldn't have,
a unceremonious sweep in which they refused to not pitch
to Jose Ramirez. And then of course Adulls, Garcia and
company up to their old tricks against your Astros in
two out of those three games, sandwiched around a walk
off win on that Saturday. And yeah, Astros went to Atlanta,

(42:44):
some of them, some of them got away, and hopefully
all of them got some rested relaxation from a mental standpoint,
if nothing else, To start that proverbial second half tonight
in which they're going to have Brandon Walter going against
Castillo for the Mariners. As the Mariners are putting out

(43:05):
their best picture, they have to offer nah third best.
So that's what the Astros are doing. Then they're both doing.

Speaker 3 (43:12):
The same thing.

Speaker 5 (43:13):
In my opinion, Yes, Brandon Walberton their best pitcher pitch Tuesday.
George Kirby no in they all start game. Brian wo oh,
Brian wu.

Speaker 4 (43:22):
But when everything, everybody's healthy and all things are considered,
George Kirby's their best pitcher.

Speaker 5 (43:26):
Well, there you go, wou Kirby then Castilla one, two three, Yeah,
I just unless you think Logan Gilbert's also better than Castillo.

Speaker 3 (43:34):
I think Logan Gilbert is right where he needs to be.
Ranked fourth.

Speaker 5 (43:38):
Well, he's got decent numbers and they haven't been very
good recently. But he also had a significant time away
with an injury that I'm shocked he's been able to
recover from without Tommy John surgery, but he did. Their
rotation's great. Kirby still hasn't even been himself this year,
and he also missed significant time. And that's the huge
difference between last year's Mariners and this year's Mariners.

Speaker 3 (43:58):
Just based on.

Speaker 5 (43:58):
This year, Castillo has probably been their second best starter.
He's answered the bell every game, which is huge considering
that's the thing they're lacking this year as opposed to
last year. But a three forty one ERA six and
five record, you know, ninety three k's and one hundred
and eight innings. A lot of numbers for him are
down from his past, a little bit easier to hit
a few more base runners, a little less control than usual.

(44:22):
Still a very good pitcher, but he and front end.
But yeah, I would if I set my rotation up
is with nothing concerning anything but who's best, he would
get the ball in game three or four when Wu
and Kirby would go in one and two. And if
it were the same for the Astros, they probably would
have gone Hunter or Fromber And doesn't really matter to me.

(44:45):
One and two and I still would have thrown Brandon
Walter in game three. I'm definitely starting him over Colton Gordon.
I'm definitely starting him over Lance McCullers junior or Ryan Gusto.
He gets the opening game start tonight, and I still
think I don't want to try to tell you that
Brandon Walter is something that he's not. I'll just tell
you what he is. He's had two starts that you'd
like to forget. One of them was an outing where

(45:08):
his team didn't score any runs. It really didn't matter anyway,
but he got shelled. Give up seven runs in that
game at the Angels, and it seemed like every time
he threw something they were all over it. The only time,
in my opinion, he's really been hit hard. He did
also give up five runs at another start that was
at Colorado, eight hits, five runs over five innings. He's
made seven starts for the Astros, those were two of them.

(45:29):
The other five games, the Astros should be five to
zero in those games. M h. He's given up zero, two, one,
one and two runs in those games and he's barely
been hit in those games. And he finished his last
game throwing a no hitter, basically a perfect game over
the five and last five and two thirds.

Speaker 4 (45:46):
And as you continue to instill confidence in me about him,
let's talk about where he's pitching tonight. It's not a
Dyke In Park. It's at a place that's hard to
score runs for the home team.

Speaker 5 (45:57):
He's been awesome at Dyke and Park.

Speaker 4 (45:59):
Yeah, I know, but it's easier to score runs there
if you're Cal Rawley and others than it is in
a cavernous T Mobile whatever it's called. Center Park is
a park. Yeah, it's not a center, this one, as
we talked about.

Speaker 5 (46:12):
I don't think any don't know ball clubs baseball clubs
playing a center?

Speaker 3 (46:15):
Do they the T Mobile Park?

Speaker 5 (46:17):
It's definitely not. They're right next to each other. I
don't think I ever posted those pictures. I may have
sent me to you when we were on a Oh
you never. I never saw this was a Seattle Harbor cruise.

Speaker 3 (46:25):
Uh huh.

Speaker 5 (46:26):
So we got to see a lot of their shipping
operations and crates being lifted onto and off of their
boats and back onto the dock, et cetera. And it's
in that area where those two uh sports facilities, they're
right next to each other, Loomenfield and T Mobile Park,
you know, not a stone's throw from the other. Luckily,
our tour guide was able to tell us the three

(46:46):
different times that they had registered earthquake sound coming from Loomenfield.

Speaker 3 (46:54):
Would you like to guess what those three are?

Speaker 6 (46:56):
All right?

Speaker 3 (46:57):
One of them was when oh my gosh, what was
Marshawn's nickname.

Speaker 5 (47:03):
Well, one of them was when the Seattle Seahawks were
playing a football game there and one of their players,
Marshawn Lynch. People called him a beast mode, and they
were noticing some markers and some readings that they wanted
to check out. He had this run where it just
kept going and going, and so the fans just stayed
loud and loud and louder, and it registered a small

(47:26):
little earthquake. So that's yes, that was correct.

Speaker 3 (47:28):
That was one.

Speaker 4 (47:30):
See, I honestly can't think. I mean one of them
had to have been a playoff game.

Speaker 5 (47:36):
That that is incorrect.

Speaker 3 (47:39):
None of them were a playoff game.

Speaker 5 (47:40):
There, you've named the only football game that created earthquake
like readings from Lumenfield.

Speaker 3 (47:46):
If it wasn't a football game, I don't even care.
I know at least one I think? What is it?
A soccer MLS thing? Go ahead? Cool? Isn't it? Was
it at Lumenfield? Right? Yes?

Speaker 5 (47:54):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (47:54):
It was the MLS Championship with one of the goals right.

Speaker 5 (47:57):
Also incorrect? Really okay, it's not at all who played there,
Earl jam it was that does?

Speaker 3 (48:05):
All those guesses are not correct? Coldplay? Uh not?

Speaker 5 (48:09):
Coldplay? Good guess though, it's two different concerts. One you'll
be you won't understand it until you hear why Ed Sheeron,
Oh come on? When Maclamore joined him out there?

Speaker 4 (48:22):
Oh well, I mean already at an Ed Shearon show
and then Maclamore shows like you said, why wouldn't.

Speaker 3 (48:29):
It cause an earthquake?

Speaker 5 (48:30):
Like I said you would, then you would understand Maclamore.
The other one is obvious. This is a football stadium
and a concert.

Speaker 3 (48:37):
Was there? Two night show or three night show? Metallica?

Speaker 5 (48:39):
Yeah, we just had it roll through Houston, not that
long ago. And then she goes Overseas and then she
goes to shows with Travis and then she does this
gross Taylor Swift.

Speaker 3 (48:48):
You suck Seattle? How about that? Uh yeah?

Speaker 5 (48:51):
Tea Mobile parks right next to Leuwenfield. I wonder if
they felt it over at Team Mobile pick. There's nothing
going on over there. I'm sure that night so they
felt it. Yeah, I'm sure they did. They felt it
all over the city.

Speaker 3 (49:03):
All over. Did the space needle start to wabble a
little bit?

Speaker 5 (49:07):
I felt like it did quite honestly while we were there.

Speaker 3 (49:10):
You went up right?

Speaker 8 (49:11):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (49:11):
How many stories?

Speaker 5 (49:12):
Is it?

Speaker 3 (49:13):
Good question?

Speaker 5 (49:14):
Really, this isn't one of it, like when you go
up the Willis Tower, I believe is what it's called now.

Speaker 3 (49:20):
That after I got hit by a car.

Speaker 5 (49:22):
In that order they get they kind of run through
all it. They run through all the specifics of it.
You're going up this many floors, the other is going
this fast, all that stuff. And they didn't really do
that here at the Space Needle, which was once the
highest building in Seattle, and so it wasn't really a
tour for info. It was just went up there and
walked around, which is awesome. And then they also have

(49:43):
the glass floor which rotatesasination movie. It takes for it
takes forty five minutes actually to make the full circle.
That's how slowly it's going. No, just this little portion
of the like an inner circle on the second highest.

Speaker 3 (49:59):
Floor, I belie. Let me tell you about the part
of the floor.

Speaker 5 (50:03):
And we had someone with us that was extremely uninterested
in all of these things, just like you very get
me out of here. And she was she did it all,
Samantha or Robin, Samantha see.

Speaker 4 (50:15):
Me and her. I knew so six stories but the
height is six hundred and five feet. That doesn't sound
that doesn't sound tall at all.

Speaker 3 (50:24):
I mean you can see the whole city. It's nice.

Speaker 5 (50:26):
You can get some nice pictures.

Speaker 3 (50:27):
It just sounds like it's a lot.

Speaker 5 (50:29):
You get to see the Climate Pledge Arena.

Speaker 3 (50:31):
Climate Pledge Arena, what a dumb name? Stupid? How about
making it Oil Arena?

Speaker 5 (50:37):
Well, when you have someone put their name on it,
that's what you name it.

Speaker 3 (50:41):
And they pay you to do so. Yes, I uh,
I think Lucas Oil is much better stadium.

Speaker 5 (50:47):
What about rate Field? Do you like that one?

Speaker 6 (50:50):
Right?

Speaker 4 (50:51):
Of what exactly? I just uh, I guess I thought
it was going to be taller. It's I don't know
that it was because I haven't read up on this,
this new Final Destination movie. I don't want to give
away a sport like you know, but it's it is.

Speaker 3 (51:05):
There is a part of the movie lines, yes, all right,
I've seen them all and own them. Next one I
see the first one. Seriously, Yeah, you would enjoy that.

Speaker 5 (51:14):
I bet I would laugh my butt off, right, That's.

Speaker 3 (51:16):
What I'm saying. There's the deaths are so ridiculous. I'm sorry.
I can't do. I can't do behind a log truck anymore.

Speaker 4 (51:22):
I can't see what he's saying, true, I was actually
driving behind one on the way back from Alabama.

Speaker 3 (51:27):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (51:27):
We didn't drive behind any logging trucks in Portland and
Seattle the entire trip. Never saw any. Actually, not one time.
Did you go, hey, wait, I forgot something. Look a car,
Look a truck has logs on it. That was me
all day, every day while we were in the car.

Speaker 3 (51:41):
But you haven't seen the movie. No, but you were
clearly making a reference to it.

Speaker 5 (51:45):
I mean, I'm familiar with the scene, and I'm familiar
with a lot of the death scenes in the movie.
I can see them. I just haven't seen the movies.

Speaker 4 (51:54):
I don't know for sure. They went to a NASCAR
event in one of the movies that's in that and
one of them wears a higher.

Speaker 5 (52:00):
But somebody knew what was coming, and I mean it
killed her. Yeah.

Speaker 4 (52:07):
I'm not for sure on this, and this is a
super niche although if Craig Ackerman is listening, he will
love this question.

Speaker 3 (52:13):
I believe.

Speaker 4 (52:15):
I believe the opening credits where there's a waterfall from
a logging cabin permanently or prominently featured, took place or
was filmed and is located in real life in and
around the Seattle area. I'm talking, of course, about the
opening credits to the Amazing David Lynch Show twin Peaks.

Speaker 3 (52:35):
Yep.

Speaker 5 (52:36):
I saw a lot of waterfalls too, so maybe there's
some sense to that bunch water like.

Speaker 3 (52:40):
I probably took a picture of it, but I don't know.

Speaker 5 (52:42):
A big gap between the last.

Speaker 4 (52:44):
You're the worst person to have this, this whole thing
that I wanted to have done. Well, you're supposed to
be vacationing for me too, so I can live vi car.
You're more than welcome to join us or take my spot.
I would actually go on vacation with you guys. I
think it would be fun. Also, maybe not for you guys,
but for me. I would have a block. It would
be fantastic. Yeah, I think we should do to look
that up. We'll do that sometime when we come back.

(53:04):
Speaking to the Seattle Mariners. Cal Rawly has got a
new endorsement, and considering his nickname and his physique, it
is perfect.

Speaker 9 (53:15):
The ad on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 12 (53:17):
Ninety thirty seven years ago today Cocomo released by the
Beach Boys.

Speaker 3 (53:32):
That is what we were talking about during the break.

Speaker 5 (53:35):
It's famous because of a bartender.

Speaker 4 (53:39):
Well it's It was made famous by being on the
soundtrack of one of the greatest bad movies of all time,
which is Cocktail. And I don't even think it's a
bad movie. It's just over it's over the top with everything.
What was the guy's name is his mentor Coughlin. Yeah,
that was an unfortunate end for him on the boat.

Speaker 5 (53:57):
Got himself in a bad stitch and make it out
by his own request.

Speaker 3 (54:06):
He got himself in a bad stitch. That's the one
way to put it.

Speaker 5 (54:09):
I mean, he found, he found the love of his life.

Speaker 4 (54:11):
Yeah, so did's well, so did Tom Cruise. And Elizabeth Shoe.

Speaker 5 (54:15):
Didn't realize it at the time, stepped out.

Speaker 4 (54:17):
On her permission to repeat what you said about her
in that film.

Speaker 3 (54:22):
I'll just repeat it.

Speaker 5 (54:23):
Okay, just give me, give me Her and Karate Kid
Adventures in Babysitting and Cocktail and I'm good. But you
said the following. Now, I don't know what did I
say you said about her? I'm not interested in seeing
her and leaving last.

Speaker 4 (54:39):
Oh yeah, I got you just said it like two
minutes ago. Just tell everybody you said, that's the best
she's ever looked. Okay, yeah, there you go Cocktail. Oh yeah,
definitely not Adventures in Babysitting.

Speaker 5 (54:49):
I mean, granted, Adventures in Babysitting. Look was good enough
to be the cover girl and playboy allegedly in the movie. Oh,
I was about to say it was a mistaken identity. Yeah, yeah,
but yeah, I think I think Cocktail. It was elite shoe.

Speaker 3 (55:04):
I'm beyond disappointing both of you. Why you left her
out of one of the greatest movies ever made, which
is what Piranha three D.

Speaker 5 (55:10):
Absolutely fantastic movie. But that's not really what you were thinking,
was it. No, that's a Jerry O'Connell movie. Anyway, Back
to the Future, Yeah, she plays Jennifer. She was a
nothing in back I was about to say, like that
was a Leah Thompson, no joint she played.

Speaker 4 (55:24):
She played Jennifer in the sequel. Oh that's right, that's
the third one. Okay, Well, when you said back in
the Future.

Speaker 5 (55:30):
The Bad Ones, the Bad Ones, Yes, now you're gonna
make Colson the other day with sequels where it's so
rare that the others matched the first not all marriage
the Diehard sequels to Somebody tried to suggest I was
forgetting about Bruce Willis in this, in this, in this
comparison of only people who have franchises, Diehard is clearly

(55:53):
a franchise, but one the other.

Speaker 4 (55:55):
That was what my question was he in the what
was that action like, you know the Expendables?

Speaker 5 (56:01):
Well, he was out and there's a Red two and
he's They're awesome. There's a I don't know if anybody
else feels it. I love those movies. It's just on
the other night I watched it again.

Speaker 3 (56:10):
He's great.

Speaker 5 (56:11):
I love it, but I don't know that it's a
very well I mean, there's more than one, so I'll
give it the nod.

Speaker 3 (56:18):
And Expendables movie. Okay, that's what. That's a franchise. That's
definitely a franchise. That's more so Saloons.

Speaker 5 (56:24):
Yes, right, so Elizabeth shoo, okay, and what else are
you talking about?

Speaker 4 (56:28):
I was just saying that the Beach Boys released Cocomo
thirty seven years ago today. This year, more than any other,
has been just a run of reminders every day nearly
on social media.

Speaker 9 (56:39):
Hey year old.

Speaker 4 (56:41):
Now that's how it feels every day. I hate it,
absolutely hate it. We'll be all right, all right. I
also hate the Seattle Mariners. But what's Cal Rawley's nickname?

Speaker 3 (56:53):
Big Dumper? Okay?

Speaker 5 (56:55):
What if I are you sure that's his nickname? Well, yeah, okay,
if you were to tell me?

Speaker 4 (57:00):
What what if I were to tell you that he's
got a new endorsement with a company called.

Speaker 3 (57:07):
We don't need to know the name of the company. Oh,
we don't know.

Speaker 5 (57:09):
Let's see if anybody can figure out what the name
of the company is.

Speaker 3 (57:12):
Hey, there, I'm Cal Yeah, big Dumper.

Speaker 9 (57:15):
I'm teaming up with the only name of the game.
Stay tune.

Speaker 6 (57:18):
More things are coming water drops soon.

Speaker 5 (57:21):
Do we need to set the scene of what he's
doing to see if they can guess what kind of
company it is?

Speaker 4 (57:25):
Before we do any further, we need to talk about
the line he uttered at the end.

Speaker 3 (57:29):
What line he uttered at the end? The very last one.
But you can play the whole thing again soon. That line.

Speaker 4 (57:34):
That's the one genius who wrote that. I'm ad exec
or Lackey. I don't know?

Speaker 3 (57:41):
Um? Yeah, so can I say the name of the
company yet? I mean, why don't you? Why don't you
try to? He is?

Speaker 5 (57:48):
He posted a video promoting that he will be promoting
this company and their product line. I presume, and he
did it in a way that suggests what exactly, very
clearly suggests what their product line is. Now, the audio
doesn't really give you any intel on that. Maybe you
could tell by where he plays baseball. In the music
he was in the woods. Yep, it does kind of

(58:09):
sound like there are definitely vouch for that there are
bears in the woods. I was in the woods and
there were bears, and so I could definitely say that
is a fact.

Speaker 4 (58:18):
Is the nicest, most polite way to say, Patty, Yeah,
you call it portable sanitation services.

Speaker 5 (58:26):
Yes, in this this tease spot, he was stepping out
of a portable relief station.

Speaker 3 (58:32):
Portable relief station. That's not what I said. I could
give you best name in the game, as he's.

Speaker 4 (58:38):
A billion dollars. You would never guess guess the name
of this company.

Speaker 3 (58:46):
Why did you have to say that?

Speaker 5 (58:48):
I could never have guessed the name of this company
because I don't really think that the name of the
company is right online with the products that they offer.

Speaker 3 (58:57):
No, it's the exact opposite.

Speaker 4 (58:58):
It's not any thing about this name would make you
think of that product, so I would never be able
to get it. It's a porta pot You can experience
the difference with their company. I'm sure you can. What
is the difference?

Speaker 5 (59:09):
They're changing expectations? What's the ex offer services for weddings?
The Big Dumper is going to talk for this company.
They offer services for music festivals and concerts, a run,
wike bought run walk bike events, family reunions and parties,
community events and fairs, and Big Dumper is going to
be telling you more about them.

Speaker 4 (59:30):
Let me ask you a question. And I'm being dead
serious when I say this. If you're at a wedd
you also might see them at construction sites. Well, of
course they're off of those services. If you're at a wedding,
Going back to the first thing you mentioned, where is
the last place on earth you want to do that
wearing what you're wearing.

Speaker 3 (59:50):
Probably on the dance floor.

Speaker 4 (59:51):
Nope, port a potty, because at least on the dance floor,
it's probably not good.

Speaker 5 (59:56):
Well, luxury portable restroom rental. Luxury luxury portable restroom rentals.

Speaker 3 (01:00:03):
What's luxurious about it?

Speaker 5 (01:00:04):
Serve your guests' needs throughout a wedding or reception?

Speaker 3 (01:00:08):
All right, can we get to the name of this company?

Speaker 6 (01:00:10):
Yet?

Speaker 5 (01:00:10):
You have several different types of wedding worthy portable restrooms.
Let's see if Cole can guess it. Nobody can guess this. No,
and we don't want them to. This is a foul subject.
Quite obviously, I can't guess. I mean I took the
name out of the company for the sole reason. That
why we promote the company. I'm telling you what they do.
We're telling you who's going to speak for them. We're
telling you there's more to drop soon. We don't have

(01:00:31):
to give the company out. I mean, we'd love to
have a partner. I'm up with the A Team here,
but we don't have to the likelihood of that happening
is slim to none.

Speaker 3 (01:00:41):
I mean, I'm okay with it.

Speaker 4 (01:00:43):
No, I would I would say yes, but I just
don't see them coming to call here.

Speaker 5 (01:00:47):
I can hear us doing the spot right now. But
what else more to drop soon? Well, that would be
the first time when we would say we think we've
got a new awesome partner here on the A Team
lined up.

Speaker 3 (01:00:59):
So more to soon, but we'll tell you about it
when we can.

Speaker 4 (01:01:01):
A sanitation company that primarily specializes in portable toilets, known
as you want to say it or you want me to.

Speaker 3 (01:01:10):
It's the honeybucket. I mean, I cannot think of a
worse name for that product.

Speaker 5 (01:01:16):
It's very memorable now hard to forget.

Speaker 4 (01:01:19):
And it's not even like they have a logo. The
logo doesn't really it's not a play on words or
anything like it's it's not.

Speaker 5 (01:01:28):
It's the wor endorser handle the play on words more
than helpful with that.

Speaker 4 (01:01:33):
So now it does fit because of his nickname. But
if that's your nickname, I mean, I guess you should
lean into it to make some money.

Speaker 5 (01:01:45):
He's definitely leaned into it now that he's become who
he's He was a very good catcher before. Now he's
in very well known, very good catcher having the best
season of his career. Also had the national stage and
he excelled on it with the Derby work. So it
couldn't have worked out much much more profitably for the
Big Dumper, So good for him. People who have nicknames

(01:02:06):
that can be utilized in certain ways, why not take.

Speaker 4 (01:02:09):
Advantage of it better Seattle nickname, Big Dumper.

Speaker 5 (01:02:13):
Or whatever else you're going to say, Like I'm not again,
I don't think I'm not saying it's a terrible nickname.
It's just going to be at the bottom of the list.
It's a terrible like I'm surprised that he did embrace it,
but because he has over the years and never really
shot away from it and didn't really have a problem
with people using it. Now that he's become as prominent
a baseball player as he's become with thirty eight homers,

(01:02:35):
it's literally going to pay off. He is going to
make money off the fact that he allowed this nickname
to stay with him all these years and now on
into the future much better.

Speaker 3 (01:02:45):
You came up with cal Rawley's nickname.

Speaker 5 (01:02:47):
I mean, I'm sure it was before long before he
was a Mariner.

Speaker 3 (01:02:51):
I think it was his mom, wasn't it.

Speaker 4 (01:02:53):
I don't know which former teammate who now plays for
the Braves. There's your hint, oh, Jared kellnick Yeah, the
guy who kicks things and breaks it.

Speaker 3 (01:03:01):
Probably while they're miners together. I actually don't know that part.

Speaker 4 (01:03:06):
But he is the one who is uh, he's the
one who came up with this nickname.

Speaker 3 (01:03:11):
What's the name of the company again, honeybucket.

Speaker 8 (01:03:14):
So you think that he could get a deal where
every single time you buy a honey bucket. You get
a free pair of dude wipes with it.

Speaker 3 (01:03:19):
Oh my god, totally different company.

Speaker 5 (01:03:21):
I don't know that they are in cahoots or with
each other especially, I mean they do offer cash on
that though. Who I mean if he wants to continue
cashing in only on his nickname, I mean, he could
get a kind of a more streamline, more typical sponsor.
I mean, really good baseball players usually promote batting gloves, bats, shoes, gloves, hats, gear,

(01:03:42):
fanatic you know, fan gear, stuff like that.

Speaker 3 (01:03:44):
But he could continue going that route.

Speaker 5 (01:03:45):
Big Dumper not going to see the rotation that had
been suggested this weekend because the Astros rotation has been changed.

Speaker 3 (01:03:55):
I'll tell you about that next.

Speaker 9 (01:03:58):
The A team Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 5 (01:04:01):
Ninety baseball season has returned. Major League Baseball under way
in Chicago, the Socks and the Cubs. Red Sox and Cubs,
so that means the two all stars facing off against
one another figuratively, neither of them pitch, both of them hit.

(01:04:24):
Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman. Ryan Presley also got into
and already out of the game for to one. Cubs
lead the Socks, which quite honestly is good news for
the Astros. The fewer teams the American League hunt that
win the better, so that's something. Unfortunately, because of their
ten game winning streak, which is six outs away from
being snapped, would be something you want to see snap.

(01:04:45):
But mentioned the Astros who yesterday reporters chandeler Rome among
them who will join us at five o'clock. Noted the
Astros' rotation heading into this series the Mariners was expected
to be Brandon Walter followed by Lance mccullos Junior, followed
by Valdez is now being reported that that is not
what they now intend to do. First two days remain

(01:05:06):
unchanged Brandon Walter tonight, Lance McCullers Junior tomorrow, but Hunter
Brown now slated to pitch on Sunday, which would be
a full week's worth of rets. Pitch last Sunday, now
set to pitch this Sunday, obviously fromber pitched even further ago,
but he is now slated to take the ball in Arizona.

Speaker 4 (01:05:24):
Well, that gets rid of any sort of concerns about
it being an injury issue for Hunter Brown.

Speaker 3 (01:05:28):
Not that there were a ton of them, but.

Speaker 4 (01:05:30):
It was at least out there because you're like, well,
why why wouldn't he be part of this?

Speaker 5 (01:05:36):
The other concern might have been just a watch over
a pitcher's use his innings. And he's a younger pitcher,
so maybe in light of this, will be the most
innings pitched he's ever had in a season, provided it
goes the way we think it will. Something to consider,
and to me it's it's do you still consider it
when you're talking about Zach Wheeler or Logan Webb or

(01:05:57):
Kevin Gausman, or Fromber Valdez or Luis Castillo for that matter,
do you still consider that in any year that they
continue to do what they're doing. There's seven pitchers in
baseball this year that have thrown one hundred and twenty innings.

Speaker 3 (01:06:09):
Romber's one of them.

Speaker 5 (01:06:10):
There's five pitchers in baseball that have thrown nine hundred
innings since Covid. Romber's one of them. Do the Astros
do this to steal a few extra days and lop
off a couple of innings off of what would be
another two hundred plus inning season.

Speaker 3 (01:06:27):
Is that all they're doing? Maybe it would make sense.

Speaker 4 (01:06:31):
I Fromber is a pretty sturdy individual. That's probably a
nice way of putting it, I do wonder if he
is the latest casualty sooner rather than later. With what
you just talked about, it's the speculation is completely warranted
when you consider the numbers you just put out there.

Speaker 5 (01:06:53):
It's only warranted because it hasn't happened. In my opinion,
like the numbers are against him staying healthy for because
it's so rich like he It's not that he's done
any too much.

Speaker 4 (01:07:04):
Correct, it's not a mechanical thing or they doesn't take
care of us at none of that.

Speaker 3 (01:07:08):
But he signs with TX this offseason and.

Speaker 4 (01:07:10):
Free agency, and we lament the latest departure of the
golden era of Astros baseball, and then he has some
sort of catastrophic injury in the next ye. Well, I
did catastrophic? Well what what? What do you call Tommy John?
It's not small.

Speaker 5 (01:07:28):
There's the Astros to carry thirteen pitchers, right, and there's
thirty teams.

Speaker 3 (01:07:32):
Twelve of them have had Tommy John.

Speaker 5 (01:07:34):
It's not quite as rampant as it feels like he
feels like.

Speaker 4 (01:07:38):
I mean, how many, seriously, how many current or former
guys during this run have had Tommy John?

Speaker 5 (01:07:44):
There's at least five? Right, Well, Yeah, because they're all
here except for JV.

Speaker 4 (01:07:48):
Right, why wouldn't he be one of those that's like,
did you got to think about that? If you're signing
from er Valdez with the mileage on the odometer.

Speaker 5 (01:07:59):
How much is this Wheeler just got a mega deal Yeah,
from his own team, and he's in that group of
five pitchers that's showing nine hundred innings or one hundred
and twenty this year.

Speaker 4 (01:08:07):
I just feel like we are in an era of baseball,
especially with a pitch clock. Whether it's a thing or not,
you have to at least it has to be discussed
where this sounds sinister, but there's no other way to
say it. What if the Astros are like, gone, well
they are, We've gotten the best of you already.

Speaker 5 (01:08:25):
That's exactly what I was going to say next. It's
not a we think he's going to get hurt as
much because of something he's doing.

Speaker 3 (01:08:31):
It's that well he pitched.

Speaker 5 (01:08:33):
In twenty twenty two, thirty one starts led the league in innings,
and the next year is basically the same. Another thirty
one starts almost the same number of innings. Now twenty
twenty four, he had a very minor injury still made
twenty eight starts, so he had to skip a couple
of starts. That was essentially it. And this year he's
on pace to do what he did in two of
these last three years. He's on pace for two hundred innings.

(01:08:54):
He's going to make all of his starts. You're not
even looking well. You don't look at his mechanics and say, oh,
he does it right. He's never going to get hurt.
You just look at it like you're playing. You're looking
at it this way. Oh, he's a major league pitcher
that I guess we're playing with fire because he's going
to get hurt, you know what I mean. And that's
almost fair to say. So if you played with fire
four straight years, how hot is the flame in your

(01:09:16):
five and six, and seven.

Speaker 4 (01:09:17):
He is the dependable brand of used car that you
get for your high school kid for their first vehicle,
with the knowledge that this thing has one hundred and
fifty thousand miles on the odometer and we live in Houston.
There's a pretty good chance the AC is going to
go out at some point during the summer when this

(01:09:38):
kid owns this vehicle, and I might have to fix that.

Speaker 3 (01:09:41):
That's Fromber.

Speaker 5 (01:09:42):
I don't think of it quite as dastardly as you,
because these other pictures I mentioned have done it for
as long as he has, and in some cases longer,
and they've just they make their thirty starts a year
and then they go in the offseason, they do it
again the next year, and the next year. In the
next year, there are going to be a handful of
pictures that never have a catastrophic injury, and also at
an elite level.

Speaker 4 (01:10:01):
And there's one guy that's going to do it his
whole career and then on his last pitch his arm's
gonna fall off, but he'll have five thousand strikeouts plus
on his odometer before that.

Speaker 5 (01:10:10):
Yeah, it's a little different person. That's the what a
very freak, very unique individual. God Nolan Ryan like to me,
you're anticipating an injury with Fromber is more like anticipating.

Speaker 3 (01:10:24):
An injury with Garrett Cole.

Speaker 5 (01:10:26):
Garrett Cole played twenty seventeen through twenty twenty two or
twenty twenty three with no issue at all, average two
hundred innings. Obviously with the COVID year in there, he
was fully healthy. That how similar is that to Fromber's
use he's he's pitched more for longer, and then last
year obviously he had an issue that cost him sometime.

(01:10:47):
They felt like, okay, well the rest and we'll keep
you out of this. He came back, pitched late, pitching
the World Series or pitch of the postseason and the
World Series the postseason, and then didn't cover first This
year he didn't pitch at all because the injury is
something that kind of wasn't completely out of it. He
wasn't completely out of the woods from yet. But twenty seventeen,

(01:11:11):
twenty eighteen, twenty nineteen, twenty twenty, twenty twenty one, twenty
twenty two, twenty twenty three, twenty twenty four, that's the
eighth season, into the eighth season with zero health issues.
He'd already pitched in the league for four years by
then pitched hard.

Speaker 4 (01:11:27):
By the way, I mean, that does come into play here.
I don't Zach Greenky didn't have a ton of arm injuries.

Speaker 5 (01:11:33):
If if you were to guess, and I'll guess too,
if over the same period of time he and Fromber
threw eight hundred innings, would you suspect he threw more
pitches or would you suspect Fromber threw more pitches just
because of the way they pitched, and strikeout pitchers tend
to throw more pitches.

Speaker 3 (01:11:47):
I would say Garrett Cole.

Speaker 5 (01:11:48):
And he had a three hundred strikeout season, Yeah, during
this time.

Speaker 4 (01:11:52):
Because Fromber gets out of so many jams or just
he does get Yeah, but then he gets a ground
ball every time. In fact, when he doesn't get a
ground ball, I'm like, what happened?

Speaker 3 (01:12:01):
Are you sick? What happened to you? Yeah, it's like
not a normal night.

Speaker 5 (01:12:04):
So I think it's not at the forefront of negotiations,
let's say, if there even are any, but there would
absolutely be a concern both for this team and whichever
teams are in negotiations with him on a long term
extension this offseason. Then did we miss out on the
best times and we're on going to be the unlucky
ones and get the other side of it again. Fromb

(01:12:25):
are now scheduled to pitch in the Arizona Series, with
Hunter Brown being slotted in on Sunday of this series
against the Mariners, which begins tonight with Brandon Walter the
game going on. Now, we mentioned a bunch of things
about Cubs, Red Sox one thing related to the Red
Sox we have not mentioned will bring coldplay back into
the discussion.

Speaker 3 (01:12:43):
That is next.

Speaker 1 (01:12:45):
The a team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 3 (01:13:00):
Alex Korus team is down four to one in the eighth.

Speaker 4 (01:13:03):
Inning in Chicago as the second half post All Star
Break has gotten underway between Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman's teams.

Speaker 5 (01:13:13):
Yeah, if you weren't paying attention over the last two
weeks to anything but the Astros and maybe the Mariners,
the American League is pretty close to one another. All
of a sudden, Tigers have a two and a half
game lead over the Astros. Astros are a game better
than the Blue Jays. A Blue Jays are two games
better than the Yankees. Then a game back as the
Red Sox. A game back is the Mariners game and

(01:13:34):
a half of the Rays. All these teams are these
seven teams in the American League currently with fifty wins.
The Yankees and Red Sox have the same number of wins,
and they're both looking up at the Blue Jays. The
Blue Jays are the other division leader. The Red Sox
again came into the post All Star Break portion of
the season on a little bit of a winning streak
ten consecutive wins to close out the break, and during

(01:13:56):
those ten wins they welcomed Alex Bregman back to their lineup.
It's obviously in the lineup again today, who's at the
All Star Game as a selection but did not play
in the game. It was pretty pretty helpful to them
because they're clearly in the race now. I don't know
how hopeful it is to the rest of the league
and A that they're now another team that they have
to deal with, or B they were dangerously close to

(01:14:19):
being an obvious seller. I don't think they expected to
be back in the race this quickly, and because of
the timing between now and the deadline, maybe it wouldn't
have worked out that way. But everybody got a bunch
of days off, that includes the manager, and with everybody
not playing until Friday, you know, today was the first
day and Astros be the same way a little bit
later on todight against the Mariners, when the media will

(01:14:40):
have a chance to catch up with Joe Aspada, Dan Wilson,
the respective managers and the other twenty eight managers around
the league. And usually you you know, these are the
guys you are with all season long. You know, your
favorite media members that travel with the team, that go
on road trips with you separately and ask questions of
you all throughout the year, your bestest buddies, so curious

(01:15:00):
they are about what you might have been up to.
Alex Cora had a few days off, just like everybody else,
so of course they asked Ac what he was up to.

Speaker 3 (01:15:08):
That you enjoyed the break.

Speaker 13 (01:15:11):
It was it was good, It was good. I was
actually in the Wednesday concert.

Speaker 3 (01:15:20):
Yeah, it was fun.

Speaker 5 (01:15:22):
Yeah, that's all that was asked apparently. But if you
weren't aware Wednesday concert from Boston, Red Sox manager means
he was at Gillette Stadium for the Coldplay concert on Wednesday.

Speaker 3 (01:15:35):
That's why he was laughing.

Speaker 4 (01:15:38):
I wonder how many people, because you know when when
you're an event like that, First of all, it's concerts,
so it's just sensory overload most of the time, and
any number of people are fixated on any number of
things at any given time. But it's kind of hard
to miss when the lead singer of the act you
went to go see stops the show to point out

(01:16:02):
a couple that is clearly not supposed to be there together.

Speaker 5 (01:16:05):
In live action. When it happens, and you're one of
the sixty thousand people there, you're watching the screen. He's
obviously addressing it, he's talking about it. You're all looking
at it, and you're probably thinking the same thing. Now
everyone's thinking the same thing because he said it, But
you're not thinking about anything happening after that. Two random

(01:16:26):
people that shouldn't have been together. Okay, that's it. The
story's now over. Maybe a bunch of people will post
something about, oh, these two random people who we don't
know anything about and aren't I ever going to know
anything about. Maybe they got caught there on screen and
somebody happened to video it and posted somewhere on social
media this was weird, and then it ends.

Speaker 3 (01:16:47):
Now social media usually it doesn't let it happen because.

Speaker 5 (01:16:49):
They usually have the me I mean, we know who
he is, we know who she is, you know the
person sitting next to her is. We know about their
work histories, and we know a little bit about their families.
It's probably more than enough, way more than enough. But
if this person worked at insert company that's not famous,
and the person he was with was not working at
that company, yeah, and they were both married. Would it

(01:17:12):
have ever turned into this? No, absolutely not, no chance
of this. And he would have said I went to
the Coldplay concert on Wednesday. He wouldn't have laughed. They
would have asked him a question about baseball immediately after that.

Speaker 3 (01:17:24):
And that would be that.

Speaker 4 (01:17:24):
Well, he might have asked him what his favorite Coldplay
song is. I don't know which matters strike me as
a Coldplay guy. I mean, maybe it was more of
a hey, I want to go to Coldplay? Will you
go with me? Will you take me? Will you sit
there with me? I don't know he's married, right, I
believe he is, so maybe his wife dragged him to Coldplay.

Speaker 3 (01:17:42):
Who knows.

Speaker 4 (01:17:43):
By the way, I don't know if you saw this
or not, per Axios, it's just one outlet.

Speaker 3 (01:17:48):
Andy and Kristen have been immediately put on leave.

Speaker 5 (01:17:51):
I heard about that, so I brought this up earlier
and now can finally pay off on it. We've seen
it all, We've seen the video. We know what happened.
Arms locked, man behind woman, got his hands around her
a very very very upper waist and lower neck area.
It's her chest and as soon as the camera is
on them, she immediately recognizes I don't want to be seen.

(01:18:14):
Hands over face, turns back, and he great word slunks
out of the camera's ze. What if they didn't react
this way? What if they took the camera shot, stayed on,
maybe loosened their grip a little bit or not. It
just stood there, let him address them. I don't even

(01:18:35):
know what Chris Martin would have said, because he wouldn't
have had anything to say about, Oh what are they shy?

Speaker 3 (01:18:39):
Are they having it?

Speaker 5 (01:18:40):
There wouldn't have been anything to say. They would have
been seen. This person would have had the same video,
except no movement from these people.

Speaker 3 (01:18:47):
Would we not have just moved on?

Speaker 5 (01:18:49):
They might have gotten caught, but this would never have
happened if they didn't react that way, Right.

Speaker 3 (01:18:55):
It wasn't in their control though.

Speaker 4 (01:18:57):
What wasn't in their control the normal reaction if you're
doing what they're doing and you get put on it.
What if you've almost been caught before and now you know,
maybe I should just react this way. Yeah, maybe he
reacted differently and she wanted to pull away. Maybe he
holds onto her tighter so she can't now he is
on camera, he's holding her hands. She was able to

(01:19:19):
pull away and cover her face in turn. But if
he just grips up tight, maybe she can't. But the
fact that they both reacted the way they did is
proof of what I'm saying.

Speaker 5 (01:19:29):
Well, it's why it happened, it's why we're here.

Speaker 4 (01:19:31):
Yeah, that was not that was a subconscious They didn't
have any control over it.

Speaker 5 (01:19:36):
We are totally fine with being together, even though we're married.
We are totally fine with being together and going to
a concert. We are totally fine being together going to
a concert and standing up in the suite. We are
totally fine being together going to a concert, standing up
in the suite and being embrace and in embrace with
one another.

Speaker 3 (01:19:55):
Totally fine with all of that. Now put that on camera.

Speaker 5 (01:19:57):
But now it's on camera, slunk away, turn her face.

Speaker 4 (01:20:00):
And again a lot of people have said this, the
lady in the black top next to them.

Speaker 3 (01:20:07):
Yeah, who's clearly she's got.

Speaker 4 (01:20:10):
I don't know, if I don't know what kind of
grin you would call that she knew she knew because
of her the expression on her face.

Speaker 5 (01:20:17):
All sorts of ridiculous, surely fabricated stories have come out
about all the parts of this, like she knew everybody
there knew this is just a matter of time. This
was a set, I mean, just so many things.

Speaker 4 (01:20:29):
Is it bad that I think the Jeffrey Epstein Jelaine
Maxwell meme where they're in the same exact.

Speaker 5 (01:20:37):
You'll tell your kids this was at a cold Place concert.

Speaker 3 (01:20:41):
Is it bad? I think that's funny.

Speaker 5 (01:20:43):
I mean, that's why people created and post it because
they think people will think it's funny. You're one of
those people who thinks it's funny.

Speaker 3 (01:20:50):
You're the audience.

Speaker 4 (01:20:50):
You know which one I know that Cole doesn't think
is funny, The one where where Dwight Shrewd is holding Pam.

Speaker 5 (01:20:56):
Yeah, well they actually photoshop those two in there. That's
that's too much work.

Speaker 4 (01:21:00):
What do you think Jim would have done? Looked at
the camera, thrown a snowball at him? Maybe now when
he found out what.

Speaker 5 (01:21:05):
A snug Pam's the only one that's thrown a punch or.

Speaker 1 (01:21:11):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adham were talking your team.
Adam Clinton and Adam Weckler are the a team.

Speaker 3 (01:21:29):
Four o'clock.

Speaker 4 (01:21:30):
Our underway here on Sports Talk seven to ninety as
we cap off a week in which we have talked
about the band Coldplay more than I ever thought we would.

Speaker 3 (01:21:40):
But here we are.

Speaker 4 (01:21:41):
It's day two of several segments per show focusing on
that above average band.

Speaker 5 (01:21:49):
Yeah, because it was All Star break Week. I do
think that had a lot to do with it. We
haven't even poked fun at which song did they just
come out of? Which song were they about to go into?
They're all the same, I mean, is it wrong? It's
not wrong.

Speaker 4 (01:22:03):
Just because the song was titled to Fix You doesn't
mean that it's any better or more creative or original
than the other Cold Play songs.

Speaker 5 (01:22:12):
Imagine, it was a great show for those that were there,
except for two people. We do have their families doing,
and definitely their families. It would appear based on the
stories we have heard about the fact.

Speaker 3 (01:22:23):
That they have them or did.

Speaker 5 (01:22:27):
That's not the only very very odd happening this week
around sports. This was at a football stadium, so's I
guess it's attachment to sports. One of those football teams
in the New England Patriots, they play at that stadium.
They have, you know, sometimes somewhere around ninety players sept
for training camp in Foxboro and the surrounding areas where
they host their events. Those players and they make the team,

(01:22:50):
the fifty three plus sixteen be part of the NFL
Players Association, part of the union, part of the group
that fights for what they need to be properly compensated,
take care of, handled, drug tested, all the things that
go with collective bargaining. They as of last night, will
be looking for new leadership. So its story somewhat starts there.

(01:23:11):
It was already a bubbling going on with this story
with the nfl PA pres and some potential conflict of
interest items in the company that he works for and
their involvement in the financial futures of people, specifically NFL
football players, and that had come to light again with
Pablo Torri and Mike Florio digging in on some documents

(01:23:34):
and going back to some statements that he had made publicly,
which definitely seemed like an awful idea considering what it
made it sound like he was involved in, which was
definitely a conflict of interest. And so maybe you'd seen
that story. And then last night when everybody that covers
the NFL said, we just got a statement from Lloyd Howell.

(01:23:55):
Lloyd Howell Junior, as a matter of fact, the then
NFLPA executive director no longer the NFLPA Executive Director, and
he goes on to his history there, and I've accepted
the mission. My leadership has become a distraction to the
important work the NFLPA advances every day. For this reason,
I've informed the NFLPA Executive Committee that I am stepping

(01:24:16):
down as executive Director of the NFLPA and Chairman of
the Board of the nfl Players, effective immediately. Hope this
allows the NFLPA to maintain its focus on its members
ahead of the upcoming season. So he's proud of what
they've done. YadA, YadA, YadA. So the story last night
is okay. There clearly were some issues there and he

(01:24:36):
or they have realized we're just better off if you're
not here anymore, So go ahead and resign, which he did,
and inform the players of this. This evening, Lloyd holl
informed us that he's stepping down. We accept the resignation,
grateful for his service. Board convened soon and we'll figure
out a meeting for the next steps and we'll be
in touch with our membership soon. All this is taking
place last night before ten o'clock Central time, and I

(01:24:59):
expect to to be a pretty significant story today for
the simplicity of it.

Speaker 3 (01:25:04):
They have constant issues.

Speaker 5 (01:25:06):
They have constant things that need to be discussed, both
internally and externally.

Speaker 3 (01:25:10):
With the NFL.

Speaker 5 (01:25:11):
They need an executive director as somewhat of the voice
of the players that's not the NFLPA president, that is
a player, and now they don't have one. Okay, I
got it. There's probably some issues there and we just
kind of brought them up. Did not expect what was
to come today and this story from ESPN. Their investigative
side normally is led by the two that wrote this,

(01:25:34):
Kaylen Kyler and Don von Nata Junior is Don on
the phone. It's incredible. Kaylen's been covering sports for a
lot of different indies over the year. Met her a
few years ago at Texans and it was around the
Deshaun Watson era, and she's been involved in a lot
of stories just from the non strictly football side, so
not surprised that she and Don were able.

Speaker 3 (01:25:56):
To unearth this.

Speaker 4 (01:25:58):
Things that make good reporters do things that Shane Gillis
also made jokes about.

Speaker 3 (01:26:02):
Uh he did.

Speaker 5 (01:26:03):
Yeah, we didn't play the Deshaun Watson joke. It was
something about where hands, where I can see him something
like that.

Speaker 3 (01:26:08):
Right, that was a joke, wasn't something about it? Keep pure?

Speaker 5 (01:26:12):
Well, I don't know how you delivered it and brought
DeShawn into the equation of it. I know how he finished.
After he delivered it, he laughed at himself. The story
today mid afternoon today reads, I mean I could read
this story.

Speaker 3 (01:26:25):
I just read the headline before you get any further
in that.

Speaker 5 (01:26:28):
Yeah, I just note this in today's show tweet, it
says Lloyd Christmas not the dumbest Lloyd, dumbus Lloyd. You
know Lloyd Christmas is everybody. Yes, yeah, he's a co
star in the Dumb and Dumber franchise. Harry I took
care of it. Jim Carrey's characters named Lloyd. So now

(01:26:49):
this particular Lloyd, for the reasons we will tell you,
momentarily seems less smart with his actions.

Speaker 4 (01:26:56):
Read the initial statement from Lloyd. Howel's about stepping down
or stepping aside?

Speaker 3 (01:27:03):
Uh?

Speaker 5 (01:27:03):
Two years ago accept to the role. I believe deeply
in the mission. Our members deserve a union that fights relentlessly.
It's clear that my leadership has become a distraction right there.

Speaker 3 (01:27:12):
That's just all I wanted to remind him.

Speaker 4 (01:27:14):
My leadership has become a distraction. So I'm a leadership. Yeah,
that's an interesting way of putting it. When you consider
what happened here.

Speaker 3 (01:27:20):
I'll hit you with the headline. Ex.

Speaker 5 (01:27:22):
NFLPA boss Howells strip club expenses sent to investigator.

Speaker 4 (01:27:28):
I now, listen, there are some people who would be
of the opinion of the thinking what have you.

Speaker 3 (01:27:37):
I'm not saying they're right or wrong that if you're
going to do.

Speaker 4 (01:27:40):
Something, go all the way, right or wrong, big or
whatever it is, go all the way. If nothing else.
He certainly did that here. Would you agree? Maybe?

Speaker 3 (01:27:53):
Maybe?

Speaker 4 (01:27:53):
Well, after we explain what he did, and I'll let
you do that, I'll tell you what I'm talking about.

Speaker 5 (01:27:57):
You kind of walk through just the headline. Okay, I'll
take the first part. The NFLPA boss clearly went to
a strip club and pretty clearly more than once expenses.

Speaker 3 (01:28:11):
Yeah, okay, so what right? I mean?

Speaker 5 (01:28:15):
It's not illegal nothing, it's not illegal. We're talking about
somebody who may have been with members of the union,
which means they're players, which means they're in their twenties
and thirties, and just to be clear, perfectly reasonable customer base.

Speaker 3 (01:28:29):
It was for this establishment. It wasn't like ten times.

Speaker 5 (01:28:32):
Well, yeah, now we can get into the deats of
the story. The second part of the headline is why
this became a story because the expenses were sent to
an investigator, and so he was investigated for going to
a strip club.

Speaker 3 (01:28:46):
No, what was he investigated for?

Speaker 5 (01:28:49):
I thought you just said he went to a strip
club and it was Well you also mentioned the word expenses, right, yeah,
because he's expensing his trips to be paid for by
the member of the union. That's where the money comes from,
to pay for expenses incurred by people like him, the president,
the executive director of the NFLPA. So I'm going to

(01:29:10):
go there and have you guys pay for it. I'm
going to expense it like it's dinner, like it's an event.
I took somebody that we were whining and dining as
part of the union or simply players in the union,
which apparently possibly not definitively, but most likely at least
were with him on one, if not both, of these visits.

Speaker 4 (01:29:30):
It's no different than a politician running up the tab.
It's something like this and using taxpayers money to do it.

Speaker 5 (01:29:36):
So A seven and thirty eight dollars and eighty two
cent car service took him from the airport to a club,
and when that expense was seen internally, it raised a
red flag, I think for the amount of money, and
they the location of the event was just a or

(01:29:57):
a location of delivery from the car service. There's some
Miami Gardens address. Well, you can look up what that
establishment is, and the people inside the organization, the expense workers,
the people in accounting.

Speaker 3 (01:30:12):
Looked it up.

Speaker 5 (01:30:12):
Well, I think the reason the cabaret was in the establishment.

Speaker 4 (01:30:16):
Well, I think part of the reason, first of all
that they looked it up is that he was dropped
off from the airport.

Speaker 3 (01:30:23):
About ten twenty six in the evening. Yeah, and what
time was he taken home?

Speaker 5 (01:30:28):
He was headed to his luxury condominium and dropped off
there around six am, So that's about eight hours big,
and the car was asked to wait during that entire period.

Speaker 3 (01:30:38):
Plus tab there you go.

Speaker 4 (01:30:39):
So, yeah, you look up that address in Miami Gardens
and yeah, realize.

Speaker 3 (01:30:44):
Told it was a cabaret.

Speaker 5 (01:30:46):
I do appreciate the both of the authors of this
article adding this sentence. The seventy six thousand square foot
venue bills itself as the world's largest strip club quote
full number one rated full?

Speaker 4 (01:31:01):
You know what number one rated? Well, you've left out
a very important word. I didn't say the word nude.

Speaker 3 (01:31:06):
Full nude. Oh yeah, I did. That means all the
way I got you. Oh so that was your all
the way comment.

Speaker 4 (01:31:11):
Uh, not just that I didn't say the world's largest.
Okay that anywhere on the planet, there's not a bigger
one than se like seventy six thousand square feet. How
many stories is this place?

Speaker 3 (01:31:25):
Got a lot of acreage?

Speaker 4 (01:31:26):
Well yeah, I mean you know, again, he chose the
route of going bigger going home.

Speaker 5 (01:31:34):
It does also appear you mentioned earlier there was a
second visit to a second place, a Magic City. We've
talked about them before.

Speaker 4 (01:31:41):
They have great wings. According to Lou Williams Junior.

Speaker 5 (01:31:46):
Yeah, this year on my birthday, they went to had
an NFLPA summit February twenty first Magic City Strip Club
twenty four hundred dollars in charges Catholics drawls which were
made on site at the club atm it's a lot
of ones. It's a lot of money, it certainly is.
The final amount was charged to close the tab for
both secluded sections for our player members. Really this included food, drinks, fees, taxes,

(01:32:11):
and gratuity for cash withdrawals, apparently referring to well, I
want to get reimbursed for this, and thus an investigator
like again going there.

Speaker 3 (01:32:21):
I want to get to the most important part of
that paras these do very very quickly.

Speaker 4 (01:32:24):
If he used two VIP rooms in quotations, yeah, that's
what I said, secluded sections. I said two vip rooms.

Speaker 5 (01:32:35):
Was there any champagne in the room? Come on, man,
he also makes millions millions of dollars in salary from them,
not to mention the other job that he has where
he also makes tons of money. But you better get
that expensed.

Speaker 1 (01:32:50):
Lloyd the eight on Sports Talk seven ninety A.

Speaker 5 (01:33:03):
Bunch of other skirting the rules of society or the
league you're playing in items have come up today. We'll
get to those in a little bit probably next segment.
One on the NBA side, one on the media side.
NBA side's a pretty big deal. We'll get into that momentarily.
But with Summer League coming to a conclusion over the weekend,

(01:33:25):
Rockets will wrap things up tomorrow afternoon, gather their fifth
loss with players that they won't see a whole lot
of outside of training camp and playing for the Vipers
of the upcoming season. Then they'll get ready for their season,
saying with everybody else, most rookies have probably played their
last game. Prominent rookies, handful of them played the full four,
and maybe we'll get into some action this weekend. The

(01:33:45):
Rockets obviously did not have one of any prominence reach.
Shepherd played his two games, moved on, and a host
of other Rockets were there and their coaching staff, their
ownership group, and their general manager. Most teams were also
there in Vegas, and one extremely awesome SoundBite machine former

(01:34:08):
Rockets legend. Also, all of these people were gonna hear
from weighed in on the Rockets and Kevin Durant and
their future together. You got current player, you've got coach,
and you've got former player. Tell me where to begin
future player, current player, there's no future player.

Speaker 3 (01:34:30):
I don't know who that. I don't have a KD SoundBite.

Speaker 5 (01:34:33):
He wasn't at Summer League and nobody caught.

Speaker 3 (01:34:35):
Up with him. I know current player.

Speaker 5 (01:34:36):
I mean, if we want KD, I can just go
to ex platform.

Speaker 4 (01:34:40):
The s nonstuff do I have withdrawls without him even
playing a second here because we didn't get the press
conference that I wanted.

Speaker 3 (01:34:47):
Absolutely, So that was my way of saying, I'm bitter.

Speaker 5 (01:34:49):
Space City Home Network, who you're watching us on right now.
Vanessa Richardson has been there throughout the proceedings there and
was able to catch up with current player soon to
be teammate Thompson. I'm in Thompson talking a little bit
about Kevin Durant.

Speaker 3 (01:35:05):
It's a new teammate.

Speaker 5 (01:35:06):
What he is looking forward to, what he might expect
when they get together, A.

Speaker 13 (01:35:10):
Lot of stuff I haven't seen before, you know what
I mean. It's one of the greatest players ever, one
of the best scorers ever. Is gonna make my life a.

Speaker 3 (01:35:19):
Lot easier, you know what I mean? What do you
think you can learn from Kevin just by observing him?

Speaker 13 (01:35:23):
I mean, I just hear his work ethic is different,
you know if I have a different work ethic too,
So just like combining that and I think it's gonna
be all fun.

Speaker 3 (01:35:33):
What kind of place you envision you and Katie making together.

Speaker 13 (01:35:37):
Maybe I'll throw him a lib on he might be
this might not be the same.

Speaker 3 (01:35:42):
I don't know if he wants to jump like that.
So he get thrown me some lobs.

Speaker 13 (01:35:45):
Definitely gonna be passing it to him a lot, and
they're gonna be double team man, so I'm gonna be
cutting off the back of him.

Speaker 3 (01:35:52):
I'm calling him old before he ever even gets here.

Speaker 5 (01:35:54):
Almost sounded like he was comparing the lobs he throw
to the guy who's replacing to Kevin Durant, just out
of curiosity. Kevin Durant sixty two games played, age thirty six.
How many dunks do you think he had last year?

Speaker 3 (01:36:10):
Oh? Geez, I don't know.

Speaker 4 (01:36:12):
I don't know what the That's one of those numbers
where you could probably I could tell you like, oh,
this guy had this many assists in a season, and
I would be kind of close.

Speaker 9 (01:36:21):
I have.

Speaker 5 (01:36:21):
He hasn't had one hundred dunk season since twenty nineteen.

Speaker 4 (01:36:25):
I less than twenty. He had forty four dunks last year.
Oh wow, it's just way more than I thought.

Speaker 5 (01:36:31):
Uh, the player he's replacing. How many dunks do you
think Jalen Green had last year? One hundred and fifty
one hundred and fifty dunks for Jalen Green. That is
incorrect by a lot too much. He had fifty four
dunks last year really, that's correct.

Speaker 3 (01:36:51):
He had ten more dunks than.

Speaker 5 (01:36:53):
Katie, ten more dunks in twenty more games and four
hundred plus more minutes.

Speaker 3 (01:36:58):
Only ten more ducks now do their point, it was
a little bit different.

Speaker 5 (01:37:01):
Kevin Durant was among the highest scoring players in the.

Speaker 3 (01:37:04):
League last year.

Speaker 5 (01:37:05):
Probably will be close to that this year, but probably
a bit down, and that his usage rate will be
very different, I think this year with this team versus
the team he was on a year ago. Just so
you know, Amen Thompson one hundred and thirty eight dunks
last year. So Durant to a men with those back
cuts that a man mentioned, that's what I think we'll
see a little bit more than an oop from a

(01:37:26):
men to Kdi.

Speaker 3 (01:37:27):
See.

Speaker 4 (01:37:27):
That's why I was like, and that's a men Thompson,
that's not a scorer per se.

Speaker 5 (01:37:33):
No, we know how he plays the dunker spot. Yeah,
some of these are offensive rebounds. He plays above the rim. Yeah,
he's on the break.

Speaker 4 (01:37:40):
He's almost like a center in that way where it's
such a high percentage shot. Anyways, I just thought by
virtue of being the two guard a b by the
fact that he did not ever miss a game and
wouldn't And just the amount of usage or the amount
of ball handling. I just thought by default he would
have at least a one hundred fifty.

Speaker 5 (01:38:00):
I thought the same ament. Thompson was seventh in the
NBA and dunks last year.

Speaker 3 (01:38:04):
Well he's gonna be first this year.

Speaker 5 (01:38:06):
Coach next his head coach again will be Emay Udoka
or for the first time head coach, but he's coached
him twice before with Brooklyn and then with Team USA.

Speaker 3 (01:38:16):
Some thoughts from his.

Speaker 5 (01:38:16):
Head coach same source, appreciate Space City Home network of
course Vanessa Richardson with email Udoka kind of what he
thinks maybe will help with the young players on the
team being around Katie is his.

Speaker 7 (01:38:27):
Day to day routine very similar to Fred and Dylan
and Jeff and the vets that we brought in. I
think he takes it to another level with his work
ethic and like I said, seeing him in practice with
Brooklyn and USA, he almost would go through practice to
get to his routine and then you see the work
that he puts in to maintain the level that he's
been at. So that definitely rubs off on guys. But

(01:38:49):
just like all our events did, they'll come in and
part wisdom and the teacher his experience with these guys,
and they'll be invaluable for them.

Speaker 3 (01:38:54):
To see and learn from him. I assume you two
have spoken. What are those conversations been like? Is you
anxiously await coaching?

Speaker 7 (01:39:00):
Yeah, I'm both excided.

Speaker 3 (01:39:01):
I mean, he'll work together again.

Speaker 7 (01:39:04):
Obviously he was in a tough situation and looking forward
to moving on and very happy to do that with us.
So he shared that excitement and enjoy to be back
with some guys that they already knows back in Texas.
And so yeah, like I said, we all know about
what he brings in, no secret there, but very happy
to get going, very excited about our young guys that he's.

Speaker 3 (01:39:22):
Ready to play with. He may knows who he is.

Speaker 5 (01:39:24):
He's Kevin Durant in case anybody missed that.

Speaker 3 (01:39:27):
He that has been said.

Speaker 4 (01:39:28):
I also enjoyed how polite he was about saying Phoenix
sucked last year.

Speaker 5 (01:39:33):
The situation he was in. Yeah, the situation he was
in is that they sucked.

Speaker 3 (01:39:37):
Oh he may. He's just the best. All right.

Speaker 5 (01:39:40):
Now we're left with the former Rockets player comment on
this comes from the All the Smoke podcasts Matt Barnes
Stephen Jackson's podcast. It's a frequent contributor to the podcast.
You know that is right, Barne Maxwell, Vernon Maxwell, as
you'll hear asked by Matt Barnes to offer a bold prediction.

Speaker 3 (01:39:59):
What is one bold prediction for next few year?

Speaker 14 (01:40:03):
Rockers gonna win the championship. I mean, we just got
kept saying all these modes needed to do with the
Rockers needed to do, We get them, roll that ball
out too, and go get a guy, bugget and we
got it.

Speaker 3 (01:40:23):
Now gotta love it right.

Speaker 4 (01:40:27):
We have had exploratory conversations with Max about coming on
the show.

Speaker 5 (01:40:31):
Yes, that was recorded, edited and censored audio from vern Maxwell.

Speaker 4 (01:40:35):
When you consider that we are not only on an
FCC regulated radio station but also Space City Home network,
I just I don't know that saying hey Max, can
you maybe not swear would really do the trick.

Speaker 3 (01:40:49):
But there you go.

Speaker 4 (01:40:50):
And I'll tell you this right now, I'm going out
on a limb and I'll bring you with me.

Speaker 3 (01:40:56):
Okay, oh cool.

Speaker 4 (01:40:58):
If the Rockets win the championship this year, I will
be on a fire truck with Vernon Maxwell. I've decided
he didn't even know about this yet, nor does the team.
But I'm I'm inviting us and I'm putting us on
it because Vernon Maxwell saying that is the type of
attitude I think everybody associated with this organization is actually

(01:41:19):
bringing into this season. We're just not hearing it yet
the way Max is saying it, but that is the
mentality right now before they've ever even convened for training
camp and e mails.

Speaker 5 (01:41:29):
The reason for that, I heard what he said loud
and clear. They needed a really good player who they
could give the ball to and get big baskets for
if you will. I mean that was used a few times.

Speaker 3 (01:41:40):
It's just it.

Speaker 5 (01:41:41):
I appreciated Max for delivering the same needing to be
censored phrase three times in exactly the same time, the
exact exact items needing to be edited. I didn't have
to grab the sensor and edit it down or edit more.
He says it perfectly each time, in the same fashion.

Speaker 3 (01:42:03):
I think he is. I think he's used to saying
a lot of words. Well.

Speaker 5 (01:42:06):
Matt Barnes also outside of that, when he finished said
I agree, I.

Speaker 4 (01:42:11):
Know, uh, I don't want to listen. Health is a
huge huge factor here, but this was why I was
always on board with getting a guy like that. If
if you could, in a scenario get a guy like
that from an offensive standpoint without simultaneously giving up much

(01:42:34):
of the young core and not taking any step back defensively,
which I don't think they would, that was always going
to be the perfect scenario. They did it, and let's
just say worst case scenario, he's hurt the whole time,
they don't get out of the first round.

Speaker 3 (01:42:49):
Whatever, Like, oh, these are awful scenarios. Whatever.

Speaker 4 (01:42:52):
They're not like, their future is not hamstrung the way
some teams that make these types of deal are deals are.
They are very much still set up for a very
bright future.

Speaker 5 (01:43:04):
And what to even accentuate how great the position they're in.
They did go all in like those other teams you're mentioning,
And yet what you said is totally correct.

Speaker 3 (01:43:15):
They went all in.

Speaker 5 (01:43:16):
They had a team that they thought could develop and win,
and instead they went all in.

Speaker 3 (01:43:21):
And they're not hamstrung in any way moving forward, and.

Speaker 4 (01:43:23):
That actually, youth wise, all of that timing wise, timeline
is very very delicious for your Houston Rockets.

Speaker 1 (01:43:33):
The Age on Sports Talk seven ninety's.

Speaker 5 (01:43:39):
Part of the show normally dedicated to signature segments. You
will rejoin the party the Friday eighteam draft next week.

Speaker 3 (01:43:46):
One more week away.

Speaker 5 (01:43:47):
With all the traveling and scheduling that each of the
three of us have done, we just needed one more
week of a breather away from that. So get your
items ready. I teased at the beginning of last segment.
There were a couple of other stories of individuals running
a foul of the law or league's rules or things
like that. You have a preference of which direction to go,

(01:44:09):
the NFL side, media side, NFL slash media side, or
NBA side.

Speaker 3 (01:44:13):
Let's go. We talked about the NBA last segment.

Speaker 5 (01:44:15):
So let's go with the unopause on that, although we'll
probably have time for it. We'll go to the media side.
And I have to go to Instagram for this the
account of very familiar Tony Busby. Tony Busby, and he
writes three hours ago, Jane Doe versus Deshaun Watson Shannon Sharp.
Oh yeah, oh y, yes, I know about this. April

(01:44:36):
twenty twenty five, the Buzzby Law firm filed a complaint
in Nevada, making several allegations against Shannon Sharp on behalf
of our client. Both sides acknowledge a long term consensual
and tumultuous relationships sensual. After protracted and respectful negotiations, I
am pleased to announce that we have reached a mutually
agreed upon resolution. All matters now been addressed satisfactorily, and

(01:44:57):
the matter is closed.

Speaker 3 (01:44:58):
Lawsuit will thus be just missed with prejudice.

Speaker 4 (01:45:01):
Let me ask you this, when there is a high
profile this would be considered.

Speaker 5 (01:45:07):
That Shannon stepped away from the Worldwide Leader after this
was filed.

Speaker 4 (01:45:13):
Skip, okay, when there's a it's so funny when there
is a high profile case like this involving an accusation
of some unsavory type things and the other party winds
up settling, are is your first inclination and just take

(01:45:33):
the case, stuff whatever's contained off the table. Because there's
several examples of this is your first inclination. You and
anybody listening to think they are probably guilty. If they
wanted to make it go away, well you could have.

Speaker 5 (01:45:46):
Been talking about either side, although the other end of
it would have been they know what happened, but they
don't want to go through all that even though they
filed suit, or the possibility is I go through all
that and judgment not rendered in my favor.

Speaker 3 (01:46:02):
It's a risk.

Speaker 4 (01:46:03):
In other words, yes's why people do plea deals. It's
the same principle here, same concept where all right now
people are gonna look at me and see that I
have a record. But if I decided to go to trial,
I was gambling with my freedom over something that I
know I didn't do. But it doesn't matter because sometimes
the system doesn't work for me or anybody or people.

Speaker 5 (01:46:25):
It's just simply difficult to show that prove that I
didn't do what I've been alleged to have done.

Speaker 4 (01:46:32):
Like Michael Jackson's a good example, not not the best
subject matter, and it just did not look good. But
he was never convicted, and yet he settled with a
bunch of the accusers. And I know because he settled
a lot of people automatically thought while he was guilty
of what he was accused of.

Speaker 3 (01:46:54):
This isn't exactly the same.

Speaker 5 (01:46:56):
Well, this is one instance with Shannon, right, even though
he's maybe involved. Didn't that a little bit different way
with some other things, but not specific to this. And
as you described the Jackson situation and the perception of
the Jackson situation that sounds like Deshaun Watson.

Speaker 3 (01:47:11):
Do you know whose attorney was?

Speaker 5 (01:47:12):
Though Michael's attorney years of like what years are we
talking about?

Speaker 3 (01:47:18):
Uh?

Speaker 4 (01:47:19):
This would have been It's I should know right the
second time around? Is who I'm referencing because I know
there was more like he was accused of this in
the early nineties and actually had like stop his tour
and all that. But I'm talking about the one in
like two thousand and five. I believe I do not
know who his attorney was. Come on, you know I
can turn anything into OJ. Well, I'm trying to think

(01:47:40):
of OJ's attorneys.

Speaker 5 (01:47:41):
It wasn't Robert Shapiro, wasn't Robert Kardashian, It wasn't f
Lee Bailey. There was one Barry. She wasn't Barry Sheck.
Have I run out of I mean, obviously Johnny Cockran
was involved in the case.

Speaker 3 (01:47:53):
There you go.

Speaker 5 (01:47:53):
Johnny Cockran was Michael Jackson's attorney for one of these
instances at one point. And I can't remember which one
what it might have actually been. There only nineties one
because Johnny passed away like not that long.

Speaker 3 (01:48:05):
After the OJ trial.

Speaker 4 (01:48:06):
I mean it was probably about a decade so it
might have been the first time around. But yeah, he's
high profile defense cases. That's Johnny Cockrany's, Johnny Cochrane's, and
yeah it was.

Speaker 5 (01:48:16):
Johnny Cochrane rose to national prominence for his representation of
notable clients like Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson and Sean Combs.

Speaker 3 (01:48:28):
When did he represent Puffy don't know p Diddy?

Speaker 5 (01:48:32):
Yeah, okay, So we'll see if this leads to a
return for Shannon.

Speaker 3 (01:48:37):
I presume that it will.

Speaker 5 (01:48:40):
I think there's a reason why they brought him over,
and I think there is something to the dynamic of
having someone almost as loud as Stephen A. Smith to
combat him and his loudness. I can actually take a
lot more than Russo's loudness. When he's sitting across the
table from a thick New York Accidents, he makes me

(01:49:01):
want Stephen A. Smith to get back in front of
the mic. When Russo's yelling like, that's how bad it is.

Speaker 3 (01:49:06):
He's the lesser of two evils.

Speaker 5 (01:49:07):
It's they're both bad. Of other shows to watch. Yeah,
I've met him a few times since he's really the
per nice guy. I think we also met him a
long time ago. You're right, and I don't think when
I met him he was walking into NBA games like
he walks into NBA games now to play.

Speaker 3 (01:49:25):
Yes, come on.

Speaker 5 (01:49:27):
Dude, he was making a lot less money. He was
still super prominent, he was still a big name. He
was quite frankly, he wasn't quite where he is now.

Speaker 4 (01:49:33):
But I'm old enough to remember when he was a
guest as a Philadelphia Inquirer writer on the Last Word
with Jim Rome on Fox Sports Southwest.

Speaker 3 (01:49:43):
Nice.

Speaker 4 (01:49:43):
That is a super late nineties reference right there, which
is when this was happening.

Speaker 5 (01:49:47):
You know, the other story with this was relating to
if you remember, it was just a less than a
month ago neighborhood of we got the news that investigation
underway for Malik b for instances believed he was attached
to gambling and potential, you know, games being played and

(01:50:08):
money being wagered on him, and that developed into okay,
let's take a look and see if there's more to it,
and I think they free pressed. I believe had information
about some of his previous financial issues, bill paying issues
for his residents, bill paying issues with some other services
that he requested, and thus the idea that there was

(01:50:29):
some serious financial problems for a player who had made
millions he was set to make. I mean, heck, the
deal that Damian Lillard just got from the Blazers three years,
forty two million was roughly the deal we thought, and
was reported that he was discussing this offseason potentially to
be receiving for himself. On the basketball court. Just this

(01:50:50):
past season, we were talking about how his season ended.
If you recall with the Pistons, he played very well.
It was a huge part of why they elevated their
team to where they were, and he was a big
part of that series. But it ended with him being
past the ball for what would have been an exceptionally
important end of game shot and they went right through
his hands and out of bounds.

Speaker 3 (01:51:11):
Not that it was related to.

Speaker 5 (01:51:13):
Well, if I hit this shot, it might push the more,
or if I don't hit this shot, i'll land on
the less. Don't not trying to insinuate that, just trying
to say, this is quite likely the last play he'll
ever have in the NBA. The investigation ongoing. The other
thing that came from it. A lot of national reporters
made mention of it then, and it's become a bigger

(01:51:34):
deal today because of a new report. They mentioned that
Terry Rogier has not been cleared. He had been under investigation,
he obviously was still playing games. There was no resolution
or there was no further information on the investigation until
now and a new report, and it is I would

(01:51:55):
say it's wild. I would say it's very wild, and
say it's explosively quite the apple of g I wonder
if they'll notice this latest NBA gambling related yikes come
in your way next.

Speaker 1 (01:52:11):
On Sports Talk seven Ninety's a.

Speaker 4 (01:52:23):
Lot of illicit activities that are being talked about on
the show this week, both sports and otherwise. Plus something
I mentioned earlier in the show might get brought up
here a little bit later before we wrap things up
in that I may or may not be in a
new social media beef.

Speaker 5 (01:52:39):
Oh but it's with somebody that I like. Okay, so
that could be weird. Keep your friend's enemies closer, which.

Speaker 3 (01:52:46):
He is based in Dallas.

Speaker 5 (01:52:48):
You're familiar with his work, so he's like the media.
M he's a player, he's a musician.

Speaker 4 (01:52:56):
Why am I answering all your questions? Like Matt Thomas,
is he a does he make graphics? Is he a photoshop? Editor,
you're getting warmer, Okay, I'll leave it there. Yeah. March
twenty third, twenty twenty three. What happened then?

Speaker 3 (01:53:11):
March twenty third, twenty twenty three.

Speaker 5 (01:53:13):
Light night on the NBA schedule, just four games astro
season opener. One such game was the Hornets and Pelicans
Pelicans under five hundred, Hornets one of the worst.

Speaker 3 (01:53:22):
Teams in the NBA.

Speaker 5 (01:53:22):
He's like an awful waste of money, those two teams.
It was a lopsided affair. Pelicans drew within one game
of five hundred. They won thirty They went to a
thirty six and thirty seven. Hornets lost in another game
was their fifty first loss of the season. They lost
by nineteen points. One of the starters for the Hornets
that day was Terry Rozier. Played nine minutes and thirty
four seconds. He was two or four from the four.

(01:53:44):
He had five points, four boards to assist, a steal,
and a turnover, picked up a couple of fouls. Didn't
play a whole lot. Normally starters play a little bit
more than that, even in a blowout. But just nine
minutes and thirty four seconds of basketball.

Speaker 3 (01:53:57):
Why do we care?

Speaker 5 (01:54:00):
Well? Latest report from ESPN says a professional better placed ten,
not twenty, but thirty wagers in forty six minutes, all
involving Terry Rogier.

Speaker 3 (01:54:15):
In a twenty twenty three NBA game.

Speaker 5 (01:54:17):
According to documents, a better at a sportsbook in Mississippi
went with thirteen seven and fifty nine dollars worth of
bets on the Unders on Rosier statistics in the game.
I just mentioned all thirty bets one after Rogier exited

(01:54:39):
ten minutes into the game, or with my information, nine
minutes and four seconds worth of basketball into the game
citing a foot issue, and thus he did not return.
All thirty bets won with him playing the better playing
the Unders, Rosier starting guard for the Hornets, played nine

(01:55:04):
minutes and thirty four seconds.

Speaker 3 (01:55:06):
Huh. The unders hit six.

Speaker 5 (01:55:08):
Sportsbooks detected suspicious betting on Rosier props that day Louisiana,
Mississippi sordid places, and the NBA investigated the unusual activity
in twenty twenty three and found that no league rules
were violated. Does this sound like it could possibly be correct?

(01:55:30):
No league rules were violated? Well, yeah, what rule would
be there? I know you faked an injury. You just
broke a rule.

Speaker 3 (01:55:38):
I mean, that's in and of itself pretty hard to prove.

Speaker 4 (01:55:43):
I've always said that, you know, point shaving that is
so difficult to do.

Speaker 5 (01:55:52):
Becomes a lot. Well, point shaving is old school. It's
I know what the line is. They've gotten to me.
I'm gonna play my game and just make sure the
people that need me to make them money to get
me out of this hole that I'm in pays off.
So my team, which is awesome. They're favored by nine points.

(01:56:13):
My team's going to win, and either I need to
make sure they win by less or I need to
which is usually the case because you're making mistakes that
don't cost you the game, but they allow the betters
to win when betting on the other team, and you
didn't cost your team quote unquote because you still won
the game. That's point shaving. Basically, this is personal too.

(01:56:37):
Numbers based solely on your own personal performance. In a
game where a better placed thirty wagers in forty six
minutes all on unders, with Rosier playing by his own
design and the injured foot five points four boards to assist,
they all were unders.

Speaker 3 (01:56:56):
They all hit.

Speaker 4 (01:56:57):
The concept though, of what I'm trying to explain here
is the same in that it is. I have always
been fascinated, whether it's, like you said, old school point
shaving or individual statistic shaving.

Speaker 3 (01:57:09):
However you want to refer to it.

Speaker 4 (01:57:11):
It takes such effort by the individual to do this,
Like I don't know what's more grotesquely impressive to me,
an individual player doing this, especially in an NBA game
since we're talking about the NBA, or in the case
of like Tim Donahey, trying to affect the game while

(01:57:32):
not being completely obvious as an official of the game.
Both of these are so they stress me out to
talk about them. I can imagine being a person participant.

Speaker 5 (01:57:43):
From a manipulation standpoint, especially the official side of it,
it is a little I think it can become very
easy to manipulate to very specific wagers that are available.

Speaker 3 (01:57:53):
To the easier route of these two. For sure.

Speaker 5 (01:57:54):
I think just pick any player that played in the finals,
m H. Shay Gill, just Alexander for example. Merchant Let's
say it was the more or less for him in
Game three on free throws attempted was six and a half.
You don't think one of the three officials could help
make sure he got seven, eight, nine, ten, attempts without

(01:58:15):
anybody even thinking twice about it.

Speaker 3 (01:58:17):
It hads a.

Speaker 5 (01:58:18):
Little bit to turn. He better played hard, he better
attack the basket. I need those Well, yeah, that's how
he plays.

Speaker 3 (01:58:23):
Why happen?

Speaker 4 (01:58:24):
You know what's funny is in today's NBA or the
reverse right, But in today's NBA it actually would be
a lot easier because phantom fouls get called all the time.

Speaker 3 (01:58:32):
Yeah, ply reguards.

Speaker 5 (01:58:33):
There are some rule changes that I think have helped
in that cause some of the available challenges. I think
the idea that officials used to just save fouls. I mean,
it's pretty clear they saved players from fouls. The ball
went out of bounce, we'll just give it to them
out of bounce. Well, he smashed into his arm. That's
why the ball went out of bounce. Yep, just out
of bounds, no foul. Called a lot of different ways
to do that, but this and naturally, when the story

(01:58:56):
came out about Beasley, the inner Sleuth's did with him
what they also did with Rosier. I've probably seen five
clips of Rosier playing basketball, and he looks like he's
starring in Blue Chips with Nick Nolty. I mean, these
plays are I can't believe. And when you're watching them,
you think, what is he doing? But you're not necessarily
trained to think what is he doing? Throwing the game,

(01:59:19):
throwing the numbers. And there's countless plays, and none of
them that I've seen came from that particular game. Everything
I saw with Rogier came from his time with his
most recent team, the Miami Heat, and he was just
making plays that should have sent him to the bench.
Quite honestly, they did. But there does seem to be
a lot more here than should be dismissed, although it
appears the NBA at a time did dismiss it. I

(01:59:42):
don't know if the latest details of the unusual betting
will deem them. Well, maybe we did not find what
we should have and need to continue to Again, the
investigation was never to the point where he was cleared.
They just had not done anything to him, and I
don't know if that will change. I'm not sure what
his future held anyway, because he basically played himself off

(02:00:05):
the court with the Heat to begin with.

Speaker 3 (02:00:07):
Right, and again, it's convenient since how old is he now.

Speaker 5 (02:00:12):
I mean, he's on the back side of the sunset
of his career.

Speaker 4 (02:00:15):
Yeah, I just wonder if somebody in their prime got
caught up in something like this.

Speaker 3 (02:00:19):
It's only thirty one.

Speaker 5 (02:00:20):
I mean he's got he could play more, but yeah,
I don't think he's a desirable asset.

Speaker 4 (02:00:23):
What the what the what the punishment would be? And
I mean Tim Donahy was blackballed, Gone, you're out of here,
You're disgraced. But it was just he was the only guy.
He's the only guy involved. It's not like anybody that
currently officiates in the NBA was involved. There just saying we.

Speaker 5 (02:00:38):
Will talk a little Astros baseball top of the five
o'clock hour. It's always baseball at five. Chandler Rome joins us.

Speaker 1 (02:00:44):
Next the A Team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 11 (02:00:53):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eight team.

Speaker 4 (02:01:02):
Straight up five o'clock here on a Friday edition of
The A Team, which means it's time for baseball at five,
like every single week, all right, not really. Chandler Rome
of the Athletic joining us for his weekly visit. Chandler,
It's it's much quieter on the Astros front compared to
last week when you were in here and we were
talking all day Thursday about the Jake Meyer situation and

(02:01:25):
then once again your visit on Friday, although the schedule
resumes tonight and already kind of a quirk in the rotation.
What did you make of the sudden change in what
the what Joe spot is going to do this weekend
in Seattle?

Speaker 15 (02:01:41):
Yeah, well, to be to be candid with everyone, I'm
not in Seattle, so I won't be able to ask
or know in the near future like Brian mctagger and
Matt Kalahara will. But initially on first glance when they
sent out the original probables, I didn't find it that
strange because I think you're seeing around the league like

(02:02:02):
teams aren't just coming back and putting their workhorse starters,
you know, in Game one out of the break. I
think the Yankees are running a bullpen game today. The
Angels are running a bullpen game like they there's teams
that value getting their starters extra rest after the break.
Even the Mariners are doing that. They're not pitching Brian
wu in this series today. Seeing the other switch that

(02:02:23):
Hunter Brown will pitch Sunday and fromber Beldez, apparently he's
going to go in the Arizona series. I wonder if
it has something to do with remember Fromber took that
one hundred and four mile an hour line drive off
from Cory Seeger off his shin. I wonder if they
got they had a workout yesterday in Seattle. I wonder
if when they worked out, maybe it just still didn't
feel great or didn't feel right, and maybe they just

(02:02:45):
want to give them an extra day just to be cautious.

Speaker 6 (02:02:48):
That could be it. I don't know's that's probably.

Speaker 15 (02:02:51):
My best guess, but yeah, I was not surprised to
initially see that both of Fromber and Hunter Brown were
not going to pitch in the series, just because I
knew they wanted to give at least one of them
some extra rest.

Speaker 5 (02:03:04):
Before we dig back in on the Astros and the
post All Star breaks, schedule, the Mariners, the Races, the postseason,
the trade deadline, et cetera. What were your thoughts, if
any of great significance about Tuesday's All Star Game and
the swing off.

Speaker 15 (02:03:19):
You know, I think anytime Major League Baseball can get
people outside of its own bubble talking about Major League Baseball,
it's a good thing. And I think that swing off
kind of like transcended sport, kind of like transcended that bubble,
if you will.

Speaker 6 (02:03:34):
Like you saw national.

Speaker 15 (02:03:35):
Pundits, you saw like places that don't normally write or
talk about baseball.

Speaker 6 (02:03:39):
We're talking about baseball, and that's a good thing.

Speaker 15 (02:03:42):
I don't know that that's ever going to come into
a regular season game. But it was cool to watch,
you know. I think it got what you wanted to
get done. Like I mean, you had great players in
you know, hitting massive homers, and it was it was fun.
There was a lot of tension around even though it
was and even though it wasn't a you know, a

(02:04:02):
real game, you know, that was fun. I enjoyed it.
I I'm maybe in the minority here. I like the
miked up segments. I like the miked up interviews. I
loved Clayton Kershaw and John Smoltz going back and forth
when he was pitching. I like Jacob Wilson and his
dad getting to talk during the game.

Speaker 3 (02:04:17):
That was really fun.

Speaker 6 (02:04:17):
That was really cool. I like that.

Speaker 15 (02:04:19):
And then I mentioned those on my podcast a couple
of days ago. But for everyone that gets all worked
up and annoyed and claims that you know that they're
forcing these guys to do these interviews in game they're
forcing these guys to wear a mic h. There's a
provision in the collective bargaining agreement that players get fifteen
grand every time they're miked up in game or even
in an All Star game. So let's not act like

(02:04:40):
they're being forced to do this. They're even paid handsomely
to a talk for a couple of minutes during a game.

Speaker 5 (02:04:44):
Yeah, I heard you mention that on Chrus Shitty Territory
with Tyler and Josh about that. Not only did they
get paid, but that figure, which is it's pretty nice
for the work they're asking of you. Specific to something
else you said, you said you don't think you'll see it.

Speaker 3 (02:04:57):
In a regular season game.

Speaker 5 (02:04:59):
I understand the the league is or Major League Baseball
has always looked at different ways to either catch eyes
or shortened games or whatever their purpose is. With some
changes they've made, you know, specific to extra innings, the
gift runner put on second base. It alters the way
an inning is played, but it's still baseball. You're playing
the baseball game. This is a total non starter for me.

(02:05:21):
This is not a baseball game. You're not doing anything
other than asking a guy to hit the ball over
the fence with a non pitcher, a practice coach throwing
him softballs. That should never be a part of Major
League Baseball's deciding who won a regular season game. Is
that even possible way down the road they'd consider this.

Speaker 15 (02:05:43):
I mean, look, I'm not gonna say never. I mean,
they did the ABS system in the All Star Game,
and that's comming. That's coming sooner than you think. So
that they tested like that, they showed that in the
All Star Game, I don't think is a I don't
think that's like a coincidence. I don't think it's just
like some funny thing. I can't imagine though that becomes
the norm. You know, the automatic runner at second base

(02:06:05):
has worked so well, Like the games are shorter. You're
not seeing games go thirteen, fourteen to fifteen innings. You're
seeing at most eleven innings. Maybe sometimes you see a
twelve inning game. But it has worked, that has done
its job, and that, coupled with the pitch clock, has
shortened games. It's you know, kept rosters intact because you're
not having to use ten pitchers in a eighteen inning

(02:06:27):
game and then have to make a bunch of roster
moves the next day. Like those rule changes are working,
and I don't see the benefit maybe of the swing off.
But again, don't get me wrong, like if they did
it in the All Star Game, it's at least something
that they have thought about. That doesn't mean it's gonna happen,
but I think there is certainly something to the fact
that they even put that out there.

Speaker 3 (02:06:49):
When are we going to see abs next year?

Speaker 15 (02:06:53):
I think it's gonna be in twenty twenty seven because
it's got to be collectively bargained.

Speaker 6 (02:06:57):
And as everybody knows, the.

Speaker 15 (02:07:01):
CBA expires after next year, and that's one of the
things they talk about when they're trying to renegotiate a
new CBA is all rule changes have to be collectively bargained.
I would imagine it's going to come in twenty twenty seven.

Speaker 6 (02:07:12):
It could come earlier. They could do. You know, they
have a separate committee.

Speaker 15 (02:07:15):
I think it's the Competition Committee that collectively bargains all
rules on the field, and they can call a special
meeting of them and bargain and vote and get it done.
So maybe it could come in twenty six. It seems
like the more logical path is twenty seven, but I
like it I like the way they have it set up.
I like the challenge system. I like that it and
there's strategy to it too, because like you can't just challenge,

(02:07:39):
you know, a strike you don't like in the second
inning because then you may get screwed later in the game.
There's a lot of strategy to it. There's a lot
of you know, layers to it. I really like and
I hope it gets here sooner rather than later.

Speaker 5 (02:07:50):
What do you think Dana Brown views internally, because it's
not related to what he might say publicly, but internally
about the timeline of some potential returnees specific to pitching
Javier Garcia Spencer Arraghedtty again, as it relates to when
we only have two weeks till the deadline and the
decision has to be made on what else you're doing
to the roster without necessarily knowing that in full Do

(02:08:12):
you believe he should have or does have internal confidence
that not only a Javier maybe returns and they can
count on him being successful. How do you think he
really views this with two weeks till the deadline?

Speaker 15 (02:08:25):
Yeah, I think that I think you just hit on
like the real question I have to ask themselves wex Is,
Like it's one thing to say, like you're getting these
guys back, It's one thing to say you can activate
Hoavier off the aisle, Garcia, Araghetty like that, that's all
fine and well, but like they also have to pitch well,
they have to be effective. And Ara Getty, I think
you're a little less concerned about just because he hasn't

(02:08:45):
He's had a long layoff, but it hasn't been what Javier,
France and Garcia have had. I mean, when West Garcia
hasn't pitched a major league game in twenty six months,
Christian Xavier hasn't pitched a major league game in thirteen months.
Usually when guys come off reconstructive surgery like that, like
they have to be monitored no matter what. They have
to keep a close eye on them, and usually most
of the time they're not as effective when they come

(02:09:07):
back that first season. What Justin Verlander did in twenty
twenty two is a complete outlier, Like you're not supposed
to come back from Tommy John surgery have a sub
two era and when the cy young unanimously, that doesn't happen.
So I think, you know, as far as timeline goes,
like look, none of them are going to be back
by the trade deadline, so they're gonna have to go
into the trade deadline somewhat blind. Like they'll have their

(02:09:30):
internal reports, they'll see, they'll get the data from the
FCL when they're making their rehab assignments. They'll be able
to look at the characteristics of the pitches and things
like that, but that can only tell you so much,
like you don't know until you're in a major league
game facing major league hitterers. So I think there's internal
confidence that they're going to at least get these guys back.
But again, I think the question that they really have

(02:09:51):
to ask themselves is how many high level outs can
these guys get? How many high level innings can these
guys throw? And are we satisfied with that answer as
we go into the deadline, where starting pitching and up
hand and bat remain their top priorities.

Speaker 4 (02:10:06):
You mentioned, it's just not common to see that because
of Justin Verlander, and I think his preparation and in
this case, his rehab is you know, legendary. The kind
of things that he did to get back not only
to just being able to pitch, but to pitch at
the level that he did. Do you see any of
that in a Christian Javier. I know they're completely different guys,
but I just look at Christian Xavier and how surgical

(02:10:29):
he was before he went down with the injury, and
just how dominant, you know, being a part of multiple
no hitters in a season, that kind of thing. Is
he one of those guys that you wouldn't bet against
doing that kind of thing.

Speaker 15 (02:10:41):
I mean, like you said, it's hard to like put
Verlander in anyone in the same sentence.

Speaker 6 (02:10:45):
The one thing I'll say about.

Speaker 15 (02:10:46):
Verlander's rehab that's been different than Javier's. And Verlander even
talked about this, like after when he came back, remember
that year in twenty twenty one, he was like up
to facing hitters and throwing bullpens in like September, and
like was a possibility for them, like could have pitched
in the playoffs, Like was ready was built up to
that point, and they decided, you know, let's let's not

(02:11:08):
shut that down. Let's give him a full offseason to
get ready. He came back and was incredible. Javier's not
doing that like Javier. They give you like a twelve
to fourteen month timeline on Tommy John Xavier's trending like
he's gonna come back, you know.

Speaker 6 (02:11:22):
Thirteen fourteen months.

Speaker 15 (02:11:23):
I think Justin Verlander was like fourteen or sixteen months
postop when he made his return, So does that matter.

Speaker 6 (02:11:31):
I'm sure that had something to do with it.

Speaker 15 (02:11:33):
You know, Justin Verlander's an older he was an older pitcher.
Then that's something that they certainly wanted to take into account.
Had more tread on his tires than Christian Xavier does.

Speaker 6 (02:11:41):
But don't rule out the fact that hot that.

Speaker 15 (02:11:44):
Verlander had a longer layoff than Xavier and that may
have helped him when he got back. Justin Verlander's also
a freak and just a generational pitcher, and there's no
one that you can really put up against him in
terms of comps.

Speaker 6 (02:11:58):
So you know, again, I wouldn't.

Speaker 15 (02:12:00):
Bet against Christian Hobber, But I also wouldn't if I'm
Dana Brown or if I'm an Astros family, I wouldn't
just assume that the Christian Hobber you get back in
mid to late August is going to be the guy
that was on the mountain in the twenty twenty two
World series.

Speaker 5 (02:12:14):
Chandler Rome of the Athletic covering Major League Baseball in
the Astros, and we appreciate your time. Enjoy your time,
enjoying Coldplay concerts or whatever does you'd like to do
with your time.

Speaker 6 (02:12:25):
Look at this photograph. Oh that's wrong. Damn it, that's wrong.
It's the wrong bad band, the wrong bad band.

Speaker 4 (02:12:32):
You never ever disappoint Chandler. We'll talk to you again
next week.

Speaker 3 (02:12:36):
All right, thanks guys, Chandler roame.

Speaker 4 (02:12:37):
Here of the Athletic. We will continue next with new beef.

Speaker 1 (02:12:45):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (02:12:54):
It is the eighteen Sports Talk seven ninety Space City
home Network. Wexac Cole Thompson with you on a heading
into the weekend. Astros Mariners game one tonight in the
Great Pacific Northwest, where they will be playing at the
downtown Seattle Ballpark, as Brian Tagger just referred to mobile

(02:13:14):
Park on social media, just the driest of dry.

Speaker 3 (02:13:18):
I love it.

Speaker 4 (02:13:20):
Speaking of the Astros, there was a well I told
you there's it's not quite a media member, but it's
someone who's work you're familiar with because you've seen what
he does on social This is the guy.

Speaker 3 (02:13:33):
His name's Jacob Berger.

Speaker 5 (02:13:35):
He uh the first baseman for the Rangers.

Speaker 3 (02:13:39):
No, no, that's that's different. That's Jake Berger.

Speaker 4 (02:13:43):
That's the fat guy who plays for the Rangers. Jacob
Berger with a K, by the way, is the guy
who plays the roles of both commentators in the booth
and lip syncs with a headset on on camera while
wearing two different Now to make sure.

Speaker 5 (02:14:00):
That you should should be familiar if you're watching your
reels and your tiktoks.

Speaker 4 (02:14:04):
Yeah, and he's funny, you know, it's because he he
makes fun of all the right people, let's put it
that way. But and we follow each other and we've
had exchanges because I can't remember what he did one
time that just like it was hilarious and I reached out,
and so, you know, we're like friendly in that way.
But there was a Rangers post that or a pro

(02:14:27):
Rangers post that said Astros fans celebrate ALCS walkoffs, Texas
Rangers celebrate World Series walk offs. You know, it was
just one of those typical Rangers fans trying to thump
their chest about something relatively. I mean, I don't know,
I don't even know the origins of this. Somebody inevitably

(02:14:50):
responded to that with been there did that little bro
And it was Alex Bregman's walk off in Game five
of the twenty seventeen World Series. Now this is where
Jacob came because he is based in Dallas.

Speaker 3 (02:15:01):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (02:15:02):
Although I don't know if he's like a diehard Rangers fan,
I really don't know his allegiances. I just figured that
that was some context here. He quote tweeted that tweet.

Speaker 3 (02:15:10):
Here we go social media.

Speaker 4 (02:15:12):
Beef Laune said, the fact that this series, meaning the
twenty seventeen World Series, went to seven games, just shows
how insanely good the Dodgers were in twenty seventeen. The
Stros maybe would have pushed it to five games if
it wasn't for you know, probably being generous. That's where

(02:15:36):
I come in. Oh good, because I'm not gonna stand
for that. You checked him, well, how do you not
check that? That's just that's drivel. It's not even like,
forget his stick and all that aside.

Speaker 3 (02:15:48):
I'm sure he's a very nice person. That's just stupid.
It is.

Speaker 4 (02:15:53):
It's factually insane to put that out there and not
think that somebody's gonna be like, hey man, that's stupid.

Speaker 5 (02:15:59):
The Astros in twenty seventeen, benefiting from cheating, doing things
outside the rules with the sign stealing and use of
electronics the way they did. Pretty hard to argue against
it not helping them have the season that they had
and some of the players individually benefiting and having the
types of individual seasons and statistics to go along with

(02:16:22):
it that they had. Did it help them reach the
World Series because of any regular season assistance or even
previous series assistants that maybe they got, which as you
get to the playoffs is much more unlikely that it
took place. But we're only talking here. He's just getting
super specific. These seven games that were played, some of

(02:16:44):
them there, some of them here, and that's the only
reason that the is a miracle they could get to
seven games in spite of you know, I think that's
where you come in.

Speaker 4 (02:16:54):
Well they you know, is what they led cheating? Yeah,
well you know, so where was it? That's what I said.

Speaker 5 (02:17:01):
That's kind of like, so you're saying, because they cheated
in this series during these games, many of which were
played in not Houston, the it's a it shows you
how good the Dodgers were despite the appisodes cheating in series.

Speaker 3 (02:17:21):
Games. So yeah, that's where I come in. So good.

Speaker 4 (02:17:23):
They lost two home games in the series, including Game seven.
Astros weren't cheating in that series, And if you just
attended that very Game five in the video, you'd know
how impossible it would have been to do so. Even
if they had tried, the place was a decibel nightmare. Now,
the irony here is that I didn't attend Game five,

(02:17:44):
but everybody I've ever talked to that did, including the
guys sitting right.

Speaker 3 (02:17:47):
Next to me right now. I was there. As they said, well,
you weren't there for all of it. I was on property.
I wasn't inside for all of it.

Speaker 4 (02:17:55):
All you're attest to the decibel levels I'm talking about, Uh,
you were there enough to know.

Speaker 3 (02:18:00):
I mean, when Yulie hit that home run to.

Speaker 4 (02:18:02):
Tie it, the three the three bagger, well it was
a four backer technically, the three run homer is what
I was trying to get out when he hit that,
and Clayton Kershaw died inside and we all saw his
soul leave his body right there on the mound and
all that happened. I mean, that's maybe one of the
top five loudest eruptions in Houston sports history.

Speaker 5 (02:18:24):
No it's definitely in the mix.

Speaker 4 (02:18:26):
I mean, that's gotta be in the conversation. Sure, how
leading up to bat at bats like that? In that box,
I'm gonna call it a box because that's what it was.
Just a bandbox of just postseason, that's what it was. Right,
we all know how awesome that game was. Could you
possibly believe, unless you're just running with the narrative being

(02:18:49):
a Dallas gut whatever, that anybody even attempting to hear
a freaking trash can being banged on would have even
been attempting to be able to hear that.

Speaker 5 (02:19:00):
It's just stupid. Maybe they went with a different scheme
in light of the noise, so they changed things up
for Game five of the World Series. Only well what
they changed it up knowing the decibel festival was going
to be too great?

Speaker 3 (02:19:11):
Say they did, even if you know that.

Speaker 5 (02:19:14):
I mean, there's lots of things you can do, right,
we heard about all of them. They instituted the buzzer,
Well that was twenty nineteen. You had someone fans two
years later up against the bullpen fence arm raised maybe
because you had all the information right there for him
to relay back to you. Because you couldn't always have
a guy in second base, although against the Dodgers you
did quite a bit.

Speaker 4 (02:19:33):
Yeah, everybody had traffic, especially when Clayton was pitching. Mister
postseason legend.

Speaker 5 (02:19:37):
Yes, specific to the seven game series and the games
and Dodger Stadium and the cheat like it really doesn't
go hand in hand. But I'm okay with saying they
cheated to help their season to get there.

Speaker 3 (02:19:48):
The White Sox, yeah, and there was five thousand people
in the crowd.

Speaker 5 (02:19:51):
But within the confines of that series also to well,
yeah they did, but nobody else even that year or
even in that series did. There's only one other team
that could be talking about we know. I mean, they
weren't investigated and found out too have cheated, so they
must not have.

Speaker 4 (02:20:06):
By the way, But the Dodgers weren't insanely good that year.
They're insanely good this year, I think so either both.
Look the teams that the Astros knocked off to win
the last two series I thought were woefully less in
talent than even some of the teams with the same organization,

(02:20:28):
like in the New York Yankees case.

Speaker 3 (02:20:30):
That twenty nineteen team was.

Speaker 4 (02:20:31):
Way better than the freaking Greg byrd started for twenty seventeen.
Who's the idiot with an annoying beard that starred in
center field? I believe that missed the ball for the Dodgers.
Taylor Taylor, Chris Taylor. That guy sucks their team.

Speaker 5 (02:20:48):
If you just look at the names, only extremely underwhelming
by basically that year, their best hitter, their highest ops guy,
their highest ops play was Justin Turner.

Speaker 4 (02:21:02):
Right, and he was only sorry Vellainger, followed by Seeger
and Hamp.

Speaker 3 (02:21:08):
I mean, Here'skalor.

Speaker 4 (02:21:09):
There's no Mookie best cheating. He was cheating in Boston
at the time. There's no Otani he was an Anaheim
or was he an Anaheim yet? I don't even remember
twenty seventeen. Was he in the majors yet?

Speaker 5 (02:21:19):
I know they don't have this like superstar name power
on this roster that we're kind of running through. But
everybody that year was pretty awesome, Like they had numbers
that they they don't normally produce.

Speaker 4 (02:21:30):
I mean, and again this is this the same could
be said for the Astros.

Speaker 3 (02:21:34):
You know who started Game one for them?

Speaker 5 (02:21:37):
Dallas Kikel Kansas City Royals, minor League.

Speaker 3 (02:21:40):
Stop it.

Speaker 4 (02:21:41):
He's like he's pitching today. That is so not or
was actually I don't even know that was it. It
was Game two, wasn't it. Dallas kykel started because Verlander
was Game one.

Speaker 5 (02:21:50):
One thing you want to say about the Dodgers compared
to the Astros the twenty seventeen Astros roster.

Speaker 3 (02:21:56):
Way better awesome. I mean even comparing one to the other,
just saying they were. They're awesome.

Speaker 5 (02:22:00):
They were great, and they've been great outside of the
scope of the investigated years.

Speaker 4 (02:22:06):
My favorite response to this, never forget that the Astros
batter kept the Dodgers from scoring more than one run twice.
The Astros batter, I mean, come on, what are we
doing here? And I get it, he's I don't think
he fancies himself some like stellar analyst of baseball, so
it's just a cheap I mean again, I don't know

(02:22:27):
why this.

Speaker 3 (02:22:28):
Even gets me this upset.

Speaker 4 (02:22:29):
These years later, the Astros have more than proven themselves
to not have been a fluke, unlike the Rangers. By
the way, all the Rangers have done since they won
that stupid championship nobody cares about is gotten worse each year.
I only took two out of three from the Astros
over the weekend. Whatever I mean, they're not gonna make
the playoffs. Boom roasted, good way to go, Boom. I'm

(02:22:53):
very I'm very impressed with Adulas Garcia celebrating a loss
in game two, not even the first time he did
it last month, or this idiot with an oversized head. Well,
we do have time for Dallas.

Speaker 5 (02:23:07):
We don't have You don't have time for Arlington, don't
have time for Dallas, fort Worth Metroplex.

Speaker 3 (02:23:11):
I like fort Worth.

Speaker 5 (02:23:12):
All Right, We'll have to get some TCU talk in
here at some point. I'm sure during the upcoming football
season we can take care of that for you. In
case you missed it, hits you next.

Speaker 9 (02:23:22):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (02:23:27):
Halfway through the final hour of the show, here on
the eighteen, Wexay Seagul Thompson with you time to get
you caught up on some things we might not have
addressed or need a little bit more time from us.

Speaker 3 (02:23:37):
What do you have today, Cole Listen.

Speaker 8 (02:23:38):
I know that I was gone to SEC media days,
and I appreciate that, and I'm glad I was able
to go. But hey, we're the home of the text
Longhorns and Texas seems me making a home for themselves
in the SEC because a lot of people buying stock
in the hearts Manning, a lot of people buying stark
In Steve Sarksian, and a lot of people buying stock
in the Longhorns. Because they received ninety six first place
votes out of two hundred and four from me DA

(02:24:00):
members this past week as the favorites to win the
SEC in twenty twenty five, they rapidly surpassed everybody. Georgia
came in with forty four votes, Alabama was third with
twenty nine votes.

Speaker 3 (02:24:11):
LS You got twenty. South Carolina was next with five.

Speaker 8 (02:24:14):
Oklahoma received three, Vanderbilt in Florida each got two, Tennessee, Ole,
Miss and Auburn received one, and Texas was a little
bit of a bigger winner because if they had the
most representation in the preseason media days all SEC team
with the running back Trey Weisner, the offensive lineman DJ Campbell,
defensive back Michael Taft, linebacker Anthony Hill, and defensive lineman

(02:24:37):
Collin Simmons all representing the forty acres as first team
honorees Going into the twenty twenty five college football season,
Texas opened the year against Ohio State in the shoe
after finishing eleven to one in the regular season, only
losing two games to Georgia twice, and then, of course
in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Cotton Bowl

(02:24:58):
against Ohio State the eventual national trips.

Speaker 5 (02:25:00):
Yeah, looking first at the All SEC team, I thought
it was pretty noteworthy. Defensively, it's basically Georgia and Texas.
Now They've got four linemen on the team, half of
them play at Georgia or Texas. They got three linebackers
on the team. Two of the three are at Georgia
or Texas. They got three dbs or four dbs on
the team. Three of the four are at Georgia or Texas.
Seventy of the eleven players, Georgia had four players All SEC.

(02:25:23):
They're all on defense. As Cole mentioned, five Longhorns. Noteworthy
that it's Leonora's sellers that lands the first team nod
on the preseason team. Probably another eight or nine quarterbacks
that have designs on being the best playing the best
as a quarterback in the SEC, but a totally reasonable
choice to have there at front and ninety six out
of just over two hundred votes and more votes than

(02:25:46):
the next three teams behind them barely combined. It's that's
pretty overwhelming, and it's all based on a player who's
barely played.

Speaker 3 (02:25:54):
It's amazing.

Speaker 8 (02:25:55):
And the other thing that you got to go through
is Florida, Ole, Miss Texas A, and m Tennessee in
Oklahoma round up the top ten in the preseason predicted
order of finish by media members, which is the consensus
order based off of the overall two hundred and four
votes combined. Another interesting fact, can either of you tell
me the last time that Alabama did not have a
defensive player on the first team All SEC.

Speaker 5 (02:26:17):
List, probably before the current coach or previous coach was there.

Speaker 3 (02:26:24):
Nope, Nope, that's not correct.

Speaker 5 (02:26:25):
So Nick Saban coached a team that had zero preseason players.

Speaker 8 (02:26:30):
He had it, and so did the guy before him,
and the guy before him and the guy before him.

Speaker 3 (02:26:35):
It's never happened before.

Speaker 8 (02:26:37):
This is the first time in SEC history that Alabama
player has not made the first team All SEC defensive squad.

Speaker 3 (02:26:44):
All right, what else?

Speaker 8 (02:26:45):
So you know how we saw a couple of months
ago people lose their minds in the NFL because of
the Texans decide to sign Jadon Higgins to a four year,
fully guaranteed deal.

Speaker 5 (02:26:55):
Yeah, people around the NFL that don't call Sports Talk
seven ninety home go on.

Speaker 8 (02:27:00):
So a lot of people don't sign because of that reason.
A just want to work out some deals, and we
have more players who have gotten these long term deals,
fully guaranteed deals. I might also add in rookie safety
Nick emn Warry signed a four year, fully guaranteed contract
with the Seattle Seahawks. You also saw the Patriots agreach
a long term agreement with running decks. Travian Henderson Luther

(02:27:21):
Burden for the Chicago Bears agreed to a four year,
fully guaranteed ten point nine to six million dollar contract,
and Jonahs Syavina from the Miami Dolphins agreed to a
four year, fully guaranteed.

Speaker 3 (02:27:32):
Contract as well.

Speaker 8 (02:27:33):
Several other players agreed to terms today before the start
of training camp, and most of them will get at
least eighty eight percent, if not higher, of their fully
guaranteed contract.

Speaker 3 (02:27:42):
And why is this important?

Speaker 8 (02:27:44):
Well, Tayor Suri remains the only player not to sign
with the Texans going into training camp next week. He
was drafted forty eighth overall, you're gonna want to look
at that range of forty five to fifty five.

Speaker 3 (02:27:56):
What is the.

Speaker 8 (02:27:57):
Annual revenue in terms of percentage of fully guaranteed comps
that are being signed for him to be able to
come to an agreement before we start camp on Wednesday.

Speaker 5 (02:28:04):
Yes, player at forty two, forty three, forty four have
signed and then at fifty eight slots in as you
mentioned at forty eight, so that might be one of
the reasons why it hasn't happened for him. If he's
next maybe or the player forty five tou A Maloa
has also signed with the Colts, with the exact deets
not necessarily known, so they're getting closer to where his

(02:28:26):
spot is. Texans report and practice on July twenty third,
that is Wednesday of next week, their first training camp practice.
The reason why I made mention of Sports Talk seven
ninety earlier, while it's out of the ordinary, well it's new.
Two players signing guaranteed contracts as second rounders Texans player first,
Browns player second.

Speaker 3 (02:28:45):
It was new.

Speaker 5 (02:28:46):
It really just slowed down the process. Having all these
players in the second round not under contract ten days
before training camp starts. That is new, but it's also
going to not turn out to be a big deal
at all. This is progress from a player's perspective, definitely
from the agent's perspective, and a way of seeing where

(02:29:08):
that the future so to speak. For guaranteed money for
non first round picks, well, if you thought it was
going to be twenty seven or twenty eight, turns out
it was twenty twenty five. The future is here now
and teams are going to react accordingly to it. Are
we going to see even as three holdouts, three second
round picks not signed on the day their team reaches camp.
I mean I would set the number very very low,

(02:29:29):
and I fully expect Erser to be signed, sealed, and
delivered before Wednesday morning at nine am.

Speaker 4 (02:29:33):
They need him, by the way, they definitely will. I
just want to put that out there.

Speaker 5 (02:29:37):
Also, there's it's I mean, quibbling, I don't know if
that's the right word, getting your money that you think
you now can get because guarantees are eighty eight or
ninety percent guarantees are being offered. Sure, I'm all for
the player wanting to get that, and I don't know
that one day or two days is a huge deal
when you have twenty five practices. But the more he's there,

(02:29:58):
the more likely it is. He's a better player for it.
And if he's better than the guys he's competing with,
they're a better team.

Speaker 3 (02:30:04):
He's not gonna be he will be there. I would
like the entire offensive line to be there. That's just me.
The rest like that.

Speaker 5 (02:30:10):
The rest of the guys will definitely be in attendance there.

Speaker 8 (02:30:13):
What else, So you know, the All Star Break is
not just made for players to kind of recoup, reassess,
and those that are actually playing in the Midsummer Classic
go ahead and hit long balls in what is now
probably going to be the new norm of the All
Star Game. But the home runner, with the close things out,
it's also time to go ahead and have insiders meet
with some people around organizations and figure out, Hey, who's buying,

(02:30:34):
who's selling, which teams are waving the white flag on
this year.

Speaker 3 (02:30:37):
The Cleveland Guardians.

Speaker 8 (02:30:38):
Are really interesting because if they have four players in
Jose Ramirez, Stephen Kwan, Amingual class A and Kate Smith,
two relievers that really with the ross control and the
years of control that they have on their contracts, they
could cash in. And it does seem like after the
horrendous month of June, they are waving the white flag.
Here's the slight problem. They're not way it long term.

(02:31:00):
According to ESPN's Buster Only, you will not see third
basement Jose Ramirez, outfielder Stephen Kuan, relievers of Manuel Colasse
or Kate Smith be mood at this deadline. So yes,
they are selling and they are saying we're gonna hit reset.
But if the Asss were a team that was really
interested in going all in on bringing in a reliever,
you probably are not gonna be calling Cleveland if you

(02:31:20):
really wanted Stephen Kwan for playing left field long term. Yeah,
they might as well close the door on that chapter
as well.

Speaker 5 (02:31:26):
I think it's what we're all to ultimately see around
the league kind of mentioned that earlier today. I think
it's an issue for all these good teams that there's
gonna be a dearth of available pitchers.

Speaker 3 (02:31:36):
Dearth is a great word, by the way. Too many
teams are still in it.

Speaker 5 (02:31:39):
Too many teams feel they're close enough that in a
year they will be in it. So why are we
unloading the talent if it's reasonable from a salary perspective,
And I think the cost of adding a player then
becomes out of the tech the Astros reach because they
can only offer what they have and other teams simply
have more. I'm not sure that a big superlash is

(02:32:00):
coming for Dana Brown and the Astros.

Speaker 9 (02:32:04):
The a on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (02:32:13):
Yeah, I was thinking about something during the breakwax since
the Astros and the Mariners are getting together. Oh and
by the way, as of five seconds ago, according to
our own chandeler Rome, Jordan Alvarez.

Speaker 3 (02:32:29):
Is swinging again. How does that make you feel? Does
it make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

Speaker 5 (02:32:33):
He's picked up a bet and he's swinging it.

Speaker 3 (02:32:35):
Well, now, he didn't say that.

Speaker 4 (02:32:37):
I want you word for word it for us. Jordan
Alvarez is swinging again. Well that's interesting news, huh. Also
interesting news.

Speaker 5 (02:32:48):
I mentioned this during the week that I thought it
was a strong possibility, and in fact it has happened.
Jas McCormick is with the team. Jas McCormick reinstated from
the ten day Il Kennedy. Corona's brief stint with the
Astros ends as he goes back to sugar Land, though
ast possibly could make a return. McCormick played in some
games with sugar Land, played in the one game with

(02:33:08):
the FCL team, so we could stay sharp, I suppose,
and the lineup I've not yet seen, but I wouldn't
be surprised at all if Chaz was in it.

Speaker 3 (02:33:19):
Same paragraph as those two things we just mentioned.

Speaker 4 (02:33:23):
Spencer Arraghetti and Christian Javier headed to Double A Corpus
this week, Luis Garcia going to Single A Fayetteville, and
Jeremy Panea is in Florida, but they don't say where
the whole state.

Speaker 3 (02:33:37):
Well, this is straight out.

Speaker 5 (02:33:38):
The Astros have done this now over the last couple
of weeks, since recent well we're not being very transparent.
Now they're telling you at least some information. This is
from the Astro's injury update from their game notes. Again
a reminder, there are one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven,
twelve thirteen Astros players that have been given an injury

(02:34:00):
update on and Chas McCormick isn't even one of them
because he's now not on the IL.

Speaker 3 (02:34:05):
He is with the team.

Speaker 5 (02:34:07):
Panya going to Florida just means he's this is where
they want him to work out while they're on the road.
I'm sure he'll be back in Houston when the astros
are back in Houston, but with the things they want
him to do on a daily basis, just send him
there instead of having him work out with us and
our people, the limited people we have in Seattle and Arizona.

Speaker 3 (02:34:24):
Just send him to Florida.

Speaker 4 (02:34:25):
And noch, I'm using your initials to protect and not
so innocent. Jordan is not doing that. Just to answer your.

Speaker 5 (02:34:33):
Text, started swinging a bat yesterday. Is in Seattle with
the team to open the road trip. So he's swinging
a bat. Yeah, that's the important information that was one
and fuzzy or not well, presumably based on what Dana
said at the beginning of the week Sunday, is that
they hope to get a good report on Thursday when
they met with the doctors, and that he could be

(02:34:54):
picking up a bat because of that soon.

Speaker 3 (02:34:57):
That's exactly what happened to me.

Speaker 5 (02:35:00):
This is only good news, better than any previous progression
he's gone through because this is the third time now
he's picked.

Speaker 3 (02:35:06):
Up a bat. The other two times no pain.

Speaker 5 (02:35:11):
Sounds much more like the only reason he's picking up
a bat is because everything the doctors have looked at
told us seen on imaging is that he shouldn't have
any issues moving forward. If he does, we'll have to
figure out what it is that's going on there. But
we've given him clearers. What we're seeing giving him is

(02:35:31):
giving him clearance. No, Jordan said he felt good. No,
we don't expect any anything. This is not Doctor Alvarez,
at least in my estimation. This is the Doctors. But
if he is on the trajectory that it looks like
he would be on. If this doesn't have any setbacks,
and Jeremy Panna is right around the corner, I'm not

(02:35:54):
saying that like next week, but he's gonna be back
sooner than he was before the All Star break. I
would I would have zoom and Chaz can spell. I
don't even know.

Speaker 4 (02:36:03):
What to expect from Chaz at this point, but can
spell Jake Myers, which is that's a very tall task
considering what kind of season Jake Myers. But again, he's
not Mauricio Dubon in centerfield. He's not one of these
space cowboys out there. The fewer space cowboys they have
in the lineup, the closer I get to saying the
league is ft.

Speaker 6 (02:36:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (02:36:23):
By the way, the update on Jake Myers is word
for word forwards is rehabbing in Houston. I don't believe
he is coming back anytime soon.

Speaker 4 (02:36:34):
Why do you have to take this positive final segment
of the week and.

Speaker 5 (02:36:37):
Just individually it's not individually positive for.

Speaker 4 (02:36:42):
Jake in a blanket. You threw us in the pool
and it's raining too when there's lightning. Astro's on the
road for six. Jeremy Payne, you're working out in Florida.
I wouldn't surprise me at all if he is able
to participate in the upcoming Homestand.

Speaker 5 (02:36:57):
How did I drive the blanket out?

Speaker 3 (02:36:59):
That's better?

Speaker 5 (02:37:00):
Is that?

Speaker 3 (02:37:00):
Okay? Yeah? I love Florida. I'd like him to come back.

Speaker 5 (02:37:03):
I but you know, get we're focused on just one
and you gave the updates on the other. But they
definitely deserve our intention. Luis Garcia is throwing for a
minor league affiliate. I would assume because he's reporting to Fayetteville,
their single A team, one of their single A teams. Well,
you don't report there unless you're pitching for that team.
That's what he's gonna do. Double A Corpus Christie is

(02:37:24):
welcoming in a rehab assignment for Christian Javier. This is
probably happening this weekend. He should be on the mound
in a double A game, which would to me quite
clearly say, this is ramp up. This is you know,
he's making his rehab starts, so he can ramp up
to be prepared to pitch in some form even if

(02:37:46):
he became a quote unquote starter for the Astros at
any point this year. Not to throw sixty five seventy
five eighty five pitches in a start. This is this
is probably someone who's pitching very specific outings, and maybe
to do so, they would actually have him start, which
the Astros have not really done at the major league
level before. Send someone out there intentionally knowing they are

(02:38:09):
a nine out pitcher, a six out pitcher.

Speaker 4 (02:38:12):
I but again, having said all that, and that's what
you just got done, saying is the very conservative approach
to how you should.

Speaker 3 (02:38:21):
Look at this stuff.

Speaker 4 (02:38:21):
I think, having said all that, we're here on July eighteenth,
I think August could be very very fun, probably more
so the end of it.

Speaker 5 (02:38:29):
And Brendan Rodgers starting tonight for the Sugarland Space Cowboys
at second base. He begins a rehab assignment tonight with
them with hopes of probably a return, which shouldn't be
too far off if he doesn't have any setbacks.

Speaker 3 (02:38:44):
That one doesn't excite me as much, doesn't. Well it's
Brendan Rodgers.

Speaker 5 (02:38:47):
Well maybe as a healthy Brendan Rodgers, maybe he'll crush.

Speaker 3 (02:38:51):
Where is he crushed before?

Speaker 6 (02:38:52):
Here?

Speaker 3 (02:38:53):
Colorado? When did he crush there?

Speaker 5 (02:38:55):
We won a Gold Glove, he had an eight hundred
plus ops season.

Speaker 3 (02:38:59):
That's crushing.

Speaker 4 (02:39:00):
What year is that not last year? And well he
doesn't play for Colorado this year. That's rhetorical, I know,
But the year before that?

Speaker 6 (02:39:06):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (02:39:07):
Maybe, okay, that sounds right. All right, Well, I just listen.

Speaker 4 (02:39:11):
Like I said, the original statement remains the fewer space
cowboys in the everyday lineup. It's just we're gonna look back.
I think if the Astros end up pulling this off.
By that, I mean winning the division, that's all. I'm
gonna leave it at. I don't know what happens after
that if they do, but we're gonna look back, and
she'd be like, what a like gut check June into July.

(02:39:31):
That was with those kids carrying the bottom half of
the lineup and the rotation. We even talked early about
the pitching that has helped in that regard.

Speaker 5 (02:39:42):
Ye got to close things out on that note for
those that are wondering as the second part of the
season begins. If the playoffs started today, Astros and Tigers,
they land the top two seeds Tigers number one, Dodgers
and Cubs do the same in the National League three
versus six in the league winner facing Houston, Toronto and Seattle.

(02:40:04):
Seattle would be the away team of that opening series.
Boston and New York in the other wildcard series winner
to face Detroit, Brewers, Mets, Phillies, Padres. Those twelve playoff
teams sounds awesome.

Speaker 4 (02:40:20):
Astros Tigers, Alcs would be a fantastic I'm just saying,
all right.

Speaker 3 (02:40:25):
That's gonna do it for us this week.

Speaker 4 (02:40:26):
We have plenty of Astros baseball to watch between now
and then and discuss back here on Monday. It'll be
another exciting week as hopefully the Astros take two out
of three from Seattle. That's what I'm predicting, I'm hoping for,
and the start of that will begin right here on
Sports Talk seven ninety and of course Space City Home
Network in a few more hours. But in the meantime,

(02:40:49):
keep it right here and have a fantastic weekend for Cole.

Speaker 3 (02:40:53):
For WEX, i'm ac.

Speaker 4 (02:40:54):
It is the eight team Sports Talk seven ninety Space
City home network. We We'll talk to you again on Monday.

Speaker 9 (02:41:00):
A g on Sports Talk seven ninety