Nico Gone! Rockets Back! Life Is Good In H-Town!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Two lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Raised.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
My girl.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Nolan moulted by the magnificent roller coaster ride that is Houston.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Sports chill Age down for the only homegrown afternoon team
is Talking your Teams?

Speaker 4 (00:29):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the aeam.

Speaker 5 (00:35):
A two to one here on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (00:43):
It is the A team wex Ac Cole Thompson. Long
for the ride as we take you up until six
o'clock tonight. A lot to get to on a Tuesday
edition of the program, most of which is going to
be leftovers from yesterday as it pertains to the Texans,
but some of it will be very very new, up

(01:03):
to and including the fact that, well.

Speaker 7 (01:06):
There's already been a firing in the NBA.

Speaker 5 (01:09):
I let's see the Rockets play a one win team tomorrow.
They fire their coach? They have they have played this team.
Did Jerdy Green get fired? They stink so far this year? Well,
Mavericks only have two wins? They stink? Did they fire there?
Did Jason Kidd get fired?

Speaker 7 (01:23):
Do you know? Okay? So Jason kids? Boss did so?

Speaker 6 (01:26):
If you had to ask that question, I mean I
didn't mean to start off with Mavericks basketball. But let's
face it, I'm gonna gloat if another team in the
state is going through it, So would that be who
you would have fired and take away the luke of
trade even though I know you can't.

Speaker 5 (01:43):
I mean, well, you have to fire him because you
just extended Jason Kidd again stupidly. So there's no way
you're gonna fire him if you felt like this start.
And I guess according to the statement they put out,
they did reference how poor this start had been, which
is again moronic. They're hurt, wonder why, but so that's
the direction they're taking. They have gotten off to a
poor start. They nearly had a miracle victory last night,

(02:07):
but a couple of late game things didn't go their way,
and the Mavericks again six weeks or let's see twenty
fir four weeks and change into the season, the orchestrator,
and again it's this is not a Lakers trade. This
is a Mavericks trade. And it was him or bigger
of the deal that took a superstar, young superstar off

(02:28):
of their team who then shortly thereafter signed what everybody
expected the maximum available contract value with a different team
and is leading the NBA and scoring this year by
pretty good margin. Well, he is playing elsewhere, and this
is a team trying to build around the gifted first
round pick after they won the lottery. I don't think
people want to compare those two, but it's amazing what

(02:49):
has happened in a very short period of time from say,
the beginning of last season for the Mavericks with Kyrie
and Luka Dancic to where they sit today with Kyrie
irving hurt and without Anthony Davis or obviously Luka Doncic,
we will obviously have much more to get into. And
it was interesting how this news disseminated today with a
report saying he's going to get fired at this meeting

(03:12):
that has yet to take place. Those types of posts
from Shams or any other a newsbreaker like him aren't
going to be missed by the individual that it's about,
So that's pretty interesting. Like do you then say, Hey,
this meeting you wanted me to attend, can we just
go ahead and have it right now?

Speaker 7 (03:31):
Call me?

Speaker 5 (03:31):
Do you leave the office, do you turn in your keys?
Do you say please don't? I don't know how it
all went down, And yes, there was a letter from
ownership to the fans, which we will get to. The
NBA has gotten off to a remarkably offensive start in
a good way, and the Rockets are definitely in the

(03:52):
middle of that, and the Rockets will have an opportunity
to show it again, really show it again. The two
of us spend a little time Rockets basket baul wise.
Before today's show. They have their launch of the City Collection,
the City Edition uniforms, which will be on display on
This will be their jersey for tomorrow night's game against
the Wizards. Rockets team shop remains open with that lot

(04:16):
available to you.

Speaker 7 (04:16):
And there are a lot to choose from.

Speaker 5 (04:18):
It's as cool as you remember it and some new
varieties of it right over there at their team shop,
like I said, till five o'clock and then on throughout
their normal hours as they continue. And then we just
shot on over to Rockets practice watch the end of
practice which is free throw shooting and jump shots.

Speaker 7 (04:35):
For the and camaraderie.

Speaker 5 (04:37):
Camaraderie maybe seven players that were on the court and
had a chance to catch up with Alprin, Shan Gun,
Amen Thompson, and the head coach, Imy Doka. So we'll
share a little bit of what they had to say
about how they finished against Milwaukee, how much Josha Kogi
is helping this team, how much confidence they have in
one another as they've gotten off to a six and
three start losses to the two teams that sit atop

(05:00):
the respective conferences. With what Detroit they had a miracle
victory last night against Washington, hit two threes in the
final three seconds just to get to overtime against Washington.
But the Rockets have played Detroit and Oklahoma City arguably
the teams that are the best in the NBA this year.

Speaker 7 (05:19):
I was jealous of that went over the Pistons. Yeah,
so we'll.

Speaker 5 (05:21):
Get into all those things obviously. The NFL week now
closes from last week with last night's exceptionally entertaining game.

Speaker 7 (05:29):
Holy cow, you read between the lines there.

Speaker 5 (05:31):
I know I can't type this on the X platform
and hashtag itt sarcasm font, but I can't imagine two
OC's having a worse time of it than what the
Eagles and Green Bay Packers groups put together against two
good defenses.

Speaker 7 (05:46):
But I don't know.

Speaker 5 (05:47):
It wasn't me and maybe it was you that Oh yeah, man,
those defenses are too tough. I don't even know how
the offense has got seventeen points. Quite the opposite. So
a very lackluster start and a very lackluster finish to
this week ten. In the NFL, we had a ten
to seven game on Thursday between the Broncos and Raiders.
Now we got a ten to seven game last night
on Monday Night Football. But that means it's time to

(06:10):
turn the page two week eleven to the Thursday night matchup.
Knowing the Texans will be in next week's Thursday night matchups.
So while they get a normal week Sunday to Sunday,
this Sunday's game in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans gives
them just a few days to get ready for the
upcoming game against the Buffalo Bills.

Speaker 7 (06:26):
Back here in Houston.

Speaker 5 (06:27):
They'll have it different, obviously, we'll have a different practice
week in front of that. We'll find out tomorrow when
we get out to practice if any of the players
and they're an active list was almost exclusively players who
were unavailable to health. Jared Kingston had the honors of
being the only healthy player that was unavailable for the
game because it was on the inactive list, but six
other players missed the game, three of them with concussions,

(06:50):
Titus Howard, Jalen Peatree, and obviously the quarterback CJ.

Speaker 7 (06:54):
Stroud.

Speaker 5 (06:54):
So a little bit of info hopefully on that front
tomorrow as they get ready to play one of the
few games so far this season, maybe the only game
so far this season they've won four times. I don't
know if you want to say it was an upset
on Sunday against Jacksonville just kind of depends on when
you looked at the line, whether they were favored by
a point and a half or a dog by a
point and a half, but obviously not a heavy favorite

(07:16):
in that game. They were not favored in their game
against the Rams on the road to open up the season,
losing their losing there, the win over Baltimore, and they
were probably a pretty heavy favorite. Well remember that the
win over Tennessee. Yeah, a pretty heavy favorite. And getting
to four wins after including the Niners win in there,
this has to be for a team who saved their

(07:39):
season on Sunday, this has to be a dominant win
no matter who's out there. That's how poorly the Tennessee
Titans have played. I think they're trying. I think they're
giving effort, and I think you see it in most
games that as the game wears on, their opportunity to
stay close to their opponent goes away. It's exactly what
happened the first time Tennessee stayed with Houston against CJ.

Speaker 7 (08:01):
Strout.

Speaker 5 (08:01):
The first time six nothing headed to the fourth quarter none,
the Texans scored twenty points and beat him twenty six nothing.
I don't know if it's going to go just like that,
but the result needs to be as lopsided when they
get to Nashville and then make their way back. Yeah,
I'm still when do you think we find out the
big answer of this upcoming week?

Speaker 7 (08:22):
When do you think tomorrow?

Speaker 5 (08:23):
Probably I would say almost assuredly, not tomorrow.

Speaker 7 (08:27):
Because I'm thinking of Okay, today's off day.

Speaker 5 (08:29):
Then got a little bit different schedule this week, yes,
with Demiko because he normally speaks on Wednesday, but he's
going to speak on Thursday this week. Why is that
Because he's attending the funeral of Earl Cochran on Wednesday,
and if you were unaware, he passed away on October
thirty first. So it was something that Demiico and all
the close people close to Earl. Earl's a former Texan.

(08:50):
They both got here in two thousand and six, played
together for a couple of years, both from Alabama, both
from Bessemer, Alabama, actually, and it was one of his
closest friends and that had happened. Like I said back
on October thirty, first played this home game. Through it,
many of you, I'm sure saw Nick Cassario give Demiko
the game ball after Demiko had handed out all the
game balls after last night's game. It was a very

(09:12):
close friend of his and their families. So he'll be
attending that on Wednesday, so he will speak on Thursday.
The coordinators will speak on Wednesday. I doubt that Nick
Cayley will be the one to update us on the
status of well C J. Stroud, But like I said yesterday,
I think he will likely update us on Titus Howard's situation,

(09:33):
because if Titus is on the practice field, that's the
update you're looking for. That means he's made significant progress.
And if you're on the practice field, he'll be listed
as limited and then probably listed as limited throughout the week.
But if all those things happen and he continues to
you know, clear the steps of the protocol.

Speaker 7 (09:48):
Then I'm sure he would be available come Sunday.

Speaker 8 (09:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (09:51):
I And in case, you know what you were talking
about with Earl Cochran, It's not often that you would
have the GM in the locker room giving out a
game ball. That's something that you know, Demko has established
as what he has done. But in that scenario, it
was because, as Nick Cassio put it, Earl Cochran was
very close to Dimiko is a big part of his life,
his football life and otherwise, and it had weighed heavily

(10:15):
on him preparing for that Jacksonville game. And so for
him to get the victory, get it the way they did,
and you know, have the defense make the play that
it did in the waning seconds, I think it all
kind of came together, and I thought it was a
nice gesture from Nick Cassario to give Tomko a game
ball after that kind of victory.

Speaker 5 (10:31):
No question about it. A big part of his life.
As he said a little bit after the game and
talk to some other people about it, he was very
very close with Earl and their family, so it was
tough for him. And again, I think I hope many
of you remember Earl's time here a couple of seasons
with the Texans, played in a couple of other play
other professional leagues, but spent some time here in Houston.

(10:52):
So the Texans are hopeful that some of them. Like
ed Ingram's knee injury. We'll see where that takes him
next week. You obviously have to balance out a little
bit of what you saw. I try to tell you
that the Jaguars don't present the most difficult challenge upfront,
especially on the interior. I do respect what Trayvon Walker
and josh Hines Allen are able to do as pass rushers,

(11:14):
but they don't get to the quarterback. They don't finish
at the quarterback. I guess you could say, considering they
sit at the bottom the league in sacks. But those
two edge rushers are something to handle. They did a
much better job in this game that they did in
the first meeting back in Week three.

Speaker 7 (11:27):
Different looking group.

Speaker 5 (11:29):
Clearly tay Ersery was the same tackle, but obviously different
tackle situation this time with Trent Brown being out there.
Trent Brown had an injury issue regarding after the game.
I don't know where he will be this week from
an injury standpoint. He was limping around pretty badly, and
I think there's some concern. I don't know that it

(11:50):
keeps him from being available, but Titus Howard's return could
also keep him from being available. And I've said this
for two years easy now. I don't know what Eric
Patterson is on the sidelines. It's not that I think
he's in some kind of all pro unbelievable talent, but
he's sure every time he's been on the field, he
looks like he's better than the players he is watching
every week. And I didn't understand it two years ago

(12:12):
with Kenyan Green, didn't understand it, last year with Green
and Scruggs and others. I don't understand it this year
with Andrews and either of the guards. He obviously played
for Andrews when Andrews was hurt at the beginning of
the year at center, where he is the backup center,
but this week, obviously he played at guard because of
the injuries there. With an Ingram being out, he and
Scrugs handled guard duties. Laken Tomlinson was healthy, their starter,

(12:34):
the guy who has remained on the field as a
rotational guard didn't play a single snap. So I hope
they figure out who their best five linemen are before
the game, which they were unable to do last week,
having a starting guard play nine snaps before they said, well,
we can't have this anymore. And I said it yesterday.

(12:54):
There were some unbelievable blown plays just in the nine
snaps that City had in his first and what should
be only start for the Texans.

Speaker 6 (13:03):
Yeah, all right, We've got a lot of Texans to
get to. As we mentioned, a lot of the things
that we did not get to by way of just
hearing from the team yesterday.

Speaker 7 (13:11):
Will do that.

Speaker 6 (13:13):
The matchup with the Titans, which we'll continue to get
you ready for all week long. And yeah, a lot
of Rockets conversation, even though they won't play again until
tomorrow night, just in light of the fact that we
were over there talking to them today. And I have
a kind of theory on this year's Rockets team. It
was kind of confirmed being around the team a little

(13:33):
bit today. Is something I always kind of thought going in,
but kind of seeing it firsthand as these first handful
of games have been played out, I want to talk
about that best of X. Danielle Lerner will be joining
us in the three o'clock hour and say, what is
our signature segment in the four o'clock hour. All this
and a whole lot more here on a Tuesday edition
of the show The A Team on Sports Talk seven Nike.

Speaker 5 (14:00):
So all right, it is the A Team Sports Talk
seven ninety Space City Home Network.

Speaker 7 (14:10):
Again.

Speaker 6 (14:11):
I didn't want to like lead off and like concentrate
on today's show about another team's firing, but it is
fascinating to me that they're just now figuring out, Hey,
maybe the guy that traded Luca and hand delivered him
to the Lakers while Lebron was literally on his last leg,

(14:31):
now's the time to fire him a few months later.

Speaker 5 (14:33):
And the statement they gave is what's so fascinating about this? Yeah,
you get the statement. I'll tell you about the few
months later. They weren't going to fire him clearly when
it happened, because they could have prevented it from happening.
It's their team. It doesn't happen unless you okay it,
which you did. You believed in what he was feeding you,
so you did it. And they played out the season. Obviously,
Luca played out his season in La I bet both
sides were pretty disappointed and how things went, how the

(14:56):
Maverick season ended, and then the injury that obviously came
with it with Kyrie and clearly the Lakers postseason first
of I don't know one two three with Lebron and
Luca together, it might be the only postseason they played
together obviously did not produce much. I don't think they
were making the trade for last year, but the several
months that followed included a whole lot of offseason. The

(15:19):
one month that included basketball had the Mavericks winning three
times and eleven opportunities. The Mavericks are a three to
eight basketball team to start this year. They did re
up with Jason Kidd again this past offseason, and with
the many absences of Anthony Davis that have taken place
during these first eleven games, they have played with Cooper

(15:41):
Flag and a bunch of other role players, and Cooper
Flag at this point of his career, quite frankly and fairly,
that's all he is also and they're running plays for
him at the end of last night's game because he's
their best option, which I don't think is what they
would have forecast when this trade was made. Certainly that
somebody who's not even with you is going to be

(16:02):
your your number one option. Then obviously the draft happens,
your gift or you win the lottery, and you've got
this win the lottery and you have Cooper Flag to
add to these players, and the roster sounds fine. But
every NBA team would be in a similar situation, I guess,
except the Lakers. The Lakers have had similar injuries, with
two of their top three players out for different times.

(16:24):
Reeves has missed some time and Lucas missed some time
and Lebron's missed all of the time. But the Mavericks
have played basically with none of their top three players
for almost the entire season, and it shows a lot
of non competitive games. Won a close game against one
of the East worst teams, the Indiana Pacers, won a
close game against one of the West's worst teams, New

(16:45):
Orleans Pelicans, and yesterday nearly pulled off what would have
easily been their best night of basketball this season and
trying to hand the Bucks a second straight loss to
a Texas team, But they came up a little short.
I think, based on what they said and we'll give
it to you their statement, it does seem like this
start and the lack of ability to keep fans aboard

(17:08):
that does go all the way back to the trade
and now extends into a three and eight start is
something they did become or did recognize with, something they
had to be concerned with. Any conspiracy theories about why
this all happened and what is still happening we will address.
I do find them nothing but conspiracy theories. I don't
think this is going to lead to some bigger picture item.
But they're bad at basketball right now and until Anthony

(17:31):
Davis returns for however many games. That is because this
is the point. You didn't think the trade on basketball
talent for basketball talent was unbelievably mismatched. What you believed
was you got a significantly older player, you got a
player with a totally different contract structure for the future

(17:52):
of your team, and you got a considerably more injury
prone player. All of those things have played out here.

Speaker 6 (18:00):
If you had gotten Anthony Davis from New Orleans, it
still would have been lopsided for the same reasons. By
the way, Anthony Davis was getting hurt all the time
when he was a Pelican. He just continued doing that
in Lakerland, and as you have famously multiple times on
this show pointed out the only reason they won that
stupid bubble championship.

Speaker 7 (18:19):
That doesn't count is because he got.

Speaker 6 (18:21):
Three free months to recover from whatever hangnail was keeping
him on the shelf prior to that because of the
COVID lockdown, and then he was miraculously healthy enough to
torpedo everyone else inside a controlled environment that no one
else was allowed to watch from the outside.

Speaker 5 (18:35):
So that environment you're talking about was specifically created in
a time of need in our country, Yes, to keep
people healthy, right, especially Anthony Day It worked, he was healthy. Well,
is that what it was designed for? Anthony Davis? Some
people were being taken down by COVID. Wait, Anthony Davis
was being taken down by a hangnail. I know, I
kind of poo pooed conspiracy theories, but you made me

(18:57):
realize there obviously should be another one. It's just funny
like this reason that Rudy Gobert did what he did
for the NBA was so they could protect Anthony Davis,
and then they created this whole Well, why don't we
have a bubble for Anthony Davis?

Speaker 6 (19:11):
Listen, in all seriousness, why why do you want to
be serious? About this everything because I have to because
it makes me mad. Whereas I know one of us
has to be serious. I get it, Like, Okay, why
is it that every time something not seemingly on the
up and up happens in the NBA, it benefits the
freaking Lakers. Uh we got a Knixus Powell Gassol trade
to the Rockets for basketball reasons.

Speaker 7 (19:30):
But it's fine.

Speaker 6 (19:31):
It's fine if he goes to the Lakers and helps
them win their latest championship.

Speaker 7 (19:35):
Uh. We can't do this. Uh, we gotta step in.

Speaker 6 (19:37):
We gotta make sure that Anthony Davis goes to the
Lakers for his one healthy championship season in a fake bubble.

Speaker 1 (19:44):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (19:45):
By the way, I know that a lot of teams
probably would have given up much better comparable trade scenarios
to get Luca, But let's just let Nico Harrison toward
Peter the franchise and send him to If there was
a third tea involved in the discussions between Nico Harrison,
Rob Palinka and this third team, and the third team

(20:07):
had such bad ownership that the NBA had taken over
for that team, then maybe we would have had a
second basketball You can't do this Deel, you did freaking
there was a third team involved, Danny ainge. He's like, oh,
you guys, you guys are doing a trade. Okay, I
don't even know the particulars.

Speaker 7 (20:23):
What if you need what? Yeah, you're right.

Speaker 5 (20:26):
Danny Age is so stupid that he didn't know he
was helping the Lakers get Luca. Oh my gosh, you
gotta be kidd He should be fired for that alone. Anyway,
let's get to the letter. May you just let him
run his team so badly poor? Like they're actually pretty
good this year. Well, they're playing hard and they they're scoring,
but they're three and six to start the year.

Speaker 7 (20:45):
Open letter is my favorite.

Speaker 5 (20:47):
Patrick Maverick's owner Patrick d to all masks, Our Patrick is.

Speaker 6 (20:52):
Better than their Patrick. Way better. Shout out Patrick Fortita.

Speaker 7 (20:56):
I vote for that. I agree. By the way, the
historical context here is hilarious.

Speaker 5 (21:01):
This is how it starts so bad after the address
to MAVs family, like they've just gotten rid of their
general manager, the general manager who decided it was a
good idea to trade Luca for Anthony Davis essentially, and
the letter opens with on May thirtieth, twenty twenty four,
what happened on May thirtieth, twenty twenty four.

Speaker 6 (21:20):
Oh yeah, I'm glad you asked that would be when
the Mavericks won the Western Conference Championship.

Speaker 5 (21:26):
On May thirtieth, twenty twenty four, the Mix Championship, the
Mavericks won the Western Conference Championship. So we're thirtieth, twenty
twenty four, and here we are today on November eleventh,
twenty twenty five.

Speaker 7 (21:38):
It is an awesome reminder, and you know how.

Speaker 5 (21:41):
Awesome can happen in Indians awesome reminder of where this
team was such a short, short time ago. We've had
one Western Conference champion since the Mavericks were Western Conference champion.
That's how far back we have to go. One whole
NBA season has been played in between their Western Conference

(22:01):
championship and where we are today.

Speaker 6 (22:04):
Just calling it a Western Conference championship shows you how
lain this guy is.

Speaker 5 (22:07):
Well. When we were there and I read we came
up short in the NBA Finals, but we all agreed
our future was bright. Not one of you, as fans
of this franchise, you have every right to demand a
commitment to success from us.

Speaker 7 (22:20):
Yeah, commitment to success. Love it.

Speaker 5 (22:22):
No one associated with the Mavericks organization is happy with
the start of what we all believe would be a
promising season. Why did you believe that Elayer was on
the shelf your best player was in LA Well, that's
actually even more viciously true. Youw fans have high expectations
of the MAVs, and I share them with you. When
the results don't meet the expectations, it's my responsibility to act,

(22:46):
and I have acted. I'm adding words here if you
hadn't been able to tell, I've made the decision of
part ways with general manager Nico Harrison. Again another example
part ways. I love it through the majority of the
twenty five twenty six season, though it remains to be played.
I know our players are deeply committed to a winning culture.
This decision was critical to moving our franchise forward in

(23:06):
a positive direction. Now that's a line we can all
get behind. Yeah, this decision was critical to moving past
what are now. Former general manager somehow convinced me to
do and we can move forward in a positive direction.
And then he talks about our patients, our transparency, and
the impact of DA da DA. Please join me in

(23:26):
continuing to cheer on our players and supporting all of
those who work to make this organization the best it
can be. That sounds like a line from one of
the aps at your local area high school right before
the JV volleyball game. Please join me in continuing to
cheer on our players and supporting all of those who
make this high school the best athletics department that we

(23:48):
can be.

Speaker 7 (23:50):
I've got literally go MAVs.

Speaker 6 (23:53):
Okay, So obviously I didn't mean to do this for
three straight segments, but Best of X has to be
the reaction of this. It does, But dude, the first
response to this is so freaking hilarious.

Speaker 7 (24:02):
I can't help it. I'm ready for Besides, we're piling
on Dallas.

Speaker 6 (24:07):
This is awesome Houston Sports Talk Radio, and it's a
poignant reminder that we have competent and smart people running
things at our NBA franchise down here in Houston, which
we were both witnesses to earlier today.

Speaker 7 (24:21):
So all of that coming up next in Best of X.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
The Age on Sports Talk seven ninety Did you all
see this?

Speaker 9 (24:33):
We'll put it out with through five and tramp posts day,
four hundred people were arrested for things that they said
on social media.

Speaker 10 (24:40):
History repeats itself type bangils succeed. Never doubt that you're
the one who plus no one.

Speaker 2 (24:48):
We'll believe yo, the best.

Speaker 10 (24:52):
Nothing's gonna ever top you know, yo, the best post
I never seen mole day, you know of it breaking
the entire region.

Speaker 5 (25:07):
That's right halfway through our number one of the program.
We hit you with the Best of X and a
topic that just won't go away.

Speaker 6 (25:14):
I that you're gonna say halfway through Dallas Mavericks seven
to ninety here on.

Speaker 5 (25:18):
No halfway through our I mean I hope we're more
than halfway through. But what we shall see, Yes, the
news will bleed into Best of X that the Maverickers,
who are in search of a new GM, they have
a couple of interim gms from inside the organization that
will be running things moving forward. It's a pretty important
deadline a few months from now for the Mavericks now.
And there's a whole lot of parts of what has

(25:39):
taken place as to where they sit now that we
can get from the comments two different posts we will
steal from here on the Best of X. There is
an open letter from MAV's owner that we read to
you last segment, Sean Sherania among those that posted that,
so we will gather some of the thoughts from that
particular post. There's also a post from at MAVs PR

(26:02):
the Dallas Mavericks and now, so the departure of Nico
Harrison today full release. So there's a release if you
want to click through, but there's no need to click through.

Speaker 7 (26:10):
We can just go straight to the comments.

Speaker 5 (26:11):
So both of those are at our disposal as we
continue as we always do, sometimes always do. Sometimes we
have some other things to take care of, and sometimes
we don't.

Speaker 7 (26:25):
But we'll see. Let's try that button. That one works.

Speaker 10 (26:30):
Sports took seven ninety your Southwest, your deep Southwest home
for your Dallas Sports.

Speaker 5 (26:37):
Now we can really really get into this story, which
we'll discussed a little bit in the first two segments.
I'll take the official post and some of the comments
there because I have to have iris post. So stats
Man with the new information that Nico Harrison is no
longer in charge of the Mavericks. Those of you celebrating

(26:58):
the firing of Nico Harrison, just keep in mind that
the battle was won, but.

Speaker 7 (27:01):
The war was lost.

Speaker 5 (27:03):
On February second, twenty twenty five, Nico walks away with
a golden handshake, getting more money on his way out
of the than any of us will ever see in
a lifetime, leaves a hide, a franchise that has no
control over any of their first round picks for five years,
a franchise that went to the finals and is now
second the last in the West. For those of you
saying we can salvage things about trading ad ask yourself this,

(27:24):
who out there is giving you anything of value in
return for an old, broken out of shape and constantly
injured center. He's got out of SHA sixty million a
year over the next three years.

Speaker 7 (27:33):
Let me ask you this.

Speaker 5 (27:34):
He has been in a Mavericks uniform or been available
to be in a Mavericks uniform for forty four games
since that trade was made.

Speaker 7 (27:42):
How many do you think he's played it? One? You
know he's played more than that. Oh, I was just
remembering the first half he played against the Rockets.

Speaker 5 (27:48):
He's missed thirty of those forty four games, and rival
what's the percentages on that? Well, that means he got
there last year and missed a good chunk of games,
and now he with yesterday's missed game, he's now missed four.
His first game, yes he played the first half and
didn't play in the second. He has now missed more
than half of this season's games. He's missed six of
their eleven games, among the other things there, this is

(28:11):
a step in the right direction. An apology to fans
from Dumont would help too, and several people then noted, yeah,
and here it is because they have since apologize to
the fans.

Speaker 7 (28:21):
Some pictures of.

Speaker 5 (28:22):
MAVs owner and former GM with clown noses on them.
There's an I get my favorite that says, did Dumont
ruin the MAVs? That's the handle at Dumont and that's
what they sent out. Now sell the team, please, um
I'll just get to Ira and you can. You can
have everything from there, okay, Ira said the following, Remember

(28:46):
we're your deep southwest home for Dallas sports. Ira posts
you see this, Cowboys, It's okay to fire your GM, please,
for the love of God.

Speaker 7 (28:56):
But Dumont's not the GM. That's the difference, all right.

Speaker 6 (29:01):
Very first post I saw in response to the official
letter was from at Real ex habib It says I
fixed his letter. Uh uh, I'm sorry for trading Luca.
I'm sorry for trading Luca, I'm sorry for trade. It's
a whole. It's like the Simpsons at the beginning, when
Bart's writing on the chalkboard, it says, dear MAVs family,
and then like fifty, I'm sorry for trading Luca, go MAVs.

Speaker 5 (29:22):
Thank you, Patrick. And is this Bill happy? Mattis happy?
Gilmore that we should be saying I shouldn't have traded
Luka Dacic, you were right.

Speaker 7 (29:31):
I was wrong. Yeah, that's the gut.

Speaker 5 (29:33):
We're smart dumb right, that's chubbs okay, And that was
the golf movie, not the go back to school movie.
Like the lines could all fit in either movie. It's
easy to confuse.

Speaker 7 (29:42):
That's true.

Speaker 5 (29:43):
But he's a dumb in both of them. Well, he's
Adam Sandler, the character I mean he like.

Speaker 6 (29:50):
But what's funny is this guy wrote this as a
response to the official letter, and then he's getting responses
that are great, like this guy that says exactly not
a single mention of Luca. Come on now, I mean, honestly,
if I were the MAVs or if I were a
MAVs fan, and I got that as the response to
all of this, like I got the guy that made

(30:11):
the worst deal ever fired.

Speaker 7 (30:13):
So I've got that going for me now.

Speaker 6 (30:15):
Can't change what's happened, but you can certainly get the
guy out so he doesn't do anything else stupid. But
then you get that letter from ownership and he doesn't
mention the biggest reason by far and obviously, that this
guy's getting fired, like he didn't make a bunch of like, oh,
these bad deals.

Speaker 7 (30:33):
It's not like he made a horrible, humongous deal.

Speaker 5 (30:36):
The person who built the team that is referenced at
the beginning of the letter is Nico Harrison. Other than
obviously the key part to that deal, Luca, he was
already there when Nico arrived, all the pieces around him
that every other person in charge of personnel has been
trying to figure out who should be with Luca, What
do we want to put around him, How are we
gonna make this work. He's the one who got gaffered.

(30:57):
He's the one who got PJ.

Speaker 7 (30:58):
Washington.

Speaker 5 (30:59):
He's the one who put the team around Luka Danches
that made it all the way to the Western Conference
Championship and the NBA Finals, which they came up shorten.
And a short time later he made such a decision
that is now viewed now viewed as catastrophic that he
was they parted ways with him.

Speaker 7 (31:15):
I ask you this question.

Speaker 5 (31:17):
The Rockets will be playing at home tomorrow night against
the Washington Wizards. The Dallas Mavericks will be playing at
home tomorrow night against the Phoenix Suns. Will the MAVs
fans in attendance still be chanting about Nico Harrison, only
adding one letter to their now famous chant fired Nko.

(31:38):
They might fired Nico. And I'm just gonna say this
because it's mean. So I'm gonna preface this by I
know what I'm saying is mean. Patrick Dumont just looks
like a goober. So when this kind of thing happens,
like remember all the means you saw, like Nico Harrison
and the crowd, like with that surly look on his

(31:58):
face like I don't care, Yeah I did it.

Speaker 7 (32:01):
He was almost leaning into the villain role.

Speaker 6 (32:03):
Patrick Dumont looked like he just looks like a frat
boy that put on about thirty pounds off after college
and got He looks like the real life Billy Madison.
He was handed the MAVs by his dad who somehow
owned it before and now he's running it into the ground.

Speaker 7 (32:18):
That's what he looks like, just appearances.

Speaker 5 (32:20):
That's all seven of their next eight games, starting with
yesterday's loss to Milwaukee, are home games. I don't think
it's a coincidence that the timing of this eight losses
in eleven games.

Speaker 7 (32:32):
They're gripping.

Speaker 6 (32:34):
Yeah, well, the Rockets have played a bunch of games
on the road and they're not bad.

Speaker 7 (32:37):
So I'm just saying.

Speaker 5 (32:40):
I'm just saying because all their fans are coming to
the arena over and over and over again over the stretch.

Speaker 7 (32:45):
I'm not talking about scheduling.

Speaker 5 (32:46):
I'm saying they're gonna welcome their fans into this building
for the next two weeks almost every other night. Well,
if they go from three and eight to three and
nine to three and ten to three and eleven to
three and twelve, well they've kind of preemptively fired their
general manager before that possibly was about to happen. Yeah,
I uh, I don't think they're gonna recover for the
miss for a long time. Along with Cooper Flagg, who's

(33:09):
just a guy, by the way, we shall see. We'll
get you into the final segment of the program, maybe
straight away from all Dallas Radio for the remainder of
maybe eternity, but probably at least for today's show.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
The A on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (33:38):
I will say this, as far as comparing and contrasting.

Speaker 7 (33:44):
Man, we got a good in Houston right now with
the Rockets.

Speaker 5 (33:48):
You don't have to say with the Rockets, well, yeah,
I do. You could have just left it where it was.
Everything else is in complete. Six and three, we got
a four and five, and we've got a team that
just barely missed the playoffs for the first time in
nearly a decade. Okay, right then and there, we don't
have it good with the other two teams, I admit
you said today. I mean you're speaking in the present tense.

Speaker 6 (34:09):
I'm not going to sit here really well, like they
could beat the Titans, let me rephrase, they should beat
the Titans this week on the road, and then there'll
be five hundred and they're gonna have a gauntlet in
front of them.

Speaker 7 (34:23):
Oh okay, you want to bet on the Bills game
right now?

Speaker 5 (34:25):
Remember yesterday when I said something about it and you
never got back to it.

Speaker 7 (34:29):
What that they were going to make the playoffs?

Speaker 5 (34:31):
I did say that that could get us started. Sure, absolutely, well,
I wanted to compliment the rocket. Yeah, okay, they'll compliment
the rockets. Then no, no, hang on, we got three
whole hours to go after this, so we start the
Gauntlet conversation at three o'clock on camera. Absolutely all right
there it is. Don't let us forget that hashtag Texans
Gauntlet three pm eighteen.

Speaker 7 (34:50):
Oh we are gonna miss it. We are going to
fight so hard. I can't wait.

Speaker 6 (34:53):
So yeah, I'm looking around walk into the practice facility today.
First and foremost, I know that this isn't something that
the public necessarily gets to see all the time.

Speaker 7 (35:02):
Holy crap.

Speaker 6 (35:03):
I mean, if you want, like you want to talk
about free agency and all that kind of stuff, Houston
is always going to attract free agents just because of
the city itself. It's seventy five degrees, like eighty nine
percent of the year.

Speaker 5 (35:16):
Even on days where it's thirty nine degrees, it's also
seventy five degrees, like November eleventh, twenty twenty five, right,
Like it was exactly that is that is such a
it really took its doubles take. I'm like, you're telling
me it's in the high thirties right now, and it's
also going to be in the mid seventies same day, Like,
I'm watching the temperature supposed to rise and yeah, ten am,

(35:37):
it'll be at this and twelve and we were just
outside and yeah.

Speaker 6 (35:40):
You're telling me it's in the thirties this morning and
I still need to water my grass before the end
of the day.

Speaker 5 (35:44):
Yes, it is a free agent lure golf year round.

Speaker 6 (35:47):
Yeah, I mean that everything else, like just cost of living,
no no state income tax, all that. But then you're
gonna tell me that they're going to build this like
gajillion dollar practice facility that I'll be honest with you,
wex I could live there comfortably. Give me a cot
in a corner and I would be happy.

Speaker 7 (36:02):
It's so nice.

Speaker 5 (36:02):
Yeah, they definitely needed a humongous upgrade from what they
were working with with a very small They have a
regulation sized basketball court at Toyota Center and that's it
for whenever they need it. But you really should probably
not want Ema Udoka's team of all teams, probably not
Kelvin Sampson's team practicing there, because if you're trying to
play hard and play defense and go after loose balls,

(36:24):
forget it, You're gonna run into the wall. NonStop, and
it's brick. There's just no room on the sidelines and
no room on the baselines to really operate the way
a team would like to. Two full, huge courts with
space in between them, baskets all over the place wherever
you need them, three full courts, and the weight room
weight room is right next to it.

Speaker 7 (36:43):
It's massive.

Speaker 5 (36:44):
I mean, we've been there many times since they open
it up, and they've obviously been using it since it's
opened up, but it is going to probably open eyes
when players get in there for the first time, like
Kevin Durant or teams that very very infrequently I don't
know if they've even done it yet practice there normally,
the Rocket's say you can, We got plenty of other
places for you to practice. U of H actually is
one such place where they might practice. But it is

(37:07):
something becoming more of the norm around the NBA's tool
It can be because this is one of the latest
and newest.

Speaker 6 (37:15):
We were we were talking to the head of public relations,
Tracy Hughes shout out to her today and she she
was talking about how Clint Cappella has now practiced in
both eras pre this facility and now he's back and
she's talking about how he's looking around, like, wow.

Speaker 5 (37:31):
I remember when he and Kevin and Dwight were on
the court together and there wasn't much room on the
rest of the court because that's how small things were
over and they're all seven footers, yes they are, so yeah,
I say all that. You know Kevin McHale, Right, we
knew who you were talking about, because this is pre
Kevin Durant. Now that Kevin is also a seven footer
and on the floor, but he has lots more room.

Speaker 7 (37:51):
Yeah, this great, this great facility.

Speaker 5 (37:52):
It's great to have an opportunity to work out there,
and they they don't work out anywhere else now.

Speaker 7 (37:58):
No, And I mean but it's not just I mean
that's that's it's nice.

Speaker 6 (38:02):
But you know, the Golden State Warriors were winning their
championships in a dump. Their home arena was a dump.
They're playing in a palace that was built off the
championships they won at Oracle.

Speaker 7 (38:12):
So it's not an end all be all.

Speaker 6 (38:14):
But I walk in there today and you see raffel
Stone and you're like, wow, he really did you said
this the other day. He really has done a good
job putting this roster together around, you know, the talent
to bring in a Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant doesn't want
to come to Houston if the groundwork wasn't laid from
what you know raffel Stone has done. And we're not

(38:35):
sitting here like trying to kiss up to our employers.
But it's like there is a very clear difference right
now in where the Rockets are and their trajectory and
where both the Texans and the Astros are right on
this November eleventh, I got a lot more question marks
about those other two teams than I do about the Rockets.

Speaker 5 (38:51):
Yeah, they're obviously going in different directions. One team has
been going to the playoffs NonStop, winning two titles in
the very recent past. And the Texans just a couple
of years ago, and the Rockets just a couple of
years ago, they were losing more games than pretty much
every team in the NFL or every team in the NBA.
The shoe turned with the draft and the trade of

(39:12):
Deshaun Watson for the Texans, and things obviously changed over
a period of time because while they were losing, While
the Texans were losing, they had nothing. They weren't building
anything there were no player. Oh man, this is gonna
be great when we're cornerstoning with this guy. And I
know Nico came in, and I know Stingley came in,
but they weren't really building anything. Nothing's built until you
have the two players that came in. In twenty twenty three,

(39:34):
the Rockets were building. They were losing, but they were building,
drafting Alpi and Jalen, drafting a men and Jabbari and Tari,
and they were building something, which obviously is all the
things you said roll into why Kevin Durant would be
excited about joining a group like this, and he has
and many people are on that note. About fifteen minutes
from now, we'll talk with Daniell Lerner, the Chronicle Houston

(39:55):
Chronicle beat writer for the Houston Rockets. But as you know,
at the top of the hour at three o'clock because
you were listening this segment, we're going hashtag Texans Gauntlet,
look at their upcoming schedule and try try try to
believe they might be able to even win one game
because it's such a gauntlet or that's deadest dead meat.

Speaker 2 (40:15):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (40:17):
Ninety two, lifelong Houston sports guys named Adam Talking Your Team's.

Speaker 4 (40:28):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the eighteen.

Speaker 5 (40:37):
Straight up three o'clock on a Tuesday edition of the
A Team.

Speaker 7 (40:40):
It's Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (40:41):
It is now our simulcast edition of the program. A
portion of the program over on Space City Home Network
as we take you up until six o'clock tonight. No
Rockets basketball tonight once again. That will resume tomorrow when
Cam Whitmore and company will come to town. I say
that for a couple of reasons. Former Rockets player reuniting

(41:02):
with his old buddies. And oh my gosh, did you
see that dunk last night?

Speaker 5 (41:07):
I actually knew that he played well and helped them
nearly get their second win. Did not see the dunk?
I have since seen it. It's all over Jalen Duran.

Speaker 7 (41:16):
He did.

Speaker 5 (41:16):
And again, this team he's on is not very good.
He hasn't played particularly well and there have been some
issues over there for the whole team. But last night
was a good night for him. Should note this since
it was just reported non basketball related. Travis Hunter's rookie
season is over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Speaker 7 (41:32):
Well.

Speaker 5 (41:33):
He needed ACLCL surgery which he has since had and
now we'll miss the remainder of the season. Was already
on IR and missed a couple of games because of
it and now will not return from IR. For the
Jacksonville Jaguars, they're hopeful to get Brian Thomas back as
early as their next game. But the five and four Jaguars,
who are no longer on the Texans schedule, no longer

(41:55):
have the services at least for this year and year
two for their prized rookie. They traded a bundle for Well,
he'll have an off season to recover from LCL surgery.

Speaker 6 (42:06):
Yeah, disappointing end for a anytime there's a rookie that
is that highly touted and talked about and has had
some moments and then it ends early. I mean, Deshaun
Watson had that happen here in Houston his rookie year,
So I hate to see that for him individually. One
more Rockets tidbit I wanted to pass along before we

(42:26):
get to the aforementioned Texans gauntlet. I asked this question
today and I kind of figured this would be the response,
but I didn't know. So you guys, I think we
talked about the fact that in the arena, they're continuing
to make improvements, and one of those is all new seating.
It's not gonna quite be black. It's gonna kind of
look like a pewter. I think by the time it's done,

(42:48):
is what I've been told the first of those several sections,
because they're gonna have to do this as the season
goes along. It's a year round facility. You can't just
do the whole thing, and it just takes too much time.
But when you walk into Toyota Center tomorrow night for
the Wizards game against the Rockets, I think there's gonna
be like two or three it's a handful of sections

(43:09):
you're gonna see with the new seating, and eventually the
whole ball is gonna look like that, and it's gonna
look sick.

Speaker 7 (43:14):
It's gonna be awesome.

Speaker 5 (43:15):
Obviously, they brought in a new scoreboard a handful of
years ago, and then last year they brought in another
new scoreboard. It's even better than ever sound says, all
the things that go with it. And now the product
on the court is the star attraction once again. Yes,
it has been that many times over during this franchise's existence,
in multiple buildings and certainly is now, and they got
three games at home over the next three Wednesday night,

(43:37):
they get started with the Wizards Friday and Sunday games
to continue this three game homestand to try to balance
out the schedule which currently is heavily tilted away from
Toyota Center. The Texans are on the road after they're
rare three game homestand themselves would have been nice to
not have lost the Broncos game won all three games.

(43:58):
More importantly, record with the five and four they would
have the same record as other AFC teams that are
inside the playoff picture. Five and four will possibly have
you inside the playoff picture at this point in the season.
The Chiefs are five and four, they're not. The Jaguars
are five and four. They are same with the Steelers
at five and four, who lead their division. So two

(44:20):
of the three teams that aren't five and four in
the AFC, which is where the Technans would be. They
figured out a way to put the ball in the
end zone against the Broncos. Most likely that game is
a win, and we could go on and on about
the other losses, but just specific to what this team
has been recently up to, so it sends them into
the final handful of games, the last eight games of
the season, needing to obviously help themselves in a big way,

(44:41):
and best way they can do that is beat teams
that are in consideration for playoff spots that they would
like to grab themselves. And obviously, with that many games
needed to win, it's pretty unlikely they're going to get
They're going to get there without needing any help because
they're outside of the playoff picture. By definition, they need help.

(45:02):
If they could knock out the teams ahead of them themselves,
then they wouldn't need help. But the only team that
are in position ahead of them in the playoffs that
they play are.

Speaker 7 (45:15):
More than one game ahead of them.

Speaker 6 (45:18):
Yeah, that's I call this a gauntlet sort of tongue
in cheek, but not really. After the Titans this week,
which I think they will win no matter who the
quarterback is, and the Titans suck, they're one of the
worst football teams I've ever seen.

Speaker 7 (45:34):
They really are.

Speaker 5 (45:35):
See I honestly have said, I don't think they're that bad.
Like historically speaking, they're going to be a one or
two win team this year and they have one win already.
I mean, even who's their best player, Jeffery Simmons, Jeffrey Simmons,
far and away, who's their second best player? It doesn't
matter if you say, I mean, I don't. I would
never say Calvin Ridley. He's a bad football player. He

(45:57):
doesn't catch the football and he plays wide receiver. But
doesn't that kind of where you are when it comes
to is why I tried to say, you don't even
need to get to their second best player, because you've
already got such a drop off that you can't win.

Speaker 7 (46:07):
Well. I was looking for their quarterbacks name at some point.

Speaker 5 (46:10):
He's played nine NFL games. I'm not going to say
he's their second best player. You have to play well exactly.
Both both answers are acceptable here. Yeah, so the Titans
game need not have our discussion. We'll save that for
when we haha break it down and then ha haa
on Monday flip out like Dan whatever his name is
in Jacksonville when the Texans lose Dan Dickon. But I'm hicking,
but I'm not trying to to get there. They play

(46:32):
the Bills in five days after they are in Nashville.
Here in Houston, Thursday Night Football back to back road
games follow at the Colts at the Chiefs. Colts are
obviously one of the eight and two teams top the AFC.
Technically they are the number one seed, but two other
teams share that eight and two record. That game against
the Chiefs. Chiefs are one win better than Houston at

(46:53):
five and four. The Cardinals and Raiders follow. Both of
those games are here in Houston. Possible kylermack for that game,
which so far the season means it would be easier
to beat them because Jacoby Brissette has run circles around
Kyler Murray just in terms of how they've individually played.
But the team is not very good, and they're one
of the best in the NFL this year at finding

(47:14):
ways to lose in the NFC. The Raiders are probably
that team in the AFC. Those two teams come to
Houston and back to back weeks right before Christmas, and
then they close out at the Chargers. Chargers probably are
playing for something very significant. They're seven to three, the
Broncos are eight and two, the Chiefs are five and four,

(47:34):
and there's probably something pretty significant on the line for
the Chargers. Final game of the season is here against
the Indianapolis Colts. If everybody keeps doing what they have been,
which is winning every week, that game could very well
mean a lot to the Colts because if the number
one seed is on the line for them, I would
play for it. It gets you an off week, it

(47:55):
has you playing at home the whole postseason, I think
is a very significant advantage, especially in the seven team
format now that we have in each conference. So that's
the layout of what they play. Bad Titans team six
and three, Bills, eight and two Colts, five and four Chiefs,
Bad Cards, Bad Raiders, seven and three, Chargers, eight and
two Colts. That's the gauntlet.

Speaker 6 (48:16):
Yeah, and again it is a gauntlet because the first
and foremost reason that this is a gauntlet is that
even if you want to look at the games that
aren't necessarily against quote powers, it's not about that.

Speaker 5 (48:27):
It's about you have no margin for error. There's eight
games left.

Speaker 6 (48:32):
If you don't go six and two, I don't think
you make the playoffs.

Speaker 5 (48:36):
I will guarantee the Texans make the playoffs. If they
go six and two, I probably would too guarantee. And
that's only ten and seven that will probably land them
the seventh seed, maybe the sixth seed. Okay, but I'm
willing to guarantee it. They have to do their part, though.
It's not just going six and two. They have to
beat certain teams because they have to pass certain teams.

Speaker 11 (48:57):
Right.

Speaker 5 (48:58):
You want the Colts to win every game the rest season,
in my opinion. You want the Broncos to win every
game the rest of the season. You want the Patriots
to win out every game every time they play somebody
else in the AFC in between. Y'all, you're not catching
the Patriots. You're not catching the Broncos. You're not catching
the Colts. You shouldn't even be thinking about that. But
the exact opposite of that, and they all play these
important games. The Chargers and the Broncos have games against

(49:21):
each other, obviously, But you want the Broncos this week
in Kansas City. You gotta be an Orange Crush fan.
You're not catching Denver. They have the tiebreaker over you
already and four more wins. You are catching the Chiefs.
You'll be tied with the Chiefs when we talk to
you on Monday. If the Texans beat the Titans and

(49:43):
the Chiefs lose at home to the eight and two Broncos,
that's all it takes to catch. But they team directly
in front who can't score the Broncos, They're gonna go
to Kansas City and win. See, you keep talking about
the Chiefs like they have this five and four record,
like they suck. No, what I'm saying is this team
that can't score also can't do one other thing lose.

Speaker 6 (50:06):
Yeah, well they're gonna lose the Chiefs wins. They're gonna
lose the Chiefs. You know why because the Chiefs can
score against any defense, which is why they're also going
to beat the Texans because no matter what the Texans
have done basically since Mahomes has come around, they don't
win at Kansas City here or any other place. They
don't beat the Chiefs.

Speaker 5 (50:24):
Repeat yourself from Monday's show. How would you describe the
Jacksonville Jaguars? They're not as good as the record says
it is. Would you say that they suck? They're a
bad team. You said that they're a bad team. That's fair, right, Yeah?
How did they beat the Chiefs in Kansas City? I
don't know, or excuse me, in Jacksonville. But see it's
not to me because the Chiefs, while they can be

(50:45):
good and have been good at times this year. They're
nothing like the Chiefs that go to the conference title
game every year. They are so much more beatable than
they've ever been with Pat Mahomes. They're playing a ton
of close games now. They're basically fifty to fifty if
they win them or not, as evidence by losing to
the Jaguars, losing a seven point game to the Bills,

(51:06):
who just got smacked by the Dolphins.

Speaker 7 (51:08):
I hear all that, it's all true, but every time
who they were.

Speaker 5 (51:12):
I crapped on them all last year when they were
a fourteen win team for the same reason, and now
at five and four, you won't because they because the
Texans never win this. This is the Texans probably, yes,
why can't the Broncos beat them?

Speaker 11 (51:24):
Then?

Speaker 7 (51:25):
Knows are playing them? This?

Speaker 6 (51:26):
The Broncos can't beat them because they're they're not going
to score enough. The Broncos have won two games by
scoring like nothing, and again it goes back to the Texans.
For whatever reason it maybe it's a Demico thing, but
as it was happening before, they.

Speaker 7 (51:39):
Can't beat the Chiefs. They haven't. They can't.

Speaker 5 (51:42):
They haven't done it yet, probably two times love another
crack at them.

Speaker 6 (51:47):
They can't beat them. They can't until they do. I'm
gonna say the same thing.

Speaker 5 (51:50):
And we will continue on why the Texans six and
two finish will land them in the postseason for the
third consecutive season.

Speaker 2 (51:58):
The eighty on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (52:06):
You know what's the funniest part of that whole conversation
about it being a gauntlet of a schedule for the Texans.
It's again not the fact that all the games are
so so difficult on the schedule. It's just that the
amount of games that I feel are difficult outweighs the
amount of wins you're going to need to get to
the postseason. Rich Eisen, for example.

Speaker 5 (52:29):
Was talking about the fact that the Texans are going
to not be counted out of the AFC wildcard race.
So we'll get back to arguing about football in just
a little bit, but right now is promise we're going
to get back to Rockets conversation as Danielle Lerner joins
us for a little bit longer on the Rockets beat. Danielle,

(52:51):
I think a lot of people by now know that
you are going to be moving on, So we're going
to have you a little bit longer like the rest
of the week covering the Rockets, and we were able
to catch up with you over at the practice facility
earlier today. But I guess first and foremost, congrats on
the new gig.

Speaker 12 (53:07):
Thank you so much. I appreciate it, and I appreciate
everyone who said something on social media or a person's
me this week. And yeah, Sunday, after this home stand,
basically I'm done.

Speaker 6 (53:20):
Well it's been It's been a crazy start to the
year for a number of reasons, not the least of
which was that double overtime loss by one point on
opening night. But this Rockets team, even with that, and
then you know, the loss of the Spurs was particularly stinging,
I think for for locals here, they've really kind of

(53:40):
made a name for themselves in a very short time
to start this campaign.

Speaker 12 (53:46):
Yeah, I mean, I think when you have offensive rebounding
the way that they do, you know, on pace to
be a historic rate, and you know, then some of
the size that they're able to roll out in different lineups,
and you know, I think just the offense in general
is night and day from last season when obviously it
was just dreadful. And that's been the biggest difference that

(54:10):
I think obviously, you know, adding a player like Kevin Durant,
you're I'm actually going to make more shots. But I
just think conceptually they have a lot of off ball
movement where they didn't before. They're not just running pick
and rolls. Of course, the pick and roll with Alp
and Katie has been great, but you know, they have
so many more actions that they can get to now,
and it's just.

Speaker 5 (54:30):
More interesting to watch a couple of things that you
say there I would totally agree with about. This was
obviously going to happen. That was obviously these changes that
we're going to be made would lead to this. What's
something through the first nine games that was less obvious
that has unfolded for this Rockets team that you think
is obviously something good for the future.

Speaker 12 (54:48):
I think that the the defense honestly has not been
as good as it was last season. You know, they
obviously lost one of I think the most underrated defenders
in Fred and then Duran Finta Smith has yet to
see the floor for them, and that's a big part
of it. But you know, their ball security on offense
hasn't been good, which means that their transition defense needs

(55:11):
to be better than it adds. It hasn't been great.
The zone defense that they're running a lot more has
generally been good at preventing scoring, but it can get
ugly very fast if they don't rotate, and they're still
kind of working through how to do that, and because
they're using it so much, opposing teams I think are
adjusting now a lot quicker. You know, you saw the

(55:33):
Bucks get into it for a little bit even the
other night with finding open shooters. That was also what
killed them in the Spurs game, in addition to the turnovers.
So you know it worked nine games in. It's not
time to overreact to anything. They still have a lot
of time to fix it, but I think the drop
off on defense has been a little surprising to me.

Speaker 5 (55:52):
One of the topics we discussed today with a man
is a topic we've talked here on the show about
a lot. Once Fred went down, news ball handlers ponssibilities
would go up. Knew the makeup of how this team
would operate offensively would change dramatically. I'll be read Amen
and even Kevin obviously handling some of the setup and
running this through them, et cetera. But finding a men
Thompson back in a spot where he dominates the NBA

(56:16):
is the dunker spot, and it seems to me over
the past three or four games maybe there's been a
concerted effort to have him play off the ball, maybe
a little bit more so he finds his way down
there where the league still hasn't figured out how to
keep him from crushing. Do you think that's been by
design or just that's what ultimately was gonna happen anyway.

Speaker 12 (56:35):
I mean, I think that's something he actually did really
really well over the last couple of seasons too, So
I don't necessarily think that they are, you know, doing
anything differently. It's just that the way that they're having
him space because of their bigger lineup is they often
start possessions with him standing in the corner. The first
few get into the season, when he got the ball there,

(56:55):
he was very late in possessions, and since he would
end up shooting a three, he didn't have time to
cut or run into the basket. What they're doing a
better job of now is just getting into their offense
earlier in the possession, and amend has a really really
good timing on knowing when to cut, and so his
teammates all know that that's where he wants to be,
that's where he wants to receive the ball. It's just

(57:17):
a matter of they're now executing a little bit faster
and better. And I was talking to Kevin Durant actually
on the road about, you know that sense of timing.
Is that something that is innate or is that you
know developed? Can that be developed over time? And he
kind of was like, it's an instinct that you have
to have. And for men to have that or this

(57:38):
early in his career and be so good at doing
it over and over, like that's really special.

Speaker 6 (57:44):
Yeah, so many things are not necessarily coachable or things
you can teach about why this Rockets team does so
many things so well. I don't think you can really
coach what alber and Shingun did full court against Giannis
on Sunday afternoon.

Speaker 7 (57:58):
And you've watched every single game.

Speaker 6 (58:00):
We've watched every single game, and for him to make
our collective jaws drop the way he did with that play,
even after some of the things he's been able to do.
Saw a lot of the national types talking about the
big step he has taken, and I think that kind
of bore itself out, and that was a microcosm of
it right there here.

Speaker 7 (58:17):
This season.

Speaker 12 (58:19):
Yeah, I think that's something that you saw him get
a lot more comfortable with playing EuroBasket with the Turkish
national team, just because he was bringing the ball up,
you know, after live rebounds out of Dezo. It's like
every single time he's going, you know, baseline to baseline,
and so that has made him a lot more comfortable

(58:40):
driven up the court even against that type of pressure.
And then you know, alf he's always had those handles. Really,
even if you look at his his favorite baseline spin
move that he likes to do to get to the basket,
this was basically the same thing. He was just doing
it at mid court instead. So it's definitely I think
something that he's comfortable with and I don't think is
something that he would say is new to him necessarily,

(59:03):
but he's just getting more of an opportunity to do
it in different situations with the Rockets this season.

Speaker 5 (59:09):
What kind of expectations, as we talk to Danielle Lerner
of the Houston Chronicle Rockets beat writer, what kind of
expectations did you have for covering Kevin Durant both personally
and professionally. And then the basketball that you thought he
would bring to this team that we've now seen over
nine games.

Speaker 12 (59:26):
Yeah, I mean, Knaty's reputation around the league for a
long time has just been he one of the most
accessible superstars that there is. He understands the media's job,
he understands his job in relation to us, and he's
extremely willing to talk if it is about basketball specifically
or about his own game. Like he is someone who

(59:50):
is not going to try and get out of his
media responsibilities. You know, if you're interested in the game
and you're asking good questions, he wants to talk back
to you. So and that was evident even from the
few times I interacted with him as a member of
a visiting team, And so you know, he's matched my
expectations in that sense as far as being really good
to deal with basketball wise, too. The thing that has

(01:00:12):
surprised me is probably you know, how willing he has
been to seed the ball and clutch time situations to
some of his younger teammates. Obviously, there are times when
the Rockets seed him to take over, and he's shown
that he can do that late in games and be enclosure.
But it's really it's not a one man effort. You know,
He's he's really confident giving the ball to alp two men,

(01:00:35):
even to Read Shepherd and hyping them up as well.
And I think that's helping the Rockets become more of
a dynamic threat.

Speaker 5 (01:00:42):
We didn't talk to Kevin or Jabbari today. I wonder
if you had or anybody else noted it the enormous
smile on Jabari Smith Junior's face when he hit the
go ahead three against the Bucks. It was so noticeable
about what's being built here in Houston, confidence, trust, fun.

Speaker 7 (01:01:00):
Like I said, it couldn't help but be noticed.

Speaker 12 (01:01:04):
Yeah, I think Javari is another player who obviously is
just taking a big leak on both sides of the ball.
But they needed him to be that three point threat
this season, and we know that he can shoot, but
he just persentage wise last year, didn't get the volume
of reps and didn't knock down a high clip from
behind the ark. And so the fact that he's doing

(01:01:25):
that now, obviously he's not even the second or third
option on this team, and so he's going to get
a lot more open looks him and Josh a Kogie
in this current starting lineup are going to be the
beneficiary of the attention that other teams have to pay
to Kdie Alp and the men, and so him being
able to make those shots is going to be super.

Speaker 7 (01:01:45):
Super important, real quick.

Speaker 6 (01:01:47):
In that same subject before we let you go, and
this was talked about a little bit today at practice,
but what do you see in these last two games
that has made it such a success for Reed Shepherd
and how easy will it be for him in this
environment to kind of build on that as maybe a
springboard forward.

Speaker 13 (01:02:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 12 (01:02:06):
I think in terms of the shot making, he's just
getting the ball in a lot in his favorite position,
which is just catch and shoot top of the brakes, right.
He's that's where he's gonna be most automatic and most confident.
We saw that even in last season at some point.
But he's also showing more aggression and seeing a little
bit smarter. There's that one dribble pull up he had

(01:02:27):
in Milwaukee where he looks like he's gonna take a three,
you know, made the defender Bye, took a dribble four
ward and then pulled up for a long too. And
I think making reads like that kind of show his
maturation as a shooter, and it's also going to you know,
when teams plowed that hard to him as a third
point shooter, it's gonna automatically create other looks that the

(01:02:48):
Rockets can exploit. And then defensively, we've known that he
has the hands. You know, he's made those plays last season,
he made those play it all in Summer League. But
I think that he's able you pick his spots more
carefully now where he's not getting completely out of position
when he's standing for those deals.

Speaker 5 (01:03:07):
Well, Danielle, we really appreciate you coming on the show
recently and all your coverage there on the Chronicle over
the years with the Rockets Beat. I look forward to
whatever is next for you and appreciate your time today.

Speaker 12 (01:03:20):
Thank you both appreciate it.

Speaker 7 (01:03:21):
You got it.

Speaker 5 (01:03:22):
So we have much more on this conversation on the other.

Speaker 1 (01:03:24):
Side the ad on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (01:03:38):
Thanks again to Danielle Lerner for joining us in one
of her final days on the Rockets Beat. But she's
not going anywhere obviously with her gig at USA today.
She's staying right here in Houston. And as we've already
talked about the fact that she is always welcome here
on the program, especially if she's working on a Houston
themed story. So I liked a lot of way she

(01:04:00):
had to say, especially as it pertains to this team
moving forward. With em Udoka. We talked to him today,
WEX I think it gets almost lost under the radar.
However you want to call it that the Rockets extended him,
like it was never a doubt that they would, I

(01:04:21):
don't think. But when you go out and you get
to Kevin Durant, you're making the postseason for the first
time in several years, and all that kind of stuff.
It was also it just seemed like an under the
radar type story. I haven't trusted a head coach like
em Udoka maybe since Rudy, and I know that's saying
a lot in light of who they've had.

Speaker 5 (01:04:42):
Like actually, for people who don't know what that is saying,
you want to run through the list, think about unbelievably
respected and winning coaches the Rockets have had since Rudy
to em Yeah, but when you say winning, that's the key.
He hasn't won any more than them. Well, at least
he's been to the finals before and not with them,

(01:05:03):
so he's been to the finals. All those other guys.
I mean, even Mike D'Antoni couldn't say that he went
to the finals. He was losing in the playoffs before that.
He never got to the finals. The closest he got
to the finals was here.

Speaker 6 (01:05:16):
It was even closer than that screw job against the
Spurs back in seven.

Speaker 5 (01:05:20):
Can respect all that, but just don't think the quality
of the quality of coaches here in Houston during the
years where they came up short every time is insane.
Oh no, I believe me as Van Gundy. Yeah, we're
all here between Rudy and coach Silas. An email Van

(01:05:42):
Gundy also probably worth noting, even though it was only
on an interim basis for seventy one games.

Speaker 7 (01:05:48):
JB.

Speaker 5 (01:05:48):
Bickerstaff, who's pretty well regarded as many of us, myself included,
said while he was here, he's going to be a
good NBA head coach, more well regarded than Steven Silas.

Speaker 7 (01:06:01):
That was a mean joke because he's a very nice guy.

Speaker 5 (01:06:03):
I didn't mention one other name of coaches that we're
here in between.

Speaker 7 (01:06:06):
Kevin McHale.

Speaker 5 (01:06:07):
He already got mentioned on today's show in a spot
where he fit better than great coaches that the Rockets
have had.

Speaker 6 (01:06:12):
Van Gundy never got out of the first round because
McGrady never got out of the first round here.

Speaker 7 (01:06:17):
That's what I mean.

Speaker 6 (01:06:18):
Though he did go to the finals right with the
Knicks as the eight.

Speaker 7 (01:06:22):
Seed, so he's just.

Speaker 5 (01:06:27):
I know, we could rank them all if we wanted to,
and I would put e May probably as high as
you would. But I do think it's worth noting they
had really talented teams and exceptionally talented NBA head coaches
who won a ton of games here and elsewhere, and
they're in an awesome spot with em as awesome a
spot as they've ever been in.

Speaker 6 (01:06:45):
If you want to take like all of the elements
from each head coach leading up to e May that
you think would make him be someone that got the
most out of or gain the most respect out of
the teams, I think they're all incorporated into the e
May package. Like a former player can get more respect

(01:07:06):
out of some guy sometimes, especially when you've played against him.
Kevin Durant, you know, like that kind of thing. But
then the no nonsense that Van Gundy brought to the table,
you also get that with e May.

Speaker 5 (01:07:17):
Do you think how very focused and seemingly not a
smiley person.

Speaker 7 (01:07:25):
Is even though he actually is away from me.

Speaker 5 (01:07:27):
He's like a beacon of absolute sunshine and happiness and rainbows.

Speaker 7 (01:07:33):
Compared to Jeff a gunny.

Speaker 5 (01:07:35):
And to a lesser extent, but similarly, Rick Adelman, that's
probably kerous. He was very this. He was big on
the basketball and the men.

Speaker 7 (01:07:45):
Was a professor. He was. He was really good.

Speaker 6 (01:07:48):
That had the little elbow pads on it, because that's
what he reminded me of the great offense priest.

Speaker 5 (01:07:54):
By the way, tomorrow night probably will win his hundredth
game as a Rockets head coach.

Speaker 6 (01:08:00):
I mean, that's just incredible when you consider he's been
here five minutes.

Speaker 5 (01:08:04):
He will remain as their eleventh all time winning as
head coach. They've had sixteen. He's he will be climbing
the yard soon. I just like he can climb the
playoff chart very quickly. Yeah, well, is Rudy the all
time winnings has to be right? Yeah, far and away.
Fifty one wins for Rudy. But hang on, is D'Antoni second,

(01:08:25):
he's second twenty eight?

Speaker 6 (01:08:27):
That should tell you how much they Well, one season
alone was sixty five of them.

Speaker 5 (01:08:31):
No playoff wins, only oh playoffs. Rudy's number one and
make d'antoni's number two. All the other coaches other than Rudy,
they're all the same.

Speaker 7 (01:08:42):
I thought you were talking about regular season.

Speaker 5 (01:08:44):
D'antoni's got two seventeen, Bill Fitch has two sixteen, Adamman
and McHale have won ninety three, and Van Gundy's at
one eighty two. They all lasted the same amount of
time years while they were all winning roughly the same
number of You know.

Speaker 7 (01:08:56):
What's funny about that? What year is this for? E May?

Speaker 5 (01:08:58):
This is year three games? The first two seasons literate
the traditional coaching trajectory. Since Rudy, no question all got
four years. If he gets four years, something went horribly wrong,
like he quit.

Speaker 7 (01:09:14):
I'm serious. There's nothing else, You're right, nothing else.

Speaker 6 (01:09:16):
It's like he's definitely gonna be here in two years,
coaching games, winning and just completely throwing whoever needs to
be thrown under the bus in a the best way possible.

Speaker 5 (01:09:27):
Right, all that being said, just because obviously everybody is aware,
it's no different. It will be different this time, I'm
pretty confident. But all those things were said once before
in Boston.

Speaker 6 (01:09:41):
Yeah, well that was a fluke, and the fluke gave
us Ema Udoka yep. I mean it's that's there's no
better way to put it. I thank the Celtics for
being that stupid, because, let me tell you right now,
I know what happened.

Speaker 7 (01:09:52):
I know it was.

Speaker 6 (01:09:53):
It's uncomfortable to talk about and all that kind of stuff.
I would have figured out a way to keep that
guy in the door. I know that they won after
he let I know all that stuff.

Speaker 5 (01:10:01):
It was all anybody can do this well, it was
built by him, and their players were still talking about
him at the championship celebration.

Speaker 7 (01:10:10):
That's all you know about me. He was a big
part of it. Obviously.

Speaker 5 (01:10:12):
Joe Mizzoula is extremely different Barryson. That's what he is.

Speaker 7 (01:10:16):
Just kidding.

Speaker 5 (01:10:17):
He's I don't know how or why because he's fat
and how he handles things. But they do play good basketball,
and even this year's team that is not nearly as
talented as any other team.

Speaker 7 (01:10:28):
I like him, by the way a lot.

Speaker 6 (01:10:30):
That was a total joke because Barry did take Jimmy's
teams and win one more with them.

Speaker 5 (01:10:35):
Now, Barry was like uber successful in college Oklahoma. Yeah,
but how many coaches did what he did period go
to the pros and win? Yeah, and win in college? Okay,
follow me if you will. It's a pretty small list.
Nick Saban, Pete Carroll.

Speaker 6 (01:10:54):
I'm just thinking of big college names that could have
inherited that roster and probably.

Speaker 5 (01:11:00):
Whatever Nick Saban coach in the NFL Dolphins, he did
my choice.

Speaker 7 (01:11:05):
Can I have this team? Can I have this show?

Speaker 11 (01:11:07):
Sure?

Speaker 7 (01:11:08):
We'd love to have you. We'd love to have you. Sure, Yeah,
we'll hire you. This is gonna be great.

Speaker 5 (01:11:12):
Maybe he would have won one like Sean Payton if
you had him for fifteen years.

Speaker 7 (01:11:18):
That is the biggest Uh. That's the biggest travesty. Well,
it's the it's the biggest Uh.

Speaker 6 (01:11:23):
What's the word I'm looking for for Sean Payton's Because
it's not that he wasn't a successful.

Speaker 5 (01:11:29):
I gave you the same I gave you the same
comment that you gave him a minute ago. It's a
total slight and totally unnecessary. But I should actually show
you is it's hard to win to.

Speaker 7 (01:11:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:11:42):
People are saying that the Peyton Manning era is Well,
if you don't win three titles, it's a failure. If
you don't win a title with Andrew Luck, it's a failure.
I mean, come on. And in Drew's defense or in
the case of the NFC, probably should have been more.
He wasn't playing against Brady and or Manning every year
in the postseason.

Speaker 6 (01:11:59):
Well, all these passing yards and only had one title.

Speaker 5 (01:12:01):
What happened, Well, they were playing nothing but greatness. And
that's what happens. That's why we love sports, because it's
not obvious who's gonna end up on.

Speaker 1 (01:12:08):
Top the AE on Sports Talk seven ninety, Hey, Wex, Yes,
you know it would be really bad if you if
you did this and you were an NBA team, you
traded away your best player in large part because the

(01:12:32):
team you traded him to.

Speaker 6 (01:12:36):
Essentially owned your draft future in the immediate future. And
then one of in this case, the centerpiece player you
got back has played like one game for you. That
would be bad. Well, that's what just happened with the
Phoenix Suns. For the foreseeable future. We all know that
Jalen Green, I mean, and again Wex was right to

(01:12:58):
point this out. It was the only game that night,
which is a big reason why when he scored what
it was at twenty nine points and very efficient shooting
and all that kind of stuff. He was getting a
lot of love on social and then the very next
game he injured his hamstring.

Speaker 5 (01:13:14):
Yeah, he reinjured it, and reinjured it was severe enough
that the report now is four to six weeks. I
had was just mentioning this and during the break. I
remember that day when the next day I was saying,
I felt like the Suns took their time, tried to
be careful with this.

Speaker 7 (01:13:28):
It's a hamstring injury.

Speaker 5 (01:13:29):
Let's make sure he's not only past it, but enough
pasted it that we feel comfortable putting him out there.
And the look on his face when he did it,
his inability. He basically tried to get off the court
and team played four on five for a bit, and
then when time was finally allowing him to get a
significant amount of assistance to walk back to the locker room.
It obviously is pretty bad and unfortunate for the Sun.

(01:13:52):
Sons have played, I think a lot better than people
would have expected. I know, I did not expect any
game in the history of the NBA to feature a
Grace and Allen forty two point night with ten threes,
but that happened last night, and they're they're in perfectly
good position to be within reach of the playing game,
within reach of potentially the playoff spot at the back
end of the Western Conference. They're among those back five

(01:14:13):
teams that could be there. Of note, Phoenix obviously have
not yet seen the Rockets, but December fifth here in
Houston and November twenty fourth, obviously the game prior to
that in Phoenix, those are two games he will now
not play against his former team, and whatever game he
does play and their game after that's January fifth, which

(01:14:35):
is less than two months away, that would be in
jeopardy as well. So I think this injury won't affect
him when they meet on April seventh, but it very
well could keep him out of each of the other
three meetings in what would obviously be his first games
against the only team he played for before the one
game this year.

Speaker 6 (01:14:54):
Well, and I think you know, the obvious thing that
comes to mind is that when this deal was.

Speaker 5 (01:14:59):
Made, the concerned about injuries or Kevin. Yeah, and I
look where some wood do you have any?

Speaker 7 (01:15:06):
Wow? Yeah, I'll let that marinate for a second.

Speaker 5 (01:15:11):
So I just like it's that's why I don't. Yes,
you can be injury prone, and yes, Kevin Durant smiss time,
and yes, Anthony Davis Smith's time, and Zion Williamson and
the list goes on and on most of the other players.
So such a heavy majority of players have injuries, but
we wouldn't categorize it at anything beyond Yeah, they're athletes.

Speaker 7 (01:15:29):
They play basketball.

Speaker 5 (01:15:30):
They're doing strenuous athletic activity constantly and doing tons of
preventative things to have that not happen.

Speaker 6 (01:15:38):
He kept falling to happen in a Sunday's game like
more than usual. For whatever reason. It was just the
way that the game, you know, bore itself out. He
wasn't taking any unnecessary risks. I didn't really feel like
the Bucks were being any more physical with him than
any other team, although that's another topic that we could
get to, because he's constantly fouled away from the ball,
like way more egregiously than I ever new until I

(01:16:00):
started watching him night in and night out.

Speaker 7 (01:16:03):
But every time he'd hit the deck, I'd be like,
get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get.

Speaker 6 (01:16:06):
Up, And he has and he will until he doesn't.
But yeah, I just think that it is the ultimate irony.
I don't even want to speak on that anymore because
I don't want to jinx it.

Speaker 7 (01:16:16):
I don't want any.

Speaker 6 (01:16:17):
Sports god activities to take over the situation which I mentioned.

Speaker 7 (01:16:23):
I wanted to get to this.

Speaker 6 (01:16:25):
They the vibes were already good around the the Houston
Rockets before Kevin Durant got here. And I know it
was just one practice today, but like you're just looking
at them going through you know, their routine, what they're doing,
the music that's playing, the way they interact with each other,
stuff that you are seeing if you're us kind of

(01:16:45):
behind the scenes away from the floor, not to mention
what you've seen on the floor. And we just talked
about it with Danielle how he's so willing to defer
Kevin Durant to some of these teammates. The vibes are immaculate,
as they say, right now around the Houston Rockets. And
I really do feel like they haven't even scratched the
surface of the best basketball they're going to play because
they're still getting to know each other.

Speaker 7 (01:17:05):
I really like where this team could be headed.

Speaker 5 (01:17:08):
Yeah, I think these couple of days where there's no
travel elsewhere, even though they're not gonna do a whole
lot of practicing after today. They got a game Wednesday, Friday,
and Sunday. But they're all here in Houston a chance
to kind of slow down things. From how the season
has gone. I think they've benefited some years, it's really
good and to me, this year is that's awesome, a
very good year for them to have had this. Their

(01:17:29):
schedule has been, from an outsider's perspective, very conducive to
getting things fixed without needing getting things fixed period, because
they're not playing every other day, they're not traveling every
other day. They've had zero back to backs. They haven't
had to say, well, I love what we did here
with Kevin and Steven and all the guys playing, but

(01:17:50):
we're gonna have to we're gonna arrest Kevin tonight, or
we're going to injury manage Kevin and Steven's not gonna
They haven't really had to do that, which just slows
down the process. This is an eighty two game process
playing a lot of minutes, though it doesn't bother me
one bit when the next game is two days three
days away. Yeah, yeah, I I don't think they want
him playing thirty seven minutes on Tuesday night and thirty

(01:18:12):
five minutes on Wednesday night.

Speaker 7 (01:18:13):
I don't know if they haven't had to do that.

Speaker 6 (01:18:15):
I don't know if they want him playing that many
minutes any night, though not consistently. Anyways, I realized sometimes
you're gonna have to. But like now, again, there was
a game, I think the Memphis game, he didn't play
in the fourth quarter.

Speaker 7 (01:18:27):
He didn't have to.

Speaker 6 (01:18:28):
Hopefully that's the case more and more because this team
is so ridiculous on both ends of the floor, because
they are top ten and offense end defense right now.

Speaker 5 (01:18:35):
If you're in a situation and they could have been
in one more game, one of the blowout games, they
just couldn't keep it there. Yeah, resting when you can,
but I would love to see him out there. I'm
not too concerned about it until they get into that
portion of the schedule eleven games and twenty days or
something like that where they they will have some some situation.
They just haven't had him yet, which is great. Yeah,

(01:18:57):
I mean they're a new team. Every teammate changes. The
changes they made. No Fred no Jalen, no Dylan insert
Kevin Durant. That's a pretty big difference and what people
are doating versus what you are doing.

Speaker 6 (01:19:08):
Like I think people concentrate on Okay, Fred's not here,
that's a big thing. Or yes, you traded Jalen and Dylan,
who were a big part of the number two seed
last year for Kevin Durant. He's got all that is
in this bowl of rockets soup right now and they're
it's percolating.

Speaker 5 (01:19:26):
Yeah, quick scan, I would say Kevin Durant is the
oldest player in the NBA among the top fifteen in
minutes played per game, I think it's a pretty safe bet.

Speaker 6 (01:19:39):
See, I don't like what that forbodes, even if maybe
I shouldn't.

Speaker 5 (01:19:43):
R e he's playing little less than thirty six minutes
per game.

Speaker 7 (01:19:47):
That's a lot.

Speaker 5 (01:19:48):
By the end of the year, maybe it's thirty four
thirty five. It's not gonna be that different. You're gonna
steal some minutes here and there, and you've got enough
talent probably to do so. And you should have more
games like the ones you mentioned where he played twenty
four minutes, twenty eight minutes through the first three quarters
and then.

Speaker 7 (01:20:03):
He never added to it.

Speaker 6 (01:20:05):
Yeah, because we're past the point where it's like Ooh,
Kevin Durant's not averaging this many points.

Speaker 7 (01:20:09):
That's so dumb. Now we'll add this to it.

Speaker 5 (01:20:11):
I'm not worried about him wearing down at all, at all,
at all, at all, not now, not later in the season,
not in the posies James Hard, it's merely of It's
the same thing with resting players that you want healthy
for the playoffs. If they're not playing, that's my guarantee
they're not getting hurt. That's all you can do. If
they don't play, if they don't practice, they're not going
to get hurt. But otherwise I'm not too concerned about

(01:20:32):
how much they're playing, how much it's going to weigher
on them, certainly not now. It's something they will constantly
be feeling and constantly been monitoring. But he's he's also
unique and different. That's why he is who he is.
That's why he's elevated his game to this level at
the NBA stage two in two to go the Texans.
What do they have that everybody else wants? What do

(01:20:53):
the Texans have that everybody else wants?

Speaker 7 (01:20:56):
That's next?

Speaker 1 (01:20:58):
The A team Sports Talk seven ninety two lifelong Houston
sports guys named at him talking your team's Adam Clinton
and Adam Wexler are the a team.

Speaker 5 (01:21:17):
A four o'clock hour is underway here on Sports Talks
seven to ninety and Space City Home Network.

Speaker 6 (01:21:27):
A lot of rockets conversation today. But I told you
we're gonna jump back into the Texans. Hey, I tell you.
Wex framed it perfectly. What do the Texans have that
other teams want? And what do the Texans not have
that other teams have. There's a lot of lust going on.

Speaker 5 (01:21:44):
I'm pretty sure over at the textis facility, which they's
been upgraded many times over. The keyboards that are wired
to the computers stay in the right place. They don't
take them to another office and then put them in
front of a computer that won't work. I can tell
you that right out of the gate. So the other
teams probably have that squared away. It's pretty obvious the answer.
What do the Texans have that other teams want? It's
not what they have at this spot or that spot,

(01:22:06):
or this player or that player. Everyone aspires to be
the best. That's what you're trying to do. That's why
we play sports. That's why they get paid big money
to lay kids game Texans. Again, there's a lot of
different ways to grade it out. People can look at
different things. They can go high up in the analytic
ladder and try to determine the DVOA of this and
the ability to do that, and pff till you're blue

(01:22:29):
in the face. The Texans have the best defense in
the NFL. The Texans play the best defense of any
team in the NFL. That's what every other team wants.
You brought up something earlier about the Broncos and the
inability to score, and that is also true, and the
Broncos are probably your next best bet if you want

(01:22:50):
to debate us and say, no, no, I think the
Broncos have a better defense. They get out of the
quarterback more, they're better at getting quarterback pressures, creating disruptive plays,
making offenses stutter. And they're very good too. The Rams
are very good too. Those are probably the three best
defenses in the entire NFL. A little bit different how
they're put together and how they accomplish certain things. But

(01:23:10):
if you have the team that's hardest to put points
on the board against, and you have offensive problems that
usually make it easier to put points against, your defense
because of where those drives begin. Maybe there's a little
bit of well, we're not really trying to do anything,
why should we We already have fourteen points. Texans aren't

(01:23:30):
going to score fifteen points. We're good to go. That's
not happening. I don't think that's what we've seen play
out in any of the games we've seen this year.
It might change a couple of play calls, it might
change a little bit of how you attack things, but overall,
big picture, that's not really the case.

Speaker 7 (01:23:45):
Specific to the Broncos though.

Speaker 5 (01:23:46):
I brought that up because not being able to score
but also being able to win is helpful, and the
Texans haven't quite gotten there yet, and the Broncos have.

Speaker 7 (01:23:57):
The Broncos have.

Speaker 5 (01:23:58):
There have been twenty three games where a team has
scored twenty or fewer points, and one couple teams have
done it twice. Everybody else on the list's done it
once except for the Broncos. Half of their wins have
come when they've scored twenty points or less. They've won
a game with twenty, they've won a game with thirteen,

(01:24:19):
They've won a game with eighteen. Texans game and this
past Thursday night they won a game with ten points.
Ten points is all they got, thirteen points is all
they got. These are wins, and the Texans haven't quite
gotten to that point where what we saw on Sunday
in the fourth quarter has played out for so much
of the game. They've actually earned a win when their

(01:24:42):
offense was totally flat, and they've been flat far too often.
The defense was good against Jacksonville very early in the
game seventeen. Nothing sounds bad to you. How about if
it was twenty four to nothing or thirty to nothing.
Any number of things could have happened. With how they
stopped them on that opening drive after the interception, and
then again they stopped them twice on third down on

(01:25:04):
the opening drive. The first time they stopped them, they
had to let them rekick because of the personal foul
penalty on Deniko Autry. Texans had eleven penalties in that game,
but the first time also they have a one score win. Now,
and as much as it was because the offense scored
three touchdowns, the defense could have been unbelievable in the
fourth quarter, and so you would have lost twenty nine
to ten. But you can't do one without the other.

(01:25:27):
Once the offense started scoring, got to eighteen, got to
twenty nine to eighteen. Defense already knew. We just keep
doing what we're doing, and we're giving them a chance.
They've done it before. They give them the team a
chance to beat the Bucks. The Rams had run down
that list. They give them a chance to beat the Broncos.
This was the first time when presented with the chance
to win because of the defense, the Texans did the

(01:25:49):
Texans offense did. A Cowboys fan that we both know
was saying that the Texans defense is good, not insane,
as I had put it earlier. I think it's insane
in reference to historically great defenses. I brought that up
earlier this week. Totally fine and accurate. They're not one
of the historically great defenses in the NFL. They're not

(01:26:09):
even close. They're not embarrassing people on a weekly basis.
They're not dropping shutouts on teams. They're not having seven
eight sac games as possible in today's NFL. By the way,
I don't either. All you're trying to do is be
the best with who you are up against. Then you
can start talking about history some other time, so you
can choose your adjectives however, you'd like all I said
was the best in twenty twenty five, and they are.

(01:26:32):
They're the best defense, and they do the things that
you all those things I just mentioned, they just don't
do them at the same level. If you're the best
defense in the NFL, should you be the best at everything,
it'd be great.

Speaker 7 (01:26:41):
Then you would be historically great.

Speaker 5 (01:26:44):
Well, they're near the top in almost every possible rudimentary
statistic you could look at. I'm not going to run
through some of the DVOA stuff and beyond, but if
there's four teams in the NFL with fifteen takeaways and
you're one of them, you're good. If you're the best
team in the NFL at keeping the other team off
the scoreboard, all right, do you sound pretty good? They're

(01:27:06):
also number one in the yards allowed. They're also in
the top five yards per play allowed. How many more
different ways would you like to, again base numbers look
at it, And I know there are more ways to
look at it, but I do want to give the
game some respect. There were plays that had to be
made in the game, not just we got to get
them off the field. We got to get a three
and out. They got one play that was helpful to

(01:27:29):
them that they didn't have. They didn't have it show
up in some of these stats, but they made it happen.
You remember that last drive of the game, when they
completed the pass to Parker Washington at the sidelines for
a first down. They got wiped out by penalty. Oh,
the Jaguars are so dumb. How could they commit that penalty? Well,
because Will Anderson was rushing the quarterback and he forced

(01:27:51):
the offensive lineman because he had nothing else to do,
and he got his hands in the wrong place.

Speaker 7 (01:27:56):
He committed the penalty.

Speaker 5 (01:27:57):
He went hands to the face of not just some
guy rushing the passer, Will Anderson created that penalty. It
doesn't You're not finding it anywhere in your box score.
You find it in the play by play. You watched
it with your eyes. Eyes are good when at analyzing sports.
Watching the games is just as fun as looking at
the numbers. I hope it's more fun. These plays were
made to happen. They happened because of who they have

(01:28:20):
out there on the field. You come out of this
game and I say, who made the greatest play in
the game. Defensively, you got at least three guys you
could pick from at least with Stingley's one handed pick.
Daneel Hunter's won two three, four sacks. I know he's
credited with a half sack. If I asked you, did
Daneel Hunters sack the quarterback four times? The answer is yes.
I'm not sure the half sack should be re statistic.

(01:28:43):
Just give them both a sack. What's a half of sack?
Did he get sacked? Did you bring him down?

Speaker 2 (01:28:50):
Sack?

Speaker 5 (01:28:51):
I mean, I get it, but yeah, and obviously will
Anderson making this play among the sack at the end
of the game. I don't know if Sheldon Rankins ranks
up there play the game best player they had on defense.

Speaker 7 (01:29:03):
If he picks up the if he picks up the
ball and falls down, takes a knee, they still win.

Speaker 5 (01:29:08):
It's not the same though. It is not so stile
points matter, and he was all about it. I loved it.
It was great hearing him talk about it after the game.

Speaker 6 (01:29:15):
Well as it pertains to you know what this team
needs to get that would be a better offensive line.
But to hear Jamiko Ryans talk about the offensive line
this past Sunday, they definitely got the job done. Definitely
one of the better afternoons playing protecting whatever quarterback is
back there, and yeah, who they played has something to

(01:29:37):
do with it. But this was what Demko had to
say about the offensive line.

Speaker 14 (01:29:41):
For the offensive line, we will continue to find, you know,
what works for us and you know, the best guys
that we can put out there. We're gonna try to
you know, and it's it's a culmination of a lot
of things that you guys don't see from practice, from
how we're seeing guys work throughout the week, how they're
doing it's with the mental being aware of supposed to
be doing the things that we asked them to do

(01:30:02):
on a consistent basis. Like a lot of things going
to play there, so still a lot of things that
we can clean up a lot of things just with
our entire team. We can just be more consistent on
doing the things that we're asked to do.

Speaker 7 (01:30:14):
And so we're going to keep moving.

Speaker 14 (01:30:17):
Guys around till we find the right group that's going
to do it the right way, do what we're asking
them to do every single time that they're out there.

Speaker 5 (01:30:25):
Somewhat surprisingly, that was the answer to a question about
how did you guys come to the decision to play
city so as your starter. So he answered a question
about the the generic offensive line play. I still can't
figure out how they came to that decision, but Tobiko
kind of shed some light on it. Stuff you guys
don't see. I can't imagine what it was at practice
that we don't see because we don't see any of

(01:30:46):
it that suggested this is our best bet, this is
what we want out there, this is.

Speaker 7 (01:30:50):
What we have to choose from.

Speaker 5 (01:30:51):
Nick's outfitted this team with the reserves and practice squad players.
Remember the player that started on Sunday at guard for
the Texans, not on roster, he's on the practice squad.
He was elevated for this particular game. I don't know
if he will be elevated again for any games in
the future, but we shall see. He only got nine
snaps before they were You know that, like us, they

(01:31:12):
have eyes, and the people up above and the people
on the sidelines probably saw what was happening. I brought
it up yesterday. There were just some disaster plays. They
asked him to poll early in the game to blocking
a rusher coming from the side so they could run
the ball and just completely whift on it.

Speaker 7 (01:31:26):
Just never got there.

Speaker 5 (01:31:27):
There's two other plays where he just got thrown into
the backfield and missed a block entirely, so they made
the change. Taurs regraded out very very very well again
and is playing a very difficult pass rusher lined up
against Hines Allen for a bunch of the game. Jarrett
Patterson probably was their second best lineman. He had zero
snaps prior to Sunday at the position he played. I

(01:31:51):
don't understand. I don't go to practice. I'm not a
talent evaluator. I haven't coached offensive line before. I do
know that he's played better football than the guys that
are playing in front of him.

Speaker 7 (01:32:04):
I do not understand.

Speaker 6 (01:32:06):
There's just something about the way the Texans didn't get
it done all afternoon long and then poured it on
in the fourth. And I still have a problem with
against that team especially. I just can't. It's not gonna
sit well with me, and it's not gonna make me
confident about Just have them going against anybody not named
the Tennessee Titans and think they're gonna come away with

(01:32:26):
a win.

Speaker 5 (01:32:27):
Okay, I mean they're not going four and thirteen this year.
I don't think they're going six and two over the
last stretch either, well, that is a number we threw
out at too, I said, I guarantee the Texans will
make the playoffs if they finished the year ten and
seven with a six and two finish.

Speaker 7 (01:32:45):
More on that.

Speaker 1 (01:32:47):
The eighteen on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (01:32:57):
Four o'clock hour rules along here on a Tuesday the
program It's Sports SOX seven ninety Space City Home Network.
Wexac Cole Thompson with you on that Tuesday edition of
the program as we.

Speaker 6 (01:33:07):
Take you up until six o'clock. A little bit more
from what the Texans were saying following that win over
the Jags. Again, I keep complimenting the defense. We keep
talking about how the good defense is good. They did
give up a lot of points in that game, albeit
all of it in the first three quarters.

Speaker 5 (01:33:29):
I mean, they gave up some points. I remember seven
of them came when they were on the sidelines, that's true,
So they still gave up more than their average.

Speaker 7 (01:33:38):
That's what I was getting at.

Speaker 5 (01:33:40):
They did somehow allow Jacksonville to score when they started
drives when they could have taken a knee on every
play and still scored. Yes, that's accurate. Anyway, I mean
they gave up a little over two hundred yards.

Speaker 6 (01:33:54):
No, I look again, I just got done saying I
think the defense is awesome. I think Will Anderson Junior agrees,
especially if you were to ask him about, for example,
Danielle Hunter. We'll start with that cut. You mentioned he
had four sacks. You can say three and a half.
It was four.

Speaker 7 (01:34:15):
I mentioned this.

Speaker 6 (01:34:16):
We were watching the game while I was doing the
Rockets game here at the studio, and it was Josh
c and myself and he got that. I think it
was the third sack. It might have been the last
one I can't remember which. They did a super ISO
on him, and I was like, that guy's terrifying.

Speaker 7 (01:34:29):
Look at his arms. Then then I was.

Speaker 6 (01:34:31):
Telling him what you always say to me. He's like
the nicest guy you would ever meet. But I never
ever want to play quarterback in the NFL. Against met
him during a football game. I've only met him or
met up with him at other times. That's why you
think he's pleasant. He's very pleasant, because Trevor Lawrence does
not have the same as the first player we talked

(01:34:52):
to after the game. He was so pleasant that before
he had gotten ready for a shower, and gotten his
fit for leaving.

Speaker 7 (01:34:59):
He just I'm good, let's do it now.

Speaker 2 (01:35:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 7 (01:35:02):
Very pleasant for a guy who just murdered her quarterback. Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:35:05):
Will Anderson Junior was talking about his friend Danielle Hunter
because I asked him. I said, Daniel Hunter, what do
you think about his day today? And He's like what
because he couldn't hear me, And I said, Daniel's day today?
And then he answered with the following.

Speaker 13 (01:35:20):
Like when I watch him, cause I watched his say
very closely, like this is every game for me, Like obviously,
like yeah, I'm getting the sacks and I'm like, bro,
he can beat any tackle out there. You know what
I'm saying. I'm like, bro, it's not a guy that
can handle you. It's not a guy that can block you.
And to play along side of somebody like Daniel is
such a blessing man. I'm so happy for him, Doll.
We fed off his energy. He led us today in
a big way. On He got us going. Whenever we

(01:35:41):
spark everybody, he start freaking out. Daniel was like, man,
were good. But that's the thing what makes him a
great player because through all the fire, he remains come,
he remains himself and he knows his ability, and it
just rubbed off on everybody else.

Speaker 7 (01:35:52):
If he sounds like his hype man, it's because he is.

Speaker 6 (01:35:56):
And for a guy with will Anderson Junr's ability in
and of himself to be talking about a teammate like that,
and then for you to be an opposing quarterback, this
is why I never worry about that side of the football.

Speaker 7 (01:36:10):
It starts with those two guys.

Speaker 6 (01:36:12):
They also have, I mean, amazing members of the secondary.

Speaker 7 (01:36:16):
We all know who they are.

Speaker 6 (01:36:18):
But those guys' jobs are made so much easier by
these two.

Speaker 5 (01:36:22):
Yeah, And one thing that he said there towards the
end of the comment was about how he you know,
he stays calm, He led us, he helped us win
this game. He showed us the way kind of commentary. Well,
Davis Mills echoed that, and when even a little bit
more in detail about that, when he was talking about
their conversation in the locker room when they were, you know,
getting out and getting ready for the third quarter, and

(01:36:42):
things obviously had not gone well. It was twenty to ten,
they weren't the game wasn't completely over, but they obviously
got off to a very poor start offensively, and he
said it was simple. He just said to me, like
our defense is good, keep finding ways to go down
score points on offense, and we'll keep getting you the guy,
get you.

Speaker 7 (01:36:58):
Guys the ball back.

Speaker 5 (01:37:00):
As simple as that might sound, this is a guy
making his first start in three seasons and that did
not go very well. And there's guys he's basically never
played with before blocking for him, and one of the
best players on your defense who doesn't talk a lot,
even as you could see them joke about it when
they gave Daniel the game ball and were preparing for

(01:37:20):
his big speech, and he said nothing, it's pretty important,
Like there's more to what some of these guys do
than just man. He had three and a half sacks,
and he also had four quarterback hits and four TFLs
and he forced a fumble. That's enough normally, but he
does more. He's important to the group. He's absolutely fantastic.
Said yesterday that he is the.

Speaker 6 (01:37:43):
He is by far, by far, Nick Cassario's best free
agent acquisition.

Speaker 5 (01:37:49):
He's definitely been everything you could have hoped for. It
was very costly. There are other ways they could have
gone about it. They obviously could have just resigned Jonathan Garnard,
a younger player and would have been for less money,
who ironically went to his old team did and he's
played very very well. Unfortunately got hurt this past weekend,
but he's he was having a very very good season
and I'm sure he will continue to. But you've gotten

(01:38:10):
everything you've hoped for. I think Daniel Hunter played well
enough in year one to have earned the extension which
they agreed upon this past year. And it is more
than just the results, and I'm glad Will said it
that way. He does what he did every game. He
might not sack the quarterback four times, but he's doing
the same things that put the pressure on the other defense.

(01:38:31):
And when they make a mistake with their play call,
and they've got six offensive linemen out there and a
tight end, but none of them blocked Daniel Hunter, and
they chip him and then go about their play calls
like what are you doing? Thank you if you're the
Texans defense, if you don't account for these players. I
brought up the final play of the game multiple times.
The Texans rushed three on the last play of the game,

(01:38:55):
and they sack fumbled the quarterback on that play very
very quickly. Seven guys began that play blocking the one
tight end chipped Will Anderson and then he was left
with the tackle. Two players blocked the Texans defensive tackle,
and three players were focused on Daniel Hunter. Well, one
of those three Texans won their one on one matchup,

(01:39:17):
the only one that they had, and it was Will
Anderson because Daneil Hunters on the other side, occupying three
of the ten players on the field that aren't the quarterback.

Speaker 6 (01:39:27):
Yeah, just drawing attention, and you know it makes you think, Okay, well,
would Will Anderson have this amazing start to his career
if it weren't for playing alongside Daniel Hunter. It's not
to take anything away from what he can do, but
I mean, just you talk about two guys that are
feeding off of each other literally in a game.

Speaker 5 (01:39:46):
Yeah, it's hard to say that you would be able
to reach that level when defenses would just have to
refocus everything on you. I don't know the level of
talent of the player in his place, because presumably they're
not playing with ten I don't think anybody's gotten a
red card, but it's not going to be Daniel Hunter
and seven sacks for one seven and a half for
the other the number of TFLs pressures, their pressure rate,

(01:40:08):
their you know, pass rush win rate, both of which
rate near the top of the league. Will Anderson has
been one or two almost the entire season. Yeah, it's
part of what you should want to do if you're
able to, if your CAP's in the right place, if
one of them isn't making crazy money, then you should
put this out there. I think one of the best
ways to crush on defense is have those two players

(01:40:30):
out there. Maybe you feel, I don't know what order
you want to do it in. Do you want the
corner the shutdown corner first? Do you want the quarterback
of your defense first? Do you want a Fred Warner first?
Do you want to you know, a PS two first? Well,
when you have Will Anderson and Neil Hunter, you could
pretty much do anything you want because they make everybody
else's job easier. The pass rush and covers all go

(01:40:51):
hand in hand, and when one is doing their job,
it makes it that Well. The one I say first
is well, they're the first ones there, they're the pass rush,
they're right on the quarterbacks. If they get there, well,
obviously your job has changed because of what pressure they're
putting up front. Has it gotten rid of the ball quickly?
Do you know the hot route? Can you jump this
because you know he's got to get rid of it.
I mean they had an opportunity for several interceptions in

(01:41:13):
the game because of the pass rush and because Trevor
Lawrence is dumb. I mean that pass he threw two
Miles Bryant, where honestly they should have called pass interference
on the offense. I think it was Henry Toatoa that
got in there so quickly, but he never touched the ball.
The ball was not tipped. That's a pass and it
was thrown right to Miles Bryant and an offensive lineman
just tackled him before the ball got there. I don't

(01:41:35):
know what they saw differently, but the number of impact
plays they have goes way beyond the stat sheet.

Speaker 6 (01:41:41):
No, you're right when you look at and then I
mean you're talking about looking at the stat sheet, but
what that secondary we're talking about is able to do
because of what they're creating. I mean, we talked about
Derek Stingley Junior yesterday and whether or not you want
to say he's having a better season the year last year,
or all points in between. He's he and everybody else

(01:42:04):
in that secondary. I don't think you're getting what they're
getting done, and that includes Jalen Peetre, even though he
didn't play this last week.

Speaker 7 (01:42:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:42:12):
Probably to the conversation about better season this year last year,
I don't think it was said yesterday, so I'll say
it today. If you're having that conversation like we were,
you should be saying which season do you think was better?
His Pro Bowl twenty twenty four season or his Pro
Bowl twenty twenty five season. Not Pro Bowl games, Maybe
I should just say all Pro season. He's been elite

(01:42:32):
in both seasons, and I think everybody in the league
knows it.

Speaker 6 (01:42:35):
Yeah, And look, I'm not gonna fight with you if
you want to say that last season was better. It's
it's just an embarrassment of riches on that side of
the football, which, again, for like the umpteenth time, is
what's so frustrating about the fact that they don't have
just a plausible offensive line in front of CJ.

Speaker 7 (01:42:53):
Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 5 (01:42:54):
But the team that you were ripping earlier for not
being able to score, they're eight and two. The Broncos.
They've won said in a row. They obviously have a
great defense. They probably have the best offensive line in football,
and they can't score, but they can win.

Speaker 6 (01:43:06):
You just take one of those guys off their offensive
line and plug it into any position on the Texans.
It's not Tay Nursery and they're what improved by seventy.

Speaker 5 (01:43:14):
Five percent, which change dramatically, and then you have a
building a group to build around. They have a player
to build around currently, I mean Titus Howard's had a
very good season. A little recognition for where he might
be in his career maybe takes us off that list,
but he's played, He's had a very good season and
was missed even though they played a very good game
on the offensive line. Your Texans played a very good
game on the offensive line.

Speaker 2 (01:43:37):
The A teen on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 1 (01:43:39):
Ninety This is Adam and Adams Weekly choked through mind
bockling moments that make you.

Speaker 11 (01:43:48):
Go say what what? What? Ted?

Speaker 13 (01:43:57):
What are you talking about?

Speaker 7 (01:43:58):
On a Tuesday? What odin?

Speaker 5 (01:44:01):
I Dan?

Speaker 2 (01:44:02):
Now say what.

Speaker 5 (01:44:06):
Takus segment time four thirty each and every week afternoon
right here on the A team, we hit you with
that Tuesday's bring.

Speaker 7 (01:44:12):
Say what if you noted?

Speaker 5 (01:44:14):
Right before we rejoined you you heard from Steve Sparks,
you can hear from Todd Kallis and Astro's manager, noted
Houston Texans fan Joe Aspada. Tonight six o'clock Astro line
comes on as soon as we are done. I mentioned
he's a Joe's and noted Texans fan. He was at
the game in a very good position located just beyond

(01:44:37):
the end zone to capture some fantastic video of Davis
Mills running at nineteen point five miles an hour, fastest
speed he'd ever run. That's insane according to next Gen Stats,
and find his way into the end zone for the
go ahead score and obviously the other touchdown. Demiko made
note of this after the game. They scored all their
touchdowns in the same end zone in this game, and

(01:45:00):
it seems like they have done that many times. He's
got to make sure they can bring it to the
other side of the field. But today also brings something else.
The week brings the awards circuit in Major League Baseball.
The Rookies of the Year were handed out yesterday. Cam
Smith landed in a tie for tenth. He was on
one ballot was placed fourth. That earned him two points

(01:45:23):
and that landed him then in a tie for tenth,
the guy who hit four homers at diyk in Park
last year. He got all thirty first place votes, and
then the nationally handed out their award too wait to go, Drake.

Speaker 7 (01:45:32):
More awards coming over the course of the week.

Speaker 5 (01:45:34):
We'll find out if Hunter Brown finished second or third
the Cy Young Award, or if there's an investigation on
going to see why Trek Scouble did not win the
American League Say Young Award.

Speaker 7 (01:45:45):
Also, it's the GM meetings.

Speaker 5 (01:45:47):
All the gms and a bunch of players and a
ton of agents get together at this time roughly each
off season, and we'll see a smattering of deals, probably
not huge player deals, but we'll see a bunch of
players signed, and we've already seen a little bit of that.
A few teams have gone out and made a few
moves this year. The Astros are one of them. Nate
Pearson was signed and will likely be given a chance

(01:46:10):
to win a spot in the Astros starting rotation as
the spring February training portion of our year gets there.
But it's also the time where people try to tell
you what's gonna happen during the hot stove, what should
happen and how these teams are gonna fare in twenty
twenty six, even though we don't know what the teams
are going to look.

Speaker 6 (01:46:29):
Like, well we don't, and it's it's going to go
a long way towards determining how much the like.

Speaker 7 (01:46:36):
I think health is the obvious thing.

Speaker 6 (01:46:38):
Like the Astros are just fifty percent healthier this year,
they should still be in good shape. If for no
other reason, then they still have a good core of talent.
From an offensive standpoint, You're going to have a true
ace in Hunter Brown, and even though you're going to
lose fromber Valdez in all likelihood, I think that the
team is going to do everything it can to try

(01:46:59):
and offset that with some sort of move or moves
for the rotation. But you also have to I just
cannot Maybe you disagree on this. I cannot see Seattle
bringing everybody back. I think Josh Naylor is going to
go elsewhere. A big part of what they were able
to do down the stretch, wouldn't you Hanio Suarez not

(01:47:20):
until the postseason, at least he didn't do crap after
they traded for him.

Speaker 7 (01:47:26):
I just I don't know.

Speaker 6 (01:47:28):
I don't want to say, like, the Rangers absolutely look
like a fluke in hindsight, they just do. They haven't
done anything to make me change my mind from that
since winning at all.

Speaker 5 (01:47:38):
Yeah, I have nothing against their new manager. I think
he is a good manager. I think it's pretty automatic
you lose something when Bruce Bochie walks out the door.

Speaker 7 (01:47:46):
I think I think they will.

Speaker 6 (01:47:47):
He's a very underrated part of why that fluke season happened.
But I just the Seattle Mariners, while on paper it
looks like the tea they're just gonna go ahead and
nudge ahead.

Speaker 5 (01:47:57):
Now there you're saying they're the team to beat in
the division. Have to now they won the championship, the division,
the division championship, their pitching staff should remain intact.

Speaker 6 (01:48:08):
Yeah, although I mean, I don't know if you want
to say this, I think a lot of it, Just
like the Astros, I think you have to point to injury.
But George Kirby looked very, very pedestrian to human this year,
and then that's actually a compliment to what he was prior.
He was so good, Like the bar is so high
for a guy like him. I don't even feel I

(01:48:29):
don't fear Castillo and I don't fear not Brian wu.

Speaker 5 (01:48:33):
Who's the other guy who's a goofy looking guy, Logan Gilbert. Yeah,
Logan Gilbert you were talking about because because he looks
like a horse face and Kirby's probably the toughest one
to to I guess to analyze also kind of postseason.
But yeah, like he had four games where they probably
should have won. Those games he pitched very, very well,

(01:48:54):
and then he had a game where he gave up
eight runs and gel he got absolutely shelled obviously in
the series that they lost, and in his five starts
they won once. Yeah, in the postseason, now granted they
got shut out, and if I'm talking about his whole
postseason career. Yeah, so that goes back to the Astros game.
He started the eighteen inning game, but his team scored

(01:49:18):
two how about this three four and three runs when
he started.

Speaker 6 (01:49:22):
Just to just because you brought that game up, George
Kirby versus Lance mccullors Junior, and the Astros won in
eighteen innings.

Speaker 5 (01:49:32):
They both threw shut out baseball.

Speaker 6 (01:49:36):
Six Yeah, I uh, And it's been downhill basically ever
since for Lance.

Speaker 7 (01:49:42):
Yeah, okay, so that's what's going on. In the division.

Speaker 5 (01:49:44):
It's they're they're they're the team to beat the Astros.
I think, like you, we'll be right there. But okay,
your your boy, Jeff passing your boy. Yeah, is to
say what portion of to say what segment comes now?

Speaker 6 (01:49:56):
Well he went and just said, all right, here's what
all these teams need to do to have a fantastical
twenty twenty six season. And this is the way he
said about the Astros the perfect transaction. Following the acquisition
of Carlo's Korea. The Astros lineup is quite imposing, even
if their outfield could use some slug. Houston's bullpen is

(01:50:17):
deep enough that the shoulder capsule injury that shut down
Josh Hater for the final two months isn't entirely debilitating.
Starting pitching, on the other hand, is a problem. Plenty
of options exist for the Astros, but owner Jim Crane's
reticence to offer long term deals.

Speaker 7 (01:50:35):
I love that word reticence. That means he's reluctant.

Speaker 5 (01:50:38):
You could have said reluctance could tell well, that's not
the passing way.

Speaker 7 (01:50:42):
I know he has to sour us it up.

Speaker 6 (01:50:45):
Could take them out of the running for the highest
end pitchers, targeting one with high end talent but coming
off an injury pat.

Speaker 7 (01:50:52):
Pocked twenty act.

Speaker 6 (01:50:55):
I guess twenty twenty five is the ideal way to
get ceiling outside of that pair. Nobody talks like that anyway.
He says they're gonna sign or they should sign right
hander Michael King.

Speaker 7 (01:51:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (01:51:09):
I would have much more interest in Michael King than
Dylan Ceees, both coming from the padres. He's right, this
was an injury riddled season for him. He basically missed
half the season. He started only fifteen games. You could
argue this was his worst season and he was injured,
and now you're wanting to sign him. Yes, absolutely, His
worst season is still very very good. He had a

(01:51:31):
three and a half ERA. He was he when he pitched,
he was fine. His seasons prior to that were outstanding.
And this is a guy that was converted from a
very very good relief pitcher to a very very good
starting pitcher for the twenty twenty four season. He's gonna
be thirty throughout the upcoming season. The turn thirty one
in May. Three four year deal to get him through

(01:51:54):
age thirty four. Yeah, I would be absolutely interested in that,
much more so than Dylan and seas and it'd be
better if he can be had for much less the Dylancy's.

Speaker 6 (01:52:05):
And just so you know, as it pertains to the
Mariners and the Yankees, passing has the Mariners resigning Josh
Naylor smart and for the yank or Yankees re signing
Cody Bellinger very underwhelming.

Speaker 5 (01:52:22):
I guess I like both of those moves. One of
them is better than the other, that's for sure.

Speaker 1 (01:52:28):
The age on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 6 (01:52:40):
Oh, I've got you know what, I really do need
to just binge curb your enthusiasm. That clip might have
been the one that puts me over the top where
I just start mowing through them.

Speaker 7 (01:52:50):
It's a good one.

Speaker 6 (01:52:51):
Not that you haven't sent me fifty others. That should
have been the start of this.

Speaker 5 (01:52:55):
Once you realize what you've been missing, and you do
now realize that it's well, I can't push it away.

Speaker 6 (01:53:01):
Here's my problem. You know who's a huge fan. He
might be a bigger fan of that show than you,
but it's it's close. It's the guy that hosts the
show before ours. Oh Ross, No, you know what's my
problem is that I know him too well, Matt. He
reminds me way too much of Larry.

Speaker 5 (01:53:20):
I can see that before we move any further, since
I've promised our listeners a little literalarlier.

Speaker 7 (01:53:25):
Yeah, got tickets to give away.

Speaker 5 (01:53:27):
Very awesome setup for you coming up on the game
on the twenty second against TCU on Senior Day at
td ECU Stadium. I want you to join me in
the bud light backyard. I got a four pack of
tickets to give away to enjoy your ice cold bud light.

Speaker 7 (01:53:42):
We got great food there.

Speaker 5 (01:53:44):
It's like you're in a nice little suite enjoying a
little football. And this should be a very important game.
It's gonna be important either way. Senior Day for the Cougars.
Like I said, so, just join me, Grab an ice
cold bud light, get ready to cheer on your Cougars
in style. Come early, be loud, hang out, Let's have
some fun. Way to win those tickets. A four pack
of tickets is have the answer to this question at

(01:54:04):
seven one three two one two five seven ninety seven
one three two one two five seven ninety Last week
in college football, there were two FBS teams that were
unbeaten on the road all season while playing at least
four road games. Well, now there's only one. It's the Cougars.

(01:54:29):
They won their fifth road game of the season. They're
the only FBS team undefeating on the road this season
while playing five road games. Who was the other team
on the list last week who obviously lost on the
road to drop out? Who was heading into last week's

(01:54:51):
game the only team besides U of H among FBS
teams to have won four or more games on the
road in twenty twenty five but ultimately lost on the road.
Very important game to those of us here on Sports
Talk seven ninety seven one three two one two five
seven ninety If you know the answer that question, you
can join me with a four pack of tickets which

(01:55:12):
will be giving away all week long, with plenty of
time for you to prepare for joining me at that game,
which as of yet has an unannounced kickoff time. They
opened up their six day period, so after this weekend's games,
they'll make an announcement on the kickoff time for TCU,
and you have h last home game of the season

(01:55:33):
is November twenty second against TCU. They'll finish out the
season in Waco against Baylor. They're eight and two, so
a ten win season. Pre Bowl game is still a possibility.
You never look like you're not having a good time
at those events. It's pretty easy to not have to
fake it. Mat pause, all right, I am having a

(01:55:54):
great time. Football's fun, it is. That's great. I always
get to that point right around this time year where
I start taking it for granted.

Speaker 7 (01:56:01):
Do you ever do that? We were like, oh, this
is awesome. It's been going on for so I do.

Speaker 5 (01:56:05):
As I look at it, I oh, man, right, there's
only now there's only three games left for most teams
in college football are two games left, but just the
college art we've passed the halfway point of the NFL season.

Speaker 7 (01:56:14):
I hate all schedule in general.

Speaker 5 (01:56:17):
Now, being the total NBA guy that I am, that
kind of softens the blow between football season and uh
spring well, nami spring training, because spring training, to me
is I love spring training. It's the greatest. It sucks.
You know it sucks, and you agree that it sucks.

Speaker 6 (01:56:34):
It's just a necessary evil because of the sport and
the nature of especially the pitchers getting ramped up and
all that. It is an excruciatingly longer version of preseason.

Speaker 5 (01:56:45):
I look forward to our in case you missed it
segments in late February and March, when we say, well,
in case you missed it, let's get you that final
of the Astros Nationals game in spring training today. And
then I jump in and say, no, let's not because
the final score of an exhibition team to training game
is irrelevant to common sense. I mean, as I recall

(01:57:07):
what happened is relevant. Yeah, did this and who did that?
And the pitches what they're working on. Shut the winning
and losing part. Could could not, but it's no different,
less to see.

Speaker 7 (01:57:16):
But I disagree on that.

Speaker 6 (01:57:17):
It's no different when when a pitcher has a rehab
start in the miners in the middle of the season
and he gets shelled.

Speaker 7 (01:57:25):
It really doesn't need.

Speaker 5 (01:57:26):
The hooks lost that game or not. But if I
said they get.

Speaker 7 (01:57:30):
Shown, yeah, the individual's performances are of value.

Speaker 5 (01:57:33):
Yeah, But like the last time the Astros, which rehabing
picture are you about to address?

Speaker 6 (01:57:40):
Oh geez, I couldn't even go there. That's that's a
totally different thing. But like Verlander had a rehab start
because of I think a calf injury late in the
World Series season, the World Series winning season in twenty
twenty two, and as I recall, I didn't do particularly well,
and then they played the Phillies near the end of
that year and also didn't do particuit. That's another thing

(01:58:02):
regular season series. The Yankees would routinely win the season
series against the Astros and then run into a buzz
saw on the postseason.

Speaker 7 (01:58:11):
So much about baseball. That's why I hate spring training.

Speaker 5 (01:58:15):
It's just so it's such meaningless, monotonous.

Speaker 7 (01:58:18):
It's minutia of sports. As Matt would say, it's the
all it is.

Speaker 6 (01:58:22):
There is, Like I mean, like Rockets preseason games, they
play two, they're good to go start the season.

Speaker 7 (01:58:29):
Same with the NFL.

Speaker 6 (01:58:30):
There's quarterbacks that don't play entire preseasons and then they
rip off three hundred and fifty yard passing four touchdown
games in Week one. They don't need this crap baseball.
Here comes the slog for a month and a half.

Speaker 7 (01:58:42):
It sucks off.

Speaker 5 (01:58:44):
It's entire The ramping up of the pitchers is pretty
much the only value. The hitters could absolutely do without
multiple weeks of this.

Speaker 6 (01:58:52):
I no matter what the fact, Jordan shouldn't even play
in spring training, that's just another way for him to
get hurt.

Speaker 5 (01:58:58):
All your spring training action coming up in twenty twenty six,
starting Fifbruy.

Speaker 6 (01:59:01):
I was twenty first on your Home for Astros Baseball
Sports Talk seven. I got it in Space City Home Network,
as I.

Speaker 5 (01:59:07):
Totally just the let's get to the off season first
before we start bagging on spring Tree.

Speaker 6 (01:59:12):
You know what I did the other day that's equally
bad to what I'm doing right now on not one
but two flagship networks for the product we're talking about
Sunday afternoon. And I was all about it because I
was mad about Friday. As I've gone on the record
as saying many many times, I was ready to get
the taste of that lost of the spurs out of
my mouth in a matinee Sunday in the middle of

(01:59:34):
the NFL season game, the only game that was played
at that time, by the way, everything else started off
at five o'clock or later on Sunday. And I said
it on the air without even thinking about it, because
I'm just not a good filterer of myself. Could you
have said, I'm just like, yeah, here we go. I'm
I'm I think I was tossing the matt for the broadcast.
I'm like, here we go. On an NFL Sunday afternoons,

(01:59:57):
come on now. But I like, it's not that I
didn't watch, just don't do that. So how would you
do that?

Speaker 13 (02:00:02):
NBA?

Speaker 5 (02:00:03):
So the Rocket's fault five or six oh one this
Sunday as I'm seated next to Matt and we're throwing
to his intro and tip off, I shouldn't say that. Well, no,
because at that point most of the NFL calendar is done,
the second window of games will be winding down, if
not completely finished, and the Texans will have played. What

(02:00:26):
if I have to say what you guys said and
the TV crew said, well, we could see a second
big comeback today, Like if the Texans have to come
back to beat the Titans and the Rockets have to
come back to win on Sunday.

Speaker 6 (02:00:39):
Make you a deal. I hope neither of those thing.
Saxons have to come back to beat the Titans. Will you,
at least on the air, do me the honor of saying, yeah,
they're not going six and two.

Speaker 1 (02:00:50):
I will, Okay, that's just pathetic. The A on Sports
Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 4 (02:01:00):
Adam Clinton and Adam Wexler are the A team A.

Speaker 5 (02:01:13):
You know what what other than it being football at
five here on the A team Sports Talk seven to ninety.

Speaker 7 (02:01:21):
It never fails.

Speaker 6 (02:01:22):
And when I go off on a tangent like that,
I put my foot in my mouth. No doubt someone's
listening that I care about. There's a lot of people
I don't care about. They hear what I have to
say and they get upset about it or whatever.

Speaker 7 (02:01:32):
And it's fine. Shout out to Marcel.

Speaker 6 (02:01:36):
He knows who he is, and you know what, he's
entirely too nice and we need more people like him
in our society because it'd be a better place.

Speaker 5 (02:01:43):
And that's not kissing backside. He also approved of myself.
That is absolutely how I feel about that guy. He
knows who he is. But spring training still too long?

Speaker 7 (02:01:51):
Okay?

Speaker 5 (02:01:52):
The NFL weekend complete from last night. Dreadful game. Dreadful
performance by two very good teams and potential Super Bowl teams,
so bad that it naturally elicited the coach. Lafleur is
maybe coaching for his job the rest of the season. Fine,

(02:02:13):
fire him, really, go ahead?

Speaker 7 (02:02:14):
Are they serious? I mean, I don't know who wrote
it off the top of my head. I'll find it.
But who liked that? Diana? Ah? Well?

Speaker 5 (02:02:24):
How do you feel about her WEX. I think she
made up her last story. Otherwise, I think she's been
a pretty good reporter.

Speaker 11 (02:02:30):
I think that she's laid on every single story. And
she says she has sources and she never gets them
on time. Well, she hardly ever breaks any stories, so
she's there.

Speaker 6 (02:02:37):
She's like, I'm assuming you're talking about the Texans related
story Texas Texas with the pros coach makings through intermediaries.

Speaker 5 (02:02:47):
I guess I think he was interested in, you know,
getting an NFL job while his team is having an
okay season.

Speaker 7 (02:02:53):
I mean it was just it was okay.

Speaker 5 (02:02:55):
I know how the game is played, and so I
could be very very off on this and everyone could
have just totally played me and the rest of the
media and Sark was in on it, and the agents
were in on it, and so the Diana obviously played
her role in it.

Speaker 7 (02:03:07):
But she's perfectly fine.

Speaker 5 (02:03:09):
She's I don't have any negative like, oh she I
don't listen to anything she says or anything.

Speaker 7 (02:03:14):
But you really think she would make something like that
up or you think, well, when I say make it up,
I'm not.

Speaker 5 (02:03:19):
I don't want to get I don't know how to
detail it any better than that's probably a very lazy,
flippant way to say it, and probably not accurate. I
just don't think that the sources she claims to have
had on that particular story gave her the information that
is either accurate or that's what they said. I just
don't think that information got to her because I don't
believe it to be true.

Speaker 7 (02:03:39):
I'd agree with that.

Speaker 6 (02:03:40):
It's interesting, though, because it feels like what Sark's response
is both what the guy who has no intentions of
going to the pros would say and what the guy
who has every intention of going to the pros would say.

Speaker 7 (02:03:54):
Yeah, that's what I mean.

Speaker 5 (02:03:55):
Like I said, I could totally be getting played by
all that commentary. And keep in mind, you can have
sources and they can be reputable, and you can get
the information from them, and then you put it out
and it's wrong. It happens quite some time, whether it's
a lie, or they had wrong information, or it wasn't
confirmed by the right people, or they just didn't have
the information correct when they thought they did and you thought, well,

(02:04:18):
why shouldn't I trust them? This is the one hundred
and fiftieth piece of information I've gotten from them, and
the first one hundred and forty nine were on point.
But no, I don't think Matt Lafleur and his constant
division titles and thirteen win seasons are caused for concern
with the Packers. I think the cause for concern is
they're not putting the ball where it needs to go
offensively through the air. I think Jordan Love and their

(02:04:40):
receivers something's just not quite right. Even plays where it
looks like the ball is where it's supposed to be,
that that's probably not the player he should be throwing
to because the coverage is so tight. They've run enough
offense with Lafleur in Love now and Lafleur in general
before that that I'm really surprised to see them struggling
the way they are. And I do respect the Eagles
defense a lot, but I say this earlier on the show.

(02:05:01):
I don't think the defenses are the reason the Eagles
scored ten and the Packers scored seven. I think it
was bad offense both sides, very interesting decisions being made
by both sides, especially the fourth and six, not necessarily
that the Eagles went for it there, and Nick Sirianni's
explanation of it. End of the game, fourth and six,
Maybe a fifty three yard field goal is what they
could have attempted when they had a ten to seven

(02:05:23):
lead and they chose to go for it on fourth
and six. I really, honestly, I didn't have an issue
with it. You could punt, you could kick a field goal.
The wind and conditions might have suggested a fifty three
yard field goal wasn't ideal, and that's kind of what
Sirianni was leaning into. You can punt it and you
run a very good chance that you just had a
fifteen yard net punt when it goes into the end zone.

Speaker 7 (02:05:43):
Going forward is great.

Speaker 5 (02:05:45):
Just don't call a fade into double coverage, which is
what they did do.

Speaker 7 (02:05:49):
And that's what I had the issue with.

Speaker 5 (02:05:51):
It's about the execution of the play call and getting
it in there and deciding this is the best we
have to go with. And they still won the game.
They got to seven and two, the Packers fell to
five three and one. We've locked in on the AFC
White naturally, and obviously because that's where the Texans play
their football. The situation in the NFC is just it's
really odd because I don't think anybody sees the NFC

(02:06:12):
for what it actually is right now as we sit
here right now, the playoff picture in the NFC is
I think it's pretty clear, and I don't think anybody agree.
They're not letting them trust their eyes. The Eagles and
Seahawks are seven and two. Nobody's gonna say Sam Darnold
is the quarterback of the best team in the NFC.
Nobody wants to do that, so they won't, even though
he obviously is. They have the best record, but the

(02:06:34):
Rams are also seven and two. They lose a tiebreaker
to Seattle, which is why they wouldn't be a top
two seed. The Rams look like they've probably played the
best football year, the same Rams team that the Texans
lost fourteen to nine two when they turned it over
in the final two minutes in the red zone. The
Eagles are seven and two. Does anybody like what the
Super Bowl champions have done this year? Are you really

(02:06:55):
excited about their offense? Saquon Barkley looks like a shell
of what he was last year. Is still a good player,
he's certainly not as productive. They got the aj Brown
drama going on Tampa six and three. The Bears are
six and three. The Bears and the Lions have the
same record.

Speaker 6 (02:07:11):
Yeah, and the Lions. The Lions have lost some dumb games.

Speaker 5 (02:07:15):
The Mac Jones led Niners have the same number of
wins as Dan Campbell's Lions. How is that possible? As
Brock perty get his job back, He'm just kidding. He's
gonna get his job back, and it might be this week.
But I said all those things. And Tampa six and three,
just to put everybody that needs to be in the mix.
They've got eight teams fighting for seven spots. I don't

(02:07:36):
think anybody outside the playoff picture today other than San
Fran has a prayer of making the playoffs. Panthers are
five hundred, the Vikings are four and five, and they're
working through basically a rookie quarterback. The Cardinals, Falcons, Commanders,
Saints and Giants are the other teams, and the team
from Dallas. There's eight teams fighting for seven spots. Who's

(02:07:56):
winning the NFC halfway point of the season.

Speaker 6 (02:07:58):
Roughly give you you may give you a crazy it's
I wouldn't even call it like a dark horse. I'll
give you two because like, like this is not your
typical whatever situation right now because of who they are
and specifically who their quarterbacks are, and just because this
is a weird, wild, weird wound and wanky shijion.

Speaker 7 (02:08:21):
Thanks John, I miss him so much. Tampa Bay or Seattle.

Speaker 5 (02:08:29):
So last year Seattle was in the same spot. They
were nobody wanted to say they were the best team
and they quarter battle. I meant Sam Donald was in
the same spot last minute withth Minnesota. Yeah, well played
the whole year neck and neck with Detroit. They're the
best team, best team, We're the best team. Then they
played at the end of the year and they lost,
and then they lost their playoff game.

Speaker 7 (02:08:49):
And is that was that? He's playing better this year
though he played. Really, what were you gonna say, cole
Ah Seattle?

Speaker 11 (02:08:57):
Now?

Speaker 7 (02:08:58):
Why because I don't trust Sam Darlald in the playoffs?
That's really what? So you just think he turns into
a pumpkin in the postseason.

Speaker 11 (02:09:05):
If you would have said Detroit, I would have probably
not argued, Yeah, I wasn't going fishing, that's the train.

Speaker 5 (02:09:11):
I was going fishing. That's what I was fishing for.
Then they do the answer is Detroit. Yeah, the trajectory
should Dan Campbell offensive play caller. So much for Detroit
is the answer?

Speaker 6 (02:09:22):
No, I mean, but again that would have been the
answer last season.

Speaker 7 (02:09:29):
So what they have ahead of them.

Speaker 5 (02:09:32):
They've got the Eagles, then they play three straight home
games against the Giants, Packers, and Cowboys, and the way
the Packers are playing that obviously won't be favored on
the road at the Lions. I would hope the Lions
could take care of the Giants and Cowboys and then
they have the Rams, the Rams Lions game with four
games left to go in the season. I think is

(02:09:54):
your NFC Championship game preview if you think on Pam
Donald's having a better season than they had a year ago,
or a very very good season. Flip on over to
the season that Matt Stafford is having quietly, I think,
by the way, with four plus touchdown passes is what
he's currently on. Obviously, the Texans felt like they did

(02:10:17):
a lot of good things against him, but they didn't
force him into a turnover really obviously, the only turnover
they had was a fumble, and he played sound football.

Speaker 6 (02:10:26):
How about this? Have the Texans played the Rams better
than anyone else this year?

Speaker 7 (02:10:30):
Well, they didn't.

Speaker 5 (02:10:31):
They didn't it didn't beat I guess I should add
that caveat Yeah, well they haven't lost that much. Well,
how about the fourteen points that they allowed?

Speaker 6 (02:10:40):
That's what I mean by that, No question, that's with
that guy and then putting the numbers he's putting up.

Speaker 5 (02:10:45):
Yeah, I do think that those three letters just got mentioned,
and he should be the front runner. I don't know
if you're okay giving it to a non quarterback, because
I'm trying to actually tell you who's gonna win it,
not who I would vote for not getting it right,
that should be the favorite, but no he's not. So
I don't know how you wouldn't be looking at this
season and what's happened through the nine or ten games

(02:11:07):
that everybody's played and not be looking in the direction
of Matt Stafford that they are crushing people many weeks,
very very easily because their offense. Not only have they
played well offensively, they've gotten off to such good starts
in so many of these games. It's just it's fourteen
to nothing, it's seventeen to three, and.

Speaker 7 (02:11:23):
Then you have to deal with their defense.

Speaker 11 (02:11:24):
Let me ask that of curiosity if he wins the
MVP this year, lots of the Hall of Fame.

Speaker 5 (02:11:29):
Yep, Okay, what else does he have on his resume
that helps you get there?

Speaker 7 (02:11:33):
A Super Bowl title?

Speaker 5 (02:11:37):
Like the Matt Ryans and the Just tael their quarterbacks
have loaded up on career statistics rivers that they're missing
that he's not.

Speaker 7 (02:11:46):
It's the Eli effect, but he would have what's two
of them? Two of them? Doesn't sound like you think
he belongs in now.

Speaker 5 (02:11:54):
Eli Manning is not a Hall of Fame caliber quarterback,
but he has. He went four and oh in two
different postseasons to win those two Supers.

Speaker 7 (02:12:02):
Not just that he did that, it's he He's Brady's kryptonite.
That's why he's in there.

Speaker 5 (02:12:07):
Well, he has moments because of the catches, the manningham down,
the sideline catch and the helmet catch and the Plexico
Buris catch in the end zone. They're all off of
Eli's throws. He's got several of those. League man face it,
and I'll say this here as we close out the
Football at five segment. Very underwhelmed by the Shane Gillis
segment on the Manning Cast last night.

Speaker 6 (02:12:28):
Oh man, I didn't see it. I forgot to watch that.
I didn't see a ton of the game for being honest,
but it wasn't good.

Speaker 5 (02:12:35):
It should have been way funnier, and he just maybe
he was tired. What crowd it was a crowded booth
or was he the only guy on when he was
on all to themselves?

Speaker 7 (02:12:47):
Oh, then that's on him. I think it was to
He probably would say the same thing.

Speaker 1 (02:12:53):
The a team on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (02:12:59):
I meant to add on air, WEX and we have
all these we have all these teams that release all
this gear, and.

Speaker 6 (02:13:09):
Some of it's good, Like, let's put it this way.
Some of it's good, and some of it's very Seattle.
You know what I mean when I say that Seattle's
got like fifty different uniforms for every single team that
is college or pro in the vicinity of that city.
If it's Oregon, and I just I know that's a
different state, but it's in the Great Northwest.

Speaker 7 (02:13:26):
I just put it. Oregon in Seattle are like the
same thing. You know what I'm saying.

Speaker 6 (02:13:30):
It's gonna be Neon Green, and there's gonna be fifty
versions of it. But city edition gear. Astros have done
it twice. They took it to the next level this
last year, very very good.

Speaker 5 (02:13:40):
But what do they call the gear they just dropped, well,
the Rockets, it's called the City Edition, City Edition, you
know what it's called in Greater Dallas. What they're twenty
five twenty six Pegasus city jerseys have been introduced. What
I guess the city jerseys Mavericks scoring with them?

Speaker 6 (02:14:01):
What does that mean? Oh it's Pegasus er Yeah, I know,
I know with wings. Is that like the tri Star
horse the unicorn without the horn?

Speaker 5 (02:14:10):
You mean that thing you see at the movies?

Speaker 7 (02:14:12):
Yeah, tri Star.

Speaker 6 (02:14:15):
Remember the old school one and we would be like
running around the corner dutt d d D and the
movie starts. Yeah, it is just like, really, that's what
they call them because, oh I get it, because they're Mavericks.
They get all Mavericky. They put their very mad they
put their ten gallon hat on and go ride horses
with wings. We were not flying them straight to the
lottery Mavericks team shop today. We're at the Rockets team

(02:14:37):
shop today. Yeah, because you know why, because the Mavericks
team shops sucks. You know why it sucks because they
put Pegasus on the beginning of their city You know
who would never do that?

Speaker 7 (02:14:48):
Anyone in Houston. That's who.

Speaker 5 (02:14:50):
Hey, uh uh, it's time for our city edition jerseys
here for the Astros.

Speaker 7 (02:14:57):
It's well, it's the uh. I wouldn't even know what
the equivalent of a pegasus is. Well, it's time for
the Unicorn a minotaur. I mean, what do you want?

Speaker 6 (02:15:07):
I know the Rockets have the Dunkster not but that
looks cool. You go, yeah, that looks cool. I think
it's actually plausible to have a guy come in from
NASA and dunk off a trampoline. You're not going to
have a horse walk into whatever they're calling at and
t these days. What are they gonna do? Attach wings
to it and then trot it out at halftime? So again,
you know, all over the court, no walk, no trot.

(02:15:30):
What do you see when the cops are on horses
downtown there's a guy with the trouble behind them. Perfect
analogy everywhere the MAVs go that follows. They got rid
of some of that today when they fired their GM.

Speaker 7 (02:15:46):
Sometimes depends on what usually don't forget.

Speaker 5 (02:15:48):
They also do have their classic edition back this year,
the Greens the MAVs now.

Speaker 6 (02:15:54):
I will say this because I'm willing to be somewhat
I don't even know the word non hating.

Speaker 7 (02:16:01):
It's it's certain non hating.

Speaker 6 (02:16:02):
It's it's like Oakland, Oakland, that it's always gonna be
Oakland with the green and the yellow. I think those
jerseys back in the eighties, you know when Roy Tarpley
was ironing his girlfriend in them those what he did
that that's their player, not ours. That's what he did.
He took an iron and he ironed his girlfriend. It's

(02:16:23):
called domestic abuse. And they had a guy that did it. Awful,
awful awful.

Speaker 7 (02:16:27):
So, but that jersey.

Speaker 6 (02:16:29):
I think the Kelly Green Eagles jerseys, all of these
are fantastic non Houston jerseys. The Oilers technically it's Tennessee. Now, yeah,
we know how we feel about all that. Yeah, not
very good.

Speaker 5 (02:16:45):
Not much to care about anymore though, Like, oh my god,
when are the Titans wearing their throwbacks? Who cares? They're
terrible at football?

Speaker 6 (02:16:53):
Well, they're the ones that did that by trying to
like put our faces in it all the time.

Speaker 7 (02:16:58):
They have losing spectat.

Speaker 5 (02:17:00):
They have made some really really bad decisions and being
uber petty about this football team among them.

Speaker 6 (02:17:07):
It's just I mean, if they had won that Super Bowl,
which you were rooting for them, by the way.

Speaker 5 (02:17:13):
I'd like I was running for the players on the team.
They were the players. Top five regrets it should be,
don't regret it at all.

Speaker 6 (02:17:20):
Like whatever crime you may have committed that you haven't
told us about or whatever.

Speaker 5 (02:17:23):
That Mike Jones not a fan of his? Not not
not a fan of Robert Jones.

Speaker 7 (02:17:28):
Excuse me? Is that the guy who made the tackle?
That's the guy who made the tackle for the Greatest
Show on turf, Go Rams.

Speaker 5 (02:17:33):
Baby, greatest show on turf needed a late gift touchdown
with a bad pass that got misjudged.

Speaker 6 (02:17:40):
The Titans had Steve McNair and Eddie George in their
prime and got beat by a former grocery sacker.

Speaker 5 (02:17:46):
Still today one of our games fine analysts.

Speaker 7 (02:17:50):
That's fine. He does fine work. He did fine work
against them that night. Yeah he did all right.

Speaker 6 (02:17:55):
But anyways, point of all this is to say City
Edition Astros knocked them out of the park this year.

Speaker 7 (02:18:00):
No pun intended two for two. They scored a touchdown with.

Speaker 6 (02:18:03):
Those and and the the Rockets bringing back the dunkster.
Not I've said it a million times, I'll say it
one more. If they never go back to the ketchup
and Mustard, Come on, Patrick, make it happen. But if
they never do it, and they were like, you know
what we're going with the Dunkster, not permanent logo, permanent
color scheme.

Speaker 7 (02:18:22):
I will spend money on at duncttion NT. It's awesome.

Speaker 11 (02:18:24):
It looks fantastic. I saw the video that WX posted.
Oh my god, it looks great.

Speaker 7 (02:18:28):
We went in there day. What was your favorite item?

Speaker 5 (02:18:31):
I'm a I don't know if you know this or not,
if our viewers know this or not. I mean they've
they've seen me from time to time and not quite
Nick Casio with vests, but I like the quarters that
you're gonna get a quarters. If they had a nice
blue on there, it was pretty cool.

Speaker 7 (02:18:46):
Can I tell them about the conversation we had about headwear?

Speaker 5 (02:18:48):
So they have a ton of headwear, both with the
dunction mount on it, Rocket's logo, h Town, the script
from the City Edition, tons of stuff there and Clanton's
going through the hats. You've occasionally seen us separately wearing
hats here on the show, not very often, hardly any
more than I do.

Speaker 7 (02:19:04):
I used to wear hats to work every single day
when I work.

Speaker 6 (02:19:06):
Here sometimes they want to get people a break from
the chrome domeia thing going.

Speaker 5 (02:19:09):
When I had an earlier shift in the day, yeah,
it was almost always wearing a hat, especially on the
days where the producer would call and say are you
coming and I would say, of course, And it would
be four fifty seven and this show started at five,
but I would be there on time because I look
so close. Yeah, I might wear a hat that day,
but I don't wear a hat to the show all
that often. So they had a lot of hats to
choose from. And we're looking at him and AC's like,
I love this hat, but it's just.

Speaker 7 (02:19:31):
Not the right style.

Speaker 5 (02:19:34):
I'm a new era. It's not gonna fit right because
it's a flat bran. He throws one on. He's like see,
and I'm like, yeah, you're right.

Speaker 7 (02:19:39):
I don't look at it.

Speaker 5 (02:19:40):
You look terrible. Yeah, And then he's you know this
one and that one. I go, what about this style?
I mean it's curved and it's got a curve top,
got a curved bill. And you're like, that's a dad
hat and I say, yeah, that's all I wear.

Speaker 7 (02:19:51):
What's okay? Now, come on, if we're going to say
this only because it fits.

Speaker 6 (02:19:55):
I guarantee you right now watch this. You're ready for
some magic right here on live television.

Speaker 2 (02:20:00):
Cold.

Speaker 6 (02:20:00):
Do you know what I'm talking about when I say
a dad hat, which describe it for me.

Speaker 7 (02:20:04):
Very very long bill in the front.

Speaker 11 (02:20:08):
It's got a nice little curve to it, and it's
usually an off fad color.

Speaker 7 (02:20:13):
Okay, but what's this?

Speaker 6 (02:20:14):
What's the What I'm looking for from you is two
items in particular. Doesn't matter, color, scheme doesn't matter. I'm
talking about the type of.

Speaker 7 (02:20:25):
I can help you, guys if you want. And I'm
talking about the back.

Speaker 5 (02:20:28):
What do we have it's no, it's no, it's a
it's got the it's got the what's it called?

Speaker 7 (02:20:35):
But like the iron clad?

Speaker 6 (02:20:37):
Okay, boom? And what is the texture of the front
of the hat? Especially?

Speaker 5 (02:20:44):
Oh, it's got like a little pattern on the front.

Speaker 7 (02:20:46):
No, no, no, no, okay, you're terrible. Let me when are
you guys? Finished? Frumpy?

Speaker 5 (02:20:49):
The dad hat is a casual baseball cap with a relaxed,
unstructured crown and curved brim, you know, structured crown material,
creating a comfortable, low profile fit that conforms to the head.
Google sucks, seriously, dude, But honestly, it is what you
described the first succinctly unstructured crown.

Speaker 6 (02:21:09):
Yeah, unstructured means not smooth. Looks like it's been packed
into a suitcase for the last thirty years and you
pulled it out and put it on your head.

Speaker 7 (02:21:16):
It looks like a Jeff van Gundy.

Speaker 5 (02:21:17):
Suit made a twenty four hour trip to Orlando on Friday, yep.
And I have a backpack with my equipment in it.
And attached to the backpack because I'm not shoving that
in there is the neck pillow which went unused, and
a baseball cap attached to a carabe.

Speaker 7 (02:21:34):
Call it what it is, a dad hat.

Speaker 5 (02:21:36):
We do, I fly out, I set up the show,
We do the show, do the whole football game, get
on the bus to the flight, and when we get
on the bus, I throw the hat on, you know,
which is basically exactly as you described, packed in a bag.

Speaker 7 (02:21:52):
Yeah, you know, where's these all over the city.

Speaker 6 (02:21:54):
Whilst driving in his convertible, Brent Clanton other dad, my dad,
and I tell him the same thing.

Speaker 7 (02:22:00):
But you're a dad. I'm like, dude, I don't wear.

Speaker 5 (02:22:02):
Those like I showed you the difference because I'm a
dad because what fits on.

Speaker 6 (02:22:09):
I took him over. Yeah, like this wouldn't fit on
your head too. I took him over to another hat
and I said, look, do you see the difference. See
how this is smooth and structured and it doesn't have
a little copper colored ring thing on the back of it.

Speaker 5 (02:22:25):
The size, it's not a shoe. You should never have
to thread the size of your hat.

Speaker 7 (02:22:29):
Do you want to who wear his dad hats? Who? Tommy,
he's your dad had but he's seventy. Of course he
wears dad He's an.

Speaker 6 (02:22:36):
Airline pilot, though he should wear a captain's hat everywhere
he goes.

Speaker 5 (02:22:39):
You got three more shows this week, all of which
will be simulcast yep, just pick a day a non
dad hat.

Speaker 6 (02:22:48):
I want you to wear the new City edition rockets
h Town dad hat if I arranged to get one
for you.

Speaker 7 (02:22:57):
That's what you don't want me to wear?

Speaker 5 (02:22:59):
No, if you're gonna do this? Okay, wait, hang on?
What if I get you the right kind? I don't
have to get me in I need to for this.

Speaker 6 (02:23:06):
If I get you the right kind, the forty seven
to one, it's the red one with the R and
the h Town the seven.

Speaker 7 (02:23:12):
Can I get that for you? Will you wear it?

Speaker 5 (02:23:14):
I will give you the money to get it for me.

Speaker 11 (02:23:16):
Stop it.

Speaker 6 (02:23:17):
If I get it for you tomorrow night at the game,
you'll wear it on Thursday show, regardless of the winner loss,
which they're gonna slack the Wizards by thirty.

Speaker 5 (02:23:26):
All right, well I'll use that. I'll say, yeah, okay,
regardless of winner Lossyeah, absolutely.

Speaker 7 (02:23:30):
Even though it's gonna kind of look like you're wearing
a Wizard tat too, same colors.

Speaker 6 (02:23:33):
Your choice. All right, good, that's going on. Good to
know we're doing that. We are doing that Thursday. Cover
the dome with that. That's no problem at all. Nice
looking forward to that.

Speaker 1 (02:23:42):
The eight on Sports Talk seven ninety.

Speaker 5 (02:23:47):
This is the part of the show where we tell
you about the things we need to readdress or things
we've missed entirely. You already know that Nico Harrison was
fired as the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks. So wait,
do they get to that again tomorrow and an other time.

Speaker 7 (02:24:00):
Where it's appropriate.

Speaker 5 (02:24:01):
Remember, we've got tickets to give away to go see
Jack Johnson August twenty.

Speaker 7 (02:24:05):
Eighth the Woodlands Pavilion.

Speaker 5 (02:24:06):
We'll give that pair of tickets away in the final
segment of the show, but it is called in case
you missed it. Before I hand it off to you, Cole,
I had one item in case you missed it. One
of the hottest teams in college football is coached by
Bill Belichick. They have won two games in a row.
They're now four and five. They're now two and three
in conference play, and the idea of qualifying for a

(02:24:29):
bowl game in Bill Belichick's first season in North Carolina,
but it's still a long shot with Wake Duke and
NC State left on the schedule.

Speaker 7 (02:24:37):
We'll let Bill take it from here.

Speaker 5 (02:24:38):
We heard from Bill Belichick earlier today on the heels
of yesterday's NFL news Brian Dabele fired as New York
Giants head coach. Naturally, Well, we're hearing your name and
we're curious. What are you telling the players of the
speculation of the newly opened job. And here's what Bill
Belichick had.

Speaker 8 (02:24:57):
To say, getting ready for That's that's all I got
this week.

Speaker 7 (02:25:03):
I've been asked about it.

Speaker 8 (02:25:04):
From time to time.

Speaker 5 (02:25:04):
Book, I've been down this rope before.

Speaker 7 (02:25:07):
I'm Booke Stonewake Forest.

Speaker 8 (02:25:09):
That's it gong to Wake Forest, that's the opponent, so forth,
I'm here to do the best for this team.

Speaker 7 (02:25:15):
What does Jordaan think of those kinds of answers?

Speaker 5 (02:25:18):
I think she would be very very clear about her
desire to have her boyfriend coaching the New York Football
Giants as opposed to a college football team in the
Atlantic Coast Conference.

Speaker 7 (02:25:32):
Wouldn't even be his first time, would not be his
first time.

Speaker 5 (02:25:35):
It is inevitably going to happen as long as he's coaching,
and probably for the first couple of years after he's coaching,
even though he'll be in a very advanced age at
that point in time. When jobs at the NFL level
open up where he was once successful, his name will
almost automatically get brought up in the rumor Mills, et cetera.
This particular team, with the connections, family connections, obviously to

(02:25:59):
the family that owns there are some reasons why how
oldest you know? More than just he's a good former
NFL coach?

Speaker 7 (02:26:05):
Seventy seventy three. I want to say yes, so I'm
seventy nine. It's fine.

Speaker 5 (02:26:11):
Well, he wasn't hired. I didn't hire him to be
the president. People hired him from North Carolina didn't vote
for Bill Belichick.

Speaker 7 (02:26:18):
Would be your he got hired, as some people.

Speaker 5 (02:26:22):
Say, so acc former NFL head coaches in the news
for another week.

Speaker 7 (02:26:28):
Last week Bill had it. This week, Bill has it,
two different bills. All right, cool, what do we got?

Speaker 11 (02:26:33):
So let's go back to Nico Harrison. He was fired
after what has to be the worst trade in the
history of potentially the NBA. In fact, I'll say it
is the worst trade.

Speaker 7 (02:26:42):
I don't think there's one that's worse.

Speaker 11 (02:26:44):
Since he was hired as the Mavericks GM, they had
a winning percentage of fifty four percent.

Speaker 7 (02:26:49):
Since the Dauntage trade.

Speaker 11 (02:26:50):
They were sixteen and twenty eight for three eighth this season.
But there's gonna be some speculation by yours truly and
many others out there that this is.

Speaker 7 (02:26:58):
A move that was made by did you Mott family?
They want to go ahead and sell.

Speaker 11 (02:27:02):
The franchise and moved out to Las Vegas, and they
really just said, Nico, do what you gotta do to
make us tank, and so sea I'm sure on he
had decided to go on to ESPN first tap and
was asked.

Speaker 7 (02:27:13):
By one mister Steven A.

Speaker 11 (02:27:14):
Smith, who was the culprit behind all of the back.

Speaker 7 (02:27:18):
Door deals to move off of Luka Doncis.

Speaker 2 (02:27:21):
And the answer it was Nico Harrison.

Speaker 9 (02:27:23):
It was Nico Harrison's decision, it was Nico Harrison's pitch,
It was Nico Harrison's idea to trade Luka Doncis. But
of course, any move that gets made, it's the general
manager at any level is making a trade. It is
with the blessing and the sign off of ownership as well. Now,
it might have taken Nico Harrison days and weeks to
get Patrick Dumont on board, but after the Mavericks.

Speaker 2 (02:27:44):
Made it to the NBA Finals in.

Speaker 9 (02:27:46):
Twenty twenty four, I'm told that's when the Patrick Dumont
Nico Harrison relationship that was the strongest it's ever been.
That's when Patrick Dumont, what I'm told, he looked at
Nico Harrison as a basketball Samont, someone that when Dico
Harrison speaks, when he has an idea, it's basketball gospel.

Speaker 2 (02:28:04):
And so when Nico Harrison came.

Speaker 9 (02:28:06):
To Patrick Jumon with that concept, there.

Speaker 2 (02:28:08):
Was alignment there.

Speaker 9 (02:28:09):
Eventually, there was alignment within the office, alignment with the coach,
and that's when you see this.

Speaker 2 (02:28:15):
And jaction take place.

Speaker 5 (02:28:18):
I cannot believe that there was a time where that
was considered the way they did things in Dallas in
light of what we know. Oh, this in mind. Part
of that you got to pay attention to. This is
signed off on by the owner. So if you want
a conspiracy theory, the way and say he had no
idea how to make the Western Conference champion product that

(02:28:40):
he had purchased that isn't playing at a Western Conference
championship level. He had no idea of how to make
them so bad and so unwanted in Dallas that the
NBA would be Yeah, all right, that does make sense,
let's go ahead and move you guys out to Vegas.
That he didn't even come up with the idea of
moving Luca randomly, the general manager came up with it
and had to go through maybe weeks of pitching the

(02:29:03):
idea to you. You really think the owner has been
trying to get them so bad, so Rachel Phelps like
from Major League to get the team moved out of
Cleveland to Miami and in this gets situation Dallas to
Vegas that he never thought, I don't know how we
can make the team bad. Ah, why don't we trade
our star player. That never even came up. That never
was a joke at a breakfast meeting or a lunch

(02:29:26):
meeting or a beer fest.

Speaker 7 (02:29:28):
It was all me.

Speaker 5 (02:29:29):
Gooes yes, because it's preposterous to me that they are
moving this team to Vegas.

Speaker 11 (02:29:35):
I kid you not the way that Clanton is with OJ.
I am full on convinced that the Mott.

Speaker 7 (02:29:41):
Families trying to move the team in Vegas. Oh look,
I'm that full in the conspiracy, whether or not just
by the a's. But that's different. John Fisher ain't Salmon
the Ace. Why not? What is he like?

Speaker 5 (02:29:52):
Oh, he's already gone through all of this to give
them fakes money.

Speaker 7 (02:29:56):
They give him money here over pay.

Speaker 6 (02:29:59):
Here's the thing, though, even if that's all like, I
cannot believe. First of all, it's all Nico and that's
what Sean is saying. And that's fine.

Speaker 5 (02:30:07):
As the owner of the Mavericks, you have the final say,
not the GM. Right, that's the second part of it,
and you're you're right. Okay, here's what I want to do.
Oh that's crazy. No, I really want him. That's crazy. No, No, No,
I really want it. Okay, I'll sign off on it.
And now they blame him for it.

Speaker 6 (02:30:24):
Right, That's what I'm saying. If you sign off on it,
you can't do this. You can't do this.

Speaker 5 (02:30:28):
You can't say it was him and know only him
when you're the owner.

Speaker 7 (02:30:32):
No, you signed his checks.

Speaker 5 (02:30:34):
Yes, but this is what Seam said is he came
up with the idea.

Speaker 7 (02:30:38):
He did all the.

Speaker 5 (02:30:38):
Negotiating, which I that's all tru.

Speaker 7 (02:30:40):
I'm sure it's true. That's fine.

Speaker 5 (02:30:42):
The owner did say, yes, let's move forward to this.
What you're selling me is something I want to get.
You went through all of that, and it was his idea.
Da da da da, And it's his job.

Speaker 7 (02:30:50):
Dumont.

Speaker 5 (02:30:51):
I mean that when this is put across his desk,
or the phone call is.

Speaker 7 (02:30:55):
Made or the text ascent, you say you.

Speaker 5 (02:30:57):
Are an idiot and I should fire you for even
suggesting this text. Hey, mister d it's Nico. You know
that you have my number. Considering putting pen to paper
on deal for Luca to Lake.

Speaker 7 (02:31:11):
This is your thoughts, this is how we go.

Speaker 6 (02:31:14):
I'm gonna send Luca to La for Anthony Davis also
Angels on board.

Speaker 5 (02:31:20):
No, here's how it went. Luca a Laker. I've all emoji.

Speaker 7 (02:31:26):
The two eyes.

Speaker 6 (02:31:27):
That's a man that was like quite possibly the worst
and best birthday present ever.

Speaker 7 (02:31:36):
It happened on my birthday. All right, before we.

Speaker 11 (02:31:37):
Get on out of here, College Football Playoffs Selection Committee
is meeting right now to unveil their top twelve at
six pm. Bull take, where does Texas find itself? And
where does sext A and M find itself?

Speaker 5 (02:31:49):
That doesn't honestly to me, it doesn't matter where Texas
A and M is Lily.

Speaker 7 (02:31:52):
Went coming in.

Speaker 5 (02:31:54):
Texas was on the outside looking in of the top twelve,
even though they were eleventh.

Speaker 7 (02:31:58):
Because of eleven. Okay, well because of automatics.

Speaker 5 (02:32:01):
But the same thing's gonna happen with the acc that
team is automatically ahead of Texas even though that whoever
it is, they stink and by us now out, So
why wouldn't Texas be in?

Speaker 7 (02:32:12):
Texas will be in? Texas is going to be at
number ten, Texas.

Speaker 11 (02:32:15):
A and M tonight will be at number two.

Speaker 7 (02:32:20):
So Indiana's one, Indie as three? Who's number one? Ohio State?
Ohio State giveaway to take us next.

Speaker 2 (02:32:28):
The Age on Sports Talk seven.

Speaker 6 (02:32:30):
Ninety, final segment of the show Sports Talks seven ninety,
Space City Home Network.

Speaker 7 (02:32:40):
We got to give away some tickets.

Speaker 6 (02:32:42):
WEX is going to tell you what we're going to
be giving away, and then I'm going to tell you
how you can win them.

Speaker 5 (02:32:48):
Woodland's Pavilion is gonna be hosting a big concert on
August twenty eighth with Jack Johnson. It's the Surfil Music
twenty twenty six Tour. Tickets go on sale this Friday
at ticketmaster dot com. But right now we have a
pair of tickets to give away to go see the show.
If you can call in with the answer to this question,
it's seven one three two one two five seven ninety

(02:33:09):
all right, this is very easy, big thanks to everyone
listening to the show.

Speaker 7 (02:33:12):
That's how you'll know the answer to the question.

Speaker 6 (02:33:14):
I mean, easiest ever to the point where I need
to preface this by saying, do not say anything hint Wise,
don't even say anything.

Speaker 7 (02:33:25):
Thank you.

Speaker 6 (02:33:27):
What article of clothing have I been hounding WEX about
not wearing any more for the last better part of
two segments? Look listen if you just tuned in, Oh
it just worked late, niggas you got in the car
in a course.

Speaker 5 (02:33:41):
Six article of clothing have I been hounding WEX about it.
It's not just you had me right there. I can
only imagine the guesses. It's so funny, isn't it so
not funny?

Speaker 7 (02:33:52):
It's not.

Speaker 5 (02:33:53):
He is a very specific term. I mean, it's what
I refer to it as just on us, not just
what it is.

Speaker 7 (02:34:01):
Usual.

Speaker 5 (02:34:02):
Basis nothing extravagant about the day I'm about to have.
I could have shoes, pull up, socks, slacks or dunger Rea.
Where did I say about hints? You're doing it again.
There's just only so many options. Don't say anything you
like and then you start talking. I know you saw

(02:34:23):
me then trying to say I want to talk, I
want to talk you talk radio show.

Speaker 7 (02:34:28):
Imagine that? Oh my gosh. All right, there's an update
to the Nico Harrison situation.

Speaker 5 (02:34:33):
Everybody, Jack Johnson, go ahead, what are we?

Speaker 7 (02:34:36):
Are you ready for this?

Speaker 5 (02:34:37):
He's already lined up another gig, He's got interviews ready
to go. Someone wants to hire him. The Lakers are
hiring him as assistant to the assistant regional manager.

Speaker 6 (02:34:45):
Some MAVs podcaster found this, and then our three o'clock
hour guest lerner.

Speaker 5 (02:34:51):
The MAVs Pegasus podcast. No, it had there was no
winged horses involved.

Speaker 7 (02:34:57):
Okay, what do you got? Former mav GM Nico Harrison.

Speaker 6 (02:35:02):
Sounds so weird has changed his official IG profile to
unemployed after being dismissed by the team today. And there's
a screenshot Nico Harrison Underscore twenty four. He's verified he's
got eleven point three thousand followers on Instagram, and under
his picture, which appears to be of him playing in

(02:35:26):
a college level game dunking, it says girl dad and
unemployed underneath the picture. I mean, how many times have
we seen people get.

Speaker 5 (02:35:39):
Traded and I can't remember who it was recently got
traded to?

Speaker 7 (02:35:44):
Who got traded to the to the Astros this last season? Hey, Susanchez,
I'm trying.

Speaker 6 (02:35:50):
To remember which one of the guys are is there
they're I think it was Ramone because it was like
all Baltimore all the time.

Speaker 5 (02:35:58):
Also, I think there's third basement got traded here. Wasn't
that guy not Carlos, wasn't that guy Daniella. No, they
didn't scrub the twins off of their ig.

Speaker 6 (02:36:10):
But that's what I was saying, Like, whatever it was,
that old stuff stayed there. Might have even been Christian Walker.
He still had diamondback stuff like halfway into this season.

Speaker 5 (02:36:18):
When they tried to give him number thirteen especially, is
that what it was? Well, when he first was introduced,
he didn't have any astro stuff up there except the
number thirteen jersey, which he could never wear.

Speaker 6 (02:36:29):
The day I got fired by this place back in
twenty eighteen, I scrubbed the logo off pretty quick because
I was not.

Speaker 7 (02:36:37):
Happy, nor should I be.

Speaker 5 (02:36:40):
You weren't, Well, nobody's usually really happy when they lose
their job, but the reasons.

Speaker 7 (02:36:44):
Behind, the non reasons behind it.

Speaker 5 (02:36:48):
I was like, yeah, I'm just gonna go with the
generic Houston skyline.

Speaker 6 (02:36:52):
I think is what I did at the time. I
just wasn't going to do any promotion for a place
that let me go. That's how you viewed it, I'm
not promoting these people. Well, I mean, it's your brand,
but your brand is an extension of brands sometimes, and
in that case, that's what I felt like it was.
And they said, we don't want you anymore for a while,
so here's your eleven month unpaid vacation time.

Speaker 7 (02:37:13):
You didn't know that there was a while to it.

Speaker 6 (02:37:15):
Which is why I didn't go on social media saying
a bunch of stuff like other people have done. Oh
you want to guarantee you never work again in this town,
here's how you do it.

Speaker 7 (02:37:25):
I just didn't talk for like a month or two
on social media.

Speaker 5 (02:37:29):
In several decades of employment and unemployment here in Houston,
I've managed to work a few places, and almost every
single one of them I've worked at more than once.
It seems pretty easy, no matter how the departure took
place me to not go and say, hey, check this
bridge out, I am going to burn it. It just
seems pretty easy to I don't know, not get arrested.

(02:37:51):
But people find their way. I've managed to not do that.

Speaker 11 (02:37:54):
Can I be honest for a second, I thought when
Wuck said burn the bridge, I thought I was gonna
say jump Why?

Speaker 7 (02:38:01):
Because of it? I just think a bridge?

Speaker 5 (02:38:03):
We're talking about burning bridges. Oh you're gonna fire me.
We'll watch this scorch starth I'm gonna go on social media.
Well you're not gonna work here anymore? Ever, Yeah, you're
not gonna jump off the bridge. That's that got dark?

Speaker 7 (02:38:14):
Cole? What are you doing? Man?

Speaker 5 (02:38:15):
You get fired? You go to some dark places. Save
that content for the nightcap. Yeah, seriously not tonight, though
tonight we got astro Line. That's true, TK and Joe A. Spotta, Well,
there's another edition of astro Line call in Uh.

Speaker 7 (02:38:29):
They will be the off season What Get Easy? What
I love? Todd? Can't you tell? I've worked very hard
on my impression. It's actually true. It's true.

Speaker 6 (02:38:41):
Astral Line coming up here on Sports Talk seven ninety
When is it gonna be coming your way six o'clock?
So after the show comes your way next when if
that means we won? I could I wanted to do
it at the end of the show call, but I
couldn't wait because I love it when he does that.

Speaker 5 (02:38:57):
So that's coming your way after this program. We'd have
an hour long astro Line for you. Rockets basketball Wednesday,
Friday and Sunday in the days coming up this weekend,
the Longhorn game is the primetime game on the television dial,
so we've got coverage of that beginning at five point
thirty for their game where two teams inside tonight's announced
CFB playoff picture will be playing against one another Wherever

(02:39:20):
Texas and Georgia Land Texas at Georgia. That will be
our stole cold Locke college football game of the Week,
and it isn't the entire season and one Saturday evening
of football for Texas, But their road to the playoffs
is it's not impossible. It's unlikely even with winning out,

(02:39:40):
which obviously would then include a victory over Texas A
and M, it's possible.

Speaker 7 (02:39:45):
I don't think that's what they should be shooting for.

Speaker 5 (02:39:48):
And obviously, the way that they played the last time
they were on the field, you're also another week removed
from the couple of injuries that they were concerned with. Obviously,
Arch played but was just coming off of a concussion.
They played well to have a sizeable lead, which was
bigger than the lead are big enough to hold off
Vanderbilt you saw a week later the big lead that

(02:40:08):
was held against Vanderbilt was not big enough to keep
them from winning.

Speaker 7 (02:40:12):
But all that is in stories we continue here on
the week.

Speaker 5 (02:40:14):
We'll obviously see the Texans on the practice field tomorrow
for the first time this week Wednesday, Thursday, Friday typical
practice for the team. Get a little line on what
some of the injury situations they were dealing with last week.
Mike poortend for this upcoming week, and obviously we will
have all sorts of other goodies for you. Wednesday brings
you Wednesday's BS. That's like the whole show. It's every day.

(02:40:37):
We should really do it every day. It doesn't make
so much sense, but yeah, we can do that. Well,
have you listened this week? We've done it every day.
Just call it Tuesday BS like we did today. By
the way, who won? Did we get a winner? Those
names are not privy to the listeners until we tell you.

Speaker 7 (02:40:53):
What was the answer there? Call dad hat there? It is?

Speaker 5 (02:40:57):
What article of clothing was a hounding wex about? I
don't know what do you want?

Speaker 6 (02:41:01):
What article of clothing will you not be wearing coming
up on Thursday because you'll be wearing a real hat.

Speaker 7 (02:41:07):
That is the end of today's show, The A T

Speaker 2 (02:41:12):
On Sports Talk seven ninety